Members of Smoke Rise Baptist Church in Warrior are helping international missionaries Tommy and Ginger Crocker change lives in Bolivia.
Two years ago, the Crockers, while on furlough, visited Smoke Rise and told them about their ministry in South America. Recently, a member of Smoke Rise’s Women on Missions day group brought an e-mail from Ginger to their meeting.
In the e-mail, she told about their work at Rema Baptist Church in Bolivia.
She also told about a children’s Sunday School class that meets under a tree near the church. Children who come learn songs and memory verses and color pictures of Bible stories such as Noah’s ark and the Garden of Eden.
“They don’t have enough to eat, but their eyes shine and they get very excited when they see crayons, paper and coloring sheets,” Jean Lee, president of the day group, said.
Lee said the joy and thankfulness seen in the children led members of her church to collect supplies to send to them.
“Each member gave money, and two went shopping at Wal-Mart that afternoon and purchased crayons, paper, books, etc.,” she said. “We have been blessed with so much, and they have so little.”
Franklin Baptist Association missions volunteers worked in Huntington, Ind., July 20–25. In fact, Huntington Baptist Church in Huntington, Ind., held its first service in a new two-story addition just three days after members of the Franklin Association Church Builders Mission Construction Team pounded its first nails.
Larry Dover, director of missions for Franklin Association, organized the construction team.
While construction was under way at the church, backyard Bible clubs were held for three days at two apartment complexes. In addition, a group of volunteers cooked meals from breakfast on Monday through lunch on Friday. More than 170 volunteers, including 93 from Franklin County, came from 13 states to work in Huntington. Franklin Association Baptists have coordinated these missions projects for 22 consecutive years.
When it comes to missions, Scripture affirms that the issue has more to do with people than with geography. While an emphasis is often put on the go in the Great Commission, the people who come to the United States from other countries are sometimes forgotten.
Charles and Barbara Parker, who have been appointed by InterFACE ministries, are committed to serve as missionaries in Nashville to work with international students who come there to study.
Charles grew up in Dawson Memorial Baptist Church in Birmingham Association, graduated from Samford University and served as youth pastor of First Baptist Church, Selma, and Coosada Baptist Church, Coosada, during college. Today in Nashville, 3,400 international students and scholars attend area colleges and universities.
Many are from nations that prohibit or restrict missionary activity. The vision of these students returning as witnesses for Christ in their own culture, speaking their own language, is a compelling vision for the Parkers.
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