During our Sunday morning service, I asked two of our men to come to the platform to lead our congregation in prayer. The reason? The Gulf Coast forecast on Sunday called for Hurricane Gustav to strike southeastern Louisiana and possibly destroy the city of New Orleans. While we would agree with Scripture in condemning the sinful activities of “Bourbon Street,” we would also agree with Scripture in loving the souls of all men.

The Importance of Intercession in Impending Disasters

Is there a Biblical model for interceding with the Lord in the face of an impending disaster? Yes! Consider Genesis 18: 16-33. Take note of the fact that those who intercede with the Lord stand between Him and impending disasters. The Lord places praying people in just such a place so that they will learn to be concerned about all of the Lord’s concerns. Don’t miss the fact that Abraham evinces the right view of God with the words, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

Or consider the fact that the Lord sent His prophet, Jonah, to preach against the sins of Ninevah (Jonah 1:1-2) to deliver them from impending disaster (Jonah 3:1-10). If you know the Lord, you ought to also consider the fact that the Lord disciplined His prophet when he was unwilling to help deliver the city from wickedness (study Jonah’s rebellion and consequences in Jonah chapter 1 and 2). The Book of Jonah was written by the Lord through His prophet, Jonah, and functions as the prophet’s confession of sorts. Read through Jonah chapter 4 and you can see the prophet’s cold-hearted approach to the people whom God had created. Read the rest of this entry »

Please pray for those in the path of Hurricane Gustav. At this writing, the forecast is that this storm will strike the coast of Mississippi, Louisiana or Texas at more than 150 miles per hour. On Friday, I conducted a phone conference with a number of pastors from our area and from the Gulf Coast.

There is very great concern over this impending disaster. Many passages in the Bible remind us of how we ought to respond when such disasters are imminent. Our missionary, Rev. Jan Milton, the director of Operation Renewed Hope, is diligently preparing to alert and deploy believers all over the country. If you would like more information about ORH Disaster Relief, please click the icon at left.

Rev. Milton will be conducting workshops on Disaster Relief during our upcoming leadership conference. If you would like more information about the FBFI Lay Leadership Conference, please please click the icon below. To learn more about what the Bible has to say about disaster relief, click here.

Biblical Evangelism

Would you like to learn how to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ more effectively? In our FBFI Lay Leadership Conference on Saturday, September 13, you can receive practical instruction on how to share your faith. The Evangelism Track of the conference includes the following workshops:

Pastor Jim Burns

Practical Evangelism Ideas for Today’s Local Church

This workshop will feature fresh Biblical ideas that have proven to be effective for some churches during this decade in reaching people for Christ in America. Pastor Jim C. Burns will focus on the local church as God’s headquarters for personal evangelism. He will also share some successful and failing methods he has tried during his 33 years of pastoral ministry.

Rev. Dean Myers (Evangelist)

Evangelism: Personal Evangelism Training, I

Whether we have just met someone or have known them for a long time, we often find it awkward when trying to enter into a conversation about their salvation. What can be even more difficult at times, is getting permission to share the Gospel with them. In this session we will be dealing with a basic introduction of the course as well as some practical ways of getting permission from someone to sit down and share the gospel message.

Evangelism: Personal Evangelism Training, II

Romans 10:17 “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Although our testimony and our personal illustrations can be greatly used, it is the Word of God that must be presented with clarity. Not that many years ago in our country there was a far greater understanding of the Scriptures than what we have today. Today we live in a Biblically illiterate society and it is unrealistic to continue to approach evangelism this way. If we are going to help people go from where they are at to a knowledge of Christ, our presentation must be saturated with Scripture.

Evangelism: Personal Evangelism Training, III

Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” As we know, a “head knowledge” is not enough. Every soul must come to the point where they are genuinely willing to place their faith in Christ. In this session we will walk through how to help someone take this step as well as some ways to follow-up.

Mr. Scott Moreland

Super Soulwinning

Among the great essentials of evangelism is the topic regarding the leading of the Holy Spirit, which will be lifted out and addressed.

Mr. Jack Berry

Local Campus Outreach – Lessons Learned

How would you like to begin an outreach ministry at a college campus near you? Here in Findlay, we have been rejoicing over the souls that have come to Christ through such a ministry. Come hear the lessons we have learned from our campus outreach.

You can register for the conference online at http://ohio-fbfi.org/

FBFI Lay Leadership Conference

The workshop descriptions are now listed on the FBFI Lay Leadership Conference page.

Please take a few minutes to read through these as you prepare to register for the conference. Online registration for the conference will be available shortly at http://www.ohio-fbfi.org/

Leadership Training for Laymen

On Saturday, September 13, 2008, Calvary Baptist Church will conduct an FBFI Lay Leadership Conference.

Dr. Chuck Phelps

Our featured speaker will be Dr. Chuck Phelps, the president of Maranatha Baptist Bible College. The special focus of this conference is to train laymen in ministry skills. Our desire is to help every local church in this region by equipping the saints for the work of the ministry.

Equipping the saints for the work of the ministry

In this year’s conference, 17 pastors and evangelists and 13 skilled lay people will be conducting practical workshops in ministry skills. Tracks (or clusters of workshops) for this year’s conference include: Evangelism, Discipleship, Teaching Adult Sunday School, Children’s ministries, Missions, Music, Service, and a special track especially for Teens.

Dr. John C. Vaughn

In addition to Dr. Phelps, we will be joined by Dr. John C. Vaughn, the president of the Fundamental Baptist Fellowship International (FBFI) and Rev. Jan Milton, the director of Operation Renewed Hope.

For more information about the conference, please call 419.422.6842. More information about registration will be available on this blog site very shortly.

Here is the lineup for the rest of July for our Tuesday Night Bible Conference:

Tuesday, July 15, Dr. John C. Vaughn, president of the FBFI

Tuesday, July 22, Rev. Steve Thomas, Huron Baptist Church, Flat Rock, MI

Tuesday, July 29, Rev. Gordon Terpening, one of our deacons from Calvary Baptist Church

(We are currently experiencing difficulties with posting pictures on the blog.)

Mark your calendars now for Saturday, September 13. The FBFI Lay Leadership Conference will be held here at Calvary Baptist Church. Click here for more information.

Sunday Morning Sunday School Class at Emanuel Baptist

Rick works as treasurer for the team.

Dinner after church at a local restaurant.

Pastor preaches with the assistance of an interpreter. This was the first time that Dr. Shumate has served as an interpreter in Spanish.

Fellowship after Church

Rejoicing over a new birth.

This was the evening service at Ebenezer Baptist.

Front of the church

After the morning service

This is the entire group from the Hispanic Ministry Institute that is studying Spanish in Mexico.

Here is a view from high atop Hermosillo. Look closely to see the rain that was coming toward us. We made it back to the vans just in time.

The HMI team from Calvary Baptist on the central plaza in Hermosillo.

Here are a few pictures from the team and our travel. I’ll try to add to these throughout the day.