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HOLINESS EVANGELIST November December 2018 Featured this issue Christmas around the world
Editorial The Ghost of Christmas Past Keith Ledford THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST In Charles Dickens legendary fiction work A Christmas Carol the scrimping tight fisted Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by ghosts from Christmas past present and future His life is changed as he sees what might have been what is and what could be While that story is the product of Charles Dickens creative imagination it is true that memory is a powerful tool in all of our lives I believe that our Christian and national holidays are powerful reminders of something God and even our forefathers did in the past The Lord instructed General Joshua to erect a memorial to His deliverance on the bank of the Jordan River Joshua 4 21 And he spake unto the children of Israel saying When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come saying what mean these stones 22 Then ye shall let your children know saying Israel came over this Jordan on dry land How could anyone walk over the river on dry ground unless God stepped onto the scene of action and performed a miracle which He did Jehovah was giving the nation of Israel an object lesson that could be used for many generations to come to testify to the goodness and might of the Lord It seems to me that the two major holidays that are upon us Thanksgiving and Christmas are like that They both should bring honor to the Lord and give us an opportunity to tell the generations coming along behind us what these symbols all mean Certainly in some minds the feast of Thanksgiving is just good food and plenty of it and a football game to follow Then they prepare for a major Black Friday shopping spree We have come a long way from the first Thanksgiving and it s a long way in the wrong direction Here s a brief synopsis of the first Thanksgiving from Wallbuilders The tradition of Thanksgiving as a time to focus on God and His blessings dates back almost four centuries in America While such celebrations occurred at Cape Henry Virginia as early as 1607 it is from the Pilgrims that we derive the current tradition of Thanksgiving Following their first winter in America the Pilgrims reaped a bountiful harvest the next summer As one of them wrote God be praised we had a good increase of corn by the goodness of God we are far from want Consequently they declared a threeday feast in December 1621 to thank God America s first Thanksgiving Festival This began an annual tradition in the New England Colonies that slowly spread into other Colonies A Christ centered Thanksgiving holiday is a Stone of memorial to remind our families of our God Christmas is another Stone of memorial to point us all to Christ True we have to sort through all the baggage that has been attached to the holiday But what a joy it is to hear Silent Night Holy Night in a shopping mall How opportune for us to be able to say something about the rich symbolism of Christmas The Wise men the star the manger the Little Town of Bethlehem the Virgin Mary the little Baby wrapped in swaddling clothes in the manger and on and on all are opportunities for an explanation Yes there was a time that all I could think about was the stack of gifts that my dad and mom had purchased and placed under the tree in the living room The Sunday morning when the fruit and candy treats were given out at church was an exciting time because of those treats Now that I m a man I still get excited about opening a colorfully wrapped package from a loved one I enjoy getting a treat from the church as well But the symbolism speaks to me of my heavenly Father s unspeakable gift to a world so lost so dark and so damned I want to cry out with the Apostle Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift So I push aside the fat red clothed jolly old man and ignore the rocking around the tree and a lot of other things at this sacred time But there is plenty in this most wonderful time of the year that excites my heart and strums the chords of my soul and causes me like the Magi of old to fall down and worship the Anointed One Jesus the Prince of Peace
from our general chairman Giving Living Loving Thanks Living Family Fun and Feasting Here we are again Holidays Thanksgiving Christmas and New Years As a lad I always looked forward to these special days at this special time of the year only I got to add one more special day my birthday Really it couldn t get any better than that for a young man growing up in a Christian Home But as I began to mature these days began to take on a broader and deeper meaning Thanksgiving was far more than Family Fun and Feasting Our family began to add more members as we began to be scattered across the country Our Church family began to be a part of these special holidays Then we were reminded of our responsibilities to include the less fortunate and minister to folk that did not have the privilege of spending time with loved ones Giving of our selves time and finances began to take on a new meaning Is this what Jesus would do Yes He gave himself that we might have life and have it more abundantly Soon Christmas begins to take on a brighter focus for families church and ministry Shopping for those special gifts and wrapping them for your friends and loved ones creating a spirit of expectancy Christmas trees decorations lights Candles Carols baking cookies all add to the excitement of that special day But wait Christmas is the day we celebrate Jesus birthday He really is the reason for the season It was several years ago around this time of the year I was flying to Florida for a Hope International Board meeting The stewardess came around and offered me something to drink and a cookie I requested a diet coke On the coke can was a winter scene Snowflakes falling along with a picture of a Poppa bear Momma bear and a baby bear They were around a Christmas tree and each one had a gift in their hand and were giving it to each other The caption on the can was these words Giving Living and Loving I immediately thought of John 3 16 For God so Loved the world that He Gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have ever lasting Life Yes Christmas is a time to celebrate the life of one who Gave himself for us May the Lord help us to grasp the full meaning of Christmas Exactly a week later is New Years day In preparation for the New year we are going over goals dreams and resolutions for the new year One goal that I started while in Bible College was to read the Bible through every year It is a source of life There is food inspiration and direction for living a Holy life in God s word Then update our prayer list and reminisce over the past year I challenge you to take some time and set some spiritual goals for 2019 It s later than it has ever been so let s determine to face a New Year with our hand in God s hand and give this year everything we can possibly give in our quest for heaven Daily reading God s word praying earnestly for souls faithfully visiting and inviting men women and children to Christ and to our church Giving not only tithes to our local church but offerings for Missions Home missions General share Camp ground expansion and outreach ministries Let s ask God for a bigger picture than what we have Could we pray for 2 million dollars for ministry at home and abroad Let s ask God to help us bite off more than we can chew and chew it and plan more than we can do and do it I m praying that the Lord will help the ICHA to be on the cutting edge of the harvest of souls in 2019
Pastor Teboho Christmas in Africa Wh at is Ch ri s tmas l ike f or the I CHA peo p l e i n Le sotho and S ou t h Afri ca M att hew 2 1 Now whe n Jesus w a s bo r n in Bethl ehe m of J ud ae a i n th e days of Hero d t he k in g beh old there came w is e m en f rom the east to J e r us al em 2 S ay i ng Where i s h e t hat i s bo r n Ki ng o f the J e ws fo r w e h av e seen his s t ar i n th e eas t and are come t o wo rsh ip h i m We bel ieve Christma s to b e a g reat ti me in both Leso tho an d Sout h Afri ca C ust om aril y w hen w e g rew u p parent s w oul d b uy new cl oth es fo r th eir k ids and then ch i ldren wou l d g o fro m house t o ho u se wh ere they will be f ed m os t ly cakes and drink in o t h e r fam ili es the y ma y giv e s wee ts t o th e chi l dren Ev en p o o r of t he p oorest will try by al l mean s t o get s ome new cl oth es and toy s f o r their k id s I t i s in t hi s ti m e o f the y ear w he re peo p l e gets bo nuses f rom w here th e y are working T hey call it th e 13 th cheque t hat s whereby s inners spends i t f oo li s hl y by making big p art ies an d h ave w hat they ca ll fu n even the l az i est s p e n t mu ch ti me prep aring f or i t b y c lean in g the houses and t he yards p ai nting wa lls if n e ed b e cooki ng sp ecial m e al s o n t h at da y for ev e r yon e w h o wo uld c o me vi s it w it h th em To th os e w h o p rof ess es to b e s a ved th ey fi n d i t to be a time to hol d co n f eren ces f or the ir ch u rch e s cele br a t in g t h i s g re a t est g if t G o d h as ev er gi ve n t o all m an k in d n o t o n l y t ho s e who pro fe s se d t o be s ave d but I c an r ig h t ly s ay t o a ll pe op le w h o pro f es s es t o be Chris t ia n s To us al so t h e I C HA peo p le We h a ve s er vic es o n th a t d ay earl y a n d o ur p re ac h er s a n d thei r kids a lwa ys ga t h e r to g et h e r at B rot h e r an d S is t er Mil le r s h o us e wh e re o u r miss io n ar y w o ul d co o k a big meal f o r all p eo pl e v ol un t e er in g t o w or k f o r t h e Lo rd u n d er ICH A I me an preach e r s a nd t h eir f am ilies and t ho s e w ho are wo r kin g o n the c am p g ro u n ds T h e re is alwa ys a li t t le m es s ag e o f Chris t ma s t h e b ig t i me is when y o u c an w at ch p eo ple o pen in g t h e ir pres e nt s o u r miss io n ar ie s a lw ays t r ies by all m ea n s t o g ive t o o ur selv e s and o u r ki ds t h in gs t h a t w e could n t aff ord t o bu y f o r o u r f amilie s lik e c lo t h es do lls cars e t c t h e n als o g iv e prese n t s t o t h ei r miss io n ar ie s T h e n di fferen t o n e s wo u l d g ive sp ee ch e s We rea lly want t o t ha n k G o d fo r Jes u s be ca u s e if i t wasn t bec a us e o f him we would s t ill be in ou r s in s but h e s en ds his so n Jes u s t o pu rch a se u s w it h h is pre ci o u s b l o o d If T h e L o rd J e s us d i d n t c o m e s om e o f u s co u ld ha v e b e e n de ad b eca u s e o f t he k i nd o f lif e w e u s e t o l ive I m g l a d h e c ame an d die d f o r m e F rom all yo u r bro t he rs a nd s ist er s in S ou t h A f ri c a a nd L es o t h o M e rr y Ch ri s t m a s Teb o h o N ch ak g a A f ri c a
Pastor Luis Christmas in Honduras Joy to the world the Lord is come Christmas is the time of the year where pastors their families and their congregations of Pacto Biblico Conservadora in Honduras are expecting with happiness and joy We remember and celebrate what the angel announced to the shepherds abiding in the field keeping watch over their flock by night And the angel said unto them Fear not for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord Luke 2 8 10 11 Praise the Lord Jesus was born in Bethlehem and in our hearts for we are saved by grace This is a time of joy and happiness Many families travel to different cities to be with their loved ones Christmas lights shining and radiating happiness through the roads Houses decorated with multiple and colorful decorations on their windows doors and roofs And inside the cozy homes you can see the beautiful Christmas tree decorated by each family giving it a special touch The Christmas star up high in the tree representing the star of Bethlehem used by God to guide the wise men all the way to the child They fell down and worshipped him and when they had opened their treasures they presented unto him gifts gold and frankincense and myrrh Matthew 2 10 11 But the ones happier than anybody else are the children Despite the economic struggles parents work very hard to be able to buy a new outfit for their children to wear for this special event In their little hearts there is joy and excitement for what will come Special food is being cooked in the kitchen Tamales chicken in the oven bread potato salad pop and probably a delicious cake mmm yummy In the refrigerator grapes and apples are saved for this very occasion How wonderful These fruits are chosen specifically for Christmas Many people wait until Christmas to buy this wonderful fruit And then we enjoy it together Pastors in our churches prepare a special Christmas program that includes songs special hymns skits prepared by the youth and children of the church and a sermon All this to remember that big special event The Birth of Jesus Christ After the service there is an exchange of gifts like a family with the whole church a Christmas dinner and ending with a special prayer at 12 00 At 12 00 while the fireworks are going off holding hands we thank our Father because our Savior has been born in our hearts And like in the manger at Bethlehem it illuminates our soul with His presence Joy to the world the Lord is come Let earth receive her king Let every heart prepare Him room And Heaven and nature sing And Heaven and nature sing And Heaven and nature sing Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2019 From your brothers and sisters of Pacto B blico Conservadora of Honduras Luis Miranda
Pastor Pierre Christmas in Haiti What is Christmas Like for the ICHA Family in Haiti Christmas is celebrated in Haiti almost the same in the United States but with many d i ff e re n c e s I n H a i t i Christmas is called Noel It is a season of joy for everyone The season is Noel and Santa Claus i s P a p a N o e l G i f t s a re s h a re d between families and friends during this holiday season Most people believe that salvation comes available to humanity because of the coming of Jesus in this season Not much decoration outside the homes but inside h a i t i a n c re o l e w o rd t h a t f i n d s i t s ro o t i n f re n c h a n d i t means Let s wake up I n t h e p a s t C h r i s t i a n c h u rc h e s a l w a y s c e l e b r a t e Christmas Now lots of them don t because some of t h o s e c h u rc h e s s a y t h a t C h r i s t m a s i s n o t a C h r i s t i a n h o l i d a y N e v e r t h e l e s s s o m e s t i l l c e l e b r a t e C h r i s t m a s b e c a u s e o f w h a t i t m e a n s f o r t h e m S k e t c h e s o f t e n a re p re s e n t e d o n t h e b i r t h o f J e s u s My own thought is let s celebrate Christmas not because of what history says but because of what C h r i s t m a s re m i n d s u s o f B ro t h e r P i e r re M a x i m e f o r t h e H a i t i F i e l d C h i l d re n a re e a g e r t o g o t o b e d o n D e c e m b e r 2 4 a n d a t t h e w a k e i n D e c e m b e r 2 5 h o p i n g t o re c e i v e g i f t s f ro m P a p a N o e l u n d e r t h e i r p i l l o w s W h e n c h i l d re n a re s l e e p i n g t h e i r p a re n t s p u t t h e g i f t s u n d e r t h e i r p i l l o w s a n d c h i l d re n b e l i e v e t h a t t h e g i f t s a re d e p o s i t e d t h e re by Papa Noel T h e y o u n g p e o p l e o f t e n h a v e a re c i p e w h i c h i s e a t i n g a t m i d n i g h t T h i s re c i p e i s c a l l e d R e v e y o n w h i c h i s a RedeemingLove Evangelism Reaching out to those sometimes forgotten Redeeming Love Evangelism ministers at Fairview Community Chapel every Sunday evening We have special outpourings of the Lord s spirit on our services the Good Lord comes down and meets with His dear people There are no dry services It s beautiful to watch the people actively participate They sing shout testify and some will make their way to the altar and pray for di erent needs In addition we minister to Pulaski Rehab Community Chapel Glenwood Assisted Living Community and also Commonwealth Assisted living Community We have visitors come frequently to our services A man from the community named Bro Greene comes and preaches in our services He exhorts for us and does a good job We are so thrilled to be in the service of the Lord Keep us in your prayers as we work to see His kingdom built Arles Marissa and Hannah Pyles
Decorate with purpose Show where your heart is The holidays are coming Are you ready to celebrate I m not talking about planning a menu and buying stuff stuff and more stuff I m talking about really celebrating celebrating with purpose Perhaps we should take a look at what celebrate means Here is Webster s 1828 dictionary definition celebrate To praise to extol to commend to give to to make famous as to celebrate the name of the Most high First of all remember what you are celebrating It may be helpful to remind yourself that you are not celebrating food parties and gifts Those are just secondary They are not the main event Thanksgiving is a time set aside as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God And Christmas Christmas is a time we set aside to celebrate the coming of the Savior the Messiah Emmanuel Our Lord Jesus Christ That is something worth celebrating In all the hustle and bustle don t allow yourself to be short changed by celebrating the wrong things Here are a few ideas that may help you stay focused Decorate with IntentionDecorating has become a substantial part of our celebrations Use your decor to promote the real purpose of the holiday Print out some questions that will remind you of the many reasons we have to be thankful You can find several gratitude prompts online Pass them out and remember the many good things We did this last year and it added so much to our Thanksgiving celebration Gratitude JournalPass around a journal and have everyone write down some things for which they are truly thankful Thanksgiving TreeCut out the form of a tree and leaves Write what you are thankful for on the leaves and attach them to the tree This is especially suitable for children Thank You CardsWrite a letter or send a card to someone you are especially thankful for Let them know how they have blessed your life Do you think these ideas are compatible with our definition of celebrate I think they are I believe they will help us to praise to extol to commend to give to and to make famous the true meaning of the holidays Have a Blessed Holiday Season Now let s go celebrate Birthday Cake for Jesus Children especially enjoy decorating a cake to celebrate Christ s birth Go Caroling Bake some goodies to pass out and sing the Good News Uplifting Christmas MusicMusic is a powerful tool Use it to extol the true meaning of Christmas Give BackThis is an idea that is profitable for all ages Give a gift to Jesus Read His word to find out what He likes You can do this on a personal level or as a family Between Candy King Gratitude Questions Thanksgiving and Christmas look for opportunities to please Jesus Do it on purpose Visit the lonely encourage the downhearted share God s love to the lost God has given us so much this is a way to give back to him It may be a good idea to write down what you ve done and place the strips of paper in an attractive gift bag This provides a visual reminder and some accountability on what you actually did give Encourage the whole family to get involved
Changes on Campus Changes on Campus We are excited to welcome Larry and Georgetta Cooper to the campus at CFC Sister Cooper has accepted the position of Secretary Receptionist for the ICHA and is in the process of setting up her office With a background in QuickBooks and secretarial work she will be a great help in the office needs of the Association We believe it will be a help to our local church treasurers as well because she will be receiving and processing all of the ICHA donations This will enable our church treasurers to send donations to one address That address is International Conservative Holiness Association 4485 North Fortville Pike Greenfield IN 46140 Hopefully by next edition we will be able to publish the office phone number and email For the moment you may use Sister Cooper s number that is listed in our directory When sending General funds CFC donations mission s gifts etc please be as specific as you can be by listing individually on the memo or a separate paper where each offering is supposed to go Once Sister Cooper has processed the donations and taken them to the bank then our General Treasurer and Missions Treasurer will disburse the funds where the General Board has designated All donations should be sent to the CFC address effective immediately Thanks Our ICHA family has done a wonderful job of paying the bills and we want to say a GREAT BIG THANK YOU We don t have a surplus of money and need your consistent prayerful support on a monthly basis This is the time of year to be thinking of the Thanksgiving self denial offering We encourage our people to give a week s salary for the cause of missions during this time Also as you plan your end of year giving we would be so grateful if you would prayerfully consider the ICHA From now to Preacher Laymen s Convention in February the funds usually get really low Our insurance on the campus and our activities is very high Our utilities at CFC go on year round Paying our Chairman publishing the Holiness Evangelist and a host of other things all together mount up to a sizeable expenditure With God s help and the response of our ICHA family I m convinced the need will be met Honor to Whom Honor Is D ue A New General Treasurer Philip Hoard Honor to Whom Honor Is Due On behalf of the General Board of the ICHA we want to express our heartfelt appreciation to Rev Dan Smith for his years of service as General Treasurer He has a level of expertise and understanding in the area of finance and business that is exceptional perhaps unparalleled in our Association He has been a real blessing to the ICHA with his labors Due to his physical struggles after a motorcycle accident in May of this year and the heavy load that he is carrying as a husband dad pastor and bread winner for the family he is stepping down from the position of Treasurer Brother Smith will continue to serve as Jamaica Field Coordinator and we hope other positions as his health and strength improves The General Board has appointed Brother Phillip Hoard to take the position of General Treasurer He is currently one of the Administrators at Union Bible College where he has worked for several years He serves as Treasurer for Grace Holiness Church in Anderson IN and uses QuickBooks for that He has grown up in the ICHA and has a deep love and appreciation for the organization Brother Hoard will fully take over on January 1 2019 In the meantime Rev Don Delong will help with the transition Please remember to always use the CFC address for donations It is International Conservative Holiness Association 4485 North Fortville Pike Greenfield IN 46140
Church News Somerset KY This fall has been busy her at Norwood Bible Covenant Church In September my family and I took a vacation together only to come home for a beautiful out door wedding Nigel and Rebecca Neeley Burton were married on her parents farm We are so glad to have this young couple attending our church in early October Chestin Watson and Stacy married The first weekend in October the church had a special service for us for pastor appreciation with cards gifts of money as well as other gifts the most special part was they said kind things to and about us They said they love us and I can tell they really do Starting October 9th we had revival with Rev Darrell Miller people have testified to the help they got in the meeting Last Saturday Evening we had our annual fall hay ride what a wonderful time great food and fellowship No time to slow down with Thanksgiving around the corner then our Christmas dinner and our Christmas program Rev Scott Thrasher Lower Lights MI God is helping and blessing our Lower Light churches here in Michigan We had a good IHC convention in our Melvindale church with Mark Mowery Bill Kellog and Nathaniel Tucker doing the preaching and the Kellogs providing the music Our revival at the Petersburg church with the Tillis was blessed by God s presence as was the Rally Day service on Saturday afternoon of October 20 October was a month of eternal transition for several of our friends and families But when we lose heaven gains We are thankful most of them had a hope in Christ Terre Haute IN Cornerstone Bible Wesleyan is very pleased that Thelma Herrick has moved to Terre Haute and will be attending the church The church has enjoyed having Chad Winter as a guest speaker a time or two We were totally inspired a couple of Sunday nights ago when a family of three all went to the altar Pastor Lorraine had just finished the sermon and the father stood up and motioned for his two children to join him in prayer Oh that all husbands and fathers would lead their households in such a way Cornerstone is believing God for great things in the coming days The subscription price on this publication is 8 per year Send all payments to Rev Phil Hoard Gen Treasurer 4485 North Fortville Pike Greenfield Indiana 46140 Send all articles news items and address changes to Rev Keith Ledford 710 Fairview Rd Galax VA 24333 Office manager Linda Ledford Photography Jo Ann Thrasher Jonelle Hill Cover Photo of last issue Ron Everhart Electronic submission of all materials is preferred Submit to mckledford gmail com Anderson IN It was a privilege to have Rev Matthew Blankenship as our evangelist this fall and God anointed his ministry and many spiritual needs were met in this meeting To God be the glory We are now participating in the Operation Christmas Child outreach again this year The church family planned and provided a beautiful pastor appreciation Sunday with a special speaker cards of appreciation gift cards monetary gifts a delicious meal held at a gorgeous event center and a 2 day getaway for the pastor and his wife in Brown County It is a joy to serve God and this community of Christ followers at Grace Holiness Church Blu ton IN Great things are happening at Bluffton Wesleyan Chapel Late summer we brought in 8 new members 7 of whom are below 30 years old We recently attended a Youth Membership for youth ages 10 17 and we currently have 10 youth taking membership classes monthly We now have over 40 members in the Church the most in our 47 year history This year was the highest enrollment in our Christian School Wesleyan Heritage Academy with 34 students We have at least one student in each Level Kindergarten 11th grade Also for the 11th year in a row we have received Model Status from A C E with our PACE averages never falling below 94 We are also the host school for A C E Supervisor s Training for Indiana each June the week following Camp Meeting In August we were able to purchase a Church School van a 2016 Chevy 15 passenger with less than 32 000 miles on it In September the Lord moved upon the heart of an anonymous member to pay off the mortgage of our parsonage We had a Mortgage Burning service to the Glory of God We just closed Revival with Keith Sharon Waggoner Bro Waggoner preached and they both sang God helped us We had 32 persons to whom it was their first Revival Meeting to ever attend ages 1 month to 64 years old Souls were saved and victories won We are Praising God for His rich blessings on us and trusting Him for many more
Church news Continued Keep the Faith Seelyville IN Over the last 3 4 months have been a mixture of many blessings and some very rough circumstances but God has helped all the way It is the first night of revival at our church at the time of this message on October 29 2018 and we had a visitor that I had not seen in a long time who was going through some very tough times that seemed encouraged by the Christian fellowship Also received a call from Corey Emery who attended the church for about a year before returning to Maine who requested prayer and we had a short Bible study together The rough circumstances happened about two months ago when the main connector for the church and parsonage came loose causing about 15 000 gallons of water to build up about 4 feet of water in the basement Thankfully the Lord helped us to drain the basement and fix the issue without the need of a plumber as we were able to repair it relatively quickly but it did cause a 980 furnace repair and a 385 water bill The Lord worked and both bills were reduced quite a bit but overall we have been greatly blessed We recently seen a family that we worked with several months give their lives to God though they live a decent distance from our church they have been regular attending a church in their area for the last month God hears and answers prayer as I have witnessed over and over again Across the midwest Wabash New parsonage baby 10 17 18 Jaxton Levi Robert s New heating and cooling system in church New people coming regularly All our encouraged Corydon Closed a wonderful revival Sunday 45 in attendance Sunday morning Danny Goodman going full time as pastor Church in the process of becoming a Full member church Twin Oaks has called the Sam Kiniman s as pastor Remember church and pastor in prayer Greencastle attendance is up getting final occupancy permit for new sanctuary North Vernon Attendance is increasing almost every week Church has started tithing their tithe to the ICHA Pastor and people encouraged Marrietta Closed a tremendous tent meeting on the Court house lawn A man was saved and a family of 5 were saved and has started attending Hope church They are in the process of calling a permanent pastor Hope Rally A tent meeting Ever taken a picture from a motorhome window while whizzing down the interstate at 70 mph Our family took a trip from Ohio to California to see the Sherwood Forest a year ago A lot of our time was spent on the move so many of our vacation photos are a blur of color with no focus on the subject matter In our fast paced attention grabbing world it s easy to get our eyes off of our purpose as Christians to win the lost Hope Bible Church is just a little over 2 years old We re located in a small residential area off the beaten path in a picturesque 1800 s church with stained glass windows and a Sunday School classroom that used to be the carriage house In our short time God has saved 35 people Many of them have been drug addicts alcoholics jail bound or past felons Like Jabez our church has been asking God to enlarge our territory So when Rev Rodney Keister visited our church and suggested we might be interested in having a tent meeting in our town we were eager We set our sites on October 10 14 We decided that the term tent meeting might be luminous for many and chose Hope Rally as the name of our event We began working on the Rally on June 1st which we figured gave us more than enough time to breeze on through the process The secretary at City Hall insisted we could not do a religious event and we spent 4 months battling the legal process with the advice of a lawyer Eventually she tried to put us on the back side of town in a run down tuft of trees with no electricity The Lord prevailed and the Law Director changed the secretary s mind for her and we were given the prime spot in the center of town across from the bar Brother Keister set us up with a sound system that projected 2 city blocks so no passerby could escape The event ended up being a much larger territory than we had expected Bruce Wilkinson in his book The Prayer of Jabez put it like this Attempt something large enough that failure is guaranteed unless God steps in We passed out 1500 fliers made videos advertised on every tv and radio station we could think of and knocked on doors all over town The first night of the tent meeting we honestly felt like the event was a failure After so much work very few people showed up But God had us in His view finder and we were clearly focused on Him A drug dealer who had 4 men attempting to murder him was saved the second night God sent him a job and we prayed with him as we dropped him off at the bus stop People from the bar across the road stood outside listening the entire duration of the meeting Many people congregated outside the tent to hear the words of life and hope in Jesus On the last night of the meeting an entire family of 5 was saved Often it seems that our world is a blur of color rushing down the interstate Our purpose as missionaries in our own towns is often out of focus We ll never know how many lives were impacted by the Hope Rally But one thing we know for sure is that Jesus has us in His view finder When we focus our camera lens on heavenly goals no matter how big the landscape of ministry appears the Master Photographer develops portraits of our lives in astounding colors Focus on Jesus
Looking for a great Christmas gift ICHA Cooks Cookbook CHERRY MACADAMIA COOKIES 1 2 c Softened butter 1 2 c Brown sugar 1 2 c White sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon of vanilla Cream together Sift together the following dry ingredients 1 1 2 c Flour 1 2 teaspoon baking soda 1 2 teaspoon salt Add 1 whole pkg of dried cherries chopped Aldi s brand is fine 1 2 cup of chopped macadamia nuts Mix all together bake on parchment paper 375 degrees for 8 10 minutes Recipe from Judy Johnston Send 10 check to 4485 North Fortville Pike Greenfield IN 46140 Greenfield IN God is helping at Greenfield We have had a few visitors from the community Rick Diana and Jean have attended several services Diana has attended Sunday and Wednesday prayer and praise service It was an encouragement for us and for Diana to see God answer prayer for her son to find a job Keep these visitors and Greenfield in your prayers We want to be a light for Christ Christiansburg VA We are so blessed by our heavenly Father and we thank Him for all He has done The church here continues to move on for God We just closed out revival with Matt Blankenship The Lord s presence was felt in each service in a very near way There were some who prayed at the altar and we know God helped them We were so blessed to see one come back to the Lord in this revival Praise God All of our services have been a blessing and we thank God for the visitors that we have seen and for the new ones who have started attending church here Please keep us in your prayers Rev and Mrs Duane Martin Melvindale MI It has been a busy fall it started with all day meeting dinner on the ground with a sing in the afternoon We set our instruments up in the church yard for the benefit of the neighbors Good service good food good fellowship On Oct 2 4 We had an area IHC with Brother Mark Mowry Bro Nathaniel Tucker and Bro Bill Kellogg with his wife Crystal providing singing as well as preaching Services were well attended God met with us Wednesday night was particularly good God melted us together a fervent loving and healing presence was manifest Many said it was just what they needed God has been blessing on Wednesday night We had Bro Martin Laramie for Missionary service just before he left for India a few weeks back Our monthly cottage prayer meeting has been a real Blessing The Lord Bless you
Holiness Evangelist 710 Fairview Road Galax VA 24333 Return Service Requested Nonprofit Org U S Postage PAID Shoals IN Permit No 16 God made a way with a manger