Spring Conference 2014 [Monday Evening]
Our 54th Annual Spring Conference began this evening at Thompson Road Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky.
Bro. Jim Orrick led the congregation in a mission hymn he learned from Bro. Harold Bratcher, “Go Ye Into All the World”.
♪ Far, far away, in death and darkness dwelling,
Millions of souls forever may be lost;
Who, who will go, salvation’s story telling,
Looking to Jesus, heeding not the cost? ♪. After which, we sang “All Hail the Power”.
♪ “Let ev’ry kindred, ev’ry tribe, on this terrestrial ball to Him all majesty ascribe and crown Him Lord of all. ” ♪
Pastor David Mitchell, who is the teaching pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Hurricane, West Virginia, was the first speaker. His text was from 1 Corinthians 9.
What our churches do at home is vitally important to the effect of missions abroad.
Missionary William Carey told his supporters, “I will go down into the well if you hold the rope.” If we’re not doing missions in our community, we won’t be able to hold the ropes much longer for our foreign missionaries.
Is your church inward focused or outward focused? Does it exist to serve the members or reach the lost?
There are four hindrances to being an externally focused, mission-minded church.
1) Spiritual Hindrances
We must be beholding the face of Jesus for that is where transformation takes place. Our ministry is to be image-bearers of Jesus and to let the world see Jesus in us. (2 Corinthians 3:17-4:1)
2) Personal Prejudices (Acts 10)
Peter was to reach the Gentiles…and it was time to do something different.
3) Cultural & Historical Preferences (1 Chronicles 12:32)
Jesus never told the world to go to church. He told the church to go to the world. Know what’s going on in the world around you and know how to relate to the culture. Paul knew what people were reading and the happenings at Mars Hill. (Acts 17)
4) Generational Gap
Learn to adapt your approach to how people process things.
Can our kind of church reach our kind of world? What are we willing to become to reach coming generations for Christ?
You and I are believers because of foreign missions.
♪ Following the first message, we sang “At Calvary” and then the conference offering was given as Bro. Stanley & Sis. Emily Keyes from Illinois ministered in song through trombone, piano, and voice. ♪ He died for me! ♪ This couple has been so faithful to come and play at the Spring Conference for the past 19 years–and what a blessing they are!
All the Pastors and ministers in attendance stood up to represent their churches, representing churches from Florida, Michigan, West Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Ohio, Kenya, Brazil, and elsewhere.
♪ Lydia & Sarah Wainright played a piano and flute duet of “Just Over in Gloryland” right before the second message.
Pastor Jonathan Turner, who pastors Richland Baptist Church in Livermore, Kentucky, brought the second message, from Luke 4:16-30.
It was here that Jesus would publicly declare who He was and define the purpose of His ministry. If this describes the ministry of Christ, does this then describe our ministry? It should.
Who is the audience?
1) The poor. The physically poor, but especially the spiritually poor. This world has nothing to offer but scraps in comparison to the offerings of eternity!
2) The brokenhearted. Those who are crushed under burdens. People are under great burdens just by living in this world, but they’re also under great spiritual burdens without Christ.
3) The captives. Those who have been captured and forced to go with their captors. People are held in bondage by Satan and their sin, but often don’t realize they are in bondage. (2 Timothy 2:26; Ephesians 2:1-3; John 8:3-4)
4) Blind. Those who are spiritually blind, whose eyes have been darkened. (Psalm 82:5; 2 Corinthians 4:4; John 12:37-40)
5) Bruised. Every single human–our very humanity–has been marred by Satan and Christ alone can recreate our image to what it needs to be.
So our audience is made up of everybody, but sometimes we pick and choose. Our message is for everyone. My audience is everyone I come into contact with. My audience is the world.
What kind of message do we have for our audience? Our message is proclaiming the Good News of Christ. Jesus drew people to Himself; likewise, we point people to Jesus Christ. Point people to the cross and the Risen Savior. That’s when their burdens fall away. (Hebrews 2:14-15)
We have a big task, but we have Someone bigger than the task. We aren’t the liberator, deliverer, or healer, but we know Who is!
Tell them about Jesus. Our message is Christ!
We ended the evening by singing, “Just As I Am”.
♪ Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind; sight, riches, healing of the mind, yea, all I need in Thee to find, O Lamb of God, I come. I come. ♪
We hope you can join us tomorrow! [Schedule]
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Spring Conference 2013 [Wednesday Evening]
The Spring Conference came to a close tonight with hearts stirred for the work of the Lord to be revived.
The final session opened with two congregationals: Blessed Assurance and And Can It Be? followed by three specials: Be Thou My Vision, His Eye Is On the Sparrow, and I’m Feeling Fine.
Pastor Richard Westfall from Hardman Fork Baptist Church in Normantown, West Virginia, brought the final message from Nehemiah 4:1-6. Before he got into the text, he shared how the Lord has taken him to school over the past few years by facing some health problems of his own and also by waiting by his son’s bedside 29 days in ICU after an auto accident that left him with a traumatic brain injury. “Sometimes in this life all you have is your faith–and that’s enough.” God answered the many prayers of his children to restore Bro. Westfall’s son!
Sometimes in little churches, preachers feel almost like Hospice workers instead of pastors. It may be that the Lord has paused, but He’s not quit working. It’s not His fault if things aren’t getting done.
“For the people had a mind to work.” –Nehemiah 4:1-6
When we wonder why the work is slow, could it be because we’ve become weary in well-doing? We must guard against becoming weary. Sometimes we don’t feel like we’re making a difference. But we ARE making a difference. His Word won’t return void. The problem is, we have become so obsessed with the results we think we ought to get. The Lord has not called you into the work to have results. His work will ALWAYS have results if we faithfully do what He has told us. His work will always accomplish something.
We must deal with wrong thinking. You’ve got to get your mind right!
Ways to get your mind right so you can continue in the work:
- Renewed Mind (Romans 12:1-2) Have we let our devotions become rote, routine, and dull? If you want your mind renewed, you must cleanse it continually with the Word of God. The garbage thrown at you by NBC, CBS, ABC, and and FOX will taint it. When we get in the muck and mire of this world, it becomes hard to keep our feet shod with the Gospel of peace (Like stepping in muck in a bog–you can’t keep your shoes on.)
Pastors: Is the only reason you spend time in the Word to prepare your message? Read the Word for the pleasure of your soul. Read God’s Word recreationally as well as devotionally.
As the Lord gives light, we can walk in the light. Don’t let the devil rob you of joy by trying to exist on the garbage of the world. - Willing Mind (1 Chronicles 29:5) Who’s willing? “I just need a little ME time.” No, you must take up your cross daily and follow Him. We rush and tear through our days and then wonder why the Lord isn’t working. The eternal souls around us depend on us being willing to take the Word to them. Ezekiel sat in the midst of the bones. We must compel them. It’s not compelling to have the lights on and the doors unlocked. We must be willing for Him to use us to accomplish His work. He’ll do what it takes to get you to the point where He’ll use you–or He’ll take you out.
- Seeking Mind (Luke 15:4-10) Maybe your wallet is important to you, but it’s not nearly as precious and valuable as the souls around you.
- Humble Mind (Romans 12:3) Don’t think you’re some big thing. (Philippians 2)
This is not about you. This is about Jesus. And if it’s not about Jesus, then it’s a waste of time.
Am I serving the Lord out of a pure heart for His glory or am I cutting deals with God? This is worshiping the Lord, not Storage Wars. The best deal ever is that He calls you to serve maybe 80 or so years and then takes you to live with Him for eternity. It’s not about what you can get out of it, but what you can do out of appreciation for the One who’s done everything for you. - Focused Mind (Colossians 3:1) We allow our minds to stray from the important things to the temporal things. What do you think about? What do you occupy your mind with? Don’t we spend a majority of our time thinking about earthly things that won’t matter in the long run? Then we get aggravated when something eternal comes along. We must look unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. He’ll lead us straight as we look to Him! (Like plowing a field…)
- Above all else, we must have a Compassionate Mind (Acts 16:9). Has our hearing become so dull that we don’t hear the lost all around us crying “Come and help?” Are we so busy in our little lives that we’ve lost our ability to hear them?
Oh may God revive His work!
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Spring Conference 2013 [Wednesday Morning]
The final day of the Spring Conference has begun in rainy, stormy Lexington.
After singing a special, Pastor Carl Morton from Berry Baptist Church in Berry, Kentucky, brought the first message from Jeremiah 38:6–What to Do When Sinking in the Mire.
“Fear not” is mentioned 365 times in the Bible–one for every day of the week.
Things Satan did to sink Jeremiah:
1) Turned people against him
2) Tormented his mind with depression (Jeremiah 20:14-18)
He was ready to quit ministry (Jeremiah 20:7-9)
Things the Lord used to pull him out the mire:
1) He used the brethren (Jeremiah 38:7-9)
Jeremiah has a friend he didn’t know was working on his behalf.
2) There is help in the Book. (Jeremiah 20:9)
3) There is healing in the balm. (Jeremiah 8:18-22)
There is only one place to get the balm in Gilead (exalted ground). The balm comes from the balsam tree which has to be wounded. Anyone can come to that tree for healing.
He closed his message by singing “The Old Rugged Cross.”
Pastor Jeff Hurst from Calvary Baptist Church in Hurricane, West Virginia, preached at 10:30 a.m. We also might add that he was wearing a suit–he never wears a suit except to hitch and ditch. 😉
He opened by showing a picture of “Starry Night” by VanGogh. How many stars are in the sky?
“And He brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and He said unto him, So shall thy seed be.” (Genesis 15:5)
Was God lying to Abraham? Did Abraham receive this promise in his lifetime? (Hebrews 11:12-13; Galatians 3:26-29)
God’s redemptive plan is massive!
We look at the valley of dry bones. (Ezekiel 37:1-2) If anything is lasting, it must be by the hand of the Lord. It starts with the hand of the Lord. We want the bones to come to us, but He takes Ezekiel to the bones. You have got to be led out by the hand of the Lord. We are more concerned about our reputation with the righteous than reaching out to dry bones. “I am a recovering Pharisee,” Hurst admitted.
“Son of man, can these bones live?” (Ezekiel 37:3) “And I answered, O Lord God, Thou knowest.” Can the community around you live? The bones responded to the Word of the Lord. (Ezekiel 37:4-8)
Don’t be satisfied with cleaning the outside, for inside are dead men’s bones. To make a believer takes a short time. To make a disciple takes a long time. Don’t stop short. (Ezekiel 37:9-12)
There are people in this community whose graves are ready to be opened.
The purpose? “And you shall know that I am the Lord.” (Ezekiel 37:13)
Can these bones live?
Pastor Dave Parks remarked after his sermon, “There are bones all around here.”
Pastor Mark Campbell from Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church in Salyersville, Kentucky, delivered the final message before lunch from Habakkuk 3:2.
This was a prayer and he is pouring his heart out to God. Lord, Your work needs to be revived! God’s work never suffers. He is sovereign and His will will be accomplished. We need to be faithful. We need a revival of doing His work.
“In wrath, remember mercy.” We are products of the mercy of God. If you are going to do the Lord’s work, you must have a heart of mercy.
In Acts 18:1-11, Paul is simply doing the Lord’s work. He was simply being faithful and thus doing the Lord’s will. Paul waited to be moved by the Spirit to do the Lord’s work. The Lord directs our steps–sometimes specifically and sometimes not.
In Acts 18:9, we don’t read that Paul was afraid, but he was told not to be afraid. God gives us courage to do His work.
He has much people and He protects us also. (vs. 10) Paul persevered. The conclusion is that the Lord’s work is going to be done–it’s just who’s going to get the reward. (vs. 11) “Thank You for giving to the Lord. I am a life that was changed.” (view lyrics)
May the Lord revive His work in your heart and in my heart.
The conference ends tonight with the final service beginning at 7:00. We hope you can join us! [Schedule]
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Spring Conference 2013 [Tuesday Evening]
Our 53rd Annual Spring Conference continued this evening with Scripture-soaked messages, giving honor where honor is due, and words of encouragement.
The choir from Thompson Road opened with “Ancient Words,” followed by the congregation singing “Victory in Jesus.” ♪ Pastor Doug King then led us in prayer before we sang “Loyalty to Christ.” ♪ His Gospel we’ll proclaim, throughout the world’s domain, Of loyalty, loyalty, yes, loyalty to Christ.
Pastor Mark Pyles sang “He’s All I Need” before the first message. ♪
Missionary John Hatcher, who has served 58 years in Brazil, brought the first message from the Psalms, but opened by singing a Portuguese song and all the Portuguese speakers joined in! (Something about being happy…”O yo something feliz.” Apologies from Phoebe who forgot to ask for a translation afterward.)
“I want the Scriptures to speak to you,” he said. “I’ll make my words few.”
Psalm 1 contains the perfect instructions for guiding your life as a Christian. The promises in it are overwhelming.
vs. 1- Happy is the man who walks in the right way, stands in the right place, and doesn’t sit in the wrong places.
vs. 2- 24 hours a day. Some of us our too lazy and too “busy” to meditate on God’s Word, but that’s the only thing that will last forever.
vs. 3- What a promise! Whatever I do as God’s child will prosper. God has obligated Himself to this promise if I meet the demands of the first part of the chapter.
If you want a successful life, do what He says.
“This may be the shortest sermon I’ve ever preached at a conference,” he remarked, “but the words are eternal.”
Psalm 126 shows the secret of success in a life that is going to win souls.
Our job is to win souls to the Lord and they can’t be saved without hearing that Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the dead.
vs. 5- Another promise. Weep as you sow. We cry over the lost. We cry over their need. We cry over their destiny without Christ. It’s my job to sow the seed and weep over the lost. It’s Christ’s job to make it sprout. You have to plant the seed with care. There have been some tears, but you keep sowing.
When we have the opportunity to tell and we don’t, the blood is on our hands. We can’t pass that off.
If you want to be a soul-winner, you must understand Psalm 126.
Psalm 127– The Family
vs. 2- God works for us while we rest! He wants us to rest in Him.
vs. 3- CHILDREN are a heritage from the Lord. We often think of material possessions as a heritage, but it’s CHILDREN. “We always wanted 8 kids. We made it to 5–and if we had more like the 5 we had, we’d want at least 8.”
Psalm 128– Great Promises: When you honor Him, the family is the blessing.
The Hatchers have 5 children, 15 grandchildren, and 26 great-grandchildren. Every one of the grandchildren is serving the Lord in a special ministry. All 4 greats in France have trusted the Lord and they are trusting the rest will as well!
Psalm 127 & 128 pronounce blessings over the family. When you have godly families, you’ll have godly politicians, schoolteachers, workers, and bosses. When the family fails, all fails.
Take the Word in its simplicity.
♪ Close to Thee ♪
We had a special presentation to honor the exemplary and faithful service of four of our missionary families this evening.
- John & Alta Hatcher – 58 years in Brazil
- Harold & Marie Bratcher – 53 ½ years in Brazil
- Bobby & Betty Creiglow – 33 years in Brazil
- Harold & Ursula Draper – 32 ½ years in Brazil
They each received a plaque with their years of service and a message of thanks and 2 Timothy 2:2 at the bottom. (You can download a sample PDF here to see the text and generic design of the plaque.)
“And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” -2 Timothy 2:2
Pastor David Hatcher from Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, then told the story of a little seed planted by BFM. He wanted to encourage us to be faithful and to show that our work has not been in vain–that our faith in what BFM missionaries were planting was not in vain. “Sometimes you get one of those genetically modified kernels,” he said. God determines the size as He uses us.
He shared a video about the history Chapada Baptist Church that was made to “gladden our hearts.” Chapada was the first church planted in Brazil by John & Alta Hatcher in 1960. Five years ago, they had 130 members. Now it’s grown to 5000 and they have planted 20 churches in Brazil and 4 churches in other countries (Venezuela, Mozambique, Peru, and British Guyana).
What you did will have eternal rewards and you’ll only find out about most of it when you get to Heaven. You may never know the extent of the work that you’re doing–only Heaven will tell. So do not grow weary.
“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” -Galatians 6:9
The seed is good seed, but there are some things we can do in planting the seed to make it more effective.
Six Things the Chapada Church has Focused On
First off, pastors need to get rid of fear. Figure out what God wants and do it regardless of what other people think. Think outside the church walls.
1) The absolute top priority of the church & the Christian is to love God above all. It’s Jesus everywhere. Jesus in your job, in your sports, in your dating, in your marriage. (Deuteronomy 6:5)
The #1 way you love God: Obey. (John 14)
Sanctification involves learning to obey and learning to hear the voice of the Spirit. It takes commitment AND passion. Learn to praise God. (Psalm 89:15)
2) It’s the joy of the Lord that is our strength.
-People need to WANT to go to church. Bring joy into your services because the JOY of the Lord is the strength of the Christian. It shouldn’t be an obligation. When we are full of joy, the burden of the Lord’s work becomes light. (Psalm 37:4)
-Study God’s Word collectively and individually. Every member is encouraged to spend 20-25 minutes per day in the Word 5 days a week. They memorize 5 or so verses a week and do Bible Study sheets. Not all 5000 do it, but 2000 do, and 2000 is better than no-thousand!
-Get people into the Word! How shall a young man keep His way pure? (Psalm 119:9) When you get people in the Word, it overflows in fruit (the best kind of fruit is souls). Stimulate the reading, studying, and memorization with rewards.
“When I was a boy, I read because my mother would let me go buy a toy as a reward at the end of a year. That got me in the habit of doing it, but that’s not why I do it now.”
-Everyone should be trained, not just the pastor.
–As people serve and invest their lives, they’ll love the church and Jesus more. Where your treasure is… (Matthew 6:21) Don’t ask what the church can do for you.
3) Apply the theology to everyday life. Don’t assume people know what to do with the Word. (Matthew 7:24) Help them put it into their tennis shoes. The Bible is the manual of life.
4) Ministry is done by volunteers. The people do the work. When you’re invested, you can’t leave. God has given us intelligence, time, and energy–we turn these in to make money and buy material things, but don’t forget to invest in and buy eternal things. The average member at Chapada gives about 8-10 hours per week to the church.
5) Focus on loving one another.
Sometimes we emphasize the wrong things. Anything that is not going to make an eternal difference is the wrong thing. Focus on the right things. (1 John 3:16) MAKE PEOPLE FEEL LOVED. (John 13:34-35) Love is the best advertisement for your church. Bring gifts for people when you come to church–cards, candy, fruit. Leave messages on their phone. Send them texts of encouragement. (Sidenote: Instead of Facebook, get your face in the Book! But if you use Facebook, use it for the Lord and to encourage one another!)
6) Our Purpose: Give people the opportunity to respond to the Gospel.
1 Corinthians 9:24-26 Speak in a language that people understand. Consider everything as a divine appointment. When you’re filling up your gas tank, it’s a divine appointment. Invite the cashier to church–tell them how Jesus died for their sins.
He challenged us to rethink our methods. We must plant the seed in an effective way. Do not be weary. Do not be discouraged. Be creative.
We closed the evening session with ♪ Lord Speak to Me ♪
Tomorrow is the final day of the conference. We hope you can join us! [Schedule]
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Spring Conference 2013 [Tuesday Morning]
The Spring Conference this morning at Thompson Road Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky.
Pastor Mark Pyles from Grace Baptist Church in Fairborn, Ohio delivered the message. His text was from Exodus 33 and he wanted us to see the great need of God’s people to see God’s glory.
Below are some nuggets of truth from his message:
The first thing we need to do to enjoy God’s glory is to strip ourselves of all worldliness. Some gifts from God we make idols–we must discard them.
We must commit to the place of His presence (vs. 7-11). Many go through motions of religious practice while making idols in our head. His presence is in the camp. His presence is outside the camp. (Hebrews 13:13) His presence is in the home.
Are you interceding for your nation? For the lost? (vs. 12-17)
The more you know Him, the more you want to know Him. (vs.18-23) Moses had seen more of God than any man at that point.
God proclaims His goodness by proclaiming His sovereignty.
God answers Moses’ request by giving Moses what he needed, not what he asked for. God hid Moses in the cleft of the rock. We are hid in Christ, our Protection and Safety!
Why didn’t God show Moses His face? His face represents His whole being. (2 Corinthians 3:18)
We will be transformed from glory to glory. A metamorphosis! Changing from glory to glory to glory.
We see the glory of God by seeing people saved. We see the glory of God by seeing believers being obedient and in the Word.
When the glory of God is revealed, we will see the enemy attack.
Do you desire to see the glory of God?
We hope you can join us tonight! [Schedule]
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Spring Conference Recap [Monday Evening]
Our 53rd Annual Spring Conference began this evening at Thompson Road Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky.
The choir from Thompson Road opened with “Revive Thy Work, O Lord,” and the congregation joined in on the final verse (a slightly different version of the lyrics can be found here), followed by “Holy, Holy, Holy.” ♪
In his opening remarks, Pastor Dave Parks said, “If we’re not doing the work of God, we’re doing the wrong work.” Bro. Kenneth White then prayed specifically for the health of Pastor Glenn Archer, the missionaries, for our hearts to be stirred, and for the Lord to revive His work.
After, we sang the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” ♪ “As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free.” ♪
Pastor Harold Draper, former missionary to Brazil 32½ years who now pastors Seventh Street Baptist Church in Cannelton, Illinois, was the first speaker. His text was from Psalm 51:12-13 about reviving the Lord’s work.
What is the Lord’s work? The souls of men. We are His workmanship! So if the Lord revives His work, it will be because He revives His workers.
Revival fires are started with small pieces of wood–not wagon-loads.
If you want to get close to the Lord, get close to somebody who’s close to the Lord. –H.H. Overbey
How can we be revived as His workers and thus His work be revived?
David had two requests in Psalm 51:
1) Restore the joy of His salvation
2) Anoint with His Spirit
Revival is when God’s people rejoice in their salvation.
We’re to never get over the thrill of our salvation!
Our Salvation:
- was planned in eternity (Ephesians 1:4)
- was provided for in the past (Titus 3:4; John 3:16)
- is presently protected at the throne of grace (Hebrews 7:25)
- will be perfected in the future (1 John 3:2; Philippians 3:21)
- is an eternal possession (1 Peter 1:3)
Don’t take your salvation for granted. Let it motivate you and revive you. (Hebrews 2:3)
Then after you’re revived and made spiritually stronger, THEN you will be effectual in mission work and in the Lord’s work.
“Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors Thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto Thee.” -Psalm 51:12-13
♪ It was fitting to sing “Saved, Saved, Saved” following a message that left you so grateful for your salvation.
All the Pastors in attendance stood up to represent their churches (probably 20-25??), all the way from Florida, Michigan, and Brazil!
The conference offering was then given (not taken ;)) as Bro. Stanley & Sis. Emily Keyes from Illinois ministered in song through trombone, piano, and voice. ♪ He died for me! ♪ This couple has been so faithful to come and play at the Spring Conference for the past 18 years–and what a blessing they are!
♪ We then sang “Send the Light.”
Missionary Harold Bratcher, who just retired from 53½ years of service in Brazil, brought the second message, mainly using Habakkuk 3:1-2. “I’m glad to be here, but–excuse my English–I’m even gladder to be saved,” he said, and then broke out singing “Blessed Assurance.” His message was soaked with Scripture and song.
Revival means to reserve something alive, to regain to life and consciousness, to give new strength and energy, to improve the position or condition of.
♪ O, the love that drew salvation’s plan. O, the grace that brought it down to man! ♪
“O Lord, I have heard Thy speech, and was afraid: O Lord, revive Thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.” -Habakkuk 3:1-2
Bro. Bratcher read much Scripture in his familiar resonate voice–how encouraging!
Romans 1:16-18; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Hosea 14:9
Romans 5:1-11
He reminded us to rejoice in the Lord always! Quit your complaining! Quit your bellyaching!
Do you have the blessed assurance that we have a heavenly Advocate?
He read a passage from Dr. Louis W. Arnold’s devotional book, found in the April 12 devotion, titled “Our Heavenly Advocate.” Satan accuses us day and night, but his accusations amount to nothing because we have an Advocate with the Father!
Safe am I in the hand of God. Isn’t it grand to be a Christian?! ♪ Using an illustration with his coin purse, he reminded us that no one can snatch us out of the Father’s hand!
He ended his message by reading Romans 8:31-39. Romans 8 begins with no condemnation and ends with no separation.
“Nay, no, não!” he exclaimed. In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
♪ The Love of God is greater far… ♪
We ended the evening by singing, “He Hideth My Soul.”
♪ His perfect salvation. His wonderful love. I’ll shout with the millions on high! ♪
We hope you can join us tomorrow! [Schedule]
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FaithWORKS Report [December 2012]
THANKSGIVING CONFERENCE
[You can also read service-by-service recaps of all our Conference sessions by scrolling through these posts on our FaithWORKS blog.]
The Lord blessed us with an encouraging Thanksgiving Conference hosted by New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Dearborn Heights, Michigan. Terry Adkins is the pastor of these gracious and missions-faithful saints of the Lord.
The theme of our Conference was “PLANTING CHURCHES IN ALL KINDS OF SOIL” and was inspired by 1 Corinthians 3.6: “I have planted, Apollos watered; BUT GOD GAVE THE INCREASE.”
The Lord was glorified in the messages preached from His Word. They all emphasized, not only God’s sovereignty over the increase of His own Gospel, but also His promises to make His Kingdom and churches grow when we obediently and faithfully plant and water His Word. We all renewed our own commitments to plant and water faithfully and IN DEPENDENCE UPON GOD TO MAKE HIS WORKS GROW!
Two of our missionaries were present and preached: Sheridan Stanton and John Mark Hatcher. God blessed us to have them among us and benefit from their ministries in the Word.
There is an enthusiastic spirit of interest and involvement in the ministry of Baptist Faith Missions that is increasingly demonstrated among our fellowshipping churches. We are continuously praying to God for this, and we are committed to doing everything we can to see it come to fruition.
Randy Jones, the President of BFM, also presented to the Conference some of the activities we have pursued this past year in our efforts to expand our outreach and cultivate our relationships with our contributors. We believe that cultivating personal relationships with our supporting churches and Giving Friends in our fellowship is one of the Lord’s means of stabilizing, strengthening, and increasing our missionaries’ support funds. Fellowship [partnership] in the Gospel is God’s ordained mandate, model, and means for our participation in His Mission…serving God together in this, our mutual ministry in the Gospel.
Several churches were represented by the attendance of their pastors and members, and especially from the greater-Detroit area. We are increasingly encouraged by that. We are especially appreciative also for Pastor Gary Harrah and the brothers and sisters of the Grace Missionary Baptist Church in Wyandotte, who not only came to attend the Conference services, but also joined in with New Hope’s members to help serve us with the meals and the hospitality.
[You can view several pictures from the Conference on our Facebook Page.]
SALARY INCREASE
One of the goals we had set for ourselves this past year [2012] was to be solvent enough to give each of our missionaries a 5% year-end lump sum appreciation bonus [which would have amounted to about $1,030.00 per year]. However, when we presented and discussed our prospective budgets for 2013, We don’t have remaining funds to do that.
But, after considering and praying over one of our other goals – to give them a 5% increase in their base salary – we did move to adopt that proposal. So, beginning in 2013, trusting God to provide it, we will increase their salary base from $1,717.00 to $1,803.00 per month. The Lord has given us an increase of about 3% in the monthly General Fund offerings during 2012 [when compared to the same offerings during 2011].
We are communicating this also to all of you, their Giving Friends, praying to God and hoping we will all respond together with commensurate increases to the monthly General Fund.
For the past six years or so, we have been appealing to all of us in our BFM fellowship to take note of the on-going needs of our missionaries for increases in their monthly General Fund offerings. We have been paraphrasing an appeal Abigail made to King David in 1 Samuel 25.17: “Now therefore KNOW and CONSIDER WHAT YOU WILL DO.”
Will you help us provide this much-needed and belated salary increase for our missionaries’ basic and essential living expenses BY INCREASING YOUR PERSONAL OFFERINGS TO THE MONTHLY GENERAL BY JUST 5% – or more – as the Lord enables you?
If everyone of us increases our contributions to the monthly General Fund by even that amount, we can more than supply this modest salary increase for our missionaries.
WINTER CONFERENCE
January 20-23, 2013
Hosted by Park Ridge Baptist Church, Gotha FL
Host Pastor, Ben Glover | 407.719.9861 | bentonglover@aol.com
Please make your plans to attend this Conference. We will be posting the
program and other additional information on our website’s Events page
and also on our FaithWorks Blog page soon!
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Thanksgiving Conference Recap [Wednesday Morning]
Missionaries Sheridan Stanton (Peru) & John Mark Hatcher (France) opened up the final session of our 58th Annual Thanksgiving Conference this morning by singing “I Love to Tell the Story.”
Bro. Michael Jackman from Twelve-Ryan Baptist Church in Warren, Michigan delivered the first message from Mark 4:35-41.
There were multitudes following Jesus. When He crossed the sea, they were faithful and followed. Why does Jesus give them a task they cannot do?
He expects obedience. [Micah 6:6-8]
Why do storms arise? So we will seek Him. He alone calms the storms. [James 1:2-4]
Parable of the Mustard Seed [Mark 4:30]
The first thing the seed has to do is die. Then it must be completely dependent on the Lord. [Philippians 1:6; 1 Corinthians 1:27]
Bro. John Mark Hatcher, missionary to France, preached the final message of the conference from Matthew 13:36-43.
vs. 24- They sowed good seed.
vs. 36- The disciples asked about it, defining it in terms of the parable of the weeds.
We must penetrate the soil where God has placed us. How do we penetrate the soil?
The best way to penetrate soil is by serving them–by doing good. [Acts 9:36-39; 10:37; Matthew 5:16]
The best broadcasting stations don’t work unless there are good receivers tuned to the same frequency.
Do good because it is commanded. [Matthew 5:44-45; 1 Peter 3:13-17] What makes you tick?
When you win them with your behavior, they will listen to your words.
To reach people:
1. Involve everyone [Titus 2:9-11]
2. Observe [Ephesians 5:15]
3. Act.
4. Don’t be weary in well doing.
You can find all the Thanksgiving Conference Recaps by clicking here.
You can give to our Thanksgiving Offering by clicking here and typing “Thanksgiving Offering” in the Memo field.
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