Hi all,

In this new year 2018, Pastor Warren Cuppy and I are praying and acting upon Christ’s authority to plant a new church in Idaho Falls.  It will be named “Providence Downtown”, and we will gather on Sunday evenings.  In joining together 60 years experience of pastoral ministry, our vision is to lift up Jesus in Idaho Falls and proclaim God’s mercy among the marginalized.  Our purpose is to provide the downtown area during the evenings with a church ministry that encompasses preaching good news to the poor, praying for healing among the brokenhearted, and counseling biblical freedom to those bound in addictions.  Currently, Warren and I are meeting weekly for discussion and prayer, preaching monthly in the Bonneville County Jail, teaching God’s Word weekly before the evening meal at the Idaho Falls Rescue Mission, leading discipleship small groups, and mentoring one-on-one.  We covet your prayers and financial support in this new endeavor.  

Here are some of the highlights from December

• December 2: Jeremy Berchtold graduated from the IFRM Works Program. On that night, the management of the Hampton Inn on the river allowed men and women residents of our shelters to each have their own rooms for the night.  Special time.  Currently, there are three men in the Works Program and three men in the candidate phase.
• December 3: Attended the evening Christmas cantata of First Evangelical Lutheran Church and had a great conversation afterward with Pastor Larry Cudmore.
• December 6: Each first Wednesday of the month, I oversee a luncheon for ministry servants at IFRM.  We had 17 servants of Jesus in attendance, representing 12 different ministries.
• December 11:  Each Monday, my wife and I host an Emmaus Road Church small group at our home.  Real life discipleship.  Over the past several Mondays, we have been averaging 14+ people.  We are anticipating to branch into two groups in the new year.  On this particular evening, we hosted 23 people in our home.
• December 14: Each second Thursday of the month, I oversee an IFRM staff breakfast.  During this past year, I am thankful for the pastors who have taught devotionals during our breakfasts:  Pastor Tim Rupp (River of Life Church), Pastor Beau Floyd (Emmaus Road Church), Pastor Bob Sherwood (CrossPoint Community Church), Pastor Lon Huff (Eagle Rock Baptist Church), Pastor Ken Feliciano (Berean Baptist Church), Pastor Warren Cuppy (Dubois Community Baptist Church), Pastor Dan Kishiyama (Watersprings Church), Pastor Mike Glaser (Cornerstone Pentecostal Church), and Pastor Jason Ginsburg (First Lutheran Church), etc.
• December 17: Ministered to five different men’s groups at the Bonneville County Jail.
• December 19: I taught a devotion in a pastors’ fellowship: Warriors for Truth
• December 22:  I transported 13 people in the IFRM van to the Broken Chains/Pure Word Christmas party at Watersprings
• December 24:  We worshiped at Berean Baptist Church in the morning.  Good to see brothers and sisters.  I can’t believe that it has been a year and a half since I stepped out of the Berean pulpit.  We love Pastor Ken Feliciano and the church family.  In the evening, my daughter Mariah sang a solo at the Emmaus Road Church Christmas Eve service.
• December 28:  Pocatello Baptist Church brought a team of fifteen to come serve a day at IFRM.  Wonderful.
• December 31:  Ministered to five different men’s groups at the Bonneville County Jail, 34 men total.

Would you like to contribute financially on a monthly basis to my missionary work?  Here are three ways: (1) Send the contribution to my home church, Emmaus Road Church, and mark it as “missionary fund for Todd Wood”; Option (2), as soon as Downtown Providence Church receives its Articles of Incorporation and EIN, you may send support to Providence; and in Option (3), you are welcome to give directly to me.  For the month of December, I received $750 in ongoing monthly support and $300 in special gifts.  Thank you so much!

On the home front: It has been a wild adventure having all of our kids home for the holidays!

Prayer requests as we head into the new year, 2018:

1. Pray for the staff of IFRM.
2. Pray for the men and women residents living in the emergency shelters, Ruth House and the City of Refuge.
3. Pray for the 6 men connected to our IFRM Works Program.
4. Pray for the start of the new church plant:  Providence Downtown.
5. Pray that Jesus will reign as King in Idaho Falls.

My four main ministry objectives: 

1. Partner IFRM with local churches
2. Disciple IFRM staff, volunteers, and residents
3. Provide pastoral prayer, encouragement, counsel, and Biblical preaching and teaching
4. Help facilitate discipleship components for the Idaho Falls Rescue Mission and the IFRM Work’s Program

Thanks for the prayers.

Happy New Year!!  God bless you all.

roots by the river,

Todd Wood