October 28, 2014

Much has happened since our last update.  There have been marriages – Sasha and Greg were married on August 17.  There have been funerals – Etta DiSano, our oldest member, went home to be with the Lord, and her memorial service as held at GRIBT on September 11.  There have been souls saved and baptismal waters stirred.  We are thankful for what God is doing in our church.

Jim Bracelin returned to GRIBT on September 6-7 to host our annual Fantastic Saturday and preach for Deaf Appreciation Sunday.  Numerous deaf from all over New England attended, and two precious people prayed to receive Christ as personal Savior.

We had a good number of firemen and policemen join us for our annual First Responders Appreciation Day on September 14.  We honored them with a video presentation, commemorative coins, Dunkin Donuts gift cards, and a luncheon on the church grounds.  I appreciate two of our own policemen, Matt Blair and Jeff Saucier, as well as Nate Silva who made the day a success.

On September 19-20, more than a dozen men from our church went to Camp Northfield for a men’s retreat where Jason Stoeber from Victory Baptist in Londonderry, NH and I were the featured speakers.  Men from other churches in New England joined us.  It was a chilly but enjoyable weekend.

Dave Young and the good folks at WARV partnered with us to bring Jimmy DeYoung to New England.  Jimmy was at GRIBT September 21-23.  The auditorium was packed every night, and God used His Word in a mighty way.  It was good to have Jimmy and Judy with us again.

On September 28, Jim Bosse presented the work of Jehovah Jireh Ministries, a foundation that assists church planters secure their first building.  The church voted to add this vital work to our missionary family.

I was privileged to speak at two pastors’ fellowships.  One was for Jerry Cook in Santa Clarita, CA (September 29-30), and the other was for Dickson Beam in Medina, NY (October 13-14).  Both fellowships were well attended, and it was a privilege to establish new pastoral friendships.

I also had the privilege of speaking at the Christian Schools of Ohio annual educators conference (October 2-3) and for the annual revival at Camp Creek Baptist Church in Cornelia, GA (October 5-10).  It was good to be able to spend some time with my folks and also to spend a week with my good friend, James Lyons.

Several missionaries (Jerry Collins and Larry Noland) reported on their works during the month of October.  All this was in preparation for our annual missionary conference (October 22-26).

Missionaries from the United Kingdom, Grenada, Connecticut, Liberia, Mexico, and Thailand were present.  We needed at least $141,000 of missionary support but were praying for $155,000.  The faith promise commitments came in at $174,500.  Many of us were in tears as we watched God do exceedingly more than we were asking or thinking.  Several commitments have not yet been turned in.  We voted to take all six missionaries, as well as Calvary Publishing on for support.  It was a great week.  We are thankful for the ministry of Edgar Feghaly, our keynote speaker.

Thank you for your continued interest in our ministry.  Your prayers and financial support do mean much.