V Ision NOVEMBER 2013 ON the move FREE GOSPEL BIBLE INSTITUTE The LORD recompense thy work, and a FULL REWARD be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust. Ruth 2:12
GIVING HONOR Where Honor is due Brother hill s burden has inspired many of us to follow his example and enlarge our ministries as well. The past few months have been a time of transition. We wish to honor those whom the Lord has sent our way to bless His work here at FGBI. Rev. William Hill has been a permanent fixture as morning speaker in our Holiness Convention as long as I can recall. It has been my privilege to sit under his ministry as a student, to be inspired by his faith, and glean from his wisdom. However, time takes its toll upon lives, and Bro. Hill informed us this past March that due to health related issues, he could no longer continue in this capacity. What a joy it was to honor him for his work as a pastor, teacher and accomplished author. His burden for missions around the world has inspired many of us to follow his example and seek to enlarge our ministries as well. The plaque and words of honor that we offered during this past Holiness Convention are but a shadow of our respect for this great man of God! His presence on our board will be greatly missed. We wish both he and Sis. Hill God s best as they continue their service to the Lord. what a joy it was to honor him for his work as a Pastor, teacher, and Accomplished author.
Our campus grew a bit quieter this past summer as we bid farewell to Rev. Paul Revere McGechie. The prayers of this great man of God could often be heard resounding from classrooms and even through the walls of his small two bedroom house that we were privileged to provide for this servant of God. Bro. McGechie demonstrated great love for the work of FGBI as well as the students here. His lifelong ministry was defined by his overwhelming desire to preach the timeless truth of Pentecost. His preaching and altar work seemed to zero in on those who needed to be filled with the Holy Ghost. He would often recount the many times when God moved upon those who obeyed and they received the infilling of divine power. Bro. McGechie joined our staff in 2004 and taught until his strength finally gave way to age. His colorful personality, as well as his love for our students, left an indelible mark upon the hearts of many. The loss of these great men did not go unnoticed by Heaven. God has worked mightily to direct men with a passion for ministry to step in and take up the mantle of ministry left by these patriarchs. What a joy it was to add Bro. Zane Estis to our Board of Directors. Bro. Estis is no stranger to FGBI. He has taught Apologetics as an adjunct professor for approximately 6 years and preached with a great passion for missions. He has made 25-30 trips to approximately 11 countries preaching the Gospel and upholding the truth of Holiness. The loss of great men of experience is tempered with the confidence we can place in those whom God has prepared to carry the work of the Lord forward on younger shoulders. We were also thrilled to learn that God had burdened Bro. James Norman, formerly of Gilbertown, AL, to join our staff. God had placed it upon the hearts of a couple of Holiness preachers to inform us that the Norman family was no longer pastoring and that his ministry would be a tremendous asset to our school. We invited them to come and preach our opening revival. After discussing the possibility of working with us, Bro. Norman spent several days in prayer and fasting. We were thrilled to hear that he felt God directing him to work with us. He has been filling in some classes and teaching adult Sunday School regularly. Already, we are feeling the impact of this dedicated man of God. If you would like to invite him to minister at your church some weekend, please feel free to contact us.
We thank God for the men of the past while we embrace the future with great confidence as we see the caliber of laborers God has sent our way! We were also blessed this fall by the teaching of Dr. Tim Hudson of Sumter, SC. God laid it upon his heart to offer his services to our school. The freshmen were blessed by a two week intensive study of Church History. He thoroughly enjoyed his time teaching them and he quotes, It was such a delight to spend two weeks this fall teaching an intensive at FGBI. I was thrilled by the enthusiasm of the freshmen and enjoyed interacting not only with them but with the other students and staff as well. It was refreshing to see so many young people with a desire to serve the Lord. I look forward to returning again in the future! Sandwiched between his two weeks of teaching was a five week missionary trip to Burma. We believe it is critical to instill a world vision in the hearts of our students. What better way is there than to surround them with Holiness men with a heart for missions! The ministry of Dr. Hudson will remain with our students for many years to come. It was such a delight to spend two weeks this fall teaching an intensive at FGBI. I was thrilled by the enthusiasm of the Freshmen and enjoyed interacting not only with them but with the other students and staff as well. It was refreshing to see so many young people with a desire to serve the Lord. I look forward to returning again in the future. Dr. Tim Hudson Professor of Church History Several of our alumni contacted us over the past year with a desire to return to minister. Although we greatly appreciated their interest, there were only a limited number of positions to fill. We rejoiced to learn that God had dealt with Bro. Talan Davis of Blair, OK, to join our staff. He began to express his burden for FGBI in the fall of 2012 as he donated his time and talent to trim out the newly renovated sanctuary. It was obvious that God had been refining Bro. Talan in the years since his graduation. His experience as an interim minister in his home church revealed a level of commitment and spiritual maturity that has become a blessing to us here at Export. Meeting the practical needs of the school requires those with the heart of a servant. Will and Chenoah Long, from Tulsa, OK, stepped forward with a heart to help us by taking up the towel of service. As a student, we witnessed Bro. Will s ability to repair and maintain the needs of our campus. We are now blessed with a full time maintenance man as well as a cook. We thank God for this couple with a heart of service to the Lord! We thank God for the great men of the past while we embrace the future with great confidence as we see the caliber of laborers that God has sent our way!
We traveled to Anderson, S.C. and ministered at Bro. Vance Touchton s fall meeting. We then traveled to Bristol, VA, ministering at Bro. David Horton s church and later attended the Prophecy meeting in Dayton, OH. The anointed leadership of Bro. Shawn Thompson of Bond, KY, was a blessing to our choir this fall. Bro. Shawn is no stranger to the Holiness movement. He has worked with choirs at some of the finest holiness youth camps in the country. Bro. Shawn is presently working on a Master s Degree in Music at Lee College. He took time away from his busy schedule to teach a music intensive as well as helping to get our choir started for the year. His understanding of music, leadership, and anointing made a great impact upon our students as they prepared to travel and minister in various states. S.E.N.T. to Honduras 2014 I heard a man once say, success without a successor is a failure. Elisha understood that concept. For years he watched and served the great prophet Elijah. Elisha caught the vision and the burden of the man of God! A true burden for the work of the Lord is caught rather than taught. What greater way is there to catch a burden than spending time with great ministers like the Sumners? They are doing all they can to reach the entire country of Honduras! Bro. Alan Sumner shared, Our greatest need is people who will stand in the gap and make up the hedge! God has blessed their labor and the work is growing! We want our students to catch this same vision and burden. We want our students to respond to their cry for help! Once again, our students will be involved in everything from a soup kitchen (feeding poor children), to ministering in the church, preaching to police officers, as well as presenting the Gospel to hundreds of soldiers. As usual, there will be time dedicated to reaching the youth of Honduras. In the past we have seen young men tarry in prayer at the altars for hours. We have seen souls saved, filled with the Holy Ghost as we ministered in songs, skits, teaching, and preaching. The memory of one man who stood weeping as he accepted the call to preach will forever be etched in our minds. Our students have been praying for this endeavor and will soon be preparing the songs, skits and sermons for our trip that begins Feb. 24, 2014. Our greatest desire is that souls will be saved and lives called into the ministry as we come along side this dedicated family and help carry their load for a couple of weeks. Please pray with us that the Lord of the harvest would raise up laborers to help the Sumners meet the great need of evangelism in Honduras. Even the greatest men of God need encouragement! One key element of the S.E.N.T. Team is to encourage these missionaries as well as the people of Honduras. Members of the team are examples that the Sumner s are not the only ones who live and preach the Word of God. The young people of Honduras are greatly challenged by the example of young Americans who are standing against sin and living a life of holiness in the midst of a wicked and sinful generation.
FGBI PRESENTS: THE CHRISTMAS REVELATION To view the complete schedule of our three Christmas playcasts visit http://main.fgbi.org/playcast1 Free Gospel Bible Institute P.O. Box 477 Export, PA 15632 Sing unto the lord with thanksgiving; Ps. 147:7