MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE HOME MISSIONS BOARD AND STAFF

Here is a picture of the Home Missions Board meeting in December, 2010.
These men take time out of their busy schedule to serve for no pay. They have a heart for starting new churches and for the home missionary families. Thank you, Board members!
From left to right:
Bob Lewis, Tennessee
Earl Hanna, South Carolina
Bob Thebeau, Missouri
Matt Upton, California (Board Clerk)
Randy Wright, Alabama (Board Chairman)
(Standing is General Director Larry Powell)
Ron Parker, Louisiana (Board Assistant Chairman)
Tim Stout, Ohio
Bobby Shepherd, Arkansas
Jerry Atwell, Mississippi





Sue Hayes and Janice Donoho
Sue is CELF Accounting Administrator and Assistant to the Director.
Janice is Assistant to the Director of Missionary Assistance.



Larry Powell, General Director




David Crowe, Director of Development





Kathy Brown (on the left) is the Home Missions Accounting Administrator.
Ida Lewis (on the right) is the Publications Editor.
In the middle is me, Richard Atwood, Director of Missionary Assistance.

I'm thankful to work on the same team with all these good people on the Home Missions staff. They do a great job, work hard, and love home missions.

I'm also thankful for all the home missionary families. They are salt of the earth Christians trying to shine their light in dark places.

From all of us on the Board and Staff, we hope for you a happy time with your family and friends over the Christmas holidays!
We pray for God's blessings and direction for you for 2011.

A New Church in Greenfield, California

Jim and Tracy Kilgore moved to Greenfield, California to start a new Free Will Baptist Church. On Saturday, October 3, they had an Operation Saturation to spread the word about the church. On Sunday, October 4, they had their launch service. Masters Men Director, Ken Akers, and my wife, Sandy, and I went to California to be with the Kilgores for this special weekend.
Here is a picture of the Kilgore family with Ken and us. We ate together at a local restaurant. Three of the Kilgore children are here - Hannah, Samuel, and Daniel. Their oldest, Caleb, is in college.



About 70 people showed up on Saturday for the Operation Saturation. Several pastors of other FWB churches came with several people in their churches. Some drove 2-3 hours to be there.




Here are some of the folks who went door to door that day. The guy with the beard and glasses is Tracy's first pastor - Sam Hensley, with his wife Bobbie. Sandy is beside them.




Here is Jim and me beside his church sign.



We are gathered to hear instruction.

That's Hannah Kilgore facing the camera.

Jim is handing out assignments. The guy with the glasses is Stan Barron, brother of home missionary, Jerry Barron.

Jim's neighbor cooked lunch for all of us.

This is Sunday morning as the crowd gathers. 57 people came that morning! A few were visitors from out of town, but over 40 were from Greenfield. That's a good attendance for their opening service.

I was honored to pray a prayer of dedication for the new church.

Tracy did a good job leading the singing.

Jim preached a great message.

Of course, we ate again after church. Jim is waving because he is excited and relieved that the service went so well.

Colorado Trip

Sandy and I just got back from a 9 day trip to Colorado. We visited several home missionaries there and held a Regional Meeting in Colorado Springs.

On the first Sunday, we went to church with Scott Cheatham in Denver. Here is their building:




Scott is not ashamed that he is Free Will Baptist.



I like churches that have signs that let me know where to go.




Here is Scott and Becky and Sandy and me in their auditorium.




Here is Scott and Becky with their 3 children, son-in-law, and grandson.

Aurora is a suburb of Denver. The Longs have recently moved there and are meeting people as they work to start a new church. This is Barry, Jessica, and Austin with Sandy in the Longs home.

Naturally, we had to all go out to eat.

You don't go too far south of Denver before you get to Castle Rock, where the Burkes have moved to start a church.

Here is Sandy and me in front of the namesake of the town.

Donnie and Susan with the town of Castle Rock behind them. This is almost at the top of the rock.

The trail ended near the top, but Donnie and I climbed on up to the top.

Here is Donnie pointing out something to me.

Proof that I climbed to the top.

We took a picture of Sandy and Susan down on the trail.

We went to a local cafe to eat. They had great food.

This is a picture of the auditorium of the new building in Colorado Springs. Dexter Guin, Tim Hodges, and their people have done a lot of work. The building is beautiful. Already they are having a lot of visitors.

It was Pastor Appreciation Day that Sunday. Tim Hodges is presenting gifts to Dexter, Dennise, Keilah, and Kristin. His wife and two daughters are also a big part of the ministry.

Our regional meeting was held at the Colorado Springs church. The old auditorium is now the fellowship hall. Here is a picture as we are getting ready to start our meeting.

This is a picture of all the guys at the meeting - Tim Hodges, Barry Long, Scott Cheatham, Dexter Guin, Mark Thomas, Richard Atwood, and Donnie Burke.

One afternoon we all loaded up into the church van and Dexter took us on a ride through some beautiful Colorado scenery.

At 11 Mile Canyon, Sandy had to put her feet in the water. It was cold.

Of course, we had to eat together one more time before everyone went home.

These Colorado church planters are a great bunch of people! We loved spending time with them. Pray for their success in reaching people for Christ and building churches.

Northeast Trip 2

Sandy and I left Quebec, Canada and drove down into New York state. Since the Brian Williams family had just recently moved to New York, we wanted to spend some time with them. (They have actually been staying with Jim and Sylvia Martin and will be moving into an apartment in Buffalo on September 1.)

Here's the Williams family when we went out to eat. There is Brian, Emily, Leah, Lauren, and Lucas.



Lauren is trying to teach me something.



Brian's steak didn't come cooked as he wanted it, but he was nice and ate it anyhow. Then he mentioned it to the waitress and got a new steak and potato for free. Here he is with his second steak of the night. Pretty smart.



On Sunday, we went to church near Rochester with the Booths and Martins.
Here is Dana and me after church.



While we were in Rochester, Sandy and I stayed with our son, Nathan, and his wife, Rachel.
(They are a nice looking young couple.)
This is on the Erie Canal.




Here is Jim Martin teaching on Wednesday night. He did a good job.

The FWB home missionaries from Pennsylvania and New York had a regional meeting near Rochester. We met in a motel meeting room. Here is the group before one of our sessions.
We had a great time discussing and listing things on the white board.

And we had a great quote from Tom Jones - "They ain't comin!"

We had pizza that night and I got the picture just as Tom opened his mouth.

We did go out for one nice dinner. With all this eating, you can see why I'm fat.

Nate and Jenna Altom

We took a boat ride on the Canandaigua Lake.

Brian and Emily Williams

Jim and Sylvia Martin

Allen and Jenny Hall

The captain needed help and some volunteered to steer the boat.

This last guy almost wrecked us, so we gave it back to the captain.

Dana and Betty Booth

Tom and Pam Jones

Sandy Atwood, Sylvia Martin, and Emily Williams

Here's the whole group in front of the motel.

It is truly a privilege to spend time with all of our home missionaries. They are salt of the earth people. And they are friends.

I thank God for them.