GREAT DAY AT HIGHWAY BAPTIST CHURCH - Dayton, Ohio - March 22, 2014

We traveled about 2.5 hours this past Saturday to Dayton, Ohio to be with Highway Baptist Church on Sunday.  My friend Cliff Parks started this church almost ten years ago.  He was in evangelism for a number of years then God called him to start the church.  I preached their first anniversary back in 2006 and it was good to be there again.  We enjoyed a great time of fellowship with Bro. Parks and his family on Saturday night and Sunday night and then enjoyed a church fellowship after the morning service.  The Lord gave us three good services on Sunday with a sweet spirit and a good response to the preaching.

The story of how and where God started this church is pretty neat.  I remember when Bro. Parks shared with me how God had put this on his heart and he had a burden to reach one of the busiest areas in the country - at the intersection of Interstates 70 and 75.  I had the privilege to go with him and look at several buildings and then God opened the door for the building where they continue to meet today.

There are several signs around the church - many with the 'highway theme'.  I have uploaded them on a separate post.

Highway Baptist Church - Dayton, Ohio

Highway Baptist Church - Dayton, Ohio

Pastor Parks' son, Gabriel, leading the congregational singing

Pastor Parks' daughter playing the piano

Pastor Cliff Parks - Highway Baptist Church - Dayton, Ohio

The Parks children singing special music

Evangelist Craig Cobb preaching at Highway Baptist Church

Welcome to Highway Baptist Church

Trouble - nothing but pure trouble!

Stacie singing for the invitation

No explanation necessary!

Pastor Cliff Parks and Evangelist Craig Cobb

Gabriel, Pastor Parks, myself and Caleb

Pastor Cliff Parks and family

Highway Baptist Church - Dayton, Ohio

The best, sweetest, most beautiful wife in the whole world!

TOMORROW - HIGHWAY BAPTIST CHURCH

We will leave this afternoon for Dayton, Ohio to be at the Highway Baptist Church tomorrow where my good friend Cliff Parks is the pastor.  Bro. Parks was an evangelist for many years before starting this church.  This June will be their 10th anniversary.  We are looking forward to some good fellowship with the Parks family and several games of "Aggravation" (which the men will win, hands down!).  I will post a report and some pictures on Monday.

Dayton, Ohio

THE BUS IS READY TO ROLL...well not quite!

Yesterday I spent the whole day with a man in our church getting the bus ready to hit the road.  He graciously let us store it in one of his barns for the winter and yesterday he did some maintenance: oil change, fluids checked, fuel filter changed, tires aired up and a couple of other things.  I want to thank Bro. Tim Aldrich for all of his hard work yesterday - what a blessing!  After we got that done I drove it over to the church and got it set up.  It was good to be behind the wheel and driving it again!

Now comes the real work - getting it packed and ready to hit the road.  Stacie has her work cut out for her these next few days!  We will pull out of Franklin on Monday, April 6th and head for Maine and New Brunswick.  Please pray for this trip - we are asking God for safety (no bus problems!) and for some good meetings.

March 10, 2015 - UPDATED SCHEDULE

The UPCOMING SCHEDULE page has been updated.  I know some people check back to this page often as a way to know how to pray for us in our travels and meetings.  We appreciate your prayers very much!

APRIL

10-17

New Life Baptist Church

Dover Foxcroft, Maine

Pastor David Ireland

Church website: New Life Baptist Church

19-23

McKenzie Corner Baptist Church

McKenzie Corner, New Brunswick, Canada

Pastor Andy Nissley

MAY

17-22

Grace Baptist Church

Philadelphia, Tennessee

Pastor Keith Woodby

JUNE

7-12

First Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church

Franklin, Indiana

Pastor Kent Kirchmeyer

Church website: First Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church

Sermon Audio page: FMPBC Sermon Audio

21-26

Cornerstone Bible Baptist Church

Sanborn, New York

Pastor Jack Britt

Church website: Cornerstone Bible Baptist Church

28-July 3

Liberty Baptist Church

Moraine, Ohio

Pastor Tom Gresham

Church website: Liberty Baptist Church

Updated: 3/10/15

FAITH BAPTIST CHURCH - Springville, New York

On Sunday, February 22nd it was our privilege to be at one of our supporting churches - Faith Baptist Church in Springville, New York.  Pastor Kevin Friedman started this church 11 years ago and the people here are so kind and gracious and we always have a great time when we visit.  I preached in both the morning and evening services.  After the morning service we enjoyed a delicious meal at the preacher's house. 

A couple of families from New Hope Baptist Church came out for the evening service as they do not have a PM service in the winter time and it was good to see the Seilers and the Strattons.  It was just an all around good day in church and fellowship with God's people.

Please pray for this work in Springville - about 25 miles south of Buffalo.  Bro. Friedman is a good man with a good, hard-working family and church and they really have a burden to reach their area with the gospel of Christ.

I thought I snapped a couple of pictures so I could post them but I either erased them or never took them in the first place (no comments necessary!).

YOUTH ABLAZE 2015 - Rochester, New York

This year was the 24th annual Youth Ablaze meeting hosted by Pastor Hal Roscoe and the Chili Bible Baptist Church in Rochester, New York.  I have known about this meeting for many years but have never been able to attend because the revival at New Hope Baptist Church has always been that same week.  This year that meeting got moved up a week which allowed me to go.  I saw Bro. Roscoe back in June and he asked me if I would be willing to fill one of the smaller time slots to preach.  I was happy for the invitation and almost immediately the Lord burdened my heart to preach a salvation message.

I have been to many youth conferences, rallies and such over the years but I have to say that as far as a multi-day youth meeting this is by far the best.  I have never heard not even one single negative thing about Youth Ablaze.  Most often, the stories told to me always mentioned the spiritual emphasis that is put on the meeting.  There are no skits and all of that sort of foolishness.  I am not necessarily opposed to skits but most youth meetings have more of that kind of junk than they do the spiritual.  The emphasis every year at Youth Ablaze is on PREACHING and PRAYER.

For many years Pastors Eddie Wyatt (Villa Rica, Georgia) and Tony Shirley (Marion, North Carolina) have been the main preachers.  Then every year they invite a special "mystery" preacher.  This year that was Pastor Charlie Clark III from Berlin, New Jersey.  During each of the four services Bro. Roscoe gives a different man a 15-minute slot to preach.  I was thrilled to preach Saturday morning to over 800 people.  Thursday and Friday night (even in the snow storms that came each night) there were over 1,000 in attendance.  The preaching was top-notch and God really moved in the hearts of the young people and adults as well.  It was good to see so many churches I have had the privilege to preach in there.  I sure enjoyed their fellowship.  If memory serves, there were churches from 14 states and Canada represented.

I would highly recommend this meeting to churches to bring their young people to.  It is always during Presidents Week in February which co-insides with most of the schools' winter vacation time.  The meeting is hosted by Chili Bible Baptist Church and is held at Roberts Wesleyan College.  The facilities are tremendous for what Bro. Roscoe and his hard-working church folks do!

Good congregational singing at Youth Ablaze

Despite the winter weather, great crowds for every service

Theme for 2015 - "Hiding Place"

Pastor Hal Roscoe - Chili Bible Baptist Church

The Youth Albaze Choir consisting of people from 9 churches

Pastor Charlie Clark III - Solid Rock Baptist Church in Berlin, New Jersey

Brothers - Samuel and Andy Grimes singing Ship Ahoy (they are from Sempronius Baptist Church)

The Sounds of Praise from Old Time Baptist Church

Evangelist Jesse Kragiel preached a great message on "The Selfie Generation"

Evangelist Craig Cobb preaching at Youth Ablaze 2015

BUCK SETTLEMENT BAPTIST CHURCH - February 15, 2015

We had the privilege after the New Hope meeting to go down to Bath, New York and spend the weekend there with Pastor Greg Ferguson and Buck Settlement Baptist Church.  It was good to see these precious folks again.  I was originally going to preach the evening service there but the weather changed the plan.  It was the coldest weekend not only of the winter but one of the coldest days in over 100 years according to the weather man's statistics.  At church time the temperature was -14 degrees - that's cold!  But praise the Lord it did not stop about half the church from showing up! 

A bad snow storm was to move into the area in the afternoon so Bro. Ferguson canceled the evening service.  Because of that we just had one big service in the morning.  Bro. Ron Jacobsen (the associate pastor) preached first then I preached (we both preached for 20 minutes).  We took a break for a few minutes and then came back with some singing and then Bro. Ferguson preached for 20 minutes.

We had a great time in the services and enjoyed the fellowship with the church folks and the Ferguson family.  Visiting there got me excited about the fall revival coming up in September - I can't wait!

The music and the singing at Buck Settlement is always fantastic!

Pastor Greg Ferguson preaching

A wintry, freezing cold day up "on the hill" at Buck Settlement!