Whew…..what a ride. Ok, the closing service at Gum Grove Baptist Church was a good one but there seemed to be a reluctant spirit throughout the congregation. They were a bit reserved during the worship time and less responsive during the preaching than in days past. A few came to the altar but, again, no professions of faith.
Pray for the ministry staff, pastor James , music Doug, and students Benji. They each have a burdened heart for the people of the community and look to continue to grow.

We left Brookhaven on Friday morning and headed to Yazoo City to spend the night before heading to Hazelhurst, MS. We were scheduled to set up at Poplar Springs Baptist for their “5th Sunday Singing” we are doing tomorrow morning. As we got closer to Yazoo on Friday, Patty said she believed she was getting sick. She didn’t tell a story. In our nearly 30 years of marriage I’m not sure I’ve seen her quite as sick. Thought, even, at one time of going on to the emergency room but waited a bit longer and things subsided. Over 5 hours later.
She was better this morning but awfully weak. So much so that I am here in my hotel room in Hazelhurst and she is still in Yazoo.
So, following the service in the morning and lunch on the grounds, I’ll load up and head to Yazoo to pick her up and if she feels like it, we’ll head on home.
We are beat, gang. It’s been good but we need a bit of rest. Thank you for your prayers.
Blessings,
John

It was another interesting day. Started early with a Senior Adult Breakfast, included a cancellation of the newly booked Wesson Baptist Church concert that was supposed to be Sunday night, included a youth supper and finished with a good worship service. The church seems to be on the verge of breaking out but for whatever reason at this time is just experiencing a “glimpse” of what God has in store.
The altar continues to be active during the invitation so pray that this last service may break loose. Tomorrow night will conclude unless things do break loose and the pastor has indicated that it would be considered to “hold over” should the Spirit lead.
The voice is doing well but we are a bit “whooped” so thanks for prayers of strength to do the work.
Blessings,
John

Whew, what a busy day! It began early with a program at the local nursing home followed by preparation for the service. We headed out to the church to do that and followed that with lunch with one of the families. Oooooh it was good!
Anyway, you may not know that I am with another church just 20 miles from here this Sunday morning so I spent this afternoon working on that concert. In the meantime, I received a call from another church that “heard” I was in the area on Sunday and asked what I had Sunday night and if I could be with them?
So, the next few days I’ll iron out the details there and put that concert together. Wheww!!
On to the service tonight. Bro. Gene (guest preacher) preached a strong sermon from David’s life on incremental sin. A powerful message. There was not a lot of movement during the invitation which was a bit surprising based on his message but God knows the hearts.
I appreciate the continued prayers on behalf of my voice. It’s feeling a little weaker with the nursing home ministry and such and we have 2 days left of service.
Blessings,
John

Hi friends. It was a good day today and a really good crowd at the service tonight. We didn’t have any professions of faith but the altar filled with those praying during the invitation.
There are several people, specifically, that the leadership and some members are praying for so if you can lift these up to the Lord I would appreciate it. I don’t know names or just can’t remember but God knows so just mention those in the Gum Grove community and let God do His work.
Tomorrow we’ll be heading to the nursing home for a ministry time in the morning followed by lunch at a members house then the service tomorrow night.
Again, thank you for your prayers. My voice and it’s strength and those specific people in the community.
Blessings,
John

It was a good day here in Brookhaven. Good services. The church exceeded its high attendance goal today by having 228 in Sunday School. They were really excited.
The day began with a kids Sunday School rally and we had fun although the senior adult women’s class in the back of the auditorium wasn’t as excited. Hey, they could have moved but let’s be serious. It was a Baptist Senior Adult Women’s class. Ain’t no moving there!!!
Following the morning service, we had “dinner on the ground” then after a brief afternoon headed back to the church for the 6 p.m. service.
Pray for attendance and that people would move and get lives right.
Voice is a bit tired so pray for that.
Blessings,
John

Fun night. We arrived safely and headed out to the church around 4 to set up everything. At 5 the kids showed up for pizza and we hung out with them until the 6:00 program.
I was unable to follow through with an invitation. Far too many little guys in the congregation but it was a fun night.
Tomorrow will begin with prayer time at the church at 9 a.m. followed by a Sunday School rally for the kids at 10:15 and morning service at 11 a.m.
I would appreciate the prayers for my vocal strength as I do the work this week. I’ll keep you posted,
John

Pulling out this morning and headed to our second revival meeting of the year. Gum Grove Baptist Church just outside Brookhaven, MS, is the site. I will be leading in worship Sunday through Thursday night. Tonight is a kids concert. I did this last year and the majority of the congregation were kids but all ages responded to this ministry last year so I anticipate a larger and more diversified group this year. The program begins at 6 p.m.
I’ll keep you informed.
Blessings,
John

It was a good morning at FBC. I decided to go up to the church and move in the equipment that I would be using in todays presentation on Friday. Glad I did because it rained all day yesterday.
We got to the church around 8:30 or so to make sure everything was ready to go for the 9:15 s.s. hour. We began on time and went until 10:15 with music and friends. Following that we broke things down to make room for the kids church that followed.
We are home this week and preparing for upcoming revival in Brookhaven, MS.
Thanks for the prayers.
John

Ok…glad you’ve checked in to see how the closing day went here in Vaiden, MS. Wow…not really sure where to start. We started the day early by going to Winona Christian School. Ken Freeman spoke to 7-12 graders and we saw 15 give their hearts and lives to Christ.
Ok, now that’s fantastic. But hold on…here you go. Following my time with K-6th grades, we headed to lunch and the thought crossed our minds that with the increasing crowds we might need to consider moving into the newer (6 yrs. old) fellowship hall that has seated as many as 250 or so we were told at a big community event a little while back. Since the sanctuary seats about 150 without chairs being added or folks in the choir loft as they were both Monday and Tuesday, we made the decision to move everything. This, of course, involved and complete breaking down of all the equipment and moving and setting. The service time was 7 p.m. At 6:20 we were 3/4 full. Hmmm. By 6:35, as many chairs as could be rounded up from the choir room and all the available Sunday School rooms were added. Right before we began, a prelimimary count was 345. Yep, 345. By the time the service was in full swing there were 425 people in the fellowship hall and God showed up and showed out. At least 50 professions of faith, families that were torn were being restored, and there were instances of abuse that were forgiven. It was quite remarkable and supernatural.
Thank you for your prayers as we did the work. My voice, even with all the additional work, was strong throughout.
Reflection tells me that we saw nearly 100 professions of faith this week.
People were showing up from everywhere. The pastor overheard one gentleman say; “I just heard there was something special happening here at this church, so I decided to come check it out for myself.”
We’ll head home tomorrow for a little rest.
Blessings,
John

Whew!!! Thanks for checking in. We appreciate the continued prayers and encourage you to lift this ministry and especially this meeting to the Lord.
This morning we met at the church with the senior adult group of the church for a fun time of Bible study and lunch. Tonight, once again the church filled to capacity about 10 minutes before the service was to begin. Chairs were put out in the aisle (as much as the law would allow) and finally the pastor asked his members to volunteer to fill the choir loft to make room.
It was the leadership’s choice to not have a choir and me to use my ministry in different aspects. So, fortunately, we had the space. It was eventually filled.
We saw another 17 come to Christ. It’s been simply amazing seeing God work so powerfully.
Tomorrow morning, Ken Freeman will be speaking to the high school group at the Christian school at 8:45 and I will be speaking to the elementary group at 10 a.m. We are excited about presenting the gospel to these kids so your prayers would be appreciated.

Blessings,
John