Missionaries Needed “ For the scripture saith , Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed .
“ For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek : for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him .
“ For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved .
“ How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed ? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard ? and how shall they hear without a preacher ?”— Rom . 10:11 – 14 .
The word missionary has a simple definition . It is one who propagates the Gospel of Jesus Christ . However , when we think of a missionary , we usually think of one who takes the Gospel to a foreign country or perhaps more specifically one who takes the Gos - pel to a people that have never heard the Gospel . There is truth and correct application to all of these .
The apostle Paul is referred to as a missionary because he took the Gospel to cities , towns and countries that had not heard it . Paul took four missionary journeys during his life ’ s ministry as a result of the command given by the Lord Jesus .
“ And he said unto them , Go ye into all the world , and preach the gospel to every creature .”— Mark 16:15 .
“ Go ye therefore , and teach all nations , baptizing them in the name of the Father , and of the Son , and of the Holy Ghost :
“ Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you .”— Matt . 28:19 , 20 .
“ How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed ? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard ? and how shall they hear without a preacher ?”— Rom . 10:14 .
“ But ye shall receive power , after
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that the Holy Ghost is come upon you : and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem , and in all Judaea , and in Samaria , and unto the uttermost part of the earth .”— Acts 1:8 .
Question : How much have you considered God ’ s commands of the Great Commission in your life ? Have you ever considered your responsibility as a missionary ?
I understand that we financially support missionaries around the nation and the world and often we think of our giving as fulfilling our part of the Great Commission . I believe that it is a part of it ; but there is an even greater respon - sibility than the giving of our finances . All of us need to be active in spreading the Gospel by word of mouth and gospel tracts .
The work of the bus ministry is a mission work : we are reaching many who have never heard the Gospel of Christ right in our own regions of the country . Have you ever considered the fact that you yourself , as a bus captain or bus worker , are a missionary ? You are ! In fact , some of our bus cap tains at Clays Mill have been serving their areas as gospel missionaries for more than twenty-five years !
I wonder if the people living in those areas would ever hear the Gospel if these bus routes did not exist there . This year I have heard
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multiple soul winners testify of people they had led to Christ that had never heard the Gospel before . They knew about God and Jesus from holidays , plays or television but had never heard that the Gos - pel was personal , for every person !
About fifteen years ago on a Sunday night , I was preaching a sermon about soul winning . I was preaching about the importance of witnessing , winning the lost and spreading the Gospel . I made mention in that sermon of the fact that there were many Spanishspeaking people living in our region and we have to do something to get the Gospel to them .
That night , Rolando Ayala , a man who had been reached and saved through our bus ministry ( originally from Puerto Rico ), walked the aisle and said , “ I ’ m not a preacher , but I can witness and I ’ ll do something to help reach Spanish-speaking people .” That night the Spanish ministry of our church was started . We have seen many , many Spanish-speaking people come to Christ as Saviour since then .
I was preaching with Dr . Shelton Smith in Mesquite , Texas this year . He preached a mes - sage on having “ Blessed Eyes and Ears ”— eyes and ears that are able to see spiritually . The Holy Spirit convicted my heart in that sermon
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about the other nation alities and ethnicities in our region , other than the Spanish-speaking people ( who we ’ re already reaching ). I want to see my region of our state and nation as God would have me to see it . Someone must have a burden to reach every person with the Gospel !
I found these 2019 statistics of just Fayette County , Kentucky ( which includes our city , Lex - ington ). These do not include other counties around us . We are more than three years past 2019 . These numbers have grown and multiplied since 2019 . I found that these people live in our city and need to be reached with the Gospel .
Mexico — 34,591 ; India — 18,181 ; Cuba — 16,465 ; Philippines — 6,579 ; Iraq — 5,923 ; Guatemala — 5,514 ; Myanmar — 4,568 ; Nepal — 3,000 ; Honduras — 4,105 ; Democratic Re - public of Congo ( Zaire )— 5,000 .
And these numbers are growing . Then ,
• What about the deaf ?
• What about the blind ?
• What about the children ?
• What about college students ?
Are we not responsible to be sure the Gospel gets to them ?
Let ’ s keep those buses rolling and those Sunday school classes growing ! ||
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Editor ’ s Notes
■ Continued from p 2■
are no regis tration fees . Everybody is wel come , wanted and warmly received .
We are just seven to eight weeks away from Conference time and are looking forward to seeing you there .
Massillon Baptist Temple , Massillon , Ohio
Just one hour south of Cleveland , you ’ ll find the Akron-Canton area of which the city of Massillon ( population 32,000 ) is a part . Founded in 1950 by Dr . Bruce Cummons , the Massillon Baptist Temple has been a strong presence here for the past 72 years .
After ten years of missionary service in South Africa , Dr . Cecil Thayer came to be the pastor of the church in 2006 . He is a graduate of their Massillon Baptist College , which Dr . Cummons started in 1973 .
The Massillon Baptist College has two very attractive dormitories as well as office and classroom space . The students had an 8:30 a . m . chapel Monday , Tuesday and Wednesday and then went out soul winning for a few hours . They knocked on many hundreds of doors .
Dr . John Hamblin preached the Sunday and Monday meetings and I came for Tuesday and Wednesday . We had several area pastors to at - tend , along with the local Massillon folks . Each service the fellowship was warm and the music paved the way for preaching time .
Brother Ed Decker , the dean of the college , transported me to and from the Cleveland airport . Dr . Thayer , Brother Decker and the staff were so gracious in their hospi - tality to Dr . Hamblin and to me . We enjoyed a really good time as well as the privilege of preaching at the church and the college .
Dr . Thayer and his people are continuing the ministry with the same fundamental stand it has had throughout the years . Dr . Thayer is building on the legacy of Dr . Cummons , and gratefully so .
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If you are here in northeast Ohio , I hope you will go visit Massillon Baptist Temple ; and if you have young people ready for college , let me encourage you to consider Massillon Baptist College .
Charity Baptist Church , Brownstown , Michigan
This was our 20th year at Charity Baptist Church in Brownstown ( Detroit ), Michigan . Dr . Wayne Halleck asked Dr . John Hamblin and me to come for a conference shortly after he became the pastor in 2002 and now we have been here every year ( except 2020 ).
Brother Halleck and his assistant pastor , Steven Jones , have worked together for 12 full years . They are a good team and are providing solid , stable leadership for the church .
I preached three times on Sunday . Then Dr . Hamblin and I preached together on Monday night . He finished up the confer - ence on Tuesday and Wednesday nights .
Although the metro-Detroit area has had its economic chal - lenges and its social stresses over the past few decades , Charity Baptist Church is in a good resi - dential setting in the downriver Detroit area . They are celebrating 44 years of ministry in 2022 .
With Master Clubs for kids , their teen ministry , summer and winter camps , vacation Bible school , the music ministry , the soul-winning ministry , their bus ministry and other programs , Charity Baptist Church has a full-scale outreach to minister to each member of the family .
The folks turned out , the services were warm , the music uplifting and the fellowship strong . Brother Hamblin and I both had full liberty in preaching .
If you are coming to Detroit , let me encourage you to go see Brother Halleck and the Charity Baptist Church .
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Cumberland Hills Baptist Church , Murfreesboro , Tennessee
On Mother ’ s Day Sunday I preached twice for Pastor Richard
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Coyle at the Cumber land Hills Baptist Church here in Rutherford County , Tennessee . It has been my privilege to preach for them a number of times , but this one was especially noteworthy .
The church is now just eight years old and meets in the Webber Au - ditorium on the Bill Rice Ranch . Less than three years ago they gave over a half-million dollars for fifteen acres of land on Highway 96 . The Sunday I was with them was the day when Brother Coyle an - nounced that the land was paid off and that they would be moving forward with the planning for the development of the prop erty .
So the big news of the day was twofold . The mothers were honored and the land payoff was saluted . Both are worthy “ amen ” moments !
It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed preaching both times . The Lord gave His blessing and we enjoyed the good fellowship throughout the day .
Now if you are visiting or moving to the west side of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County , be sure you stop in to pay a visit . Brother Coyle and the Cumberland Hills Baptist Church family will welcome you anytime .
“ Hate Speech ” Laws Are Hate Speech
There are elements in our society who have such an off-the-wall agenda that they are now seeking to codify prohibitions against free speech . These laws are structured to accommodate radical groups like the homosexual lobby who are clamoring for special rights . We believe this is wrong !
Speech can very rarely be le - giti mately codified as felonious . Exceptions would be treason , sedition , perjury , etc ., but very little else .
The day has already come in Canada where pastors are being summoned before the courts for expressing a negative view about homosexuality .
We simply must not allow such laws to get on the books in the USA . It appears , however , that the day is rapidly approaching .
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“ Hate speech ” laws them selves should be viewed as a form of hate speech because they are designed to silence dissent , especially to shut the mouths of Christians .
This and That
At lunchtime on Mother ’ s Day our family gathered at one of our many Mexican restaurants . Al - though some of the family were out of town , twelve of us were there . We took our time with the delicious food and the delightful fellowship . We love these times when we are celebrating an oc - casion around a table with our loved ones . It is more than special .
Now that summer is here and people are vacationing , we will have more folks coming to Murfrees - boro and to visit the Sword of the Lord headquarters . We are always glad to welcome our friends and provide a tour for them . We do have quite a lot here for you to see . The guided tour normally takes forty to sixty minutes . It is free and no appointment is necessary . So if you ’ re coming to the Mid-South , do plan to stop by and take the tour .
In recent weeks Betty has picked up her paintbrush and resumed her painting ( on a canvas , not a wall ). There are many consecutive weeks when back and knee issues keep her hobbled ; but when she feels up to it , what she does is fascinating . I watch her start with a blank canvas . In a matter of a few hours what she produces is artistically amazing and beautiful to behold . I ’ m definitely not an artist , but I surely do appreciate the giftedness that she has .
We are so appreciative of all our friends who pray for us , stand with us and support the work at the Sword . Thank you for all you do .
God bless you and do stay in touch . I ’ m always glad to hear from you .
Remember to pray for us each day .
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June 5 – 6 ( Sunday – Monday )
Bethel Baptist Church 2155 Vann Drive Jackson , Tennessee
Rick Savage , pastor 731-661-9957
June 12 ( Sunday a . m ./ p . m .)
Clays Mill Baptist Church 1220 Brannon Road Nicholasville , Kentucky
Jeff Fugate , pastor 859-277-6811
June 13 ( Monday )
Grace Bible Baptist Church 2646 Jefferson Avenue Knoxville , Tennessee
Robert Barnett , pastor 865-637-8954
June 16 – 17 ( Thursday / Friday )
Lighthouse Baptist Church 501 East 24th Street Holland , Michigan
Bart Spencer , pastor 616-355-7027
June 19 ( Sunday a . m ./ p . m .)
Emmorton Baptist Church 106 Plumtree Road Bel Air , Maryland
Jason McNeese , pastor 410-569-0585
June 26 – 27 ( Sunday – Monday )
FaithWay Baptist Church 3635 Pollack Avenue Evansville , Indiana
Stephen Russ , pastor 812-479-5342
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