Baptist TrumpetVolume 77 January 11, 2017 Little Rock, Arkansas Number 15

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF BAPTIST MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION OF ARKANSASwww.baptisttrumpet.com

In This IssueLegislative Session Convenes (pg. 3)

New Year (pg. 6)Planning in His Presence (pg. 3)

SEC President Dies (pg. 5)SOAR Early Registration (pg. 5)

See RESERVATIONS, Page 6See NEW, Page 5

See GOALS, Page 2

See REVIEW, Page 4

See MINISTERS, Page 2

Movingwith ministers

and staff

By The Editor Once again, I’m trying to do the impossible — summarize an entire year of Trumpet news into one arti-cle. Knowing that I will have to leave out some important events due to lack of space, this is a brief look back at just a few of the 2016 highlights. Also listed are the BMA of Arkansas ministers and BMA of America de-partmental workers who went to be with the Lord this year.

January • North View Baptist Church in North Little Rock dedicated their new building on Jan. 10. • The Conway campus of BMA Theological Seminary implemented a pilot initiative, offering a package of modular courses to “complement existing course offerings.” The first course (Doctrine of the Word, Rev-elation and Scripture) began Jan. 14. •  Central Baptist College an-nounced the addition of Band to its programs for the 2016 fall semester. Tim Gunter was hired as director of Bands and Associate Professor of Mu-sic. •  The Baptist Trumpet launched their new website — baptisttrumpet.com. Obituaries —  Dr. Travis Plum-lee, Trumpet columnist since Oct. 12, 1994, died Jan. 28; Charles Walter McKamy, 92 of Morrilton, died Jan. 6.

Editor’s Note: As I have done in previous years, I gave each depart-mental director in the BMA of Ar-kansas and the BMA of America an opportunity to share their “prayers and goals” for the coming year. Please join me in praying for each of these ministries this year. Except for the Trumpet’s portion, which will appear on page 4 of next week’s issue in the Notebook col-umn, these reports are listed in the order they were received. Due to length, the article will be continued next week.

BMA SeminaryDr. Charley Holmes, President For some, 60 years old is a time to start thinking of retirement and slow-ing down. For others with different circumstances, it is a time to take all the lessons of a lifetime and recharge for a sprint to the finish line.

Jerry Fulton, editor of the Baptist Progress, is serving as interim pas-tor at First Baptist Church in Rice, Texas. Glenn Alston has accepted the pastorate of Cherrywood Baptist Church in Sherwood. Larry Thompson has resigned as pastor of Union Grove Baptist Church in Blevins. Mike Hoke has resigned as youth director at Grace Baptist Church in Russellville. Lee Staton will be ordained as a deacon Jan. 15, 2 p.m., at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Carlisle. For more information email oak-woodchristian@yahoo.com.

A BMAA meeting informational packet will be mailed to the churches in the next few days. In addition to the associational letter (see below), the packet will include a couple of new things: •  Help Us Honor Our Own — Officers want to recognize those who have been in ministry for more than 60 years that are still living and will be present at the national meet-ing. Photos of each minister, along with information about his ministry, may be sent to James Ray Raines: P.O. Box 17872, North Little Rock, Ark. 72117. •  National Meeting Time Sur-vey —  Each church is being asked to complete a brief survey about the meeting and return it with their church letter. The three multiple choice questions asked on the survey are: • If you are not currently attending

2016: A Year In Review

Directors’ Prayers and Goals for 2017 Amazingly to many, Isaac was still active and fa-thered Jacob at the age of 60. With the birth of Ja-cob, God’s family began to explode numerically. At this the beginning of Baptist Missionary Association Theologi-cal Seminary’s sixth decade, we are praying for a similar explosion of men trained for biblical ministry. The explosion may have already begun. This fall, we have a record enrolment of 173 with an additional 25 in a free online class. Some institutions get enamored with numerical growth and let stan-dards fall to the wayside. In our “60” decade, any numerical goal will be secondary to the sound standards we have now: • Solid associational Baptist doc-trine •  Sound, Christ-centered exposi-tory preaching • Sound Christ-centered worship, regulated by Scripture • Skilled disciple-makers The BMA Seminary has no ex-traordinarily wealthy trustees, alum-ni or friends who regularly give tens of thousands of dollars. Our largest individual gift in the last 12 months was $15,000. We receive no grants from government sources or other denominations. The seminary’s exis-tence depends upon the regular sup-port of our churches and friends. George Muller is a well-known evangelical figure from the 1800’s. Muller is famous for funding his ministry to a vast number of or-phans by depending on God to move people to help without depending on money-raising gimmicks. When a crisis arose with a bill for the orphan-age, he would say,  “How the means are to come, I know not; but I know that God is almighty, that the hearts

By BMAA President Paul White It is nearing that time of the year when we have the opportunity to gather and conduct the Lord’s business as an association. May 1-3 has been set aside as the time for our 2017 an-nual meeting to convene in Arlington, Texas. It is my prayer that God will continue to bless all of our departments, agencies and churches. I hope you are already making plans for your church to be represented at this year’s meeting. This year’s theme, “Brick by Brick,” is built around teamwork, with the emphasis on increasing our attendance for the purpose of strengthening every area of our ministry. Make plans now to join us, and may God bless every aspect of our time together. Again this year, you will be given the opportunity to choose between several great breakout sessions presented by our national departments and agencies. It is the desire of your officers and those involved in planning to provide you with materials and practical instruction you will be able to use in your respective fields of service. Of course, these are provided in addition to the times of conducting business and opportunities to gather for worship. Please review the preliminary schedule of this year’s meeting that is on page 8 of this week’s Trumpet. It will help you in your planning and travel schedule.

68th Annual Meeting: “Brick by Brick”

Arlington Convention Center, Arlington, Texas

Something New Has Been Added

By The Comm. on Arrangements The 2017 session of the Baptist Missionary Association of America will meet May 1-3 at the Arlington Convention Center in Arlington, Texas. The Committee on Arrange-ments has made its review and plans for the 2017 annual association meeting. The facilities and hotels are looking forward to our meeting there. There is plenty of space for all of our meetings and lodging. We hope that you will make your reservations early. Most of the hotels can make your reservations either by phone or on-line, but you must identify that you are with the Baptist Missionary As-sociation of America. •  Sheraton, Arlington (Head-quarters Hotel): $135 per night (Single & Double); (800) 325-3535. • Hilton, Arlington: $135 per night (King & Double); (817) 640-3322.

It’s Time To Make Your Reservations

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Central Baptist College1501 College Ave. • Conway, Arkansas 72034

(501) 329-6872 • (800) 205-6872 • www.cbc.edu Twitter: @CentBaptCollege and @tkimbrow

Terry KimbrowPresident

PROFILE

See GOALS, Page 3

CBC will host its annual Home-coming activities on Friday, Feb. 3 and Saturday, Feb. 4. Events begin on Fri-day with a prospective student Open House starting at 2:30 p.m. Students interested in CBC should consider at-tending this event to learn more about scholarships, financial aid, the admis-sions process and more. Students may sign up at cbc.edu/stampede. On Friday afternoon, a Chili Cook-off will be held in the Ma-bee Student Center. Student groups, alumni and local businesses are en-couraged to compete in the Chili Cook Off. There is a $20 registration fee for all businesses. The event will be free to attendees, and chili and hot dogs will be available. To register a Chili Cook-off team, e-mail Meagan Lowry at mlowry@cbc.edu. The fun continues at 6 pm with the Mustang Carnival taking place in the A.R. Reddin Fieldhouse. This event is fun for the whole family, and will include carnival games, prizes and more! Admission is free and open to students, alumni and friends. On Saturday, activities begin at 9 a.m. with a Tower Media reunion in Room KB107 in the Cooper Build-ing. Tower Media alumni are en-couraged to attend and can RSVP to Ann Gardner at agardner@cbc.edu. The fun continues in KB 109 as groups from the 1980s-1990s gather in the Cooper Building at 9 a.m. Half Century Club inductions will begin at 9:30 a.m. in the Mitchell Lecture Hall, located on the second floor of the Watkins Building. Graduates of 1966-1967 are invited to take part in the festivities and can RSVP to Deanna Ott at dott@cbe.edu. Join us at 10:30 a.m. in the Story Library as we celebrate the Mustangs Baseball team for being named the

Daniel Keisler surrendered to the ministry Oct. 30 at Immanuel Bap-tist Church in Sheridan. He is avail-able for preaching appointments and can be contacted at (870) 917-8178. Herman A. Latham, a member of Fellowship Baptist Church, is avail-able for preaching appointments and pastoral service within driving dis-tance of Walnut Ridge. Contact him at (870) 759-1969 or 886-1657. Jackie Manasco is available for preaching appointments as the Lord leads. He can be contacted at (501) 281-1310 or jwmanasco@sbcglobal.net. Dickinson Baptist Church at Harrell is seeking a pastor and also needs help with filling the pulpit until that man is found. Contact Church Clerk Sonya Harrell, P.O. Box 151, Harrell, Ark. 71745; dick-insonbaptist@gmail.com; (870) 510-4773 (text) or 798-4821 (6-9 p.m.). Grace Baptist Church in Rus-sellville is seeking a youth pastor for Sunday activities. Contact Pastor Roger Pearce at (479) 264-5423. Landmark Baptist Church in England is seeking a youth director. House and utilities plus salary. Contact Pastor David Inzer at (870) 672-1797. Union Grove Baptist Church at Blevins is seeking a pastor. Contact Sid Zimmer at (870) 703-2773 (cell) or 887-2254 (home).

MINISTERS(Continued From Page 1)

Jordan Bowen, Judy Johnson and Chris Ramsey will be honored at this year’s CBC Homecoming.

2016 AMC Conference Champions! The CBC Alumni Luncheon will be held at 11:15 a.m. in the Dining Hall of the Mabee Student Service Building. Tickets are $11, and can be purchased at cbc.edu/homecoming. Awards will be given to three alumni who have demonstrated in-credible service to their community, their careers and to the Lord. The Distinguished Alumnus of the Year will be presented to Judy Johnson, the Outstanding Young Alumnus of the Year will be presented to Jordan Bowen and Chris Ramsey will be the recipient of the Mustang Com-munity Impact Award. Kyle Gore, CBC Alumni ’12, will be this year’s speaker, and Zeb Bal-entine, CBC Alumni ‘09, will lead music during the luncheon. The highlight of the day begins in the A.R. Reddin Fieldhouse at 1 p.m. with the Lady Mustangs taking on Missouri Baptist. The 2016 Home-coming Court will be announced after the women’s game, and will be followed by the Mustangs going head-to-head with Missouri Baptist. At CBC Homecoming 2017, come by and record your Mustang Memories in the Story Library. Mustang Memories will be a collec-tion of interviews with people who have helped to make or witnessed the history of Central Baptist Col-lege. Think about your favorite CBC memory, a favorite teacher or any-thing related to the history of CBC. The Story Library will be open on Friday, Feb. 3 and Saturday, Feb. 4 during Homecoming activities to re-cord your memory. For more information, go to cbc.edu/homecoming or contact Mea-gan Lowry at mlowry@cbc.edu or (501) 205-8870.

Homecoming Festivities Set for Feb. 3-4

Open Mic Singing, Feb. 4, 5 p.m. (meal); 6 p.m. (singing); Faustina, Hampton. 3rd Annual Southern Jubilee Gospel Convention, Feb. 10-11, 6 p.m. (Fri.); 5 p.m. (Sat.); Heaven’s Echoes, NHim, Velvet Ridge and Broken Vessels will be featured; Mike Goodwin, emcee; Shady Grove, Pig-gott. The Camerons in concert, Feb. 26, 6 p.m.; Calvary, Warren. Gospel Singing Convention, April 7-8, 2017; Prospect, Jonesboro.

DISTRICtCALENDAR

GreenbrierDistrictMen’sFel-lowship, Jan. 14, 7:30 a.m.; Needs Creek, Greenbrier. Central District WMA, Jan. 14, 10 a.m.; Ruby Poteet, speaker; North View, North Little Rock. United District WMA, Jan. 21, 10 a.m.; Sarah Bowen, speaker; Brown’s Catfish, 1804 East Main St., Russellville. Mt. Calvary District WMA, Jan. 21, 10 a.m.; Diane Spriggs, speaker; Bradford, Bradford. Jonesboro District Brother-hood, Feb. 14; New Hope Mission, Jonesboro.

of all are in His hands and that, if He pleases to influence persons, they will send help” (Prov. 21:1). Pray that the reports of the Lord’s work at the seminary will come into the hands of people that God will be pleased to influence. If someone asks you if you know of a need or of a worthy ministry they could help, place this report in their hands. The ministry of BMATS is de-pendent upon the gifts of BMA churches and individuals. Please join us in praying for our goals and needs for this sixth decade: • Sixty new students in the com-ing year • $60,000 to refurbish both Dor-man Memorial Chapel and the Gregson Center. Chapel pews are beyond repair and must be replaced. •  $60,000 added to the building fund. This past summer, we incurred $25,000 in air conditioner repair and one additional unit needs to be re-placed at a cost of $4,500. We also are facing an expense of approxi-mately $6,000 to replace our aged commercial mower. We are rejoicing in His provision.

Moral ActionDr. John M. Adams, Exec. Dir. These are our ministry goals: •  To be in the center of God’s will with this agency. • To present Je-sus Christ as the Savior of all who will call upon Him. •  To encourage the BMA family to daily intercede for the President of the U.S.A. and his cabinet that they may live for God. • To contact at least four new U.S. Senators and four new U.S. Con-gressmenin D.C. in 2017. •  To have Godly boldness in speaking up for moral values that are so needed today, and that it may encourage Godly and biblical legis-lation. •  To continue the “God and Country” rallies upon invitation. • And to be an encourager for our BMA churches, pastors, association-alworkers and staff workers to stand in this sinful and diverse world. We humbly ask for your prayers and financial support for Moral Ac-tion in2017. We take II Chron. 7:14 as our guide.

BMA FoundationCharles Attebery, Exec. Dir. Thank you for the opportunity to share the BMA Foundation’s 2017 goals. They are as follows: • Continuation of our complimen-tary estate planning service to BMA

GOALS(Continued From Page 1)

families. We have been notified of bequests totaling $7,211,244 des-ignated for BMA departments since the program be-gan in 2013.  •  Making BMA individuals and families aware that Charitable Gift Annuities, with very favorable rates, are now available through the BMA Foundation. While this kind of pro-gram is not new, it just became avail-able through the BMA Foundation as of December 2016. This program provides a way to ensure income for life in exchange for a $10,000 or larger gift to the Foundation. The gift may be designated to one or more of the BMA departments if the donor desires to do so. •  Consideration of other ways the Foundation can be of service to BMA families, churches and depart-ments. Please ask God to bless our ef-forts to build a significant endow-ment fund from which earnings will supplemental funding to the BMA departments until the Lord returns. Lifeword Media MinistriesSteve Crawley, Exec. Dir. 2017 — A Year of Opportunity The ministry team of Lifeword is rejoicing in the victories and ac-complishments of the Lord through this ministry in 2016. Lifeword e x p e r i e n c e d growth in the breadth and depth of its ministry, adding two dozen Com-munity Radio stations around the world, increasing the number of lan-guages that are broadcasting the gos-pel and expanding its reach on social media. Financially, God provided re-sources and strengthened the min-istry’s ability to walk through open broadcast doors. Good financial stewardship has allowed the ministry to enjoy a solid base of support. Life-word’s scope and reach has contin-ued to expand. Presently Lifeword is broadcasting in 40 languages in 217 countries, with a potential listening audience of over 25% of the world’s population. On the heels of a tremendous 2016, Lifeword staff are making moves to ensure that the minis-try builds on the momentum cre-ated to reach more people with the life-changing message of Christ. New broadcast programming is be-ing imagined, new media platforms are being explored, and additional broadcast opportunities are emerg-ing. Spanish Language Program-ming — In 1980, with a population of 14.8 million, Hispanics made up

-3- BAPTIST TRUMPET, January 11, 2016

CHURCH HEALTHP.O. Box 878 • Conway, Ark. 72033-0878

(501) 455-4977 • larry@bmaam.comLARRY BARKER

Director of Operations North AmericaBMA of America Missions Department

See GOALS, Page 6

In Uncommon Life Daily Challenge, Tony Dungy says that one of the keys to life is self-control, discipline. He says we need to “discipline ourselves to do what we need to do, so that at a later time we can do what we want to do.” This truth focuses on our core, our inner most being. The necessity for disciplines in our life will insure that our core is strong and that it remains strong. Paul prayed for believers in Eph. 3:16 (HCSB), “I pray that He may grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power in the inner man through His Spirit.” Prayer is one of the disciplines that is crucial to keeping our spiritual core healthy and strong. When our prayer life begins to diminish, everything else begins to deteriorate. It requires discipline to dedicate oneself to prayer, but our primary job is to listen to His voice. The exciting thing is that when we do our job — listening — He promises to do His job, guiding and directing us. Prayer is the key to opening our lives to the power and purpose of the Holy Spirit. Prayer is necessary in our lives and in our ministries. • Realize that you become empty on the inside before it shows up on the outside. We have even learned to fake it, put on a mask and appear to be spiri-tual when we are not walking closely with God. The truth is that your life will eventually catch up with your heart. Putting it very plainly, you will burn out sooner on the inside than you are able to see on the outside. Our prayer must be, “Holy Spirit, would you show me what You can do through me?” Remember, He is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think. • The primary purpose of prayer is to get into God’s presence. You must desire and pursue prayerful planning because the plans of God are only revealed in His presence. You will be tempted to trust your instincts and hunches but the Holy Spirit’s direction is so much better. You want to figure it out and come up with a better idea on your own, but even the smartest people in the world are not always right. You may think you will just work harder and longer than anybody else. A good work ethic is admirable, but God’s power is better. • Believe in the power of prayer to accomplish great and mighty things for Him. It has been quoted often, “The Christian should work as if all depended upon him, and pray as if it all depended upon God.” You know you are not perfect, but He is working to perfect you. You do not always know what to do, but He knows how to direct you. You do not have the strength or stamina to do all that He has asked of you, but He gives you the strength. In Draw the Circle, Mark Batterson says, “When you pray to God regularly, ir-regular things happen on a regular basis.” What does prayerful planning look like? It begins by praying with a reason. Paul says, “For this reason I kneel,” and prays a specific prayer for the Ephesians to receive spiritual power. In Genesis 24, Abra-ham’s servant asked God to show him who would be Isaac’s wife. The Bible says in verse 15 that “before he had finished speaking there was Rebekah.” Jesus prayed specifi-cally for His disciples in John 17 that they would be protected, have joy, be sancti-fied by truth and live sent lives as He did. Be specific! What is your need right now? Prayerful planning continues by praying with an attitude of humble inten-sity. Paul said he bowed on his knees. The normal Jewish prayer posture at that time was standing, with hands stretched out and eyes looking heavenward. By kneeling, he submitted, bowed, to the reality of his total dependence on God. Often, the intensity is determined by the severity of the circumstances. Some-times our prayer is a casual conversation with our heavenly Father, but other times it is intense intercession. The leadership of the Holy Spirit determines the need! Humble intensity means we are not just fixated on getting an answer or victory over our circumstances but learning how to live, grow and glorify Him in and through our circumstances. It is not only praying “get me out,” but also asking God to “see us through.” Quoting Mark Batterson again, “The primary purpose of prayer is not to change our circumstances. The primary purpose is to change us!” As Jesus faced His greatest challenge, the cross, He prayed, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify You.” Then we need to pray with a focus. In Eph. 3:14 Paul said, “For this reason I kneel before the Father.” The focus of prayer is not on what you are asking but whom you are asking. Prayer is more about our relationship with Him than Him meeting our needs. If we desire His direction and guidance, we must press and lean into His presence. That is where He outlines His agenda for us and shows us what to think, how we should feel about it and what we are supposed to be doing. It is being in His presence to allow Him to work in us so that we can become more like Christ. Healthy churches are always asking, “What do we need to be praying for spe-cifically right now?” They seek to plan their work, then work their plan but that is a plan that is bathed in prayer!

just 6.5% of the total U.S. popula-tion. In 2014, there were 55.3 mil-lion Hispanics in the United States, 17.3% of the total U.S. population. Since 1960, the nation’s Latino pop-ulation has increased nearly ninefold. It is projected to grow to 119 mil-lion by 2060, according to the latest projections from the U.S. Census Bureau (2014). Lifeword is in a unique position to present the Gospel of Christ to the Hispanic population in America through the use of traditional and social media. We will also support BMA Missions as they plant new churches in America. In addition, Lifeword intends to broaden its His-panic reach into Central and South America. For the Hispanic facet of Life-word’s ministry, the primary goal of 2017 is to better serve Spanish-speaking BMA churches and mis-sions. The first way we hope to ac-complish that goal is by keeping them better informed and abreast of what the Lord is doing around the world. To accomplish it, we will translate Lifeword’s monthly elec-tronic newsletter into Spanish and encourage subscribers. We will also provide a translated digital version of the Lifeword section of mission:world magazine and a synopsis of remain-ing articles in each edition. Another initiative for 2017 is the creation of a new weekly short-form social media “broadcast” that will feature stateside and international vlogs (video blogs) of how the Lord is moving and transforming lives through the ministry of Lifeword and her partnerships. These Face-book-based (Lifeword en Español) broadcasts will inform Hispanic churches about BMA ministries and their prayer requests, mostly us-ing media-trained young people as producers and moderators. To bet-ter partner with Lifeword, trans-lated Lifeword Sunday/Walk for the World video and print materials will also be produced. Additionally, we believe it is im-portant to have a physical presence in Hispanic BMA churches in the U.S. so they understand their im-portance to our associated work. We intend to visit with pastors, listen to their concerns and needs, then pray for and with them. Our goal is also to inspire BMA Hispanic church members to commit to pray and give to help other missions with their multimedia needs and to reach their community for Christ. Internationally, the reach of Life-word’s ministry into Hispanic cul-ture has never been stronger. In 2017 our goal is to expand and refine Gos-pel broadcasts and broadcast training in Central and South America. We will continue to provide tools and training that enable indigenous lo-

Legislators gathered in Little Rock Jan. 9 to begin the 91st regu-lar session of Arkansas’ General Assembly. If past sessions are any indication, over 2,000 bills will be introduced, debated, considered and voted on. In that mix will be propos-als covering a whole host of issues from state budget, finance, taxation and appropriation measures to those dealing with substantive matters involving the state’s criminal code, health and welfare concerns, business regulations, standards for the gover-nance of municipalities and counties, issues regarding the production and marketing of alcoholic beverages, medical marijuana and many other particulars. The Arkansas Faith and Ethics Council will be on top of the leg-islative session, lobbying for those measures that comport most closely to Judeo-Christian values and work-ing against those running counter to those Biblical principles. We will monitor and scrutinize all the goings-on at the capitol and apprise those who receive our legislative alerts. There are some measures the leg-islators will deliberate on that we can anticipate. And there are others that

ArkansasFaithAndEthicsCouncilLarry Page, Director

P.O. Box 25112Little Rock, AR 72221

(501) 228-0432 • (877) 665-6883llp@arfaith.org; www.arfaith.org.

Legislative Session Conveneswill come as total surprises. As for those matters we fully ex-pect to see, chief among them will be the enabling legislation that must be passed to administer the unfortu-nate, but unavoidable, new business of so-called “medical marijuana” that has been created in our state. The constitutional amendment approved by the state’s voters in last month’s general election approves the grow-ing, marketing and smoking and ingesting of marijuana; but much of the “nuts and bolts” specifics must be established by the legislature.  We, along with other individuals and faith-based groups, will work diligently (and hopefully, effectively) to restrict and tighten up as much as constitutionally possible the particu-lars about this new trade in marijua-na to limit the abuses, dangers and harms that we know will accompany this misguided attempt to bring compassionate health care to Arkan-sans. While the whole effort to legal-ize marijuana was couched in terms of medical marijuana, the real intent and desire by those supporting and pushing it was “recreational mari-juana.” And, in time, that is what this bogus new law will devolve into. In addition to paying attention to how the marijuana laws play out, we will be working to prevent advances of the SO/GI (sexual orientation and gender identity) agendas. We expect attempts to amend the state’s civil rights law to elevate members of those groups to special preference and privileges to which they aren’t entitled, such as the “rights” to let males use bathrooms, showers and locker rooms reserved for females based on their self-professed belief that they are female, and not male. Among other matters we will at-tend to are: • Restricting attempts to increase abortion on demand at any gesta-tional age • Preventing the expansion of lot-tery and casino gambling • Opposing bogus hate crimes • Limiting the availability of hard-core pornography •  Promoting the welfare of chil-dren at risk • Improving race relations and the well-being of communities • Preserving local control by which individual counties and communities can determine whether the sale of al-coholic beverages should be permit-ted where they live. (arfaith.org)

GOALS(Continued From Page 2)

Planning in His Presence

cal BMA churches in the Americas to most effectively share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and make disciples in their communities through the use of media. We intend to produce multimedia training workshops in the countries of El Salvador, Mexico, Bolivia and/or Honduras. In addition, Lifeword will install at least two to three Life-word Community Radio stations in El Salvador, Peru, Chile and/or Ecuador. And we intend to expand our media outreach by joining forces with six to twelve Spanish-speaking countries where the BMA has a presence in training and launching young social media missionaries. These social media missionaries will create and produce vlogs/broadcasts that will reach their own generation with the Gospel, help disseminate Lifeword’s content in the churches of their respective countries, cap-ture and submit to Lifeword video reports of the Lifeword ministry in their countries, maintain broadcasts on current outlets, and expand to add at least one new media outlet. English Language Programming — North America is now the third

-4- BAPTIST TRUMPET, January 11, 2016

Baptist Trumpet (USPS 043-720) (ISSN 0888-9074) Published by the Baptist Missionary Association of Arkansas; sponsoring Missions, Benevolence and Christian Education.

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Price: $18.50 per year; Church Plan: 36 cents per copy Published weekly except for the week of New Year’s and one week in April, May, July, September, November and December. Periodi-cal postage paid at Little Rock, Arkansas. Editorial offices at 10712 Interstate 30, Little Rock, Arkansas 72209. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Baptist Trumpet, P.O. Box 192208, Little Rock, Arkansas 72219-2208. Opinions expressed in signed articles are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the editor or the churches of the BMA.

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See REVIEW, Page 5

Trumpet NotesBy Diane Spriggs

Judge Halts Directive On Jan. 1, a federal judge or-dered an immediate halt to Presi-dent Obama’s directive that would have forced doctors and health care facilities to perform sex-change op-erations and other gender transition services, even if it violated their reli-gious beliefs or medical judgment. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor wrote in his judgment, “Plaintiffs will be forced to either violate their reli-gious beliefs or maintain their current policies, which seem to be in direct conflict with the rule and risk the se-vere consequences of enforcement.” Back in August, Judge O’Connor blocked another Obama edict that directed schools to allow boys to use girls’  restrooms. Texas and 12 other states challenged Obama, saying his executive mandate was unconstitutional. (afa.net)

PP Has 2016 “Net Loss” “The nation’s largest abortion pro-vider, Planned Parenthood (PP), closed 27 facilities in 2016,” said Micaiah Bilger in a One News Now report. American Life League (ALL), which tracks data related to abortion and Planned Parenthood, found that the nation’s largest abortion provider opened eight new facilities and closed 27 others in 2016. The abortion chain currently operates 624 facilities. “We are happy to report that they closed 27 more facilities in 2016, and they only opened 8 new ones — so a net loss of 19 PP facilities in 12 months,” ALL Executive Director Jim Sedlak told One News Now. “That’s the way we like to see it go.” Sedlak said Planned Parenthood once operated 938 facilities across the U.S., but today their numbers are down by one-third.

Planned Parenthood’s abortion numbers have remained fairly steady in the past few years (its 2016 report is not out yet), despite so many of its facilities closing. At the same time as it closed facili-ties and received half a billion taxpay-er dollars, Planned Parenthood per-formed fewer non-abortion services, according to its annual reports from the past several years. From 2010 to 2014, Planned Parenthood’s annual reports showed dramatic decreases in the actual health services it provides, including breast cancer screenings, pap tests, prenatal care and STD treatments. (onenewsnow.com)

Ky. Governor Signs BillsTo Protect Unborn Babies On Jan. 7, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin signed bills into law that ban late-term abortions and require women seeking abortions to undergo ultrasounds. Both laws took effect as soon as Bevin’s signature was ap-plied. Lawmakers held a rare session on Saturday to give final passage to a series of high-priority bills, includ-ing two that would curb abortions. The late-term abortion law bans the procedures after 20 weeks of pregnan-cy, except in cases in which the moth-er’s life is in danger. Physicians who violate the measure could have their medical licenses revoked and could be sentenced to up to five years in prison. Under the ultrasound law, physi-cians are required to display the im-ages so women can see, though they have the option to avert their eyes if they don’t want to see them. Physi-cians face a $100,000 fine for a first offense and a $250,000 fine for sub-sequent offenses. Both the new laws were heralded by evangelicals. (bpnews.net)

Your church can experience a short-term mission trip close to home!

MARDI GRASMISSIONSFEBRUARY 24-25 GULFPORT/BILOXI, MS

$35 per person and includes lodging, training, evening snack, Saturday morning breakfast, Bibles to hand out and a Mardi Gras Missions T-Shirt.

www.bmamissions.org/mardigrasmissionREGISTER ONLINE NOW!

Training and lodging will be at:Campground Baptist Church

20577 Highway 53Gulfport, MS 39503

February • The 2016 Asia-Pacific Mission-ary Care Conference was held Feb. 5-9 in San Pablo, Philippines. Sev-eral countries were represented by 44 missionaries and their families. • A second Torah was presented to BMA Seminary on Feb. 11 by Ken and Barbara Larson of Minnesota. • In the Feb. 17 issue, CBC an-nounced that the Mustangs Baseball team would be the first team in Ar-kansas to play a game in Busch Sta-dium. The game was held Oct. 1. March •  BMA Seminary announced that “due to the shortage of avail-able facilities and caterers,” their an-nual dinner at the BMA of America meeting was cancelled, and no Kellar Award winner was selected for 2016. • BMA of Arkansas Missions began a series of six Missions Rallies around the state on March 5. The rallies in-cluded reports from the state mission-aries and lunch provided by the various churches that hosted the events. • Steve Crawley announced in the March 16 issue that “Best Christian Workplace Institute has recognized the BMA of America Global Minis-try Center as a Certified Best Chris-tian Workplace for 2016.” •  Several churches supported fi-nancially and volunteered their time in March to give Daniel Springs Bap-tist Camp a “new and improved look.” •  Recommendations that were considered and approved at the April BMA of America meeting were listed in the March 30 issue of the Trumpet. Obituaries —  Ferral Nelson, 86 of Bluff City, died March 6; Tommy “Tom” Stevens, 75 of Stamps, died March 6; John May, of Texas, died March 15 as a result of injuries he received Oct. 23 in a fall while work-ing on a Master’s Builders project; Genius, a young pastor in Haiti, was

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assassinated March 29.

April • A change of fields for Philippine Missionary Sam Freeman was an-nounced in the April 6 issue. Faith Patagatay will take over as Director of Publications for the Philippines and the Freemans will now serve in the Dumaguete area. • Murmil Heights Baptist Church in El Dorado was destroyed by fire April 11. The fire was started by a lightning strike and was a total loss. •  Connection Point Mission in Brookland dedicated their new building April 17. •  The 2016 BMA of America meeting was held April 25-27 in Gatlinburg, Tenn., with 622 messen-gers and visitors in attendance. BMA of Arkansas Missions Director Paul White was elected president, and sev-eral new missionaries were elected. Obituaries —  Jeremiah Wayne “Jeremy” Young, 36 of Gravette, died April 5; Jim Casey, 75 of Caldwell, died April 30.

May •  The 8th Annual CBC Benefit Dinner and Auction, featuring Larry Nixon, was held May 14 and raised over $25,000. • In the May 25 issue, the Baptist Trumpet announced a project to collect “unopened freebies you get at hotels like soap, shampoo, etc.” The items will be given to three Little Rock minis-tries: Union Rescue Mission, Dorcas House and Nehemiah House.

June • National Galilean Director Ken-

neth Colvert announced in the June 22 issue that “DiscipleGuide in no longer handling Galilean materials and sup-plies, and has turned all their Galilean inventory over to National Galileans.”• The Trumpet reported that the total for their 2016 Special Emphasis was $48,607, which was about 40% above their $35,000 goal.

July • SOAR 2016 was held July 6-8 in Dallas. Over 25 students surrendered to missions and 5 surrendered to min-istry. “Many more made professions of faith in their group time.” Stu-dents gave over $15,000 to Missions — $9,000 was given to Asian minis-tries, over $5,500 was given to Mis-sionary Care and another $700 was given to Volunteer Student Missions. Obituaries —  Bobby Gene Southard, 57 of Bay, died July 12.

August • BMAA Missions announced that their magazine, mission:world, will now be offered free to everyone. The maga-zine will be published six times a year in print and digital form. • Flooding hit Louisiana hard, and several BMA members were touched by the devastation, either directly or through family members or friends. Offerings were received through the BMA Relief Fund for the victims. Obituaries — Waymon Holt, 85 of Manila, died Aug. 2.

September •  On Monday, Sept. 12, Lifeword began a new daily broadcast called Day

-5- BAPTIST TRUMPET, January 11, 2016

See REVIEW, Page 6

By Scott Attebery, DiscipleGuide Exec. Dir. SOAR 2017 will take place July 5-7 at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, Texas. Student ministers, pastors and youth workers may take advantage of the SOAR 2017 early bird fee of $110 per student when they register by March 1. Not sure how many you have going? Take advantage of the lower price for the ones you know are going. You can always register more later. Registration price will increase to $120 after March 1. Get all the details at gosoar.com today. This year’s SOAR conference will challenge 7th-12th graders to live a life of ministry. Speaker Dustin Wisely will proclaim God’s Word with challenging messages targeted toward students. Dustin is a past SOAR speaker and serves as youth and family pastor for First Baptist Church in Magnolia. We the Union will lead SOAR in singing praises to the Lord. Check out their album on iTunes. Students will enjoy a special concert by artist Jordan Feliz, including his songs, “The River,” “Best of Me” and “Never Too Far Gone.” Check out Jordan at jordanfeliz.com.

County Line, Marvell, gained one by baptism. Joey McIntosh, pastor; Deb-bie Shackleford, reporter. Immanuel, Sheridan, welcomed two by baptism and 11 by letter since last report. Gary Copeland, pastor; Lorena Plunkett, reporter. Marcus Hill, Enola, witnessed two professions of faith and added one by letter. David Cook, pastor; Patti Summers, reporter. Milligan Ridge, Manila, received one by baptism. Mike Colvin, pastor; Donna Jackson, reporter. North Hills, Sherwood, gained two new members. Jim Ward, pastor. Park Avenue, Searcy, welcomed one by letter. Keith Lunceford, pastor. Trinity, Lake City, added three by baptism since last report. Larry Merrell, pastor; Betty Garrett, reporter. Unity, Hope, welcomed two by letter and two by baptism. Glen E. Tropp, pastor; Penny Ehrhardt, reporter. Valley View, Jonesboro, received two by statement. David Yates, interim pastor; Norma King, reporter. Cayey, Puerto Rico, witnessed two professions of faith, and gained two by baptism and one by letter. Freddy Didier, pastor. Scottsville Road, Bowling Green, Ky., welcomed one by statement. Cory McCaig, pastor.

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by Day. It is aired at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Monday through Friday on Lifeword Media Ministries’ Facebook page. •  The Ark. Women’s Retreat was held Sept. 9-10 at Budd Creek, with Judy Wallace as speaker and the for-mer Lifeword Trio presenting music. Obituaries — Danny Wingo, 70 of Marshall, died Sept. 8.

October •  Hurricane Matthew hit south-west Haiti, causing widespread dam-age. Offerings were received through the BMA Relief Fund for the victims. • The Association of Baptist Stu-dents at the University of Arkansas celebrated their Jubilee (50th anni-versary) on Oct. 15 with 80 alumni and supporters attending. • BMA of Arkansas Missions an-nounced their 2016 Special Empha-sis totaled $42,433.85. Obituaries — Priscilla Williams, 63 of Aquismon, Mexico, died Oct. 10; Jim Brown, 70 of Magnolia, died Oct. 10.

November/December •  Nathan Brewer announced his resignation as State Youth Depart-ment director, and Dan Carson was chosen to replace him. •  Donny Parrish announced that BMA Missions has joined the min-istry of Campground in Gulfport, Miss. to join them in evangelization at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Mardi Gras Parade in Gulfport, Miss., Feb. 17-18 and Biloxi, Miss., Feb. 24-25. • Ukraine Missionaries Jeff and Coleen Franks announced their retire-ment and move back to Arkansas in the Nov. 9 issue. • The BMA of Arkansas annual meeting was held Nov. 3-4 on the campus of CBC. There were 150 pres-ent, with 66 churches represented by messenger and 61 by letter.. • The Ark. WMA raised almost $9,000 to upgrade the computers at the Trumpet! (Thanks again, Ladies!) • CBC announced the addition of a B.S. degree in Church Administration to its list of Professional Adult College Education (PACE) degree programs, starting in the spring of 2017. •  CBC announced the establish-ment of the Ronald Morgan Endowed Scholarship. “Priority will be given to active members of First at Spring-hill, La., then to Bible majors who are planning to enter the preaching ministry and are active members of a

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the national meeting would you or someone from your congregation be more likely to attend if it was sched-uled when public schools are not in session? • If the national meeting could be scheduled to where committee meet-ings could be held Friday afternoon and business begin after the welcome and Presidents address Friday night and conclude Sunday afternoon with the Mission’s Commissioning service would you or someone from your congregation be more likely to be present to represent your church? •  I feel that the present schedule for the national meeting is satisfac-tory and that no change is necessary.

Danny Carrol Pitts, 66 of Laurel, Miss., passed away Dec. 21 from complications following heart bypass surgery. He was a member at First Baptist Church Shady Grove. He pastored churches in Florida, Mississippi and Texas before being elected president of Southeastern Baptist College (SBC) in October 2015. He had served as SBC interim president since Nov. 12, 2013. He graduated with a B.S. in Po-litical Science from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Master of Divinity from BMA Theological Seminary. He also taught at South-eastern and BMA Seminary, and wrote extensively for the Baptist Publishing House and Disciple-Guide, helping to produce various literature products for the BMA of America. He also served in a number of positions for the BMA of Missis-sippi and BMA of America. President Pitts is survived by his wife of 44 years, Helen Cole Pitts; his mother, Betty Pitts of Ellisville, Miss.; a son, Jeff (Tracy) Pitts of Red Oak, Texas; a daughter, Nancy (Ri-

Danny Pitts, SBC President Dies

cardo) Hinoa of Irving, Texas; and two grandchildren. Funeral services were held Dec. 23 at Big Creek Baptist Church of Soso, Miss., Dec. 23. His close friend, Dr. Gary O’Neal, officiated, and inter-ment was at Big Creek Cemetery, under the direction of Memory Cha-pel Funeral Home in Laurel, Miss. Memorials may be sent to South-eastern Baptist College, 4229 Hwy. 159 N, Laurel, Miss. 39440. (Infor-mation via Mississippi Baptist)

It Worked For UsReports for this column should be sentto editor@baptisttrumpet.com, faxedto (501) 565-6397 or mailed to P.O.Box 192208, Little Rock, Ark. 72219

By Mary Lee Hilburn, The Library Committee and Joy Class

Nancy Hall wore many hats at Mt. Union Bap-tist Church in El Dorado. She was the pianist and organist for over 50 years, a choir member who also sang beautiful solos, the Sunday School teach-er of the Joy Class and Team Kids leader since the program started. Nancy truly had a servant’s heart. She loved her Lord and her church. One of the most important and long lasting jobs Nancy had was as the head of the Library Committee, and that was a family affair. Her mother, Mrs. Pauline Pepper, served on this committee for many years. When the library was located in the secretary’s office and they started to run out of shelf space, Nancy would ask her husband, Wayne to make more shelves and he would. Her children and grandchildren and other family often suggested books for the library. Her sister-in-law, Betty Sue found, purchased and donated a little red table and chairs for the children’s section. Nancy literally ordered every book that is now in our library. She spent many hours selecting just the right book for each honorarium and memorial made to the library. When it became obvious we needed a larger space, Nancy began explor-ing solutions for expansion. Walls and doors were removed, the interior was designed and the work was begun. It became a laughing matter the number of times we would measure and re-measure for the placement and arrangement of book shelves and furniture. She was teased that she was going to rub the num-bers off her tape measure, but that just showed her dedication to the project. Nancy picked out our conference table and chairs, helped choose the carpet and trim and even made the valances for the windows. Our library has re-sources that would equal churches two or three times the size of Mt. Union. We would not have the wonderful library we have today if not for the hard work and tireless devotion of Nancy Hall, who passed away May 1. Therefore, it is only fitting that the plaque outside the library reads, “Nancy Pepper Hall Memorial Library, Aug. 7, 2016, ‘Well done, thy good and faithful servant’ Matthew 25:21.” As Nancy would say, “To God be the glory.”

Church Honors Former Librarian

Associational Letter Accompanying the associational letter is a plea from Recording Clerk James Ray Raines for churches to complete and return the forms as soon as possible. “Our roster shows that we have 1,260 churches who are affiliated with the BMAA,” said Raines. “How-ever, the representations in our annual meetings reflect the participation of only about half of them.” He noted that there are several benefits to the lo-cal church for completing these forms. Raines encouraged churches to in-clude an offering for the Minute Fund, noting that “All expenses for facilities, equipment and supplies for the meet-ing plus travel expenses for committees and the printing of the yearbooks are paid from this fund. And the balance in the fund is dangerously low.”

BMAA Meeting Information

Information, including the as-sociational letter, will be on our website Wednesday afternoon, Jan.11. Check it out at baptist-trumpet.com and click on the rotating ad on the home page.

-6- BAPTIST TRUMPET, January 11, 2016

• Crown Plaza:, $109 per night; (817) 394-5200. When the BMAA Committee on Arrangements contracts with a convention center to host our annual meeting, the rental fee is normally tied to the number of hotel rooms we expect our attendees to use during the meeting. The rental fee in Arlington is contingent upon our use of rooms blocked at the designated hotels. The rental fee will increase by the daily cost of each room not used. The Committee on Arrangements has negotiated terms in Arlington that will allow the conference center space to be greatly reduced if we use the total number of rooms blocked at the designated hotels/motels. Please help us fill these first to cap the cost of the rental space. Our association has had to pay extra in the past years because many of the blocked hotel rooms were not used. Please help us avoid a situation like that this year. We appreciate your help. — Jerome Cooper, Charles Attebery and Jackie Manasco

RESERVATIONS(Continued From Page 1)

Bradford Baptist Church is seeking a full-time youth pastor. Submit resumes by mail to Bradford Baptist Church, P.O.Box 216, Bradford, AR 72020. For more information, please contact Bro. Matt Grantham: church office (501) 344-2414 or cell (870) 995-2524. You may also email bbcbradfordar@gmail.com with any questions. Harmony Baptist Church at Stutt-gart is seeking a bi-vocational pastor. Contact Mike Sells at (870) 672-1646 or msells101@gmail.com. Hillcrest Baptist Church at Texar-kana is seeking a bi-vocational pastor. Contact Greg Kelley at (903) 559-2180 or gkelley.txk@gmail.com. Meadowside Baptist Church in Pittsburg, Kan. is seeking a pastor. For more information, contact Greg Hardis-ter at (620) 704-6860 or gregh@pittks.org. Myrtle Springs Baptist Church at Quitman, Texas is seeking a pastor. Resumes may be sent to the church at 2185 FM 2225, Quitman, Texas 75783.

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BMAA church.” •  The BMA of Texas voted to make their newspaper, the Baptist Progress, a monthly publication. That leaves only the Mississippi Baptist (published twice a month) and the Baptist Trumpet (published 46 times a year) as the only BMA newspapers published more often than monthly. Obituaries —  Marvin J. Tate, 78 of Brookland, died Nov. 3; Kenneth Raymond Brady, 84 of McAlester, Okla. and former CBC professor, died Nov. 14; Joyce Lowe, former employee of the Baptist Trumpet, died Dec. 6.

largest mission field in the world. The latest statistics show that North America is the only continent in the world where Christianity is declin-ing in population percentage. Al-though our individual cultural norms may lead us to believe that America is still by and large a Christian na-tion, the reality is that missionary activity is as needed in America as it is in any other place in the world. In the past, Lifeword has focused most of its media missionary efforts offshore for two reasons. First, most Americans have historically had an opportunity to hear the Gospel at some time in their lives, so it only made sense that Lifeword’s efforts should be directed to those who had never had the opportunity to hear. Secondly, air-time costs made U.S. broadcasting efforts prohibitive. But now the change in American culture and the advent of digital technology have made us redirect and expand our efforts in the United States. In 2015, Lifeword began to wade into the social media waters with a broadcast called Stories. Lifeword sought out people who had expe-rienced God’s grace in an extraor-dinary way to tell their redemption stories via Facebook, and the results were humbling. Tens of thousands of people watched Stories episodes and shared them with their friends. Last year Lifeword began a five-

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day-a-week Facebook broadcast that has met with great approval and thousands of viewers each week. The broadcast, called Day by Day, is a trib-ute to the Lifeword daily Bible study material written by former Executive Director George Reddin years ago. In 2017, we will expand the reach of Day by Day by contracting with a digital marketing firm to build a search engine that will allow a much broader audience to find the broad-cast. Our hope is to expand our reach from thousands to multiple thou-sands of viewers daily. In addition, as previously men-tioned, a Spanish-language version of Day by Day will be produced and released in 2017, and other language interpretations of the broadcast are also under consideration. At the same time, we will expand the number of Stories episodes that we will film, pro-duce and release via Facebook. Finally, Lifeword will continue to expand its broadcast footprint in the social media world by exploring and conceptualizing a digital outreach to students via Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat. Your prayers and support are a blessing! The year 2017 promises to be one of the most exciting in Life-word’s history. The opportunities to reach people around the world with the Gospel of Jesus have never been greater. Internet broadcasting has given Lifeword a platform that is not only affordable but very effective in reaching the lost.

Please pray that your Lifeword team will listen to God’s Spirit as He leads us to the areas of the world he would have us to go. Pray that He will give us creativity to speak, produce and broadcast in ways that will capture the attention of listeners. Pray for our broadcast producers, speakers and engineers around the world as they create Gospel program-ming that will lead people to Christ. Pray that we will effectively use new social media platforms to influ-ence the culture in America to ex-plore a relationship with Jesus. Pray for the training and imple-mentation of new Lifeword Com-munity Radio (lpfm) stations as we seek to help BMA church planters around the world. Pray for God to open new lan-guage opportunities for the Gospel and that He will provide the re-sources for Lifeword to walk through those doors. Pray for how God might use your church to invest in the ministry of Lifeword in 2017 through a monthly budget offering and annual Lifeword Sunday/Walk for the World giving. Pray that organizational changes on the horizon at Lifeword will be used by God to strengthen this ministry. It is a joy to partner with BMA churches across America to help make the name of Jesus more famous. It would be our joy to come to your church, meet you personally and share how your church is making an impact through Lifeword. If you would like to explore that opportunity, please contact Donny Parrish at donny@life-word.org or (501) 329-6891 ext. 3833 or through Facebook Messenger.

(Continued Next Week)

By Mike McEuen, Pastor, New Beginnings • Ferris, Texas (Phil. 3:13-14) In these verses, Paul offers us some powerful tools for making our New Year meaningful and successful. • First, we need dissatisfaction — “Brethren, I count not myself to have ap-prehended.” Paul was satisfied with Jesus Christ, but he was not satisfied with his Chris-tian life. Paul had not “arrived.” He did not compare himself to others. He compared himself to Jesus Christ. There was still much growing to come! A sanctified dissatisfaction is the first essential to make spiritual progress in our Christian lives. • Second, we need devotion — “but this one thing I do.” Devotion is the secret of power. It is wholly a matter of values and priorities, living for what matters most. “For to me to live is Christ” (Ph1:21). That must be our devotion! • Third, we need direction — “forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.” To forget does not mean to fail to remember. It simply means that, with God’s help and grace, we break the power of the past by living for the future. We all live in the tension of what we have been and what we want to become. So we look forward with a new direction to a fuller and more meaningful life because of our hope in Jesus Christ. • Fourth, we need determination — “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Paul had the same zeal when he served Christ as he had when he persecuted the church. What would happen if you and I put the same determination into our spiritual lives as we do into our occupations or our recreation? Determination helps us to reach the goal that God has set for us. With these tools, we can all make a renewed commitment to “press toward the mark” as we serve our Lord together in 2017! Happy New Year!

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-14). As we begin a new year, let us give heed to the testimony of the Apostle Paul, who had been saved (apprehended) by Jesus. • Forget the past. Yes, rejoice in our past victories and in our fond memories, but don’t dwell on the past. Put behind us our past sins, our past failures and our past mistakes. If you go through life looking back, you can’t enjoy the present or look forward to the future. • Reach for the future. Someone once said that the future is as bright as the promises of God. God have made us many comforting promises. Jesus is coming back one day (pos-sibly this year). God’s children are going to Heaven one day. We will be rewarded. We will be reunited with our departed loved ones who were believers. • Live for Jesus each day. Paul pictured a runner who was running a race and getting closer to the fin-ish line. He didn’t want to drop out of the race or slow down his pace, but to give his very best to finish the race well. May you follow the example of Paul. Have a blessed and exciting new year. Only God knows what it will bring us. (via Grace Baptist Church at Rus-sellville bulletin)

Powerful New Year Tools

A Plan for The New Year

-7- BAPTIST TRUMPET, January 11, 2016

Office Location: 10712 Interstate 30 • Little Rock, AR 72209 (501) 565-4601 • E-Mail: bmaofarkfrontdesk@gmail.comMailing Address: PO Box 195514, Little Rock, AR 72219

Director’s Email: arstamis@comcast.net

Missionaries Hershel Conley, The Bridge, Mountain Home; (870) 656-4080 Michael Hight, Hispanic Outreach, Little Rock; (501) 326-0198

Juan Carlos Posadas, Misión Creciendo en Cristo, NLR; (501) 712-8752 Jim Tollison, Mustard Seed, Alma/Mountainburg (870) 370-3938

Jorge Vasquez, El Faro, Little Rock; (501) 350-6878 Chad White, Connection Point; Brookland; (870) 243-4683

BJ Wright, Grace Pointe, Mayflower; (501) 827-9665 Darrin Smith, Life Journey, Fort Smith; (479)-763-8909

www.bmaofarkansas.com Paul Whiteexecutive DirectorFacebook.com/ArkansasMissions

While we stand on the threshold of another new year, I cannot help but wonder if 2017 will be the year Jesus returns. But until He does, we have been given our marching orders — to share His Gospel with all the world. “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be wit-nesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Act 1:8). While the BMA of America is not huge, she has, for over 60 years, toiled diligently to fulfill that mandate. I am proud to be a part of this great family of believers. It is my prayer that God will continue to use our association to change lives all over the world. Our departmental leaders are set to lead us into even greater victories for our Lord, but great leadership is pointless without great follow-ship. That’s where you and I come in. We place our confidence in these directors by electing them to not only serve but to lead. We need to get behind the works of our associa-tion on the local, state, national and world scene. We need to become more proactive in our praying, giving and personal involvement. Together we can do great things for God.

Jude: Lesson 6 Part III — In verse 22, Jude moves on to witnessing: be compassionate and reclaim the people. This is a hard word to translate from the Greek. We are to help those that doubt and win those who are lost in false teachings, even if it requires striking fear in them. Note, believers must use extreme caution and guard themselves when reach-ing out to help others, lest they themselves be deceived. We are to detect the falsehood in their speech. We are to hate everything false teachers use to defile and mislead people, and be careful not to be deceived by their appealing ways. He warns us to watch and not to become polluted ourselves when we come along side of those who are living after the flesh, backslidden, deceived teachers of lies. Part IV — Walk in the keeping power of God: “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen” (vs. 24-25). This is a benediction upon believers. Who keeps the believer? What is source of the believer’s security? “Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (I Peter 1:5). That is what Jude was referring to when he talked about God’s keeping power. God is able to keep us from falling. He is also able to make us blameless, which means to be spotless and pure. God can and will give us triumphant joy. The idea is that He is the only living and true God. It is God alone that dwells in the glory, the majesty, dominion and power. For those who truly have placed their faith in Jesus, all that remains to do is to shout out His praises.

Follow-ship

From Our Missionaries Arkansas Hispanic Missions: Michael Hight writes, “The end-ing of one year and the beginning of another always gives us cause to reflect on the faithfulness of God and to dream about the future activ-ity of God and 2016 was no excep-tion. Sometimes in the middle of the battle, you lose sight of God’s hand, but when you look back, you realize He was there all the time. “All our missions have seen souls saved and members added to the churches. Discipleship and leadership development continues to be our fo-cus as we look to the future. Our mis-sionaries have been faithful to serve

God, and all have borne fruit. I look forward with anticipation to 2017 and ask you to join me in praying for your missionaries, their families, the missions and especially a great harvest of souls. Thank you for the love and support you have shown in the previ-ous year, and may God bless you with a prosperous new one.” Connection Point, Brookland: Chad White writes, “Several excit-ing things have happened since our last report. Our Christmas morning service really turned out great. We had a candlelit stage and sang some Christmas favorites together. Then we read the real Christmas story. It was really a beautiful service.

“The last week of 2016, we took our teens to a conference in Bran-son. They heard from some dynamic speakers and listened to some of their favorite Christian bands. Sev-eral decisions were made, and every-one enjoyed a safe and fun-filled trip. “New Year’s Eve, we gathered at the church for a family night. It was filled with fun, games and prayer — not to mention some yummy food. The fol-lowing morning, we enjoyed hearing from my dad, Paul White as he chal-lenged us about what we would do in the upcoming year. “This Sunday was a great day. We started a new series on the book of Mark. God blessed us with a house full of people. It was just one of those days where you could sense God moving in the service. We are so thankful for His blessings.” The Mustard Seed, Alma/Moun-tainburg: Jim Tollison writes, “I sure have missed getting to fill you in on all the activities around the mis-sion the last couple of weeks.  We have been pretty busy with the ac-tivities surrounding the holidays. Our Christmas program went off without a hitch, well, almost. One of our little angels (three years old) wasn’t too thrilled over not having a star to hold like our little shepherd. She looked at Becky and said, ‘Mrs. ‘Pecky,’ where is my star?’ (She calls me ‘creature’ instead of preacher.) Our little shep-herd stepped on his robe and fell off the riser.  No injuries occurred, and the real story of Christmas was pre-sented in a wonderful way. The kids loved it, as did the adults.  They are already looking forward to next year! “Our Christmas family was so excited and appreciative of the gifts we gave them on Christ-mas Sunday. It was also a great experience for our mission folks. “We have been dealing with cold weather and icy conditions the last week or so.  I know many of you have, as well. It impacted our atten-dance, which was no surprise.  I am sure many of our churches across the state had the same situation. “Thanks so much for your contin-ued prayer and support for your work in Crawford County. I hope God blesses you with a very Happy New Year!” The Bridge, Mountain Home: Hershel Conley writes, “We have had a wonderful December at the Bridge, with eight people joining;

and we are looking forward to this coming year. “All of our Wednesday night food has been good, and we can’t wait to see how it will draw people to the love of Christ. “We have about one third of our people sick with either a stomach vi-rus or the flu. Some have had opera-tions and some cancer, but we know our Lord is in charge and is the Giv-er of all good and perfect gifts. We ask you to join with us to pray for more souls to come to Jesus this year and for the healing of our sick. We again thank you all for you love and support, and we do love you all.” El Faro, Little Rock: Jorge Vasquez writes, “Thanks to God, we celebrated Christmas and the end of year with all the church people with a great time of praising and giving thanks to God for everything. “God really blessed El Faro Mis-sion this last year as we won these families — the Mondragon family of five, Lopez family of four, Williams family of three, Villalobos family of two, Valada family of six, Escalante family of two, Moreno family of three, and some others. All of them are in the process to be members, and other families that moved from us. “In this coming year, we will re-ceive new challenges and we have to pray, trusting that God will give the victory in each plan. We have more than 80 people in our celebrations. This year we have a great challenge to find more families, bring them to the church, disciple the children and adults to prepare them to serve our God. We are challenged to establish a good number of families that will be very committed in the service to the Lord. Pray that families will win other families and disciple them. We know, as always, this will not be easy because Satan will always be there. But we trust that God is all-powerful and will give us victory. “Thank you for your prayers and support. Please visit us, if it is possi-ble. Many families around us are lost

and need the Lord. Pray for them and pray for us. God bless you.” Grace Pointe, Mayflower: Wil-liam (B.J.) Wright writes, “It has been a great last few weeks to end 2016 and begin 2017. Our Christmas play was absolutely amazing. Our kids did such a great job telling the Christmas story. We gave each child a character and then did an interview with that character and recorded it.  Then the kids acted out the Christmas story in the service. So when Joseph and Mary were approaching the inn, we played the recorded interview with the inn-keeper to give his perspective on how this event would have affected him. It turned out so much better than we had ever imagined.  The kids had a blast getting into character and our play directors did such a great job working with the kiddos. We had some great Christmas fellowship, then headed home to celebrate with our families. “This past Sunday on New Year’s Day, we had six first time visitors.  It was very nice to see so many new faces.  “Our Wednesday evening Bible study has been an amazing bless-ing.  We regularly have over 20, and sometimes 30, here as we are going through the Bible chronological-ly.  There have been new folks show-ing up, and some really great questions and great feedback. Please continue to pray for us as we begin this new year. Thanks friends. Have a great week.” Misión Creciendo en Cristo (Growing in Christ), North Little Rock: Juan Carlos Posadas writes, “Last week we had two prayer meet-ings, Wednesday and Thursday. We prayed for personal goals, the govern-ments of the countries represented and God’s work in North Little Rock. “We had our second sermon based on Acts 2, the coming of the Holy Spirit. His people were given the power to share the Gospel, not only to the Hebrews, but to all nations, in all languages. It is exciting to have the opportunity to study the early church. This is going to help us to establish our church.”

Deaths Hulon Levi Abla, 86 of Camden, died Jan. 8. He was a member of Im-manuel Baptist Church. James Russell Dunn, 86 of Cabot, died Jan. 5. He was a member Charity Baptist Church where he served as a church trustee and song leader. Survi-vors include a son, BMA of Missouri Minister Fred Vogel. Dixie Flink, 82 of Little Rock, died Jan. 5. She was a member of North View Baptist Church of North Little Rock. Katie Rice Brooks, 27 of North Little Rock, died Jan. 2. She was a mem-ber of North View Baptist Church. Charles Ray Francis, 55 of Mal-vern, died Jan. 1. He was a member of South Main Baptist Church. Marie E. Cochran, 100 of Mag-nolia, died Dec. 29. She was a member

of Brister Baptist Church of Emerson. Dorothy “Dot” E. Byers, 84 of Hope, died Dec. 26. She was a member of Shover Springs Baptist Church. Raymond Paul Crider, 68 of Mag-nolia, died Dec. 23. He was a member of First Baptist Church. Dorothy Lee McIntyre Doggett, 83 of Warren, died Dec. 20. She was a member of Cross Roads Baptist Church, where she served as a Sunday School teacher. Glen Dobbins, 85 of Manila, died Dec. 3. He was a member of Milligan Ridge Baptist Church. Billy Owen Gipson, 86 of Monette, died Dec. 3. He was a member of Milligan Ridge Baptist Church of Manila, where he served as Sunday School superintendent and song teacher for many years. Sylvia J. Cheshier Jackson, 79 of Newport, died Nov. 22. She was a member of Lakeside Baptist Church.

-8- BAPTIST TRUMPET, January 11, 2016

Dear Editor: On Jan. 1, I resigned as pastor of Providence Baptist Church at Hope, where I have served for three of the most wonderful and rewarding years of my ministry. I also had the privi-lege of pastoring this church the first three years of my ministry. The church family has been so cooperative with me and the evan-gelistic ministry into which the Lord has called me. The Lord gave me the most outstanding staff a pastor could have. Casey Curtis is serving as as-sistant to the pastor, and he and his wife, Mikkie have been so faithful. Scott Glass is serving the church as the minister of music. His wife, Mel-anie is the church pianist. The Lord has blessed beyond mea-sure. We have had the privilege of seeing souls come to Christ and add-ed to the church. The attendance has over doubled. The church has bought and paid for additional property and has been giving an average of $1,000 a month to associated work. All debts are paid, and she has accumu-lated a sizable amount of funds for future growth and improvements. My wife, Shirley and I cannot overstate what a joy it has been to serve this church as a bivocational pastor. One of the strong points of the ministry has been based upon what our Lord told His infant church in John 13:34-35. Am I retiring? No! I often say to those who ask me about retirement: “I plan to plow until sundown.” The words of Paul to Timothy in II Tim. 4:5 ring loud and clear to me: “…Do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.” I have found when one is available, our Lord will use them, and to Him I say, “I am available.” That availability includes, but is not limited to, preaching ap-pointments and evangelistic service.—Kenneth Bobo, P.O. Box 1915, Hope, Ark. 71802; (870) 777-2973 or (cell) 703-7806.

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