URGENT PRAYER NEEDED – My grandson Ben received his second heart transplant Monday night. Twelve hours later he will have a second surgery for a kidney transplant.

REMEMBERING BACK – Recently I have been recalling how I got started in ministry and I would like to share the details with you. I received Christ as a boy but without parental encouragement I got away from it. After marriage the Lord brought heavy conviction upon me and I began living for the Lord and sensing a deep need to serve Him. Without Bible college training I knew no church would accept me in ministry. Nor could I figure a way to go to college and care for a family of five. This meant I would have to start a church and learn as I labored.

MAKING CONTACTS – I called Dr. Robert Powell of Temple Baptist Church in Tacoma, Washington He was leaving for the conference out east and said he would get off the train in Auburn for a few minutes, which he did. He gave me the names of three pastors I didn’t know and he got back on the train. I finally found the three men and learned they had rented a small store building in Federal Way, Washington without knowing where the next months rent would come from or who would take the task of starting a church. They had me speak in their three churches to get to know me and afterwards gave me the keys to the building and told me to go to work. They would continue to pay the rent through their churches. What a challenge for someone as ignorant and untrained as I was.

BIBLE STUDY – Some ladies from the church we attended were having a home Bible study in the area and some husbands had started attending as well. They rightly felt they shouldn’t be teaching men in the class and this gave me an opportunity at some contacts to help start a new church. God works in strange ways.

PROPERTY - As the work grew we knew we needed a place of our own and I found five acres in the area with and old house on it which we bought and started a building on the opposite end of the land. It was a good thing, as the owner of the storefront did not want to renew the lease on the building. While working on the building we started holding Sunday morning services in a restaurant owned by a family of one of the children coming to our services. We eventually started holding meetings in our unfinished building.

ORDINATION – About three years into the project the new church decided to call for an ordination council for me. The council was well attended with pastors wanting to question me being an untrained pastor in their fellowship. The council went well and they unanimously recommend me for ordination.