Silcott Ministries

On September 2 - 5, 2011 I preached at Camp Manitoumi in Illinois for Family Camp 2.  I preached 6 times: two messages with ventriloquism and object lessons with a surprise ending and four messages to challenge the unsaved to trust Christ as their Savior and encourage believers to witness to neighbors and friends.  The weekend was filled with softball, gaga ball, swimming, and horseback riding.  On Sunday night after the service, we had a hay rack ride and ended the evening with a bonfire and marshmallow roast.

We have Sunday, September 11, 2011 open so we are planning on visiting a church near the camp.  This will give us an opportunity to do some cleaning and maintenance to the trailer,  and to repaint the flat bed on our truck.  It will also be a great time to make some phone calls for future meetings and get some well needed rest.  Please pray for our schedule as we seek God’s will for future meetings.    

I preached at the Faith Baptist Church in Carrington, North Dakota on August 28, 2011.  This church has been one of our supporting churches for several  years.  On Saturday my wife Jane was able to help the ladies of the church prepare  a meal for the memorial of one of the dear Saints that went to be with the Lord.  Debbie G. was one of the faithful ladies that directed Vacation Bible School with us just a few years ago.  It was sad to see that she was taken from us by cancer, but a joy to know that she is with the Lord. 

For Sunday School Rawley and Randy helped me tell the story of Obedience and for Sunday morning I preached a message on Nicodemus from John 3.  Five people raised their hand asking for prayer as they try to tell their friends the gospel.  Sunday night Rosie helped me tell the story about Ruth and I preached from Ephesians 4 and showed pictures of our summer ministry.  Please pray for this growing church in northeast North Dakota.

On Sunday, August 21, I had the privilege to preach at the First Baptist Church in Baker, Montana.  I first preached at this church in May of 1987 when I was asked to be their interim pastor while they looked for a new pastor.  Their Sunday morning service is broadcast live on the radio in the states of Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota and no one in the church felt that they wanted that responsibility.  So they asked me a young man just out of Bible college to take up the challenge.   It was good to see these friends again and talk about the past and how God has used us in the ministry of evangelism. 

Because I preached for the morning and afternoon service, Pastor Levi Durfey and his family were able to leave Sunday evening to visit his wife’s family in North Dakota.  For Sunday School, Rawley and Randy helped me tell the story of Israel’s Disobedience and the Golden Calf.  In the morning service that was live on the Radio, I preached on John 3 and the question that Nicodemeus wanted to ask Jesus.  Five of the church members raised their hand asking for prayer that they might witness to a friend that they know is not saved.  Please pray for these dear Saints as they seek to reach Baker, Montana with the gospel.

From August 7 - 12, 2011, we held a Vacation Bible School at Evergreen Bible Church in Evergreen, Colorado.  On Sunday I preached in the morning and introduced Rodney during the Sunday school.  Ten adults raised their hand saying that they were challenged to share the gospel with a friend.  During VBS we had one boy trust Christ as his Savior.  During the week the new believer invited a friend who raised his hand saying that he was not saved.  Please pray that he will soon trust Christ as his Savior.

During the week we made ice cream in a bag and dug in the back of the church for a treasure box.  Last year during VBS, the church buried time capsules in a waterproof metal box.  Our theme this year — Seeking God’s Treasure — fit perfectly  and on Friday, the kids dug up the box and opened the time capsules filled with small toys.  Please pray for this church as they seek to reach their friends and community for the Savior.

On August 1 - 5, 2011, I had the opportunity to speak at the Treasure Mountain Bible Camp in Marble, Colorado.  This camp is located just below the marble mine that supplied the large marble used in The Tomb of the  Unknown Soldier and the marble used in our nation’s capital.  This week was Combo Camp for 4th - 12th graders.  Each morning at ten, I was able to give a Bible study and pray with the counselors as the staff had a challenge for the campers.  Then at eleven each morning, I preached to the campers with ventriloquism and object lessons with a surprise ending.  I finished each day with a message and another story with one of my friends.

Several campers made life changing decisions concerning living for the Lord and being faithful in church.  One gave a testimony saying that he learned that you do not have to be popular to have good friends.  On Friday as the campers were leaving for home I was able to fish in the camp’s pond that they stock with brown trout.  With the help of some campers, I was able to put six nice size fish in our freezer.

Senior week at the Black Hills Baptist Camp was held on July 25 - 29, 2011.  I presented my Bible study from the book of Romans in the morning and in the evening, I introduced each one of my ventriloquist friends right after supper.  After the counselors came down from their meeting, I preached.  Later, our missionary Daniel Grings shared some exciting stories from the mission field out at the campfire. 

We saw two trust Christ as their personal Savior and four others respond to various decisions of living for the Lord and full time Christian service.  Over sixty of the teens wrote a name of a friend that they knew was not saved on a card as a testimony that they would share the gospel with them in the next two weeks.  Please pray for these teens as they head back home and face the world and share the gospel with their friends.  It was good to see all my friends again and remember the joy of the Black Hills Baptist Camp.

On July 18 - 22, 2011, I spoke for the Junior week of camp at the Black Hills Baptist Camp in Mallo Canyon not far from the post office for Four Corners, Wyoming.  I attended this camp while I was growing up in Rapid City, South Dakota.  I presented my Bible study in the morning on the Sons of Proverbs and preached each evening through ventriloquism and object lessons with a surprise ending.  The missionary for the week was Daniel Grings and his daughter Sarah.

Eight trusted Christ as their Savior and six responded to the invitation to live for the Lord at school and at home.  One gave his testimony at the camp fire saying that he believed that the Lord would have him go to the Congo as a missionary.  Many of the counselors were pastors or pastor’s wives.  Please pray for these pastors as they continue to serve the Lord in the Northern Plains.

From July 10 -  15, 2011 we ministered with the First Baptist Church in Hibbing, Minnesota at Camp Swampy.  This church-run camp draws campers from Minnesota, Iowa and South Dakota.  It sits on the bank of a beautiful private lake in the woods just south of Hibbing.  They have canoes, paddleboats, kayaks and a motorboat used to pull an inner tube.  After preaching at the church on Sunday, we headed out to the camp for a week of Junior camp.  I preached each day for the evangelist hour at 9:30 a.m. and spoke by the campfire on topics that covered the theme for the week. 

During the week I was also able to go out fishing each day to catch some bass to put some meat in our freezer.  The campers enjoyed watching me filet the meat and prepare the fish for frying.   We saw five campers trust Christ as their Savior and one came for assurance.  There were seven young Christians that responded to the invitation to live for the Lord and put Christ first in their lives.  Please pray for these young people as they head back to their homes and the pressure that they will face in the world around them.

For the first week of July, we held Vacation Bible School at Lakeland Baptist Church near Gilbert, Minnesota.  Because the 4th landed on Monday, we had our first story during the Sunday School hour for the children and VBS workers.  We did not hold VBS on Monday, so we restarted on Tuesday with the rest of our theme “Seeking God’s Treasures.”  The children brought visitors and one of them trusted Christ as her Savior on Tuesday morning. 

The students did well with their verses and everyone was able to leave with a prize for their hard work.  Each child was able to finger paint his own T-shirt using a customize stencil with each child’s name and a heart with the word “God” in the middle.  When we find the treasure that only God can give we can only say, “I Love God.”  It was a joy to see all of our friends in northern Minnesota and serve the Lord together as they seek to reach the lost with the message of Calvary.  

This last week it was a joy to serve at Altoona Regular Baptist Church our sending church with their Daily Vacation Bible School.  They used the theme “Rev-It-Up Full Throttle for God.”  Each day I used one of my ventriloquist friends to tell the Bible story for the day and presented the gospel with object lessons.  Throughout the week we saw six young people respond to the gospel and seven others raised their hands asking for prayer to live for the Lord at home and at school.

On Friday night we gave out the rewards for the week and introduced one of my friends to the parents.  Then we went outside for a fun fair.  On the grill were hamburgers and brats for all to enjoy.  The children played games at various stations including throwing a ball at a dunk tank, face painting, and looking at two race cars from the Iowa Speedway.  Please continue to pray for our sending church as they seek to reach the lost for Jesus Christ in Iowa.