Life and ministry get crazy busy sometimes, and the past few months have certainly fit that description. Since the school year started, we have felt like someone turned the treadmill up to its highest setting.
Berean Baptist Church celebrated our 60th anniversary this year! We had a wonderful week of preaching, with fourteen different preachers and many friends gathering to celebrate. We also made a video to document God’s providential hand in upholding and preserving us as a church.
This past summer, we had a great week of camp, and one of the best attendances we have had in years. Our Vacation Bible School was also a great week, with many children and many visitors throughout the week. And we were able to remodel our Fellowship Hall, a task that had been needed for many years.
Two of our teachers married and moved away this summer and we replaced them with one teacher, which has meant more teaching duties shared among us all. We had one of our best candy sales in the last decade this Fall, which was a great help to the Academy finances.
No sooner had we finished Candy Sale then we launched into a special week of meetings. The week started with a display of an authentic re-creation of Goliath’s spear and ended with Evangelist Paul Schwanke. We had a tremendous time in the Word, and then on Sunday we invited friends and neighbors and co-workers to hear Brother Schwanke preach the Gospel. We had a good response on that day with a number of first-time guests.
This past Sunday, we invited elected officials and candidates to our “I Love America” Sunday. We had a very good turnout, with representatives from five different political parties, our State Treasurer and State Auditor, and quite a few of our local elected officials. I was able to preach from Psalm 33:12 on who God is and why it matters. While most of the politicians in attendance are Mormons, our State Treasurer is a believer. I asked him to speak, and he had a very powerful message.
Our church supports four missionaries in Ireland and the United Kingdom. My wife and I will be visiting them during November, returning just in time for Thanksgiving. Our church has urged us to do this for several years, and we are excited that we can finally do it.
Our family continues to grow – fortunately not in numbers. But our kids are all teenagers except for our youngest, who is now twelve. One of our children attends a Fairhaven Baptist College in Northwest Indiana. We pray that he will find God’s will. Our oldest daughter is a Senior in high school. Wrestling season starts for the boys this week. And we look forward to the Christmas season, which is always a wonderful time for our family and our church.
Sincerely,
Dave & Belinda