MINISTRY UPDATES
DAVID STROPE, Interim National Representative
The Personal: God continues His work of grace in my life. Each day I follow Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s Bible reading guide and time in private prayer. I’ve committed to praying daily in a systematic way for all our churches, particularly for churches that are seeking pastors.
I have used, enjoyed, and been convicted by Voices from the Past: Puritan Devotional Reading. Then as I have been preparing messages from 2 Peter, I’ve been rereading Jim Berg’s Essential Virtues: Marks of the Christ-Centered Life. I sense and experience that God is yet doing a work in my life and my family’s life, for which I am profoundly grateful. I’d like to think that 1 Corinthians 15:10 is as true of me as it was of Paul: “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”
I inserted a picture of my wife and me so you will remember to pray for us both. 
Ministry: September brought opportunities for ministry presentations and preaching in Creston, Iowa; Marilla, New York; Altoona, Iowa; and Wheelersburg, Ohio. Churches have been very receptive to the ministry of the Word and to Regular Baptist Ministries.
Administrative meetings, correspondence, ministry scheduling, and occasional study more than fill my daily schedule.
Many communicate their prayer for me, for which I am very grateful. Diane Scallon, our administrative assistant, contacts each of the churches for which I pray, and many write back with thanks and requests for my prayer.
The home office received two specific notes of thanks. I’ll share one with you from a church in Massachusetts:
“This past Sunday (9/4/2022), our children’s Sunday School began using your Strong Curriculum. During a discussion on what it means to be holy (the topic of the lesson titled “The Word of the Day”), my 8-year-old son’s eyes were opened. He felt an overwhelming need to reach out to the Lord and was saved! I want to thank you so very much for the curriculum you put together. It helped lead my child to Christ! Please keep doing God’s good work!”
My October schedule is very full. Do pray for each of these ministry opportunities. Special ministries are at my alma mater, Clarks Summit University, and Debbie’s and my hometown church, First Baptist in Newark Valley, New York!
Oct. 2: Soteria, West Des Moines, Iowa
Oct. 7–9: First Baptist Community Church, Monte Sereno, California
Oct. 16: Good News Baptist Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Oct. 17–19: Tri-State Conference, Emmanuel Baptist Church, Toledo, Ohio
Oct. 23: Central Baptist Church, Binghamton, New York
Oct. 24–25: Northeast Fellowship Annual Conference, Bath, New York
Oct. 28: Clarks Summit University chapel, Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania
Oct. 30: First Baptist Church, Newark Valley, New York
Council of 18 and National Representative Search: Pray for the Council of 18 members as they prepare for their November 14–15 meeting. Much work is being done, with a great deal of attention given to analyzing all the ministries of Regular Baptist Ministries and searching for a GARBC national representative.
Ministry Projects:
2023 GARBC Conference: Save June 26–29 for the 2023 GARBC Conference at Corban University, Salem, Oregon. Philip De Courcy, pastor of Kindred Community Church, Anaheim, California, will be the keynote speaker.
New Testament Exposition Commentary: Work is being completed on the first volume (Matthew) of the New Testament Exposition Commentary series and, God willing, will be available in early 2023.
Regular Baptist International: A regional conference of the Biblical Baptist Partnership International will take place Jan. 26–28 in northeast India. I will be leading this conference and will also work to rejuvenate this ministry of Regular Baptist International. COVID-19 greatly affected partners of Regular Baptist International, and we seek to bring new life and vitality to this ministry.
Staff: Several employees of Regular Baptist Ministries are dealing with illnesses, and all are stretched with additional responsibilities. Your prayer for each employee is appreciated. They have rendered yeoman’s service, for which I am exceedingly grateful.
KERRY WATKINS, Director of Church Engagement
Would you like to better understand the purpose of the GARBC? If you do, contact me at kwatkins@garbc.org. I will get you scheduled for one of our online meetings designed for pastors and ministry leaders, where you will learn the purpose and vision of the GARBC. The meetings are about an hour long. David Strope, interim national representative of the GARBC, shares his vision for the GARBC for about 20 minutes, and the rest of the time is available for you to ask questions. We have meetings scheduled for October and November.
MARK JOHNSON, Treasurer and Controller
I am grateful to our many financial partners who make ministry possible and who enable us to serve churches and enhance their community impact. The work of the GARBC is possible only through the support of GARBC churches. A church’s financial commitment could be very affordable, given the number of churches in the GARBC. If every church contributed just $250 per year, our annual fund budget would be met in full.
Thank you to each church and individual supporter who makes the GARBC’s ministry possible!
If your church isn’t yet allocating support to the GARBC, would you prayerfully consider it as you make budget plans this fall? Your generosity allows us to help churches facing challenging circumstances, provide churches with trustworthy resources, offer personal support for pastors, and connect pastors individually to the national fellowship to further encourage their work.
Gifts to the annual fund so far total $101,000 toward our goal of $175,000. Would you help us reach our target in these remaining months of 2022?
CLARE JEWELL, Director of Generate
Generate launched its updated website Sept. 19. Please check it out!
Generate is also working on bringing a new church in Mexico into the GARBC! Please
pray as we go through the process with this church.
This fall Generate will sponsor four Church Solutions conferences in Fort Wayne, Indiana; Salem, Oregon; Tacoma, Washington; and West End, North Carolina. Please pray for churches to get on a path to ministry reproduction and for God to lead pastors and churches to join the GARBC. Generate wants to help grow the GARBC while helping churches become more fully engaged in the mission of God.
October Itinerary
1: Men’s breakfast at Orchard Avenue Baptist, Vacaville, California
2: Orchard Avenue Baptist Church, Vacaville, California
17–19: Tri-State Conference, Emmanuel Baptist Church, Toledo, Ohio
21–22: 24-hour Demo at ABWE, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
24–28: Global Gates training on reaching unreached people groups in North America, New York City
30: New missionary orientation at ABWE, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
MANNING BROWN, Director of Regular Baptist Chaplaincy
Through a Regular Baptist Press VBS missions offering project, Regular Baptist Chaplaincy was able to order 500 durable, weather-proof pocket Bibles for first responders. The Bibles will be distributed free to first responders. Thank you to those who donated to the VBS missions offering project!
Please pray for our chaplains, their families, and this ministry as together we bring Christ-centered counsel, comfort, and care.
Visit Regular Baptist Chaplaincy
October Itinerary
1–2: Men’s retreat, Germantown Hills Baptist Church, Germantown Hills, Illinois
3–7: Visiting two of our military chaplains at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi
DARRELL GOEMAAT, Coordinator of Regular Baptist International
Regular Baptist International received a positive report from David Chhetri of India, who spent two weeks this summer visiting churches in a village near the India-Myanmar border and in the Kangpokpi district of Manipur, India.
“By God’s grace and your prayers, I had a wonderful time visiting our fellowship churches,” says David, who is executive secretary of the Fundamental Baptist Churches Fellowship of Manipur.
He asks people to pray for his upcoming preaching and teaching opportunities and for a seminar with pastors and leaders.
David’s ministry recently received a grant from Regular Baptist International to repair a well that serves orphans under his care. He thanks Regular Baptist International and its financial donors for their prayers and support for his ministry’s construction needs.
“By your help, we could complete repairing of well for drinking water and two small rooms,” David says. “Your partnership in ministry has truly been helpful to us, especially in accomplishing this ministry-specific need. May the Lord bless you!”
Children in Malawi are enjoying a recent shipment of last year’s RBP Vacation Bible School curriculum, Wonder World Fun Fest: Amazed by Our Extraordinary Savior. The children attend Bethany Children’s Home, a nonresidential after-school learning center in Mzengezi. The home is a ministry of Going Home Africa Ministries, led by Francis Chipukunya, and all of the children learn Bible truths.
“We want to see lives of children being transformed through a relationship with Jesus Christ,” Francis says.
Regular Baptist Press International provides gospel literature—or the funds to produce that literature on the field—to national churches, national pastors, and missionaries of independent Baptist faith mission agencies. Donations to Regular Baptist Internationals’ resourcing fund help support this assistance.
Sadly, Safari Munyakazi reports that living conditions are still extremely difficult in Congo after Mount Nyiragongo erupted May 22, 2021. Safari, president of the Community of Free Baptist Churches in Congo, says members of one his association’s churches have been living in tents since the eruption, and the area’s conditions are “very deplorable.” Safari says food, water, and extra clothing are scarce, and many of the tents serving as shelters are worn out. “There are even people sleeping on the ground,” he adds. “Soon we will be in the rainy season.”
When he visited the tent city, one mother told him, “We suffer a lot, especially women and children. It has been five months since we have had any more drinking water and food. We women are catching infections and other illnesses, and we have no medicine. Others even risk starving to death.”
Regular Baptist International would like to assist more partners like Safari, but our compassion fund is nearly depleted because of previous grants after a series of recent natural disasters. Please pray for wisdom as our ministry considers a new set of grant applications this fall. Pray that the Lord will provide more funds to meet those needs through Regular Baptist International. Please consider a gift to help us replenish our networking, resourcing, and compassion funds.
Donate to Regular Baptist International
REGULAR BAPTIST PRESS
Wealthy. Immoral. Pretentious. Materialistic. Those words describe both current American culture and first-century Corinth. While Christianity in America is so old it has become commonplace and—in the opinion of many—outdated, illogical, and irrelevant, it was radical and new to the people of Corinth. Paul had brought the gospel, people were saved, and a church was established. But the believers in Corinth struggled. So Paul wrote them a letter.
Called: Living for Christ in a Carnal Culture is a women’s Bible study of 1 Corinthians from RBP. The study captures and applies Paul’s insights on unity, God’s power, marriage and singleness, spiritual gifts, and more. The study will help you become more Christlike in the current culture that at times makes Corinth’s wickedness seem tame. Consider this challenging study for your women’s Bible study groups.
