STATE MISSIONS: Another First-Time Visit

Sunday, I was privileged to be with Michael Jannise, pastor at Old Time Baptist Church in De Queen. I had a great time speaking on State Missions and preaching God’s Word. I love being able to meet my brothers and sisters who, like me, love our Lord and share a precious kindred spirit. Their building was beautifully decorated for the Christmas season. Thanks again, Bro. Michael and church, for this opportunity. It may have been my first, but hopefully not my last. Merry Christmas!

He Will Do in a Pinch

A friend and pastor, Gary Henderson had to have a knee replaced and asked me if I could fill in for him until he is able to return to the pulpit. It was a no-brainer seeing that Fairview in Jonesboro was the first church I pastored and many of her members that I pastored are still actively involved. Please keep him in your prayers as he should be up and running in a week or so. As you can see, I had to pass this Sunday as I had scheduled to go to De Queen a couple of months ago. So remember, should you need a person to fill in who will cause your people to appreciate you more, give me a call.

From Our Missionaries

Misión Creciendo en Cristo (Growing in Christ), North Little Rock: Juan Carlos Posadas writes, “Thank God, Sayra and I are in better health — not fully recovered, but serving the Lord. I was able to attend the prayer meeting last Friday since the class I was teaching at the Bible Institute ended the previous week. It was very pleasant for me to pray again with the brothers of the church.

“Sunday, we studied II Peter 1:12-21. It is interesting how the apostle teaches the value of the Word of God and intends to fulfill the purpose of transmitting it to future generations, fulfilling the Great Commission. 

“We received 1,200 gifts, which we have begun to wrap, to deliver to the children of our church and our community. It is the third consecutive year we can do this activity, and we thank God for provision for His work.

“We are very grateful to God for having allowed our son, Jose Carlos to turn 19 — time goes by fast and sometimes we don’t realize it. He is now a Senior, and next year he is going to university. Please help us pray that God will provide everything he needs for his university studies.”

“Last Sunday, we had a visit from German Galindo, who presented to our congregation the missionary project to Mexico. We also continued in our series of sermons that have to do with the birth of Jesus Christ.

“We will have our Christmas dinner on Saturday, Dec. 17. Pray that new people will come to hear the gospel message. I thank God for you. Without your prayers and support, we cannot do the missionary work that God has placed in our hands. To God be the glory!”

Between the flu, RSV, COVID and all of the other colds, viruses, infections and bugs going around, it is difficult to get everyone together at the same time; but we still had a wonderful service.

“The granddaughter of the couple that joined us last week, a wonderful teenage girl, came and said, ‘Bro. Johnny, I think it’s about time I joined this church.’ So, I asked her if she knew she was saved, and she said emphatically, ‘Yes!’ I asked her if she had been baptized and she had, so she is joining us as well, and I can’t wait to see what the Lord will do through her. Praise God!

“Then, a younger girl whose parents are members came up to me and said, ‘Bro. Johnny, I want to be baptized.’ She had told me that two weeks ago after our last baptism, and I told her then that we needed to have a talk about that, to make sure she understands what it is all about, and she said, ‘Okay.’ Her parents said that is all she has been talking about since then, so we had that talk. I told her she needed to be saved first and asked her if she knew what that meant. She told me she did, and we had a long conversation about Jesus dying on the cross, what it means to be saved and what baptism means. I believe she understands salvation better than a lot of adults. She made her profession of faith, and I agreed to baptize her. Praise God! I have never seen anyone so excited to be baptized.

“Then her little sister said she wanted to be baptized too, so I started having that same talk with her, and we decided that she isn’t ready for that yet. Whe needs to keep studying her Bible and learning more about Jesus, and she said, ‘Okay.’ We baptized their parents last year and now the kids are coming to Jesus — I love to watch Him work.

“We thank you for your prayers for us, Faith Chapel and the people in our community we are trying to reach. Please continue, God is answering them!”

“I had several great meetings with locals. We are going to partner with a local church to do a Christmas potluck for the homeless. We are looking for partners for some of our other localized ministry outreaches. Two new ministries are blossoming, and we are working hard to figure out how to implement and nurture them.

“Our online services are live. We are working through some of the rougher features of this ministry, but along with the live service, we also have an online small group. We have a recorded service for those who are unable to attend either our in-person or live service options. These added features have helped us continue to reach some of our people who have been sick or are just unable to make it out. Join us in praying for unity.”

My message talked about how Barnabas was an encouragement to the new believers at Antioch, and he shows us how we should always seek out ways to show Christ’s love to others by lifting them up.

“With that in mind, we were able to get out in the community and encourage others. We went and spoke to a local adult day center in our area. I thought I would go and share my testimony and it would be a blessing to them but, as it usually happens, they sure were a huge blessing to me.”

His attitude of service on the cross gave us freedom and we should serve one another with the same humility Christ did. In a church where its members have that attitude, it is impossible for there to be divisions and problems.

“After the sermon, we went to the sermon application, where we went to the fellowship room and talked as the family of the faith that we are. In the middle of the conversation, we learned about a situation a family that had visited us was in, and those of us who were there helped them get work. We looked for clothes and other things they needed. We stayed until 4 p.m. We always stay after the service to strengthen our fraternal relationships. Then we went to a sister’s house and continued the fellowship until 7 p.m., satisfied that we were able not only to serve our beloved brothers but also help them in their needs.”

That was Monday. On Wednesday afternoon, just an hour before our Connection Group, my wife and I ended up at the store at the same time. As I was checking out my items, the girl behind the counter said I looked familiar. I read her name tag and realized she was my wife’s cousin whom we hadn’t seen in six years. She was on my mind because my father-in-law had invited her to a Connection Group the week before. We visited and shared that we were headed to our Connection Group. She then said she got off at 5:30 and would like to come. She did! This was awesome.

“The bad part was that my wife and I ended up spending most of the Bible study looking for our dog, Charlie, who we thought was missing but wasn’t. Long story, but it wasn’t terrible because, not only did our guest come to Bible Study, but she also came back Sunday to our monthly worship gathering and brought a friend! So that was more good news.

“This morning we got more bad news — as we lost the use of the library community room. I will share about that next week!”