A Challenge to Bus Workers and Soul Winners In a recent meeting , I gave the following challenge to our soul winners and bus workers .
1 . Purpose
Our purpose is to preach the Gospel to everyone in our genera - tion throughout the world ( Matt . 28:18 – 20 ). We are to start where we are today and reach as far as we can with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ . While there are many benefits and blessings to us and our families in and through the local church , we must never forget that our purpose is to give out the Gospel .
Giving out the Gospel should be at the center and forefront of
every ministry in our church . Even if the program is for sports , it should be connected in some way to God ’ s people ’ s being discipled for the work of the Gospel .
The Bible tells us that the Lord Jesus and His disciples went every - where — towns , villages , streets , people ’ s houses — with the Gospel . If you and I were to go this week to a meeting where Jesus was , it would include the work of the Gospel and winning people to Himself .
2 . Preparation
We must be prepared to take the Gospel to the lost . That preparation would include the
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spiritual part of prayer and faith , to the practical part of having a Soul Winner ’ s New Testament , gospel tracts , map information and a place chosen to get started in the work of soul winning .
The work of preparation needs to be tended to before the time to start in our soul-winning work . Satan uses many things to defeat our plans of witnessing for the Lord . We do not need to allow Satan to bring frustration because we are not prepared for a day ’ s work of bus visitation and soul winning .
3 . Partner
Jesus sent His disciples as well as seventy others out two by two . The Bible does not tell us why He did this , but it is a very wise and practical practice to follow . If you have been soul winning very many times , you know that it is best for two people to go together . This provides much encouragement , boldness , help with interferences , ideas and even excitement .
4 . Place
Decide on a place to go to start your soul winning . Perhaps you
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have a prospect or a new convert ’ s family and friends , a bus route or a particular area you want to take the Gospel to . The Lord Jesus spoke of specific places in Acts 1:8 when He said that we are to take the Gospel to Jerusalem , Judea , Samaria and the uttermost parts .
It is good to keep a map or some way to keep track of places where you have taken the Gospel . This allows us to cover our towns , cities , bus routes and entire region with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus .
5 . People
When you go soul winning , while you may have an area , a person or a street to get started on , do not pass up people to get to the places . The place is only a starting point . We are out to get the Gospel to people . We want to witness to people . It is a sad waste of time to spend two hours out “ soul winning ” and return to the church with five cards that are marked “ NH ”— not home .
We are looking for people . Don ’ t pass up the man working on his car , the mother out playing with
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November 3 – 4 ( Wednesday – Thursday )
Cornerstone Baptist Church 384 Tenth Street Crossville , Tennessee
Mike Kerley , pastor 931-484-8476
November 12 – 13 ( Friday p . m .– Saturday )
Sword Men ’ s Conference Sword of the Lord 224 Bridge Avenue Murfreesboro , Tennessee
615-893-6700
November 14 ( Sunday a . m ./ p . m .)
Ben ’ s Ford Baptist Church 58521 Highway 439 Bogalusa , Louisiana
Caleb Martin , pastor 985-732-7617
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November 17 ( Wednesday p . m .) |
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Editor ’ s Notes
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See the ad on page 13 or check for details at the Sword of the Lord website .
Our speakers this year are Mike Allison ( Madison , Alabama ), Jeff Fugate ( Lexington , Kentucky ), Dan Carr Sr . ( Gulfport , Mississippi ), David Sumner ( Murfreesboro , Ten nessee ), Richard Harper ( King , North Carolina ) and I . Now that ’ s a strong line-up that will be joined by Evan Barnes leading the music ; David Barnes , soloist ; and the Marlon Smith family with special music .
We will start promptly at six o ’ clock on Friday night and finish at 1:15 p . m . on Saturday . The time will be cram-packed with lots of good , wonderful , blessed things .
And don ’ t forget we have a very interesting array of door prizes — 18 of them in all . You must be a registered guest and in attendance to be eligible for the door prizes . So , yes , we will have some fun too .
Christmas Shopping at the Sword of the Lord
During these next six to eight weeks most of us are going to buy gifts for Christmas . Let me encour - age you to give gifts that will have influence , gifts that edify and motivate , gifts that will encourage your family and friends in their walk with the Lord .
Here at the Sword of the Lord we have lots of things to help you with your Christmas shopping .
We have Bibles — King James Bibles — of all sizes , colors and bindings .
We have a great variety of books and other specialty items too .
Visit our website ( swordofthelord . com ) any hour of the day or night . You can also call ( 800-247-9673 , Monday – Friday , 7:30 – 4:00 ) and let one of our friendly customer service representatives assist you .
We want you to shop with us and we will do our very best to serve you well . So do get in touch today . And thank you for shopping at the Sword of the Lord .
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Our Making a Difference Radio Continues to Grow
In addition to the various radio stations and the Sword of the Lord website , you can also hear the
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broadcast via Spotify , Anchor and Apple podcast .
We are thankful for every op - portunity to air the broadcast and for every person who listens each day .
The opportunity afforded to us through all of these broadcast venues greatly extends our ministry and our outreach .
You can help us by telling your family and friends that we are “ on the air , almost everywhere .” Indeed , with all of these options , it means you can get it wherever you are in America and around the world .
Do pray for me as I do this Monday through Friday broadcast . With the Lord ’ s enablement we can see many good and fruitful things as we air Making a Difference each day .
Twenty-Seventh Year at Mountain Lake Independent Baptist Church , Oakland , Maryland
In the beautiful resort area of Deep Creek Lake in Garrett County , Maryland , you ’ ll find the towns of Oakland and Mountain Lake Park . This is the home of Mountain Lake Independent Baptist Church where Dr . Dennis Leatherman has served as pastor since 1994 . In these years Brother Leatherman has led the church to become a vibrant , thriving , soul-winning church .
This was our 27th annual Sword of the Lord Conference here and it was a good one .
With Evangelist Bryon Foxx leading the music , the choir was strongly in place at each service . Brother Foxx also provided special music and preached Sunday and Tuesday mornings .
Evangelist Richard Harper and I were there Monday and Tuesday . What a blessed time we did have as the Lord poured out His blessing and the people responded at each altar call .
The church has the foundation laid for a new building that will provide much needed classroom space and meet other needs .
The church ’ s radio station ( 88.7 FM ) provides the FBN programming as well as their own local programs . It is my privilege to be on the station at 11:30 a . m . each day Monday through Friday .
Brother Leatherman announced that they have a box for distri -
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buting the Sword of the Lord in each of eight different business places in the county . They have been doing this for 15 or so years with good feedback and results and with the Lord ’ s good blessing .
Take my advice and go to the Deep Creek Lake area for a few days ’ vacation and visit Mountain Lake Independent Baptist Church while you are there .
Elmwood Baptist Church , Brighton ( Denver ), Colorado
In the northern suburbs of Denver , the city of Brighton ( population 41,000 ) is the home of Elmwood Baptist Church .
When Dr . Gary Randall became the pastor in 2000 the church was down to 17 people and facing a major debt deadline that they could not meet . In less than a year things were turned around , the debt was paid and the church began to thrive again . Now 21 years later Elmwood Baptist Church has a strong presence in the area .
In the past two decades they have started eight other churches . They do not have a college ; but as their young men have been called , Brother Randall has led Elmwood to help them start a church in a needy area .
Sunday , October 3 , was a beau - tiful day in the Denver-Brighton area . The temperature was in the mid-seventies , but in the distance to the west the snowcapped moun - tains were clearly visible .
The Sunday morning service was at nine o ’ clock followed by the Sunday school at 10:30 . As the time approached , the people came and the spirit was warm and vibrant .
The evening service at five o ’ clock was strongly attended also . At each service there was a lot of activity at the altar . I had full liberty and preached with the Lord ’ s good blessing .
In a few months they will be starting phase one of a building program . As the church and their Christian school have continued to grow , the need for more space has pressed upon them .
Brother Randall says that just as you have your family , when you come to Elmwood you become a part of another family , the church family . When that philosophy is put into practice , it creates a very special environment which is ob - viously a very real thing at Elmwood .
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In the past 14 years this was my 8th time to preach at Elmwood Baptist Church in Brighton and it was a wonderful visit for me .
If you are in the area , be sure you go see Dr . Randall and the Elmwood Baptist Church .
Grace Baptist Church , Colorado Springs , Colorado
This was the second time we have been to Grace Baptist Church for a regional Baptist leadership con - ference . Created by Dr . Mike Wells ( Mesquite , Texas ) and hosted here by Dr . Matt Miller , the pastor of Grace Baptist Church , these con - ferences are designed to be a help to pastors and churches .
Colorado Springs is a large city of half a million people . Grace Baptist Church has a beautiful facility in a prime location in the city . It is situated right at the base of Pike ’ s Peak . From the pastor ’ s office you can see that massive mountain as it juts 14,000 feet above sea level .
The conference started on Sun - day and ran through Wednesday night . Seventeen people trusted Christ as Savior and five men surrendered to preach . On Monday night I counted 35 pastors in attendance . They came from all across Colorado as well as Kansas , New Mexico and Illinois .
Every service the music was a full , strong part of the service . At preaching time , I and the other men ( Jeff Owens , John Hamblin , Mike Wells ) had good liberty in preaching .
As the invitation was given , the altar was filled every time .
Here in the Rocky Mountain region churches are being planted , souls are being won and churches built . It is a fabulously beautiful part of the country and a great place to make an impact for the Lord .
Pastor Miller grew up here and served on staff with his dad for several years . After a five-year pastorate in western Colorado and upon his dad ’ s retirement , Brother Miller became the pastor in 2006 . In recent years they relocated and have experienced good growth .
It was a delightful and blessed time we enjoyed with Brother Miller , his people , the Colorado pastors and the other speakers . The Lord was so good to give us a
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Bellwood Baptist Church 1150 Middle Tennessee Boulevard Murfreesboro , Tennessee
David Sumner , pastor 615-890-5567
November 21 ( Sunday a . m ./ p . m .)
Faith Baptist Church 486 Battlefield Memorial
Highway Richmond , Kentucky
John Doss , pastor 859-625-8548
full measure of His good things .
When you are in Colorado Springs be sure you go visit Brother Miller and the Grace Baptist Church .
This and That
After a very full month of travel in September and early October , I will have a lighter out-and-about schedule for the remainder of 2021 . I still have eight trips on the docket for the remaining nine weeks of the year , but it is con - siderably less intense than these past weeks .
The finish of summer has come slowly giving us wonderfully ideal weather in the last of September and into October . Here in the Midsouth , we experience the “ global warming ” every summer and as far as “ climate change ,” well , that ’ s a daily event for us . All of my life I ’ ve noticed the seasons — sum - mer , winter , fall and spring — have been constant ( Gen . 8:22 ); but there are any number of variables within each season .
As a result I can predict with certainty that the weather will con tinue to be seasonable yet somewhat unpredictable . I ’ ve heard that some TV weathermen wind up leaving town because they can ’ t get the weather to agree with them .
I hope that wherever you are today , you will have a really beau - tiful and blessed day . Amen !
Do let me hear from you soon . May the Lord bless you much . Thank you for praying for us .
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