Where has the time gone?

Alas! I'm sorry for being such a bad blogger over the last few months. I can't believe 2 months has gone by so quickly! So much has happened for the gospel though, I feel like I still must share my experiences. Here's a brief review of the last few months by church's where we've had meetings.

Greenville, SC:

This was a particularly exciting time for me. I was able to visit with my sister, her husband, and my adorable nephew Cai! He's now begun to smile and interact more, so it was a delight to see him a lot. We enjoyed a week off in Greenville, then had a week of meetings at Heritage Bible Church. I believe the highlight for everyone was the Irish Concert we had our last night there. The week's focus was evangelism, so it was exciting to see many visitors

come out and here the gospel. Church members who had not seen results in inviting their friends experienced the joy of actually having those friends attend the concert and hear the gospel. Our team left Heritage with the blessing of seeing evangelism at work in that local church.

Kennerly Road Baptist Church; Irmo, SC:

We returned to old friends at Kennerly Rd. Pastor Ledbetter and his family have been friends of our team for years. Mrs. Ledbetter recently went home to be with the Lord after several years of fighting cancer. God's grace is evident in the lives of the Ledbetter family. Fellowship was sweet as we looked to the God who heals the pain death brings. The story I want to share though is from our last night there. After the Irish Concert, I was able to talk to a girl in her early twenties who responded to the gospel. God was clearly at work and she was under conviction. I went through the gospel several times and pleaded with her to give up the world for Jesus, but she could not at that moment break the ties. Finally, after I had said all I could, we prayed and I let her go. Unrest was written all over her face as she was leaving. Before she walked out the door, Will Galkin stopped her. All he did was ask one question, and she broke before the Lord. Without any prodding from Will, she immediately cried out to God for salvation! Tears of joy streamed down her face replacing the awful anxiety she had been under. What a glorious transformation! What a privilege to witness such a miracle.

Rock Hill, SC:

Two days after talking to the girl at Kennerly Rd., the Lord again gave me an opportunity to witness His saving work. After the Sunday morning service, a young teen girl responded to the gospel. She had just been released from a juvenile detention center. Her past was filled with the emptiness of worldly pleasures. That morning she knew God wanted her to change, and she turned to Christ.

Wilmington, NC:

This church has one of the largest Christian schools I have ever seen. Almost 900 students attend from Pre-K through 12th grade. Enrollment requires you attend a church, but many of the churches these kids attend are questionable. That week around 70 young people received Christ. Our team spent the mornings counseling kids after the elementary and high school chapels. Daily we were sharing the gospel with many people. What a gift from the Lord!

Cheraw, SC:

This church is comprised of very dear faithful Christians living in a small town. The church worked very hard to invite friends to the various services and events we offered. Once again, I had the opportunity to talk with a woman who responded to the gospel. She is in her thirties living with her young son in a new home she just bought. She'd been through some hard times and thought this new home would bring her happiness. She wasn't finding satisfaction though. That night she realized Christ is the only One who satisfies and believed on His Name. She realized no amount of good works she did would get her to heaven. She found Jesus - the only Way.

Yates Thagard Baptist Church, SC:

This is the home of a dear friend of mine Pastor Sammy Frye. I've never met anyone like Sammy. Sammy has the gift of compassion and love for people. Humility, meekness, and evangelistic fervor flow out of him. This was the first time I met his brother - Bruce Frye. Sammy had been saved in his twenties and prayed for years his brother Bruce would receive Christ. Bruce was living in Nashville pursuing a music career and had no desire for God. God was at work in Bruce's life though and kept layering the pressure on until finally Bruce repented. Bruce described himself before salvation as being a cocky, arrogant man full of pride. This is definitely not how Bruce is now. He is very meek and unassuming. He serves, loves, and shares his testimony through evangelism all across the nation. Please pray for their third brother who has not yet received Christ.

This about brings us up to date. As you can see my cup has been full of the blessings of Christ. Never before have I been able to share the gospel with so many people in one semester. Who am I that the Lord should allow me to see such things? I praise Him for allowing me the privilege of being able to be a part of such a ministry. Even though I travel in evangelism though, I know I do not see souls as I ought. God break me over the lost and give me compassion! May each word, motivation, and deed be done for the sake of the gospel!

University Baptist Church, Clemson, SC

Last week was our first real week of meetings for the semester. UBC is a college town church filled with many young people. They have a thriving ministry to the college students of Clemson through a ministry called Cross Impact. I had always heard of this ministry while I was a student at BJ, but this was my first time to experience it. In preparation for our meetings, UBC had reserved a hall for an irish concert on the Clemson campus. The church had been passing out a few thousand free tickets to students on campus, inviting them to our concert. Our team does not have the opportunity often to have this kind of evangelistic experience to college students, so we were pumped to see what God would do. The night of the concert arrived and many college students poured in to the hall. We probably had around 75 students come who had never been a part of the Cross Impact Ministry. That night at least 3 people made professions of faith! Many others heard the gospel and great contact was made for the Cross Impact Ministries. It's exciting to see the gospel of Christ reaching the students of Clemson. May revival spread through the campus and many hearts turn to Him.

On another note, last week I had the opportunity of teaching the Battle 4 Truth kids pre-session. We prepare the kids for battle by teaching them truths from Ephesians 6. They're instructed on how to fight against lies from the devil, their flesh, and the world. As I was explaining how to detect these lies, a girl named Tiffany raised her hand and asked, "Why does God let bad things happen?". This is usually a difficult question to answer that could take some time, but I just responded, "Well a lot of things God does is a mystery we won't know til we get to heaven. I do know in my own life though that if I never had bad things happen to me, I wouldn't need God. Because of the hard things, I've had to cry out to God for dependence and help."

Later, a friend in the church pulled me aside and gave me a little background on Tiffany's family life. I learned that currently her mom was not living with their family. She had left twice before and was now gone again with another man. My heart broke for little Tiffany and the rest of their family. Little did I know the weight of that question when I answered it. Praise God he guided my tongue! My prayer is that God would keep their family from bitterness. May these sweet kids grow up to know God in a special way.

This situation caused me to reflect on two things:

1. The hard things in this world do cause me to long for the holiness of God. Every hard situation has caused me to run to Christ. Just like in the life of Joseph, God can bring good out of evil situations.

2. The words that come out of my mouth, must always be Spirit led. Rarely do I know the background of many of the people I meet in churches. God control my tongue. James 3 - the tongue is a world of iniquity, a small fire, a deadly poison - could set on fire the course of life and it is set on fire by hell.

Keep UBC in your prayers! They are currently in the process of finding a new pastor. God is doing great things in His church family.

Christmas Break

This week, our team has come back together to begin our spring schedule of meetings. We had 6-7 weeks off. I always love my breaks. It's a great time for rest and refreshment in the Word. It was a busy break though with trips to Virginia Beach, Atlanta, Greenville, Indianapolis, and Ft. Myers.

I would have to say one of the highlights of my break was a service I participated in at Gunnery Road Baptist Church in Ft. Myers, FL. Pastor Vance is the dad of my good friend Katie. I've started making a tradition of going down to see them every winter. They are some of the most generous people I know. I love the Vance family and the dear people in their church. Their Christmas service was unique and very special. Along with special numbers from the choir, they had 4 people from their congregation give testimonies. Each testimony was such a blessing to me. I wanted to share a few of them with you all.

The first testimony was a from a young, elementary boy. He boldly spoke of placing his faith in Jesus as His Savior. It was very sweet to see someone so young speak of placing their faith in Christ.

The second testimony was from a young father in the church. He and his family have only been saved for a few years. Before he came to Gunnery Road, he was just a working dad trying to make ends meet. He kept trying and trying in his own strength to provide for his family, but times were tough. He was struggling to make ends meet. Finally through a series of events, he and his family wound up at church during a week of meetings with the Galkins. God had prepared his heart, and that night he accepted Christ as His Savior. He realized he could do nothing in his own strength. Christ is the only One who could take care of his family's needs.

The third testimony was from a lady in the church who'd been saved for about 15 years. Before she came to know Christ, she was a very religious person. She was into reincarnation and other mystical beliefs. One night, after staring at the stars, the thought came to her mind that there must be some one who created all the universe. In her heart, she new something was missing from her beliefs. She contacted her friend who was a believer. This friend eventually shared with her the truth about Christ and she came to the Lord.

The fourth testimony was from another man in the church. Before he came to Christ, he did drugs, dealt drugs, and was a liar. If asked though, he would say he was a good guy and would go to heaven because he was good. After years of hating the church and vowing to never step foot into a church building, he decided he would go to a service. While there, he realized the saving work of Christ and became a believer.

These were 4 clear testimony's of people whose hearts God had prepared for salvation. Each of them had specific ways in which they were trying to find goodness and satisfaction in themselves. All came to know Christ through specific leading of God through events in their lives. This was one of the most enjoyable services I had ever been a part of. Praise the Lord for His great salvation!