Peace and Grace to you all,
Did I mention recently how fast time seems to fly by? Well, here we are already, moving day. Thursday, July 31 is the actual day that Rev. Gardenia (Rev. "D") and I will be traveling to Georgia to begin our 6 month sabbatical period. While sabbatical means a season of rest, I'm certain we won't get much of that. There is a tremendous amount of work that must be done to begin the planting our our extended ministry in Atlanta. There is a rather aggressive time schedule to complete the next phases of this work. I expect that we will be set to hold the first worship service on the first Sunday in September. That is only one month away. The location is in Fairburn Georgia, just south of Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. I'll give more specifics in up-coming blogs.
I am so very proud of our leadership team in Charlottesville Virginia (TMFBC) who has done so much and who are committed to doing all they can to lead and steer the ministry here in my absence. Likewise, I am so proud of our congregation that has been so encouraging and supportive doing this great move of our Lord. I feel confident that the ministry will suffer no loss, only gain in this season of change and expansion. TMFBC, like those of us in Georgia need your prayers, encouragement and support. I have the full expectation that the Charlottesville ministry will not miss a beat, but will continue to grow in Spirit, truth, financing and numbers. TMFBC has provided great leadership in the Charlottesville community and beyond and I know will continue to do so. Our television broadcast on NBC 29 will continue as usual. If you happen to live in the broadcast area, continue to tune in at 6:00am Sunday mornings and tell your friends we're still on and we will continue to be on.
Well, I must hasten away from my computer for now. Packing (ugh!). But, look forward to next weeks blog from ATL. Pray for our safe travel and may our Lord's rich love, favor, power and provision be with you all. A special hello to our dear sister Clair who served here but is now in New Zealand which is her home.
God Bless you. Until next time remember, love one another as Christ loves you!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
TRANSFORMING YOUR WORLD
Greetings Saints,
It seems so amazing at how fast time seems to fly. Since my last entry I received great news that my brother Eugene (Happy) C. Beard Jr. has been called to serve as pastor at the Triune Baptist Church in Wilkinsburg, PA, which is a suburb of Pittsburgh. Our prayers are with him in this new ministry venture. We are excited to see what God will do.
I want to say hello to my friend and brother Pastor Mohan Rao in India. We are so proud of the great work he continues to do for the kingdom of God. He has planted several churches and a few years ago opened a discipleship training center, ministry for orphans and widows and a medical center. We praise God for his great work. Also, we continue to pray for our good friend and Brother Bishop Pobe in Ghana, West Africa. Bishop does such great work that so many are blessed and coming to the Lord because of his great ministry.
As we prepare for our ministry expansion I have been so proud of our Ministry of Elders, Senior Associate Minister and Chair of our Deacon Ministry, as well as many other leaders who have stayed the course in what is an exciting but challenging time. We are so thankful for the vast majority of our congregation who see the vision and support this great move of our God. While we recognize this is a season of adjustment, our faith declares the wonders of God and are excited to see what He does. Pray for our churches in Charlottesville and the new church start in Georgia and for the new ministries yet in the future. We have received inquiries about the TMI network from other existing ministries who are praying about joining the network. In all things our prayer is that God is pleased and glorified and that God's people, in many places, will be blessed because of this next phase in God's plan and vision.
Many years ago when I first gave the Lord my life, I made the Lord a promise: "I'll go where you say go and I'll do what you say do." That remains my promise. Our King never promised that it would all be easy, He did not promise that people would always understand or be supportive. The twelve disciples were brutally treated and most killed for following the direction of Christ. Steven was stoned and Paul often beaten and thrown in jail for seeking to follow the Lord's requirement to advance His Kingdom. And of course, even Jesus was harshly treated and killed by those who knew the letter of the Law but not the Spirit of the Law. Often these harsh events were at the hands of the people of God who were not evil people, but people who were not spiritually minded. As a result, they deemed the very things that were of God, as evil. Even Christ who stood before them as Savior, they saw as a threat that needed to be destroyed. Often people fear what they fail to understand. Whenever you determine to follow the direction of our Lord for your life, don't become frustrated or give in to hurt. The Evil one recognizes that God is doing something in you and will try to discourage you. But, don't fret. Our King has promised to be with you. Neither should you despise those who come against you. Jesus declared, Father forgive them for they know not what they do. Our Lord says to pray for them who despise and misuse you. Your focus is to do the will of our Lord who called you. Nothing else really matters.
Saints of God, be encouraged. God is with you and your future is bright! Just trust the Lord and behold His wonders. God Bless each of you.
It seems so amazing at how fast time seems to fly. Since my last entry I received great news that my brother Eugene (Happy) C. Beard Jr. has been called to serve as pastor at the Triune Baptist Church in Wilkinsburg, PA, which is a suburb of Pittsburgh. Our prayers are with him in this new ministry venture. We are excited to see what God will do.
I want to say hello to my friend and brother Pastor Mohan Rao in India. We are so proud of the great work he continues to do for the kingdom of God. He has planted several churches and a few years ago opened a discipleship training center, ministry for orphans and widows and a medical center. We praise God for his great work. Also, we continue to pray for our good friend and Brother Bishop Pobe in Ghana, West Africa. Bishop does such great work that so many are blessed and coming to the Lord because of his great ministry.
As we prepare for our ministry expansion I have been so proud of our Ministry of Elders, Senior Associate Minister and Chair of our Deacon Ministry, as well as many other leaders who have stayed the course in what is an exciting but challenging time. We are so thankful for the vast majority of our congregation who see the vision and support this great move of our God. While we recognize this is a season of adjustment, our faith declares the wonders of God and are excited to see what He does. Pray for our churches in Charlottesville and the new church start in Georgia and for the new ministries yet in the future. We have received inquiries about the TMI network from other existing ministries who are praying about joining the network. In all things our prayer is that God is pleased and glorified and that God's people, in many places, will be blessed because of this next phase in God's plan and vision.
Many years ago when I first gave the Lord my life, I made the Lord a promise: "I'll go where you say go and I'll do what you say do." That remains my promise. Our King never promised that it would all be easy, He did not promise that people would always understand or be supportive. The twelve disciples were brutally treated and most killed for following the direction of Christ. Steven was stoned and Paul often beaten and thrown in jail for seeking to follow the Lord's requirement to advance His Kingdom. And of course, even Jesus was harshly treated and killed by those who knew the letter of the Law but not the Spirit of the Law. Often these harsh events were at the hands of the people of God who were not evil people, but people who were not spiritually minded. As a result, they deemed the very things that were of God, as evil. Even Christ who stood before them as Savior, they saw as a threat that needed to be destroyed. Often people fear what they fail to understand. Whenever you determine to follow the direction of our Lord for your life, don't become frustrated or give in to hurt. The Evil one recognizes that God is doing something in you and will try to discourage you. But, don't fret. Our King has promised to be with you. Neither should you despise those who come against you. Jesus declared, Father forgive them for they know not what they do. Our Lord says to pray for them who despise and misuse you. Your focus is to do the will of our Lord who called you. Nothing else really matters.
Saints of God, be encouraged. God is with you and your future is bright! Just trust the Lord and behold His wonders. God Bless each of you.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
TRANSFORMING YOUR WORLD
Greetings in the thrill of serving our Lord,
Since my last blog, much has taken place as our Lord continues to lead us, bless us and enlarge our territory. We have seen the ordination of six new deacons here at TMFBC. They are Dorothy Brown, D.W. Crickenberger, Darnell Glover, Earl Hicks, Shirley Johnson and Patricia Moody. They have studied and labored through a challenging training process and have more than successfully completed their training responsibilities. Pray for them as they now begin to serve as Deacons in this progressive and expanding ministry.
Since my last blog entry Rev. Gardenia and I shared with the entire congregation that we will be going to Atlanta for a six month sabbatical period to lay the foundation of our church plant there. Our Ministry of Elders, Senior Associate Minister and Chair of the Ministry of Deacons will serve as the primary leadership team in our absence. We will make periodic return visits to meet with our leadership, to preach, teach and fellowship. We are all committed to see this wonderful move of God to its fulfillment. Future church plants and the development of the TMI network will be an ongoing prayer request and a topic of information given through this blog, the TMFBC web-site and the TMI web-site. Your prayers and support are greatly appreciated.
My music CD project is in duplication and I will announce soon when they will be available for purchase. Look for and pray for "Now Is Our Time" project that God will be glorified, and its listeners would be blessed.
Remember, without faith it is impossible to please God. God requires our trust, faithfulness and dedication which will lead to our understanding. However, even before we can see what God is doing and understand why He is doing it, "we walk by faith and not by sight."
May our King enrich your life with His very best for you.
Since my last blog, much has taken place as our Lord continues to lead us, bless us and enlarge our territory. We have seen the ordination of six new deacons here at TMFBC. They are Dorothy Brown, D.W. Crickenberger, Darnell Glover, Earl Hicks, Shirley Johnson and Patricia Moody. They have studied and labored through a challenging training process and have more than successfully completed their training responsibilities. Pray for them as they now begin to serve as Deacons in this progressive and expanding ministry.
Since my last blog entry Rev. Gardenia and I shared with the entire congregation that we will be going to Atlanta for a six month sabbatical period to lay the foundation of our church plant there. Our Ministry of Elders, Senior Associate Minister and Chair of the Ministry of Deacons will serve as the primary leadership team in our absence. We will make periodic return visits to meet with our leadership, to preach, teach and fellowship. We are all committed to see this wonderful move of God to its fulfillment. Future church plants and the development of the TMI network will be an ongoing prayer request and a topic of information given through this blog, the TMFBC web-site and the TMI web-site. Your prayers and support are greatly appreciated.
My music CD project is in duplication and I will announce soon when they will be available for purchase. Look for and pray for "Now Is Our Time" project that God will be glorified, and its listeners would be blessed.
Remember, without faith it is impossible to please God. God requires our trust, faithfulness and dedication which will lead to our understanding. However, even before we can see what God is doing and understand why He is doing it, "we walk by faith and not by sight."
May our King enrich your life with His very best for you.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
TRANSFORMING YOUR WORLD
Greetings saints of God,
We just celebrated our nations independence day but how awesome and incredible it is that our ultimate independence has been won by our soon to return King Jesus. My prayer for each of you is that our God who is forever faithful will fill every need and make path to your fulfilled potential smooth.
To update you on our ministry expansion, I will be taking a six month sabbatical as Rev. Elder, Gardenia (Rev. "D") and I will go to Atlanta to plant Transformation Ministries International - Atlanta. There is a team of former TMFBC (Transformation Ministries First Baptist Church) members who now live throughout the Atlanta area. The possibilities are endless for what we are believing God will do there and in future church plants. TMFBC will continue in the hands of what I believe are some of The Kingdoms best leaders. Our congregation is committed to the vision and to TMFBC and I fully expect that things will continue with excellence in our absence. Rev. "D" and I will make regular return visits but will also keep close contact with our leaders as well as the congregation through several uses of technology. We certainly solicit your prayers during this time of transition and powerful move of God.
Pray for Rev. Joe Jackson, a former associate minister here at TMFBC and his wife Keisa who recently learned that their infant son has a form of cancer. We are believing God for complete healing of Joe Jr. God will be glorified even in this.
May God bless you all.
We just celebrated our nations independence day but how awesome and incredible it is that our ultimate independence has been won by our soon to return King Jesus. My prayer for each of you is that our God who is forever faithful will fill every need and make path to your fulfilled potential smooth.
To update you on our ministry expansion, I will be taking a six month sabbatical as Rev. Elder, Gardenia (Rev. "D") and I will go to Atlanta to plant Transformation Ministries International - Atlanta. There is a team of former TMFBC (Transformation Ministries First Baptist Church) members who now live throughout the Atlanta area. The possibilities are endless for what we are believing God will do there and in future church plants. TMFBC will continue in the hands of what I believe are some of The Kingdoms best leaders. Our congregation is committed to the vision and to TMFBC and I fully expect that things will continue with excellence in our absence. Rev. "D" and I will make regular return visits but will also keep close contact with our leaders as well as the congregation through several uses of technology. We certainly solicit your prayers during this time of transition and powerful move of God.
Pray for Rev. Joe Jackson, a former associate minister here at TMFBC and his wife Keisa who recently learned that their infant son has a form of cancer. We are believing God for complete healing of Joe Jr. God will be glorified even in this.
May God bless you all.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
TRANSFORMING YOUR WORLD
Greetings Saints,
I apologize that this post is a few hours late in coming. I'm not sure what the problem was but I was not able to log onto my own blog for several hours. Hopefully that problem has been fixed. While trying to find out what happened, I discovered that readers need to open a Google account to read my blog. By my next posting I will see if that can be changed so that there will be no need to open an account just read and respond to my blogs. It may require a blog address change. If so, I'll certainly inform you. Fortunately, this was all discovered early so any kinks can be worked out.
Thank you to those who have posted responses. Each response has been meaningful and encouraging. It was great to hear from good friends and supporters near and all the way from the other side of the world.
God's goodness is nothing less than amazing. Our Lord often moves in sudden shifts and changes where we may find ourselves off balance because the sudden movement catches us off guard and at times, defies logic. Still other times and perhaps more often, God moves in simple, small steps. Each step may be so small that we can't discern the movement, and yet, we're moving all the time. Small steps don't mean slow steps. We can be moving very quickly into the next stages of our Lord's unfolding plan but because each step is small we may not discern the movement. As a new day begins and we go about our daily routine, we don't feel the movement of the earth beneath us and yet this large world is rapidly spinning around, while zooming around the sun, while our solar system and galaxy fly through space. Isn't it amazing that if it were not for the setting of the sun or the changing to a new year we would not have known we were moving at all. So it is with God. We may be speedily moving in God's plan for our lives and we're not even aware until we notice that something has changed. Some things we may never understand but if we take a stand in Christ, He guarantees we will reach our destiny. God will not deny His promise to those who trust Him.
Praise the Lord. The CD project is near completion! Fifteen songs of original music which will be full of surprises. The studio work is nearly done and then only the duplicating need be completed. Some local store will have them available but for you who live in other states or outside the U.S. I'll be letting you know how you can get one. I hope you will support this effort. The proceeds will help fund our new church starts in other areas.
Please continue to pray for Transformation Ministries International. Great things are yet to come. If you haven't done so, please read my previous posting and let me know your thoughts concerning T.M.I.
T.M.F.B.C and T.M.I worldwide, Rev. "D" and I love you all.
I apologize that this post is a few hours late in coming. I'm not sure what the problem was but I was not able to log onto my own blog for several hours. Hopefully that problem has been fixed. While trying to find out what happened, I discovered that readers need to open a Google account to read my blog. By my next posting I will see if that can be changed so that there will be no need to open an account just read and respond to my blogs. It may require a blog address change. If so, I'll certainly inform you. Fortunately, this was all discovered early so any kinks can be worked out.
Thank you to those who have posted responses. Each response has been meaningful and encouraging. It was great to hear from good friends and supporters near and all the way from the other side of the world.
God's goodness is nothing less than amazing. Our Lord often moves in sudden shifts and changes where we may find ourselves off balance because the sudden movement catches us off guard and at times, defies logic. Still other times and perhaps more often, God moves in simple, small steps. Each step may be so small that we can't discern the movement, and yet, we're moving all the time. Small steps don't mean slow steps. We can be moving very quickly into the next stages of our Lord's unfolding plan but because each step is small we may not discern the movement. As a new day begins and we go about our daily routine, we don't feel the movement of the earth beneath us and yet this large world is rapidly spinning around, while zooming around the sun, while our solar system and galaxy fly through space. Isn't it amazing that if it were not for the setting of the sun or the changing to a new year we would not have known we were moving at all. So it is with God. We may be speedily moving in God's plan for our lives and we're not even aware until we notice that something has changed. Some things we may never understand but if we take a stand in Christ, He guarantees we will reach our destiny. God will not deny His promise to those who trust Him.
Praise the Lord. The CD project is near completion! Fifteen songs of original music which will be full of surprises. The studio work is nearly done and then only the duplicating need be completed. Some local store will have them available but for you who live in other states or outside the U.S. I'll be letting you know how you can get one. I hope you will support this effort. The proceeds will help fund our new church starts in other areas.
Please continue to pray for Transformation Ministries International. Great things are yet to come. If you haven't done so, please read my previous posting and let me know your thoughts concerning T.M.I.
T.M.F.B.C and T.M.I worldwide, Rev. "D" and I love you all.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)