Family Ties Fall 2010

Fall 2010

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Alumni Magazine

Family TiesAlumni Magazine

The Family Ties Magazine is a publication of the Hyles-Anderson College Alumni Association. Hyles-Anderson College is a ministry of the First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana.

Chad Matheny

EditorChad Matheny

ChancellorDr. Jack Schaap

Design & LayoutDouglas WruckBrian Berkowitch

EditorFrom the

Inquires and Address CorrectionsHyles-Anderson College

8400 Burr StreetCrown Point, IN 46307

(219) [email protected]

4 138

VISITUSONLINEWWW.HYLESANDERSON.EDU

Moments Ago

A fun look back at Hyles-Ander-

son memories from yesteryear.

Our GraduatesFulfilling Bro. Hyles’ Dream

Dr. Ray Young

Bro. Hyles would be very proud of all of our graduates who are pastoring large churches in large,

metropolitan areas. However, Bro. Hyles

would also be very proud of many of

our graduates who are pastoring small

churches in rural areas that have aggressive

soul-winning minis-tries, that are reaching people, loving people,

training people, and helping people.

16Dr. Anderson

Honored in thePhilippines

Statements from Dr. Rick Martin, pastor of the Iloilo Baptist

Church in Iloilo, Phil-ippines, about how

much of a blessing Dr. Russell Anderson has

been to him and his ministry.

Hello to all the Alumni of “the College”, Recently I was on the phone with a pastor planning a Youth Conference. He had called and asked for some promotional material that he could give to the teenagers who would be attending his conference. I was returning his call and when he answered the phone I introduced myself, giving him my name and I said I was from the college. What I had forgot-ten was that this pastor was an alumnus of another Bible college. He laughed and said, “Oh, you’re from “THE COLLEGE” are you. I very quickly apologized and we both enjoyed a little fun with my presumptuousness. He is a beloved brother and is doing a great work for God—and I’m glad to call him a friend.When I hung up the phone I had this thought. You know, it might have been a little presumptuous of me to have introduced myself as being from the college, but I am glad that to many we are still “The College” and not just a college.It is a great honor to serve in the ministry with some of the greatest Christians on the planet. I firmly believe that at Hyles-Anderson College we are carrying on the traditions and heritage that has been passed on to us by the great men who have gone before us from this place.With men leading us like our chancellor and pastor, Dr. Jack Schaap, our president, Dr. Ray Young, and our executive vice president, Dr. Tom Vogel, we are working to keep Hyles-Anderson College “The College” of choice for young men and women who desire to be trained by the finest. As an alumnus, I pray that as opportunities come that you will point these young people in the direction of “The College” that has been producing the finest in servants of God for more that 38 years.

Alumni Director

The IssueIs Not

The IssueDr. Jack Schaap

Don’t make issues the issue.

Don’t become an issue-oriented

preacher. Don’t major on the

minors. There are many ways

to say it, but there also seem

to be many ways to violate it.

In this Issue

last issue

Use your creativity, imagination, and wit to propose a caption for the Hyles-Anderson College

photo on the right. Send your caption idea to [email protected]; subject: caption. If we publish your caption, you will receive a gift from the Hyles-Anderson College Alumni Association. We will

publish select captions in the next issue. What’s your caption?

“Well, Bro. Hyles said we need to be filled with “Fresh Oil.”Matt StidhamRio Rancho, New Mexico

“Regular, or decaf?”Bill ToddLouisville, Kentucky

“Honest, this 30w will lubricate those aching joints.”Gary OhlemacherRosemount, Minnesota

3 Family Ties • Fall 2010 |

No doubt, one of the highlights of any former student or gradu-ate of our college is the memories of attending chapel. Chapel was especially enjoyable for many of us in the days when Brother Hyles could be with us. Many thousands of us graduates reflect, with fond memory, on those days of cheering and enthusiasm when Brother Hyles walked onto the platform and then especially with his delivering a chat or a sermon or just baring his heart to us and imparting some wisdom that we most assuredly felt we could not get from any other source.

One of the statements Brother Hyles often made was, “Don’t become an issue-oriented preacher.” As one of his preacher boys, I wrote that quote down many times in my Bible and on scraps of paper. In later years, when I became a teacher at the college, I tried to emphasize that statement, along with many others of Brother Hyles’ practical statements.

Don’t make issues the issue. Don’t become an issue-oriented preacher. Don’t major on the minors. There are many ways to say it, but there also seem to be many ways to violate it. The wisest man who ever lived penned these words under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, “He that is first in his own cause seemeth just” (Proverbs 18:17a). When the issue is an issue that is personal or one that is particularly popular or one that apparently everyone else thinks is important, it is exceedingly difficult not to make that issue be-come a cause. Then one finds himself justifying that cause; and in so doing, he expends sizeable portions of his life in defense of a cause that began as an issue that was probably important to somebody else, and the issue was not put into a proper perspective before it became “his cause.”

Many times Brother Hyles used illustrations of various pastors who got

caught up in the issue of fighting the homosexual movement. He would often tell the stories of ministries that were once thriving, soul-winning ministries with bus routes reaching the poor and lost. Their baptistery waters flowed regularly, and their altars were filled with converts and repentant sin-ners. Those ministries declined and literally disappeared because the pastor got embroiled in controversy and began fighting an issue.

The issue became more than an issue; it became that pastor’s cause. In fight-ing that cause, the pastor lost his vision for the real issue of the ministry and the true cause for which he was called into the ministry.

Brother Hyles would often tell stories about men who got caught up in the fight against abortion. He would also emphasize the true importance of those issues and how something like abortion is literally a life-and-death situation for the child in the womb. He would then add that, as important as that life-and-death issue is, it is not the issue to which we have been called by God as preachers and Christian workers.

He often mentioned the Moral Majority of the 1980s. He spoke of numer-ous pastors who left their pulpits to become precinct captains and to work in politics and spent large sums of time and money to help candidates get elected to powerful offices. He mentioned how important this cause was but that it was not the main cause or the real issue as to why preachers are called into the ministry.

The issues Brother Hyles mentioned, such as homosexuality and abortion, along with several other issues, all compete for our attention and time as well as our energy and financial resources.

4 | Family Ties • Fall 2010

There will always be issues that demand our study and some of our attention. One of the greatest disciplines a minister of the Gospel must exercise is the discipline of learning to say “No” to issues that would distract him from the main issue of the ministry. Allow me to make just a few statements to sum-marize and to analyze this subject.

1. There have always been and always will be issues of great importance to us as human beings and as American citizens, as well as issues with regards to our personal rights and freedoms, both as believers and as citizens.

2. These important issues certainly must be addressed within the context of Scripture and within proper protocol on how best to facilitate any change or defense.

3. The minister of the Gospel must be careful to understand, above all else, his mission as a minister and make that mission the issue of his ministry. There are far too many believers who spend first-rate time on second-rate matters and build third-rate ministries. One cannot major on the minors and build a ministry of major importance. Neither can one minor on the majors and build a ministry of major importance. Either way, the ministry will become a minor issue, and something else becomes the major issue.

4. The major issue for the independent, fundamental Baptist preacher and the independent, fundamental Baptist sitting in the pews of that preacher’s church is to glorify God principally through the evangelization of the lost and through the edification of the believer. We state it quite simply as the Great Commission. We are to go, we are to win, we are to baptize, and we are to teach.

5. When we give premiere time to issues that are not centrally focused on the main issue of our church, which is evangelizing the lost and edifying the saints, then those two issues become secondary in importance.

6. As individual believers, our chief aim and purpose of life is to bring glory to God. This means we are to reflect the character of Christ in all we do. Everything we do, including eating and drinking and whatsoever we do, is to bring glory and honor to God. As ministers of the Gospel and as leaders of churches, our chief aim is to evangelize the lost and to edify the saints.

7. I believe a Christian minister is supposed to live a life of prayer and a life immersed in the Word of God. I believe the apostles stated it succinctly in Acts 6:4, which says, “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.” Reading that verse alone, one would think that all a preacher has to do is pray and read the Bible. I would be the first to say that is a luxury I would most gladly indulge in. Unfortunately, it would not pay any bills, run any buses, build any homeless ministries, reach the nursing home residents, bring boys and girls to school, allow time for counseling hurting marriages, or help the widows and fatherless. In other words, the context of Scripture must be used to balance other Scriptures. It is vital that we keep that balance in mind.

As a preacher, I want to take a stand against the gay rights movement. I want to take a stand against legitimizing abortions. I want to take a stand against illegal drugs. I want to have my rights to preach freely in the pulpit whatsoever I believe the Lord would have me preach. However, that desire for freedom does not constitute a mandate from God to get everything off

my chest or to make my pulpit an issue-orientated pulpit. My pulpit is for the issue of evangelizing the lost, edifying the saints, and equipping them for the work God has called us to do—mainly, evangelizing the lost and edifying the saints.

I think it will help me evangelize the lost if I build strong marriages. How-ever, Brother Hyles warned me when I was a young preacher boy, “You can get so busy helping build strong Christian families that you stop building a strong local church.” There are men in the ministry dedicated to building strong marriages. I am happy for them and certainly support their philoso-phy and endeavor, but that is not the calling of the local church.

I have church members who are so intent on building strong Christian homes that they have moved outside the practical limits of attending our church. They want to isolate themselves from society and live in seclusion, and they almost adopt an Amish lifestyle because they don’t want any worldly contact. They are so focused on building strong homes and rearing perfect children that they have forgotten the reason those children were given to them, as described in Psalm 127:4, where it says that a child is a weapon in the hands of a mighty man. Weapons are not to be stored or to be secluded in a gun rack. A weapon is to be brought to the front lines and used for battle. Those children ought to be working on bus routes, winning souls, and telling friends and neighbors about Jesus. They ought to be taught many things. While I am 95 percent in agreement with what the parent wants to produce in the child, that missing 5 percent is the core reason as to why they are supposed to rear those children.

In other words, we can put our entire focus on marriage or on child rearing or on helping teenagers dress modestly or on helping teenagers go to the right colleges or on educating our children or on keeping ourselves separate and pure from worldly influences so that those very issues become the only issues that matter in our lives. In making these the issues of life, we lose the big issue of life. Souls don’t get saved. Saints don’t get edified for the purpose of being equipped to do the work. The church languishes, and its influence diminishes. We can only complain that the time is getting darker in the world, that the world is becoming more evil, and that we are not able to do as much righteousness. We simply write it off as one more sign of the Lord’s soon return.

Certainly, the Lord’s return is a chief interest of a Bible-believing Christian, but I don’t think our neglect of evangelizing the world and edifying the saints should somehow console us into hoping that the Lord returns quickly. I fear we have forgotten the admonition of the Apostle Peter in

I Peter 4:17a, where he says, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God.” I believe the return of the Lord will be a most difficult time for many believers and many congregations, because the same God Who will judge us is the One Who commanded us when He birthed our churches, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15b).

I’m afraid we have allowed personal preferences, pet peeves, patriotic irrita-tions, civil rights issues, human rights issues, and Christian rights issues all to become the main issues of our lives and ministries. In so doing, we have ignored the only issue Jesus Christ said was His issue.


Jesus said that He came into the world to save sinners. Jesus said He came to seek and save the lost. Jesus said He came to reconcile the world unto God.

We are commanded to be ambassadors for Christ to reconcile the lost unto the Saviour. We are commanded to go into all the world and teach all na-tions. We are commanded to go into the highways and hedges and to com-pel them to come to Jesus. We are commanded to persuade men because we know the terror of the Lord at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Those of us who are literal interpreters of the Bible should, above all else, be the ones who lay aside issues which not only inhibit our work of the Great Commission but which also divide us and obstruct the work of the Great Commission.

One of the most inflammatory issues abounding among fundamentalists today is the issue commonly referred to as “The King James Bible contro-versy.” I have been inundated with letters, e-mails, and phone calls all by well-meaning and sincere people who want to put in their two cents as to their stance on the King James position. While I am happy for them to make some declarative statement, it is meaningless with regards to the Great Com-mission. These are all King James Bible people calling in. Everyone is using a King James Bible and believes it is the Word of God.

It is one soldier calling another soldier testifying as to how shiny and bright his weapon is in the sunlight. While I am glad their weapon is shiny and bright and their M-16 rifle is polished and their bayonet is sharpened and gleaming in the sunshine, I want to know why there is no blood on that bayonet. I want to know why no rounds have been fired from the M-16. I want to know why the rifle is kept safe inside the vault and is not dirty, muddied, and bloodied from use out on the front lines of battle. I am not interested in somebody calling me to tell me that he found some nifty little gadget to use for his weapon or that he has highlighted some important information in the manual on how to clean his weapon. I am interested in cleaning it and firing it.

I want to hear how many souls you got saved with your King James Bible. I want to hear how many buses you are running with your King James Bible. I want somebody to call me and tell me how many missionaries he is sending out who use the King James Bible. I want to hear how many young men have been called to preach by the King James Bible.

What is happening is that Satan is enthusiastically helping us to become issue-oriented preachers. In so doing, he is keeping us from the main issue on which he knows Christ wants us to focus. Satan doesn’t care if you talk about the Bible or love the Bible or discuss the Bible, as long as you don’t use the Bible! He doesn’t care if you hate abortion, love abortion, perform abortions, protest abortions, or kill abortionists. He simply doesn’t want you getting those pregnant women saved, having their lives transformed by the power of the Gospel.

Brother Hyles always said, “Why don’t we get the teenage girls saved? That will do more to stop abortion than all the protests against abortion clinics combined.” I agree. I think the greatest way to fight the gay rights move-ment is not to protest gay rights or write slanderous letters or write hate mail or criticize our congressmen because of the way they vote. I am for writing our congressmen. I am for taking a stand against gay rights. However, I believe the best thing to do is get the homosexual saved. I believe the best weapon in the entire world is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, because it is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe.

I believe we have gotten suckered right into the wiles of the devil to fuss and to fume and to divide over one issue after another. Right now, that issue seems to be to fuss, fight, and divide over the Bible that we have all used, that we all love, and that we all claim to be the Word of God. I would beg all of us, for Jesus’ sake, to stop making an issue out of an issue that is not the issue. I realize we all want to pretend that we are defending the Bible. May I remind you that every one of us uses it, calls it the Bible, and believes it to be nothing less than the very Word of God.

I find we are divided, angry, and very much out of focus relative to the main issue of what Jesus Christ called us to do. With all my heart, I would plead that those of us who have been called by Christ into the ministry would remind ourselves to what exactly we have been called and would stop justi-fying our cause that is taking us from performing the issue.

May God grant us good wisdom, a renewal of vision, and an aggressive obedience to the great cause of evangelizing the lost, edifying the saints, and equipping them to do the work to which we have been called.


Holy lANDNovember 28–December 8, 2011

• Cost is approximately $3,800 per person based upon double occupancy.

• Includes round-trip airfare from Chicago.

• Includes double room hotel accommodations, all ground transportation, activities per itinerary, and breakfast and dinner.

• Centrally located hotels—all lodging will be in safe, clean 4- and 5-star hotels.

• Includes professional and local Israeli guide for the duration of the trip.

• A $200 Deposit is due by November 1, 2010.

Join Dr. Ray young along with Dr. Jack Schaap on a trip to the Holy Land on November 28–De-cember 8, 2011. Those going on this trip will be

visiting places such as Bethlehem, Capernaum, the Sea of Galilee, Jerusalem, Calvary, the Garden Tomb, the Mount of Olives, the Jordan River, Nazareth, the Dead Sea, and others.

Don’t miss out on this incredible trip of a lifetime! Space is limited, so call today to reserve your spot!

Details

For more information, call Karen Tutton at (219) 365-4031 ext. 1195.

ToUR

19771. Dr.LesterRoloffpresentsJackPattersonwithafishhepersonally

caught.

2. One unbearably hot day in chapel, Church Education was con-ductedoutonthefootballfieldonthebleachers.ThesecuritycarradiowasusedasamicrophoneandMrs.JoJoMoffittspoke.

3. English teacher, Mr. Jerry Smith.

4. Bink Spisak calls the shots during the championship basketball game.

5. Freshman quartet, Ken Osborn, Gary Lovens, Reda Porviance, Randy Taylor and Dale Osborn.

6. Students minoring in music, including Mario Cuozzo, First Bap-tist Church of Hammond’s current song leader.

7. Students leave on Sunday morning for their bus routes.

1976-1977 school year

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a brief look backmomentsago


8. Rose of Sharon Trio, Debbie Anderson (pianist), Debbie MacCor-mack, Cindy MacCormack, Marsha Roberts.

9. Dr. Lester Roloff being honored on a special day.

10. A tent is set up in the parking lot across the street from the Audito-rium to hold Pastors’ School sessions.

11. BusesarefilledwithmanyChicagolandchildrenforB,C,andDSunday Schools.

12. A student preaches on the streets of Chicago.

13. Dr. Hyles stands with a group of students dressed as devils at Pas-tors’ School.

14. Brother Vineyard conducts the bus workers’ meeting.

15. Phil Merhalski studies in his motel room.

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16. Dr. Jack Hyles and Dr. John R. Rice confer.

17. Dr. Jim Jorgensen hard at work.

18. “A perfect -place to bring a date.” says Jim Belisle.

19. Dr. Evans and David enjoying the game from court side.

20. A view of the Balmoral Inn where college men lived.

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1. Dr. and Mrs. Evans stand with the President’s Singers, a group of vocal-ists chosen by Dr. Evans to be his backup.

2. The Songs of Praise at the DeCoster Egg Farm.

3. Mr. Dan Clubb pretending to pass his dinner roll, is one of the many staff members with a great sense of humor.

4. Mr. Chris Tefft and the Sons of the Prophets show off while catching a few waves in the ocean.

5. As traditions demand, Dr. and Mrs. Hyles playfully feed each other the firstpieceofcakeaftertheyrenewedtheirweddingvowsontheir50th wedding anniversary. No other couple had been so able to keep their youth and zest for life into their senior years like the Hyles’.

6. Dr. Jack Schaap presents Mrs. Evans with a beautiful gold bracelet stud-ded with diamonds and rubies, one of several gifts which she received on her and Dr. Evans 40th anniversary.

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momentsagoa brief look back

19961995-1996 school year

7. Dr. Carl Laurent, a soul-winning legend at Hyles-Anderson College, sports his western gear as he welcomes new students on opening day.

8. Dr. Lee Roberson, a legendary preacher and author, enjoys the kind words of praise given to him during a chapel program held in his honor.

9. One of the most respected teachers at Hyles-Anderson College, Dr. Pete Cowl-ing, gives an exciting lecture on the Bible and Science.

10. Dr. Darrell Moore, assistant to the president, and Pastor Kevin Wynne, mis-sionarytoMexico,aretwofinemenwhoworkedtogetherinthebusministrywhen pastor Wynne was in college.

11. The students in Mr. Jerry Smith’s class, Teaching Science in the Elementary School, are given an object lesson by Kristina Merhalski.

12. Dr. Tom Williams, a man who carries the burdens of people around the world, shows his humorous side.

13. Mr. Jerry Ossewaarde adds a little levity to the busy work day by pretending to pour oil into Mr. Dwight Grafton’s mouth.

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14. The head nurse of the college, Mrs. Kris Grafton assists Dr. Dennis Streeter, the campus physician.

15. Mrs. Hyles, the chancellor’s wife, sings “Sweet Little Jesus Boy” at the an-nual Christmas Lights activity.

16. Dr. Joe Boyd, a guest speaker in chapel, stands by his bus which has carried him and his evangelistic team hundreds of miles to win the lost.

17. Mrs. Cowling removes a pie from the oven during baking class.

18. Jamie Sedgewick, George Vogel, T.J. Bradbury, and Luke Hamilton run a relay in the DeCoster Gymnasium.

19. Mr. Troy Blackwell and a group of students gather in front of the college entrance to enjoy the beautiful spring weather.

20. During a half-time contest at the Hyles-Anderson College Superbowl XVII, MikeWilcoxtriestokickafieldgoalontheJorgensenField.

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Our GraduatesFulfilling Brother Hyles’ Dream

by Dr. Ray Young

For the last 12 years of Bro. Hyles’ life, he and I traveled and spoke together

in conferences 15–25 times per year. During those same years, 14 differ-ent times we conducted trips that he referred to as “A Trip Of A Lifetime.” On each of those trips, we gave groups from our church whirlwind tours (3–6 days in length) of all of the highlights of Bro. Hyles’ early life and ministries through-out central and east Texas including, the town of his birth, his childhood homes, and the locations of memorable times from his teen and college years and his early pastorates. There was one event from one of our speaking trips and one event from one of our “Trip Of A Lifetime” trips that specifically related to each other and which relates to some of our graduates who are pastoring.

On one particular preaching trip Bro. Hyles and I had spoken together in Palmyra, New York. Early Wednesday morning, well before daylight, we were driving back to Rochester, New York, to fly home. Bro. Hyles had been very animated (or effervescent or bubbly or had been “cutting up” with everyone as he always did) as he always was. Bro. Hyles was sitting behind the driver of the car. The two men in the front seat and I, sitting in the back seat with Bro. Hyles, had enjoyed his company very much. Fi-nally, for several moments, I noticed that

he had grown quiet. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the side of his face. There was a slight glow on his face from the green light of the speedometer. The light of the speedometer revealed a tear running down his cheek. I asked, “Bro. Hyles, what are you thinking about?” He pointed out the window on my side of the car and said, “I was looking at the lights that are coming on in the houses there in that village in the valley.” When I turned to look, there was a small village of about two hundred houses surround-ing a railroad switching yard. Bro. Hyles continued, “I was just thinking that every one of those lights represents a broken heart. I was wondering who is going to come to that village and pastor those people. Who would love them? Who would pray for them when they had a need? Who would visit them in the hospital when they were sick? Who would comfort them when they buried their loved ones? Who would help them rear their children? Who would marry their young people? I was wondering if maybe someday, one of our graduates would come and pastor that particular village of people.”

Each “Trip of a Lifetime” would always include a visit to Italy, Texas, where Bro. Hyles was born. Italy, Texas, is a small town of approximately 2,000 and sits on an open plain in central Texas, about

30 miles due south of Dallas. On one of those trips we were driving away from Italy in our tour bus. Bro. Hyles was standing in the front of the bus look-ing back towards the little town of Italy, which was silhouetted on the horizon. He began to weep as he pointed toward the town of his birth and said, “I’m afraid our graduates are ignoring that part of America.” Since I was sitting near the front of the bus I asked, “What do you mean by that?” He said, “Ray, many of our graduates want to go to the big cities like Chicago, or Los Angeles, or New Orleans and build a large church in a metropolitan area, but we need a fundamental, soul-winning church in every small town and village in America. Somebody needs to go to every little village in America and try to win the people to Christ and then love them and help them rear their children.”

Bro. Hyles would be very proud of all of our graduates who are pastoring large churches in large, metropolitan areas. Of course, they are doing exactly what Bro. Hyles did. However, Bro. Hyles would also be very proud of many of our gradu-ates who are pastoring small churches in rural areas – small churches that have aggressive soul-winning ministries, small churches that are reaching people, lov-ing people, training people, and helping people.


I am thinking of some of the churches where I have spoken for our graduates in recent years, in either the Sunday ser-vices or in a special service:

1. Zane Abberger has pastored the Lakeview Baptist Church in Lakeview, Michigan (population of 1,100) for over 23 years. The church runs several buses and averages a total of 200 in Sunday school.

2. Dan Baker has pastored First Baptist Church in Mediapolis, Iowa (population of 1,677) for over 9 years. When I spoke in a two-evening conference for Pastor Baker, the building was packed both evenings. The church averages about 120 on Sundays. I remember Pastor Dan Robbs also attended the conference. Bro. Robbs has pastored Sycamore Baptist Church in Muscatine, Iowa (population of 25,000) for almost 19 years.

3. Dave Carpenter pastors Gateway Baptist Church in Cahokia, Illinois (population of about 15,000). He has pastored for 9 years. Bro. Monte Watts and I spoke in a conference there together. Bro. Watts is a graduate who is an evangelist and preaches in scores of churches each year.

4. Sam Carns has pastored Open Bible Baptist Church in War-saw, Indiana (population of 12,600) for 20 years. On Sundays, the church averages 98. This church has sent more than 15 students to Hyles-Anderson College, and many of those are graduates who are now in full-time Christian service.

5. David Fink has pastored Grace Baptist Church in Lockport, Illinois (population 29,500) for 9 years. The church averages 250 on Sundays. I spoke in a Veteran’s Day service in which Pastor Fink gave the book I wrote about my father’s involve-ment in World War II to all the veterans present. There were many adult visitors and an electrifying spirit in the service.

6. Luis Martinez has pastored Fundamental Baptist Church in Fajardo, Puerto Rico (population of 19,000) for 12 years and averages 130 on Sunday mornings. On the Sunday I spoke, God used Bro. Martinez and his people to have over 230 in at-tendance with over 20 first-time visitors and 14 people saved.

7. Bob Ueltzen pastors First Baptist Church in Crete, Illinois (population of 10,000), and he has pastored there for over 20 years. The church averages between 50–75 weekly. Bro. Monte Watts, Dr. Russell Anderson, and I spoke there together


in a Bible conference.

8. Paul Whitworth has pastored Faith Baptist Church near Plymouth, Indiana, for 6 years. “Near” is a little of a misnomer. If I remember correctly, when I spoke at Bro. Whitworth’s church, I could not see any houses from his church (only corn-fields and woods). The church averages 85 in attendance.

9. Arlyn Walters has pastored Lighthouse Baptist Church in Cedar Lake, Indiana (population of 11,000) for 11 years. The church averages 175 on Sundays. The Sunday I preached for Bro. Walters his people were just as excited about their fall program as in any other church where I have preached.

10. R. K. Young pastors Indian Hills Baptist Church near Blanchard, Louisiana (population of 2,050). He has pastored there for 14 years, and the church averages approximately 120 on Sundays. Several young people and married couples have come to Hyles-Anderson College and are now serving in churches in America and on foreign mission fields.

As I thought of the aforementioned men, I was reminded of several traits commonly shared by each of these men and

dozens and scores of Hyles-Anderson graduates who pastor in rural, suburban areas:

1. Each man has people saved on a regular basis (most of them on a weekly basis).

2. Each man loves his people.

3. Each man counsels his people and their marriages.

4. Each man helps his people rear their children.

5. Each man visits the sick in his area.

6. Each man encourages those who are suffering.

7. Each man feeds those in his area who are hungry.

8. Each man restores those who have fallen.

Then I thought: These men and others like them are fulfill-ing the dream Bro. Hyles had many years ago of reaching rural America. Bro. Hyles would be pleased. Bro. Schaap is pleased. Dr. Evans is pleased. I am pleased. And I sincerely believe God is pleased.


The following are some of Dr. Martin’s statements from an article about Bro. Anderson:

“In 1981 I found out Dr. Russell Anderson was coming to the Philippines, so I invited him to come to our church, which, at the time, was only three years old. To my amazement, he said he would, so we planned a two-day meeting for Octo-

ber 15-16. Dr. Anderson arrived Thursday night and preached. We had an evangelistic service, and 59 people received Christ as Saviour; 10 followed the Lord in believer’s baptism. The next day Bro. Anderson spoke all day to the pastors

and workers who had gathered. It was the first time we had a meeting for pastors, so I was pleasantly surprised when about 20 pastors came.

“Since that time Bro. Anderson has invested much prayer and financial support into reaching people in the Philippines.

“Early in 2002, the Lord gave our church a burden and plan to go with the Gospel to every home in every village, town, and city on the island of Panay. The total population of Panay is about 3,501,563, with 680,519 homes. About

60% of the people live in the 2,826 barangays or villages. There are also 5 cities and 91 towns on Panay Island.

Bro. Anderson heard about our plans and began helping our workers with their transportation fares to go in jeeps and motorbikes to get to the villages.

“Another ministry with which Bro. Anderson has helped us is the School Min-istry. In the Philippines the constitution states that religious groups can

go into the public schools and teach their religion as long as the stu-dents attend voluntarily. This ministry provides such a great

open door. Like the Every Home-Every Village Cam-paign, the main financial need is the transportation

fares of the workers to go to the schools. In some schools we have the use of a class-

room to teach the students while in others we are allowed

to teach the entire student body.

Dr. Anderson Honored in the Philippines

“While we have had this ministry for more than 25 years, when Bro. An-derson began to help with the fares of our workers, we were able to multiply the number of schools reached. There are numerous open doors to reach people in this country, but of all of the ministries, our School Ministry has seen more peo-ple saved than any other. Humanly speaking, the success of the School Ministry wouldn’t have been possible without Bro. Anderson’s help.

“Another way Bro. Anderson has been a blessing to the Philippines is by helping Bible college students work their way through school. Most of our students work about 15 hours a week and receive little or no help from home. For years Bro. Anderson has helped many of the students of our school by providing jobs as soul winners. These jobs are in addition to the regular practical ministry work the students do. I can’t tell you what a blessing this opportunity has been to our students. Pro-viding jobs for our students these past 30 years has been our greatest challenge financially, and the Lord has used Bro. Anderson to relieve some of that burden. More importantly, thousands of souls have been saved because our students can spend more time in soul winning. This practical training has been great preparation for these young people for when they graduate and go out and start churches.”

Dr. Rick Martin, of the Iloilo Baptist Church in Iloilo, Philippines, held his 28th Annual Pastors and Workers Conference in October of 2009. After the conference, Dr. Martin posted a short article about the conference and about Bro. Anderson’s influence in the Philippines. In that article Dr. Martin reported:

“Each year the Pastors and Workers Conference has several goals: (1) encourage the faithful pastors and workers who attend, and (2) honor the Lord by increasing our burden and intensifying our efforts to reach the lost for Christ. I believe these goals were met at the 28th Annual Pastors and Workers Conference held the first week of October.

“More than 1,000 independent Baptist pastors attended the conference.

“Our main speaker this year was Dr. Russell Anderson, the co-founder of Hyles-Anderson College, the college I attended. Dr. Anderson was also the keynote speaker at our first Pastors and Workers Conference in 1981, and he is the person who encouraged me to start this conference. Dr. Anderson’s messages were a blessing, and I especially was helped by his message on the Holy Spirit. Bro. Anderson has been a great help, and has had a great impact on our ministry here in the Philippines for many years.”

In addition to being a great blessing to Bro. Rick Martin and his ministries, Bro. Anderson has also helped build 787 churches through men out of Bro. Martin’s church. Additionally, Dr. Anderson has helped finance about 150 church build-ings in other places around the world for a total of about 937 church buildings in all.

During Dr. Anderson’s most recent visit to the Philippines, he was escorted through the horrendous traffic of Manila in a presidential motorcade with limousines, motorcycles, guards, etc. Certainly, such treatment is reserved for only dignitaries of the highest caliber. Without a doubt, Dr. Anderson IS a dignitary with a grand vision for doing all he can to reach the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.


Hyles-Anderson CollegeAlumni Association8400 Burr StreetCrown Point, Indiana 46307

A Ministry of Southlake Baptist Church

1340 N White Chapel Blvd, Ste 120 | Southlake, TX 76092 | 1-888-808-4427

[email protected] | www.globalchurchplanters.com

Pastors, call Global Church Planters to speak with a representative at 888-808-4GCP (4427) and receive a free copy of Church Still Works.

www.churchstillworks.com

Pioneer: Jonel Ejanel Trained by: Partner Rick Martin in Iloilo CityField: Isla Villamonte, Bacolod City, PhilippinesChurch Name: Liberty Baptist ChurchCurrent Start Date: August 2008 Current Attendance: 61Total Saved in Church: 359

Pastor: Tim YoungChurch Name: Heritage Baptist Church

Location: Palmyra, NYBegan Supporting GCP: January 2008

Global Church Planters partnered with Pastor

Tim Young and Heritage Baptist Church and

national church planter Jonel Ejanel to start a

new church in the Philippines.

CREATINGGOSPELPARTNERSHIPS

Documents

Family Ties Fall 2010