Good Sunday Services (Sep 28, 2009)
Attendance figures returned to some semblance of respectability yesterday, as we moved into the third leg of our seven-week Sunday School campaign. There were over three hundred walk-ins, and total Sunday School attendance was in the mid five hundreds, with morning worship approaching six hundred. This week we concentrated on the importance of using our voice in song to praise the Lord. You can listen to yesterday's message by logging on to our website.
Bus riders were over a hundred yesterday with six of these precious children praying to receive Christ in the counseling center of bus church. Amen! Pastor Chambers had been praying for five salvation decisions, and the Lord answered his prayer "plus one." Praise the Lord!
We ministered to over a hundred soldiers this week on post, with fourteen of them praying to receive Christ as personal Savior. Do pray for Brother Ingram, our military pastor, as he travels to a missions conference this week to present the work of the Freedom House. Pray that the Lord will provide additional funds for this vital ministry.
Later this morning, Karen and I will be traveling to Pensacola where I will be lecturing tonight to the ministerial students on "Moral Purity in the Ministry." Karen will be lecturing to the female Bible majors. Pray that God will use us tonight. We will travel back to Columbus tomorrow morning.
Don't forget that this upcoming Sunday is Homecoming. Dr. Paul Fedena will be joining us, and we will have a great time with dinner on the grounds and good preaching. You won't want to miss it.
Looking ahead, our annual revival campaign is scheduled for October 25-30. Our featured speaker will be Evangelist Ron Comfort.
As the economy continues to struggle, giving has tapered off a little at the church. Pray that God will help us to be wise stewards of the funds entrusted to us and that God's people will be sensitive to ways they can make up the slack.
Your prayers for this ministry mean much to us.
Funeral of Edith Register, Several Great Decisions (Sep 21, 2009)
The Lord blessed this weekend with some significant opportunities. Let me share a few of them with you this morning over a hot cup of coffee!
Let's begin with the homegoing celebration of Edith Register. Mrs. Register passed away Tuesday night around 10:00 AM at the age of 86. She had been a member of Grace since the Neaves administration in the 1950s. Mrs. Register, who was often referred to as the "granny of Grace," served as nursery coordinator for 28 years. She also was a frequent attender of GCS athletics, and her daughter Beth was the first registered student of Grace Christian School. The auditorium was filled on Saturday with both current and former members of Grace who had come to pay their respects to this wonderful woman. For those of you who missed it, the memorial service is available on CD. You can order one through the church office.
Yesterday we were able to see several key decisions. We begin with Sheila and Aaron Allen. The Allens came to us through our RU ministry, and through the discipleship ministry of Pastor Chambers and his key leaders, the Allens have shown phenomenal growth. They recognized that this growth has come through a caring church, and they officially united with our membership yesterday. We are thankful to have them.
We are also thankful for the opportunity to baptize Theresa Thomas yesterday. Theresa came to Grace through the witness of our singles. Theresa worked at Shoneys where several of our singles work. Jennifer Acree, Christina Pasciewitz, and Terrance Portier all encouraged Theresa to visit church. She did, and we were able to lead her to Christ in her home several weeks ago. Theresa made her commitment public yesterday through the ordinance baptism, and she enrolled as the newest member of our discipleship course. Praise the Lord! What a thrill to see Pastor Powell put in our singles a love for the lost around them!
Janette Addison was also baptized yesterday. Janette has been attending Grace for some time. Through preaching from the pulpit of Grace, and also through listening to Christian radio while she did the night shift at a local hotel, Janette realized she was not saved. She accepted the Lord as her Savior this week and public identified with Christ yesterday through baptism. Amen!
Devon Mason who received the Lloyd and Anita Berrey Scholarship to Grace Christian School fell under conviction at school camp and trusted Christ as his Savior. Amen! Devon came forward to make his public profession last night.
We ministered to a 131 soldiers at Fort Benning this past week with thirteen of them standing to receive Christ as Savior. Some came to Christ through public preaching. Others came to Christ through personal counseling. Sam Liedtke was very excited about the soldier he was able to lead to the Lord yesterday morning. What a delight to see our young preacher boys get a love for the souls of men!
Dr. David Hurst was able to report last night on his missions trip to Honduras with Bradley Edmondson and Medical Missions Outreach. What a thrill it is to see this great pediatrician in our town use his skills to bring people to the Savior in foreign lands.
Please continue to pray for the ministries of Grace Baptist Church, that God will use us to reach our community and the world for Christ.
Time at PCC, Kicked Off Sunday School Campaign (Sep 14, 2009)
Much has happened since our last update, and we desire to get you caught up on all that is happening. During Labor Day weekend, Karen and I were in Pensacola, getting our second daughter, Amy, settled in college. She is now officially a freshman at PCC, and though there were tears when we drove away, we are thankful for the fine Christian lady she has become. We are also thankful for the helpful staff at Pensacola Christian that made her transition into college life relatively smooth. The Monday previous, Ashley flew back to Lancaster to begin her junior year at West Coast Baptist College. She also is doing great, and we thank the Lord for her fine Christian testimony as well.
The week between these two departures allowed me to teach through the book of Daniel at Pensacola Theological Seminary. God gave me a class of sharp students, and the days were filled with good interaction. What a joy it is to be involved in training the next generation of preachers!
During my absence on Labor Day weekend, Pastor Powell kicked off our Sunday School fall program with a message entitled, "Tune It In, and Turn It Up." You can listen to the message again by logging on to our website. In addition, Kaitlyn Welles, daughter of Gordon and Karen Welles, was baptized. The church also voted to add Robert Krzesinski, missionary to Poland, to our missionary family, bringing the total number of GBC supported missionaries to 155 - our highest total ever. Praise the Lord!
Yesterday, the Lord blessed in a tremendous way. We saw good decisions at the altar, and Cindy Scarborough followed the Lord in believer's baptism. It was my privilege to lead Cindy to the Lord several days ago. We are thankful for her willingness to take her stand publicly for Christ.
In addition, there were a good number of decisions in bus church yesterday. Eight kids accepted the Lord as personal Savior in the counseling center. And our Bible studies on post were also profitable, with seventeen soldiers standing this week to receive Christ as personal Savior. Amen!
A good number of visitors were in attendance yesterday, most of them from in town. Pray for us as we follow up on these. Also, we have seen some significant salvation decisions in recent days. Pray that we will be able to see these people follow the Lord in baptism and enter our discipleship program.
As we continue through our fall campaign, don't forget that Homecoming Sunday is October 4, and our annual revival campaign will be October 25-30. This year's featured speaker with be Evangelist Ron Comfort.
Your continued prayers and interest in this ministry means much to us. Thank you for your support.
