Pictures of a prospective property

I returned to the property we looked at last week, this time with Bro. Dennis Richey, the pastor of our sponsoring church, Glendale Missionary Baptist Church. This time we got a few pictures that will give you an idea of the size and potential of the property.

The first is a picture taken from Meadowfield Rd, showing the house and much of the current yard. (The property also includes some uncleared land beside the house, which is probably where we would build.)


Here are a few more pictures of the property, from different viewpoints:





These two pictures show the inside of the house. There are only two bedrooms, but if we get creative, there is room for 4 or 5 separate classes going at the same time. These two pictures show the living room and den, which I think would accomodate our current congregation and a little more, while we build a church building on the property.

A Soul Is Saved

Also this past Sunday, a young woman named Dorthy came forward wanting to be saved. Dorthy is 14 or 15 yrs. old, and she has been coming to our church for a while. I think she began coming back in July when we had Vacation Bible school. She's a very sweet girl, and very curious and inquisitive. In the time that she has been coming, she has probably done a better job of promoting our church than anyone else, because it seems like she's always bringing a new friend or relative to church with her. She has brought her mother, brother, uncle, and several friends.

Sunday I was so pleased to see her walk forward during the invitation and give her life to the Lord. She had some questions about baptism, so I didn't immediately present her to the church as a candidate for baptism, but I expect she will come forward soon wanting to be baptized. Be praying for this new child of God.

Hablas Espanol?

Yesterday we had an interesting visitor. Of course, I'm grateful for all of our visitors, but this one was interesting because of the challenge that he came with. His name is Alejandro, but he goes by Alex. He is from Mexico and his English is very limited. It was a challenge to communicate with him. I have had some exposure to Spanish in the past, and my wife has recently taken a Spanish class in college. Some other members know bits and pieces of Spanish. So we were able to communicate to some degree. I doubt that he got very much from the sermon or from the class he was sent to, but you never can tell. Perhaps the Holy Spirit communicated to him in a deeper way when words failed me.

He came to us because he was invited by one of the children that ride with us in our bus ministry. He said he would be coming back, and that he would bring a few friends with him - one of which is better with English, and should be able to translate for the others. I hope that he will.

Looking for a place

Another thing worth blogging about - On Monday, a group of church members and I met with a realtor and went to look at a property in Gaston that looks promising as a potential future meeting place.

The property is 5.9 acres of land on a well-traveled road, just off of the main highway through Gaston. There is also a house located on the property that is large enough for us to meet in while we build a permanent meeting place on the property. Those of us that saw the property were very excited to think about the possibilities, but we are trying to remain open to God's leadership if he should take us in a different direction. We are going to be praying about this decision, and we would appreciate any other prayers that are lifted up on our behalf.

Homecoming 2007

This past Sunday we held special homecoming services in celebration of our third anniversary as a mission. I know that I have only been here for 9 or 10 months, but the mission actually began meeting over two years before I arrived on the scene. They started out meeting in someone's garage, and they have come a long way since then.

We had a special guest speaker for the occasion. Bro. Bobby Bear, a missionary in Greensboro, GA, delivered a sermon about Christ using three symbols from the Bible to describe him and his work on our behalf - the Lamb of God, a hen protecting its young, and an eagle.

There was an excellent attendance of 41 for the homecoming service, including several visitors. After our morning worship service, we enjoyed some good food and fellowship, in the traditional Baptist way. There wasn't any fried chicken, but there was some good barbecued chicken, along with so much other food that it was hard to decide what to put on your plate. It was all good, of course.

Following that, we had an afternoon service. There was some special music, and then Bro. Bear spoke to us again, but he used this opportunity to talk to us about some of his experiences as a missionary. He shared his wisdom with us, and we soaked it up like a thirsty sponge. He also allowed some time for questions.

All in all, it was a great day! I'm confident that the Lord was present, and I believe He was pleased with our worship and service to Him that day.