LETTER FROM THE RBM NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE
Greetings in the name of our wonderful Lord Jesus!
Thanksgiving season. “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!” (1 Chronicles 16:34, ESV)
Present in your life, your church, and our fellowship are many challenges, burdens, and needs. So dominating do they become that often we fail to give God thanks for the multiple blessings He so readily pours out upon His people.
- Thank God for salvation in Christ, for His indescribable gift (2 Corinthians 9:15).
- Thank God for His Word, living and powerful, the source of initial and ongoing faith in Christ (Hebrews 4:12; Romans 10:17).
- Thank God for daily grace that not only meets momentary needs but brings us to rejoice in weakness because the power of Christ rests weightily upon us (2 Corinthians 12:9–11).
- Thank God for the blessings of family, godly spouses, and children both growing and grown who bring us joy (Proverbs 18:22).
- Thank God for faithful pastors, Jesus Christ’s gift to your church (Ephesians 4:7).
- Thank God for your church, big or small (1 Timothy 3:15).
“In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
Thankful in God’s grace,
David E. Strope, D.D.
Interim National Representative
DAVID STROPE, Interim National Representative
Opportunities for me to present Regular Baptist Ministries and to preach continue unabated. October brought me service at Germantown Hills (Illinois) Baptist Church; Shawnee Hills Baptist Church, Jamestown, Ohio; the Ohio Association of Regular Baptist Churches annual meeting; Independent Baptist Church, Towanda, Pennsylvania; Clarks Summit University; First Baptist Church, Newark Valley, New York; and Brookdale Baptist Church, Moorhead, Minnesota. A busy month! I am tired just reviewing the list. God continues to give grace and to provide the blessing of interacting with our churches, pastors, and associations.
The selection of Matt Olmstead as director of Regular Baptist Press was announced last month. Matt and his family will be moving to the Elgin, Illinois, area, with Matt beginning his role October 31. The director’s position has been vacant since June 2022, when (the now Dr.) David Gunn left to teach at Clarks Summit University and Baptist Bible Seminary. It’s been a long wait, but it’s better to hire slowly and well than quickly and poorly. In our interview process, the interview team interacted with several qualified, godly applicants. In each of these interviews we gained additional insight and potential resources. God has made it clear to me, the interview team, and the Council of 18 that Matt is the man for this important role. Pray for the Olmsteads as they make this transition to RBM.
On November 12 and 13, the Council of 18 will descend upon the RBM office in Elgin, Illinois, for the council’s annual fall meetings. I am grateful for the friendship, fellowship, wisdom, and work of each of these men on the council. Their churches and ministries have released them as gifts to our fellowship, for which we are thankful.
Commentary Available
The first volume of the New Testament Exposition Commentary, Matthew, is now available and will also soon be available in a Kindle edition and as a standalone purchase in Logos.
My Travel Schedule
November 10–13: RBM office, Elgin, Illinois
November 12: Emmanuel Baptist Church of Warrenville, Naperville, Illinois
November 13–14: Council of 18 meetings, Elgin, Illinois
November 15: Generate board meeting, Elgin, Illinois
2024 Conference
June 24–27 are the dates for the Regular Baptist Ministries Conference 2024. The conference will meet at the RBM office in Elgin, Illinois. Our staff is already planning and setting things in order for this event. Do make plans now to attend. Pastors, communicate to your church leadership and congregation the value of attending the conference. Congregations, encourage your pastor and his wife to attend, and set aside adequate funds for them to attend.
RBM Offering
I’ve begun efforts to raise $100,000 for RBM. I received an initial donation of $100 toward this $100,000. Only $99,900 to go!
The Council of 18 is participating in this effort, and special offerings from churches will be greatly appreciated. We are also seeking individuals to share love gifts large and small. Perhaps it would be advantageous to give through a charitable gift annuity prior to year end.
Pray with me about this need; share the need with your church, spouse, and family; and give! Label your gifts “INR $100,000.”
GARBC Directory
If you are a pastor and have not yet updated your church’s GARBC Directory listing, do so today on our online form.
Personal Notes
My wife, Debbie, and I celebrated two milestones this past month. The first was her retirement from Mercy Hospital Infusion Clinic in Des Moines, Iowa. She has worked in the medical field administratively for 30 years and is now trying to adjust to a new routine. She has always been my best champion, encourager, and intercessor. I am so grateful for God’s gift to me in her life and ministry. Truly, “he who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord” (Proverbs 18:22). I have been highly graced!
The second “milestone” was the death of Debbie’s mother on September 25. We dislodged Debbie’s parents from the Binghamton, New York, area six years ago so we could care for them in their elderly years. Debbie’s mom, Shirley Horton, died at age 90 and is survived by Shirley’s husband, Howard, 94. It has been our high privilege to serve Debbie’s parents these last years. We are now sorting through all the details that death inevitably brings even while we mourn Shirley’s death.
We sorrow, but not as those who have no hope. Our confidence remains steadfast in the gospel of Christ and in the hope of His coming, and we look for the wonderful day when we will be reunited with Debbie’s mom and a host of others in Heaven and see the Lord Jesus Christ.
In my 46 years of pastoral ministry I often quoted and used Romans 6:22–23 as a funeral text. “But now having been set free from sin, and having become the slaves of God you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
How good God is, and how wonderful is the gospel of Jesus Christ to us—sinners saved by grace!
KERRY WATKINS, Head of Operations and HR Director
Hopefully by now, you have seen announcements of the hiring of Matt Olmstead as director of RBP. We are excited about the skills and passion Matt will bring. You can be praying for him and his family as they work on relocating to Illinois. He will be starting October 31.
We have begun the search for the next permanent national representative of the GARBC. By going to GARBC.org/national-representative-job-posting, you can read the specifics of the job, send in your résumé if you are interested, or nominate someone who meets the qualifications. Please be praying that God would bring us our next leader in His time.
The staff at the home office desires to serve our churches and pastors well. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions. I can be reached at kwatkins@garbc.org if you don’t know who to reach out to. You can also find many resources and answers to your questions at our website: GARBC.org.
For us to improve, we also need to know when your experience with the association is not what you would have expected. Please let me know if there is a time when we did not meet your expectations. We are working to meet your needs and desire to serve you well.
MARK JOHNSON, Treasurer and Controller
Regular Baptist Ministries exists to support and advance churches. One of the ways we lend a hand is offering tips and resources on risk management so church leaders can focus more on their ministries and less on administrative burdens. Each year I meet with representatives from Brotherhood Mutual, our preferred property and casualty insurance provider. We appreciate Brotherhood Mutual’s exclusive commitment to serving Christian ministries with high-quality insurance protection and services, including mission protection, workers’ compensation, auto insurance, and much more.
Each year’s meeting with Brotherhood Mutual includes a comprehensive review of the trends it is experiencing in claims and risk management. I was thrilled to see that most churches, including Regular Baptist churches, are steadily improving their coverages and strategies in the areas that matter most. This means lower claims and more affordable premiums for all. Many free tools are available to help churches avoid incidents that can cause property or financial loss, such as theft or fraud, misconduct, storm and water damage, or work-related injuries.
We encourage you to check out Brotherhood Mutual’s online Safety Library, where you’ll find articles, overviews, checklists, and guides on nearly any risk a church could face. You can also use the Working Together tool to do a self-guided review of your church’s employee handbook policies. Plus, you have access to free Legal Assist service, where you can search online for guidance to frequently asked risk management questions or use the attorney response service to ask a more complicated question.
Bookmark our Ministry Partner Page for access to all these tools and more. If I can be of assistance to your church in areas of risk management, financial management, government and tax compliance, contracts, or other business topics, please feel welcome to email me.
DARRELL GOEMAAT, Coordinator of Regular Baptist International
In October we received reports from ministry leaders being trained and new believers being baptized. One hundred pastors gathered in Minova, Congo, for a four-day discipleship training conference. The pastors learned how to make disciples who will be able to train others in their churches. Pastor Napoleon Baluki, who leads the Evangelical Baptist Mission of Congo, said the conference topic was waiting on God. The conference theme was “Lord, I Want to Know You.” Pastor Baluki says, “We want to be able to expand God’s Word in different ministries. It was so wonderful.”
By God’s grace, Victory International School in Myanmar is able to continue building despite the tribal warfare and hyperinflation in Myanmar, says Victor Vula, principal of the school. Victor says 90 percent of the construction has been completed. Now the school is praying for funds to finish construction while paying the school’s staff members and raising their wages in light of inflation. Victor also notes that the government plans to investigate all private schools, including his, which will present difficulties for his ministry. “Please pray for us to have the strength and wisdom to get through this challenging time,” he says.
“It gives us great joy to behold lives being transformed and hearts turned by the gospel of our great God,” says Premadas Nallagatla, pastor of Amazing Grace Baptist Church, Telangana, India. On September 7, his church held a prayer retreat for pastors and their families in the Mulakalapally tribal area. Nearly 50 families attended. The retreat, with its preaching and fellowship, “was such a blessing,” Premadas says. He also praises God that two people from his church decided to be baptized. He baptized both of these new believers during a Sunday morning worship service.
“Our Muslim community worship service is going well,” says Prasad Sakile, a pastor with the New Life Regular Baptist Society of Andhra Pradesh, India. Prasad has been working with this people group, Christians who have converted from the Muslim religion, for 20 years. He meets with this group every Sunday for worship under a tent and every Wednesday for a prayer meeting in a member’s home. Prasad is praying for the Lord’s guidance and provision to build a church for this congregation. In his area, holding a worship service under a tent conveys that Jesus is weak, since the converted Muslim families previously met in a beautiful mosque. Prasad’s church also ministers to children who live with their mothers in prison. Last month he held that ministry’s annual Sunday School retreat. The daylong event featured songs, a Bible quiz, and indoor games. The children enjoyed the event, and 22 accepted Christ as Savior. “Praise the Lord,” Prasad says. “All the glory goes to Him.”
MANNING BROWN, Director of Regular Baptist Chaplaincy
Hospice chaplains provide comfort to individuals and their families during end-of-life care, sharing the love of Christ and Biblical truth during the most critical times. To learn about Regular Baptist Chaplaincy and how you can support this ministry or become a chaplain yourself, visit RegularBaptistChaplaincy.org.
CLARE JEWELL, Director of Generate
Generate’s board meeting will take place November 15. We will be considering 10 grant applications from Regular Baptist churches. Please pray for wisdom in evaluating these applications.
We sent invitations to Regular Baptist churches to participate in our 50/50 campaign. We are praying for 50 churches to give $50 per month to help Generate continue to fuel the health and reproduction of Regular Baptist churches and their leaders. Please pray that we will reach this goal.
We have a full schedule of M3 conferences this year, with 11 conferences planned from now through spring 2024. Please pray that more and more pastors and churches will focus on developing a culture of evangelism, disciple-making, and leadership development in their churches. Also, pray that these conferences will lead to more church plants.
Great news! On October 1, Bethany Baptist Church, Salem, Oregon, launched a church plant. Peace Bible Church, Salem, Oregon, is now meeting for worship services and is seeking to reduce lostness in the central part of Salem. Please pray that God will use this church to reach many who need to live in a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ
Itinerary
November 11–12: My Circle Training, Des Moines, Iowa
November 13–14: Council of 18 meetings, Elgin, Illinois
November 15: Generate board meeting, Elgin, Illinois
November 19: First Baptist Church, University Place, Washington
November 30: EveryEthné strategic planning in Florida
