2026 JANUARY Newsletter

 Ministry Update:             

In November and December I preached for First Baptist Church of Valley City as they are looking for a pastor. Also, I preached at Liberty Baptist Church in Elyria as their pastor and his wife had their anniversary. We went to a supporter of ours, First Baptist Church of Garden City, Michigan and preached there. Their pastor was celebrating his birthday and has been at the church there for 37 years. During some of the Christmas festivities, we were invited to Old Paths for their church Christmas party where they gave us a Big Thank You and some gifts for pastoring them. They are some special people and it is evident that God is at work there. There have been Salvations and folks joining. We enjoyed a meal and some fun Christmas games together. Old Path is seeing new membership and people growing. A faithful man there that we love and have been praying for received Christ as his Savior. We thank the Lord!!! Some plant, some water, but God gives the increase. Pastor Caley is doing a great job and it’s encouraging to see the Lord working. Some more special people in the Bucyrus area is the Wert family. We took Pastor Wert and his wife out to eat. He will be celebrating 50 years at his church this coming November. We enjoyed being at our home church, Broadview Heights Baptist Church for the Christmas Eve service and also for the New Year’s Eve Service. In 2025, we were in several churches helping, encouraging, and stirring them in the work of God. Many of those churches were repeated visits, filling the pulpits where there is no pastor, or where the pastor has been out of town or had a medical need. We have also helped with visitation and special events Blitzes. Thank You All for faithfully Supporting us in Caring for the Churches! “Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.”  - II Cor 11:28

First Baptist, Valley City

Old Paths, Christmas 

Old Paths, Christmas 

Most of our supporters have made note of our Church and Address change in sending support to us, but if you have not, it is: 

Broadview Heights Baptist Church, 9850 Broadview Road, Broadview Heights, OH 44147. Checks should be made out to: Broadview Heights Baptist Church with “Matthew Siekbert” designated on the memo line.

 Ghana News / Family Update / Prayer Requests: 

We heard from Prince and his family as they sent their Christmas greetings. It is hard to believe how grown up their kids are already. Matthew is going to be 8 years old, Jackie is 3, and Rose Mary is 8 months old. My wife Jackie and I are planning a trip there in June of 2026. We are working out the exact dates and schedules. The round-trip tickets alone will be about $5,000, plus additional expenses for a rental car, gas, food, and hotel. Will you please pray and consider helping us with our trip to Ghana W Africa. It will be the first part of June. We are excited to see our church family there and be an encouragement to them preaching and serving. We hope you had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year 2026! We were able to spend Christmas with our children. Joseph was in from Tennessee. On Christmas Night after the festivities and all the good food, Joseph woke us up at 1:00 AM saying, “Mom, I think it’s my appendix”. We woke up and got dressed and headed to the emergency room. It was his appendix. They were able to get him into surgery by 9:00 AM and we were home by 12:00 PM. We are thankful he was in Ohio when it happened. He also stayed another week with us as he recovered.

Prince and Linda, Jackie, Matthew and RoseMary

Joseph

  

  The Starre’s and The Heart Ministry:

When I think of Bro Brian and Diana Starre and The Heart Ministry, I think of Proverbs 21:5a, “The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness;…”. We are Grateful to them and their ministry. We are very much an extension of them and their ministry outreach. They have a top-notch ministry, the Heart Ministry of 26 years. Their ministry is described as: Helping, Encouraging, and Refreshing Together, and that is their Heart also. They are a model in ministry activity that is successful. Along with their activities in ministry, they have diligently developed through years of experience at least 74 different Bible Courses that are free, of no charge on the world-wide web at: https://www.kjvhearthelps.com/

Bro. Starre and Bro. Siekbert 

Bits Of Bread: “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” 

Yielding to God’s Word will make a difference in your life, God’s Word improves one and makes one wise.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Matthew J. Siekbert

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

2025 November Newsletter

 Ministry Update: 

Within the last six months we have gotten to know the Newman family, he pastors at Hinckley Ridge Baptist Church. At the end of September, I preached for Pastor Newman at Hinckley Ridge. A few years before this Pastor Newman and his family got to know a man from Ghana, Martin. The connection was made with the Pastor’s daughter who went to the school Martin’s wife taught at. Martin, who grew up in our church plant in Ghana W. Africa moved to the States about 6 years ago, got married, and now has 2 small kids. Making it somewhat special for Jackie and myself, Martin and his family came and visited with us at Hinckley Ridge Baptist Church that Sunday that I preached. We prayed with him, met his family, and reconnect after the services with some food and fellowship. We helped Mission Baptist Temple in Stow, Ohio on October 10th. We had great weather and a few other churches came to help out also in some canvassing. A few weeks prior to this canvassing I was there at Mission to share an update of the ministry. October 19th I preached for Ashland Baptist Church in Ashland, Ohio. We had a great day of services with them. October 25th we helped Calvary Baptist Church in Akron visit for their special “Family and Friends Day”. We have visited many other churches being in 21 churches these last two months. I had the privilege to preach at our home and sending church, Broadview Heights Baptist Church, on October 26th. We gave an update at a supporting church in West Virginia at the beginning of November. Please be in prayer for us as we travel, I update, teach and preach. As we are helping, encouraging, and stirring up those “…that have obtained like precious faith…”- II Pt 1:1b 

Martin and family

Pastor Newman’s girls singing 

Old Paths, Ghana News / Prayer Request, Family Update: 

Old Paths Baptist Church in Bucyrus, Ohio had someone join the church in September. Family news: Our daughter Naomi and her husband Joe, are expecting a baby due in April. This is also our first grandbaby. Naomi is having a little boy. Please keep her in your prayers. Please continue to pray for my sister-in-law Debbie Siekbert, after her cancer surgery and radiation treatment. Also, pray for us in continued support and as we are scheduling to be in some of our supporting churches with updates, new churches, and churches we are helping fulfill the Great Commission, teaching and preaching in. I know of 3 churches looking for a pastor: First Baptist Church of Valley City; Loudonville Baptist Temple; and Maranatha Baptist Church of Hayesville. I have contact information if you are interested.

NOTING ADDRESS CHANGE: 

Please start sending your support for us to Broadview Heights Baptist Church Since June our new sending church has been Broadview Heights Baptist Church, the mailing address is: Broadview Heights Baptist Church, 9850 Broadview Road, Broadview Heights, OH 44147. Checks should be made out to: Broadview Heights Baptist Church with “Matthew Siekbert” designated on the memo line. Chippewa Lake Baptist Church will be forwarding the support they receive for us through this period until the transition is complete. They would like to close out the banking account designated for our ministry by the end of the year. We look forward to your continued support for the ministry God has led us to do. The Lord is doing a work! God bless you for your faithful prayers and financial support!

Bits Of Bread:

Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; - II Peter 1:12-13

                                                                                                                                                                           Matthew J. Siekbert

                                                                                                                                                                    

Have a Great Thanksgiving!!! And a Merry Christmas!!! 

2025 September Newsletter

 Ministry Update: 

We hope you had a good summer. I can’t believe Fall is upon us. I love this time of year and the color of the leaves changing. We didn’t have this season, nor winter season in Ghana W. Africa. I have been able to Fill the pulpits of a few Pastors and their churches when they needed. I am so thankful to be used in this way. Faith Baptist, Pastor Barta, asked me to fill in for him on a Sunday Evening. We had a good service and enjoyed Pastor’s birthday with cake and ice cream. Pastor Workman is helping a church in Homerville Ohio, and asked me to fill-in while he and his wife went out West for a vacation. I was there for the last 4 Sunday mornings. We finished our last Sunday with a Pot-luck following the morning service. We also went on visitation for this church a couple of times. Encouraging the church in Valley City, Ohio, as they go forward with the Lord as they are currently without a Pastor. Our many visitations found us visiting for Homerville, Calvary in Akron, visiting for their VBS outreach. A couple of teen girls joined us from another church and we stopped for lunch afterwards. Broadview Heights Baptist was at the Cuyahoga County Fair in August, for the Hope for America Crusade happening in September. We took a turn at their booth on a Wednesday inviting folks to the Hope for America Crusade (HFAC). We also went door knocking in Berea Ohio, for the HFAC earlier this month. We also passed out 6 Appreciation Boxes to local Police/Fire Stations in North Royalton and Strongsville inviting them to the HFAC. Each box was filled with individual invitations with a little candy taped to them. It was well received. HFAC will be honoring first responders on Wednesday evening of the Crusade. Many local churches did this as well inviting their local departments. We met several people from Africa and Pakistan as we knocked on doors for Crusade Baptist in Akron. We were able to talk with them and invite them to church just around the corner. We are not done with visiting this complex so we will be back to finish up. We passed out 180 tracts just in this complex alone. 

Old Paths, Ghana News / Prayer Request, Family Update: 

Pastor Prince in Ghana, had his mother Mary’s funeral September 13th. Mary had a good testimony for the Lord. Prince is a result of his mother’s and father’s faithfulness being in church. Prince along with my wife and Mary all had birthdays around the week of the funeral. Jackie always celebrated the three of their birthdays being so close. Old Paths Baptist, held their VBS the end of July. We attended the first day of VBS, it was encouraging to see the VBS happenings. Jackie and Mrs. Caley (Pastor’s wife at Old Paths) went to a lady’s fellowship the beginning of September at Maranatha Bible Baptist, in Shelby Ohio. Mrs. Matthewson had another great lady’s fellowship. Family update: Our kids came over to celebrate Jackie’s 50th birthday. Jackie requested taco’s and all the fixing’ with a time at home and family. 

Prince’s Mom, Mary

Evan, Mary, Linda and Prince (Prince’s parents)

VBS at Old Paths

Ladies Fellowship at Maranatha

Game time (Mrs. Caley)

PLEASE NOTE ADDRESS CHANGE: As was mentioned in our last newsletter, our new sending church is Broadview Heights Baptist Church. The mailing address for all future support is Broadview Heights Baptist Church, 9850 Broadview Road, Broadview Heights, OH 44147. Checks should be made out to Broadview Heights Baptist Church with “Matthew Siekbert” designated on the memo line.  Chippewa Lake Baptist Church will be forwarding the support they receive for us through this period until the transition is complete. We look forward to your continued support for the ministry God has led us to do. The Lord is doing a work! Thank you for your help and patience in this transition. God bless you for your faithful prayers and financial support!

Bits Of Bread: “But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God,

that I may declare all thy works. - Psalm 73:28                                                                                                                                                                           Matthew J. Siekbert