Issue 22 ~ May, June & July 2024
Slavic Baptist Mission Update
Urgent Prayer Needed
As I type this newsletter today (Tuesday, May 2) please pray for Derek and Julie Thomas, along with Carl Lendermon who arrived in Poland last week. On Friday they traveled to Kyiv and while in route they received a RED ALERT for the whole country. It was later downgraded to PINK for which we are thankful. Yesterday (Monday) they began the Summer Session of Slavic Baptist Institute in Pastor Pavlo’s church located just south of Kyiv.
PLEASE TAKE TIME TO PRAY FOR THEM, THEIR SAFETY, AND FOR OUR SBI STUDENTS!
Many of these students travel a long way to attend SBI. Their faithfulness and determination continues to amaze me! Our churches continue to fill up every service! The Ukrainians are ever-so-minded of the brevity of life. The war has opened doors in the most unusual ways. Recently, while presenting SBM at my home church, Mikado Baptist, in Macon, GA, I had the privilege of preaching on this very subject, “How God Opens Doors And Hearts, Even In Time Of War!”
Another great prayer request and a great burden on all our hearts here at SBM is the growing financial needs of our national pastors who have lost their jobs due to the war, especially in the east where Russia continues their greatest efforts to kill innocent people and destroy the towns they live in.
As many of you know, Slavic Baptist Mission began financially supporting some of our Slavic Baptist Institute graduates who are church planters and have suffered greatly because of the war. Please help us help them! If you are reading this and God speaks to your heart to help, it is one of the wisest Gospel investments you can make! In Philippians 4:18b, Paul calls this type of offering, “… an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.” Then this promise comes in verse 19, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
Let me tell you about one of these pastors. In February we began supporting Pastor Nikolai (shown here preaching in an open-air meeting). He received his first monthly support check and writes this note to us. “Thank you for your support that came today! God has provided and we are rejoicing! We were down to our last 225 hryvnia ($9.00 US) and my wife has a doctor appointment tomorrow!”
Notes like this stir our hearts and reveal the great need for us to do all we can to help our national pastors. If these men leave to find refuge or work in the west, the members of the church would have no pastor… they are choosing to stay and serve the members of their church while reaching others with the Gospel, holding open-air meetings, and delivering humanitarian aid to those in their villages.
I do not know of any greater GOSPEL INVESTMENT than this one! The war has brought a spiritual soberness to the people, and now is the time we must act!
This open door is a MODERN MACEDONIAN CALL! If you or your church can help us help these needful pastors, please let me know. I will be happy to come and present this great need in your church.
When dedicated families who hear sirens go off, bombs explode, see black flumes of smoke go up, whose fathers lose their jobs, and many walk to a village cemetery to bury their dead… yet you see them remain in that village and continue being faithful for the sake of the Gospel… it should move us to ask the Lord, “How can we help?”
I am committed to do all I can to help them! Our plans are to continue our support for them through the war and until these men can get back to work and PEACE comes back to Ukraine!
P L E A S E H E L P U S H E L P T H E M !
Lastly, I am writing these notes from Logansport, IN. Dolly and I arrived here on Friday, coming a day early so we could attend the open house for their graduates held in the fellowship hall. I preached Sunday and will preach Wednesday and next Sunday before we return to Byron. On Sunday night (May 5) the church honored their graduates in a special service. I had the privilege of giving A CHARGE to them and preaching. The young people in this church are beyond the norm! They are talented and servants! The main reason they have such dedication is that their parents are servants. This church is full of members who are faithful examples! Three of these young people will be counselors at Camp CoBeAc this summer. Two of these young people have fallen in love, and both are preparing for ministry. They plan to get married next spring!
The church continues their search for a pastor and the deacons continue providing leadership as the church has moved forward and continued to carry on all their church ministries. Hillcrest is very much invested with Slavic Baptist Mission; this is Carl and Pat’s home church and he often fills the pulpit when he is not in other churches or in Ukraine. They also support Derek and Julie; for this, we are so thankful.
ORDER OUR NEW GOSPEL TRACT TODAY
I am thankful for the churches who have ordered our new tract and sent a love offering. These love offerings go to our PASTOR RELIEF FUND! If you or church have not ordered them, please do so by sending a request by email – [email protected] or to my home address:
Rick Arrowood
104 Rambling Creek Cove
Byron, GA 31008
PRAY REQUESTS:
ITINERARY:
May 5-12 – Hillcrest Baptist ~ Logansport, IN ~ Kent Williams, Chairman
June 1-9 – Family Vacation at the Lake House on Lake Keowee
June 16-25 – Dolly and I will be celebrating our 50th Wedding Anniversary!
June 26 – Calvary Baptist ~ Bonaire, GA, Todd Frye, Chairman
June 30 - July 5 - Cornerstone Baptist; Smithfield, WV ~ Pastor Leroy Haught
NOTE: This is the 32nd Anniversary of this church which was started by Pastor Haught. Troy Baptist in Troy, OH, where we pastored for 21 years (1987-2008), purchased the original property with the old bank building for the back taxes and gave it to the church. TBT sent mission teams to help Pastor Haught and the men of the church renovate the building. It has been the only Gospel Lighthouse to that area since 1992. Pastor Haught has seen a lot of his family and many others come to know Christ over the years. Leroy and Penny are incredible servants and God has blessed them for their sacrifices and faithfulness. He could (“and should”) write a book on “God’s Goodness Against All Human Odds!” This will be a special week for Dolly and me as we recall our days at Mannington when he brought his family to our church and soon after was called to preach!
July 6 – AM Service ~ Fellowship Baptist ~ Fairmont, WV ~ Pastor Bob Shaw
July 6 – PM Service ~ Victory Baptist ~ Fairmont, WV ~ Pastor Nathan Barker
July 15-17 – GFA Interim Pastor’s Conference ~ Dr. Marshall Fant, Director of Church Planting and Revitalization
For a printable version of this newsletter, click below.
Slavic Baptist Mission Update
Urgent Prayer Needed
As I type this newsletter today (Tuesday, May 2) please pray for Derek and Julie Thomas, along with Carl Lendermon who arrived in Poland last week. On Friday they traveled to Kyiv and while in route they received a RED ALERT for the whole country. It was later downgraded to PINK for which we are thankful. Yesterday (Monday) they began the Summer Session of Slavic Baptist Institute in Pastor Pavlo’s church located just south of Kyiv.
PLEASE TAKE TIME TO PRAY FOR THEM, THEIR SAFETY, AND FOR OUR SBI STUDENTS!
Many of these students travel a long way to attend SBI. Their faithfulness and determination continues to amaze me! Our churches continue to fill up every service! The Ukrainians are ever-so-minded of the brevity of life. The war has opened doors in the most unusual ways. Recently, while presenting SBM at my home church, Mikado Baptist, in Macon, GA, I had the privilege of preaching on this very subject, “How God Opens Doors And Hearts, Even In Time Of War!”
Another great prayer request and a great burden on all our hearts here at SBM is the growing financial needs of our national pastors who have lost their jobs due to the war, especially in the east where Russia continues their greatest efforts to kill innocent people and destroy the towns they live in.
As many of you know, Slavic Baptist Mission began financially supporting some of our Slavic Baptist Institute graduates who are church planters and have suffered greatly because of the war. Please help us help them! If you are reading this and God speaks to your heart to help, it is one of the wisest Gospel investments you can make! In Philippians 4:18b, Paul calls this type of offering, “… an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.” Then this promise comes in verse 19, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
Let me tell you about one of these pastors. In February we began supporting Pastor Nikolai (shown here preaching in an open-air meeting). He received his first monthly support check and writes this note to us. “Thank you for your support that came today! God has provided and we are rejoicing! We were down to our last 225 hryvnia ($9.00 US) and my wife has a doctor appointment tomorrow!”
Notes like this stir our hearts and reveal the great need for us to do all we can to help our national pastors. If these men leave to find refuge or work in the west, the members of the church would have no pastor… they are choosing to stay and serve the members of their church while reaching others with the Gospel, holding open-air meetings, and delivering humanitarian aid to those in their villages.
I do not know of any greater GOSPEL INVESTMENT than this one! The war has brought a spiritual soberness to the people, and now is the time we must act!
This open door is a MODERN MACEDONIAN CALL! If you or your church can help us help these needful pastors, please let me know. I will be happy to come and present this great need in your church.
When dedicated families who hear sirens go off, bombs explode, see black flumes of smoke go up, whose fathers lose their jobs, and many walk to a village cemetery to bury their dead… yet you see them remain in that village and continue being faithful for the sake of the Gospel… it should move us to ask the Lord, “How can we help?”
I am committed to do all I can to help them! Our plans are to continue our support for them through the war and until these men can get back to work and PEACE comes back to Ukraine!
P L E A S E H E L P U S H E L P T H E M !
Lastly, I am writing these notes from Logansport, IN. Dolly and I arrived here on Friday, coming a day early so we could attend the open house for their graduates held in the fellowship hall. I preached Sunday and will preach Wednesday and next Sunday before we return to Byron. On Sunday night (May 5) the church honored their graduates in a special service. I had the privilege of giving A CHARGE to them and preaching. The young people in this church are beyond the norm! They are talented and servants! The main reason they have such dedication is that their parents are servants. This church is full of members who are faithful examples! Three of these young people will be counselors at Camp CoBeAc this summer. Two of these young people have fallen in love, and both are preparing for ministry. They plan to get married next spring!
The church continues their search for a pastor and the deacons continue providing leadership as the church has moved forward and continued to carry on all their church ministries. Hillcrest is very much invested with Slavic Baptist Mission; this is Carl and Pat’s home church and he often fills the pulpit when he is not in other churches or in Ukraine. They also support Derek and Julie; for this, we are so thankful.
ORDER OUR NEW GOSPEL TRACT TODAY
I am thankful for the churches who have ordered our new tract and sent a love offering. These love offerings go to our PASTOR RELIEF FUND! If you or church have not ordered them, please do so by sending a request by email – [email protected] or to my home address:
Rick Arrowood
104 Rambling Creek Cove
Byron, GA 31008
PRAY REQUESTS:
- SBI – Derek and Carl are holding our summer session this week!
- Our graduates and national pastors who are in need and live in harm’s way 24/7.
- The funds we are seeking to raise for our SBI national pastors.
- Our Humanitarian Teams that work tirelessly loading and unloading our trucks, while putting their lives in danger as they take it across the country.
ITINERARY:
May 5-12 – Hillcrest Baptist ~ Logansport, IN ~ Kent Williams, Chairman
June 1-9 – Family Vacation at the Lake House on Lake Keowee
June 16-25 – Dolly and I will be celebrating our 50th Wedding Anniversary!
June 26 – Calvary Baptist ~ Bonaire, GA, Todd Frye, Chairman
June 30 - July 5 - Cornerstone Baptist; Smithfield, WV ~ Pastor Leroy Haught
NOTE: This is the 32nd Anniversary of this church which was started by Pastor Haught. Troy Baptist in Troy, OH, where we pastored for 21 years (1987-2008), purchased the original property with the old bank building for the back taxes and gave it to the church. TBT sent mission teams to help Pastor Haught and the men of the church renovate the building. It has been the only Gospel Lighthouse to that area since 1992. Pastor Haught has seen a lot of his family and many others come to know Christ over the years. Leroy and Penny are incredible servants and God has blessed them for their sacrifices and faithfulness. He could (“and should”) write a book on “God’s Goodness Against All Human Odds!” This will be a special week for Dolly and me as we recall our days at Mannington when he brought his family to our church and soon after was called to preach!
July 6 – AM Service ~ Fellowship Baptist ~ Fairmont, WV ~ Pastor Bob Shaw
July 6 – PM Service ~ Victory Baptist ~ Fairmont, WV ~ Pastor Nathan Barker
July 15-17 – GFA Interim Pastor’s Conference ~ Dr. Marshall Fant, Director of Church Planting and Revitalization
For a printable version of this newsletter, click below.
| Enlarge My Coast Issue 22 May June_july_2024.pdf |