3 in Brazil Surrender to the Call to Serve as Missionaries
July 2, 2024
Dear Brethren,
It has been a long time since I reported to you. News I have a plenty, but I have not stopped long enough to report it to you.
After the long trip to Peru and the big flood it was time to go back up the Moa River to finish some work on the building at the mountains. I had intended to go in my boat, but the bottom dropped out of the river and I had to get our itinerant missionary, Geverton, to take me in his canoe. It took us 12 hours as opposed to 5 hours, but it was pretty nice to have somebody else at the helm for a change. I loaded up the little Honda generator and a bunch of power tools and in 3 days was able to finish up the windows in the front of the building. We also held services with the congregation there.
Shortly after that we had the huge privilege to have Pastor Mark Pyles and wife Valarie with us for a far too short visit. We were able to let them get a little sample of what the Lord is doing here in Cruzeiro do Sul. Perhaps the neatest thing we were able to do was visit our work at Gama. We all piled into my Jeep and went out there for an afternoon baptism service and the regular service at night. The folks there treated us royally including a great meal. We don’t get many visits out here in the middle of nowhere, so it was such a blessing to have the Pyles with us.
Our church celebrated her 95th anniversary on May 12th. We also had our missions conference at that time. We had all our missionaries come in from the bush for this major event. We treated all the missionaries and their wives to 2 days at a local resort before the conference. Many of them had never had this experience. Of course, we had some good teaching and sharing during those 2 days. Our guest speaker was Pastor Edward Luz who is also president of New Tribes Missions Brazil. The preaching was great and our people responded well. The crowds were really big for all three nights. The last night we had 850 people at First Baptist Church. That was all home folks since it was a Sunday night and people from other churches were at their own churches. We had 3 more people called to serve as missionaries. On Saturday morning we had our annual pastor/missionary meeting for fellowship and training. There were over 200 workers present for that event and lunch.
Many more people have been saved and added to the church over these last 3 months since my last report. We have had 2 baptisms. 38 baptized and then last week another 23. We have also added several by church letter. I have intensified my teaching at the home church. One highlight was our last membership course. We graduated just under 150 new members. That coursed is 8 lessons, which I taught over 2 weeks. Sunday night they received their certificates.
Bev has been with me as I have visited several of our works. I held meetings for our churches at São Pedro and Santa Rosa. These are both “First Baptists” organized out of our church. We have also visited our congregations at Cruzeirinho and Guajará for either morning or night services, multiple times.
I have much more to report, but this report is already too long. I will send more news soon. Just so you know, I work long hours all day every day building “stuff” and almost every night teaching or preaching. It just seems so hard to “stop” to send you the reports that I know you all deserve. Thanks for all of your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike Creiglow
CONTACT INFO
Mike & Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
69980 Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre
Brasil, SA
mdcreig@hotmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
53 Years in Cruziero do Sul
April 9, 2024
Hello from Cruzeiro do Sul, the furthest northwest city in Brazil.
First of all, I am not good at writing this kind of letter. It is very hot right now, probably the hottest it has been in a long time. We do not run our air conditioning all the time either, mostly just at night. I run a fan most of the daytime.
Mike and I are the oldest active missionaries right now and he is very active! We have spent almost 53 years together in Cruzeiro do Sul. Most of what I do is scheduled around whatever he is doing. As age creeps on me, I am slower and do not travel very far with him, especially on river trips.
We recently had a visit from Mark and Valerie Pyles, from Grace Baptist Church in Fairborn, Ohio. It was a very enjoyable time. We were able to show them our lifestyle, the city and many congregations in and around town. Mike took them on a boat ride. They got to see our camp that has many retreats during the year. They also visited our wonderful church. I do not think I have ever been part of a church like Primeira Igreja Batista (First Baptist Church). It is like no other I have ever visited. It is very mission-minded, lots of missionaries, solid Bible teaching and our members love to praise the Lord. You should hear them sing! Just ask Mark and Valerie. There are many souls saved, people coming to our church from other churches, and every couple of months baptizing an average of 15 plus. Mark and Valerie got to see Mike baptizing at a mission point called Gama.
Last month we celebrated Jesus My King—the whole month dedicated to Him as our King. All the lessons, sermons, songs, Bible-reading and memorization were with this theme, Jesus My King. Love my church!
I enjoy doing all kinds of crafts, besides it is therapeutic for me. I have done macramé, costume jewelry, decorative bottles and boxes, plus several other crafts. I decided since I am not getting any younger, I would try as many crafts as possible. I either sell them or give as gifts.
Love to all,
Beverly
You can read letters from the Creiglows’ first years in Brazil in our Legacy Library.
CONTACT INFO
Mike & Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
69980 Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre
Brasil, SA
mdcreig@hotmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
BFM Outreach—G3 2023
Update from Mark Pyles, BFM Director
The G3 Conference in Atlanta on September 21-23 was filled with amazing preaching on the sovereignty of God, and great worship from a crowd of over 8,400 people. And it was such a privilege to represent BFM at our booth and conversing with so many people. Our conversations varied from potential missionaries (one of which was a medical doctor missionary seeking a new agency), to pastors seeking new missions agencies to support, to members from various churches across the country, to friends and acquaintances.
The booth was manned by Sheridan Stanton and myself, joined by John Moore, who oversees the missions ministry at Grace Baptist in Fairborn.
It was such an honor to explain to so many people there what makes BFM so unique — particularly our doctrinal beliefs concerning the sovereignty of God in salvation and that we do not send missionaries but come alongside the local church as they send missionaries. So many people showed great interest in us when we shared those distinctives.
It was a humbling privilege to represent the wonderful missions ministry of BFM. We pray that the contacts made result in new relationships and that God would use them for the furtherance of the gospel across the world!
Read more
Field Representative Report – August 2023
An update from Pastor David Pitman, Field Representative
2023 began with George Sledd and Sheridan Stanton presenting BFM to the Founders Conference in Florida.
In March, Darrell Messer and David Pitman were with Pastor Mark Campbell at Emmanuel Baptist, Salyersville, Kentucky.
Our team made its second visit to CBTS in March.
In March BFM also displayed at the Addyston Baptist Church’s Men’s Retreat (Ohio) and the Spring Conference at Grace Baptist Church of Fairborn, Ohio.
Darrell Messer and Mark Pyles will lead our team’s return to G3, Atlanta in September.
David & Kym Pitman and Jonathan Turner are representing BFM in Brazil.
October 19-20, David & Kym Pitman and Dan Hillard will represent at DBTS in Detroit.
Pray for us!
Read more
Missionary Update: Jud & Raquel Hatcher Stateside from Brazil [November 2015]
Jud and Raquel Hatcher serve the Lord in Manaus, Brazil. They are part of the “SeedFactory” church planting initiative, which is a movement to plant churches in all 26 Brazilian capitals. Since 2006, 43 churches have been started in 5 states.
November 8, 2015
Dear friends,
Thank you for your faithful support and prayer. We are truly grateful.
FAMILY
The kids are doing well in school. Laura went on a field trip to the historic Jamestown settlement with her 3rd grade class. Sarah has a field trip this month too. Everyone is enjoying the time in Lynchburg, VA during our furlough. The kids’ language is coming along successfully, but I ask you pray for them to learn to speak English without an accent.
TESTIFY TO THE GOSPEL CONFERENCE
This last month I had the privilege of attending the Testify to the Gospel Conference at Grace Baptist 
Church of Fairborn, OH (Pastor Mark Pyles). There were several great speakers and we enjoyed listening to each one of them. I had the opportunity to speak twice. It was a long drive and well worth the trip. Mark & Valerie Pyles are dear friends, we’ve known each other since 2003. I love them a lot. I cherished every moment with the folks of the church, the guests, Mark and his family.
CALVARY BAPTIST CHURCH
We were also delighted to be with our beloved friends and supporters at Calvary Baptist Church, Teays Valley, WV, where pastor Jeff Hurst is senior pastor and David Mitchell is an associate teaching pastor. We also enjoyed meeting Jeff Hurst’s wife, Kim. We had a blast together while at their home.
ELEVEN DECISIONS FOR CHRIST
I was invited to speak at the student ministry’s evangelistic event of Hyland Heights Baptist Church, Rustburg, VA. There were over 150 young people present. It truly was a great evening with much celebration in heaven. The reason for the celebration? Well, 11 decisions were made: 7 for salvation and 4 for reconciliation. I was delighted to be with Pastors Brandon Vieth & Brian Freeksen.
LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
The Lord continues to open doors as I serve at Liberty University. I meet with local pastors on a weekly basis and with future pastors on a daily basis. Thomas Road Baptist Church has a yearly pastors conference called Refuel. This year over 1800 pastors and leaders attended. I was invited to the platform for introduction as a BFM missionary/church planter in Brazil. I am amazed at how the Lord is making these new connections.
A few weeks ago Dr. Jerry Falwell’s wife, Macel Falwell, passed away. The funeral service at Thomas Road Baptist Church was an encouragement to all who were present. It truly was a wonderful memorial and celebration of her life and ministry here on earth.
ACHILLES TENDON
Last week I was admitted to the Emergency Room at Lynchburg General Hospital. I suspected a fractured fibula on my right leg. Instead, it was a severe sprain of my Achilles tendon. The kids and I were playing football in the backyard when this happened. I am currently wearing a cast and expect to use it for a few weeks. Please, pray for healing.
ON FACEBOOK
If you’d like to know more information, please visit www.facebook.com/judsonhatcher.
Grateful always,
Jud Hatcher
Furlough Address:
216 Mill View Ln
Lynchburg, VA 24502
(859) 608-4742
judsonhatcher@gmail.com
Website | Twitter | Facebook
Click here to give now.
Read more
Missionary Update: Jud & Raquel Hatcher Stateside from Brazil [October 2015]
Jud and Raquel Hatcher serve the Lord in Manaus, Brazil. They are part of the “SeedFactory” church planting initiative, which is a movement to plant churches in all 26 Brazilian capitals. Since 2006, 43 churches have been started in 5 states.
October 7, 2015
Dear friends,
This last month has passed so quickly.
Family
Our kids are doing well in school. Their greatest difficulty is still the English language, but they are committed to learning. They regularly bring books home from the school’s library and we take them once a week to the public library. Bedtime is a hard time for me, as I have to insist they stop reading and turn off the bedroom lights. I am grateful for their desire to read in English. The kids are doing well socially too, as friendship comes easy to them. I would be harder on us as parents if they were having difficulty making friends. Raquel is doing great, she participates in a women’s midweek Bible study and is connecting well.
Teaching and Networking
I am enjoying my time at Liberty University as an adjunct professor. Teaching and mentoring is part of my DNA and I feel at home engaging with students. The Lord is giving me the opportunity to connect and network with new pastors at existing churches around the Virginia and North Carolina region. The opportunities to work with Dr. David Adams at the School of Divinity in the Pastoral Leadership Program and with Dr. Matt Willmington at Thomas Road Baptist Church is never boring. This experience is also a great learning opportunity for me. I do stay busy, but that is part of my life’s routine anyway.
Upcoming
This coming weekend we plan to participate in the “Testify to the Gospel Conference” at Grace Baptist Church in Fairborn, OH where my dear friend, Mark Pyles is pastor. The following week I will participate in the Refuel Conference at Thomas Road Baptist Church, where Jonathan Falwell is senior pastor.
Our prayer requests are as follows:
- Our finances.
- Our children’s education and English language.
- Expanding our support base network.
- For our unsaved neighbors.
Grateful,
Jud Hatcher
Furlough Address:
216 Mill View Ln
Lynchburg, VA 24502
(859) 608-4742
judsonhatcher@hotmail.com
Website | Twitter | Facebook
Click here to give now.
Read more
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]
Read more
