December 2011 No newsletter
November 2011
Greetings, friends, in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As always, I pray this letter finds you and your family doing well.
It was Fall Festival last night for Hillcrest! J.J., Sparky, and Rufus, all made appearances during the mayhem as an estimated 800-1000 people played games, ate hotdogs and popcorn, and spent time on the inflatables.
The interim time here at home has been quite busy with the “normal” duties found in a staff position and the additional Christmas music preparations. Things are coming along nicely in the planning meetings with the technical side of things and those volunteers operating those systems as well as the choir prep. As a matter of fact, we have a choir rehearsal tonight. There have been several of these additional rehearsals and I feel like the choir is on pace to be fully prepared for the Dec. 9-11 presentations.
I would appreciate your prayers as we continue this work during such a busy season. Patty is driving to Yazoo City today to check in with our parents. You may, or may not be aware that we are coming up on the 1 year anniversary of the loss of Patty’s mom. Her dad is doing very well over all, staying quite busy with church and civic functions but he does express his loneliness ever so often. He will turn 90 in December. She will check in on my side of the family as well. It is a blessing that our parents live in the same town. Dad is not doing as well as we see the effects of his congestive heart failure continuing to increase. We would appreciate your prayers for him but as much for mom as she continues her role of caregiver.
Finally, we are taking bookings for next year so contact us and make us a part of your special events. We’ve asked that you pray for God’s direction in this ministry and we would appreciate, very much, you continuing that on our behalf.
I pray you have a blessed time during this Thanksgiving season!
Blessings,
John
October 2011
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. This past month of ministry was extremely busy with the traveling ministry. Add to that the home ministry (Interim Worship Pastor) of Hillcrest and it was very, very busy, so here we are now, having finished up the road ministry to the end of the year with the exception of a weekend in December.
We saw God work in many wonderful ways while on the road this past month and none more so than the last week of the month. A small community about 40 miles east of Athens, GA, has found the mission field coming to them and boy, are they stepping up and working with a very unique group of people.
A group of Christian refugees from the Karin ( kah-‘rin) Province of Burma have landed there. It’s a long story as you can imagine but to see Vesta Baptist Church work with them, helping them with green cards, setting up households and the like was a tremendous blessing. The refugees (approx. 40 of them) participate in the worship service each Sunday morning by singing a “special music” selection. Most speak at least a little English but they sing in their native tongue. Not being able to understand them didn’t hinder the movement of the Spirit as they sang to the Lord with all they had. You could feel the passion and hear their hearts. As usual, I received more of a blessing than I gave that week.
I will continue blogging for this ministry even though we are off the road. We look for God to do new things with us these next few months and would appreciate your prayers as we seek His leadership.
Blessings,
John
September 2011 No newsletter
August 2011
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It has been a wonderful summer schedule with many children coming to Christ. We were so blessed in our time with friends in Baton Rouge. We have had an ongoing relationship with Parkview Baptist for quite a few years and as a result have become close friends with a couple that serve there. We stayed in their home as we led worship for a “spiritual emphasis week” (for lack of a better term) of their summer day camp. We saw 16 children make a decision for Christ that week. Follow up is sometimes difficult in that south Louisiana culture so pray as they do the work.
The next week we worked with a “4 Church” kid’s camp. Clear Branch Baptist Church in Brookhaven, MS, had a desire to do their first camp so three other churches joined them and we met at Percy Quin State Park in south MS. Let me tell you, it was just the least bit warm in that outdoor pavilion as we worshiped together. We saw 4 children come to Christ and that made everything worthwhile.
We finished the camp Saturday morning and immediately headed down to visit our friends in Mathews, LA. I participated in their Sunday services then took a couple of days to do a little fishing. Although the fishing was not as good as we hoped, the down time and visit were great!
A quick glance at the August schedule reveals a couple of fairly lengthy trips surrounded by some time with our home church. On July 24th, our Worship Pastor, Rev. Darin Allen, completed his time of service with us and is moving to VA. The church leadership has asked if I could help fill in some dates and I am excited to do so. The church gives so much to us and we love giving back.
We appreciate your continued prayers on behalf of our calendar as we run the race set before us!
Blessings,
John
July 2011
It was a wonderful month of ministry in June as we saw several children come to Christ in VBS. The temps were so very hot yet the kids participated in recreation with little complaining and although both churches would like to have seen more kids, they were pleased with the turnout and response. Thank you for your prayers for my voice and clarity of message those two weeks.
I finished the month preaching revival services in Long Beach, MS. The crowds were good (although the pastor would like to have seen more and what pastor wouldn’t) and we had one profession of faith in a 38 year old man that the church had on their prayer list for some time. Praise the Lord!
We are headed to south Louisiana to pick up a new laptop. We got a bad virus from a church through our thumb drive and though a tech cleaned it after 5 hours, it was infected once again the second day. The expulsion of the virus took 6 ½ hours the second time and the current machine is showing the effects of that battle. I ordered a new one and a buddy in Louisiana is setting it up for me. Of course we have to go “red-fishing” one day as part of the set up.
Next month is a busy one as well. I will be supplying for our Worship Pastor while he is out on July 10th and 31st and will be leading 2 kids camps in between.
Continue to pray for God’s leadership as we open ourselves up to every opportunity.
Blessings,
John
June 2011
Hi friends. With only a couple of bookings in May, the report is good but rather short. I had the privilege of leading worship at my home church, Hillcrest in Enterprise, on Sunday the 15th and Wednesday the 18th. The people are so gracious and love us and it was a blessing to “give back” to them and the worship ministry. On the 21st, we joined in with one of our Life Groups and their ongoing ministry with some government housing here in Enterprise. It was a blessing and lots of fun!
Other than that, it was a good month off as we prepared ourselves for the upcoming summer schedule. I was able to lose a little weight although I was working hard and hoping for a great deal more. I guess my body and my fat have gotten to be such good friends they just simply didn’t want to part. It wasn’t for a lack of trying, I assure you.
Nevertheless, it is what it is and now we are geared up for back to back Vacation Bible Schools in MS and TX. I will be preaching at FBC Yazoo City on the 5th and of course those of you who know us well, know this is where dad was pastor for 30 years.
After that we’ll be at the south campus of Green Acres Baptist Church for our second VBS. We look forward to being with our friends out in TX and you know how “cool” it is out there in June. (wink, wink)
We will conclude the month as I preach a revival meeting in Long Beach, MS. North Long Beach Baptist is another sweet fellowship that we’ve been with in the past and we look forward to seeing God work on the 26th.
We appreciate your prayers and always love hearing from you!
May 2011 No newsletter
April 2011
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The ministry has continued to cover a lot of ground and be used by Him for the Kingdom. The student conference we had in Gates, TN, went well although the church didn’t have the attendance they had hoped. The folks there put in a great deal of effort in advertising but, of course, you can’t make anyone attend. The adults came out, being familiar with my ministry, and even though the music and message were both geared for the students, the adults were very supportive.
The revival in Poplarville, MS, went well. A different speaker was used each service and although there wasn’t a huge outpouring, the people were responsive and time will tell. Thank you for your prayers.
Following Poplarville, I dropped in on my parents for a few days to take care of the “chore list” that grows in my absence. So, I did a little “fence mending” (yes, the fence needed mending) and other odd jobs to help them out and am always happy to do it.
A quick glance at our upcoming ministry schedule will demonstrate our need for your prayers and support. The Student Conference will be an outdoor event under a large tent so there are numerous prayer needs. Among them, weather, sound (my system will need to be set up and broken down each service), projection, and overall attendance.
The conference ends on Wednesday night and we will stay an extra night before driving to Nashville, TN, for a Friday night event then on to Columbus, MS, on Saturday for another revival meeting. And on and on it goes!
Here’s another matter for prayer and we would appreciate you joining us in our efforts. It has been several years since our last video project and it seems as though God is leading us to record again. We have made the necessary “tentative” arrangements with the company that produced our last project so we need your prayers for clear direction of God’s Will. More info as things progress.
God bless you, friends. Keep in touch!
John
March 2011
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We are in the process of catching our collective breaths as you read this letter. Thank you for all your prayers during an incredibly busy February. 3 revivals, 2 banquets, a concert, a family conference, and an UPWARDS award program kept us really burning up the roads. Your prayers on our behalf for travel safety and vocal strength have been answered and we are so very grateful.
We head home on Tuesday to prepare for a Student Conference (youth revival) in Gates, TN. This will be an area wide effort so pray we see a harvest of students willing to sell out to the Lord. From there we will head in different directions. Patty will be flying out to San Antonio to help my sister-in-law for a couple of weeks and I will have the opportunity to help out my good bud in south Louisiana with his flooring since he came to my place twice to help me. From there I will head to Poplarville, MS, where I will lead worship Sunday through Thursday. The pastor has chosen to use a different speaker each night. I will preach on Wednesday. From there I’ll be preaching in the a.m. service and giving an area-wide concert in the evening in Forest, MS.
Again, thank you for your continued prayers.
Blessings,
John
February 2011
Greetings, friends, in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I wanted to begin this letter by thanking you for your prayers through the life of this ministry. You’ve been faithful in your prayers through parents’ illness, through all the travel and the necessary remodeling of our home and the distractions therein. I wanted to tell you that Patty’s dad has been declared cancer free…praise the Lord! He continued his chemo treatments throughout Mrs. Shurley’s battles and on Dec. 31st was declared cancer free with no “maintenance” treatments necessary.
It was the middle of January when the flooring and all the “fix-up” projects (for the time being) were completed. Thanks to our friends from LA who took vacation time to do the work and put up with my “help” in the process. It is such a relief to have things back in place for the first time since October.
At the end of January we had some good events beginning locally. About 5 miles or so from the house is the small community of New Brockton. First Baptist is a sweet fellowship but struggling. The interim pastor asked me to come in for a one day revival meeting. I led in a joint Sunday School session to the family, led morning worship including bringing the message, then presented a concert for community outreach. I am not sure what the effects will be of our time together but it was a good day and well attended.
On the 30th we participated in the annual Bible Conference held at First United Methodist in Montgomery. We finished our time together late in the afternoon and drove to Yazoo City where we checked on parents and spent the night before heading on to Haughton, LA, for revival services on the 31st- Feb. 2.
One glimpse of our February schedule demonstrates where the prayer emphasis should be doesn’t it? Many opportunities and many miles of travel show us that God is not finished with this ministry and therefore we are calling all our partners to bathe us in prayer. You know as well as I that if God is not finished, neither is Satan.
We love you and are blessed knowing you are there standing in the gap. With God, all things are possible!
Blessings,
John
December 2011
Hi friends and Happy New Year!!! Are you ready for another year? What does it hold?
Jesus said to his disciples: I tell you not to worry about your life! Don’t worry about having something to eat or wear. Life is more than food or clothing. Look at the crows! They don’t plant or harvest, and they don’t have storehouses or barns. But God takes care of them. You are much more important than any birds. Can worry make you live longer?
Luke 12:22-25 CEV
Our Christmas season was different this year with God calling Mrs. Shurley home and everything being repaired in our kitchen and den but it was a sweet time with the Christmas program at the church and time spent with friends. In the middle of December Patty drove to Yazoo City, picked up her dad and brought him down to Enterprise. Her brother drove in from Atlanta that weekend and we had an early Christmas together before he headed back. Preparing a traditional Christmas dinner WITHOUT a kitchen sink was humorous to say the least but everything turned out fine. Mr. Shurley stayed with us until we all drove back to Yazoo City on Christmas day.
Within the past couple of years we’ve had a number of young parents come to events I was leading “so their kids could experience what they experienced in my ministry when they were kids”. What a blessing!!! Hmmmmmm…….yep, 25 years of ministry will do that. Good thing I haven’t gotten any older, right? Ha ha!!
The opportunities continue to come in, our church continues to be more and more supportive and this is exciting for us and this ministry. There are quite a few of you that have prayed and supported us from the beginning (Jan. 1986) and we are so very blessed to share our lives with you. May your year be truly blessed by Him as you follow in His steps, wherever they may lead!
Blessed,
John