The Meaning of the Cross

Volume 56 Number 2 March­April 2016

“The Voice of Ohio Free Will Baptists Proclaiming The Voice of Ohio Free Will Baptists Proclaiming The Words of Christ to a Lost World”The Words of Christ to a Lost World”

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AMBASSADORAMBASSADOR

his is the time of year when we begin focusing

on the cross. I think it is interesting on how the

cross is used in our society. It is the symbol of a great

relief agency and a well­known insurance company.

Many people you see on the streets will wear a cross

in a necklace or earring. I wonder how many really

know the true meaning of the cross!

The Apostle Paul sure thought that the cross carried

great meaning. In his first letter to the Corinthians, he

was writing to a church that was in great turmoil. The

membership had divided into groups, they were tak­

ing each other to court, there was open immorality

going on, they were mixed up about marriage, some

were getting drunk at the communion table, they were

misusing spiritual gifts and to top it all off, some said

there was no resurrection!

If you were trying to help a church as messed up as

this one, where would you start? Paul decided in the

first chapter that he would take this church back to the

beginning of their salvation­the cross! “For Christsent me not baptize, but to preach the gospel: not withwisdom of words lest the cross of Christ should bemade of none effect. For the preaching of the cross isto them that perish foolishness; but unto us which aresaved it is the power of God.”

The cross is a good place to bring a messed up church,

a messed up life, a messed up marriage or a messed

up nation!

What did Paul mean by preaching of the cross? What

did the cross mean in his day?

The Cross Means GuiltIf Paul saw someone carrying a cross, he immediate­

ly would think of guilt. That person was judged

guilty of a capital crime and judgement was being

served on him.

When Jesus took the cross it was not for any crime

that He had committed, it was for my crimes! He

took our place on the cross! We should always

remember that Jesus paid for our guilt upon the cross.

This thought would help the Corinthians to humble

themselves and appreciate the grace given to them by

Christ on the cross.

The Cross Means RejectionA man with a cross in that day was being rejected by

society, to be taken out of town and crucified.

Jesus surely faced rejection when He took the cross,

from His own family, his friends and his nation. He

faced the “sting” of rejection so that we would not

have to be rejected at the final judgment.

But those that follow Christ will surely face rejection

that the cross brings. Jesus told us as much. “If theworld hate you, ye know that it hated me before theworld hated you.” John 15:18

No doubt Paul wanted the Corinthians to not be

focused on being accepted by the world, but to rejoice

in being accepted by God.

The Cross Means ShameShame covered the man with a cross in that day. All

would be ashamed of a man with a cross, an awful

shame, the worst shame.

Jesus surely endured shame on the cross. They

mocked Him unmercifully. The soldiers, the religious

leaders and the crowd all heaped upon Jesus the great­

est shame possible.

Those who bear the cross today will surely face

shame for their belief in Christ.

Paul wanted the Corinthians to quit seeking the best

gifts and the best positions and to be willing to bear

shame for Him.

The Cross Means SufferingYou knew the man carrying a cross in that day would

be suffering. To be crucified would be the most horri­

ble, painful way to die.

Jesus surely suffered. He suffered physical pain, lone­

liness and thirst.

Those that carry a cross will suffer for Christ. The

cross carries a heavy price in society. Down through

the ages, countless Christians have endured great suf­

fering for their loyalty to the cross. I think we are see­

ing the beginnings of it in our society.

The Corinthians were being taught that those

that claim the cross are not always claiming their

rights!

The Cross Means SeparationThe man with a cross was surely being separated. He

was being separated from his family, friends and soci­

ety.

Jesus felt the bitterness of separation. He not only

was separated from his friends, family and nation, the

cross separated Him from His beloved heavenly

Father!

Those who claim the cross will surely feel this same

separation as well. There are some places you can’t

go and people you can’t have fellowship with,

because the cross separates us.

Paul wanted to let the Corinthians know that the cross

means separated living.

The Cross Means DeathA man with a cross was going to die. He wasn’t com­

ing back. You would see Him no more.

Jesus truly faced death on the cross. The reason was

that we didn’t simply need an example on how to live,

but we needed a Savior who could pay our sin debt.

When I see Jesus bleeding and dying on the cross, I

see the most beautiful Gift the world has ever known.

Does the cross mean death to us? Have we died to our

opinions? our desires? our motives? our wants? our

passions? Isn’t this the picture of our old life which

has passed away when we are buried in baptism?

This is attitude that Paul was presenting to the

Corinthains that many of their problems would be

over if they would be “dead” to the attitudes of the

world!

The meaning of the cross is guilt, rejection, shame

suffering, separation and death. May we this Easter

take time to go back to the cross and contemplate it’s

meaning in our own lives.

Edwin Hayes

T

2016 Ohio Men’s Retreat Report

On January 21­23, 2016 The Lord’s presence was felt by 341 men assembled at the Heartland

Retreat Center to see what God had in store for them at retreat.

Thursday, January 21st

The first service was held in the afternoon with Ohio Promotional Secretary Edwin Hayes giving

a welcome to the men. Bro. Bryon Justice of Canaan FWB in Creston led the music for all the

services with Bro. David Crank from the Cornerstone FWB Church in Mansfield playing the

keyboard. Bro. Marcus Bailey, from the Mansfield FWB Church provided the special music.

Rev. Jim McComas, North American Ministries Director of Church Revitalization brought the

message, “It’s Not As Bad As it Seems” from Luke 10. In this sermon, Bro. Jim gave great

encouragement for victory whatever circumstances we see in life. After the service, Missionary

Daryl Grimes and gave a report on the Flagship Church in Erie, PA.

That evening, the men assembled for the second service. The special singing was provided by

Brother Jim McComas from the North American Ministries. Retired U.S Army Chaplin Kerry

Steedley then preached a message about, “Four Gifts of Mutual Ministry” from Romans 1. This

message let know that we all must share our gifts for the betterment of the body of Christ. After

the service, Brad Ransom from National Home Missions and Sam McVay, from the

International Mission Department gave updates on their works.

When we dismissed the service, the Ohio Men’s Choir under the direction of Bro. Bryon Justice

formed and practiced. The men enjoyed fellowship, recreation and music throughout the retreat

center.

Friday, January 22nd

In the first service on Friday morning, Rittman Community FWB with Pastor Johnny Castle pro­

vided the special music and Kerry Steedley preached the message, “I Pledge Allegiance to…

from Joshua 24:14­15 which made the point that we must reaffirm our dedication and loyalty to

our nation, Christ and the Bible.

The second service began with Chad Cordell from the Woodstock Church providing the special

music. Bro. Jim McComas preached on the subject, "The Importance of the Word of God" from

II Timothy 4:1­2. He made the point that we must proclaim and be committed to the word.

We gave attendance awards Friday afternoon. The first category, “Most First Time Attendees”

the Rosedale Church pastored by Jason Meade won first place by bringing four new attendees!

The Puritan Church pastored by Jamie Fortner, won second place with three new attendees.

There was a 7 way tie for 3rd place, with Lighthouse, Southwest, Unity, Neville, Rittman,

Flagship and Lebanon with two new attendees each.

In the second category, “Most Men Attending in Relation to Church Membership” the Lighthouse

Church pastored by Matt Sury won first place with 27.7% of their membership in attendance.

The Rosedale Church pastored by Jason Meade came in second place with 25.7% and Antioch

pastored by Rick Henderson came in third place with 23.2%.

In the final category, “Most Men in Attendance, the Canaan Church pastored by Mike Gladson

won with 36 men in attendance! Second place was a tie by Rosedale Church pastored by Jason

Meade and Lighthouse Church pastored by Matt Sury with 18 in attendance. Third place was a

tie with Flagship Church pastored by Daryl Grimes and Woodstock Church pastored by Russell

Street with 12 men each.

In the afternoon service the Ohio Men’s Choir under the direction of Bro. Bryon Justice pro­

vided the special music and they did a great job! Kerry Steedley preached the message entitled,

"Prayer of Faith" from James 5:13­18. In the message Bro. Steedley gave his personal testimony

of how prayer had blessed and influenced him. Afterwards, David Williford from the Welch

College gave greetings.

The Representatives from Canaan FWB in Creston provided a concert before the evening serv­

ice. They also provided the special music for the service.

Jim McComas then preached a message on, “It Just May Be”. He showed whatever the odds we

face, we must be willing to go into battle trusting that the Lord will do something. During the

altar call, we saw a man wonderfully saved! This was the greatest moment of the retreat!

Ohio Moderator Mark Price dismissed the men to their individual meetings in the dorm rooms.

These services are a very special time of sharing and bonding the men enjoy yearly at the retreat.

There was sharing together, singing, preaching and praying in the rooms.

Saturday, January 23rdIn the first morning service, Bryon Justice led the music and well­known Southern Gospel

Singer J.B. Spencer sang. Kerry Steedley preached message, “Receive the

Gift of Love .” This message challenged us to be committed to loving our

wives.

In the last service, Eugene Crouch pastor of the Unity FWB Church provided the special music.

Jim McComas came to preach the last message of the retreat. In his message “The Power of the

Basket.” He challenged the men to be aware of those who we have influence­those in our basket!

We thank the Lord for once again making His presence felt throughout the retreat. We are very

appreciative of what the He is doing for our men through this ministry!

Edwin HayesExecutive Secretary

EDITOR Edwin Hayes7554 Slate Ridge Blvd

Reynoldsburg, Ohio 43068(614) 751­1190

ehayes@ambassadorbible.comSTATE MODERATOR Mark Price*

2710 Dogwood Ridge RoadWheelersburg, Ohio 45694

(740) 935­0328mark@porterchurch

ASSISTANT MODERATOR Tom Dooley*4697 Crabwood Drive

Austintown, Ohio 44518(330) 792­5700

tadooley@yahoo.comCLERK Bryon Justice*

4857 State RoadMedina, Ohio 44256

(330) 618­9609bjustice­clerk@roadrunner.com

ASSISTANT CLERK Manuel Lopes*my2mands@yahoo.com

GENERAL BOARD

Charles Crider* (Little Miami) 2017Tim Crank (Lawrence) 2017Ed Barney (Jackson) 2017Mike Martin (Great Lakes) 2017Bill Chadwick (Franklin) 2017Robert Prichard (Cuyahoga­Lorain) 2017Russell Street* (Central Ohio) 2017Jeremy Luthy* (Tri State) 2017Randy Rose (Northeastern) 2017Randy Keffer (Capital City) 2017Leroy Dodrill (Northern Ohio) 2016Densil Wright (Trinity) 2016Bert Alsept (South Central) 2016Dan King* (Porter) 2016Aaron Reed (Pine Creek) 2016Bill Pitts (State Line) 2016Blaine Etterling (Cornerstone) 2016James Webb (North & Western) 2016Nic Cartee (Southern Ohio) 2016

*Executive Committee

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

John Wallace 2022Mike Mounts 2021Chris Oiler 2020Peter Dunn 2019Mitch Salyers 2018Eugene Crouch 2017Bill Hayes 2016

STATE CTS BOARD

Marcus Bailey 2022J.D, Webb 2021Mark McCarty 2020Jason Luthy 2019Adam McCarty 2018Deanna Price 2017Mike Sammons 2016

NOMINATING COMMITTEE

Don Hix 2016Dan King 2016Paul Ray Etterling II 2016

NATIONAL GENERAL BOARD MEMBER

Edwin Hayes 2018

STATE MISSIONS BOARD

Roger Daniel 2022Mike Gladson 2021Paul Ray Etterling II 2020Jerry Sargent 2019Roland Luthy 2018Bruce Copley 2017Tim Stout 2016

The AMBASSADOR is the official publication of the:

OHIO STATE ASSOCIATION

OF FREE WILL BAPTISTS

7554 Slate Ridge Blvd.

Reynoldsburg, Ohio 43068

The Ambassador is committed to promoting thecause of Jesus Christ and the Ohio State Associationof Free Will Baptists by presenting articles,announcements and pertinent news to inform ourmember churches and constituents.

We reserve the right to edit or reject materialssubmitted for publication in the Ambassador. Theviews expressed are not necessarily the view ofthe Ohio State Association of Free Will Baptists.

The publication deadline is NOON as follows:January 1st, March 1st, May 1st, July 1st,September 1st and November 1st. All giftsgiven to the Ambassador should be sent to theabove address.

March 13 Rosedale SS & AM Service, Jason Meade, Pastor

March 15 Ohio Budget Committee Meeting

March 20 High Street SS & AM Service, James Webb, Pastor

March 27 Porter AM Service, Mark Price, Pastor

April 3 Oak Hill SS & AM Service, Allen Simpson, Pastor

April 10 Antioch SS & AM Service, Rick Henderson, Pastor

April 17 New Hope AM Service, George Grice, Pastor

April 24 McGuffey SS & AM Service, David Trusty, Pastor

April 27­30 North Revival, Bill Chadwick, Pastor

May 1 Pleasant Hill AM Service, Greg Lyons, Pastor

May 9­11 First Springfield Revival, Mark Rucker, Pastor

May 15 Liberty SS & AM Service, Cecil Farmer, Pastor

Secretary’s Schedule

Together We Can

The dates for the 2017 retreat are January 19-21st.

Mark those dates down and plan to attend!

OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 3

Save the Date!!!!

National HomeMission

Church GrowthConference

September 16-17,2016

Sponsored by the Ohio StateAssociation of Free Will Baptists

Heritage FWBChurch

575 Obetz RoadColumbus, Ohio 43207

Ohio Youth ConferenceNews!

We trust the Lord has blessed our churches

and youth so far in 2016. Here are some

dates to keep in mind for this year:

March 25 –OYC Competitions Entry

Deadline – Please have your competition entry

forms postmarked or emailed by this date to make sure we have time to

process everything and get back to you with any questions. Please send your

entries to: Deanna Price 2720 Dogwood Ridge Road Wheelersburg, Ohio

45694 Email: dprice@stanbender.com

April 9 – OYC Competitions – Heritage FWBC – Registration begins at

9:00 am. Competition begins at 10:00 am. OYC will once again provide lunch.

This year’s NYC theme is: Transform (Romans 12:2).

June 1 – OYC Scholarship Applications due – Applications and more

details will be made available later this year. Remember, Ohio youth that par­

ticipated in OYC Competition in age category D and are, or will be, attending

any Free Will Baptist college are eligible to apply. Winners will be announced

at the State Meeting in June.

June 24 – OYC Friday Evening Youth Services and activities –Heritage FWBC.

July 17­20 – National Association of Free Will Baptists – Kansas City,

Missouri.

Visit

www.NAFWB.orgfor additional

convention

information.

CONVENTION HOUSING2016 National Association of Free Will Baptists

Prepare Personal Information

You will need the following:*Name(s)

*Address, City, State, Zip

*Phone/email

*Credit card information

*Special requests:Wheelchair AccessibilityRollaway BedCrib

Contact the Hotel of

Choice

*Online Reservations willopen Monday, May 9th, 9:00amCT (10:00am.ET)No phone reservations will beaccepted on this day. Links toonline reservations will be atwww.nafwb.org.

*Phone reservations will openTuesday, May 10, 9:00am CT(10:00am ET).Online reservations are highlyencouraged to avoid long waittimes.

*Group Reservations: Groupsmaking eight or more reserva­tions should contact conventionmanager Ryan Lewis (877­767­7659) until April 29 for moreinformation regarding groupreservations.

Things to remember

*Hotels have been instructedNOT TO ACCEPT reservationsbefore opening day.

*A non­refundable cancellationfee of the first night’s room and taxwill be charged for any cancelledreservation.

*Hotel rates do not include16.85% tax and $1.75 city occu­pancy feel.

*Available rooms may be postedat www.nafwb.org for transfer.

Reservation Cut­off Date:

Friday, June 17, 2016

Kansas City Marriott Downtown (HQ)$132 per night Phone 1/877/303­0104

The Aladdin Holiday Inn Hotel$125 per night Phone 1/877/224­2870

Crowne Plaza Kansas City Downtown$122 per night Phone 1/888/233­9527

Visitus on the web

www.OhioFWB.orgor our

Facebook Page

FIRST SPRINGFIELD (FRANKLIN)

Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things throughChrist which strengtheneth me." Hello everyone.

Our yearly candlelight service was a very spir­

itual and comforting experience. We need that

to reflect back and to look forward in our

Christian life

We were challenged again this year to start

reading the Bible. It’s always rewarding when

you complete it no matter how long it takes.

Danny Fraley was the winner of the 2016

Slogan contest this year. The slogan is “Always

Put on a Ribbon” It will be handed out at our

rally day service which is on Easter.

We always look forward to our 24 hour fast. It

is very humbling to the young and the old. We

had wonderful services, videos and discussions.

We helped out at a local food bank and deliv­

ered boxes of food to some families in need, but

the most wonderful thing was we had someone

get saved during the fast. God is so good you

can be saved anywhere, just take the step.

We are really looking forward to our revival

May 9­11th. Rev Edwin Hayes will be preach­

ing.

May the good Lord keep you and your loved

ones in loving arms

Mark Rucker, Pastor

Linda O'Neal, Reporter

REDEEMER (CENTRAL OHIO)

Greetings from Redeemer to our brothers and

sisters in Christ! We know that “the Lord isclose to the broken­hearted; he rescues thosewhose spirits are crushed.” Our congregation

has suffered two losses in February. Faithful

and willing worker, Don Hall, was called home

on Feb. 14th. We will surely miss his faithful­

ness and sense of humor. The daughter of Pat

and Tom Reno died unexpectedly on Saturday,

Feb. 20th. We grieve this loss along with these

faithful parents. While our hearts are heavy

with these losses, we rejoice over heaven’s

gain! Please pray for these families.

The Men’s Prayer Breakfasts will be held at

Castles, in Mechanicsburg, on Saturday, March

19th, and Saturday, April 16, at 8:00 a.m. We

would love to have other men join with us for

fellowship.

The ladies’ group meets on the last Wednesday

of each month at 7:00 p.m. Sister Barbara Rife

will be leading the devotions on March 30th and

Sister Janet Yoho will be leading on April 27th.

Bro. Freddy Dutton will be bringing the mes­

sage to our congregation on Sunday, March 13,

at 10:30 a.m. We look forward to what is sure

to be an inspiring message. Also on Sunday,

March 13, at 6:00 p.m. Sister Christi Baldwin

and the youth group will be having an Easter

Puppet Show. Please come out to join us!

A Women’s Tea will be held on Saturday, May

7th, from 2­4 p.m. at Madison Senior Living,

London, Ohio. We would love to have other

women join us for fellowship.

We ask for prayers for Sister Dottie Hix, wife

of our pastor, who will be having back surgery

on March 8th.

Please continue to pray for Redeemer as we

move forward in getting closer to the Lord and

learning how to better serve Him in our com­

munity.

Donald Hix, Pastor

Nena Dillon, Reporter

HERITAGE (CAPITAL CITY)

Hello from Heritage! What a cold winter sea­

son, but we are so thankful that God warms our

hearts!

We have enjoyed our 5th Upward Basketball

and Cheerleading season. It will soon be com­

ing to an end. It’s been great to get to know so

many new faces and we pray that the ministry

has in some way reached others for Christ. We

are looking forward to our Awards Ceremony

on March 9th. Church planter to Portsmouth,

VA/ former youth pastor, Kevin Bass will be

our guest speaker.

We have many special things coming up this

spring. Palm Sunday at 6pm, we will have an

Easter Drama and Choir Cantata Preview. We

will observe the Lord’s Supper on Maundy

Thursday service on March 24th at 7pm. Good

Friday, March 25th we will be showing the film

“The Passion of the Christ” at 6pm. Pastor Josh

has an Easter event planned for the children

Friday evening as well. You do not want to miss

this! Our Easter Sunrise Service will begin at

7am, followed by breakfast, Sunday School,

and our Easter worship service.

We are very excited about our upcoming

Couples Conference at Heritage April 1­2nd.

Our conference speakers are Dann and Brenda

Patrick. Homecoming Day will be April 24th

at 10am with Jim Marcum as our guest speak­

er.

We have Bible Study each Wednesday at 11am

& 7pm. Everyone is welcome! Keep praying

and working for souls to be added to the king­

dom of God!

Tim W. Stout, Pastor

Stephanie Wolfe, Reporter

URBANA (CENTRAL OHIO)

Greetings in the name of our Lord. We pray

that everyone is surviving the winter weather

and looking forward to the coming spring. God

has surely blessed us with a mild winter this

year. In January we had elections for the com­

ing year.

In honor of Valentine’s day, our youth of the

church treated all of the adults to a very deli­

cious meal with the intent of raising money for

youth activities. The meal was prepared and

served under the guidance of Tomi and Mike

Baldwin. They did a very fine job. After the

meal, the youth provided us with entertainment

consisting of a puppet show and various musi­

cal numbers. This was enjoyed by all who

attended and we are looking forward to the next

time.

Feb. 14th, for our evening service, we were

joined by Bro. Dave Nichole David, missionary

to the Philippines and Southeast Asia. We

enjoyed his presentation and continue to pay

and wish him well in his ministry.

We have many in our church family who have

been going through surgeries, illness and loss of

loved ones.. We ask that you keep them in your

prayers that God will touch them.

Trusting God may not make a mountain small­

er, but will make the climbing easier. We pray

you will be able to climb all your mountains

today and every day. Wishing you blessed days

ahead!

Grant Cordell, Pastor

Barbi Johnson, Reporter

SOUTH CHARLESTON (LITTLE MIAMI)

Once again it is a pleasure to report to the

Ambassador for the church in South Charleston,

is looking good. A few weeks back we had our

yearly business meeting. Everything went well.

Now we have a new pastor, Rev. Bert Alsept

and his wife Petie. Thank the Lord for them.

He is a good man of God. All other offices

remained the same. We had two take member­

ship.

We lost one sister, Alice Brooks, the wife of

the late Rev. Homer Brooks. She has moved to

Tennessee where she can be with her children

and grandchildren. We miss her at the church

and we pray she will have a happy life there.

Remember all the sick in the church, there are

so many. Pray that they will always stay true

and faithful and work for the upbuilding of our

church and Christ’s kingdom.

Bert Alsept, Pastor

Garnett S. Adams, Reporter

DEAN ROAD (NORTHERN OHIO)

Greetings to all our brothers and sisters in the

Lord.

Christmas seems like a dream and our New

Year is moving right along. He blessed us

through all the holidays with a wonderful

Christmas play that Sister Jennetta Davis put

together. We thank all that were involved in the

play. The ladies of the church put on a good

dinner for Christmas and they did great in the

dinner we just had for the Northern Ohio

Conference. One special sister we would like to

give honor to is Sister Debbie Hunt, who organ­

izes all our church dinners. Our church appre­

ciates all our sisters in the church for their work.

Sister April Thompson is working with the

young ladies of the church in getting things

ready for our Bible School, which will be June

27 to July 1st. All are welcome, and if you want

to donate your time or money to help them in

getting it ready, you may contact Bro. Darrel

Arnett, Superintendent. His cell number is 419

571 4497.

Our church is doing well thanks to the Lord.

So let’s pray for one another and for all the

churches that are trying to carry out the Lord’s

work.

Earl Tackett, Pastor

Darrel Arnett, Reporter

SUMMIT COMMUNITY

Greetings in the Lord from Summit

Community FWB Church.

Please pray for our church, as we have had

much illness and loved ones with cancer and

such.

We pray that everyone had a blessed Christmas

and Happy New Year. Now that winter is upon

us we are looking forward to spring, that we

may get out into the neighborhood and witness

for our Lord. We hope to see souls saved and

are looking forward to growing our church and

fellowship in Christ. Through the holidays God

blessed us to help eight poor and needy families

with $200.00 food baskets.

May God bless each of you as we work for

Him in spirit and truth.

God bless our nation and pray for Israel.

Rick Baker, Pastor

Irene Litton, Reporter

WESTERVILLE (FRANKLIN)

Our WWAC sponsored a cake decorating class

on Jan. 23rd, given by Lucie Patterson. On Feb.

6th we had a Valentine party for our church

family. Refreshments were served. A delight­

ful evening with fun, games and fellowship was

enjoyed by all.

Sunday, Jan. 31st was Youth Sunday. They

had charge of our morning worship service and

did a splendid job. The youth has been on a

weekend mission trip to Chicago, Ill. They

shared that with us. Jan. 30th they all went on

a snow tubing trip. Our youth are preparing for

a mission trip to El Salvador in 2016 and are

having fundraising events. They sold different

varieties of sub sandwiches recently. They had

a pancake breakfast on March 5th.

The OWAC cookbook sale is up and running.

Any lady who doesn’t have one is missing a real

treat.

Until next time, God bless everyone.

Paul Etterling, Pastor

Grace McKinster, Reporter

OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 4

Bethlehem Without Pastor

Blackfork Without Pastor

Cornerstone Bill Crank

Eifort Without Pastor

Fleming Avenue Without Pastor

Kent Without Pastor

Mount Hope Gary Selby

Old Kyger Without Pastor

Zaleski Mark Rood

Zion #3 Rich Bishop Resigns

PastorChanges

ChurchNews

Bro. Ovid "Butch" Trotter, 72, of Oak Hill,

went to be with his Heavenly Father January

28th. During his life, Butch served his country

by serving in the Air Force and Vietnam War; he

also served his community in the Police, Fire,

and EMS Services of Oak Hill. He retired from

the Village of Oak Hill, as the Superintendent of

Public Works and Holzer ER of Jackson. He

served as a Deacon at Oak Hill Free Will Baptist

Church. He leaves behind his beloved wife,

Phyllis Carter Trotter, of 54 wonderful years of

marriage; his two sons, David (Vicki) of South

Carolina and Brian of Oak Hill; three grand­

children, Joshua, Stephanie, and Patrick Trotter;

and his mother Helen V. Mitchell of South

Carolina. He is preceded in death by his father,

Thomas J. Trotter.

Services were held January 31st, at the funeral

home.

Sister Bonnie J. Meade,

age 75, of Grove City, went

home to be with her Lord

and Savior January 26th.

Bonnie was a loving and

caring wife, mother, and

grandmother that cherished

her time with her family.

Her love was often dis­

played through her hospitality, as everyone was

welcome in her home, especially at her kitchen

table. She was preceded in death by her parents

Tommy Gamble, and Mary Estep. She is sur­

vived by her loving and devoted husband of 46

years, Charlie Meade, daughters Wanda

(Anthony) Lindsay, Joyce Lockard, and Debbie

(Jim) Carney, son­in­law Mike Clark, eight

grandchildren, eight great grandchildren, and

many other family and loved ones.

Her funeral service was held February 1st at

the funeral home conducted by Pastor Mike

Sammons.

Bro. Edward Scott, 76, of

Akron, went home to be

with the Lord January 23rd.

He was born on October 9,

1939 in Pikeville, Kentucky

to the late Roy and Mollie

Scott. Ed retired from Ford

Motor Company with over

40 years of service and was

a member of the UAW. He attended both

Liberty FWB Church and True Vine Old

Regular Baptist Church. In his free time, he

enjoyed fishing with his family and friends.

Above all, Ed was devoted to his family. He

loved family get togethers and never missed his

grandchildren's events. In addition to his par­

ents, Ed was preceded in death by his brothers,

Paul, Charles, Ben, and Emmit Scott; sister,

Mona Scott; and daughter­in­law, Angie Scott.

He will be deeply missed by his loving wife of

51 years, Carlene Scott; children, Mike (Tracy)

Scott, Danny Scott, and Denna (Jon) Steiner;

sister­in­law, Shelby Scott; nine grandchildren;

eight great­grandchildren; many nieces,

nephews, relatives and friends.

His funeral services were held Jan. 30th with

Brother Dennis Elkins and Pastor Cecil Farmer

officiating.

Former FWB Missionary Dawn Sweeney, 57,

passed away after years of declining health on

January 5th in Nashville. She was a graduate of

Welch College, a former employee of FWB

International Missions and FWB Family

Ministries. In recent years she was plagued with

serious health issues and at the time of her death

had been diagnosed with both Parkinson’s and

fibromyalgia. She was preceded in death by her

parents Rev. and Mrs. Winston Sweeney of

Kingsport, TN and is survived by a brother

Winston Larry Sweeney.

A memorial service was conducted at Cross

Timbers Free Will Baptist Church January 12th.

Bro. Charles King a member of the Zaleski

Church passed away on Feb. 7th. He will be

sadly missed.

Bro. Jim Hayes 56 of

Columbus, Ohio formerly

of Louisa passed away Feb.

12th at Mt. Carmel East fol­

lowing a long illness. Jim

was born Feb. 5, 1960 in

Columbus, Ohio the son of

the late Rev. James Arthur

and Frankie Faye

Thompson Hayes. He was a mechanic and

attended the Hillview FWB Church. Survivors

include four daughters Heather Panjon and hus­

band Ramiro, Jayme Hayes, Shara Hayes, and

Kara Hayes all of Columbus, Ohio; five grand­

children Hayleigh, Hayden, Kilynn, Kaison,

and Landon; a sister Priscilla Hayes of Fort

Gay, WV, and a brother Rev. Bill Hayes and

wife Cheri of Delaware, Ohio.

Funeral services were held Feb. 15th at the

Louisa FWB Church with Rev. Bill Hayes and

Rev. Willie Gene Hayes officiating.

Bro. Tony Street, brother to Woodstock Pastor

Russell Street passed away on January 26th in

Kingsport, TN.

Bro. Gail Wesley Allen,

57, of Chillicothe, passed

away February 10th at

the Berger Hospice Care

Center in Circleville, fol­

lowing an extended bat­

tle with cancer. He was

born October 5, 1958, in

Oak Hill, Ohio, to the

late Roy Edward Allen

and Victoria Delores (Moore) Crabtree. On

August 14, 1993, he married Cheryl (Legg)

Allen, who survives. Also surviving are their

children, Shawn Allen, of Chillicothe, Jessica

Bateman­Nutt, and Michael Bateman, both of

Columbus; seven grandchildren, Jacob

Bateman­Madden, Cameron Madden, Michael

Jr. and Michelle Bateman, Wesley Allen, Layla

Bateman, and Jordin Bateman; three sisters,

Debbie (Dennis) Ramsey, Delores (Steve)

Steele, and Joyce (Tony) Murray, all of

Chillicothe; as well as numerous aunts, uncles,

nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends, including

his canine companion, Zac. In addition to his

parents, Gail was preceded in death by his step­

mother, Dorothy Allen; and his step­father,

Ernest Crabtree.

Gail was a member of the First Chillicothe

Free Will Baptist Church. He enjoyed playing

guitar and bowling.

Funeral services were held February 16th at

Haller Funeral Home with Pastor Mitch Salyers

officating.

Bro. Vineard “Bing”

Browning, a member

of the Reynoldsburg

Church passed away on

January 22nd. Bing

was born on November

20, 1956. He is sur­

vived by his wife

Kathleen, daughter

Angela and Mark

Pelfrey, grandchildren Kortnee, Natalee, Kaylee

and Jeremiah Pelfrey.

At the Reynoldsburg FWB Church he taught the

adult SS class, helped with Awana and was the

head trustee. He loved the Lord and was a very

caring man who helped everyone he touched.

His services were held January 30th at the

Reynoldsburg FWB Church with Pastor Jerry

Sargent officiating.

Bro. Bob Jones, 91 years old, was a past dea­

con and Sunday School Teacher for the teen

class at the Oak Hill Church. He went to heav­

en on Jan. 21st.

ZALESKI

We need to be busy sharing Jesus’ love to oth­

ers and winning them for Jesus. The time is

growing short before Jesus’ return. We need to

be busy about the Lord’s return. We need to be

busy about the Lord’s work. Continue to

remember Nancy Rood in prayer that the Lord

will continue to comfort and strengthen her. We

love her very much and she is very special to us.

We have elected Mark Rood as our new pas­

tor. We feel this is what Ferrell Rood would

have wanted. Bro. Mark had a wonderful time

at the men’s retreat and came back refreshed

and revived.

We have set aside the first Monday night of

each month as a fellowship get together. We had

our first one starting in February. A good time

was had by all.

We had a Valentine’s dinner Feb. 13th. There

was a lot of food, fun and fellowship. We had an

ordination ceremony for Nathan Broome Feb.

28th to be a deacon.

We will be having an Easter Sunrise Service

and breakfast before Sunday services.

Plans are being made for our VBS program to

be held June 6­10th. Our theme is “Ocean

Commotion” about Noah and the ark. Pray for

the children that come that we’ll be able to

touch their hearts with the lessons.

Have a blessed Easter and alway remember

Jesus and the cross. Remember the military

their families, the nation, our leaders and nurs­

ing home ministries in your prayers.

Tell someone you love them and really mean

it!

Mark Rood, Pastor

Linda McKibben, Reporter

OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 5

Condolences

The Family of Ferrell M. Rood

Would like to thank everyone forthe flowers, food, kindness andthoughtfulness during the death

of our husband, father and

grandfather.

Violet Maynard Family4th Annual Gospel Sing

(Donations accepted to benefit Reynoldsburg FWB Women Active for Christ Annual Women’s Retreat

Violet Maynard at 614­496­1618 (www.violetmaynard.com) or Reynoldsburg FWB at 614­861­2004

ZION #3

We try to have special singers each month at

Zion and dinners or special events are added to

keep the church interesting.

Bro. Rich Bishop, our pastor of many years

resigned in the summer. He has been battling a

very serious infection in his right foot for a cou­

ple of months. He needs everyone’s prayers. He

may have to have an amputation.

Chuck Phillips, Asst. Pastor

Vickie Mapes, Reporter

FAITH (CUYAHOGA­LORAIN)

We were richly blessed in 2015­to God be the

glory!

We are looking forward to a new year working

with a wonderful group of people who love the

Lord.

On Jan. 8­9th we attended a great conference

held at Unity FWB. We enjoyed the word and

fellowship.

We lost a friend, Jewell Hatfield Jan. 19th.

Pray for the family. On Jan. 27th Bro. Allen

Bates lost his battle to cancer. Do remember his

family as well.

On Feb. 7th Missionaries Edward and

Amanda Simmons were in our evening serv­

ice. They will be going to work in Kenya.

Bro. Sam Barker went home to be with the

Lord on Feb. 14th. In this there is good news.

All these years of him coming to church, he had

never been saved, but through this sickness he

accepted the Lord as his personal Saviour.

We’ve been blessed with some good messages

from our Pastor Lester McMahan, Bro. Dale

Channell and Bro. Bill Alford.

Bro. Mark Chapman sang for us in the morn­

ing service on March 6th.

Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always,and again I say, rejoice.”

Lester McMahan, Pastor

Geraldine McMahan, Reporter

FLEMING AVENUE (NORTHERN OHIO)

From the little red roof church in Lorain

Ohio.

Sometimes it’s so hard to know just where

God is taking things or to understand why

things are going the way they do. We have been

having a hard time with how things are going,

but we have learned to take one day at a time,

trust in God.

We’re getting some wonderful preachers but

we need a pastor to lead us and to keep us out of

Satan clutches. God is working. We have had

about five to raise their hands for prayer.

Darlene Baker’s mother, Eleanor M Adams, a

member of our church had been in the hospital

since December 28th and she passed away on

February 26th. Do pray for the family. It would

be much appreciated.

Your brothers and sisters at Fleming Ave.

Darlene Baker, Reporter

LOCKBOURNE (TRINITY)

Greetings from Lockbourne FWB. We’re

excited to report that our ladies fellowship

recently made care packages for our soldiers

who are fighting to protect our country. This

was a blessed time as we gathered together to

package items that will be useful to them while

they are away serving our country.

We send our love and prayers to Garret and

Sherman Fields and their families in the loss of

their mother, Oma Fields. For some time now,

we have watched as her wonderful family took

such good care of her and we send our love and

prayers to each of them during this time of loss.

What a wonderful testimony she leaves of her

love for the Lord and her family.

We had a beautiful day at church on

Valentine’s Day. We invited family and friends

that we love and the church was full with those

“precious people” that mean so much to us. It

is our hearts’ desire to see our loved ones come

to know the Lord. We are grateful that seeds

were planted through our guest minister Rev.

Dave Heavener and through inspirational

songs by the Spiritual Echoes. Thanks to

Beulah Lawson and her entire team for the won­

derful lunch they prepared and for the beautiful

decorations.

A big thanks to Jeb Cain and Tad Miller and

supporting cast who recently sponsored a youth

event called “Race Day”. We appreciate those

who are willing to work with our youth for they

are the church of tomorrow. Please pray for us

at Lockbourne as we labor together in the Lord.

Leon Stevens, Pastor

Janelle Sagraves, Reporter

NEW HOPE (CORNERSTONE)

Sending greetings to all of you, trusting God is

blessing. He has been so good to us. We got

through all the snow and looking forward to

spring.

We had a Valentine's Day dinner after church

on Sunday, Feb. 14th. We had such a good time

of fun and fellowship with each other.

We are planning our Sunrise service on March

27th at 6:30 a.m., with Rev. Lee Aldridge

preaching.

Until next time, just keep on keeping on for

Jesus.

Wendell F. Combs, Pastor

Linda Combs, Reporter

UNITED (CAPITAL CITY)

Greetings to our friends from United FWB

Church in Massillon, Ohio.

God has been so good to us. Our little church

is growing with visitors continuing to show up

and new members joining the church. We have

started a building fund this year in our budget,

for our church is expanding. We have not decid­

ed what that means, a new building, leasing of a

building or expansion of the existing one, but

we are heeding God’s call to get prepared for

whatever He has in store for us.

In January we had “A Pal and a Pot of Soup

Day Sunday” which we fellowshipped after

service with our friends and visitors. We had

several different types of soups along with corn­

bread, bread and desserts.

We also had our Pizza Prayer and Movie night

which is the third Saturday of every odd month.

This past event we showed, “War Room”,

which we highly recommend to our fellow

churches. As always we had a great time with

this ministry headed by Dennis and Kelly Clay.

February the children sang their love songs to

Jesus during the church hour on Valentine’s

Day. We had a Valentine Fundraiser Banquet at

the North Lawrence Fire Department on Feb.

20th which consisted of a lasagna dinner,

singing by the Shepherd Family from Canaan

FWB in Creston Ohio, a photo booth and the

Movie “Old Fashioned”. This fundraiser was

put on by the ladies auxiliary and they did a fan­

tastic job.

We are looking forward to spring and our

Easter Service along with our Spring Jubilee, an

outside service being planned for the last

Sunday in April.

We love and pray for all of our sister churches.

Christ the Lord is Risen Today; He is alive

Hallelujah!

Randall Keffer, Pastor

Faye Gray, Reporter

OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 6

The following singers and singinggroups are available to come and sing in

your church for revivals or special services.

Baldwin Family Bluegrass Singers, Rosedale, Call Chuck Baldwin (937) 926-3177 Baldwin777@roadrunner.comBobby Siders, Columbus, (Southern Gospel) (614) 778-9250Born Again Gospel Singers, Harry or Irene Litton (740) 927-5319 Cross Pointe Trio, Lancaster, Call Bill Pitts (740) 438-7750wpitts@columbus.rr.com www.crosspointetrio.comDavid Giddens, Marysville, (937) 642-2121 jgiddens@urec.netDay 3, Scott & Sheri Noel (740) 574-6635 sdnoel07@yahoo.comEnabling Grace, Woodstock, (Country and Bluegrass Gospel) Call JimHoward at (937) 325-2787Faith Gospel & Contemporary Christian Music, Sidney, Call Pam Moorman(937) 492-1059 ladypam@bright.netFaith in Action, Marion, Call Marjorie Abrams at (740) 383-5405 or PleasantHill FWB, (740) 363-5295 Attention: Marjorie Abrams or Bob Chaffin or emailsonglady_99@yahoo.comGod's Ambassadors, Gahanna, Call Judy Spires (614) 475-4689Gospel Ambassadors, Rittman, Call Greg Marcum (330) 927-9057 Ethan Hutchinson, Somerset, (740) 892-4001 www.ethanhutchinsonofficial.com/fr_home.cfmJerry Branscomb, Chillicothe, (740) 637-1228Just Forgiven Singing Ministries, Dayton, (Southern Gospel) (937) 280-3840 or(614) 309-2512Headed Home-Singing For The Lord, Oak Hill, Call Jim Evans (740) 682-6109or Robert Gamble (740) 682-0042Lord Willing, Wellston, (740) 418-9992, lovdaisynewf@gmail.comMike Blanton & Evidence, Grove City, (614) 871-2795Mike Kisling, Hillsboro, (937) 393-2084Nina Nash, Leesburg, (Southern Gospel Sound Tracks)(937) 780-6865gnash2@cinci.rr.comOunce of Hope, Delaware, (Southern Gospel) (740) 363-4576Paul James Sound, Columbus, (614) 668-8916 paul@pauljamessound.comWebsite: www..pauljamessound.comRob Goodman, Newark, (740) 345-3233Rowena and George Walker, Dayton, (937) 258-8317Searching Lights, Galloway, (614) 878-6784Stacy Edwards, Hilliard, (614) 604-4126, (614) 319-4399stacy@stacyedwards.com Website: www.stacyedwards.comSteve Russell, Marengo, (740) 972-6729 steverussell@muscian.netSword Family, Middleburg Heights, (440) 747-7436.Terry Collins & Victory, Hillsboro, (937) 840-9808 The Family of God, Logan, Call Steve E. Gross (740) 603-1583The Hambys, Dublin, (Southern Gospel) (614) 873-1215The Spiritual Echoes, Circleville, Call Rick Moore (614) 595- 9776 or DeloresMoore (614) 491-9502Violet Maynard, Columbus, (614) 759-7486 violet@violetmaynard.comUndivided, Grove City, Call Mike or Sheri France (614) 352-3368Undivided96@aol.com

If you would like your group to be included, please send me your group name, what localFWB Church you are a member of, your address, and phone number. I will add you the list in

the next issue of the Ambassador.

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NORTHRIDGE

Greetings from Northridge FWB Church.

We have a lot going on here at the church. We

have two new assistant pastors, Steve Nickels

and Josh Branscomb, to help out our pastor,

Tim Hamilton. We also have new youth lead­

ers – Ryan and Kacee Rose and have set four

young men aside as deacons, Tommy Johnston,

Dwayne Nickels, Nathan Prather, and Norm

Waddle.

We had a glorious service January 24th. We

had one soul saved, one re­dedication, and 13

people joined the church! The Spirit came in a

mighty way and took charge of the service. We

are excited about celebrating Easter this month

and rejoicing about Christ’s victory over death,

hell and the grave. Also, we have one of our

ministers in the church, Mark Bradley, going

to Israel on a week­long mission trip this month.

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not allhis benefits:” Psalm 103:2

Please continue to pray for Carl, Teresa, Justin,

and Curtis Poynter, who will be coming home

from Haiti in a couple of months. Also, please

pray for Mark Bradley that God would bless

him on his mission trip to Israel.

We are praying for God to bless our future

events: March 20th, communion and feetwash­

ing; March 26th, Sunday School Easter

Party/Egg Hunt and March 27th, Easter Sunrise

Service

Please tune in to our weekly radio ministry on

Sunday at 2:30 p.m. (Station WGNZ 1110 AM)

Please join us in service on our church web

page–www.northridgefwbc.org and click on

live streaming

In His service.

Tim Hamilton, Pastor

Corky Coomes, Reporter

FIRST CHILLICOTHE

(SOUTH CENTRAL)

Hello from First FWB Church, in Chillicothe!

We are glad to be able to be reporting to you.

In January our church had the privilege of

hearing Dave Stiffler sing for us. He is the

cousin to one of our deacons, Larry Gilliland.

He is a fantastic singer and we were very

pleased that he came sang for us.

The snow came but with it came Valentine’s

Day. We took the time to remember that Christ

love for us is so great that, “while we were yetsinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, KJV).

There is no love greater than His.

Also in February our church hosted the South

Central Conference. Victory River came and

sang for us. It was a blessing to hear them sing.

Afterward we ate and fellowshipped with each

other.

Our church is involved in helping Elizabeth’s

Hope and we participated in the baby bottle

campaign. Our pastor, Mitch Salyers and our

youth pastor, Chris Gray, volunteered to take a

pie in the face if the goal we set was met. We

surpassed the goal. We look forward to seeing

them take the pie in face. We would also like to

thank them for doing this and for all those that

participated.

Please pray for the church members who have

lost loved ones recently and for those that are

still battling illnesses.

We look forward to Easter and the remem­

brance of the ultimate sacrifice that Christ gave

for the whole world.

Until next time, God bless!

Mitch Salyers, Pastor

Shana McGoye, Reporter

SOUTHWEST (CAPITAL CITY)

We send greetings trusting God is blessing our

churches throughout the state. We have entitled

the new year as “Staying Clean in 2016” It has

been a blessing to hear the messages from

Pastor John and other ministers in our church

family through the month of January and

February to help promote our theme for this

year.

As we head into March and its activities, we

would like to offer congratulations on Pastor

John’s 41st preaching anniversary February

17th. He also celebrated his 28th anniversary as

our pastor Feb. 28th.

Saturday evening, March 19th we will be cel­

ebrating Edith Chandler’s 100th birthday. She is

the oldest member of our church family.

We follow that activity with our Spring

Revival (March 20th ­25th) with evangelist

David Epps. Our Sunday School program will

have its annual Easter Egg Hunt Saturday morn­

ing March 26th. We always look forward to our

Easter Sunrise Service Sunday morning, the

27th at 7­AM which will be followed by break­

fast in the fellowship hall. We close the day with

our Easter Service at 11AM. We trust God will

bless all of our churches and us as we “Continue

on the move for Christ.”

John Meade, Pastor

Lee Gamble, Reporter

MOUNT CALVARY (LAWRENCE)

We are so blessed with preachers who care

more about pleasing God than pleasing people.

Some people may want preachers who will tell

them anything they want to hear. But at Mount

Calvary, we want and have preachers that have

been called by God and preach the message that

God sends. So if you’re a preacher and need

encouragement, keep on preaching it no matter

how hot or hard the message may be, because

there are some that are not satisfied with any­

thing else.

As we approach the Easter season, we are

thankful for what Jesus Christ did on the cross

to save our souls. He bore the pain, suffering,

and agony so we could spend eternity with Him.

There has never been and never will be any

greater love than the love that God has for us.

Ronnie Blagg, Pastor

Nicky Sprouse, Reporter

GOOD HOPE (CUYAHOGA­LORAIN)

Greeting from the Good Hope Church We are

looking forward to spring and warmer weather,

although this has not been a hard winter.

We enjoyed the conference in January and

looking forward to April when it will be at our

church. Several in the church have been in the

hospital these last few weeks. They are missed

when they are unable to attend church.

We had a pizza party for our young people in

Feb. We appreciate the young people we have.

We have singing night on the last Sunday of

the month and the young people open the serv­

ice. They do a great job. We will be having an

egg hunt for them for Easter. We will be having

a communion and feetwashing service in

March. We have a project which we call The

“Thirty Pieces Of Silver Program.” The money

collected will go to the children’s home.

To everyone a happy Easter and may God

bless.

Jason Keith, Pastor

Mary Diamond, Reporter

GRACE

Hello from Grace FWB Church in Bedford.

We hope is well with our fellow church friends.

The Lord is blessing our church. Young

Christians, Bro. Nick and Sis. Brittany are

doing so well. We are proud of both. They are a

blessing to us. Please pray for them as they go

to school and let their lights shine.

Please pray for our lost and sick. Pray for our

Pastor Bro. Ed Purdy and his wife Sis. Linda

for their health and leadership of the church. We

are blessed to have them both.

We have many sick who need prayer. Sis.

Kathy is still recovering from neck surgery. Sis.

Wanda is recovering from surgery. Bro.

Dewayne has arthritis. Sis. Elaine will be hav­

ing surgery in April. Remember Bro. Jake, Sis.

Margaret, Bro. Bill and Bro. Art. We can all use

prayers. I think we all truly need to pray for our

country and our leaders. America need to get

back to God.

We thank the Lord for all our blessings and

guidance. Our young people love to sing prais­

es to the Lord and testify of God’s blessings. We

are also thankful for Bro. Jake Grimes. He is

such a great example. We are blessed with Bro.

Dewayne Booth as our SS teacher and Bro. Ed

Purdy to guide us and preach the word to us.

Spring and the Easter season is upon us. Let’s

remember the true meaning of Easter, what the

Lord did for us by giving His life so we could

have eternal live. Remember also the miracle of

the resurrection as He rose as He promised. We

pray that those who make their annual visit to

church on Easter will listen to God’s word and

a seed will be planted in their hearts. As our pas­

tor says, “As long as they are still breathing,

there is still hope for them to be saved.

We welcome you to worship with us. Sunday

School is a 10am and worship at 11:15am.

God bless you all. Thanks for your prayers.

Ed Purdy, Pastor

Elaine Booth, Reporter

OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 7

WOODSTOCK (CENTRAL OHIO)

As I write this we are preparing for revival, as

you read this we will be in revival. Revival will

be March 1 through March 13th. We will be

having various ministers and singers each night.

On March 11 and 12 we will be having

Eleventh Hour to sing. All services are 7pm

except on Sundays at 6pm.

I am filling in for Sister Pat Cordell until she is

feeling better. Please pray for Sis. Pat. She

became ill back in November and has had a few

hospital stays and is now recuperating at

Vancrest in Urbana. Doctors were amazed that

she is still with us. God wasn't through with her

here on earth and saw that we all still needed her

here. We sure do miss her in services. Also

remember her husband in prayer. Bro. Leonard

is a faithful servant of the Lord. We also have a

couple of gentlemen that have cancer and need

prayer.

In January our pastor's brother, Tony, passed

away. Remember his family in prayer.

Bro. Mike and Sis. Melanie Dowell led the

youth in a Christmas program. The ladies have

been busy with a War Room Bible Study, a

Super Bowl Sub Sale and Dinner and Movie

night.

We've had several saved and seven baptized,

and four join church.

We need to be praying for all our country's

leaders and upcoming election that they will

turn to God. Until next time or the Lord comes

back, God bless each and every one of you.

Russell Street, Pastor

Virginia Jones, Interim Reporter

VICTORY (CAPITAL CITY)

Happy New Year, 2016, from Victory Church.

Since every new year usually begins with reso­

lutions, my prayer is that we have made the

most important one; to be more dedicated to the

work of the Lord, because, "He which hathbegun a good work in you will perform it untilthe day of Jesus Christ." Phil. 1:6. We are pray­

ing for a revival in April. Also in April,

Michael and Brooke Gillen are planning a mis­

sion trip to the Philippines. Please remember

them in prayer.

May 21st, the Capital City Conference will be

hosted by Victory Church this year. Everyone is

welcome.

Until next report, have a wonderful Easter on

March 20th, as we celebrate the resurrection of

our Savior.

Jim Thompson, Pastor

Jean Holmes, Reporter

PETREA

As we at Petrea Church pause to thank the

Lord for all His goodness. Our hearts are full

realizing that every step we take God leads the

way.

The weather has been something of a chal­

lenge but with good common sense and trust in

God we are stronger people knowing that we

can trust in God for His keeping power.

Spring will be here soon with flowers and trees

springing to life. The beauty is breathtaking, a

little insight of Heaven.

Petrea church people are still holding on to the

power of prayer. We are still holding on to His

unchanging hand.

Our church has gone through a lot of stops and

starts. We believe God is in control. We take

each day at a time. We can do all things with

help from the Lord.

Pray for us as we pray for you that God will

give increase not only in number but also in

people coming forth to be saved.

Arthur Robinson, Pastor

Jacqueline Wyatt, Reporter

WELLINGTON (CUYAHOGA­LORAIN)

Hello from the Wellington FWB Church. O n

March 13th Mark Chapman will sing, March

20th (Palm Sunday) a communion service, Rev.

J.D. Webb will preach the Sunrise Easter serv­

ice, and the Alley Family Bluegrass Gospel

singers will perform April 10th. So much to

look forward to as spring arrives and churches

celebrate the miraculous resurrection of our

Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

As February came to a close, Rev. Edwin

Hayes taught the adult SS lesson and preached.

He gave all listening great reminding from the

Bible about what we should do when we do not

know what to do. His message came from 2

Chronicles 20.

Feb. 28th we welcomed four new members to

the congregation: Rose Burns, Marie and

Russell Lovett, and Angelo Benviscuito. We

are all so happy to see the membership increase,

as Pastor Eddie Kennedy commented, it shows

the good health of our church to have a broad

range of ages in new members. Rev. Ed and

Gloria Kennedy celebrated their 49th wedding

anniversary and Pastor Eddie and Missy

Kennedy celebrated their 25th wedding

anniversary in the month of February. There is

no shortage of LOVE in our church!

Rev. Willie Bias preached the Jan. 24th serv­

ice. Pastor Eddie Kennedy Jr. continues to

educate the Wednesday evening scholars about

a variety of topics: whether or not Christians

should own guns; what are Gentiles compared

to Jews. Our Sunday morning worship services

are such a blessing to attend; we would love it if

you would come to visit sometime.

When you pray please remember the follow­

ing: our pastor, Paul Dutton, Mary Meyers, the

youth of all churches, all the unspoken prayer

requests, and for the sick everywhere. In Jesus’

name, we ask, Amen.

Eddie Kennedy Jr., Pastor

Margaret DeWitt, Reporter

SWAUGER VALLEY (PINE CREEK)

Our God is so good, so strong and so

mighty……. there’s nothing our God cannot

do…..

We are trusting and looking for our God to do

mighty and great things as we all labor in our

corner of the field at Swauger Valley. The

blessings of God, whether large or small in

man’s eyes are truly all big and important to the

Lord. We are looking for a mighty move of God

every day and especially in the lives of our fam­

ilies and community.

Join us for Revival at 7:00pm nightly March

14­18th with Mike McCoy preaching. Special

singing each service by 11th Hour on Monday

14th and Tuesday 15th, the Lore Family

Wednesday 16th, the Swauger Valley Quartet

Thursday 17th and the Joyaires Friday 18th.

We had a record number in attendance at our

bimonthly senior luncheon in February and look

for even more to join us at the upcoming one

that will be held on Friday, April 1st at

12:30pm. This is free to the community and we

hope to see those who live nearby to join us.

Mike Simpson, Pastor

Laura Simpson, Reporter

MCGUFFEY (NORTH & WESTERN)

“This is the day which the Lord hath made. Wewill rejoice and be glad in it.” Ps. 118:24

Greetings from the McGuffey FWB Church.

We certainly rejoice in such a mild winter! The

church is saddened by the passing of our former

pastor, Brother Clarence H. Tolliver, but also

rejoice with him to be at home with our Lord

and Saviour.

We rejoice every Sunday because we learn

something from our pastor’s preaching. And we

are thankful for church where love abound and

all are welcome.

We are looking forward to Brother Freddy

Dutton and his lovely wife Terry being with us

March 20th. We are responding to his challenge

to get the lost people to come to church that day.

A great time surely will be had by all.

David J. Trusty, Pastor

Sue Smith, Reporter

MADISON (PORTER)

Greetings from Madison.

We are so thankful for the many blessings the

Lord has given. We were blessed beyond meas­

ure recently when Sister Tammy Martin gave

her heart to the Lord in our evening services.

What a wonderful God we serve.

We are having our Sunrise Service at 6:30 am

on March 27th. Brother Alex Bloom will be

bringing the message that morning.

That evening there will be a feetwashing and

communion service. Everyone is invited to

attend.

We have several people with health issues that

we request prayer for. Remember our deacons

Bro. Lou Martin and Bro. Gary Martin.

Remember our pastor Bro. Rodney Evans.

God bless you all.

Rodney Evans, Pastor

Janet Potts, Reporter

OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 8

The following ministers are available to fill the pulpitfor pastors who have to be away from their church.Many are interested in conducting revivals as well.

Bill Alford, 20864 Rudy Dr. Strongsville, Oh 44149 (440) 572-1614Lee Aldridge 35180 SR 327, Londonderry, Oh 45647 (740) 887-4065Anthony “Tony” W. Blackburn Mechanicsburg, Oh (614) 623-0031Mike Blanton, 6826 Ridpath Road, Grove City, Oh (614) 871-2795Larry Brown, 6530 Gregg Mill Road, London, Oh 43140 (740) 852-0586Ronnie Blagg, 248 Twp. Road 1100, Pedro, Oh 45659 (740) 643-0540Patrick Blevins, 12837 Basil Road, Baltimore, Oh 43105 (740) 407-9446Mike Boggs, 4411 McDowell Road, Grove City, Oh 43123 (614) 871-5666Chad Booth, 208 E. Washington Street, Ashland, Oh 44805 (330) 715-8403Ron Brown, 5478 Riber Rd. Hillsboro, Oh 45133 (937) 402-4452Phil Chapman, 7329 Greenleaf Ave. Parma, Oh 44130 (440) 334-7188Taylor Cantrell, 374 W. Harding Road, Springfield, Oh 45504 (937) 342-0491Roger Childers, 6555 US HWY 68S Apt. 208D, W. Liberty, OH 43357 (937) 869-4890Herman Copley, 1271 Lewis Road, Mansfield, Oh 44906 (419) 529-5923Andrew Cordell, 418 West 7th Street, Marysville, Oh 43040 (937) 215-4037Roger Crusie, 335 ½ N. 4th Street, Greenfield, Oh 45123 (937) 981-3529Brandon DePriest, 361 TWP Rd 41 N, Pedro, Oh 45659 (740) 532-3878Luther Dingess, 1680 Paddle Ck. Road, Fort Gay, WV 25514 (304) 648-5901Freddy Dutton, 1700 Hale Court, Columbus, Oh 43228 (614) 276-0200Clyde Eldridge, 415 Patterson Street, Fairborn, Oh 45324 (937) 873-8231Michael Ellis, 575 Harland Drive, Columbus, Oh 43207 (614) 917-7309James England, 5138 N. High Street, # 119, Cols. Oh 43214 (614) 846-6654Larry French, 76 Skyline Drive, Ashville, Oh 43103 (740) 983-0316Ben Gibson, 1126 Cheyenne Ave. Springfield Oh 45503 (937) 399-2738Packy Gibson, 7029 Fields Lane, Hillsboro, Oh 45133 (937) 393-2730Randy Hall, 12024 Lake Front Drive, Hillsboro, Oh 45133 (937) 365-1657Edwin Hayes, 7554 Slate Ridge Blvd. Reynoldsburg, Oh 43068 (614) 751-1190Carl Jenkins, 2809 Searsdale Ave. Cleveland, Oh 44109 (216) 351-2475James Johnson, 55 1/2 S. First Street, Rittman, Oh 44270 (330) 331-6088Jason Jones, 620 Watkins Glen Blvd. Marysville, Oh 43040 (937) 241-1622William Jones, 500 Buckeye Street, Marysville, Oh 43040 (937) 594-1331Paul Keener, 703 Andrew Ave. Westerville, Oh 43081 (614) 891-4382Robert Legg, 330 Winding Ridge Drive, Dayton, Oh 45415 (937) 648-9600Alton Loveless, 1006 Rayme Drive, Columbus, Oh 43207 (573) 330-7728Wayne Mays, 777 N. Drexel Ave. Hilliard, Oh 43019 (614) 607-0634Tom Murphy, 229 Victorian Drive, Commercial Pt, Oh 43116 (614) 218-5435Tom Spradlin, Portsmouth, Oh (FWB Family Ministries-Rep) (740) 776-6677Alex Stevens, 2002 East Main Street, Greenup, KY 41144 (606) 473-5417Talo Teo, 828 Federal Ave. Zanesville, Oh 43701 (740) 453-6037Bill Turner, 150 Willard Ave. Carlisle, Oh 45005 (513) 746-5866Tim Updike, 22661 SR 93, Wellston, Oh 45692 (740) 384-3277Dan Widdig, 1496 Caldwell Road, Lucasville, Oh 45648 (740) 259-5160Josh Young, 7227 E. Main Street, South Solon, Oh 43153 (937) 829-1723

Available FWBMinisters

Co-op Supports ALLOur Ministries!

A New Year . . . A New Thermometer

Hopefully by now you have been able to watch

the DVD we sent out and you have had an

opportunity to pray about how you or your

church or business can be a part of the “Miracle

on 34th Street..”

In this video you have seen a variety of the

people that call Flagship FWB Church home.

Although these individuals come from different

backgrounds and different walks of life, they all

have one thing in common . . . They are pre­

cious souls for whom Christ died. God in His

providence allowed them to cross paths with the

ministry of Flagship and we are excited about

what the future holds for their life and for ours.

Please continue to pray for us and the need we

have to build. We are trusting God’s timing and

God’s provision. Pray that in the meantime we

will be dependent upon His wisdom about how

to best move forward and help our people to be

discipled and growing in their faith.

As you can see from the thermometer to your

left He has already provided about $32,000!

Twelve men from Flagship Church left Erie

and took the 3 1/2 hour drive to Marengo, OH

for the annual Ohio FWB Men’s Retreat. We

heard inspiring and challenging messages from

retired FWB Army Chaplain Kerry Steedley as

well as Director of Church Revitalization, Jim

McComas. The highlight of every year is our

praise and prayer time as our church shared

from our heart and prayed for one another! We

are already excited about next year. Pray for our

men and the future leaders of Flagship!

OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 9

Daryl GrimesFamily

Missionaries to Erie,PA

Speakers for NYC AnnouncedVertical Three (a ministry of Randall House) announces the

speakers for the 2016 Free Will Baptist National Youth

Conference in Kansas City, Missouri. Ryan Akers, Aaron

Pontious, Axis, and Allen Pointer will speak on topics

relating to faith and culture and how to be transformed by

God’s word. The National Youth Conference theme is Transform, inspired by Romans 12:2.

Theme graphics can be found at verticalthree.com.

On Tuesday night following the youth service I Am They will be performing a ticketed concert.

Based in Carson City, Nevada the band has roots as a worship team. The name I Am They is

inspired by Christ’s prayer in John 17 when He refers to his disciples as “they.” To hear I Am

They visit iamtheyband.com. Tickets can be purchased during pre­registration for the Free Will

Baptist National Convention for $10 or on­site at the Vertical Three Store for $12.

Truth & Peace to Host Largest Conference EverThe 32nd Truth and Peace Student Leadership Conference will host its largest conference of stu­

dents in history with 129 students from 20 states and 2 countries. Truth and Peace will meet on

the campus of Hillsdale College in Moore, Oklahoma for training before traveling to Kansas City,

Missouri, where they will serve as support staff for the National Youth Conference.

The Truth and Peace Conference equips students to grow as leaders in their church, school, and

community. Truth and Peace students have graduated to become teachers, business leaders, and

ministry leaders across the nation and around the world.

Student Ministers invited to The GATHERINGThe ENGAGE Leadership Network will be hosting two locations for The GATHERING this year.

The Gathering Orlando will be held April 4–6, and the Nashville Gathering will be held April

25–27.

The Gathering is a two­part event with the first part of the event called the Youth Pastor Summit

provided by Student Leadership University (SLU). This free conference includes keynote ses­

sions, worship, breakout sessions, and more. After the SLU portion of the week, Randall House

and the ENGAGE Leadership Network provide time and space for Free Will Baptist youth minis­

ters to connect and share about what God is doing in their ministries. There is no registration cost

and the only expense would be travel, lodging, and food. Please register online at engagelead­

ers.net/events.

Jeremy and Beth Thomas to lead YET Tour in 2016Jeremy and Beth Thomas from Owasso, Oklahoma have been named as the directors of the

2016 National Youth Evangelistic Team (YET). Jeremy is the pastor of worship arts at Rejoice

Church in Owasso, OK. Beth is a preschool teacher at Rejoice Christian School in Owasso. The

couple will oversee training and ministry tour schedule for YET as they travel to Churches in the

American Mid­South.

“We are truly excited about the great opportunity to work with YET this year,” Jeremy said.

Jeremy and Beth attended Welch College where they were able to travel with several of the trav­

eling music groups. After graduating from Welch College, Jeremy spent time as pastor of worship

arts in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Greenville, North Carolina, before moving to Oklahoma.

Jeremy and Beth have worked with music groups of all ages throughout their fifteen­year min­

istry. They enjoy working with students and have a passion to train them to use and develop their

God given gifts to glorify God.

“We are thankful to have a couple with the combined ministry and music experience that Jeremy

and Beth have to lead YET tour this year,” said Brandon Roysden, director of Vertical Three for

Randall House. The couple will be building relationships with the students immediately as they

work to develop a tour program for the team before they meet for training on the campus of

Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College and travel to North American Ministries churches and other

ministries in the American Mid­South this summer.

YET is a 13­member group of high school students from across the Free Will Baptist denomina­

tion who are selected from participants in the Music and Arts categories during the FWB National

Youth Conference. The 2016 YET Tour will meet on the campus of Hillsdale College for a week

of intense training before they travel to Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Oklahoma for tour.

The 13 students come from nine states across the nation.

For more information about YET and other Vertical Three ministries of Randall House, visit

www.verticalthree.com.

Attention: Ambassador Reporters

DEADLINE FOR NEXT ISSUE!!!!The deadline for the May-June

Issue will be Noon, May 1st

NYC

News

OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 10

FREDDY DUTTON MINISTRIES

“Holding Forth The Word of Life”

1700 Hale CourtColumbus, Ohio 43228

614/276-0200 or 614/738-0683email: Reverenddutton@aol.com

Since the New Year began, we have been enjoying the wonderful blessings from the Lord!We have been privileged to be with eight churches since the beginning of the year. TheLord has truly blessed and we have seen many individuals respond during the altar servic-es. The Lord is working in unique and special ways during these times of being together!We are so grateful for the Lord's wonderful presence during our time together.

We were privileged to be with Pastor Richard Burns and the Hillsboro FWB Church fortheir annual "Evangelist Day"! This day at Hillsboro is always a special and memorableday for us with a delicious dinner following the morning service. Pastor Burns and theHillsboro Church has made this day possible now for the past 13 years.

We are excited and prayerfully looking forward to the upcoming "Easter and SpringSeason"! Please pray for us as we travel and spread "The Word" through evangelism! Wewould love to be with you in services!

UPCOMING TENTATIVE SCHEDULEMarch 13 Redeemer FWB Church London, OhioMarch 20 McGuffey FWB Church McGuffey, OhioMarch 27 (Sunrise Service) Southwest FWB Church Columbus, OhioMarch 27 (Easter Service) Edison Enterprise Baptist Church Edison, Ohio

For Revivals, Conferences, Homecoming and other special services,please contact me at the above address.

Are you receiving the

If you like to begin receiving all the Ohio FWBNews, just send your email address to

ehayes@ambassadorbible.com

800/726­1290

A Preview of the 78th Session of the Ohio State Association

Friday MorningHeritage FWB Church in Columbus, pastored by Dr. Tim Stout will be hosting this

year’s State Meeting June 24­25th.

Rev. Mark Price, pastor of the Porter FWB Church will be fulfilling his eighth term as

Moderator, and will be opening our 78th session on Friday morning, June 24th.

Unity Pastor Eugene Crouch from Middleburg Heights will provide the special singing

in the Friday morning session.

First Chillicothe FWB Pastor Rev. Mitch Salyers will be bringing the Friday morning

message from the theme “The Ten Commandments Today.” The Friday morning mes­

sage is on the subject, "The Ten Commandments Introduce God to Men.”Mitch was saved in 1986 at the New Hope FWB Church in Chillicothe during a home­

coming service when Clifford Ball was preaching. He was called to preach in 1997

while at the Ohio Men’s Retreat in Shreve, Ohio. He was licensed to preach in 1998 and

then ordained in 2000 by the Cornerstone Conference. In 2000 he began pastoring the

First Free Will Baptist Church in Chillicothe, Ohio where he pastors presently. He is the

clerk on the Ohio Board of Directors and has led the music at the Ohio Men’s Retreat.

Mitch has been married for 33 years to his wife Rebecca. They raised three children,

Courtney, Megan and Cody. They also have two grandchildren, Drake and Chloe.

The Ohio Women Active for Christ will be provid-ing lunch on Friday on a free will offering basis.

Plan to spend the day with us.Friday Afternoon

The Friday afternoon devotion will be given by Shelby FWB Pastor, Rev. Matt Pond.

Friday EveningThe Friday evening service will be led by Assistant Moderator Tom Dooley. The

Shepherd Family from the Canaan FWB Church in Creston, Ohio will be providing the

special music. We are planning to receive the annual Friday Night Offering for Ohio State

Ministries.

Dr. David Crowe, General Director of North American Ministries is scheduled to

preach on the subject, “The Ten Commandments Benefit Men.”

David Crowe has a unique perspective as to who we are as Free Will Baptists. He has

a working knowledge of our history and a comprehensive understanding of our mission

of communicating the gospel and making disciples. David has served with Home

Missions for a total of eighteen years, serving as director of Missionary Assistance,

Church Growth, and Development respectively. He loves our church planters and prays

for their success every day. Brother David is loved by our pastors and people across

America. He has preached in more than 1200 Free Will Baptist churches and on the cam­

pus of all five FWB colleges. Now serving as executive director, it is his desire to do

whatever is necessary to help our pastors succeed in the tasks to which the Lord has called

them.

Saturday MorningOn Saturday morning Pastor Mike Martin, of the Calvary FWB Church in Ravenna will

bring the devotion.

The Welch College from the Nashville, TN. will provide the special singing.

Pastor Del Wallace, of the Forest Valley FWB Church in Springfield will then preach

the final message, “The Ten Commandments Point Men to Christ.”Bro. Del became the pastor of the Forest Valley FWB Church May 18, 2008. Prior to

coming to Forest Valley, he served the Urbana FWB Church as youth leader for five years

and later as assistant pastor.

In October, 2009 Pastor Del led the church into a building program and Nov. 11, 2012

the had their opening and dedication service for the new facility.

Del was saved at the age of 9. He answered the call to preach on Sept. 4, 1994 and was

ordained Nov. 2, 1996.

He and his wife Shonda have two children, Ashley and Macy.

Bro. David Chamberlin from the Porter Church will be leading the music and Sister

Deena Armstrong, also from Porter will be the pianist.

Please mark your calenders and plan to attend our annual State Meeting. Come prepared

to be a blessing and to be blessed by attending. See you in June!

OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 11

Ohio StateMinistryOffering

State

Meeting

Information

including

*Hotels*Registration

Forms*Programs

*Golf Tourney can be

found at

Ohio GolfTourney

2:00 PM

Saturday,June 25th

4 man scramble-best ball

Trophies and Prizes

Individual contests forlongest drive and closest to the hole

Cost $35 if registered before June 15th$40 if registered after June 15th

50% to Ohio State Missions40% to Ohio State Office10% to Ohio State Youth

Annual $100.00 Friday Night, June 24th Offering

www.ohiofwb.org

The Ten Commandments TodayPreview of the 78th Ohio State Association Meeting

June 24-25th at Heritage FWB Church, Columbus, Ohio

Pastor

Mitch

Salyers

Dr.

David

Crowe

Pastor

Del

Wallace

UNITY (CUYAHOGA­LORAIN)

Warm greetings from Middleburg Heights!

Unity FWB has truly had an amazing start to

2016!

Unity hosted the conference on January 8­9th.

We had a time of worship, preaching, fellow­

ship and food! Thank you to all of those who

had a part in preparing the delicious lunch that

day.

Rev. Les McMahan visited our church on

January 31st to preach in our Sunday evening

service. He delivered a wonderful sermon

reminding us that hidden things always

come to light, the actions of one impacts many,

God’s instructions are not optional, the conse­

quences of sin are not pleasant and defeat is not

final!

A group of 11 men attended the Ohio Men’s

retreat January 21­23rd. They returned encour­

aged, revived and ready to worship. We had a

great service on January 24. Their cups over­

flowed on the entire congregation!

On February 7th, Eddy and Amanda

Simmons visited us to share the details of their

work among the Samburu people in Kenya. It

was a blessing to hear of the spiritual impact

they have on individuals in the tribe and eye

opening to see the pictures and hear stories of

life in the country. They are in our prayers as

they will soon venture back to Kenya to contin­

ue in their ministry!

Rev. Denver Lee Daniel visited to preach

Sunday evening on February 21st. He did a

wonderful job as always and is welcomed any­

time!

The warmer temperatures have made us excit­

ed for the coming months. Unity FWB has

many exciting events planned for spring season

and we look forward to what the Lord has in

store for us.

Eugene Crouch, Pastor

Angie Steitz, Report

FAITH­LOGAN (SOUTH CENTRAL)

Greetings from Faith FWB Church!

We pray that everyone is surviving the winter

weather and are looking forward to spring and

the blessings the Lord will bring.

We are focusing more this year on helping our

youth ministries grow. We have thankfully seen

an increase the last couple of weeks in the van

ministry. We have also seen more kids join the

Action for Christ Ministry. Please keep AFC

and their leader, Sis. Racheal Dicken in prayer

for the Lord’ s guidance.

The Wednesday night youth teen ministry had

a Valentine Dinner fundraiser. It was a great

success! We would like to eventually expand

the Wednesday night youth ministry to younger

classes. We pray for God to send the teachers

and leaders that will be needed.

We have started a Quarter Challenge to help

the feeding program in the Philippines. Every

Saturday, the children are gathered together and

fed rice soup. This time of feeding is also used

to teach children about God’s love. A bowl of

soup costs 25 cents. Our children are excited

knowing that each quarter they give, provides a

bowl of soup for a child and gives them the

opportunity to hear God’s Word.

Please pray for our sister in Christ, Ruby

Vance. She has been in and out of the hospital

a lot these last couple of months. She has been

a life long member of this church. She is a dear

lady and an inspiration to us.

We are so thankful for God’s blessings on our

church and in our lives. We ask His blessings

on all of you.

In His service,

Tony Vanover, Pastor

Teresa Gibson, Reporter

ANTIOCH (PINE CREEK)

God’s day to ya all!

Antioch is gloriously growing for the Lord.

Five souls have been saved since we last posted

our blessings!

Our community youth service began Jan. 28th

and has grown already. Two of our neighbor

churches have dedicated their youth to come to

this youth meeting! God is so good! Our God is

great from one church to another. We pray that

each can grow in the spirit of our Lord and

Saviour Jesus Christ!

Practice for the Easter Play has begun. The

play will be Easter morning at 10:45am.

We are in the beginning process of building on

to the fellowship hall. All teachers have been

chosen and plans for VBS are all coming

together. VBS begins June 20th.

Ricky and Amanda have become members of

Antioch FWB Church. Praise the Lord again!

We just finished a praising God, shouting,

God’s message preached by Evangelist Tim

Case and wonderful singing with Covered By

Love in our revival! The house was full each

night. Testimonies given by those filled with the

Holy Spirit. We are planning a baptism just as

soon as Pine Creek and the weather allows!

The ladies here put together a great Valentines

dinner for everyone! The food was great, deco­

rations were like that in a book and the children

even had a great time.

Spring Revival is a coming up in April with

Rev. Mike McCoy and singers are already lined

up!

Our sister, Linda Sexton has made her good

sweet Easter candy eggs to sell in the fellowship

hall and all the proceeds go to VBS.

Well, I reckon thats about all for now. Until

next time, God bless each and every one! Come

visit us if you have nowhere else to go! Love to

all.

Rick Henderson, Pastor

Tammy Knappenberger “Tater,” Reporter

OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 12

2016 HOLY GROUND FREE WILL BAPTIST YOUTH FOR CHRIST CAMPLocated at: 5150 RIBER RD, HILLSBORO, OHIO 45133

(Bldg- Worship, Devotions, Recreation, etc.) (New Kitchen/Dining Hall Building) (Completely new Kitchen facilities)

(Improved Pond facilities)

Newly built, fully furnished kitchen and dining area, as well as the huge pond is now available for swimming and pedalboats! A Pastor from a camp in 2012 was so impressed with our improvements in these areas that he said he wished other

FWB churches were aware of our new (Kitchen/Dining hall) and improved (the Pond) facilities.

For leasing and information on the above camps call Larry Glenn (937) 478-3815, Donna Glenn (937) 475-2710, Rev. Steve Nickels (937) 478-1182,

Pastor Tim Hamilton (937) 559-1966 or E-mail us at timham@reagan.com. Please let us know if you would like to view a camp presentation.

2016 CampsJuly 10-15 Sr. Co-ed Camp (Ages 13-20 boys/girls) July 17-22 Jr. Boys Camp (Ages 8-13) July 24-29 Jr. Girls Camp (Ages 8-13)

A ministry of Northridge Free Will Baptist Church, 4800 Payne Ave, Dayton, OH 45414

New Book by Ken Riggs

Former Welch College Director of Communications Jack Williams wrote, “This book

simply had to be written.” If you do not know Ken Riggs now, you will by the time you

finish reading his amazing life story in the pages of The School of Hard Knocks. The

School of Hard Knocks is worth the price of the book; it’s an investment not an expense.”

If you would like to purchase the “The School of Hard Knocks” you can order from:

Ken Riggs

504 Westward Winds Dr.

Nashville, TN 37221

(615) 646­2990

drgrady713@gmail.com

SCIOTO (PORTER)

Since our last report, we have been very busy.

To start off we had a terrific Christmas cantata

along with a Christmas play called “ The

Greatest Gift” directed by Clara Widdig.

Everyone enjoyed the production.

God has blessed us with several more young

couples with their families. We have been

encouraged by them and we have had the privi­

lege of accepting them as new members of the

church. They are truly an asset to the church.

We elected Kevin Greene to serve as pastor of

for another year. Along with Kevin is his wife

Rebecca, son Tytus and daughter Cora. Dan

Widdig will serve as associate pastor.

Our church came together and started collect­

ing things for the homeless in Scioto County. It

was a great blessing to see all the things that the

church brought in to help those that are less for­

tunate.

We are getting ready for our spring revival

March 30­April 1 with Joe Nelson preaching.

We will have a celebration of the church’s 136

anniversary April 3 with a dinner after Sunday

worship and Joe Nelson preaching for us.

VBS is in the works by Rebecca Greene. She

did a wonderful job last year. We can’t wait to

see what the LORD has in store for her to share

this year. We had a large crowd last year.

We enjoyed a service with Luke Keller. He

has a fascinating story to tell of his experience

in finding Christ. After his message two

teenagers gave their hearts to Jesus. This

makes three souls saved since the beginning of

the year. God is good.

Keep us in your prayers that GOD will always

be first in our works. We want to be the light

that shines on the hill so that the lost can see and

find their way home.

Kevin Greene, Pastor

Cathy Nance, Reporter

HAMILTON GLADES (PORTER)

“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection ,andthe life ,he that believeth in me, though he weredead, yet shall he live:” John 11:25­26.

Praise the Lord for new life! Looking forward

to welcoming Easter and spring. New life and

growth everywhere you look. I apologize for

missing the deadline for our last reporting peri­

od.

We had our annual Christmas program and

dinner. They were both very successful with a

full house for both events. We have added sev­

eral new members and are very thankful for

them. It’s an exciting time seeing new converts

grow and seeing our youth and teenagers so

involved. Every Sunday morning our youth are

like popcorn, jumping up to say their Bible

verses, with ages spanning from 2­19 !

Once a month some of our youth go to the

Minford Retirement Center to participate in an

adopt a grandparent program. They sing songs

and do crafts and visit with the residents. We are

so proud of them.

Keith and Bonnie Mullins organized a couples

Valentines evening out on February 13th. It was

an enjoyable evening of fellowship.

We have revival planned May 25­29th with

Danny Campbell preaching and Andy

McGinnis and other special singing. After

morning service on Sunday the 29th we’re plan­

ning a pre­Memorial Day cookout.

Blessings from the little white church in the

cornfield.

Jim Dummitt, Pastor

Jenny Dummitt, Reporter

TROY (LITTLE MIAMI)

Greetings to all from Troy.

God is still blessing. We continue to have great

spirit­filled services. We give God all the

praise. We started out this New Year with our

annual candlelight service on January 3rd in the

evening service. It is a blessing to hear how

God has blessed each one throughout the past

year.

On January 17th we were privileged to have

Bro. Robert Legg come and do a presentation

on the FWB Family Ministries in Tennessee. It

is always a blessing to hear how they are mak­

ing a difference in children’s lives through

Christ. Bro. Legg also preached a good mes­

sage for us that morning. We are thankful for

the FWB Family Ministries.

On January 30th some of the ladies got togeth­

er and made fleece blankets for Hospice.

The church came together in the afternoon of

February 13th for popcorn and a movie. We

watched the Christian film War Room. I think

we all got a blessing and gave a lot of thought

about our own prayer life, how we can always

improve our prayer time with God.

We will be having communion and feetwash­

ing service on March 13th.

We have had so many prayers answered and so

thankful that God is still on the throne and still

hears the prayers of His children.

May God bless all our sister churches as we

continue to pray for you. We desire your

prayers also.

Until next time. “Thy word is a lamp unto myfeet, and a light unto my path.” Psalms 119:105

Dwight Stump, Pastor

Ethel Jones, Reporter

TRINITY (FRANKLIN)

As we get ready for a change of seasons to

spring time and all the beautiful flowers and

trees in bloom, some of us have other changes

to go through. Our pastor has been caring for

his sick wife for some time now. There are

times when he has to cancel church because she

can’t be left alone. We are hoping there may be

some preachers out there to volunteer to preach

some of these times. Contact our pastor and let

him know you will help.

We voted to give a love offering every month

to Bro. Paul Collins as we all care for him and

Sis. Burnas very deeply.

We have singers and preacher Patrick Blevins

that come together one time every month to lift

us up by the hearing of the Word and in songs.

Rose Blair has been in the hospital at

Riverside. We have been praying for her to get

well soon.

Till next month keep our church in your

prayers.

Paul Collins, Pastor

Patricia Dorsey, Reporter

OAK HILL (JACKSON)

Greetings. Praise God we serve a living

Savior! We can see it everywhere as we see

spring come to life. We thank God for His plan

of salvation.

Jan. 11­16th we held a revival with Bro. Corey

Carroll preaching. He had some wonderful

Spirit­filled sermons. His family came on

Saturday night and they sang for us. The special

singers for the week were Bro. Corky Corn and

his new group, Singing Praises. We had one

precious soul saved and the church was uplifted

and revived. We saw another precious soul

saved Jan. 21st when our pastor, Allen Simpson

preached from John 3.

We have a songfest the last Saturday of each

month. Jan. 30th, The Third Generation sang

and on Feb. 27th, The Swauger Valley Trio

sang. Both groups were a blessing. Jan. 31st,

Bro. Michael McCarty preached from Mark

10: 46­52. He is a young preacher in the Lord

and did a wonderful job.

We lost two people from our church family in

January. Our deacon, Bro. Ovid “Butch”

Trotter went home to be with Lord Jan. 28th.

He was 72 years old and Bro. Bob Jones, 91

years old, was a past deacon and Sunday School

teacher for the teen class. He went to heaven on

Jan. 21st. They both will be greatly missed.

Remember their families in prayer.

Until next time, may God bless you.

Allen Simpson, Pastor

Sandy Clark, Reporter

MAIN ST. (LAWRENCE)

Hello from Main Street. We pray all is well

with our brothers and sisters.

We would like prayer for our church as so

many have been sick, including our Pastor Paul

Bartrum. Also remember Bro. Paul in prayer

as his grandson Ronald Bartrum went to be with

the Lord on Jan. 13, 2016.

We would like to say we enjoyed the confer­

ence at Main Street. Friday night Chris

Johnson brought the word of God and Saturday

morning Edwin Hayes preached. We enjoyed

fellowship later with dinner.

We thank God our youth group, that meet on

Tuesday nights, is doing well, and with our

church van we hope it grows even more.

This Easter we thank God for all He does for

us. God is good all the time, we are thankful

every day.

We pray for God’s blessings to each and every

one.

“He is not here: for He is risen,” Matthew

28:6

Paul Bartrum, Pastor

Judy Layman, Reporter

OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 13

“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of allmen most miserable. But now is Christ risen from thedead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.”

I Corinthians 15:19­20

Thought for the Month

OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 14

Donahues Resign, Holland’s Role Expands The Board of Free Will Baptist International Missions met via telephone conference on

February 17, 2016, conducting two items of business. The Board accepted the resignation of

Mick and Rachel Donahue from missionary service to Spain. The Donahues submitted an offi­

cial letter of resignation to Free Will Baptist International Missions dated February 11. “Our fam­

ily has been facing many challenges over the past couple years…our three boys have been diag­

nosed with various special needs and are now undergoing therapy,” the couple wrote. “Due to the

prolonged extension of our family's timeline and our priority of meeting our boys' needs, we have

come to the difficult decision to resign from our field of service.”

“I have followed Mick and Rachel since they were students at Welch. Their heart for missions

was evident. Their commitment to Christ and compassion for the lost took them to Spain where

they served in a strategic ministry to North African immigrants,” stated International Mission’s

General Director Clint Morgan. “We at IM are sad to see them leaving the field, but the wellbe­

ing of their children must take priority at this point. We will pray with them as they hope work of

one day returning to a land and people they have grown to love deeply.”

Mick and Rachel and their boys (Keith, Ian, and Gabe) returned to the States July 22nd, for a

vacation. While here, their boys underwent tests and they extended their stay. The couple antici­

pates a three­to­five year timeline to meet their family needs. Mick and Rachel indicated, “…We

felt resignation was the most prudent course of action, but the decision came with much pain and

deliberation.” Appointed in December 2006 as creative access missionaries, the Donahues began

working under The Hanna Project after it’s creation. The couple pioneered work among the

immigrant population in Malaga, Spain. The Donahues’ resignation is effective March 31, 2016.

The Board also approved Clint Morgan’s recommendation that Curt Holland, current director

of mobilization for IM and administrative director of The Hanna Project (THP), fill the position

of regional director of creative access ministries. Holland will oversee and direct THP workers as

well as those who qualify as creative access missionaries under International Missions’ umbrella.

“It seems sensible for the administrative director of The Hanna Project to be charged with the

oversight and direction of personnel and projects under the creative access banner,” declared

Morgan. “Curt Holland is a capable leader who has demonstrated impressive skills in church

planting, teaching, organizing and leading short­term teams, and dealing with people one on one

or in large groups. I am confident he will be an inspiring leader for our THP field workers.”

Curt will continue his role as director of mobilization. All regional directors have additional full­

time ministry responsibilities. Curt’s new responsibilities were effective March 1.

Truly God has been so good to Free Will Baptist Family Ministries. As we reflect upon this

past year and move forward into 2016, I can only say what an awesome God we serve. I thought

you would enjoy seeing some statistics and current happenings under the umbrella of programs

provided at our ministry.

You can rejoice with us in that in that over the past year, 106 young people made a decision

for Christ and 21 followed Him in baptism. If anything should get Christians excited, it should

be hearing about others being saved, especially when your support helped make it possible! And

for the last 16 years now, we have seen an average of 100 or more saved through this ministry.

You can rejoice with us that through our child care services, in 2015 we served 463 youth in

our residential group care in TN & AR, 104 in Foster Care, and hosted 3,345 guests at The

Oaks, our retreat center.

You can rejoice in that we saw 97 babies born to the moms benefiting from The Hope

Center in 2015, & currently serving 471 through our crisis pregnancy resource center. If it

were not for your support of Family Ministries, many of those babies would have become another

number in the abortion statistics.

In 2015, you can rejoice with us in that we had 107 young people graduated from our

Adolescent Alcohol and Drug Program. There is an epidemic of addiction among young peo­

ple today, but our supporters had a hand in helping these young people overcome this problem

and know that they don't have to fight the fight alone... They can have Christ on their side!

You can rejoice with us in that we expanded our services into Charleston, AR, through a dona­

tion of a 15,000 sq. ft. building. On Dec. 1, 2015, we celebrated with the ribbon cutting and ded­

ication of the newly renovated facility, “Maggie House”. By the end of January of this year, we

will have 20 youth in care, with capacity of 33 children.

We are currently serving 50 residents at Governor’s Bend, in Erwin, TN and 45 at The

Laurels, in Wise, VA, our assisted living facilities. We are excited to be able to offer quality

full service living where residents have the independence of living in their own suites with the

freedom to do exactly as they like, all while enjoying the safety and services provided by an

attentive 24­hour staff.

Many of you responded to our Christmas Appeal and provided gifts and parties for our chil­

dren during December. Thank you for making it so special for them when it is often the most dif­

ficult time of the year being away from their own families. Another way you can help is through

our upcoming Mother’s Day Offering in May, which is our largest fundraising effort each year,

to help offset our annual budget. Every person has an important God­given role to play in help­

ing to fulfill the Great Commission. Prayerfully consider joining us as we work together to win

souls for His Kingdom.

For more information about how you can be involved with this great ministry, contact us at:

90 Stanley Lane

Greeneville, TN 37743

PHONE: 423.639.9449

E­MAIL: info@fwbfm.comWEBSITE:

www.fwbfm.com

We also have field representatives available to

come and share about Family Ministries with

your churches. Log on to our website for a

list and contact info for our reps.

Evangelist

Mike Blanton

Available for services, revivals and

campmeetings!

Mike Blanton and Evidenceavailable to sing at your church!

(614) 871­2795

Free Will Baptist International Missions www.FWBGO.COM

Former Zion #3

Pastor Rich Bishop

has been treated for a serious infection in his

foot and is in need of prayer.

Deacon Dennis Moore from the Clyde First

FWB Church has begun radiation treatments for

a cancerous tumor on his lung. In addition to

that small doses of chemo will also be given but

not for every treatment.

Gahanna Pastor Curtis Booth had surgery Jan.

14th and the doctors found an infection behind

his ear that could be treated with antibiotics.

They did not have to do the extensive surgery

they were planning. We are thanking the Lord

for the good news! Sister Pat Booth, wife of

Gahanna Pastor Curtis Booth has been suffering

with heart blockages and stands in need of

prayer.

Brother Chuck Walraven, a member of the

Gahanna Church suffered a stroke. He has been

released from rehab and is now home.

Sister Terry Peterson’s 2yr old foster son

John had open heart surgery in January and was

in ICU to recover. Please pray for a speedy

recovery and for strength for him. They are

members of the Lighthouse Church.

Bro. Harold Stout, father of Heritage Pastor

Tim Stout took a fall Jan. 21st and was in the

hospital in Mansfield. He is now home recov­

ering. Do remember them in your prayers.

Centerburg Deacon Charles DeBoard is

being treated for serious liver disease. Do

remember him and his family in prayer.

Sister Ruth Ann Castle, bookkeeper at the

Ohio State FWB Office and a member of the

Columbus First Church was in Mt. Carmel E

Hospital February 8th. She is now home.

Bro. Lindsey Jarrell and his daughter, Sister

Jolenna Case were involved in a serious car

accident in Rittman Feb. 15th. They are both in

very critical condition in the hospital in Akron.

They are showing some slow improvement.

Bro. Lindsey is a long­time member of the

Rittman Community FWB Church. Sister

Jolenna attends the Canaan FWB Church. Do

remember this family in your prayers.

Sister Terry Dutton's brother, Larry

Blackburn underwent serious surgery on

February 23rd in Pikeville, KY. Sister Terry is

the wife of Evangelist Freddy Dutton. Do

remember them in prayer.

Bro. Jim Fraley, a deacon from Heritage

FWB had triple by­pass surgery February 18th

in Columbus. Do remember him in prayer.

Sister Dottie Hix, wife of Redeemer Pastor

Don Hix, had back surgery on March 8th.

Sister Ruby Vance, a member of the Faith­

Logan Church has been in and out of the hospi­

tal a lot the last couple of months. She has been

a life long member of the church.

Bro. Austin Drakluic, of the Flagship Church

in Erie, PA. had surgery to remove his medicine

port in February. He is doing well.

WESTSIDE (CAPITAL CITY)

Greetings from the Westside FWB Church.

We are very excited to share some of the great

things God is doing within our congregation!

Our youth group is growing and recently held

a Valentine’s Day family spaghetti dinner. We

had many people support their efforts and they

raised over $1,000 to be used for activities and

ministry this year. During the frigid winter

months we hosted a coat and glove drive where

we received donations to benefit those in need

in our community. Candles and blankets were

also collected to go directly to the homeless in

Columbus.

Our Junior church added letters and copies of

the Daily Bread to Blessing Bags that were put

together to also go directly to the homeless.

Some members of the congregation delivered

the bags, and saw first hand the needs in our

own community. We truly feel blessed to be a

blessing to others as well as teach our kids to

serve.

We are asking for continued prayer going into

the Easter season as we will observe commun­

ion and feetwashing together as well at the

Easter holiday.

Our desire is to see souls saved, people bap­

tized and added to the church. We are looking

forward to a fun lunch and Easter egg hunt for

the children at the end of March and we are

thankful for the families who have recently

taken membership.

We will continue to pray for all of those who

are working to spread the gospel and ask for

your continued prayers as well!

Tim Boyd, Pastor

Jessica Boyd, Reporter

CLEVELAND (CUYAHOGA LORAIN)

“But we will give ourselves continuously toprayer, and to the ministry of the word.” Acts

6:4

We held a special Family Night service on

Friday, February 26th where we had over 40

people present to see the movie War Room. We

encourage those who have not seen this movie

to do so. War Room was spiritually uplifting

and challenging, and we have many who have

made faith promises to God to become prayer

warriors. We also would like to give our special

thanks to Bro. Joe and Sis. Vivian for providing

a wonderful spaghetti dinner and birthday cake

for Pastor Prichard prior to the movie.

Jan 6th during our Wednesday evening prayer

service, we had one give their heart to the

LORD. Please keep him in your prayers.

Joe and Vivian Egnor

During Sunday evening worship service on

Feb 21st we held a special ordination service for

Brother Joe Egnor. Reverends Cecil Farmer,

Eugene Crouch and Ed Kennedy Jr. were here

to officially ordain Bro Joe as a Free Will

Baptist Deacon. Please pray for Bro Joe and his

wife, Sis Vivian, while they follow God’s will

for their lives.

Robert L. Prichard, Pastor

Kimberly R. Young, Reporter

OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 15

HospitalUpdate

Greetings from the

Ohio Women Active for Christ

State Board.

News and Upcoming EventsWomen’s Days... The OWAC is hosting 2 Women’s Days this year. The first will be

held at the Canaan Free Will Baptist Church located at 12723 Cleveland Rd,

Creston, OH 44217 on April 30, 2016 from 9:15am­2:30pm.

The second will be held at The Ambassador Free Will Baptist Church located at

776 Clough Pike, Cincinnati, OH 45245 on May 21, 2016 from 9:15­2:30pm.

The classes being offered are; Integrity, Social Media, Everyday Worship, ModernDay Idolatry, Praise You in the Storm, Before the Prodigal Returns. Lunch will be

provided.

We would love to see all of our Ohio ladies there!

Mark your calendars... Our state meeting will be held on Thursday June 23, 2016 at

1pm at Heritage FWBC in Heritage Hall. Our theme is “I Surrender All” Marie

Drakulic will be our speaker and I am so excited to see how the Lord uses her at our

state meeting.

Your sister in Christ,

Jessica Musetti, OWAC Secretary

Ohio Women Active for Christ

OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 16

Changes to Welch College Organizational

Structure and Obtains Accreditor Approval

for M.A. in Theology and Ministry

By Josh Owens, Director of Media and Marketing

With the addition of Welch College’s new Master of Arts

(M.A.) degree in Theology and Ministry, two employees will

be assuming new roles. Dr. Kevin Hester and Dr. Jeff

Cockrell have been designated as graduate faculty. Though

they will continue to teach on the undergraduate level, their primary responsibilities will be asso­

ciated with the new M.A. program.

Dr. Kevin Hester, Chairman of the Department of Theological Studies since 2011 and faculty

member since 2003, will serve as the Dean of the School of Theology which will house the M.A.

He will oversee faculty and curriculum throughout the school on both the graduate and under­

graduate levels. Thus the Department of Theological Studies will now be known as the School of

Theology and will administer both undergraduate and graduate degrees in theological studies.

Dr. Hester came to Welch College in 2003 from a teaching position at Saint Louis University

where he also worked in the Reinert Center for Teaching Excellence. A 1993 graduate of Welch

College, he holds the M.Div. from Covenant Theological Seminary (1997) and a Ph.D. in

Historical Theology from Saint Louis University (2002). Hester had previously served in ministry

positions at Free Will Baptist churches in Tennessee and Missouri and worked with Stephen

Ministries (St. Louis, MO).

Dr. Hester is a member of the Commission for Theological Integrity of the National Association

of Free Will Baptist. He was recently appointed to the Commission on Accreditation of the

Association for Biblical Higher Education. Hester is the author of Eschatology and Pain in St.

Gregory the Great (2007) and Free Will Baptists and the Priesthood of Believers (2010) as well as

numerous scholary and popular articles.

Newly appointed faculty member in New Testament, Dr. Jeff Cockrell, will serve as the Program

Coordinator for the M.A. degree in Theology and Ministry. In this capacity, he will be responsible

for admissions, recruitment, and supervision of the M.A.

Dr. Cockrell has served as a Free Will Baptist pastor for nearly thirty years in North Carolina,

South Carolina, and Georgia. Most recently he served as senior pastor of Ahoskie Free Will

Baptist Church in Ahoskie, NC, which also operates a Christian academy. He has served in a

number of denominational posts at the local and state levels and currently serves as a member of

the Historical Commission of the National Association of Free Will Baptists.

Dr. Cockrell holds a Ph.D. in Theology with a concentration in New Testament from the

University of Wales Trinity St. David in the UK, an M.A. in New Testament from Gordon­

Conwell Theological Seminary, and a B.S. and M.A.R. from Liberty University. In addition to his

pastoral work, he has held adjunct faculty status at a number of institutions, including Gordon­

Conwell Theological Seminary, Liberty University, and North Carolina Wesleyan College. He is

the author of a number of scholarly and popular articles and papers.

Welch College will be the first Free Will Baptist college to offer a regionally accredited credential

on the graduate level. The thirty­three hour M.A. consists of hybrid courses, in which a portion of

the coursework is done online and the other portion in one­week, on­campus intensive sessions.

Generous financial aid is available, including institutionally funded scholarships and federally

guaranteed loans.

There is still time to enroll in the second session, which begins April 15th. Admission to the pro­

gram is continuous, and students can apply for admission with each new session. For questions or

for enrollment information, please email Dr. Jeff Cockrell at jcockrell@welch.edu.

President’s Home to be Built on Gallatin Campus

By resolution of the Board of Trustees, Welch College will construct a president’s home on its

new 66­acre campus site in Gallatin, Tennessee, according to David Williford, vice president for

institutional advancement.

“The most recent plans for phase one did not include a president’s home; President Pinson felt

that all resources and energies needed to be focused on the building of the core campus,”

Williford said. “Plans changed when the lead donor to the Building on the Legacy capital cam­

paign for campus relocation, Mrs. Alicia Celorio of the Do Unto Others Trust in Miami, FL,

promised an additional gift that would make it possible for the home to be built without diverting

any funds from the core campus.”

“In December of 2014, Mrs. Celorio completed the most significant pledge of the Building on the

Legacy campaign. While visiting the West End campus over the years, she had spent time in the

president’s home and saw how the home was a hub of ministry to college students and the college

family. It was her desire to see that replicated on the Gallatin campus.”

James and Mary Beasley of Turbeville, SC, subsequently made an additional, significant pledge

above and beyond their Building on the Legacy commitment. As directed by the Board of

Trustees, the funds for the president’s home will not come from gifts to the Building on theLegacy campaign, but from special gifts made above and beyond Building on the Legacy gifts, as

well as from the president’s housing allowance.

“We’re grateful to our two lead donors in the silent phase of the Building on the Legacy cam­

paign, who had a special interest in seeing a president’s home built on this land into which they

have already poured such great resources and wanted to give above and beyond their original

pledges,” Williford said. “Rather than taking a personal housing allowance, President and Mrs.

Pinson wanted their monthly housing allowance funds placed back into the new Welch campus

through the construction of a president’s home for future generations of the Welch family.”

“In the long tradition of college presidents’ homes, the president’s home on the West End campus

was a symbol of the sort of Christian community, hospitality, and mentoring we’re attempting to

foster at Welch,” Williford said. “It provided a wide variety of wonderful community­building

events for students, faculty and staff, and the wider Welch constituency. We’re so glad, thanks to

these generous donors, this tradition can continue in Gallatin.”

The design of the house is underway, according to Relocation Consultant Bob Bass, and con­

struction is set to begin on the house this month.

Bass will oversee the construction of the home. Mike Murdock, a member of the Donelson

Fellowship, a Nashville Free Will Baptist congregation, has been selected as construction manag­

er to design the home and manage the building process.

“Mike has designed and built scores of excellent homes in the greater Nashville area,” Bass said.

“He’s stepping up to the plate and doing this for the college at a fraction of what he would nor­

mally receive for the expertise he brings to the table. He sees it as kingdom work. Mike will pro­

duce an excellent president’s home that will mesh well with the overall design of the new Welch

campus.”

“It’s great to see the amazing progress on the construction of the new Welch campus,” Bass said.

“We are now completing the foundations and are about to see some vertical activity. After more

than twenty years of work and anticipation on this project, it’s a wonderful sight to watch it all

come together.”

To learn more about campus relocation or to give to the Building on the Legacy campaign, visit

BuildingontheLegacy.com.

The Free Will Baptist North American

Ministries Board of Directors Approved

and Commissioned Several New Church

Planters Recently.

Jamie and Heather Lee are joint project church planters with

the state of Illinois. Jamie is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University and comes to North

American Ministries after concluding a successful pastorate at Calvary Free Will Baptist Church

in Salem, Illinois. The Lees will be planting a church in the Champaign/Urbana Illinois area near

the University of Illinois with its 44,000 students. The Northern part of Champaign in a highly

populated and high traffic area with no churches nearby. Please pray for Jamie and Heather and

their three small children as they lead this exciting new project.

(L to R – Brad Ransom – Director of Church Planting, Church Planters Jamie Lee, Adam

Garrett, and Marshall Bonèy)

Adam and Rebecca Garrett are joint project church planters with the state of Virginia and North

American Ministries. They will be working alongside David and Ashley Osborne in the

Wytheville, Virginia church plant. Adam graduated from Welch College with a Bachelor’s Degree

in Music Performance. The Garrett’s have been working alongside church planter Cliff Donoho in

the Tallahassee, Florida church plant and will bring a wealth of experience to this new direction

from the Lord. Wytheville is located in southwest Virginia along the Blue Ridge Mountains and is

a haven for history buffs. Please pray for this new project.

Marshall and Tiffany Bonèy are newly appointed church planters to the ocean front area of

Virginia Beach, Virginia. The Bonèys have lived in the Virginia Beach area for many years and

have a great knowledge of the needs of the area. They have one daughter still living at home and

two adult daughters and one son­in­law. Please pray for the family as they transition to the role of

lead planters establishing a new church in the area.

MARYSVILLE (CENTRAL OHIO )

Psalms 84:11 “For the Lord God is a sun andshield: the LORD will give grace and glory: nogood thing will be withhold from them that walkuprightly.”March 25th at 7pm we will have our commun­

ion and feetwashing service. We always have a

blessed and humble service.

The ladies are having a Bible study and lunch­

eon April 23rd at Andrea’s Bed and Breakfast in

London, Ohio from 9­2pm. Lisa Jones will be

the guest speaker. There will be a cooking

demonstration with lunch provided.

Several adults and youth went bowling at the

Marysville Lanes. Everyone had a fun time.

We have been having some visitors in our

services. We want to say praise the Lord and

welcome.

Paul Bogenrife, Pastor

Helen Murray, Reporter

FELLOWSHIP TABERNACLE

(LITTLE MIAMI)

At Fellowship Tabernacle in Xenia Ohio, we

love to exalt the Lord, edify the saints and evan­

gelize the lost. We are looking forward to the

coming spring and to what the Lord has in store

for us as we continue to serve Him.

Our church has a lot of good cooks who put on

a great spaghetti dinner on February 21st.

During March we will have several preachers

visiting to minister to us: Joe Carpenter on the

6th in the am; Tim Hamilton in the 13th am

service; Daniel Alderman on the 20th in the

pm service; on Easter, the 27th, Tim

Southwood in the am and Steve Fyffe in the

pm. Our Sunrise service on Easter, the 27th,

will begin at 7am with our Pastor, Jim Stepp

preaching.

We are planning a revival will be in May: more

news about that next month.

Jim Stepp, Pastor

Jere Coddington, Reporter

SHELBY (NORTHERN OHIO)

Happy spring! Just a few quick words from

the Shelby Church. The last few months have

been a bit of a break after the holidays.

However, the youth did find time to go snow­

boarding in January – they had a great time and

no one got hurt! The church also hosted a fam­

ily movie night in February to watch “WarRoom” – a powerful message to carry us

throughout the year.

We are looking forward to the community

Easter egg hunt we will be hosting on March

26th. But more importantly, we await another

chance to celebrate the resurrection of the

Savior on Easter morning, the One who is alto­

gether lovely! We wish you all a wonderful and

blessed Easter season.

Matt Pond, Pastor

Heather Brown, Reporter

GAHANNA (CORNERSTONE)

We are thankful for all God is doing at

Gahanna FWB. Josh Circelli gave his life to the

Lord and was baptized after the morning service

January 3rd.

Brother Darrell Varney was ordained Sunday

evening, January 3rd as a FWB preacher. We

have witnessed his growing and obedience in

his calling to preach God’s Word. The church

appreciates Brother Darrell.

We welcomed the Heaven Bound Singers to

our Sunday evening service January 10th. They

praised the Lord in song and were a blessing to

the church.

Pastor Curtis Booth underwent surgery in

January for a serious infection. Thank God the

surgery was not as invasive as first thought.

Please keep Brother Curtis and his wife Pat in

your prayers

We thank God for Brother Edwin Hayes and

his dedication to Gahanna FWB Church while

Pastor Booth was recovering.

Sunday February 21st was a blessed morning

service with the Hamilton Road Quartet

singing God’s praises and Brother Edwin

Hayes preaching a spirit­filled message.

Our loss was heaven’s gain, Sister Julia (Judy)

Ruggles, Becky Orrell’s mother and Dawn

Coakley’s grandmother went home to be with

the Lord. She will be missed by her church fam­

ily.

Please remember our brothers and sisters who

cannot attend church due to illness.

God bless.

Curtis Booth, Pastor

Bonnie Justice, Reporter

CANAAN (CAPITAL CITY)

It’s amazing how one single moment in time

can change everything. During the last few

weeks our Canaan church family has joined

with the Rittman Community FWB Church

family to provide love and support to a family

touched single horrific accident. Please for this

family that has long time members in each of

our churches. We have two folks that who need

a healing touch from the Great Physician and a

family that needs wisdom and guidance that can

only come from the Lord of all comfort. Please

remember the Case and Jarrell families in

prayer.

During the past few months Pastor Mike has

been walking us through some specific

Scriptures. On Sunday mornings he is preach­

ing through Psalm 23. On Sunday evenings, he

is leading us through the Beatitudes. During

Wednesday evening Bible study he is teaching

on the life of Elisha.

We have had lots of opportunities for outreach.

Our Master’s Men took a small group to Mexico

to work on an orphanage and church building in

a remote area of the country. The church held a

Caring Cans for Christ food distribution in

February and we have supported a few different

fundraisers sponsored by our youth group, The

C. R. E.W., for their upcoming youth

retreat.

Mike Gladson, Pastor

Lisa R. Justice, Reporter

WAKEFIELD (PORTER)

Hello from Wakefield and may the Lord bless

all our sister churches.

We have been blessed in many ways, even

though we have been having a lot of illness in

our little congregation. Sister Sharon Mullett

had a major heart attack and a very close call

and her husband, Bob had gall bladder surgery

and may need further surgery. Sister Junnie

Evans has had kidney problems and been in the

hospital awhile. She is home now, but still not

well. Brother Mitch Collins had surgery for a

large kidney stone. Brother Mike Tilley had a

bad spell with his legs at church and Bro. Don

and Sister Rosie Borders have been quite ill.

It seems that the devil is trying to attack us, but

God is still in control. Where could we go but to

the Lord? We had to cancel several services due

to bad weather. Also, due to a recent electrical

problem we had to temporarily cancel a few

services. We have a close family of God and it’s

so good to know we can count on our heavenly

Father and on each other. Having the “One

Call” phone system has been a real help in our

prayer chain and passing information.

Spring is on the way, unless the Lord comes

back first and we must all stay ready.

Lowell King, Pastor

Barb Conley, Reporter

COMMUNITY (CENTRAL OHIO)

We have had such a sweet spirit in our servic­

es lately, it has lead to some great testimonies

that have been uplifting to the congregation, the

view we get from the choir is like watching

popcorn in a popping machine. We are looking

forward to the celebration of our Savior.

On Palm Sunday we have special music from

the choir. We will have communion in morning

worship and the feetwashing will be in the

evening service. Bro. Jerry will be bringing the

messages for both Palm Sunday and Easter

morning. Bro. Jerry has been continuing his

series of sermons from Judges. The congrega­

tion has really enjoyed these messages.

The church has been undergoing some remod­

eling. The students from Tolles Career and

Technical School have been remodeling the

building behind the church. The kitchen has

also received a face lift.

Our church will be hosting the Central Ohio

Conference on May 7, 2016. The conference

will begin at 10am. Our choir will be singing

and ladies will be preparing a wonderful lunch.

We are looking forward to this time of fellow­

ship.

Jerry Newman Pastor

A. Friend Reporter

SPRINGFIELD (LITTLE MIAMI)

"And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and saidunto the sea, Peace, be still. And the windceased, and there was a great calm." Mark 4:39

Hello from Springfield! God is good and we

are more blessed than what we deserve.

We had a New Year candlelight and testimony

service. It was a special blessing for all of us.

One of our dear sisters, Sis. Hilda Gamble, has

gone home to live with Jesus. She loved to

come to church and sing. Now she can sing for­

ever and ever and never get tired.

Several of our members are dealing with

health issues. Please remember them in your

prayers, God knows each need. In this life,

everyone will have to go through a storm some­

time, but we have Jesus by our side and He can

calm the storms of our life.

The singing group Enabling Grace will be

here Saturday, March 19, at 6:00 p.m. Everyone

is welcome to come and enjoy the evening with

us.

Charles Crider, Pastor

Kristen Lemaster, Reporter

PORTER (PORTER)

Greetings from Porter FWB Church! Our con­

gregation celebrated the beginning of another

new year together at our fellowship hall. There

was food, games and fellowship on New Year’s

Eve. It is an annual tradition and a great way for

everyone to enjoy Christian camaraderie.

The junior youth have started another year of

the Elements curriculum on Wednesday

evenings. The children love the lessons. They

love the games, experiments, skits and especial­

ly the videos made by Pastor Steve.

A new women’s Bible study began this year.

The group is using “A Woman’s Heart: God’sDwelling Place” by Beth Moore as the basis of

the small group study. Many have stated how

much they enjoy this time of study and sharing

to continue their growth as Christians.

On March 12th at 9 am, our church will be

hosting the “Church Growth and Revitalization

Conference” for the Porter Association. Jim

McComas is the speaker and everyone is

encouraged to attend.

We have had a rather quiet year so far with

very few issues with the weather. I think that

many are excited to see what spring has in store

for our church with Easter just around the cor­

ner.

Mark Price, Pastor

Tehra Clevenger, Reporter

OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 17

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Call Rep. Tim Lapish at 1­614­937­5746 or

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OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 18

Central OhioMarch 12 Franklin Conference Alternative Classes Hillview FWB, Bill Hayes, PastorMay 7 Central Ohio Conference meeting at Community FWB, Jerry Newman, PastorApril 30 Cornerstone Conference meeting at Open Door, Willie Booth, PastorMay 7 Trinity Conference meeting at Eastside FWB, James Baldwin, Pastor

Northern OhioApril 2 North & Western Conference meeting at Lima FWB, David Coffey, PastorApril 9 Cuyahoga­Lorain Conference meeting at Good Hope FWB, Jason Keith, PastorApril 16 Northeastern Conference

Southern OhioMarch 13 Zion #3, Special Singing Service with Jimmy Howson, Chuck Phillips, Asst. PastorMarch 14­18 Swauger Valley, Revival with Mike McCoy, Mike Simpson, PastorApril 10 Zion #3, Special Singing Service with Undivided, Chuck Phillips, Asst. PastorApril 10­15 Puritan, Revival w/Barney Goins & Wayne Runyon, Jamie Fortner, PastorApril 23 Jackson Conference meeting at Oak Hill FWB, Allen Simpson, Pastor May 7 Lawrence Conference meeting at Mt. Calvary FWB, Ronnie Blagg, Pastor May 14 South­Central Conference meeting at McArthur FWB, Jim Henderson, PastorMay 14 Pine Creek Conference meeting at Union, Chris Oiler, Pastor

Western OhioApril 9 Tri­State ConferenceMay 7 Little Miami Conference meeting at the Springfield FWB, Charlie Crider, Pastor

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Two Participants at Ohio

Men’s Retreat Win a Free

Registration to the 2016

D6 Conference!

Rev. Kyle Chadwick from the North

FWB Church in Columbus and Bro.

James Bristow from the Lighthouse

FWB Church in Elsmere, KY won free

registrations to the D6 Conference

September 21­23 in Louisville, Ky.

The D6 Conference is sponsored byRandall House Publications

Executive Office Releases

Church Security Training

Video

“Every Free Will Baptist church

should have a plan to deal with dan­

gerous or emergency situations should

they occur.” This statement summa­

rizes a seminar presented at the 2015

Leadership Conference that addressed

growing safety and security concerns among churches in

America. A recording of the seminar, presented by securi­

ty specialist Sam Hodges, is being made available to

churches through the Executive Office. A donation of

$5.00 is requested to offset production and shipping, but

the video is complimentary to any church unable to pay.

Produced in conjunction with NowTech Productions, the

video incorporates strategies for forming church security

teams with recommended training and protocol for emer­

gency situations.

The video, along with the PowerPoint presentation and

notes from the seminar, can be ordered from the

Executive Office by calling 877.767.7659 or by emailing

ryan@nafwb.org.

WWW.OhioFWB.org

LIBERTY (CUYAHOGA­LORAIN)

Greetings from Liberty FWB Church! God has

been working in amazing ways these past few

months. Many exciting things will be occurring

in the months to come. Our ladies auxiliary will

be celebrating 50 years in March; it is amazing

to see the Lord blessing that part of the ministry

at our church.

Please remember the family of Ed Scott in

your prayers. Isn’t it a blessing that when a

Christian passes away we have a hope we will

see them again one day. We would also like to

request prayer for Bro. John Wyatt, Sister

Waskey, and Sister Adams who are all in the

nursing home for rehabilitation. Please pray

that God would comfort them and give them

strength. We truly miss them when they are not

able to attend our services.

There is always something exciting and new

happening here at Liberty just as our life with

Christ should be. We should never cease to

thank Him and praise Him for all that He

does.

Until next time.

Cecil Farmer, Pastor

Chelsea Pomeroy, Reporter

PURITAN (SOUTH CENTRAL)

The holidays were very busy at Puritan

Church, but God was very good to us. Now we

are looking forward to spring.

The men came back from the retreat and had a

wonderful time.

The last time I posted we were trying to get a

piano. God has blessed us with one! It is beau­

tiful and we want to thank Larry Jayjohn for his

hard work on that project and the church fami­

ly for all they did.

We had our Master’s Men and Ladies Aid

meetings and had a very good turnout even with

the bad weather. We thank all who came and

took part.

The church lost a dear and faithful member,

Lloyd Sayre. Please remember his wife, Paula

in prayer.

We had our first movie night at church on Jan.

30th. The movie was “The War Room” and all

had a wonderful time.

On Feb. 14th we celebrated 99 years of wor­

ship as the Puritan FWB Church! The Lore

Family was with us during the morning service.

On April 10­15th we are having our spring

revival with Barney Goins and Wayne

Runyon.

We have had some of our people in the hospi­

tal, but all are home now. Praise God. Please

pray for John Daniels, Bud Wiseman, John

Willis and Larry Newman. Pray for all our shut­

ins.

We’ve been blessed throughout 2015 and

looking forward to seeing what God has in store

for Puritan Church in 2016. Pray for our church

family.

Jamie Fortner, Pastor

Sharon Jones, Reporter

MOUNT HOPE (PINE CREEK)

Greetings from Mount Hope FWB Church.

We are very pleased to announce that we have

been blessed to receive Bro. Gary Selby as our

pastor.

Also, we our blessed to have joined the Pine

Creek Conference. We are looking forward to

being a part of this conference. The Southern

Ohio Conference will officially end on July 1,

2016.

We are looking forward to spring and we are

praying for a revival. We thank God for all He

has done for us.

Until the next time, may the Lord keep you

and bless you.

Gary Selby, Pastor

Karen Charles, Reporter

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OHIOAMBASSADOR PAGE 20