Archive for July, 2017

Faith Baptist Church

Wednesday, July 26th, 2017

Faith Baptist Church in Iowa City, Iowa was our next Daily Vacation Bible School from July 16 through the next Sunday, July 23.  During the week VBS started at 9:30 am and ended at 3:00 pm. This all-day VBS was busy and we had a high of 170 children. For this week, the church followed the curriculum from Answers in Genesis called “Operation Arctic”.  We looked at the Coolest Book in the Universe.  Each day Jane and I helped with the Junior class, specifically with listening to verses.  After lunch, I used ventriloquism and object lessons to tell a story that fit the theme for the day.

Throughout each day the temperature rose and the humidity continued to get higher, but fortunately, the rain always waited until after the children headed home.  On Thursday night, the tornado warning was just after the children were all gone and safely in their homes.  The closing program was the next Sunday night on July 23.  Pastor Waldron had scheduled me three years in advance, so we could stay from Sunday to Sunday for this program to share with the parents the gospel.  50 children returned for the closing program to receive their prizes and to see which team won the race, the Blundering Bears or the Wacky Wolves.  Please pray for the church as they follow up on these many contacts. Please pray for the 12 children that trusted in Christ as their Savior and for Pastor and his wife as they continue to serve the Lord in this growing church.

As Iowa City is the home of the Iowa Hawkeyes- University of Iowa, Faith Baptist has an ongoing outreach to the international college community; this fall they will again have their international give-away of furniture, please pray for endurance for the workers and open hearts in the college students. Because of this international influence, many of the parents of the children in the VBS speak English as their second language.

Ladysmith Baptist Church

Thursday, July 20th, 2017

Our Vacation Bible School on July 9th through July 14th was held in Ladysmith, Wisconsin with Pastor David Smith and his wife Elaine.  Pastor Smith wanted us to hold a whole Family Vacation Bible School from 7:30 to 8:30 Monday through Friday.  Each message was from our theme “On Track for Christ” and we started with our key verse set to music and different stanzas from the song “I am in the Lord’s Army”.

Each day we had fellowship at pastor’s house just before going over to the church for the evening service.  The children quoted our theme verse at the end of the week and enjoyed the ice cream sundaes served on Friday night after the last service.  It was good to see the church family again and catch up on the family news from pastor and his wife.  Please pray for this church in the heart of Ladysmith, Wisconsin as they have important decisions to make in the near future.

Camp Shiloh

Thursday, July 20th, 2017

On July 2, we started our week at Oakland Baptist Church in Oakland, Minnesota and presented our ministry and preached for each of the Sunday Services.  Then Monday July 3 through Friday July 7, we served the Lord as camp evangelist at Camp Shiloh held at Camp Patterson.  Each morning at 10:00 I presented my seminar on “What every Camper Should Know” including subjects such as: Creation over Evolution, the Inspiration of God’s Word, and the Deity of Christ.  Each evening at 7:00 I presented the gospel through ventriloquism and object lessons with a surprise ending.  We had a great group of kids during the week with joyful singing and hearts open to the Word of God.

During the week, they had lots of games of kick ball, gogga ball, baseball and capture the flag.  The lake provided swimming, fishing and boat rides for all.  We praise the Lord for the decisions that were made during the week.  We saw two respond for salvation, two for assurance and 2 more for dedication to serve the Lord.  Please pray for those who heard the gospel, but have not responded.

Faith Baptist Church

Tuesday, July 4th, 2017

June 25 – 28, 2017, we held a week of revival meetings at Faith Baptist Church in Muskegon, Michigan.  We started on Sunday morning with a whole family Sunday School featuring “Friends Day”.  The church invited friends to come and join them for Sunday, June 25 with a special day of ventriloquism, object lessons, a gospel message for the morning service and a chicken dinner in the fellowship hall.   Right after the chicken dinner, we all returned up-stairs for the evening message from I Thessalonians 4: 13-18 – a clear reminder that Christ’s promises are a comfort to the saved, but a warning to the lost.  Monday through Wednesday, the church family faithfully invited friends to come for the evening meetings and we had a good turn out each day.  We rejoice in those who responded to the invitations seeking God’s strength to better reach the lost we meet every day.

It was good to see Pastor Swieringa and his family again and spend time with the church family that we have grown in love and enjoy over the last 20 years.  Pastor Swieringa and I have known each other since college days at Faith Baptist Bible College.  The church has faithfully supported the ministry of Come International Baptist Ministries through financial support and meeting the needs of our board.  After our meetings, we traveled south to see our son Caleb for a few hours in Pierceton, Indiana before heading for southern Minnesota.