Witnessing As We Go...

On March, 10, Dr. David Wood came and did a 3-Hour Soul Winning Training at our church. Boy did it fire us up for soul winning. After the training, we went out knocking on doors and had a man saved! He came to church the very next day and made a public profession of faith.


Then on Sunday, I had the opportunity to lead a young lady to Christ who came back the next Sunday and was baptized!  It is so exiting to see the church fired up about giving the gospel out.


Recently, we gave the gospel to THELMA LOU. That's right...the one from the Andy Griffith Show. Here's what happened...


Last Saturday our ladies took a trip to Mt. Airy (Andy Griffith's home town). They heard that Betty Lynn (The lady who played Thelma Lou) is still living there. So they put together a fruit basket but also included a "God's Promises" book and one of our Ladybugs Gospel tracts and took it to the Andy Griffith Museum and told them it was for Betty Lynn. The lady at the museum promised them she would make sure she got it that day!


Hey, you never know! I appreciate our ladies thinking OUTSIDE THE BOX and INSIDE THE BASKET!!! That's what we mean by "witnessing as we go." Way to go, ladies!  We are praying that we will see some SPIRITUAL fruit from that basket!

Can God Trust You With His Silence?

It is always exciting when we get to begin a new year.  A new year brings with it new opportunities that we must seize.  Sometimes I feel like the Apostle Paul when he said in Phil. 3:13, "...forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before." 

For some, the end of 2011 brought them to the close of a year full of heartache and troubles.  For some, they are still waiting on God to answer prayers they were praying in 2011.  Why is it that God seems to delay in answering our prayer?  Well, if your prayer has not been answered yet, you are not alone.  This very thing happened in John 11 when Lazarus died and Jesus seemed to delay in coming to the rescue with the desired answer they were praying for.

The Bible says in John 11:5-6, "Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.  When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was."

So, a family member had died but this was not just any family member.  This was a close friend of Jesus.  I'm sure they felt that Jesus would quickly drop everything He was doing and rush to prevent this great friend from dying.  What they didn't realize was that Jesus had a greater plan in mind.  When they prayed, all they got was silence.  But what they didn't understand was that sometimes God's silences ARE His answers!  

Think about it.  It takes much more faith to trust Him when we CAN'T see Him working but the reward can be experiencing a greater revelation from God.  Not everyone got to see Jesus raise their loved one from the dead, but Mary and Martha did!

So, the question for us is this...can God trust us with His silence?  Does God know we will trust Him no matter what, or does he know that we have to know every little detail before we will trust Him...which, by the way, is not really trust.

Has God been silent with you lately?  Just keep praying.  Keep on trusting.  Keep on believing that God is doing something wonderful behind the scenes that he will reveal in His own time.

Welcome To Our Newest Staff Member!

On October 19, the church unanimously voted to call Bro. Tyler Chandler as our Youth & Assistant Pastor.  Bro. Tyler is the son of Bro. Rick & Mrs. Kay Chandler who pastors in Graham, NC.  He attended West Coast Baptist College in Lancaster, California, under the ministry of Dr. Paul Chappell and was able to serve in various ministries while there in college.
     
We are excited about having Bro. Tyler on staff at Community.  He has a heart for young people and a desire to teach them to have a heart for God.
     
I believe the addition of Bro. Tyler will only expand what God will be able to do here at Community Baptist Church!