It was a good day at Hillcrest as I led in worship for both morning services. At the conclusion of the services, the chairman of personnel made a recommendation to the church that I be placed as Interim Worship Pastor.
It all started about a month and 1/2 ago when our Executive Pastor called me in to inform me that our Worship Pastor would be leaving to serve in another church and he asked me how my calendar looked for me filling in some during the interim time. After setting up some dates in July, August and September and working around ministry bookings I kinda thumbed through the remainder of the year and was shocked when I got to October and saw that from there through Dec there was only one booking. This is extremely unusual to not be booked up for the fall by this time of the year.
Apparently, God had it planned all along. So, the church has “contracted” John Yates Ministry to fill this slot and we are excited to be with our friends and serve in this capacity. Already started working on all the planning for the Christmas music as well as Youth Choir Kickoff in a couple of weeks.
Please pray for us as we serve Him in this part of our journey with Him.

Blessings,
John

It was a good day of continued work with both the ministry and with Hillcrest. Since I’m filling in a great deal since our Worship Pastor resigned to another place of service there has been lots to do.
I have been working on my upcoming kids camp as well as Sunday and Wednesday services for Hillcrest. Also spending a little time in the music library of the church to pull some things for the choir to work on. I’m looking forward to helping my church…they do so much for us, but it is just a little difficult doing both right now. God is faithful!

An update of the knee…things are really continuing to improve. Haven’t experienced any discomfort in a couple of days. Sure appreciate the prayers.

Blessings,
John

It was a good road trip and a wonderful visit with friends in south LA. It’s good to be home now. We arrived home around 4 this afternoon. The yard looked like your average pasture. Guess we got a great deal of rain during our road trip…so….I immediately got on it. Patty wasn’t real happy with me considering the knee issues and all but I just couldn’t stand it. I took it easy and knocked it out and feel fine.
Now, since I’m leading worship on Sunday, I’ll head down to the church tomorrow to pick up music prepared for worship.
Thanks for the prayers for travel!
Blessings,
john

Another good day with friends. We got up early, early, and headed to the boat launch to give the old redfish another try. We were not real successful but a few did come home with us. Everything got cleaned up just about the time a big afternoon storm moved in at the house. So, we are laying low and just visiting. Really nice!
We will have some fresh gumbo tonight, yum, then head home tomorrow morning. Lots to do at the house to get ready for Sunday worship at Hillcrest.
We appreciate the prayers as we travel home.
Blessings,
John

It was a good day with Trinity Baptist Church as we enjoyed our worship time. I played my horn during the morning service then we had lunch at the church. Whew, my cajun friends are familiar with the kitchen! Exercise, severe exercise, is in my future. How my knee will act is not a good question right now. Still a little ongoing pain. I can walk without much discomfort but anything more will be too much, I feel.
Nevertheless, after lunch we had an afternoon service where several folks participated and Sparky made an appearance. Lots of fun.
Tomorrow we plan on heading to the bayou to fish for “reds”. I’ve not had a lot of success in the past when we’ve gone for redfish particularly, but when we’ve gone for speckled trout we’ve done really well. Tomorrow is redfish time so if the weather holds (chance of rain) we’ll be getting an early start!
Blessings,
John

We sure appreciate your love and interest in this ministry to continue checking in on us even though you find nothing new for days. All in all I’ve tried to do better but this current situation has been out of my control. We have no internet access this weekend so Patty and I just “tiptoed” out of the camp and found a McDonald’s about 4 miles away to blog to you today.
We arrived at the camp pretty much on time this past Wednesday. There are 54 kids, primarily 3rd-5th graders, so there is a lot of energy with the group and although most haven’t been to a kids camp before and thus have the usual behavioral issues, they have been relatively responsive and overall respectful during our worship times.
Yesterday afternoon a bus full of youth pulled into the parking lot of the State Park Hotel where we are staying. You guessed it…….a youth camp is now going on in the same facilities where we are attempting to rest. ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
It was well after 1 a.m. before things remotely settled. We knew we were in trouble when we happened to be outside when they drove up and after talking with the student pastor responsible for the group, he apologized in advance. His advanced apology meant little early this morning.
All the services are pointed in one direction. The decision service tonight. Please pray. Pray for the kids’ hearts, their attentiveness, and response to the word. In an outdoor pavilion worship center (yes, it is very hot) there are many distractions such as heat, fatigue, bugs, and even the occasional bat! YES BAT! Pray that God will show Himself in a great way!
Tomorrow we will wrap up with a 9:30 a.m. challenge then head to Mathews, LA, for Sunday services.
Thank you again for checking in. Lord willing, I will be able to blog about tonight’s service when I get to Mathews tomorrow afternoon.
Blessings,
John

It’s been a good visit with parents. As dad seems to struggle on having some days better than others, mom is the Queen of all as she handles everything like a plate spinner up on stage, continuing to add yet another plate. Patty has been spending time with her dad who, other than being lonely with her mom around, is doing very well.
We will be pulling out around noon and heading to south MS and Percy Quin State Park. Tonight we will begin a kids camp. There are 3 small churches coming together for their first effort at a summer camp for preteens. I’ve been told there about 50 kids that have signed up so that’s a good number for a first effort. Too many the first time can make everything very difficult.
We’ll be there through Saturday morning. I’ll try and give updates on the progress of the camp but not sure what we’re facing as far as accessibility to internet, we’ll just have to see.
Pray for the church heading up this camp, Clear Branch Baptist Church, as they coordinate everything.
Thank you for checking in!
Blessings,
John

Well, we made it to Yazoo City to find the folks doing fine. Fine with the exception that dad is a huge Yankee’s fan and right now they are getting beat by the Rays of Tampa. he he he (I’m really not a fan as you can tell). That’s ok, when the Yankees are getting beat, dads blood pressure goes up and gives him the only cardio he gets these days.
We will be here for tomorrow then head out on Wednesday to south MS and the kids camp. Thanks for the continued prayers for our safety and God’s provision.
Update on the knee. Hurts! Not sure what’s going on. It seems to start feeling better, turning the corner so to speak, then there’s a set back. I did cut the yard this morning, out of necessity. Patty offered but she had her usual responsibilities to handle (things she handles everytime we are headed out) and my manly side just couldn’t handle her cutting it anyway. You know how it is.

Nevertheless, your prayers would be appreciated. We’ll keep pressing on and keeping our eyes on Him!
John

It was a good day at Hillcrest. We were home before heading out tomorrow and were able to worship with our home folks. Tomorrow we will wrap up home stuff and head to Yazoo City to see parents briefly before heading to south MS and a kids camp.
Thanks for the continued prayers,
John

It was a great time in Baton Rouge with our friends and the ministry of Parkview Baptist Church. We are home now and that feels really nice. We’ll try and get to bed early tonight and get as much rest as possible before doing all the “household tasks” waiting for us tomorrow.
Church Sunday the driving to Yazoo City on Monday.
I’ll be in touch!
John