October 2005

October 2005 The Official News Magazine of the West Virginia Convention of Southern Baptists VOL. 35, NO.9

First Baptist of Fairlea to Host November 4-535th Anniversary Convention

Rev. KevinPrevett,pastor of theFirst BaptistChurch ofFairlea looksforward togreetingmessengersfrom acrossWV at theNov. 4-5Convention.

November 4-5 messengersfrom across the state will gatherfor their annual convention.The host church for the meet-ing will be the First BaptistChurch of Fairlea. This year’smeeting will celebrate the 35thAnniversary of the founding ofthe West Virginia Convention ofSouthern Baptists.

First, Fairlea is located onhwy 219 near the state fair-grounds and just south of thetown of Lewisburg. From Inter-state 64 travel south on 219 pastthe fairgrounds. After the oneway portion of southbound 219curves left and comes to a stopsign, turn left onto the one waynorthbound section of 219. Thechurch will be on your right justa minute or so up the road.

Often the leading WV con-tributor to missions through theCooperative Program givingchannel, First Baptist is led byRev. Kevin Prevett. Called tothe role of pastor earlier thisyear, Prevett had previouslyserved the congregation asyouth minister.

One of the highlights of the2005 annual meeting will be therecognition of congregationswho were a part of the organi-zation of the state conventionin 1970. State missionaries arenow photographing variouschurch facilities in preparationfor a media presentation that

will accompany the actual introduction of mes-sengers from the founding churches.

The photo below shows the view of First,Fairlea looking roughly northeast with hwy 219in the foreground. To the left of the worshipcenter and behind the two trees you can seethe front of the church’s new office and minis-try complex, one part of a recent expansion oftheir lovely facilities.

Many messengers will come a day earlyfor other meetings that occur at each year’sannual convention. For example, Thursdaymorning, November 3, the WVCSB ExecutiveBoard will meet in its last meeting prior to theconvention to approve the final draft of the2006 budget and calendar and to act on anylast minute items of business that may occur.Later that day messengers will choose betweenthe Pastors’ Conference or the Ministers’Wives Conference, both of which are alwaysencouraging and challenging to participants.

Our readers can view a more detailed lookat the agendas for the ministers’ wives confer-ence, the annual meeting and the pastors’ con-ference beginning on page three of this edition.While the annual convention is an official busi-ness meeting, it is always a time of worship andfellowship as well.

Dr. Jeff Iorg, presi-dent of Golden Gate Bap-tist Seminary will presentBible studies each ses-sion. WVCSB presidentJohnny Kelly will bring achallenging message.The Futuring Group willrecommend future direc-tions for the state orga-nization. Various out-of-state guests from South-ern Baptist entities willbe on hand with exhibits.Most importantly, friendswill have a rare opportu-nity to see each other andenjoy Christian fellow-ship! See you there?!

The West Virginia Southern Baptist2

THE WEST VIRGINIASOUTHERN BAPTIST

(USPS 097-990)

John W. Adams, Editorjohnadams@wvcsb.org

Published ten times per year byThe West Virginia Convention of

Southern BaptistsNumber One Mission Way, Scott

Depot WV 25560-9406.

www.wvbaptists.org

Note: No paid advertising orsubscriptions accepted. This

paper is fully funded by SouthernBaptists in West Virginia.

Periodicals Postage PaidScott Depot, WV 25560

and additional mailing offices

POSTMASTER:Send address changes to:

The West Virginia Southern BaptistNumber One Mission Way

Scott Depot, WV 25560-9406

Letter From Our Executive Director/Treasurer

Stopping RumorsHave you ever noticed how easy it is for

rumors to get started? I am not so amazed atthis in the secular world since you sort of ex-pect it there. But it does astound me when thishappens in ministry and it does happen all toooften.

Because I have tried to be a person of in-tegrity, I have sought during my 33 years ofministry to shut down the rumor mill wheneverI see it in action. One such rumor came to methe other day.

I received a couple of calls in regard towhether the North American Mission Board andthe West Virginia Convention would continueto fund Associational Missionaries in the yearsahead. It seems that someone had started arumor that in the near future we would no longerfund the salaries for these missionaries.

I knew that our convention had no plan tostop this funding, and just in case somethinghad slipped by me, I made a call to our coordi-nator at the North American Mission Board tomake sure they were not planning to stop iteither. He assured me that they had no plan inplace to discontinue the funding of missionar-ies. In fact, he stated that the North AmericanMission Board would continue to fund thestrategy of the State Convention.

We certainly have it written into our statestrategy that we will seek to grow strong asso-ciations by funding associational missionar-ies. We don’t see that changing for the fore-seeable future.

Of course none of the missionaries in thestate are funded by the state convention or byNAMB alone. They are jointly fundedpositions…the state convention and the NorthAmerican Mission Board fund them together,as partners. So, would you please help me putthat rumor to rest! There is no plan to stopfunding our associational missionaries.

May I suggest to you, especially those ofyou who serve as pastors, that when you hearsomething that sounds like it may be a rumorthat you seek to check it out before you pass iton to someone else.

Go to the person who shared it and askthem where they got that information. Thencall or go to the person who is in the respon-sible position to give a clear answer regardingit and ask them about it. This will place the

work of Christ on a higher plane and will seek toshut down the rumor mill. Your personal minis-try will be better for it and so will the Kingdomof God in general.

Our Annual MeetingThe Pastor’s Conference, Ministers’ Wives

Conference and Annual Meeting of the WestVirginia Convention of Southern Baptists willbe held November 3-5, 2005 at First BaptistChurch of Fairlea near Lewisburg, West Virginia.

Our Bible Study leader for the meeting willbe Dr. Jeff Iorg, President of the Golden GateBaptist Theological Seminary in Mill Valley, Cali-fornia. Dr. Iorg is a gifted and exciting speaker.You will be blessed to hear him.

Also featured at the convention will be acelebration of the 35 years that Southern Bap-tist churches in West Virginia have had a con-vention. We will also recognize the churcheswho were “charter members” of the conven-tion. Furthermore, we will receive the report ofthe Futuring Group which has been workingover the past year to give some direction forthe convention in coming years.

Please make every effort to be present forthis exciting time and show your support forthe work of this convention for the years tocome. I will look forward to seeing you there.

I appreciate the invitation to come to somany of your churches to share about the workof our convention and a Gospel message fromthe Word of God. Following is a list of thechurches I will visit in the near future: Novem-ber 13, Zoar Baptist to hear Dr. T.W. Hunt;November 20, Bradshaw Mountain Commu-nity Church.

“Of course none of the mis-sionaries in the state are fundedby the state convention or byNAMB alone. They are jointlyfunded positions…the state con-vention and the North AmericanMission Board fund them to-gether, as partners. So, wouldyou please help me put that ru-mor to rest! There is no plan tostop funding our associationalmissionaries.”

October 2005 3

Guest Speakers include

Maxine Bumgarner, WMU/CCM/Women’s Ministry, West Virginia Convention

Emilee Polk, Mrs. Seth, Cross Lanes Baptist Church

Special Music

Faithful Heart Fairlawn Baptist in Parkersburg

< > < > < > < > < > < > < >

Child care available

Ministers’ Wives Annual Fellowship Meeting/Dinner

First Baptist Church Fairlea, WV

November 3, 2005 Meeting, 1:00 p.m.— Dinner, 5:00 p.m.

Theme: Women of Faith

For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7

Use attached registration card to register f for the

Dinner on on November 3

Husbands/wives $5.00 each

Children up to the 6th grade

Happy Meals $2.50 each

Come and hear our own

West Virginia pastor’s wives

Giving Testimonies

Monologues

The West Virginia Southern Baptist4

Agenda for the West Virginia Convention of Southern Baptists Annual Meeting

Theme: “Strong Foundations for a Strong Future”November 4, Morning Session 9:00Call to OrderCongregational SingingWelcome & Prayer

9:10BusinessRegistration reportOrganization of theConventionOrder of Business CommitteeRecognition of Colleges &Seminaries/AnnouncementsFraternal GreetingsLiberty University Report

9:25Congregational Singing

9:30Bible Study

9:50Credentials CommitteeCalendar/Budget PresentationIntroduction of Resolutions

10:15Futuring Group

10:35Staff IntroductionCongregational SingingSpecial Music

10:55SBC Exec. Cmt. Report

11:05North American Mission Board

11:15Congregational SingingPrayerSpecial Music

11:25Message by Terry HarperClosing PrayerAdjourn for lunch break

November 4, Afternoon Session1:30Call to OrderCongregational SingingPrayerSpecial Music

1:45Bible Study

2:05New Minister IntroductionsCongregational Singing

2:20Election of President & First V.P.Discussion of BudgetNominating Committee ReportMiscellaneous BusinessExecutive Board ReportCongregational SingingPrayer

2:45Futuring Group

3:05Staff Introduction

3:15LifeWay Report

3:25Business SessionElection of Second V.P, & SecretaryCongregational Singing

3:40Guidestone Report

3:50Special MusicPresident’s MessageClosing PrayerAdjourn for supper break

November 4, Evening Session

7:00Pre-session Concert

November 5, Morning Session9:00 a.m.Call to OrderCongregational SingingPrayerSpecial MusicBible Study

9:35Report of Resolutions CommitteeAdoption of Calendar & BudgetAdjourn to Convene WV Baptist Foundation

10:00Convention ReconvenesReport of Committee on CommitteesReport of Time, Place, Preacher CommitteeCongregational SingingPrayerSpecial Music

10:25Convention Sermon by Seth Polk

10:55Installation of OfficersPrayer and Adjournment

7:15Call to OrderCongregational SingingWelcome & Prayer

7:25International Mission Board Report

7:35Partnership

7:45Congregational SingingSpecial Music35th Anniversary Celebration

8:15Congregational SingingSpecial MusicMessage by Jeff IorgClosing PrayerAdjourn until November 5 morning session

October 2005 5

Pastors’ ConferenceNovember 3, 2005 atFirst Baptist, Fairlea

Kingdom FocusedPreaching

Matthew 4:17

Speakers include:Dr. Stephen Rummage,

former professor ofpreaching at

Southeastern Seminary,now Assoc. Pastor forPreaching at Hickory

Grove Baptist Church inCharlotte, NC

Dr. Mike RutledgePastor, Mt. Carmel

Community Church inSteubenville, OH

Jacob Atchley, Dir. ofEvangelism, WVCSB

Greg Wrigley, Dir. ofMissions, WVCSB

Worship Leader:Dennis Benton,

Denver, NC

Tapes will be availablefollowing the conference.

Upcoming or Recent West Virginia Events

Men & BoysRetreat to Camp Caesar

What happens at a retreat for men and boysin West Virginia? The photos below tell muchof the story. Obviously they fish, they do somepicking and grinning, they shoot guns andbows and arrows. Rumor is they also pray andworship as well! The event was Sept. 16-17.

Editor’s Notes

If I had hair, working on theOctober edition would havecaused it to fall out.

West Virginia Southern Bap-tists have been busy this monthleaving the Mountain State fa-vorably impacted with the Gos-pel and challenging this paperwith the task of attempting to tellthe story.

God blessed your efforts toserve Him. Whether the focusof a page is an event or is on newsfrom churches and people allacross the state, there’s lots ofencouraging testimony aboutGod’s activity in our midst.

What does the next monthhold in store? We only see thetip of the iceberg from the van-tage point of our church or asso-ciation. God has big plans forour sister congregations in allregions of this beautiful country-side.

While you are enjoying thefoliage show in West Virginia thismonth, take time to thank God forhis Creative Touch. He is goingto put on a show for your view-ing pleasure but don’t miss thespiritual possibilities.

One other suggestion, re-member to pray for your sisterchurches and their spiritual suc-cess. Then call a motel inLewisburg and reserve yourroom so you can come to theSouthern Baptist reunion inFairlea, November 3-5!

The West Virginia Southern Baptist6

Cost Includes: Conference, Lunch on Saturday,

Snacks throughout the conference, YEC 2006—Taking a Stand Theme Shirt

Possible Give-a-ways

Westmoreland Baptist Church, Huntington, West Virginia

Registration Information

Pre-registration* $5 from present until 11/18/05 Open Registration* $10 from 11/19/05-12/9/05 Late Registration* * $10 from 12/10/05-1/13/06

*By registering on or before 12/9/05 each participant is guaranteed a shirt for the event *Late Registration does not guarantee a shirt for the participants

Are you tired of life just passing you by and never really getting a grip on the whole Christianity thing? Look no further than YEC

2006 to equip you with the tools needed to succeed in life. There’s no more time to waste...it’s time to TAKE A STAND!

October 2005 7

Monongahela Association Holds Outdoor Expo and MissionsFest EventsAssociational missionaries, James and

Jerilyn Smith and their team of volunteer lead-ers have had a busy schedule this fall. Septem-ber 10 their Men’s Ministry Director WadeMcGee coordinated the association’s first Out-door Expo, the week of September 17-24 theyhosted the huge MissionsFest project that im-pacted many of their congregations directly,September 27 their associational Sunday Schooldirector, Tillie Swanson, coordinated a fall train-ing school at Southern Baptist, Phillipi, and thefirst Wednesday and Thursday of October theywill coordinate the Lostness Bus Tour of theirregion. See our next edition to read a follow up.

Keynote speaker for the Outdoor Expo eventwas Tom Naumann from South Carolina.

Calvary, Grafton was the location for theOutdoor Expo, an event designed to reachchurched and unchurched outdoorsmen withthe Gospel. Featured attractions were wild gamedelicacies such as buffalo, alligator, and wildboar, exhibits by local taxidermists, seminars onfly fishing, boar hunting and African huntingplus exhibits by local bear hunters and trap-pers. There was also a casting competition forkids and a bass boat on display. The event at-tracted around 225 men, women and children.Twenty people accepted Christ as their Savior.

Pictured below are some of the 225 peopleeating barbecue and sampling wild game.

The MissionsFest was inprogress the week of September17-24 and involved people fromvarious areas of the country inshort term mission projectsthroughout the MonongahelaAssociation. The pictures to theleft were taken during the Fridaynight banquet.

Shown with MaxineBumgarner, left, are twospecial guests who spoke. Inthe center is Cheryl fromBirmingham, Alabama. Tothe right is Melanie Hart aMSC volunteer from Pittsburg,Pennsylvania.

The short-term projectswhich occur during aMissionsFest event vary fromlocation to location. For example,a team assigned to Berean Bap-tist led crafts for their Youth Nightand also prayerwalked their min-istry setting. At Calvary,Belington, volunteers did homerepairs in 2 homes, passed outJesus videos, prayerwalked andvisited 2 nursing homes.

At Calvary, Morgantown,volunteers made over 1500 con-tacts by passing out waterbottles, light bulbs, candy andinvitations to the church whileat Freedom, Nutter Fort volun-teers helped the city with vari-ous landscaping projects and thechurch with its preparations fortheir upcoming 40 Days of Pur-pose event.

At New Hope teams helpedclean the church, worked in theclothing ministry, on their land-scaping and with a block party.

The list of projects and ac-tions taken on behalf of the King-dom of God was nearly endlessand the impact on the lives ofpeople will be eternal. If yourassociation has the opportunityto host a similar event, do it.

The West Virginia Southern Baptist8

West Virginia Churches and People in the News

Above: Fred Morgan at hisclerk’s post in 1971.Below: A more mature versionof Fred taken in 2005.

“Things Ain’t What They Used to Be”by Fred Morgan

As you can see from the pictures to theleft, change takes place no matter how muchwe resist. We realize it more as we age. Changenot only effects the way we look. It also ef-fects how we live, travel, play and communi-cate. Change is as automatic as breathing.

How we react to change depends on howit is going to impact us personally. If it is goingto make us more comfortable, we are for it. If itwill force us into the “unknown” or out of ourcomfort zone, we are usually against it.

I was at the organizational meeting of theWest Virginia Convention the year before theblack and white photo to the left was taken. Alot has changed since then. For example, Sun-

day School was our primary smallgroup ministry. We called our disciple-ship program Training Union. Wedidn’t worry then about worship style.Now we are blending worship styles,or sticking to the traditional style, ormoving into contemporary styles ofworship celebrations. Now we aresinging lyrics we read off the wall asoften as out of the Baptist Hymnal.

Speaking of the current changes

in worship style, I think we need to rememberone very important thing. The only reasons wegather are to worship God, to praise Him, and togive him the honor He deserves. It’s all aboutHim, not us!

One thing that hasn’t changed is the Gos-pel. Southern Baptists still seek to focus on thegood news of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.Our methods of education, outreach, and wor-ship may change, but our message remains thesame - Jesus Saves!

As we gather to celebrate our 35th Anni-versary at First Fairlea November 4-5, we mustremember that our mission has always been andremains today to...

Share His love by telling what the Lordhas done for you.

Share His love by sharing of your faith.And show the world that Jesus Christ is

real to you, every moment, every day.**(William J. Reynolds, Nashville: BroadmanPress. 1973, from page 567 of the 1991 BaptistHymnal, Share His Love)

Fred Morgan is the WVCSB RecordingClerk and has been since Noah built the ark.

West Virginians Gear up to Assist Victims of Hurricanes Rita and KatrinaAs of September 29, West

Virginia Southern Baptists hadalready gathered $45,673.58 des-ignated for disaster relief and for-warded it to their headquartersin Scott Depot to be sent to theNorth American Mission Boardin Alpharetta, Georgia. The

funds will be combined with gifts from aroundthe country and then used in relief efforts inthe wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

In addition, an estimated 200 people havereceived training to serve as volunteers onteams that will travel to the effected areas dur-ing the next few months. Three or four teamshave already headed south as a part of a coor-

dinated plan for disaster relief third insize only to the American Red Crossand the Salvation Army. Many of themeals victims are eating at the variousshelters around the country and incommunities hard hit by the stormswill be served by Southern Baptistfeeding units. Dennis Cherry (shownwith Willa Covert in the photo to theleft) led a number of training eventslike the one pictured on this pagehosted by the West Charleston Bap-tist Church on September 8, just daysafter Katrina hit the coastline.

Norm Cannada, standing above, workedwith Terry Vaughan to coordinate thedisaster relief training pictured here.

October 2005 9

West Virginia Prayer Focus

DateNov. 1Nov. 2Nov. 3Nov. 4Nov. 7Nov. 8Nov. 9Nov. 10Nov. 11Nov. 14Nov. 15Nov. 16Nov. 17Nov. 18Nov. 21Nov. 22Nov. 23Nov. 28Nov. 29Nov. 30Dec. 1Dec. 2Dec. 5Dec. 6Dec. 7Dec. 8Dec. 9Dec. 12Dec. 13Dec. 14Dec. 15Dec. 16

AssociationPotomac HighlandMonongahelaMountain StateTri-CountyUpper Ohio ValleyAlleghenyCoalfieldsGreater HuntingtonImmanuelPioneerPotomac HighlandMonongahelaMountain StateTri-CountyUpper Ohio ValleyAlleghenyCoalfieldsGreater HuntingtonImmanuelPioneerPotomac HighlandMonongahelaMountain StateTri-CountyUpper Ohio ValleyAlleghenyCoalfieldsGreater HuntingtonImmanuelPioneerPotomac HighlandMonongahela

CampusMt. State Univ.WVU Morgan.Bluefield StateConcord Univ.Marshall Univ.Mt. State Univ.WVU Morgan.Bluefield StateConcord Univ.Marshall Univ.Mt. State Univ.WVU Morgan.Bluefield StateConcord Univ.Marshall Univ.Mt. State Univ.WVU Morgan.Bluefield StateConcord Univ.Marshall Univ.Mt. State Univ.WVU Morgan.Bluefield StateConcord Univ.Marshall Univ.Mt. State Univ.WVU Morgan.Bluefield StateConcord Univ.Marshall Univ.Mt. State Univ.WVU Morgan.

ChurchFirst Southern, SuttonFoundationsFox’s HollowFreedom, Nutter FortGilbert CreekGood ShepherdGrace, FayettevilleGrace, ParkersburgGrace, RainelleGrace Fellowship, WanaGraydonHamlinHedgesvilleHeritageHighlawnHillcrestHorsepenImmanuel, New MartinsvilleImmanuel, PrincetonIndian CreekIsabanJackson AvenueJeanetteKingwoodKnobley RoadLighthouseLilly GroveLincolnLittle BirchLiving StoneLocust GroveLorton Lick

ChapelFaith Fellowship, AthensFreedomGatewayHarborLightHope, RichwoodLighthouse, CharlestonLighthouse, DuckMarland HeightsNew Beginnings, Pt.PleasantNew Beginnings, WayneNew Hope, MullensNew Hope, PetersburgNew Hope, MadisonNew Life, ArnoldsburgOak CreekShining Light CommunitySolid RockSouth WheelingThe Bridge CommunityCamden FlatsCarpendaleChinese MissionChristian Family FellowshipDorsey Street CommunityFaith, WinfieldFaith Fellowship, AthensFreedomGatewayHarborLightHope, RichwoodLighthouse, CharlestonLighthouse, Duck

Your state convention staff meets each working day for a brief time of prayer. We pray for the needs of the staff and their friends,missionaries, campuses, associations, churches, and chapels by name each day. We invite our readers to pray as well.

New Work: New Beginnings, Point Pleasant, Immanuel Association. Pastor Wendell Smith makes the following prayer requests:(1) Need Sunday School teachers for children; (2) that the church will reach and involve young families; (3) that they can reach moremen; and (4) that Mrs. Smith will find a job.

Ministry Focus: Singles Ministries. Pray that the state training event planned for Singles leaders will produce fruit.Prayer Hymn: Because I Have Been Given Much, I too must give... (Baptist Hymnal, 1991 edition, page 605)Prayer Resource: The Life-Changing Power of Prayer by T.W. Hunt, LifeWay Christian ResourcesWeekend Prayer Focus: Pray for your church as you plan the budget for the new year. Pray for your pastor as he leads the

church to focus on stewardship in recognition of Cooperative Program Month.Post Katrina and Rita Hurricane Prayer Focus: The images of homes and businesses devastated by back-to-back hurricanes

along the coast lines of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama have likely caused us to forget that the same storms brushed thecoastline of our partner state, Florida. West Virginians probably know better than most population groups the damage caused byflooding and the heartbreak families face when they return to a home moved from its foundation, filled by mud and debris and the odorof mold and mildew growing everywhere. Dozens of disaster relief workers from West Virginia have already traveled to the coast toassist families and churches in the massive recovery efforts. Dozens more will soon follow them. Pray for the safety and health of thefamilies who stay behind and the workers who venture into the caring ministry of disaster relief. More importantly, pray for the peopleto whom workers will take the love of Christ and the hope of the Gospel. Pray that thousands of families will come into God’s Kingdomas a result of one of the worst natural disasters our country has faced in recent history.

The West Virginia Southern Baptist10

West Virginia Churches and People in the News

Altizer reports a wonderfulVacation Bible School with anenrollment of 191, an average at-tendance of 156, one professionof faith and several other deci-sions for Christ. Simka Davido,a Christian Jew from Israel, andhis wife Bella led in worship in arecent Sunday morning service,and brought news from otherbelievers and the work of theGospel in Israel. Pastor CledithCampbell and a worship teamfrom the church preached and ledworship in a tent revival in theCharleston area in September.The church held a MissionMarch for the Ola Cox State Mis-sions Offering.

The Chinese Mission re-ports a recent baptism, their fifththis church year. An evangelis-tic team from a Chinese churchin Delaware came to minister inSeptember.

August was a time of growthfor Crosspoint Community,Greg Lucas pastor. Nine werebaptized, and three familiesjoined the church. A new minis-try called H.O.P.E (Helping Or-phans Prepare for Eternity) wasinitiated to assist families willingto open their homes to adoption.

First, Ceredo, added onenew member by letter, one bystatement, and two children bybaptism who had made profes-sions of faith during VBS.Crafters For Christ filled 188 back-packs with school supplies forchildren in Wayne County.Rodney Hale is the pastor.

Locust Grove , whereRandall Robertson is pastor, isrejoicing over a family of fourwho recently made professionsof faith. The teens of the churchearned the attendance banner atthe Greater Huntington Associa-tion youth rally. The AWANAworkers and kids went door to

Fellowship, Lyle Mullins pastor, completedRamblin’ Road Trip VBS with an enrollment of57 and an average attendance of 50.

Lilly Grove will be dedicating its new audi-torium on November 13. Ricky Pennington isthe pastor.

Nehemiah, where Bryan Harmon is pas-tor, will dedicate its new church November 20.

Pineville Southern had a total enrollmentof 54 and an average attendance of 67 at itsVacation Bible School. Jim Kestner is pastor.

Riverside, Jim Davidson pastor, celebratedits Second Anniversary with a great attendanceof 97.

First Southern, Fairmont, held a blockparty October 8 with hot dogs and music, hop-ing to make new contacts for the church. DavidMellquist is the pastor.

Freedom, Nutter Fort, kicks off its “40 Daysof Purpose” Campaign in October. There willbe six weekly video lessons in members’ homesand church services based on those studies.They request prayer that many people will bereached for Christ. Jimmy Ray Sanders is thepastor.

Three new families joined New Hope, RockCave, in the past month and two people will bebaptized in October. The church will sponsor aFall Harvest/Alternative to Halloween on Oc-tober 31. Rick Price is pastor.

Twin Lakes, Jerry Bizup pastor, held re-vival services in early October. Homer Ham,Rick Price, and Mike Kirby were the guestspeakers.

Wayside, Buckhannon, held a block partyon a September Saturday, and hosted the musicgroup “First Love” the following day. They arefollowing up with those who visited the church.Don Knotts is the pastor.

The Monongahela Association, JamesSmith Association Missionary, recently hostedMissionsFEST. Teams of Volunteers served inthe churches in the Association in variousways:

The MissionsFEST team assigned toBerean, Lindell Smith pastor, led crafts forYouth Night and prayerwalked the neighbor-hoods.

At Calvary, Belington, volunteers didhome repairs in two homes, passed out JESUSvideos, prayerwalked, and visited two nursinghomes.

door in the community inviting children to par-ticipate in the program, and kicked off the yearwith a carnival.

Westmoreland, reports five professions offaith, five baptisms, and four new members byletter. They held an evangelistic communityblock party on a recent Saturday morning.Neighborhood “Operation Saturation” contin-ues this month. Jay Adkins, son of Pastor C.J.and Linda Adkins, pastors a church in subur-ban New Orleans. He was interviewed Sept. 16on “All Things Considered” on National Pub-lic Radio regarding Hurricane Katrina. Followthe link below and click on “listen” to hear theinterview: www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4851798. He was also fea-tured in a Baptist Press story September 29.

Revolution Ministries at Marshall Uni-versity is off to a great start this semester. Theattendance at their Monday meetings hasdoubled in two weeks. Their praise band, Revo-lution Praise Machine, will soon be recording ademo CD. Dan Byrd is the Director.

God is answering the prayers of theGreater Huntington Association, Doug VirginAssociation Missionary, for bivocationalchurch planters. The groundwork is being laidfor several new works in the Association.

Brushfork dedicated its new addition onAugust 28, with State Executive Director TerryHarper bringing the morning message. Follow-ing the dedication prayer, three new memberswere received by baptism and five by letter.During the past year 66 have been baptizedand 25 have been added to the membership byletter or statement. On September 16 the churchhad a special praise service, with music byPraise Eight, testimony by Johnnie Little, andmessage by State Evangelism Director JacobAtchley. Barry Fleming is the pastor.

Freedom, Charleston, had a total of 28people at its very first worship service. PastorJimmy Morton reports of their excitement overtwelve people who came forward during thetime of decision to join the church. The groupis meeting at the Country Inn & Suites inKanawha City.

First, Huntersville, Jerry Moore pastor,presented Heaven’s Gates & Hell’s Flames for3 nights recently and saw 283 people attendand 69 people make decisions. It was thecongregation’s sixth year of doing fall dramas.

October 2005 11

West Virginia Churches and People in the News

Over 1,500 contacts were made for Calvary,Morgantown, Shane Suiter pastor, as volun-teers passed out water bottles, light bulbs,candy, and invitations to the church.

Volunteers at First Southern, Fairmont,David Mellquist pastor, helped clean the church,prayerwalked and distributed gift bags and NewTestaments in the neighborhood.

Some of the MissionsFEST volunteers as-signed to Freedom, Jimmy Ray Sanders pas-tor, helped the City of Nutter Fort with variouslandscaping projects. Others worked with thechurch, preparing for the “40 Days of Purpose”

Campaign.Several of the associations have conducted

fall Sunday School training rallies recently. BettyJo Stout is shown in the photo above introduc-ing the faculty to persons who attended theTri-County meeting hosted by Westview,Martinsburg.

New Hope, Rick Price pastor, had itsteams help clean the church and clothing min-istry, work on landscaping, and lead a blockparty.

The team at New Life, Bridgeport, DougMurray interim pastor, cleaned and landscapedthe Lake Ridge Outreach Center where thechurch meets on Wednesday evenings. In ad-dition, they visited in neighborhoods, givingout light bulbs and information about thechurch.

New Life, Weston, and Twin Lakes eachused teams on Sunday afternoon to go door-to-door in the community with church members,inviting people to church. Jerry Bizup pas-tors Twin Lakes.

A number of teams were assigned toRowlesburg, Ken Lake pastor. Some of them

Elia Peterson, middle, holds aplaque awarded to him for hisletter perfect performance atthis year’s WV Bible Drill. Hisparents Jim and Sandra aremembers at Good Shepherd inScott Depot.

made repairs to the church and parsonage.Others helped an individual with needed homerepairs. Some helped prepare a building to beused as a local food pantry, and still othershelped the city clear brush along the river.

The volunteers at Southern, Philippi, JeffSimms pastor, did door-to-door surveys andsurveyed people in front of the grocery storesand courthouse. They found 78 prospects forthe church.

At Wayside, Don Knotts pastor, theMissionsFEST team did a number of paintingand repair projects at the church, as well ascanvassing the neighborhoods and passing outinvitations to the church’s block party.

In addition to working with the CampusMinistry and local churches, volunteers servedin the following places: Buckhannon - volun-teers helped with landscaping work all aroundtown; Grafton - teams worked at the Mother’sDay shrine, Ana Jarvis Museum, and the Lin-coln School in Flemington; Clarksburg Mission- volunteers cooked, sorted clothes, separatedclothes appropriate for job interviews and pre-pared a special “store” for them, drywalled,sanded, painted, and did electrical work for newtransitional apartments on the third floor of thebuilding; Mannington - teams did extensivelandscaping work for the city and helped cre-ate a new “Citizens Park.”

Brad Thompson and John Adams will betouring WV October 31 through November 2leading retirement update meetings. The teamwill be at Freedom, Nutter Fort, from 9:00 to

11:30 October 31. The meetingNov. 1 will be held at the stateoffices in Scott Depot from 9:00to 11:30. Nov. 2 they will meet atImmanuel in Princeton on thesame schedule. Each locationwill provide refreshments with alight lunch planned after themeeting at Princeton. The ses-sions will cover retirement plan-ning, a discussion of the vari-ous options for investing fundsand determining the best way touse your accumulations whenyou retire. The meetings are freebut you should notify the hostchurch that you’re coming.

The West Virginia Southern Baptist

WVCSB CalendarOctober 31

Annuity update mtg. atFreedom Bapt. Nutter Fort

November 1Annuity update mtg. at Scott

Depot Convention Offices

November 2Annuity update mtg. at

Immanuel Bapt., Princeton

November 3WVCSB Exec. Brd.

Pastors’ ConferenceMinisters’ Wives Conference

at First Baptist of Fairlea

November 4-535th Annual Meeting of

The West Virginia Conventionof Southern Baptists atFirst Baptist of Fairlea

November 11-13T.W. Hunt Prayer Conference

at the South Branch Innin Romney, WV

November 24-25Convention offices closed for

Thanksgiving Holiday

Prayer ConferenceNovember 11-13

South Branch InnRt. 50, 2 miles

East of Romney, WV

Featured teacher, Dr. T.W. Hunt

Cost: $10 per day, $20 total, whichcovers meeting costs, plus breakfastand lunch on Saturday.

Please register early by sendingyour check payable to Zoar BaptistChurch, P.O. Box 208, Augusta, WV26704.

This meeting is hosted and coor-dinated by Zoar Baptist Church andFoxes Hollow Baptist Church, Rev.Dan Biser pastor. For additional in-formation, contact Rev. Biser at 304-289-5030 or email him atbiser@mountain.net. This meeting isalso a partnership event with the WestVirginia Convention of Southern Bap-tists.

Jeremiah 33:3

Friday:1:30 PM

Worship ServiceMusical selections byHuntley Brown from ChicagoA time of prayer

4:00 PM Dismiss for Dinner6:30 PM

Worship ServiceMusic by Huntley BrownTeaching by Dr. T.W. Hunt

Saturday:8:00 AM Breakfast12:00 PM Lunch1:30 PM Worship and Prayer4:00 PM Dismiss for Dinner6:30 PM

Worship ServiceTeaching by Dr. T.W. Hunt

Sunday: 11:00 AMConference participants are invitedto hear Dr. T.W. Hunt speak at themorning worship service at ZoarBaptist Church in Augusta, WV.

For motel reservations at theSouth Branch Inn in Romney call tollfree at 1-866-492-3122