The Monument of the Empty Tomb

Transcription

1 O * H * I * O AMBASSADOR Volume 49 Number 2 March-April 2009 Easter Edition Easter Edition I The Voice of Ohio Free Will Baptists Proclaiming The Words of Christ to a Lost World n the last two issues of the Ambassador, we have presented this series on Monuments. The subject of monuments came up in the story of Joshua and the Children of Israel as they miraculously crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land. (Joshua 3-4) As the priests who bore the Ark of the Covenant stepped into the swollen river, the waters rolled back and all of Israel safely crossed. After this great event, Joshua instructed the people to take twelve large stones and place them in the spot where the priests stood with the ark. He told them that when their children would come by this place, they would ask why those stones were there. That would give them opportunity to tell their children that this was the place that God made a way when there was no way! Monuments remind us of great men or great events. This is what Christian monuments do. They give us opportunity to tell our children what the Lord has done for us. In the November issue we went to Bethlehem and viewed the monument of the manger and saw that this was the place that the Lord Jesus took on human flesh and came to be with us. In the January issue we travelled to Jerusalem to a place called Mount Calvary to view the monument of the cross. This was the place that Jesus paid for our redemption. Today we will travel to Jerusalem to view Joseph s new tomb where they buried Jesus after they took Him off the cross. This is the place He obtained victory for us! The last monument is the empty tomb. The night they took the lifeless body of Jesus down from the cross, and placed in Joseph's new The Monument of the Empty Tomb This is the place He obtained victory for us! The last monument is the empty tomb. tomb it appeared that all was lost. Evil had triumphed and all those great hopes that Jesus had given were now gone. That night Jesus went in to face that enemy that we all dread to see-that terrible enemy that defeats all men. It is that great enemy that no one had been able to defeat. It appeared that Jesus had now been defeated by this great foe! When Sunday came, things changed! And how they changed! God the Father dispatched an angel to go remove the stone from the tomb. The lifeless body of Jesus now stood and He emerged from the tomb victorious! That morning when Mary found the tomb empty. She ran to tell Peter and John. They immediately ran to the tomb and peer in. As John viewed the neatly folded graveclothes he then realized what really happened. He finally believes. (John 20:8) When the other women came to the tomb they were greeted by an angel who said, "Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here. but is risen:" (Luke 24:5-6) All hopes were now alive now. They didn't have to live in defeat any longer! Jesus went on to make eleven appearances to show that He truly had risen from the dead! And the rest as they say is history! This one event proclaims to men of all ages that God has unmistakably spoken here. He has left no doubt to who Jesus Christ is and what He has done. No other religion has an empty tomb! What a monument that we can hold up to our children. We can tell them that because of what God has done at the empty tomb, that they can confidently build their lives on what He has given to us in His word. All that He has said is true. Christians have great monuments that we need to hold up today. The monument of the manger says, This is the place where God came to be with us. The monument of the cross says, This is the place that God paid for our redemption. The monument of the empty tomb says, This is the place God has given us victory over all foes! We have a reason to be happy! We have a reason for joy! We have a reason to live! Let us hold up these monuments to our children and a world that desperately needs them.

2 2009 Retreat Report The Ohio Men s Retreat continues to enjoy the Lord s blessings. We witnessed countless decisions by the men. January 22-24th, a record crowd of four hundred seventy two men made their way to the Heartland Retreat Center to enjoy the annual three day session. The first service was held on Thursday, January 22nd. Ohio Promotional Secretary Edwin Hayes gave the welcome. Rev. Mark Bailey, pastor of the Mansfield FWB Church provided the special music with a rendition of his famous Jeepers Creepers, They re All Keepers. Southwest FWB Pastor John Meade preached an inspiring message entitled Why We are Here which examined the motivation for our service for Christ. After dinner, the men assembled for the second service. The special singing was provided by Union FWB Pastor Chris Oiler who sang, Why Trouble the Master? Rev. Edwin Hayes then preached a message, What Binds Us Together that was an encouragement to not allow non-essential issues to keep us from working together on the main task. After the service, our Ohio Home Missionaries gave updates on their works. Later that evening the Ohio Men s Choir formed and practiced. As you would walk the grounds that evening you would witness fellowship, recreation and music enjoyed by the men. The first service on Friday, The Swauger Valley Boys sang and First Austintown Pastor Tom Dooley preached the message, Be Filled With The Spirit which was an encouragement to allow the Holy Spirit to maintain control over our lives. The second service that morning featured Canaan Land Pastor Mike Blanton providing the special music. Harrison Pastor Daryl Grimes preached on the subject, Two Are Better Than One as encouragement to love and depend on our brethren. The attendance awards were handed out on Friday afternoon. In the category, Most First Time Attendees, the Sciotodale FWB Church pastored by Aaron Reed placed third with 7 men. Second place was won by the Southwest FWB Church pastored by John Meade with 12 men. The First Place Trophy was won by the Northridge FWB Church pastored by Tim Hamilton by bringing 18 first time attendees. The category, Highest Percentage of Church Membership Attending the Retreat was won by the Freedom FWB Church pastored by Mike Sammons with 62% of the Freedom Church in attendance. The final category was Most Men in Attendance, The Heritage FWB Church pastored by Tim Stout came in third place with 26 men in attendance. Second place was won by the Southwest FWB Church pastored by John Meade with 31 in attendance. The Canaan FWB Church pastored by Jim McComas won the trophy with 41 men in attendance. Congratulations to all the churches who worked hard to make the retreat a great success! In the afternoon service the Ohio Men s Choir under the direction of Heritage Music Minster Greg Harrell provided the special music. Christian Law President Dr. David Gibbs then preached a message on the subject, Stop It which exhorted the men to not justify sinful attitudes in our lives. The Representatives provided a concert and the special music for the service. Dr. David Gibbs preached the message, Doing the Impossible. Many came to the altar that night. Ohio Moderator Mark Price dismissed the men to individual meetings in their dorm rooms. Throughout the retreat center you could hear praying, testifying and singing! This is a very special time of sharing and bonding the men enjoy yearly at the retreat. Saturday morning, Hillview Pastor Bill Hayes gave a report on Impulse FWB Ministries that invites Christians to take short term mission trips. National Master s Men Director Ken Akers gave what service opportunities Master s Men offers to FWB men. The Ohio Minister s Quartet (Jim McComas, Tim Stout, Mike Blanton and Brian Phillips) sang and Dr. David Gibbs brought the message, How To Overcome Worry. This was a timely message that told us to keep our faith in Christ and not give in to the anxiety the world. All in all, the Lord really met with the men of Ohio again and provided a genuine time of blessing, instruction and fellowship. We thank Him for smiling on us once again. The dates for the 2010 retreat were announced, January 21-23rd with speakers Dr. Charles Shepson and Rev. David Crowe scheduled to be with us. Mark those dates down and plan to attend. Edwin Hayes Executive Secretary Secretary s Schedule March 15 March 15 March 20 March 22 March 25 March 29 April 10 April 12 April 19 April 26 Chapel Hill AM John Beverly, Pastor Porter PM Mark Price, Pastor Harrison Global Evangelism Daryl Grimes, Pastor Liberty AM Cecil Farmer, Pastor Summit Station PM Henry Litteral, Pastor Canaan Land PM Mike Blanton, Pastor Rittman Community PM John Castle, Pastor Newark Sunrise & AM Matt Bryant, Pastor Bethesda Chapel AM Dan King Pastor 1st Chillicothe SS & AM Mitch Salyers, Pastor EDITOR Rev. Edwin Hayes 3700 South High Street Suite 159 Columbus, Ohio (614) ehayes@ambassadorbible.com STATE MODERATOR Rev. Mark Price* PO Box 4008 Sciotoville, Ohio (740) pfwbc@roadrunner.com ASSISTANT MODERATOR Rev. Brian Phillips 667 South Diamond Street Mansfield, Ohio (419) ROM828bp@aol.com CLERK Rev. Mike Stokes* 1011 West Lake Street New Carlisle, Ohio mcstokes114@aol.com ASSISTANT CLERK Bryon Justice* bjustice@faysharpe.com GENERAL BOARD Forest Dyer (Little Miami) 2009 Tim Crank (Lawrence) 2009 David Reese (Jackson) 2009 Ken Frisbee (Great Lakes) 2009 Jerry Sargent (Franklin) 2009 Billy Joe White (Cuyahoga-Lorain) 2009 Kenny Cordell* (Central Ohio) 2009 Jeremy Luthy (Tri State) 2009 Randy Rose (Northeastern) 2009 Freddy Dutton* (Capital City) 2009 Chris Russell (Northern Ohio) 2010 Warren Simpkins (Trinity) 2010 Jim Henderson (South Central) 2010 Dan King* (Porter) 2010 Aaron Reed (Pine Creek) 2010 Ed Barney (Unity) 2010 Tim Byers (State Line) 2010 Blaine Etterling (Cornerstone) 2010 James Webb* (North & Western) 2010 Robert Fulton (Southern Ohio) 2010 *Executive Committee BOARD OF DIRECTORS Alan Barnes 2015 Jim McComas 2014 Tom Dooley 2013 Peter Dunn 2012 Mitch Salyers 2011 Wayne Keith 2010 Bill Hayes 2009 Bethlehem Columbus First Eifort Faith-Logan Germany Hollow (Known to the Ambassador) Without Pastor Alan Barnes Resigns Without Pastor Without Pastor Without Pastor Ohio State Office and Ambassador Magazine address: ehayes@ambassadorbible.com Web Site: OhFWB.com Ambassador Church Supply address: pmkeener@ambassadorbible.com STATE CTS BOARD Mark Bailey 2015 Joshua Young 2014 Mark McCarty 2013 Jason Luthy 2012 Paul Etterling II 2011 Deanna Price 2010 Chris Mitchell 2009 NOMINATING COMMITTEE Paul Keener 2011 Bill Chadwick 2010 Bill Pitts 2009 NATIONAL GENERAL BOARD MEMBER Mike Stokes 2009 STATE MISSIONS BOARD Roger Daniel 2015 Paul Etterling 2014 Roy Hutchinson 2013 Jon Mountjoy 2012 Roland Luthy 2011 Garland Roberts 2010 Oziel Jeffries 2009 The AMBASSADOR is the official publication of the: OHIO STATE ASSOCIATION OF FREE WILL BAPTISTS, 3700 SOUTH HIGH STREET SUITE 159, COLUMBUS, OHIO The Ambassador is committed to promoting the cause of Jesus Christ and the Ohio State Association of Free Will Baptists by presenting articles, announcements and pertinent news to inform our member churches and constituents. We reserve the right to edit or reject materials submitted for publication in the Ambassador. The views expressed are not necessarily the view of the Ohio State Association of Free Will Baptists. The publication deadline is NOON as follows: January 1st, March 1st, May 1st, July 1st, September 1st and November 1st. All gifts given to the Ambassador should be sent to the above address.

3 OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 3 The 2009 Ohio Men s Retreat in Pictures The Record Breaking Crowd at the 2009 Ohio Men s Retreat Daryl Grimes It is one thing to be thrown into the lion s den--it is another to jump in yourself! Tom Dooley Would your spirit for God pull anyone in? Dr. David Gibbs If you don t come to God by the Bible, you don t come to God! John Meade In God s House there is room for all! Edwin Hayes This is our time. Don t waste it! Altar Services at the Retreat

4 OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 4 Our children's ministry is growing and it is such a joy to see the hunger for God's Word in their little eyes. Bro. Mike Mohler from a nearby church filled in for our pastor when he took a tumble from a ladder and broke three ribs. We are grateful he was not hurt any worse. Sister Kathy Pickenpaugh's son Robert, is ill and would appreciate the prayers of everyone. Please continue to remember our church as we strive to do God's will in our community. James Grant, Pastor Alice Grant, Reporter BEECH GROVE (FRANKLIN) Greetings in the name of Christ our Lord. We have been having the usual services and holiday events. To some that may seem mundane, but we feel very fortunate to be able ot say we are serving God and we have a group of Christians who are faithful. We love visitors and were especially pleased that Rev. Edwin Hayes was able to come to our little chuch. His Sunday School lesson was good to hear. The topic was Too Proud. I hate to admit that some of the things on his list hit home. I think a lot of time I ve been too busy to listen, thinking that I already knew the information given to me. His message was on Leaving Jesus Behind and I thought during the busy holiday season, have I left Him out when He should be my focus? Our pastor, Joe Pinkerton, came back from the Franklin Conference enthused and ready to preach a lively message. We had a New Year s Eve service with communion and feetwashing. We wish everyone a great New Year and a good spiritual life in Christ. Joe Pinkerton, Pastor Gloria Kidder, Reporter CHARITY Hello again and blessings from Charity. We had a singing with Danny Ray on February 25th. We all had a good time in the Lord. We need prayer for our sick and those in the hospital. Our church needs prayer. Bro. Vondell is in the hospital and Sister Schoolcraft will be going in too. Pray that God will bless. We send our prayers and love to you all. Love in Christ. Ronnie Gallion, Pastor Julianna Tomblin, Reporter SYMMES VALLEY (LAWRENCE) Here at Symmes Vally we are thanking God for His bountiful blessings. After much prayer of a faithful few, God sent us a new pastor in January Brother Jesse Sizemore and his wife Carolyn came to be with us. Also, Brother Kenny Webb came to be Brother Jesse s assistant pastor. We are so thankful for those 8-10 prayer warriors who kept the doors open on God s House. In one year we have seen 50 souls, numerous baptisms and many who have joined the church. Our last business meeting we saw many of those young Christians begin taking jobs in the church. Brother Frank McCarty was our only deacon for years and carried the load of making sure we had preachers to fill the pulpit along with his many other duties. Now another deacon, Brother Ronnie Justice has been set aside for a year. I wish my heart could talk, because it could tell you the joy and excitement in our little church. So thank you prayers warriors for not giving up. We thank Brother Jesse and Sister Carolyn for following the leadership of our LORD and thank the wonderful singers and musicians that God has blessed us with. Each and every person who attends are needed and we count each one as a blessing sent from God! We have already seen one soul saved in January and are looking for many more. Most of all, we thank the LORD for all His blessings! Jesse Sizemore, Pastor Susie Webb, Reporter FOREST VALLEY (FRANKLIN) Hello from Forest Valley. Spring is just around the corner and we will soon be back out in the yard enjoying God s beautiful green grass, hence the pastor has scheduled a clean-up day on April 18th to get the grounds ready for summer activities. We at Forest Valley are gearing up for our talent contest/dinner to help Rachel Burns earn money for her Team Missionary trip to Tokyo. We are also looking forward to movie night with the viewing of Fireproof for the adults and Facing the Giants for the youth. Our CTS group is getting back in the competition mode and starting to practice their skits, drama, and puppetry. We are really proud of the growing number of youth that God has blessed our church with and we thank Him each day for each of them. Our senior citizens are beginning to plan for their summer outings, where will they go this year? We are sad to say that we lost one of our senior members, Milt Roberts. Milt has been a member of our church for 35 years and will be missed by all. Our prayers go with Brother Roy Hutchinson who joined us on February 15th and preached a wonderful message. The Fortune Family singers sang in our evening worship on March 8th. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Psalm 100:2. Del Wallace, Pastor Helen Webb, Reporter GOOD HOPE (CUYAHOGA-LORAIN) Through this long hard winter, God has been so good to us. We had to close a couple of Wednesday nights because of the snow but our attendance has been good. We hosted the conference in January and had bad weather but we had a good turn out. We always look forward to seeing our brothers and sisters that we see only every three months. Our children are collecting money for the missions, the primary class collected $50 dollars last month, and we are encouraging all the classes to get involved. God has blessed us with a lot of young people from two years to the teen years. We are so proud of our children and now under the leadership of Rev. Dale Ray they have their own service in Jr. church every Sunday. On the second Sunday night of each month they have their service in the church. What a blessing it was to hear them sing and testify. Sister Ruby Peterson helps them with the singing along with the other Jr. church teachers. We are still going to the nursing home and the group home once a month for services with the residents. Remember our church in your prayer that we will always be found doing God s will. Paul Peterson, Pastor Mary A Diamond, Reporter NEW LEXINGTON (CORNERSTONE) We have been having some very wonderful services and some people have been saved recently. We have had quite a few visitors and are looking forward to seeing more as the weather finally gets warmer. Bro. Frank Triona has been teaching our Wednesday evening Bible Study on the book of Revelation and doing a very good job. MARYSVILLE (CENTRAL OHIO) 1 Chr. 16:34 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. We thank God for the spirit that we feel in our church services. We are thankful for His blessings. On February 15th we were blessed to have Tammy Jones Robinette to minister to us in song. We have had two souls saved since our last report. Our youth and teens have been active in our church. We are using the church van to pick up kids. Pray for that ministry. The Valentine s party was a success, everyone enjoyed it. Our teens started out with four and have grown to fourteen. They are studying, What are your values in life? They enjoyed tubing at Mad River Mountain along with other activities. On March 8th, the ladies had a white elephant sale along with food and fellowship. March 14th, at 7pm the movie, Fireproof, will be shown at our church. On March 15th, the Parson s will be singing for us in the11 am service. Good Friday, 7 pm we will be having communion and feetwashing. We are looking forward to our special Easter service. We appreciate our visiting preachers; Andrew Cordell, Roger Howard, R.J.Akers and Tyler Lyon. They all preached good messages from God s word. Dave Giddens work took him to Alabama for seven months. We are looking forward to having him back in October He did a lot of work for the church, and is missed by everyone. Paul Bogenrife, Pastor Helen Murray, Reporter TRINITY (FRANKLIN) The Lord has brought us through a long and bitter cold winter. Now we can soon appreciate the springtime and all the beautiful flowers and green grass and trees all about us. He has been faithful to bring us through many obstacles, big and small. He has given us so many promises and kept them and I wonder how many promises we have kept to Him. Let us all try to do better in We are now collecting canned goods for a Vinton County Center that helps people get off drugs. This place was made possible by a man and woman who sold their home to provide this place. What a sacrifice on their part and what a blessing they are receiving by doing God's work. The Searching Lights blessed us with their appearance at our church minus a few members of their group. We all need to pray for Bro. Elwood Evans who is in Mt. Carmel West. We also have two members of our church who are in need of prayer also and that is Jake Bartlo and Sister Shirley Workman. We miss them very much. Our pastor, Bro. Paul has not been feeling well for a few weeks now, but he remains faithful to our church and his flock. Pray for him also. Paul Collins, Pastor Patricia Dorsey, Reporter

5 OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 5 Rev. Floyd J. Estep. 98 of Clarktown went to his heavenly home to be with his Lord, 8:00 p.m. Friday, February 6th at Heartland of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, OH. He was born January 6, 1911 in Johnson County, KY. On October 14, 1931 he was united in marriage to the love of his life Meletha Ellen (Fairchild) Estep who preceded him in death (after 70 years of marriage) on January 21, Surviving are one daughter, Joyce Ann Dillow and husband Frank of Clarktown, one grandson Floyd Cleophus Gilmon of Plain City, OH and 1 sister, Goldie Estep of Waverly, OH. Floyd was a member of the Wakefield FWB Church. Brother Estep pastored seven churches, Madison FWB, Dailyville FWB, Scioto Baptist, Porter FWB, Wakefield FWB, Bethesda Chapel FWB and Shumway FWB. He was also a retired N & W Railroad employee and a Veteran of WW II. Funeral Services were held February 10th at Boyer Funeral Home, Waverly, with Rev, Edwin Hayes and Rev. Lowell King, Officiating. Sister Maxine Sergent, mother-in-law of Cleveland pastor Robert Prichard passed away January 15th. Her funeral was held at the Cleveland FWB Church on January 17th with Brother Prichard officiating. Do remember the Prichard family in prayer. Brother Frank Brown, an elder and member of the Dailyville FWB Church passed away on February 5th. He was an important part of the church for years. He will be missed. LIGHTHOUSE (TRI-STATE) Lighthouse has been celebrating the New Year in great ways! At the end of January we had an uplifting testimonial service from the men that attended the men s retreat near Columbus. We started February with a Sweethearts Banquet to celebrate Valentine s Day. Four couples played the Newlywed game, which brought a lot of laughs. We also learned that Bob and Marilyn Lovett recently celebrated 45 years together. Congrats! On the 15th, we celebrated Brother Bobby Courtney s birthday with dinner and fellowship. We ended the month by accepting and celebrating two new members. Welcome to Sharon Howard and John Burt, we are pleased to have you as a part of Lighthouse. We also have a special prayer request that we would like for all Christians to pray about. One of Brother Bobby s granddaughters, Brooke, is having a difficult time. Please join us in agree Columbus First Free Will Baptist Church, Located at 49 E. Third Ave. Columbus, Ohio ment of prayer for her and the family. Thank you. Bobby Courtney, Pastor Renee Klein, Reporter WAKEFIELD (PORTER) God bless all my brothers and sisters in Christ. I hope these couple of months have been good for you. We are still blessed by our Pastor Lowell preaching messages of encouragement, strengthening, sometimes chastening; whatever the Lord lays on his heart. And, my, how the Lord pours out blessings! We've had quite a bit of illness among our people, and some with tests coming up that we pray will be o.k. Our ladies auxiliarly were so pleased to get a new member, Rachel Dye, in January. She is a smiling blessing in church as well. We had church at Heartland with Bro. Floyd Estep the 7th of Jan., and it was the last, as he went to be with the Lord February 6th. What a good old soldier he was for the Lord. With the ice storm we had no electricity at church which resulted in cancellation one Wednesday. and a full Sunday's services. I think everyone was glad to get back together after that. We were so pleased to have a young man and his son with us February 18th, and he was back the following Sunday, and to the altar he came, PRAISE GOD! That day we also had a birthday dinner for Bro. Ernie Evans, who had just turned 92. Oh, yes, one of our sisters, Mary Collins became grandmother again, February 4th, with little Zane Robert to join siblings, Wyatt and Abigail. Our pastor and Disa have three new grandbabies coming on! Let's let God's light shine through us that others will want to come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior also. Lowell King, Pastor Barb Conley, Reporter WILLIAMS ROAD (FRANKLIN) The Lord has really been blessing all of the activities here at Williams Road. Our youth group, the Soldiers of Salvation, attended Winter Jam on January 31st. There were many decisions made for Christ that night and we are grateful for the teens that went. We were thankful for the wonderful service and message from Edwin Hayes on February 22. It was a blessing to have Brother Edwin with us. We have many blessed services these past two months and we are excited what the Lord will be blessing us with this spring. On March 15th through the 18th, we will be having revival with Freddy Dutton. We are looking forward to this time of reflection and refreshment with the Lord. On March 28th, the Singing Cookes will be here to perform. We will also be selling hot dogs and other refreshments that night to raise money for Vacation Bible School. We encourage everyone to come out for a time of fun and Seeking a pastor. If you are interested in this Bi-vocational opportunity please send your resume to: Pulpit Committee c/o Ron Gardner 196 N. Warren Ave. Columbus, Ohio fellowship that night. The youth group will also be having a car wash and other fund raising activities to raise money to go to camp this year. There are many things going on here at Williams Road and there is much excitement about it all. Larry Sparks, Pastor Marsha Taylor, Reporter REYNOLDSBURG (FRANKLIN) an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast (Hebrews 6:19) Greetings from Reynoldsburg. We have several events coming up this month. On March 15th, the group Spirit Wind will provide the special singing on our 10:30 AM service. That evening, Mike and Cathy Corley, missionaries to Russia will be with us in our 6:00 PM service. On March 21, our Junior Church will be going to the Westerville Athletic Club for an afternoon of swimming. That will be from 1:00 PM until 3:00 PM. On March 28th at 8:00 AM we are going to have a pancake breakfast. Donations will be accepted to go into our building fund. Then on the 29th we ll be having communion during our 10:30 AM service and feetwashing after our 6:00 PM service. Our Easter Sunrise Service will be on April 12th at 7:00 AM. Breakfast will follow this service. Our annual homecoming will be May 3rd at New Life FWB Church Hamilton Ohio Keith and Anna Burt Spring is nearing and it sure is a welcome sight. We had one saved and one baptized in our New Year s Eve service. Joshua Saylor was saved and Regina Reed was baptized. 10:30 AM. Then on May 8th The Greenes will be with us and service will start at 7:00 PM. All are welcome to come join us for these special services. Jerry Sargent, Pastor Kathleen Browning, Reporter ZALESKI He that is without sin among you, let him first cast stone John 8:7 We need to be like Jesus and forgive a brother of their sin and try to help them. Harboring hard feeling towards other who have done wrong is also a sin. Aren t we supposed to love one another and help pick them up and not push them aside? I m so glad Jesus is there to help us. Aren t you? We are in the process of making plans for our VBS which will be held June Our theme this year is SonRock Kids Camp. I m sure it will be a very fun time. Pray for us tha we ll be able to reach the youth and guide them to Jesus. Many of our seniors have been very sick over the winder. Coy Higgenbothem has been very ill with cancer. We d like for your church to lift them all up in prayer. They are very special to us. Our pastor, Ferrell Rood and his sister Dorothy recently lost their sister Helen. Please remember them in your prayers. Anne Pollard has been trying teach us new songs in the choir. We promise to learn them Anne! We are praying for revival, that the Lord will send someone to feed our souls. Our Sunday School has been growing and we thank the Lord for all of our blessings. The different groups that sing in our church truly blesses our hearts. Remember our nursing home ministries. They really enjoy our singing and visits. But they are also a blessing to us. Keep the military and their families in your prayers. We hope you will have blessed Easter in your heart. Tell someone you love them and really mean it. Ferrell Rood, Pastor Linda McKibben, Reporter Our newly installed youth program is progressing very well. We meet on Friday evenings and I have the privilege of teaching them. We just recently went to Elsemere, Ky as a group and went roller skating with Lighthouse FWB church. We had a great time. Our church is planning with Neville and Lighthouse FWB churches for a women s retreat in June and a youth camp in the near future. We are looking forward to the State Meeting in Gahanna at our home church. The National Association is in our backyard this year in Cincinnati. We are praying for revival. There is a revival spirit in the church at the time of this writing. We would like to thank all of the churches for your generous giving to our missionary account. I would love to come and preach and give thanks for all you do to encourage us to become a self supporting church. I just preached at Gahanna Sunday evening, March 1st to thank them for their recent gift. Keep us in your prayers that we would continue to see souls saved and most of all the Lord would continue to get the glory. I have never been more enthusiastic about His work than I am today. God bless. Keith & Ann Missionaries to Hamilton, Ohio.

6 OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 6 AVAILABLE FREE WILL BAPTIST SINGING GROUPS The following singers and singing groups are available to come and sing in your church for revivals or special services. Baldwin Family Bluegrass Singers, Rosedale, Call Chuck Baldwin (937) Chuck.Baldwin@cdmold.com Bobby Siders, Columbus, (Southern Gospel) (614) Born Again Gospel Singers Harry or Irene Litton or Cell Brad Meddock, Hillsboro, (937) Crystal River, Franklin Furnace, (740) David Giddens, Marysville, (937) jgiddens@urec.net Faith Gospel & Contemporary Christian Music, Sidney, Call Pam Moorman (937) ladypam@bright.net Faith in Action, Marion, Call Majorie Abrams at or Pleasant Hill FWB Church, (740) Attention:Marjorie Abrams or Deacon Bob Chaffin or songlady_99@yahoo.com George C. Darling, Chillicothe, (740) God's Ambassadors, Gahanna, Call Judy Spires (614) Gospel Ambassadors, Rittman, Call Greg Marcum (330) Headed Home-Singing For The Lord, Oak Hill, Call Jim Evans (740) or Robert Gamble (740) Mike Kisling, Hillsboro, (937) Nina Nash, Leesburg, (Southern Gospel Sound Tracks) (937) gnash2@cinci.rr.com Ounce of Hope, Delaware, (Southern Gospel) (740) Out of Season, Columbus, (Bluegrass) Call Jim Fraley (614) Rob Goodman, Newark, (740) Rob Kurtz, West Jefferson, (614) Cell (614) kurtzwj1@sbcglobal.net Rowena and George Walker, Dayton, (937) Searching Lights, Galloway, (614) Stacy Edwards, Hilliard, (614) (614) stacy@stacyedwards.com Website: Steve Russell, Marengo, (740) steverussell@musician.net Terry Collins & Victory, Hillsboro, (937) The Hambys, Dublin, (Southern Gospel) (614) The Remy s, Mt Sterling, (740) Contact Candy Remy Valentine uniprintproducts@hughes.net The Spiritual Echoes, Circleville, Call Joyce May (740) or Delores Moore (614) Violet Maynard, Columbus, (614) violet@violetmaynard.com Undivided, Grove City, Call Mike or Sheri France (614) or Cari Phillips (614) Undivided96@aol.com Victory s Voice, Franklin Furnace, (740) Wayne Mays, Hilliard, (614) If you would like your group to be included, please send me your group name, what local FWB Church you are a member of, your address, and phone number. I will add you the list in the next issue of the Ambassador. PARADISE (NORTHERN OHIO) Greetings from the Paradise Church. We hope everyone is off to great new year. In December we elected Brother Randy Nichols to fill the term of pastor until our February business meeting. Well, in February we elected Brother Randy as our pastor for the next three years. We believe that God sent him our way. Since December the 5th Ave FWB Church has been joining us for services. The fellowship between the two churches are wonderful. Brother Edwin Hayes was with us on January 25th in the morning service. Brother Hayes taught the lesson "Why I am a Free Will Baptist". He did a remarkable job teaching. Then he preached in our morning worship service. The church really enjoyed hearing Brother Hayes. The church is seeing lost people come every Sunday morning. Pray that God will give them the desire to continue to come, but most of all that God will deal with their hearts. The Spirit has been strong the past few weeks. We ask that you pray that they will just turn loose of the world, and accept God into their life. On February 1st we had "Build A Sunday School Day." Our intent is to see the Sunday School program grow. We had 95 in attendance that morning. March 22nd will be Friends and Family Day. We want to set a new attendance record. The current record is 110, which was set last February for Friends and Family Day. Brother Randy said that if we set a new record he would take a pie in the face. We invite you to worship with us that day if you don't have a home church. Until next time may God bless all of you. Randy Nichols, Pastor Charley Hinkle, Jr.,Reporter FREEDOM (CORNERSTONE) The winter is about over and spring is around the corner. So plans are in the air, for lots of activities in the coming year. Our young people are practicing hard for the upcoming Youth Conference competitions. We are all showing our support as they prepare. We had several men attend the Men's Retreat in January, many for the first time. Including this reporter's husband and he can't wait to go again. They again, were able to take home the trophy for "Greatest Percentage of Men in Attendance Based on Church Membership. God's work is being done here at Freedom. Attendance has been good. Even Sunday nights we are seeing more coming to worship. The Wednesday youth group has a name now."step Up" and it is off to a good start. We are happy to say that we had two more baptized: Jenifer Walters and her son Tyler. What a blessing that was to see both mother and son baptized together and it was on Jenifer's birthday making it even a more memorable time for them. We had two others that were saved this past month and welcome them to our church. Our condolences to the Walters family on the death of Tim's mother Ida Knox who recently went to be with our Lord. They are a very good Christian family. She was an outstanding woman who loved the Lord. She was always working hard for Him at her church and in her community. She was a co-founder of the food pantry there and her legacy will live on in the memories of all whose lives she touched thru that and other unselfish acts of kindness. There were many wonderful testimonies at her service to prove she definitely was following our God's commandment to us to love one another. Mike Sammons, Pastor Patty Holycross, Reporter LEWIS CENTER (FRANKLIN) Spring is near and I know that everyone is ready to see the earth come to life again. We are also looking forward to Easter and to reflect on the great sacrifice that Christ made for us. There would be no hope of eternal life without the crucifixion and resurrection of our Savior. Since last report, nine people have been saved, eight baptized, and several have rededicated. It is such a joy to know that people who come to the Lord are finding peace and new life in Christ. The ladies of the church really appreciate the annual Valentine dinner. The food is prepared and served by the men of the church. It is always a nice evening of fellowship. The Easter Program entitled, "Answers", written by Pastor Tony Walker, will be presented on April 10th, at 7 PM. We hope you will join us on that special evening. Sunrise service will be on the 12th, followed by breakfast at the church. After the regular morning service at 11, there will be a Easter egg hunt for the children. The evening worship will be canceled. Please remember our shut-ins in prayer. Have a wonderful Easter and may God bless. Tony Walker, Pastor Jean Holmes, Reporter NEW CARLISLE (LITTLE MIAMI) Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him. Psalms. 37-7) Hello from New Carlisle. Thank the good Lord spring is around the corner. We had to cancel some church services because of bad weather. We were blessed by visiting preachers in January and February. Bros. Harold Van Hoose, Dan Smith, Buck Smith, John Long, and Phil Harness were with us. We were also blessed by some wonderful gospel singers. Searching Lights, The Cole Family, Heavens Echo s, and Clear view Singers. The sisters of the church have begun planning more fundraisers for this year. We are at the half way mark for new carpet and pews. We had a man give his soul to the Lord on February. 8th. Praise the LORD! Our Sunday school is growing. We are planning a revival the week before Easter. Brother Randy Nichols will be preaching the gospel. Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray for our church to grow and prosper. Steve Wagoner, Pastor Joann Turner, Reporter CLEVELAND (CUYAHOGA LORAIN) For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 On October 11th we were blessed to have Brian Free and Assurance with us once again. We also held a couple of fundraising events to help raise money for new carpet in our sanctuary. We had a bake sale on October 11th, and a Christmas Bazaar on November 22nd. Even though we are still a way off from reaching our goal, we are continuing to have a great time of fun and fellowship in the process. On December 21st our youth presented The Shepherds during our Sunday evening worship service. It was a great time of worship and giving thanks to God for sending us His Son. Sisters Lona Prichard and Charlene Carver lost their mother, Sister Maxine Sergent on January 13, Services were provided by Pastor Prichard here at the church. Please uplift the families with prayer. Robert L. Prichard, Pastor Kimberly R. Young, Reporter DAILYVILLE (FRANKLIN) Sherry Shank and daughter, Jennifer Williams (a cancer survivor) head up a relay for life program in our church. DWAC bake sale brought in $750 for our missions project on the 25th of November. The Ohio Men s Retreat was attended by Sherman Dixon, Darrel New, Rob Scaggs and Gene Pearson from our church and reported they were uplifted and blessed by the preaching, fellowship and music. The goal and motto for our church is 2009 is Connected, Committed and Commissioned and our pastor is explaining how we can fulfill this in his messages this year. The men of our church are preparing for the annual Dogwood Festival in Piketon, Ohio April 25 & 26th, where they make and sell apple butter to fund church projects. This will be followed by the men s retreat at Shawnee State Park April 30 to May 2nd. A thought we plan to keep in mind is No matter how big the problems, they are smaller than God s power. Place your life and problems in God s hands. In God s will. Pete Dunn, Pastor Jim Henry, Reporter COMMUNITY-SOMERSET And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered. II Chronicles 31:21. Praise God the church walls are painted, plumbing done, and the electric is installed in our new church building! We are getting prepared to add the porches on and for the carpeting! It's been a long road, but God has blessed each step of the way. The winter has been cold and hard on a lot of God's children but we have pressed on. We have several out sick and some in the hospital. Please pray for all of these that the Lord will bless them with a quick recovery. Continue to keep praying for the work the Lord is doing here and as one of our members always says "God is good! All the time!" May God bless each and everyone of you. Scott Hutchinson, Pastor Beverly Hattery, Reporter

7 OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 7 TIM BYERS FAMILY OHIO MISSIONARIES TO CONNEAT, OHIO Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ I am excited to share with you what the Lord is doing here in Conneaut, Ohio. The end of 2008 came and went and what a year it was. The Lord is good and it is such a blessing to be able to see Him at work in the lives of others. Looking back over last year it is amazing to see how much He did in so many lives. Here are a few examples looking back over the last year. What a praise item is was when we were honored to see two long time drug addicts give their hearts to the Lord. Another was an alcoholic that had also been abusing drugs for over 30 years. We still have a great outreach to those you would not normally see in church. We have seen the Lord work in incredible ways. The Lord has worked in the lives of several drug addicts (most were high the first time they attended), prostitutes and strippers. All had children. Some have already received Christ as their Savior and have had a dramatic change in their lives. Some are still struggling. Some are still searching. We love them all and pray for the day that all turn their lives over to the Lord. SOUTH CHARLESTON (LITTLE MIAMI) Greetings from South Charleston church on a beautiful sunshining morning the Lord has given us. He is so great and we are looking forward to the many blessings He has for us. We are thankful for the little church beside the road. Since our last report we had one soul saved, two baptized and two take membership. We thank the Lord for those precious ones. We want to thank the Lord for the preachers that has come to preach for us these last few months. Rev. John Long, Rev. Buck McLasia, Rev Jim Hartman, Rev. Josh Young and our Pastor Rev. Forest Dyer they have done some wonderful services. We have had a lot of sickness in the church Sister Ruth Nichols was released yesterday from the hospital after a bout with pneumonia. Please remember her in your prayers. Last summer we had an exciting time with our VBS. We had the biggest attendance for any event during that week with our high attendance on Wednesday of 128! We were also excited that of the 5 days for the VBS, 3 of them saw attendance over 110! We certainly saw a positive affect in the attendance for the summer. The VBS was also great for the people of our church. It got them excited and motivated and that always is good for a church. For the year we had over 100 visitors. Rare was the week in which we did not see at least one visitor. The people here are very open to visitors and I think that is one of the reasons for our growth. We saw many attendance records broken this year. (Excluding VBS) We had several Sunday s with attendance around 70. We have also, over the last few months, had an average Sunday morning attendance of 50 or better. It wasn t too long ago when I was excited to see 18 on a Sunday. Our Wednesday night average is about 70, although it is not uncommon to have over 80. We have various Bible studies during the week with in attendance. Our Friday night recovery group sees about 30 (including children) on average. We had a harvest party last year. This was the second time we have done this. It included games, prizes, plenty of food and 150 people heard the gospel. It was great fun and a great ministry opportunity. We also had our Thanksgiving Day dinner again last year. It was a great success. The fellowship hall was full of people. The local Rent a Center gave us a giant screen TV and two sofas. Most people stayed at leas 6 hours for the fun, fellowship, and of course football. We praise the Lord for His goodness and we are honored that we are able to be here and witness the great things that He does. Please continue to pray for us as we continually seek to reach the lost in Conneaut Ohio. We were saddened by the death's of Sister Pearl Dowler and Sister (Grand Ma) Goldie McNeely who went to be with the Lord. Their family' has our condolences. If we stay true and faithfully we will make the crossing some day. Let us do unto others, as you like others to do unto you. God bless. Forest Dyer, Pastor Garnett Adams, Reporter WELLINGTON (CUYAHOGA-LORAIN) Greetings, and God's blessing to all from Wellington FWB church. Some men from our church attended the Ohio Men's Retreat at the Heartland Retreat Center in Marengo, Ohio, on January 22nd through 24th. They received such a blessing, and had a wonderful time of fellowship and hearing the word of the Lord. Listening to their testimonies of the blessing they received uplifted, and blessed us all. Since our last meeting one of our brothers Robert White has passed away and gone home to be with the Lord. Please join us in prayer as we pray for Sister Blanche White and all the White family. Brother Robert White is the brother of our Pastor Billy Joe White. Please also continue praying for our Pastor Billy Joe's health and also for sister Linda White. We here at Wellington FWB appreciate all your prayers. Until our next meeting we wish all our brothers, and sisters a blessed, and joyous Easter. Billy Joe White, Pastor Paula Terry, Reporter PURITAN (SOUTH CENTRAL) We at Puritan FWB thank God for keeping us safe through the snow, ice and power outages! We had to cancel some church services due to the bad weather. Our Wednesday night Bible study has been in 1st and 2nd Peter. There have been several deaths in our church family. Sisters Betty and Dot lost a brother, Sister Kate lost a sister and Carl and Carolyn Sorrels lost a grandson. We had special missionaries, the Bryant Family on a Sunday morning. They are missionaries to Uganda, Africa. We had special singing by the New Southern Harmony Singers. The church was up lifted by this spirit filled singing. Continue to remember us in your prayers. God is still in charge of everything that takes place in our world. Remember He cares for you! Lee Aldridge, Pastor Carrie Powell, Reporter LIBERTY (CUYAHOGA-LORAIN) Greetings in the name of the Lord. God has really been blessing here at Liberty. We have seen new families coming to church, people being saved, and lives changed. In October over 30 people showed up to knock on doors to invite people to church. We went to 150 doors. We had a lady who came the next day and she has been coming ever since. In November, we had our annual Thanksgiving service with the Rittman and Clinton Churches. Bro. John Larrison preached and did a wonderful job. In December the Ladies of Liberty held their Christmas dinner on the 5th. Our Masters Men had their Christmas breakfast at the Amish Door in Wooster on the 6th. and our church Christmas dinner was on Sunday evening, December 7th. The Youth had their Christmas play "A Mayberry Christmas". What a blessing it was. In January Bro. John Larrison received his license to preach, and Bro. Mike Sollars preached at the Cuyahoga-Lorain Conf. We also had young preacher from the Bible College preach for us, and he did a wonderful job. We have a new convert's class being taught by Bro. Cecil Farmer and Bro. Mike Sollars. February 14th we showed the movie "Fireproof" at the church. We had a great turnout. Our youth also had their Valentines Day party on the 14th. The youth in our church are really amazing, and we are so proud of them. Bro. John and Sis. Joanie Larrison welcomed a new baby girl into their family since our last report, and we are looking forward to this year as three of our young couples in the church are expecting babies. Please pray for us and we will pray for you. Cecil Farmer II, Pastor Debbie Sollars, Reporter PETREA God has surely been with us through the snow, ice and cold temperatures. When we see the blessings that come from serving the Lord,. We know that all things work for the good of them that love the Lord. So many people have come and helped with the services by their singing and preaching. Bro. and Sister Angel and their family have brought singing and testimonies that have been inspiring. Bro. Avery, Janet's brother, stops in with Jim and Janet to bring a message from God's Word. God is calling and people are responding, Oh, what an opportunity to see souls saved. We have had several at the altar to be saved and for strength. Rev. Rick Bishop brought the message last Sunday night and it was a call to arms, so to speak, we must be ready and armed for the Lord's work. We at Petrea believe that if we do our best for the Lord, He will take the little and use it for big things. May God bless and keep you and may your hearts rejoice in the coming of our King! Richard Cozad, Pastor Jacqueline Wyatt, Reporter FAITH (CUYAHOGA-LORAIN) Greetings in the name of our Lord from Faith FWB Church. January 9th, we attended our conference at Good Hope FWB. On January 18th, Sunday evening, we had special singing from Bro. David Moffit along with Rev. Jim Jewell preaching on Vessels. 1st: Made in the likeness of God, 2nd: Marred by Sin, and 3rd: Mended by God. What a great, loving and forgiving God we serve. Rev. Bill Alford preached Sunday night February 1st and 15th, and Wednesday evening February 25th. We also had a special Sunday morning singing on February 15th, with Mark Allen Chapman. Our attendance has been down these last two months due to weather and sickness, but God is still on His throne and blessing His children. We had one person saved along with others desiring a closer walk with God. We are planning and preparing for an upcoming revival, March 29th through April 3rd. Please pray for our revival that souls will be saved. Come and join us if you can. Please pray for our pastor Rev. Lester McMahan and our church, that we may always be found doing God s will. God bless until we meet again. Lester McMahan, Pastor Debra Crantrell, Reporter

8 OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 8 BLOOM (PINE CREEK) Our church recently added new members Dwight Cole, Sharon Ehrhart, Kenny McKnight, Kyle Ramey, and they all continue to be a blessing. Bro. Kenny had baby dedications for Preslee Skye French and Liam Stone Osborne. We know the Lord will bless our new members and these little ones. Brian Moore preached and he and wife Terry sang for us; Debbie Leesburg Ward sang and we enjoyed Union FWB visiting us in a Sunday evening service. Kevin Spencer and his wife visited in a Sunday morning service, which blessed us to hear him sing and tell of his missionary work. Our youth have enjoyed sharing services with Ohio Furnace Youth and they came to our Christmas Play, written by Michelle Gilmore. Our youth have been having Friday evening Bible Study and Brandi Hagen and Stephanie Sparks are leading our children's church. We had special birthday celebrations for Bro. Kenny's "60th" and enjoyed many of his family visiting with us; also Mark Harner's "50th" which many had poems to help remind him of the big day. Our "little children" SS choir has been singing a new theme song about the prayers of a righteous man is "powerful and effective". Bro. Kenny felt led for our Wednesday evening prayer service to concentrate on praying for the ministries of our church and to see souls saved. Bro. Mike Ehrhart has challenged our church to see 200 in attendance by the end of the year and he and Bro. Kenny remind us often that it can become a reality with prayer and dedicated Christians. God bless our denomination and churches everywhere and we hope to see you soon! Kenny Klaiber, Pastor Diana Claxon Stonerock, Reporter FELLOWSHIP TABERNACLE (LITTLE MIAMI) God sure is blessing our church in His special way. We have been having good revival services and good attendance in our Sunday morning services and often see new visitors. We are thankful for all those who work in the church as well as those who come and minister to us in God s word and in music. We appreciate our ladies group and the work they do for the church. God is blessing our nursing home ministry at the Greenewood Manor in Xenia. Brother Joe and Sister Connie McPherson do a wonderful job and we have good attendance for these services. The residents seem to enjoy the singing and preaching. Please pray for Brother Joe and Sister Connie. On January 17, we had a Fish Fry with good attendance and fellowship. We are thankful for all the good food and support everybody brought. Some of our men went to the Ohio Men s Retreat in January. On February 14, we had our Valentine Dinner. We wish to thank all those who came out and made it a success. We have had one saved and one baptized. Jimmy Stepp, Pastor Noonie Lewis, Reporter CHILLICOTHE FIRST (SOUTH CENTRAL) Greetings, Are all of you as ready for spring as your reporter? I am looking forward to those warm spring days! They are coming, we have already seen a pair of robins praise God. Our youth have been doing fund-raiser preparing for the trip to the National. For Valentines Day they did 22 singing telegrams with a box of chocolate at $5.00 each. February 15th, they prepared and served a chicken dinner following the morning worship service. A donation of around $ was raised. After dinner a small worship service followed and the movie "Fireproof" was shown. Our old annex building has been torn down, we are working on funds for a new annex. We have seen a steady increase in our attendance each week and souls are being saved. Praise God! Tuesday evenings is visitation night they go and visit the sick and shut ins. We were recently surprised by a visit. My husband being a shut in was really appreciative of this. A visit from church family can really lift and cheer ones heart. Keep those who are ill and shut-in in your prayers and never forget the unsaved in all of our church families. God is still on the throne. In 2009 feed your faith and starve your worries. Until next time may God bless us everyone! Mitchell Salyers, Pastor Charlotte Elliot, Reporter UNITY (CUYAHOGA-LORAIN) Greetings once again from Unity! God has really been blessing our church. We have seen souls saved, and we have been having some great "revival-like" services! We had a gospel singing with Mark Chapman on Sunday night, January 25th. We also enjoyed The Singing Weavers on Saturday night, February 21st. There is a baby boom going on at Unity! Congratulations to Rebecca Doubrava and her husband Josh. Rebecca gave birth to Elijah Benjamin at the end of December. Also congratulations to Kristin Workman, Suzanne Kopp, Crystal Rink, Angie Steitz, Virginia Allen, and their husbands, who have all recently found out that they are expecting! Our nursery is growing! We have lost two precious members of our church. Sister Geneva Green passed away on January 22nd. She was a beloved charter member of Unity. Also Sister Doris Jones passed away in early February. We will miss these ladies, but our loss is heaven's gain. We will see them again some day. We are looking foward to our spring revival. It will take place March 16th-21st. Preaching will be Rev. Lester McMahan, Rev. Les McMahan, Rev. Jim Kelly, Rev. Bob Prichard, and Rev. Lucian Baker. Services will be at 7 PM nightly. May God bless you until next time! Eugene Crouch, Pastor JR Allen, Reporter URBANA (CENTRAL OHIO) "For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly." Psalm 84:11 Greetings from Urbana. We continue to praise God for His goodness, as He has added new members to our church. Dawn and Mike McCall with children, Derek and Lauren were added to our roll on January 25th. We are very pleased to have them and know that they will be an important asset to our church family. We have started a new "Can Sunday" where we will bring an item or two of non-perishable food items on the first Sunday of each month. This we hope will build up our food pantry, so that we may be able to help those in need. On February 8th we were blessed with the music of the SonShip Quartet in our morning worship service. Saturday, February 14th we celebrated Valentine s Day with snacks, fellowship and the showing of the film " Fireproof". This was a tremendous film and was enjoyed by all who attended. We are equally sad and happy to say farewell to Available FWB Ministers The following ministers are available to fill the pulpit for pastors who have to be away from their church. Bill Alford, Rudy Dr, Strongsville, Oh (440) Anthony Tony W. Blackburn Mechanicsburg, Oh (740) Patrick Blevins, Basil Rd, Baltimore, Oh (740) Mike Boggs, 4411 McDowell Rd, Grove City, Oh (614) Ron Brown, 5478 Riber Rd. Hillsboro, Oh (937) Phil Chapman, Cleveland, Oh (440) Andrew J. Cordell, Mechanicsburg, Oh (937) Roger Crusie, 335 ½ N. 4th St., Greenfield, Oh (937) Luther Dingess, Route 1, Box 294, Fort Gay, WV (304) Freddy Dutton, 1700 Hale Ct, Columbus, Oh (614) Clyde Eldridge, 415 Patterson St., Fairborn, Oh (937) James England, 5138 N. High St, # 119, Cols. Oh (614) Larry French, 76 Skyline Dr., Ashville, Oh (740) Ben Gibson, 1126 Cheyenne Springfield, Oh (937) Packy Gibson, 7029 Fields Ln., Hillsboro, Oh (937) Randy Hall, Lake Front Dr, Hillsboro, Oh (937) Edwin Hayes, 3700 S High St #159, Columbus, Oh (614) Carl Jenkins, 2809 Searsdale Ave. Cleveland, Oh (216) William Jones, 9767 E US 36, Woodstock, Oh (937) Dan Knight, 946 Third Street, Logan, Ohio (740) Paul Keener, 703 Andrew Ave., Westerville, Oh (614) Travis McKenzie, 1339 Lewis Rd. Mansfield, Oh (419) Tom Murphy, 229 Victorian Dr, Commercial Pt, Oh (614) Jeremy D. Ownby, 806 S. Waverly St. Columbus, Oh (740) Rob Ratcliff, 6568 TWP. Rd. 79 Mt. Gilead, Oh (419) Chris Russell, 100 Evening Drive, Olive Hill, KY (606) Mike Sollars, 1403 Wayne Street, Barberton, Oh (330) Tom Spradlin, Portsmouth, Oh (FWB Family Ministries-Rep) (740) Terry Southers, 3017 Voeller Circle, Grove City, Oh (614) Alex Stevens, 2002 East Main Street, Greenup, KY (606) Dwight Stump, 5074 Willow Dale, Springfield, Oh (937) Marvin Swayne, 6786 Heathemoor, Hillsboro, Oh (937) Talo Teo, 828 Federal Ave., Zanesville, Oh (740) Bill Turner, 150 Willard Ave., Carlisle, Oh (513) Tim Updike, SR 93, Wellston, Oh (740) Anthony Vanover, 1960 Barron Blvd, Grove City, Oh (614) Ken Walker, 926 Fairview, Wheelersburg, Oh (740) Alan Wright, 8008 Harrisburglondon Rd, Orient, Oh (614) Josh Young, 855 State Route 323, South Solan, Oh (740) Brother Billy Parsons and his wife, Sue, who are moving to the Ft.Wayne Ind. area to assume pastorial duties. Our prayers go with them. We are making plans for our spring revival which begins April 26th, with Pastor Tim Stout. Please remember us in your prayers, as we remember you in ours. Kenny Cordell, Pastor Barbi Johnson, Reporter UNITY-GALION (CUYAHOGA-LORAIN) Hello everyone! On January 18th we had a student from FWB Bible College in Nashville, TN come to preach for us. His name is Javen Story, and it was his second time ever preaching. He did a good job. We had a mother and son get saved a few weeks ago. Then they got baptized on February 22nd. We would like to thank Pastor Mark Bailey and the Mansfield FWB Church for letting us use their baptistry, and for all their support and encouragement. Also we want to thank Pastor Brian Phillips and Cornerstone FWB Church for all of their support and encouragement that they have given. It is greatly appreciated. Dave Bates, Pastor April Hamilton, Reporter BEATTY (LITTLE MIAMI) Wow! Hello again. Haven t these two months just flown by? Our church celebrated Valentine s Day at Golden Corral. Everyone who attended had good food and fellowship. The last men s retreat had has a very good effect on our members. They are revived again. Our pastor s wife, Sister Velma Wallace went to the Ohio FWB website, wwwohiofwb.com and downloaded several messages that were preached at the retreat. On Sunday evenings we get to hear their preaching services. They have been great! Our prayers go out to Jim Nichols and his family. His father passed away, so please keep them in your prayers. We have had a lot of illness in our little church, so keep us all in your prayers. John Steve Wallace, Pastor Marsha Downs, Reporter ANTIOCH (CENTRAL OHIO) As I write this newsletter, I feel so blessed to be able to do this for our Lord and serve Him in a way that I may reach some lost sinner. At Antioch, the Lord has blessed us abundantly. Our services are spirit-filled, and we have a pastor that preaches God's word in truth and love. There are many in our church that have had a hard winter, but thanks be to God, He has seen them through the storms of life and has blessed them so much. We at Antioch are still so thankful that when the church doors open, God is there to bless us with His sweet Spirit. Please join us in Sunday School (9:30 AM) followed by our morning worship. Jim Blankenship, Pastor Dianna Eiring, Reporter

9 OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 9 D6 Conference Announces New Speakers Randall House is pleased to announce five new guest speakers at the D6 Conference: Dr. Eddie Moody, Joe Grizzle, Jennie Blair, Neil Gilliland, and Pastor Jimmy Holbrook. Dr. Eddie Moody is the pastor of Tippett s Chapel Free Will Baptist Church in NC as well as a professor at North Carolina Central University. He will be leading a seminar in our PreCon Labs. Joe Grizzle is the Sr. Pastor of CrossPointe Church in OK and will be speaking in a session during the main event on implementing D6 strategy and methodology into your church ministry. 54 Ewing St. PO Box 161 Chillicothe, OH or fax: Hello from your OWAC officers. We have been praying, planning, discussing, and working for you. Jennie Blair is wife to Pastor Jeff Blair. She teaches Sunday School, directs kid s choir, and ministers to women and stay-at-home-moms at Locust Grove Free Will Baptist Church in OK. LOCKBOUNRE (TRINITY) Greetings from Lockbourne FWB. We closed out 2008 at our annual New Year s Eve Watch Service where we recalled the Lord s goodness to us during 2008 and bowed in prayer to ask for His help in Since our last report, we are happy to report that the Lord saved a precious soul in one of our services. Our church is focusing on souls in 2009 and we have begun practicing for two very special performances of a drama called The Gates of Hell. The whole purpose of the play is to illustrate what awaits those who do not know the Lord as their personal Savior. We covered the play in prayer March 6th when we had a prayer circle at the church around the clock from 6 am 12 midnight. Each person who participated committed to pray for 30 minutes. We asked the Lord to anoint the play and use it to bring Neil Gilliland is Director of Member Care for Free Will Baptist International Missions and will be leading conference attendees in a concert of prayer from the main stage. Jimmy Holbrook is Senior Pastor at Harrah Free Will Baptist Church in OK. He will assist Mark Matlock as emcee at the main event and share his D6 story. The vision of the D6 Conference is to champion a movement of parents reconnecting with their kids spiritually to transfer their faith and life values. Randall House General Director Ron Hunter says, This requires an intentional effort on the part of local church leadership. Leaders and pastors must be determined to dedicate a core part of their local church ministry to connecting church and home. Hunter continued by saying, Each of the speakers and presenters who have chosen to be a part of D6 are men and women who are already living D6 out in their own lives and ministries. These new speakers we have added to the lineup are no exception. Leaders who attend the D6 Conference will be challenged to take a different look at the way they minister to children, students, and families in the church in light of the message of Deuteronomy 6:5-7. D6 will equip leaders with the tools and ideas they need to influence parents in their church to reconnect parents with their kids. Many of today s leaders in the faith-at-home movement will be sharing the groundbreaking success they are experiencing and we are glad to welcome these fine presenters above. For more information about the D6 Conference go to souls to Him. Please plan to join us and bring your unsaved friends and family to The Gates of Hell on March 27th, 28th or 29th at 7 pm. Agree with us in prayer that God will pour out His conviction on the lost and bring many to Him. We were saddened by the loss of a very special brother in Christ, brother George Tackett. He was a beloved friend and fellow Christian and our church family will truly miss him. We are comforted to know that he is with the Lord, for to be absent from the body, is to be present with the Lord. Our prayers continue to be with his wife Freddie and all of their family members. May the Lord comfort each and every one. Continue to pray for our church family as we labor together in the Lord. Leon Stevens, Pastor Janelle Sagraves, Reporter National Association This is an exciting year for us. With the National in Cincinnati in July, we have the joy of hosting our sisters in Christ at the WNAC convention. If you haven t had a chance to help yet, there is still much to be done. We ll need Buckeye candies, hostesses at the banquet, decorating, booth workers, and more. If you haven t been contacted yet, check with your auxiliary president or coordinator or call one of the officers and volunteer. Plan on coming to the National WNAC Convention. Look for details at Send in for your banquet tickets ASAP. They will sell out quickly. New National Website Have you been on the website to get monthly news from our new Executive Secretary Treasurer Danita High? Check out Danita@wnac.org. And the new look and magazine Together With God is great. The Bible studies are deep and provide weekly or monthly studies, whatever your group needs. It s a value at $12 a year. There is a page for teens, tips for Moms, and gives your groups the latest news and ideas from other groups for serving and sharing our faith. Branson is on the horizon for September. And October brings the state retreat. Ohio OWAC State Meeting The state meeting is June 25th at the Gahanna FWB Church. Registration starts at 8:30 am. The theme will be Daughters of the King. We are finalizing the speaker. It is time for elections for officers. If you have someone to nominate, notify the nominating committee-geri Baker chairman, Cecelia Lundy, Geri Beal, Pam Luthy, Catherine Laidley and Shirley Frye. Cookout at Hillview In the evening at 6 pm, we will host the FWB Family at Hillview FWB Church for a casual evening of fellowship open to everyone. This year we are grilling and we are planning on having a great time for everyone. More details in the next issue! Officers: Francis Etterling, Geri Baker, Ray Ann Mahaney, Ruby Martin, Lisa Hickle, Pam Luthy, Joanne Vaughn, Jeannie Sargent, Beth King and Sarah Sargent. State Meeting Hotel We have blocked off 12 double bed rooms at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel, 460 Waterbury Ct. Gahanna (614/ ) for Thursday, June 25th and Friday, June 26th. This hotel is at Exit 37 (Hamilton Road) off of I-270. This is one exit south of State Route 62 and two exits south of Morse Road. They do offer a continental breakfast. They have given us a discounted rate of $89.00 plus tax if you tell them you are with the Ohio FWB Group. They are going to hold these rooms for us until May 22nd. If we have not filled them, then they will be released to the general public.

10 OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 10 If the Foundations be The Gahanna FWB will be hosting the annual Ohio State Association meeting on June 26-27, The theme for this year s session will be, If the Foundations Be Destroyed. Three FWB preachers, Dr. Freddy Dutton, Rev. Aaron Reed and Rev. James Forlines will preaching on this vital subject. Rev. Mark Price, fulfilling his second term as Moderator, will be opening our 71st session on Friday morning, June 26th. Rev. Mark Bailey, pastor of the Mansfield FWB Church in Mansfield, Ohio will be singing in the Friday morning session. Evangelist Dr. Freddy Dutton, will be bringing the message on the subject The Foundation For Creation. Brother Dutton has pastored several FWB Churches in Garland, Texas, Mansfield and Columbus Ohio. He has been a full time evangelist for the last six years. He is the Moderator of the Capital City Conference. He is a graduate of Andersonville College with a B.A., Master and Doctorate of Theology. He has been married to his wife Terry for 39 years and they have one son, Chris. The Friday afternoon devotion will be given by Bucyrus FWB Pastor, Rev. Eric Boggs. The Friday evening service will be presided by Assistant Moderator Rev. Brian Phillips. The Union FWB Church Choir from Wheelersburg, Ohio will be providing the special music in the evening service. Rev. Aaron Reed, pastor of the Sciotodale FWB Church is scheduled to preach on the subject, The Foundation For the Home. Brother Aaron was saved and baptized at the Columbus 1st FWB Church in 1991 and was ordained by the Franklin Conference in He served as Assistant and Youth Pastor at Westerville FWB Church. In 2001 he assumed the pastorate at Sciotodale FWB in Portsmouth Destroyed... Preview of the 71st Ohio State Association Meeting Dr. Freddy Dutton Rev. Aaron Reed where he currently ministers. Rev. Reed has served as Assistant Moderator and Moderator of the Pine Creek Conference. He currently represents the conference on the Ohio General Board. Brother Aaron has been happily married to Tonyia (Sammons) of Westerville for nearly 17 years and they are the proud parents of five children, Tia, Abbey, AJ, Victoria and Chloe. On Saturday morning, Rev. Tim McKnight, of the Freedom FWB Church from Plain City, Ohio will bring the devotion. The Canaan Singers from the Canaan FWB Church in Creston, Ohio, STATE MINISTRY OFFERING Rev. James Forlines will be providing the special music. Rev. James Forlines, Director of the Free Will Baptist s International Mission Department will be preaching on the subject, The Foundation For Justice. James Forlines has served as General Director for FWB International Missions since Prior to his appointment as General Director, James served as associate and youth pastor in Gastonia, NC, as pastor of First FWB in Chesterfield, IN, and as pastor of Allen Chapel FWB in Batesville, AR. He has also served four years on the Board of Foreign Missions, as well as serving the last two years on the Board of Ohio Free Will Baptist Churches are invited and encouraged to participate in our annual HUNDRED DOLLAR FRIDAY NIGHT OFFERING FOR OHIO STATE MINISTRIES We are asking that all of our church become involved in the once a year offering The offering is divided among our three Ohio State Departments: 50% goes to our State Mission Program 40% goes to our State Office 10% goes to our Ohio Youth Conference These are OUR ministries and all of them are worthy of your support. Please consider sending in your offering by June 18th and mark it State Ministry Offering. If you are unable to send $100.00, any amount will be appreciated. Let s do our best to break our record. With the Lord s help, we can do it! International Training Alliance. Brother Forlines was active in writing Sunday school materials for Randall House Publications and served five years as moderator of the Arkansas State Association of Free Will Baptists. James, the son of Professor and Mrs. Leroy Forlines of Nashville, TN, is a 1980 graduate of Free Will Baptist Bible College. He also has completed graduate courses from Anderson School of Theology in Anderson, IN. He is married to the former Anita Ganey of Hendersonville, NC. The Forlines have three children: Daniel, Rachel, and Rebekah. Brother David Chamberlin, music director of the Porter FWB Church will lead the music and Deena Armstrong from the Porter Church will be our pianist. Please mark your calenders and plan to attend our annual State Meeting and come prepared to be a blessing and to be blessed by attending. See you in June! Sign up for the Ohio Golf Tourney Saturday, June 27th, 2:00 PM Cost $30.00 if payment is postmarked by June 15th $35.00 if payment is postmarked after June 15th Includes *18 holes of Golf with Cart *Trophies *Prizes Format: 4 man scramble-- Best Ball There will be individual contests for Longest Drive and Closest to the Hole. The tourney will be held at Willow Run Golf Course at the corner of State Routes 161 and 310, east of Columbus. To get to the course from the State Meeting, as you come out of the Gahanna Church parking lot, turn right on Stygler Road to Morse Road and turn right. Take Morse Road to State Route 310 and turn left. Go north on State Route 310 until you come to the course on the left.

11 OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 11 Our Free Will Baptist Heritage Free Will Baptist History from a Buckeye Perspective "Free Will Baptist Higher Education - Buckeye Style Part Four" Rev. Ira Haning In our last article we discussed Rev. Ira Haning, a Free Will Baptist Preacher from southern Ohio who lived in the mid 1800's and had a passion for Free Will Baptist Education. Under his ministry a couple from Raccoon Township named Nehemiah and Pamela Atwood accepted the Lord in 1851, and it was through their generous giving, both while they were alive and after their death, that enabled Rev. Haning to found Rio Grande College, which opened in September, Led by its first President, Rev. Ransom Dunn of Hillsdale, Michigan, Rio Grande College would go on to become one of the leading Institutions of Higher Learning in the Free Will Baptist Denomination of its day. In just its first decade of service, the College educated over 500 young people. Unfortunately, the College was lost in the 1911 merger with the American Baptist Association, and in the years following the merger, the emphasis drifted more and more to teacher training and less on religious training of preachers. The school cut all ties of religious affiliation in the 1950's. During the same time period, the original Atwood farm adjacent to the campus which was owned by the college (students worked there to produce dairy products), was sold to provide much-needed operating funds for the institution. A young businessman named Bob Evans, was the buyer! Bob Evans Farm is a major tourist attraction today, but few know that it was a Free Will Baptist Deacon's home long before Bob Evans ever was on the scene! What makes this story all the more interesting is that today, Bob Evans has moved it's corporate Headquarters to High Street in Columbus. Among the corporate holdings there on High Street is a shopping mall which holds the offices of - The Ohio State Association of Free Will Baptists! Just think about it - Bob Evans got his start on a Free Will Baptist Farm, and years later Bob Evans is the landlord for the same Free Will Baptist Denomination that Deacon Nehemiah Atwood was a part of. Truly, History does come full circle! Rev. Jim McComas If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for these articles, please contact Jim McComas P.O. Box 202 Creston, Ohio PastorJimMcComas@aol.com FREDDY DUTTON MINISTRIES Holding Forth The Word of Life 1700 Hale Court Columbus, Ohio / or 614/ Reverenddutton@aol.com To help at this year s FWB National Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio July *Ushers *Greeters *Competition Judges *Booth Workers *Volunteers for Impact Cincinnati *Everyone to pray for the meeting Call the Ohio State Office at 1/800/ to sign up! We continue to marvel at God's blessings to us! In spite of the snowy winter, we have been busy and thanking the Lord for His guidance and protection in our lives. During the past few weeks, I have had the privilege to preach at the Southwest FWB Church with Pastor John Meade; the Hillsboro FWB Church with Pastor Richard Burns; the Living Word Church with Pastor John Brainard; the Wonderland Community Church for Pastor Marvin Luckett, and the Greater Columbus FWB Church for Pastor Howard Cameron. Since the beginning of the year, I have been in 26 services and had the privilege of seeing 40 altar decisions for special needs to be met. There have been several first time altar decisions at the services. Souls are being saved and the spirit of the Lord is so evident during the services! We want to thank you for all the loving acts of kindness during Terry's illness and recovery. Thank you so much for the prayers, calls, cards, visits and genuine love and concern during this difficult time. Terry is beginning to see some improvement each week as she begins the fifth month of recovery from the MRSA infection contacted during surgery last October. She has been in and out of the hospital many times during these past few months. The nurse still visits each day for the wound care and she is still taking the antibiotic for severe bacteria infection. At this time, she is still homebound and very anxious to be well again. God has been so good to us through all of this critical medical problem and we give Him thanks and praise each day for bringing us this far with this tremendous struggle. During these difficult economic times, we are so grateful and thankful for the financial support to our ministry. You continue to overwhelm us by the outpouring of your love to us and your commitment to "The Great Commission" and full-time evangelism and soul winning. The Lord continues to prove to us so faithfully the principle of total faith and trust in Him for all needs to be met. We are looking forward to being with you in services this year. May God's blessings be with you as you work and labor for the Lord! UPCOMING TENTATIVE SCHEDULE March (Revival) Williams Road FWB Church Columbus, OH March (Revival) Pine Prairie FWB Church Huntsville, TX March 29-Apr 3 (Fellowship Revival) Southwest FWB Church Columbus OH Apr 5-8 (Revival) McGuffy FWB Church McGuffy, OH Apr (Revival) Vans Valley Comm. Church Sunbury, OH For Revivals, Conferences, Homecoming and other special services, please contact me at the above address.

12 OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 12 NORTH (FRANKLIN) Greetings from the North FWB Church. We had our Christmas program, December 21st, directed by Sis Julie Hayes. Attendance was very good & the program was excellent. Our ladies aid adopted a family and gave gifts for eight children. We gave out six food baskets. We thank God we were able to be of service. Our ladies had their annual Christmas banquet December 19th at MCL. We had a very good time of fellowship and good food. The attendance was good. Our hearts go out to our Pastor, Bro Bill Chadwick, at the loss of his brother on December 17th. Sis Gladys Diamond had surgery to remove her thyroid. As has been the case with her numerous times everything went well. She is always giving God the praise. We will be having a Good Friday service April 10th at 7 PM, followed with an old fashioned feetwashing service. If you can please join us. On Easter Sunday morning we will have our annual sunrise service at 6:30 AM followed with an outing of breakfast at Hometown Buffet. Please feel welcome to join us. Our youth started saving their change to help send the missionaries to Russia. We are still collecting cans to help raise funds for our youth. If you have any & aren't saving them, we would appreciate it if you would save them for us. Our pastors wife, Sis. Sarah Chadwick, was in the hospital February 14th. She was having discomfort in her chest. She had a stress test and everything turned out ok. Sis. Dorothy Mays was also in the hospital at the same time and she with the chest pains. Her stress test also turned out good. Thank the Lord. Sis Betty Justice was also hospitalized since our last report.. Just pray for us and we will pray for you. Wm.A.Chadwick,Pastor Joan Morris, Reporter COALTON (JACKSON) Greetings in the name of our Lord. We have been through a cold and hard winter but God has brought us out. We are now beginning an exciting time of the year. A time when we will see new life budding out and celebrate Easter a time of victory! We are thankful for the two new members that have joined our fellowship. We would also like to extend our thanks to Bros. Bill Zinn, Jamie Fortner & Keith Fulton for delivering the messages of God.. We have been having services at Jenkins Nursing Home for several months now and they have been uplifting to the residents as well as to all those attending. How good it is to worship God together wherever we are. In February we held our annual elections. Please pray for all of those who have taken on the responsibility of a position of service. The youth also had a fun time as they gathered to eat pizza and bowl one Saturday in February. May God be with us all as we endeavor to do His will. Tim Simpson, Pastor Sandra DeHart, Reporter If you re a Single, It s time to Mingle! GAHANNA (CORNERSTONE) Blessings from Gahanna! We have been rejoicing and praising the Lord for 16 new converts in the past two months. We welcome them into the family of God and pray their faith will grow daily. We were privileged to have Brother Bud Henderson on Jan 18th and Saved By Grace February 8th bless us as they praised the Lord in Spend a fun-filled evening getting to know other Singles at the Hillview Church Single Mingle! *Enjoy delicious Hors d oeuvres during our welcome reception *Hang out and play some Board Games *Show off your creative ability in Win, Lose or Draw *Oooh and Ahhh at our Death by Chocolate Dessert Bar! *Relax and mingle in our Pneuma Coffee Café *Enjoy Great Music *Make new friends FUN FOOD PRIZES If you re a Single, Make it your mission to get here to Mingle! Tickets $20.00 (Proceeds benefit IMPULSE MISSIONS) Friday, April 3, :00 11:00 pm Hillview Church, 9005 E. Main Street, Reynoldsburg, OH M. J. LOWE S INCOME TAX SERVICE 3213 SOUTH HIGH STREET COLUMBUS OHIO BOOKKEEPING ACCOUNTING NOTARY PUBLIC JIM & JEAN LOWE Phone OWNERS FAX MJLOWE24@YAHOO.COM song. Keep them in your prayers as they continue their work for the Lord. Several of the men from Gahanna participated in the Ohio Menʼs Retreat January 22-24th. The Menʼs Fellowship Breakfast is held the second Saturday of each month at 8:00AM. This is an opportunity to have a good breakfast and fellowship with your brothers in Christ. God bless all of you! Curtis Booth, Pastor Bonnie Justice, Reporter Cathy Crawford Newsletter Ohio Missionary to France HOME AT LAST!! Yes, I'm finally back in France! Actually I arrived here on November 5th. It was so good to be back. After much prayer, discussions and house hunting, I found a place to live. My home is now in Chateaubriant which is about an hour from St. Sébastien where I lived before. HILLSBORO (CORNERSTONE) Greetings from the Hillsboro FWB Church. The Lord continues to bless our church with His bountiful love and mercy. We have had several more souls saved and rededicated recently, and thank the Lord for each one. We celebrated our annual Pastor Appreciation Day this past Sunday, and are truly blessed to have Brother Richard Burns lead us. We look forward to an upcoming revival at the end of March, and pray the Lord will send souls for His Kingdom. We have also been having family breakfasts that have been opened to the public on one Saturday of each month; and have been well attended. Continue to pray for our church as we strive to show all of our neighbors in Hillsboro the love of God. Our youth leaders, Andy and Christy Warnock, continue to labor and work with our youth in G.R.I.T (God Rocks In Teens). Over the last several years the youth have been able to sponsor a little girl in Uganda, two missionaries, and the Southern Ohio Pregnancy Center. Several young men and women from the youth group are now attending the Free Will Baptist Bible College in Nashville. They continue to covet your prayers as they labor for Christ. May God bless you all Richard Burns, Pastor Douglas Nunn, Reporter Chateaubriant is a small town of about 14,000 people. There are two small Pentecostal groups here. One has been meeting for years in someone's house with less than 10 people attending. The other group meets in a room at the Catholic church. Again only a few people attend (about 15). There is also a Pentecostal Gypsy church that meets only when the Gypsies are in town. The need for a Bible preaching noncharismatic church is great. With that in mind Steve and Becky Riggs, Ledgel and Sharon Ferguson (short termers) and I will be starting a new Free Will Baptist church in Chateaubriant. It's exciting to think of starting a new work! We will also be working with two young French families. One lives about 20 minutes away, and the other lives just outside of town in a village called Louisfert. The couple that lives in Louisfert literally begged us to come and start a church. What's interesting is that this couple was saved in our church at Nantes. They are a precious couple, have two small boys and another one on the way. When I first heard that they wanted us to come, I thought right away of Paul's vision: The man of Macedonia who said: "Come over into Macedonia, and help us." My heart was touched and burdened. I thought, " How can we not go? Surely the Lord is leading us to Chateaubriant." Now I am here in this city, and I feel so much at home. It's amazing what the Lord does! Yes, I'm home at last!! Please join us in praying for a building to rent. Pray that it will be the right building, the right location and the right price. Thank you for praying for this request. But I also want to thank you for the many prayers you have prayed over the past year and for all the money you have given sacrificially. May the Lord bless you and supply all of your needs. Because of your faithfulness French and Turkish people can here the Gospel. I'll tell you more about the Muslim Turkish family in my next correspondence. Purchase tickets at Ambassador Book Store and LifeWay Book Store or by calling (740) In Christ, Cathy Crawford

13 OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 13 HOLY GROUND FREE WILL BAPTIST YOUTH FOR CHRIST CAMP 33 BEAUTIFUL ACRES LOCATED IN HILLSBORO, OHIO. WE ARE NOW OPEN FOR RENTAL AND LEASE AGREEMENTS. FOR INFORMATION CONCERNING THE CAMP PLEASE CALL LARRY GLENN TIM HAMILTON STEVE NICKELS THE SPRING AND SUMMER OF 2009 HAVE DATES STILL AVAILABLE. WE ANTICIPATE THE DATES WILL FILL UP FAST. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. I Corinthians 15:19-20 Marlow; SS Superintendent, Randy Crabtree; Trustee, Randy Crabtree; Treasurer, Francis Spencer; Financial Committee, Becky Crabtree, Annie Marlowe, Mary Shaffer, Rose Colly and Nora Eagle. On March 21st we are having a songfest and we will have one every third Saturday of the month. God bless all. Keith Monroe, Pastor Annie Marlowe, Reporter CORNERSTONE This quarter has been a trying time. Many of our members have been absent at different time with one type of illness or another. Happily bad weather has only kept us away two times. In spite of these obstacles, we still maintained regular services and had a good turnout for our nursing home ministries. Pastor Roger is making plans for even better worship services next month. We are happy to report this quarter that we have gained a new convert who was baptized on March 1st. Our ladies auxiliary has managed to keep busy doing the Lord s work. On February 14th, a Valentine s dinner with games afterwards was held in the fellowship hall. In March they will go on an outing to the Christian Book Store. One bright thing to remember is that spring always follows winter and summer follows spring. With that in mind we are planning our VBS program which will take place the end of July. The theme this year will be Crocodile Rock. Pray that our little church will continue to grow and that we always follow the will of God. Roger Tillis, Pastor Sherman Sawvel, Reporter WESTERVILLE (FRANKLIN) In February, the ladies auxiliary sponsored a soup and sandwich dinner to raise funds fund for the National. They also had a sub sale to help as well. On Wednesday evenings we have enjoyed viewing the Creation Seminar by Ken Ham. It has given us much to think about. Ohio Promotional Director Edwin Hayes and member of our church preached on March 1st. We are looking forward to our a Christmas in March dinner at the Der Dutchman in Plain City March 28th. We are busy raising funds for the Franklin Conference Mission Conference in March. Creative Access Missionaries Mike and Cathy Corley will be with us on March 15th. Paul R. Etterling, Pastor Edwin Hayes, Reporter (A MINISTRY OF NORTHRIDGE FREE WILL BAPTIST CHURCH) Chris Russell Evangelistic Ministries WOODSTOCK (CENTRAL OHIO) The new year has begun with a flurry of work and activity. The men are busy in the church with remodeling and painting. We appreciate their hard work and dedication to keeping the Lords house in good condition. The women have recently joined with "Women Active for Christ" and are looking forward to working for the Lord wherever He leads them. The youth group "All Stars for Jesus" had their annual Super Bowl sub sale and it was very successful. They sold over two hundred subs! Most important of all we have seen souls saved and lives rededicated. We thank God for His grace and mercy. From your brothers and sisters at Woodstock we send to you -Jude 1:2 - Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied. Russell Street, Pastor Esther A Orahood, Reporter HERITAGE (CAPITAL CITY) Hello from Heritage - We have been enjoying great services and increased Sunday School attendance. Our Teen TEAM and AWANA Clubs have had some great adventures. Teen TEAM went tubing at Snow Trails. AWANA had their annual Luau and is looking forward to a Birthday Bash a party to celebrate everyone s birthday! Our men attend the Ohio FWB Men s Retreat. They always come back refreshed and excited for the Lord. We were privileged to have Dr David. Gibbs preach for us on Sunday following the retreat. What an awesome preacher! Heritage Golden Seniors had a luncheon at Golden Corral. They are excited about their next meeting March 12th with a speaker from the Ohio Historical Society who will speak to them about Ohio s involvement in the Underground Railroad. Heart to Heart s next event Don t Be A Couch Potato will be Saturday, March 7th. Their outreach project for the spring will be collecting bags of groceries for Victory Missions. On March 15 at 6:00 pm, we will be showing the movie Fireproof. Everyone is welcome to attend! Our Church Bluegrass group sings every 2nd Thursday (7pm) at our Nursing Home Ministry Service at Scioto Community. Our Easter Sunrise Service will begin at 7am John Meade Jr. will be our guest preacher. We will have Revival Services April with Rev. Dann Patrick of Goldsboro, NC. He will also be preaching at our homecoming Service on Sunday, April 26th. You all come! Tim W. Stout, Pastor Stephanie Wolfe, Reporter MCDERMOTT (PINE CREEK) Greetings from McDermott FWB. We hope and pray that everyone is well. Our food pantry is doing very well. We are helping a lot of families. We are changing days that we are open. Beginning in March we will be open on Thursdays from 9 AM to 2 PM. We welcomed a new member in January. James Love joined our church. In January we had our elections for offices: Clerk, Dawne Monroe; SS Secretary, Anne March 2009 Newsletter Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I pray that you are doing well as we very quickly approach spring I know many of you like me are really looking forward to the spring season. We have had a tough winter weather wise and I m looking forward to sunny and warmer days. In closing, I want to extend my deepest and sincerest appreciation for all of you that pray for us daily. You will never know how we covet each prayer. I know God s people can reach the throne and I have felt the wonderful effects of your prayers. Thank you for all of your support and all that you do to further the gospel. May God bless you until we meet again!!! Appointments for March 2009 Date Church Location Time 3/11 EK Community Church Willard, KY 7:00 PM 3/12-3/14 Rush Free Baptist Duck Run RD Lucasville, OH 7:00 PM 3/15 Rockfork Holiness Rockfork RD Morehead, KY 11:00 AM 3/15 New Boston 1st Holiness Rhodes Ave. New Boston, OH 6:30 PM 3/16-3/21 Happy Valley Chapel Chillicothe, OH 7:00 PM 3/22 Mt. Calvary FWB Route 93 Pedro, OH 7:00 PM 3/23-3/28 Blankenship Holiness Route 59 Camp Dix, KY 7:00 PM 3/30-4/4 Madison FWB Lucasville, OH 7:00 PM For more info contact: Chris Russell Evangelistic Ministries 100 Evening Drive Olive Hill, Ky (606) cmkh4russell@windstream.net Website: Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Colossians 4:5

14 OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 14 ROSEDALE (TRINITY) Once again, our country is in a time of turmoil, with so much going on with our economy. I have to believe, once again, that our God has a big hand in all of this. Our world had become a place of greed; so many have turned their backs on what this country was founded on. Our forefathers knew and often stated that with God s help, this is the only way we can survive, but man took over and decided that we, as a country, did not need God anymore. Isn t it good to know that we have that very one to turn to in times of trouble. Something good will come of all of this, God has done his part now it is up to all of us Christians to do our part. We can offer the following scriptures to those who are hurting, Psalm 27:1, Isaiah 41:10 & my favorite, Psalm 27: 4-5. Reach out to each other and never forget to give God all the praise for all we have. We are still seeing people saved here at church. Hopefully more will turn their lives over to God before it s too late. Our pastor has been bringing some powerful messages, out attendance is still increasing. God has truly blessed our little church. Our ladies aid is revamping out meetings, we have elected new officers for the year and we hope to have more join and become a part of not only the fellowship, but being able to get together in building life long relationships and being a help wherever needed, in our church and outside of the church. Remember Sister Thelma Toney and Sister Donna Baldwin in your prayers, They have recently undergone surgery and we pray for a quick recovery. Please keep our pastor, his family and our church in your prayers. Clay Baldwin, Pastor Bev Fraley, Reporter PORTER (PORTER) The robins are back, so spring can t be too far away. For most of us, we will be glad to say goodbye to a very harsh winter. Many of our members were without power for days due to our area s ice storm which was followed soon after by damaging winds. In spite of it all, we were assured of God s love and care. We now have a new Chamberlin Quartet comprised of three generations: sisters Sharon, Jennifer, Tammy, and Lakyn. We look forward to hearing more from them. Brother Tary Chamberlin recently celebrated his 87th birthday with his loving family. Happy belated birthday, Brother Tary, we pray you are blessed with many more. We have a revival scheduled for March 29 to April 1 with Rev. Mike Mounts. Please come and worship with us. You will hear wonderful preaching and beautiful singing as well. Our young people sponsored their annual Valentine s Day dinner which is a major fundraiser for their trip to the FWB National Convention. They handle all the details and serve a delicious dinner each year. Games were played, prizes awarded, and about $700 was raised to help with expenses. In our pastor s absence on February 22nd, Dr. Tim Cassity delivered a timely message about David s sin and the resulting consequences. We can learn much from the mistakes of others. Our Lord has promised to be our strength and shield. He will not fail us. Mark Price, Pastor Janet Williams, Reporter NORTHRIDGE It has been reported that we have been having the worst winter in six years and that we should not put away out snow shovels yet, we have March on the way! I find myself constantly asking God to forgive me for my "murmuring" about being cold!! I am reminded that our soldiers on the battlefields in Iraq and they work in heat that is almost intolerable and would enjoy a few "cold" days, don't you think? The men who attended the men's retreat returned excited and rejuvenated about the services, looking forward to the Lord's will for their lives and God's plans for them! Not only that, we won the trophy for having the most attend for their first time and each one returned home different from before they went! In 2008 we saw 33 souls saved, 27 baptized and 28 new church members. In 2009 we are asking and believing God for a double portion! Two young men, Brian Blanton and Tony Branscomb announced their call to preach and Jody Mutter and Bill Sargeant are teaching a new class "college and careers". Pray for these men. We are already "gearing up" for Summer Camp and information can be found in another section of the Ambassador if your church would like to reserve it in the summer. Last, but very important, a few weeks ago the church lost a long time member and friend, one of our church bus drivers, Shorty Barnes. We will be having a benefit singing for his family at Northridge Church, 4800 Payne Avenue, Dayton, OH, on Saturday, March 14th, 6:00 PM, with The Homegate Quartet, Redeemed, and The New Jerusalem Quartet singing. God's word teaches us that we are to help those who are in need and we ask you to join us on that special evening. Tune in to the broadcast each Sunday at 2:30 PM on WGNZ 1110 for all announcements. Timothy Hamilton, Pastor Jeannie Sloan, Reporter MOUNT STERLING (TRINITY) The Lord is awesome! I would like to take this time to thank Him for being so good to all of us. He watches over us at all times and is always there to help us back up when we fall. The Lord has taken care of our little church with bringing us new faces & families. He has also given us the means to expand our church. We have been working on a remodel now for about 5 to 6 months and its really paying off. Our little church has finally graduated up to a big church. The Lord has truly blessed and we pray that He continues to bless us. With spring just around the corner, we hope to start having more things going on for the church and the youth. I think we are already to say goodbye to the white stuff and hello to all of the beautful colors spring has to offer. Always remember that if you have a need in your life, pray about it and ask God for help. God is an awesome God and He will answer your prayers no matter how big or small, if you have the FAITH. Dencil Wright, Pastor Tabatha S. Bowman, Reporter FAIRVIEW (CENTRAL OHIO) Praise the Lord for His many blessings. He is so good to us at Fairview. Our church continues to grow in body and spirit. Over the past three months we have seen fifteen souls saved. What a joy it is to be a part of God s family and see His love and mercy and grace in all it s glory. April 4th, we will be sponsoring a youth rally at our church. We invite all to come and join us in worshipping the Lord and sharing His love with all ages. We congratulate pastor and his wife on the birth of Carter. We love and appreciate them very much. Please keep our church in your prayers that we would continue to grow. We also have several members who are unable to attend services due to illness and we miss them very much. Please keep them in your prayers that God would touch them in a very special way. Our love and prayers to all. Matt Pond, Pastor Vickie Hay, Reporter UNION (PINE CREEK) Hello from Union. Our January 10th, 2009 Invitational Volleyball Tournament was a great success with 18 teams participating. South Webster Community Church won first place. It was an enjoyable day with fellowship and food. Our coordinator Rick Porter was encouraged on that day and later by phone calls to have another one soon. He did on February 21st with 15 teams competing. Wheelersburg Cornerstone Nazarene Church won and the trophy was passed on to them from the South Webster Church. A total of $7, was raised for our Missionary Staci Wells Keter and the African Gospel Baby Center in Kenya. Staci, her husband, Wycliff and their soon to be adopted three year old twin boys Solomon and Gifton, arrived at her parents home February 5th. They attended the second volleyball competition. They will be here for several months while raising funds for her mission work. February 15th, we joined Bloom FWB to share their evening service. Pastor Chris brought the evening message. February 1st, Pastor Chris began an New Converts Class. Our guest preachers for the last two months included Matthew Mayhew and Chris Miller. We have had five baptized. Until next time, All creation points to the Almighty Creator! ` Chris Oiler, Pastor Lavonda Leesburg, Reporter HIGH STREET (NORTH & WESTERN) "These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16:33 In April we are planning a garage sale to help raise money to send our youth to Camp Caleb in the summer. Please pray it will be successful. Easter Sunday we will have a sunrise service beginning at 7:00 AM with breakfast being served afterward. Then our regular Sunday School will begin at 9:30 with the morning service starting at 10:30. This is an exciting time for us all to know the tomb could not hold our Savior, and that He is Alive! Continue to pray for our church and may we all continue to hold to God's unchanging hand and remember to stand on His promises. James Webb, Pastor Bill Wolford, Reporter Co-op Supports ALL Our Ministries! PINE CREEK (PINE CREEK) Hello again from Pine Creek Free Will Baptist. We trust everyone has survived the winter months. Prayerfully, spring is just around the corner, and we will begin to see God's beauty come to life once again. On Sunday morning, February 15th, Brother Edwin Hayes preached the Word of Life for us. The title of his message was, "Jesus Is The Amen". It was so good to have Brother Edwin and his wife with us again. What a privilege it was to be in service with them. Brother George Knapp has begun to help teach the adult Sunday school class. We love and appreciate Brother George and his service for the Lord. Brother Rusty Larter has preached several times for us. We truly appreciate Brother Rusty and his desire to preach God's Word. Please remember Brother Cott Coriell in your prayers. Brother Cott is in the nursing home and needs our prayers. Also, remember baby Dalton Gibson's family. Baby Daulton passed away on February 25th. On April 12th, we will be having a special Easter service with Brother Buddy Medford preaching. We will also have special singing. Our morning service begins at 9:30 a.m. We would love to have all of you, that could, to come worship with us. Until next issue, may God bless each and every one of you. Ron Henthorn, Pastor Sandy Morrison, Reporter BRISTOLVILLE (CUYAHGOA-LORIAN) Greetings from the church in the country. My how time has really went by since the last report. We want to thank God for His many blessings that He has bestowed upon us. The song "There Shall Be Showers of Blessings" really mean a lot when economic times are the way they are. Since our last report we was saddened by the death of two precious saints: Sis Darlene Hickey and Sis Bonnie McCreary. Sis Darlene is the mother of Bro. Jimmy Hickey, one of our Sunday School teachers and the wife of Bro. Jim Hickey. She is sadly missed by all. Also Sis Bonnie is the sister of Sis Betty Adkins who is the president of our ladies auxiliary. She to will be greatly missed. We want to thank God for Rev. Dale and Sister Tammy Smith who come each third Sunday and minister to us in song and preaching. They are a great blessing to our church. Also we want to thank God for Rev. Kenneth Edenfield coming and preaching and teaching for us in the absence of Rev. George Whitt, while he and Sister Alice are in Florida vacationing. They are greatly missed. We are a starting our fish frys starting March 13th from 3:30 till 6:30 PM. Bro David Moffatt is in charge of these fish frys which will commence in March, April and May. We would appreciate your attendance as this will also be a benefit to the church. We want to thank everyone who has prayed for our sick and afflicted. They are doing much better. Please pray for me and my husband as we minister to the church and with a new vision of what God can do. Also we need to pray for a old-fashioned revival in our land and country. We need very much according to Romans 13 to pray for the leaders of our nation. Until we meet again by the way of the news letter or by the way of the rapture, may God richly bless you all and may all of you have a very happy Easter. Jim Jewell, Pastor Juanita Jewell, Reporter

15 OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 15 Dr. Richard Adams, retired from the National Home Mission Department was taken to the hospital with severe abdominal pain. They ran a CT scan and he has a KINK in his intestines. If it does not straighten out they will have to do surgery. Please pray surgery will not be necessary. Brother Harold Stout, a member of the Wyandotte FWB Church had open heart surgery February 4th in Mansfield. He came through the surgery and is now home recovering. He is the father of Heritage Pastor Tim Stout. Brother Harold s brother, Bob Stout also had surgery to remove a bowel obstruction on the same day and same hospital. Do remember the Stout Family in prayer. Rev. Roy Harris, formally from the National Executive Office had heart bypass surgery in Illinois. He is now home recovering. Rev. Billy Bailey from the Summit Station FWB Church had surgery in February. He is now home recovering. Rev. Gene Peak, former pastor of the Lebanon FWB Church had a hospital stay in Florida. He has been released and is home recovering. Also, his granddaughter Halle Peak has been in and out of the hospital with seizures. Do pray for her as well. Rev. Rick Locklear from the Woodhaven FWB Church in Michigan has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma which involves about 70% of his bone marrow. He has undergone two surgeries to repair a vertebrae fracture and that has given him significant relief from his pain. He has started chemotherapy. Do pray for Brother Rick. Sister Darlyn Newman, wife of Community FWB Pastor Jerry Newman had a very serious operation on January 8th. They removed 1/3-1/2 of her right kidney to remove a cancer. She is now home but still in need of prayer. Rev. Tim Stout, pastor of the Heritage FWB Church had foot surgery in January. His is now recovering. Brother Billy Matthews, Rev. Mark Leonard s father in law and Myra Leonard s father,. He had heart surgery in Florence, SC to replace one valve and repair a second. There is also an abscess in the heart that will be dealt with. The heart valve problem was caused by an infection. All of this has also affected his kidneys. Please pray for Brother Matthews. Sister Beth McComas, wife of Canaan FWB Pastor Jim McComas developed a staff infection in both of her eyes. This could be a very serious thing, but she was back to the eye doctor and she is responding well to medication which she is taking every two hours. Please pray her condition continues to improve. Sister Terry Dutton had to go back again to the Grant Hospital in Columbus with bleeding. This was due to her previous surgery. She is now home recovering. Rev. Jim Grant, pastor of the New Lexington Free Will Baptist Church is recuperating from broken ribs suffered when he fell from a ladder. TRINITY (LAWRENCE), Hello from Trinity, "Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust." Psalm 40:4. We are once again coming to the end of winter and we are so excited for spring. Just as we trust that the Lord will bless us with another spring, we also trust that he will come again and take us home. Spring is such an amazing season, God knows how to lighten are spirits and get rid of the winter blues. He uses such beautiful bright colors such as the green in the grass, the blues in the skies, the yellow in the bright sun, and all the other bright beautiful colors of all of the flowers. I could go on and on because the Lord is so good. Since our last report we have had Paul Bartram preach for us and he and his wife Nancy sang. We also had Kenny Webb preach a message to us, and he and his wife Susie sang. The messages were food for our souls and the singing was so uplifting. The Lord always knows what we need. May God bless and keep you until we report again. Remember us in prayer! Roy Adkins, Pastor Lisa Johnson, Reporter BUCYRUS (NORTHERN OHIO) As we say goodbye to winter and hello to spring, we are excited about God has to offer us over the next couple of months. Headlining all the events is the Crawford County Camp Meeting which is scheduled to take place at the Bucyrus FWB each Wednesday, May 27-May 30th with all services beginning at 7 pm. Wednesday has Pastor Bobby Webb from Victory Chapel in Akron, preaching and the Copenhavers from Wooster, Ohio singing. Brother Webb hosts a television show seen in the Akron and Mansfield, Ohio areas. Thursday has Pastor Brian Phillips from Cornerstone FWB in Mansfield, preaching and the Southeastern FWB College Ensemble from Wendell, NC singing. Brother Phillips is also the Assistant Moderator for the Ohio State Association of FWB. Friday has Evangelist Jason Black from Huntington, WV preaching and New Vision from Butler, singing. Brother Black is also the host of Joy for Journey radio program heard in Huntington. On Saturday Evangelist Chris Russell from Olive Hill, KY will be preaching and the Shelby Men s Quartet will be singing. Brother Russell is on the Ordaining Council for the Northern Ohio Conference and serves as the Conference Representative to the State Association. If you have any questions about this wonderful event, please see the web site ( or Pastor Boggs at ericmboggs@yahoo.com. In April, our 7th Annual Preach-a-thon will take place on Good Friday, April 10th beginning at 6 pm. For information, see the web site. Finally, we would like to thank the Lord for four precious souls coming to the Lord in the month of February and please continue to pray for our congregation. The waters are troubled in Bucyrus and people are seeking the Lord. May God bless you all in the coming months. Eric Boggs, Pastor Wanda Frankart, Reporter SAMANTHA (FRANKLIN) Since our last report, we have found God ever faithful. Our women's auxiliary made lap robes for nursing home residents at Christmas and homemade cards on Valentine s Day. Our youth made crafts and took them to the nursing home. The Lord contines to bless us with spirit-filled services. In the troubled times we live in, may we remember to pray for each other, as well as our nation. Let us love one another, for love is of God... Wiley Perkins, Pastor Beverly Perkins, Reporter Coin Banks Available for Distribution Free Will Baptist International Missions recently began distribution of the 2009 Change the World coin banks and DVD. Now in its fourth year, the Change the World coin bank program is a component of the World Missions Offering (WMO) received each April. This year s coin bank DVD illustrates the impact of giving through coin banks as a young boy s gift transports him to Central Asia to share the gospel with other children. More than 600 churches utilized the coin banks in While each year more churches participate, stated Barry Simpson, director of development, I d like to see a coin bank in every Free Will Baptist home in America. The coin bank provides a way for children, teens, families, and seniors on fixed incomes to participate in reaching the world for Christ. The 2009 WMO goal has been placed at $600,000. Funds raised in 2009 will continue to support Bible institutes in Cuba, Côte d Ivoire, Russia, and India, as well as reduce our missionaries fundraising burden and fund stateside ministry. Change the World coin banks and DVDs are available by visiting International Missions website ( or by calling the office s toll-free number ( ). SHELBY FIRST (NORTHERN OHIO) The last six words of I Chronicles, chapter 12, reads, for there was joy in Israel. I am happy to report that in the midst of such chaos and turmoil going on in our country, there is still much joy in Shelby, OH. It seems like many members of our congregation have gone through economic battles lately, but the Lord has taken care of each one. We are so honored to be serving the God of the impossible! In January, we held a week-long revival with Brother Jim McComas preaching. Though the weather did not cooperate, the Spirit showed up every night to bless the church, and we were privileged to hear some truly inspiring messages. Also, the youth hosted a youth service on January 31st. We had a wonderful turn-out with about six different churches represented. The youth did everything from singing and testifying to performing a skit and then serving food to the guests afterwards. In February, we hosted the Northern Ohio Conference. We enjoyed two days of fellowship with our sister churches, and we got to welcome two ministers into the conference: Brothers Randy Nichols and James Cosby. Our prayer is that God continues to bless each one of you throughout The joy of the Lord truly is our strength! Herman Copley, Pastor Heather Brown, Reporter FIRST SPRINGFIELD (FRANKLIN) This year s winner of the slogan contest was Susan Ford: Let Your Love Shine in Congratulations Susan! The state competition for the youth is April 4th. We again have several of our youth participating. What a wonderful way to display their God given talents in honor of our Heavenly Father. We wish them all success. In looking back over the past weeks, we can t be sure about the snow storm that started Sunday morning on January 25th. Was it Pastor Mark referring to the coming of spring, or was it Diana McCarty who sang up a storm? Just some speculation. As many of you know, we still celebrate Rally Day on Easter Sunday, which is April 12th this year. We set a record of attendance last year and hope to break that one this year. Everyone has been challenged to bring guests to church that day. Joining us for this special service will be Mercy s Well. Along with that will be our excellent Easter Egg Hunt. We have a busy schedule this year, but know that all are welcome to attend and join in. We ll keep the door open for you. Mark Rucker, Pastor Pamela McCarty, Reporter He is Risen!

16 OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 16 FWBBC Takes Proactive Measures Amidst Uncertain Economy The recent economic downturn and mounting uncertainty in the U.S. economy have resulted in budget reduction measures at Free Will Baptist Bible College impacting faculty, staff, and administration. These measures include eliminating three positions (two full-time and one three-quarter time), placing three vacated positions on hold, establishing phase-retirement agreements with eligible employees, shifting some employees to three-quarter time positions, and freezing the college s pension plan. On Friday, January 9th, in a move designed to avoid further lay-offs, the Board of Trustees approved a plan for mandatory unpaid leave for all college personnel which will result in a five percent salary reduction. In a special message shared with faculty and staff Friday afternoon, Board of Trustees chairman Terry Pierce said, I want to express our sincere appreciation for your service to FWBBC and to God. Your daily commitment is valued and admired by this board. We regret any hardship these painful decisions may cause you and your family. President Matt Pinson said, Like many Christian colleges and seminaries, we enrolled fewer students last fall because a number of applicants chose lower-cost public college options. Furthermore, regular channels of giving began to slow after last September s Wall Street meltdown. In what may be the worst economy in the college s history, we are being forced to make some painful decisions in order to maintain the institution s financial health, while at the same time sustaining the vital programs and student services that make FWBBC the excellent Christian college that it is. On the positive side, FWBBC had only a four percent enrollment drop in residential and commuter students from the fall 2008 to spring 2009 semesters much better than the historical average, owing to a higher number of new students enrolling second semester and had a few individual donors who gave larger than expected gifts. Still, that is not enough to avoid these deeper cuts. Pinson said, We see ourselves as stewards of the resources God s people have entrusted to us. Our goal is to be faithful as we strive to balance our budget while at the same time providing a warm Christian learning environment for the students God has brought to the college, and relocating to a new campus where we can more effectively fulfill the mission to which God has called us. The actions taken to streamline expenses and reduce operating budgets are an intentional means to protect the institution from future financial crises. The goal is for FWBBC to emerge stronger when the present economic crunch eases. Responsible fiscal decisions coupled with sound, ongoing stewardship practices, ensure that the college will be able to carry out its mission during the current economic storm and in the future. David Williford, vice president for institutional advancement, said, Free Will Baptist people are stepping forward in growing numbers to help the college with general fund gifts, and with gifts to pay off the Gallatin property, so that we can move forward with relocation to a new, energy-efficient and space-efficient campus. FWBBC is still talking with interested buyers for the West End campus, and the college s advisors believe this could be the best economy in which to build a new campus because of lower construction costs and interest rates. Williford said, Now, more than ever, we need God s people to partner with us financially to educate leaders for Christ, His Church, and His world. Simpson, Webb to Address FWBBC Graduates Two outstanding Free Will Baptist ministers, Barry Simpson (Tennessee) and Harold Webb (North Carolina), are scheduled to challenge the 2009 Free Will Baptist Bible College graduating class in May. Theological Seminary. Simpson served 22 years on the New Hope Free Will Baptist Church staff in Joelton, Tennessee, 16 years as senior pastor. His denominational experience includes a term as vice president of the Free Will Baptist Foundation Board, eight years on the board of Pleasant View Christian School, four years on the FWB Family Ministries Board (Greeneville, TN), 15 years with Cumberland Camp Board, and 17 years as treasurer of Cumberland Association s Northern Quarterly. MADISON (PORTER Spring is on the way. My backyard was full of robins this morning. They say that is a good sign. I'll be glad to see the ice, snow, high wind and no electric for days gone. Praise God. Our youth are doing so great in Quiz Bowl rallies. Our church is very proud of each and every one of them. We are blessed with terrific kids and wonderful and dedicated teachers. Our congregation has long awaited the blessed birth of Ashlee Dawn Lykins. She arrived February 13th, weighing in at 6lbs. 13oz. The proud parents are Donnie and Tonja. Ashlee is a beautiful blessing from God. God's miracles are so awesome. Our church will be having a revival from March 30 to April 5th. Please come and join us to hear God's holy word and great singing. All are welcome. Birthdays and anniversaries for January and February. include: Tonja Lykins, Leslie Lundy, Darren Martin, Pam Evans, Janet Potts, Avery Leach, Robin Simon, Bob Holbrook, Jim Creech and Thelma Martin. God bless each and every one. Pray for each other, our country, our troops in harm's way and the leaders of our great country. Rodney Evans, Pastor Sharon Smith Reporter HARRISON (PORTER) The weather seems to be getting warmer; which is a reminder that the Lord's coming is getting that much closer. We must be about the business the Lord has put us here to do. Harrison will be hosting a World Evangelism weekend March 20-22nd. We expect to see God move in great and powerful ways and invite all to attend. We have been blessed by the Lord during the past months bout of bad weather in that all we lost was the awning on the front of the church. We have experienced loses and illnesses since the last update and ask that you be mindful of all who need a healing touch from the Lord. Harold Webb completed a bachelor s degree at FWBBC in He was called to preach at age 30 and arrived on campus in 1984 with his wife Linda and two children. Five years later, he graduated with a B.A. degree in Pastoral Training. He served three years ( ) at Central Free Will Baptist Church (Michigan) as a pastoral apprentice with Dr. Milton Worthington. His signature work began in 1992 when he accepted a pastoral call to Liberty Free Will Baptist Church where he continues to lead the congregation. Reverend Webb is active in North Carolina s Blue Ridge Association and served two terms as moderator. Now our thoughts go to upcoming events such as VBS. The children are a vital part of any church ministry and we pray that God will bless all our efforts this year and we will see many souls saved. Daryl Grimes, Pastor Cecelia Lundy, Reporter SOUTHWEST (CAPITAL CITY) We send greetings trusting God is blessing all of our churches in their effort for HIM. Even though it has been a cold rough winter, God continues to warm our hearts and encourage us with great services. We have seen several saved and baptized during the past two months along with nine new members to be added to our membership. We had 31 men from our church to attend the Men s Retreat this year. It was such a blessing to them. They are already recruiting more men for next year. The Ladies Fellowship group hosted a ladies retreat Friday evening March 6th in the fellowship hall. Pastor John will be preaching in a revival service March-11th at the Stiving Rd. FWB and then we will be teaming up with Canaanland FWB for our Fellowship Revival March 30- April 3rd. Our church will attend services at Canaanland Monday and Tuesday then Canaanland will attend services with us Thursday, Friday and Saturday. There will be special singing and preaching by pastors and ministers in our area. Services will begin each evening at 7-PM and everyone is invited. We will close the services Sunday night with our communion and feetwashing service. Our Easter Services will be held April 12th with a sunrise service at 7 AM followed by breakfast in the fellowship hall. The Baileys will offer special singing during this service. We will close the Easter celebration with Sunday School at 10 AM and morning worship at 11 AM. John Meade, Pastor Brea Turner, Reporter Reverend Barry Simpson, director of development with the Free Will Baptist International Missions Department since 2007, will address the graduates during 10:00 a.m. commencement exercises Friday, May 8. Simpson s wife Jena, an FWBBC alumnus, serves as the college s Lifetime Learning/T.E. Associate. North Carolina pastor Harold Webb (Liberty Free Will Baptist Church, Marion) will bring the baccalaureate message Thursday evening, May 7, at 7:00 p.m. President Matt Pinson said, Commencement week is an important occasion for the entire college family, and especially for graduating seniors. This special time always brings us face-to-face with our mission as a college to educate leaders to serve Christ, His Church, and His world through Biblical thought and life. We hope you will join us as we celebrate with our 2009 graduating class. Kansas native Barry Simpson served four years in the U.S. Marine Corps before enrolling at FWBBC and graduating in 1986 with a bachelor s degree. He did graduate studies at Reformed LAWRENCE CONFERENCE The 358th Lawrence County Ohio Quarterly Conference met at LaGrange Free Will Baptist Church on February 7th. Bro. Kenny Webb was the moderator and his assistant was Bro. Jesse Sizemore. Bro. Brandon Depriest opened with prayer. Bro. Donnie Massie brought the morning message. He titled his message " Being fully Persuaded." His text was taken from the book of Romans. We been having great conferences. Bro Tim Crank was elected to the General Board. We have our conference on the first Saturday of February, May, August and November. Our next conference will be held May 2nd at the Main Street FWB in Coal Grove, Ohio where Bro. Paul Bartrum is the pastor. We invite all to come and visit. The Saturday morning session begins at 10:00 am. We invite all ministers to come and visit. We pick the morning preacher from our visiting ministers. So come and visit and be prepared to preach. We dismiss at noon and have a dinner prepared by the host church. Until our next report may God bless you all. Clerk Tim Crank

17 OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 17 Don & Dottie Hix Ohio Home Missionaries to London, Ohio Greetings from the Redeemer Mission. It seems like just yesterday that I was preparing the last report. Even though the winter has seemed rather long, time still goes by quickly. God has blessed us with His presence in our worship services and we have only dismissed a couple of our services due to the weather. We are thankful for the Holy Spirit stirring us in the service of the Lord. Dottie and I were on vacation in February and Brother Edwin Hayes came and preached for me on Sunday evening. The church was blessed by his inspiring message. Crystal Bostick and her mother Delores Instine came and provided the music for that service. We appreciate those who help us at the mission when we call on them. Brother Mike Baldwin also brought the morning message on that Sunday. As a pastor, I am thankful for those who work with us at the mission. The cooperation that the people at the mission have given has been greatly appreciated. Without it, we could do nothing. We thank all of those who have been so supportive of the work with your prayers and your giving. God has been watchful of us through the cold weather and through your giving, our account has been kept in the black. It is a great relief to know that folks are willing to support us. Continue to pray for us, as we are in the planning stages of some new projects. We ask that God will help us find the key that will enable us to reach our community with the gospel. The Greenes To Be at Reynoldsburg VACATIONS ARE OVERRATED! Why not spend your vacation this year serving the Lord by serving others? We have a few weeks open through September of this year if a group in your church would like to do a mission trip. We also have scheduled trips that are already organized and ready for you to sign-up. Most trips range from $1,200 to $1,500 per week with most all expenses included. For overseas travel, it would be nearly impossible to vacation for that amount. Our FWB church in Costa Rica is in need of help. There are thousands of people who need to hear the word of God in their community and experience His love through His people. Opportunities include tract distribution, visiting an orphanage, conducting soccer clinics, construction, feeding and clothing an indigenous Indian tribe and much more. Check-out our web-site at for contact or more information or simply reply to this . IMPULSE INTERNATIONAL MISSION TRIPS A ministry that began more than 25 years ago in the mountains of western North Carolina continues today stronger than ever before! The Greenes are notorious for smooth three-part harmony and chart-topping songs. Their hits include number one songs such as When I Knelt, In The Twinkling of an Eye, Glorious City of God, and most recently Taranda Greene became the first female soloist in the history of Southern Gospel Music with the nationwide number one song, Sky Full of Angels. The Greenes will be in concert on Friday, May 8th at 7:00 PM at the Reynoldsburg Free Will Baptist Church, 9508 Taylor Rd. SW Reynoldsburg. A love offering will be received. CAMPBELLS LABELS UPDATE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT IS SENDING IN THE CAMPBELL LABELS. Our 2008 year end total was: 3,853 points. We did not meet our goal of 10,000 points, but we are not discouraged. Our goal for 2009 will again be 10,000 points. I know we can do this with everyone s help. If you are sending in labels for a particular church or church group, please send a note along with the labels so you can be recognized at the end of the year. Thank you to the following for sending in their labels: First FWB Church Springfield - 2,172 points, Heritage FWB Seniors Columbus points, Friendly FWB Ladies Columbus points, Turkey Creek FWB Ladies Portsmouth points, Rev. James England Columbus points, Carolyn Roberts Springfield points, Carol Diamond Springfield points, Anonymous - 13 points. We are asking all Ohio FWB Churches to consider saving the Campbell Labels. Make a goal for your church and start saving today! Every point counts. The labels are being sent to the FWB Children's Home in Tennessee. They are purchasing educational supplies with the points. If you need to see what labels are being accepted, go to Please send your labels to me at: Diana McCarty, 316 Elbron Springfield, OH singingdi@yahoo.com CANAAN (CAPITAL CITY) The first few months of 2009 have been busy ones at Canaan. Pastor McComas set the vision for the year. It is "Labourers Together with God" from I Corinthians 3:9 "For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building." Our annual business meeting and election of officers was held. We rejoiced as new Christians were baptized and new members joined the church. We also had opportunities of outreach to the community-at-large. The junior church led an effort to collect money for "Honor Flight" and were able to present a check to the one who began this worthy organization. Honor Flight is a non-profit organization that endeavors to fly veterans to Washington D.C. to see the war memorials. Currently the primary focus is World War II veterans because of the age of this special generation. The Activity Committee sponsored a Valentine dinner and the showing of the movie Fireproof. Public servants throughout several counties attended and were honored during this special evening. In addition, during the month of February, we began collecting baby items needed for the Crisis Pregnancy Center in Wooster. Looking ahead, pastor will continue the Wednesday night series in Exodus and the Sunday night Acts series. The choir is working hard practicing the Easter cantata and songs for the upcoming annual Camp Meeting in Canaan. James R. McComas, Pastor Lisa Justice, Reporter *ATTENTION* CHURCHES & PASTORS I am compiling a list of addresses of pastors and churches in the Ohio State Association of Free Will Baptists. This will allow me to get vital news to you immediately. Please send your address to me at ehayes@ambassadorbible.com

18 OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 18 Coming Eventws For Ohio Free Will Baptists April 4 March 14 March 27, 28, 29 April 25 May 2 May 2 April 4 April 11 April 18 March 8-14 March April 6-10 April 11 April 25 May 2 May 2 May 9 May 9 April 11 May 2 State-Wide OYC State Youth Competition, 9 AM, Heritige FWB, Columbus, Ohio, Tim Stout, Pastor Central Ohio Franklin Conference meeting at Hillview, 9:30 AM, Bill Hayes, Pastor Lockbourne, Play, The Gates of Hell 7 PM nightly, Leon Stevens, Pastor Cornerstone Conference Capital City Conference meeting at Heritage, Tim Stout, Pastor Central Ohio Conference Northern Ohio Southern Ohio very good and dedicated people working with our kids and helping them to establish a good, solid foundation of Bible knowledge to have for their future use in their adult life. On February l3th we had a dinner and saw the movie, Fireproof, in our church annex. It is a very good movie and I recommend it highly. In March we are having our annual Men's Prayer Breakfast on the l4th at 8:00 a.m. Lots of fellowship, food for the body and food for the spirit. Paul Hagen will be preaching and Chris Oiler will be singing. We would like to invite all the men in the area to come. Also on March 27th, we are having an All Night Prayer Meeting beginning at 8:00 p.m. We are having special preaching and singing. Please come and join us that night. We all have loved ones still unsaved. We have been praying for revival and hope to have North & Western Conference a meeting sometime in April. Cuyahoga-Lorain Conference Northeastern Conference Antioch, Revival with David Crowe, Rick Henderson, Pastor Harrison, Global Evangelism Weekend, Daryl Grimes, Pastor Coalton, Revival, 7 PM nightly, Tim Simpson, Pastor Southern Ohio Conference Jackson Conference Unity Conference Lawrence Conference South Central Conference Pine Creek Conference meeting at Turkey Creek, David Sibole, Pastor Western Ohio Tri-State Conference Trinity Conference We desire your prayers. We are living in some very troubling times with the state of this country's moral and economic breakdown, but we have a hope. We need to be looking up, for our redemption is drawing nigh! Mike Simpson, Pastor Brenda Potters, Reporter NEW HOPE (CORNERSTONE) Greetings from New Hope in Chillicothe. Praise the Lord that spring is almost here. It will be nice to put the snow, ice and cold behind us. We look forward to seeing the church grow and souls saved. We thank God for the growth we have seen in our Wednesday night services. Our pastor has been doing a good job teaching on the book of Galatians. Sis. Louise Branham is now teaching the teen class, so that the pastor can start a young adult class. Bro. Wendell Comb's willingness to fill in for the pastor when he can't be here is appreciated. May the Lord bless and keep you. Jon Mountjoy, Pastor Bev Mountjoy. Reporter Tom Jones Update Missionary to the greater Pittsburgh, PA area I want to give you a quick update on what the Lord has been doing here in the Pittsburgh, PA area. We have some who are showing a real interest in attending our home Bible study and we have a promise from a young couple (the lady works with Jenna at a doctor s office) to attend this Sunday. We are excited about this prospect. We have been ministering to Damione Reynolds who is one of our unsaved flag football players. A couple of weeks ago he was coming down a flight of stairs at a friend s house, stumbled, and fell through the railing. He fell about 10 feet and broke his hip and two vertebrae. He is in rehab in a local nursing home/rehab center and will be for the next 2 3 weeks. He is only 29 years old and this is very humbling for him. He was a big, strong guy before and now he needs help with virtually everything. He will fully recover, it is just going to take some time. Be praying for him. If would like to drop him a card you may do so at: Damione Reynolds, 211 N First St, Youngwood PA We are about to get the details worked out on the building we are purchasing. The issues are being dealt with and we are awaiting final approval from city council in Greensburg on one of the situations. We hope to close by March 10 or 11. The city council meets March 9th at 7:00 PM EST. Please pray that all will go smoothly. I will give you more information when I know more. We are in the process of getting a key to the building so we can start the cleaning process while we are waiting. You can go to and find a link to the prospective meeting location and see some pictures if you are interested. Thank you so much for all you are doing. My account took a drastic hit last month which is a major concern. It went down more in a single month than it has any other month in my years of being a missionary. Please help us pray about this important matter. We know the Lord will supply! NEWARK (FRANKLIN) Greetings from the Newark Free Will Baptist Church. How wonderful God is. Psalm 46 tells us that "God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble." So lean on the Lord in these times; he is there to help us. He has been blessing our church with some wonderful services. Since our last report we have seen souls come and give there lives back to the Lord. On Sunday, February 15th, we held a Sunday School breakfast, encouraging people to come to breakfast and then enjoy Sunday School classes. We have been enjoying fellow shipping and getting to know God's people. We have been studying the different cults during our Wednesday evening services. In our Sunday, March 13th evening service at 6pm we will be have special singing by Brother Forrest Williamson. On Sunday, April 12th at 7 am will be our Easter Sunday Sunrise Service. All are welcome to attend both services, we will be having Easter morning breakfast following our special preaching by Rev. Edwin Hayes and there will be special singing also. Our ladies will also be making their wonderful peanut butter and chocolate Easter Eggs again this year. Please remember our sick and shut-ins in your prayers. Matthew Bryant, Pastor Dreama Hughes, Reporter SWAUGER VALLEY (PINE CREEK) Hello from Swauger Valley. We have had a lot of sickness in our church the last two months and two ice and snow storms that knocked a lot of our power out for a while. But, with God's help, we got through it and spring is just around the corner. Our kids have participated in two quiz bowls the last two months and have done very well. We have some OPEN DOOR (CORNERSTONE) Bitter and cold has been the story of the winter, but at Open Door the Spirit has been sweet and warm. January saw one person saved and six baptized. In February we had our Valentine s banquet. We had 58 people attend and everyone had a great time. Congratulations to the winner of our newlywed game Matt and Sherry Kilbarger, although they have been married 18 years they still knew each other very well. We also want to wish our pastor and his wife a happy anniversary. On March 11th they will have been married 48 years.. Continue to pray for the church as Educational Director Bob Parrish has started a Sunday School growth promotion, "Catch the Vision". Everyone is very excited to see the church grow. So with the promise of spring just around the corner we all wait in anticipation to see what the Lord has in store for us in the next few months. Please keep us in your prayers. Willie Booth, Pastor Brittany Richards- Reporter MECHANICSBURG (TRINITY) Greetings in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ. We are looking forward to a beautiful spring! We are having an Easter Weekend Praise and Worship staring Friday, April 10th. with communion and feetwashing. Saturday, April 11th at 1 PM. There will be singing with The Cole Family and others. Following the song service, we will have a free spaghetti dinner. The weekend will conclude with Easter Sunday services at 11AM. We are looking forward to a glorious weekend of worship and praise. Sister Lori Evilsizor has been hospitalized with blood pressure problems. Sister Deanne is battling cancer and Brother John Daniels has health problems too. Do remember them in your prayers. Jesse Walters, Pastor Connie Sizemore, Reporter

19 TOGHETHER WAY RECEIPTS January-February, 2009 Donor Co-op Ambass St Missn State Office OYC SPEC Min Natl Min Totals AMBASSADOR $ $0.00 $ $0.00 $ $0.00 $ $2, ANTIOCH $0.00 $12.00 $90.00 $ $0.00 $0.00 $80.00 $ BEATTY $1, $50.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $1, $2, BEECHGROVE $0.00 $25.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $25.00 BETHEL-CLEVELAND $0.00 $0.00 $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $ BETHESDA CHAPEL $ $30.00 $50.00 $50.00 $0.00 $ $ $ BLOOM $0.00 $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ BUCYRUS $0.00 $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $ $ CANAAN $ $ $ $ $0.00 $ $ $1, CANAAN LAND $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $3, $ $3, CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP $0.00 $20.00 $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $ CHRIST'S CHURCH-AZ $0.00 $25.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $25.00 CLEVELAND $ $0.00 $90.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $1, $1, COALTON $ $20.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ COMMUNITY-SOMERSET $0.00 $50.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $50.00 COMMUNITY W JEFF $0.00 $50.00 $0.00 $ $0.00 $0.00 $ $ CROSS POINTE $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $ CUYAHOGA-LORAIN CONF $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ DAILYVILLE $1, $0.00 $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $2, $4, EASTMONT $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ FAIRVIEW $0.00 $50.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $ FAITH-LOGAN $0.00 $30.00 $ $ $0.00 $ $ $ FAITH-CLEVELAND $ $25.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $ FELLOWSHIP $0.00 $25.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $75.00 $ FIRST AUSTINTOWN $ $0.00 $ $25.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $1, FIRST CHILLICOTHE $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ FIRST CLYDE $0.00 $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ FIRST SPRINGFIELD $2, $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $3, FOREST VALLEY $0.00 $0.00 $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ FREEDOM-PLAIN CITY $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ FREDDY DUTTON MINS $0.00 $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ GAHANNA $0.00 $0.00 $12, $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $12, GARDEN CITY $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $50.00 $50.00 GOOD HOPE $0.00 $0.00 $25.00 $75.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $ HAMILTON GLADES $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ HARRISON $0.00 $25.00 $50.00 $30.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $ HERITAGE $0.00 $ $1, $ $ $0.00 $4, $6, HILLVIEW $ $10.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ JACKSON CONFERENCE $25.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $25.00 LAWRENCE CONFERENCE $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ LEBANON $0.00 $0.00 $50.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $ LIGHTHOUSE $ $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ LONG RUN $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $ MADISON $0.00 $50.00 $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $ MCARTHUR $0.00 $20.00 $0.00 $50.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $ MOUNT CALVARY $50.00 $30.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $80.00 NEVILLE $0.00 $0.00 $ $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ NEWARK $1, $25.00 $75.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $1, NEW CARLISLE $0.00 $20.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $20.00 NORTHRIDGE $0.00 $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ NORTH & WESTERN CONF $79.72 $ $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $87.00 $ OAK HILL $0.00 $50.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $50.00 OHIO WOMAN'S AUXILIARY $0.00 $2.00 $17.01 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $19.01 OLD BETHEL $0.00 $15.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $15.00 PETREA $0.00 $43.00 $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $90.00 $ PINE CREEK $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $ PINE GROVE $ $80.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ PLEASANT HILL $0.00 $ $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ PORTER $ $0.00 $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $1, $1, PORTER CONFERENCE $0.00 $30.00 $25.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $ POWELLSVILLE $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $0.00 $0.00 $ $ PURITAN $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ REDEEMER $0.00 $0.00 $1, $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $1, REYNOLDSBURG $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $ RUTLAND $0.00 $75.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $75.00 SAMANTHA $ $0.00 $ $0.00 $0.00 $80.00 $ $2, SCIOTODALE $0.00 $0.00 $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $2, $3, SHELBY FIRST $0.00 $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ SOUTH CHARLESTON $25.00 $25.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $25.00 $75.00 SPRINGFIELD $ $30.00 $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $1, SUMMIT STATION $0.00 $ $0.00 $ $0.00 $ $ $1, SWAUGER VALLEY $ $0.00 $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $ SYMMES VALLEY $0.00 $50.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $50.00 TICK RIDGE $50.00 $20.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $70.00 TRINITY $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ TRINITY-WILGUS $0.00 $30.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $30.00 TRINITY CONFERENCE $43.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $43.00 TROY $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $ TURKEY CREEK $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $ UNION $0.00 $30.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $30.00 UNITY $ $0.00 $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $1, $2, URBANA $1, $0.00 $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $1, WAKEFIELD $0.00 $20.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $ WELLINGTON $0.00 $15.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $15.00 WESTERVILLE $1, $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $2, WILLIAMS ROAD $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ WOODLAND CHAPEL $1, $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $1, WYANDOTTE $0.00 $10.00 $ $ $0.00 $ $ $1, ZALESKI $0.00 $25.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $25.00 OTHER GIFTS $0.00 $ $ $0.00 $0.00 $50.00 $ $ TOTAL FROM GIFTS $19, $3, $21, $2, $ $4, $27, $79, OTHER INCOME RETREAT $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $39, $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $39, INTEREST $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ NATIONAL ASSOC $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $3, $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $3, SERVICES $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $ OHIO BIBLE INSTITUTE $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $25.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $25.00 ADVERTISERS $0.00 $72.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $72.00 MISC INCOME $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $73.75 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $73.75 TOTAL OTHER INCOME $0.00 $72.00 $0.00 $44, $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $44, TOTAL INCOME $19, $3, $21, $46, $ $4, $27, $123, CANAAN LAND (CAPITAL CITY) On February 15th we had Super Sunday Baptism service. There were 18 baptized. We praise God that people are being saved and following the Lord in baptism. Pastor Mike presented the drawings for our new 650 seat sanctuary. Pictures and information can be seen on our web sight, He announced receiving a letter from the Columbus Foundation. An anonymous donor has given $450, to be matched by the church for the completion of the building. Praise God!!! We need a total of $1,500, A small task for God! Wednesday morning prayer meeting is growing. We are having good attendance. It starts at 11:00 a.m. and everyone is invited. Mark your calendars for March 29th, 6:00 p.m. - March 30th -April 1st 7:00 p.m.. We will be hosting a Fellowship Revival. We invite you to come and share in these services. The Smokey Mountain Camp Meeting is April 20th - 23th in Pigeon Forge, TN. This is a great week of preaching, singing and fellowship. Host pastors are Mike Blanton, Calvin Ray Evans and Roger Duncan. Contact Pastor Mike if you need additional information. The Women Active for Christ is sponsoring a yard sale at the church April 3-4th. So come by and shop with us on these days and have a good lunch/dinner. The women are also planning a retreat in Amish Country at Carlisle Inn in Sugarcreek on May 1-2nd. Our women's group is growing with well-planned and interesting meetings. We continue to sponsor the Moores in Brazil and the Bryants who are working with World Gospel Missions. Pastor Shawn and the youth are planning a missions trip to Jamaica leaving on July 4-11th. They are raising funds by serving meals on Wednesday evening through June. Pray for them in this endeavor. Mike Blanton, Pastor Barbara Chaffin, Reporter ANTIOCH (PINE CREEK) Greetings from Antioch, God is still in the healing business. And His healing is eternal. He called home two of our beloved sisters in Christ. Sister Ruth Haney and Sister Dana Sexton crossed over Jordan and entered the gates of heaven. What rejoicing there must be going on in heaven. Our hearts are heavy with sorrow down here but we know we will one day be reunited. God is so good!! All the time!! We've had four souls accept Jesus as their personal Savior. He's still in the saving business also. Remember them in prayer for strength and wisdom. The men returned from the retreat revived and so excited about what God prepared for them. They were so excited about their fellowship with God. We want to recognize two members who are having a birthday celebration they have both been saved for 53 years. What an exciting celebration of life. Ethel Nagel and Darlene Brown are great examples to us younger Christians. If you keep your eyes focused on Christ He is enough to get thru good times and the bad. Revival with David Crowe and George Lore is fast approaching. March 8-14th are the scheduled dates. Last revival God allowed us three extra days of revival. Remember us in prayer. I just want to leave you with this thought "perhaps today" when we make our daily plans, are we aware that Jesus may return? Are we prepared to meet him? The darkness deepens! But the dawn is nearer! The Lord from heaven is soon to be on His way. The blessed hope in these dark days grow dearer, our Savior Christ Jesus will come- perhaps today. Friend if Jesus comes today are you ready? In God we trust, Rick Henderson, Pastor Glenda Lore, Reporter

20 OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE National Convention Update Ohio Free Will Baptists are scheduled to host the National Association of Free Will Baptists July 19-23, 2009 in Cincinnati, Ohio. We need to raise $30, for the arena. We are asking all our conferences to raise $ per church. We have a little over one year to raise the funds. Please check with your conference to see if all your churches have responded. If not, maybe some of the larger churches could help those who cannot pay the full $ Since the last edition of the Ambassador, Old Bethel FWB, Faith-Logan from the South Central Conf., Piqua and Eastmont from the Little Miami Conf., McDermott from the Pine Creek Conf., Long Run and Madison from the Porter Conf., DeForrest Road, Sand Hill and Paradise from the Northern Ohio Conf, New Buckley Road and Symmes Valley from the Lawrence Conf., Friendship from the Tri-State Conf. and Mechnicsburg from the Trinity Conf, each sent $ Heritage from the Capital City Conf. and Summit Station from the Franklin Conf. each sent $ In addition, the Porter Conference gave a gift of $ This account now totals $27, We are over 90% of our goal! Let s make sure that we all do our part to be the best hosts possible for the 2009 National Association. Please send your offerings to: Ohio State Association of Free Will Baptists, 3700 S. High St. Ste 159, Columbus, OH OYC Notes. Greetings from the Ohio Youth Conference. As we head to the spring and summer, we would like to remind everyone of all the activities we have planned for the youth of Ohio: June 19: OYC Friday Evening Service- Gahanna FWB Church 6:00 - Competition and Arts and Music Festival Awards 7:00 Youth Service April 4: OYC Bible Competition and Arts and Music Festival Registration post marked by March 23 Heritage FWB Church, Columbus Check-in at 9AM and Competition Begins at 10 July 19-20: National Youth Conference Cincinnati, Ohio We would like to remind everyone that Competition will be held on the first Saturday of April, unless it is also Easter weekend. In that case, Competition will be held the second Saturday of April. We would like to thank Heritage FWBC for hosting us this year, and for agreeing to allow us to make a standing reservation for Competitions in the future. This year s competition should be very well attended; so it will be a great opportunity to show your youth what competition is like, if they have never participated. Please take the time to PRAISE THE LORD as you read the following report of December and of January. December account status; January account status; Missionaries Missionaries Byers - $4, Byers $1, Burt $ 4, Burt $13, Hix $ 1, Hix $3, How did this huge change come about? This is combination of several things took place last year. *Sciotodale FWB hosted a River Run in May and raised over $2,700 for the London and Hamilton Missions. *Five churches met at the London Mission for the purpose of praising the Lord and bringing special offerings which amounted to over $4,000. *An anonymous person gave over $7,000 to the Byers Account. *The National FWB Home Missions Board sent over $6,000 to the Byers Account. *January we received $10,000 for the Burt Account from the Gahanna FWB Church. *Those who give regularly. Thanks to all who had a part in the above mentioned funding of Ohio Missionaries. Great efforts like these are hard to come by and our Missionaries greatly appreciate all your hard work and consideration of their Missions. All three Ohio Missionaries are in the BLACK at this time.!!! Again let's praise the Lord for his provision and continue to work until Jesus comes. Paul Etterling Sr.,Sec./Treas We are also looking forward the State meeting in June. We are planning for a great service with the youth and would encourage all who can to make the trip to Gahanna and join us. Lastly, this year s big event will be hosting the National Convention and National Youth Conference. We are looking forward to hosting this year s festivities and encourage everyone from all around the state to join us in Cincinnati. One of the highlights of the NYC is the Tuesday night Buck-a-Week offering. We are challenging the youth of Ohio to raise $1,200. With everyone contributing, we can reach this goal and see our money do great things in the Lord s work. Buck-A-Week is a joint project with Student & Children s Ministry, FWB Home Mission and FWB International Missions. Offering envelopes are available from Randall House. For more information visit or If you have any questions about any of these upcoming events, please do not hesitate to contact Jason Luthy ( or jason.luthy@gmail.com)