BT Staff / Tuesday, May 14, 2024

Master's Builders at Oak Ridge Baptist Church

By Nelda Malone, Reporter

It has been a very busy spring for our Master’s Builders group, and we are so thankful! Oak Ridge Baptist Church in Cassville, Mo. needed help with the framing and sheet rocking of the interior of their new 80’x100’ metal building, and we began work on April 8. The building includes four classrooms, a nursery, an office, a stage, a baptistry, a storage room, restrooms, lobby and a large second story storage area. The sanctuary will seat approximately 150 people! Several men from the church worked alongside our men almost every day, and it was appreciated! The building was open when the Master’s Builders arrived, but the metal fab folks jumped in on the first workday of the job to complete the roof and get the building in the dry for us. This was job #188 for the Master’s Builders, which began their ministry in 1991 with a job in Dolores, Colo.

As I sit here remembering the blessings of this job, I’m thinking of a song that I really like that says, “I’m counting my blessings, knowing I can’t count that high,” and that is the way the Master’s Builders feel about our time at Oak Ridge. There’s no way I could list all the blessings in this article, and that is why I always encourage everyone to “Follow us” on Facebook by “Liking” our page. That way, you can be there on the job with us every day! However, I will still try to share some of the blessings with you in this article:

• The blessing of having Gesnick Metelia, of Haiti, come and work with our men. He is 34 years old and loves the Lord. He serves in several ministries in Haiti. He has come to America for his education and wants to return to Haiti and help the people he loves.

• The blessing of Larry and Treva Lovvorn of Springfield, Mo. Master’s Builders who arranged for us to have a wonderful campground to stay at for the two weeks we worked. It was wonderful to be together with this sweet couple again.

• The blessing of David and Kim Lovvorn for cooking the delicious trout supper some of our group got to enjoy. Some didn’t think they liked trout, but this was so good! Thanks for all the effort it took to provide this meal. Kim, we are praying for you!

• The blessing of having Barbara Bushman, from Liberty Baptist in Springfield, Mo., come one day and help with putting up sheet rock. She is retired now and is thinking about joining our ministry, with her husband, Tobin, when he retires.

• The blessing of enjoying the April 8 eclipse with our best friends here on earth. Even as they worked, our men stopped long enough to enjoy this beautiful event.

• The blessing of spending time with the only remaining member of the original 1991 Master’s Builders group, Audrey Tilley. Audrey, with husband Roy, provided leadership for the group, were active members through job #100 and personally worked on 98 jobs! Audrey is now living with her daughter in Bella Vista, and we so enjoyed being together and spending time catching up. Audrey is a faithful prayer warrior for the Master’s Builders.

• The blessing of Fellowship Baptist in Bella Vista, for providing a wonderful fish supper for us one night. This made a lot of old folks very happy! Pastor Kenneth Stickland, his wife, Linda and Audrey Tilley delivered the fish to us hot and ready to enjoy! We also enjoyed hearing the gospel singing group “Inheritance Singers,” led by bass singer Rob Morton and his wife, Alice. Rob also came and worked with our men a couple of days the following week, and we were blessed to hear that voice again, singing as he worked.

• The blessing of having the opportunity to reconnect with friends from StoneRidge Baptist Camp and Summers Baptist Church as we gathered in Branson to see “Esther” at Sight and Sound. We were able to share a meal and some sweet fellowship!

• The blessing of Paradise Valley RV Park and Resort for their willingness to let 10 campers and one tent show up and use their wonderful facilities while we worked. They were all so nice and very accommodating. The ladies had a great place for our Bible study every day, a restaurant in the park and I can’t even describe how nice the showers are! What a wonderful place to camp. Thank you, Jason and staff, for all you allowed us to enjoy.

• What a blessing Oak Ridge Baptist Church was to us all! Pastor Billy Chesshir, his wife, Ashley and the entire church family made us feel so welcome and appreciated. This is a growing church with lots of young people who are excited about serving the Lord. The love and thoughtfulness the ladies showed as they provided our evening meals was so appreciated. The food was delicious, and we thank you all so much. We were also very thankful to take part in an “old-fashioned” baptism at the river, which is where all the baptisms take place for this church family until this new building is complete! What an extra special blessing it was for the Builders!

• Finally, the blessing of being able to come and serve the Lord at this church. Thank you, Lord, for giving us the opportunity!

The Master’s Builders plan to return to Faith Chapel at Flippin to help in building the classrooms along each side of the sanctuary beginning on May 6. We worked helping build the sanctuary back in April of 2023. Please pray for us as we travel and work. Also, pray for more workers! If you are in the area, come by to visit and enjoy this beautiful church in a beautiful setting!

The Master’s Builders needs some new members. The average age of the “builders” is approaching 80 years old. If you have questions about this ministry or your church has building needs, contact Mike Green at (972) 935-3877, David Axe at (903) 918-0729 or Eddie Sikes at (479) 462-1675.