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Conference and Commissioning in Spite of Flooding

By June 6, 2013June 17th, 2014No Comments

LITTLETON, Ill.—Despite flooding in two states, three members of Almond Tree Ministry traveled to First Baptist Church from Bible Baptist Church, Kokomo, Ind., for a training conference on Biblical substance abuse counseling. Pam Russell, Almond Tree director, wrote the curriculum and led the training sessions. She developed the material while working as a chaplain with female inmates in the Howard County (Ind.) Criminal Justice Center.

Pam is endorsed by Regular Baptist Chaplaincy Ministries and is a member of the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors. Pam’s husband, Rick, and Ruth Salmons, secretary of Almond Tree, accompanied her to the conference, traveling over three flooded roads to get there.

Pastor Larry Lindow and the First Baptist family hosted the two-day conference and then on Sunday commissioned Pat Patton as a GARBC chaplain of women’s ministries. Col. John Murdoch, director of Regular Baptist Chaplaincy Ministries and member of the Almond Tree Ministry board, was there to commission Pat. She “has long wanted to serve the Lord and minister to incarcerated women in the local tri-county correctional facility,” says Pam.

Pastor Lindow invited the local sheriff to speak at the conference. Although he was busy dealing with the flooding, the sheriff did speak. Pam says: “At the end of his talk, he graciously opened the doors for Pastor Lindow, Pat Patton, and First Baptist Church to minister in his jail, conducting Almond Tree classes, and doing follow-up counseling. How exciting that was! The doors of opportunity in that facility had previously been tightly closed. We praise God! Please pray that those doors will remain open and that God will grant favor in the eyes of the sheriff and his staff to the people of First Baptist Church.”

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