The Messengera publicat ion of the wv state associat ion of free wil l baptistswww.wvfwb.org | the.messenger@wvfwb.org

December 2011Volume 11 Number 4

M e r r y C h r i s t m a sH a p p y N e w Y e a r

Does Christianity work in real life anymore?

If you have asked yourself, “Where has all the integrity gone” or “What does integrity look like in today’s complex world” this may be just what you’re looking for. In this book GARNETT REID shares examples from the life of Job and shows what it means to live out a life of integrity. In a world full of lost integrity, this work shows us a vital foundation and encourages us to build a life of integrity so we can survive the ash heap as well.

D Family.

Available at D6Family.com/Integrity and Amazon.com

www.wvfwb.org �

What a pr ivi lege i t i s for me to greet a l l of youas your State Promotional Director. I thankeachof youfor theopportuni ty to serveour State Associat ion, especial ly theState Execut iveCommit teethat interviewedmefor theposi t ion. AsI t raveledto threeof our conferencesin October: Greenbrier, Freedom,andGreenbrier-Nicholas , I amencouragedto f indthemstrongin thefai th of our LordandSavior JesusChris t . I waswiththeTrini ty, TugRiverandKanawhaConferences in November. I askfor your prayers as weaccl imateourselves to thedut ies of thePromotional Director. TheLordhasblessedour minis t rya t theSunshineFreeWil l Bapt is t Churchfor near ly thir ty years andI hopeto br ingmuchofthat experience to mynewjob. Wehavea lot of workaheadof us i f weare to besuccessful in promotingmissions, Chris t ianEducat ion,andmen&women’s organizat ions. I t a l l begins with loving, respect ingandhelpingeachother to bewhat Godwants us to be. I havediscoveredthat whenthefel lowshipis r ight in thelocal church, thef inanceswil l ber ightas wel l . I amlookingforward to beingwithas manyof youas possible duringmyf i rs t year as your director.

Yours in Chris t , Rev. Carl B. Li l ly

St ate Pro m o t i o n a l D i re c to rupdate

Carl Li l ly has been named promotional director for the West Virginia StateAssociat ion of Free Wil l Bapt is ts . According to Moderator Earl White , “ the vote toemploy Brother Li l ly was unanimous by al l of the Execut ive Commit tee members whowerepresent .” Carl , andhis wife Paula , br inga weal th of experienceto thejob. Brother Carl wassaved in 1960, ordained in 1979, and pastored the Sunshine FWB Church for 28 years .He has a lso served as the Chairman of the Mission Board and the Chris t ian Educat ionBoard. The Commit tee , through much prayer and fast ing, bel ieves with Brother Carl’swork experience, educat ion, and Chris t ian service, he is God’s man for the job at thist ime. Bro. Carl has a vis ion for the work of the Lord in the s ta te , and is ready to getto work. Earl White went onto say “I’m sure that with theLord’s help, Brother Carl wil lbe anencouragement to a l l of our churches. His desire is that theLord’s workwil l moveforwardfor thegloryof God.” Thedecis ionof theExecut iveCommit teewil l bevotedonbytheGeneral BoardinFebruary, and thenby thes ta te in June.

Newsaround the state

Y es,eventhoughI’m“ret i red”, i t ’s meagain! Someof youhaveaskedthat I cont inuesendingmyupdates . Theywon’t bemonth-

ly, but I ’ l l t ry to sendnewsto THEMESSENGERfromt imeto t ime.I appreciate the many ways that you show your interest , love, andconcern. And, I def ini te lywant to keep in touchwithyou.

Thankyoufor beingsopers is tent in your prayers for me. Life con-t inues to be rather chal lenging. Moving to a new home, while car-ing for my Mom, hasn’t been easy. But , He remains fai thful . Hecont inuesto extendHis amazinggraceandHis mercywhichenduresforever. Asof thewri t ingof this le t ter, mygoal is to c leanmy“of-f ice”off thediningroomtable , before Thanksgiving.

Momcont inuesto havebadandgooddayswithher breathing. Sheis s t i l l mental ly a ler t andisplanning the menu for Thanksgiving. I love cooking for her. She’s 91 years old and loves tosay that cer ta in favori tes “ tas te just l ike theydidwhenI wasa l i t t le gir l .”

Youwil l recal l that , aroundthelas t of July, I sent out a le t ter to a l l of mysupport ingchurches.Asonlya fewwerereturnedbecauseof incorrect addresses , I feel sure that most of youreceivedi t . And, as I hadrequested, several of youhavenowchanneledmysupport to theBulgaria Team( theAwtreys and Post lewai tes) . Thank you so much. Some of you are s t i l l designat ing yoursupport to theAliceSmithFund. That’s OK . . . jus t remember that I no longer haveanact ivefund. So, thefundssent in mynamewil l gointo theGeneral Fundgivingat Internat ional Mis-s ions. Therefore , i f youwant to cont inue to designate , I ’d somuchappreciate your sending tothe Bulgaria Team. I t i s very important to me that you don’t le t your support to Internat ionalMissionsfal l bythewayside. Let us cont inueto support our denominat ion’s effor ts to taketheGospel to theregionsbeyond.

If , bychance, youdidn’t receivemy let ter, p lease le t meknowand I’ l l be glad to sendanothercopy. My new mail ing and physical address is : Al ice F. Smith, 1254 Fields Creek Rd. , Win-ifrede, WV25214. Mytelephonenumberremains304-949-2713.

I haven’t forgot ten my promise to come and personal ly thank you for your fa i thful prayer andf inancial support . As I’m pract ical ly homebound at this t ime, i t may be awhile . . . so , thankyoufor beingpat ient . Havea MerryChris tmas!

Loveandprayers ,AliceF. Smith

� THE MESSENGER • DECEMBER 2011

TheFai th FWBChurchheldan“OldFashionedDay”service, Sunday, November6.Pastor RayWil l iamsoninvi tedBrother Carl Li l ly to preachduringthemorningservice.The Waugh Family from the Tri-State area did a wonderful job s inging and the Spir i tb lessedal l whoat tended. I t wasa great t imeof fe l lowhipwithBro. Wil l iamsonandtheFai th FWBChurch. Bro. Rayhas beena long t imesupporter of WVFWBmissionsandserves ontheExecut iveBoardof theBrotherhoodFWBConference. Ray’s wife Sueandthewomen(somemenas wel l ) serveda dinner f i t for a King!

Faith Church Celebrate Old Fashioned Days

Tr ini ty Conference met a t the Chris t ian FWB Church on November 4 & 5 whereRev. MikeJohnsonis pastor. TheSpir i t of theLordwaspresent in a mightyway. BrotherCarl Li l ly brought themorningmessage that centeredon the thought of t rying to get ouryoung people back in the Church. The Conference had al l seven churches report ing andthemoderator conducted thebusiness withgreat ski l l .

Trinity Conference

The Greenbrier Nicholas Conference met a t the Nile Chapel Free Wil l Bapt is tChurch for i ts regular session, July 23, 2011. Arnold Nicholas was moderator ; DavidHamerick, Jr. wasl icensedto preachfor oneyear. Themessagewasbrought byEdwinHughes with scr ipture reading from John 5. A wonderful meal was prepared by thechurchfor conference. During i ts meet ing on October 22, the Ward Road FWB Church hosted the quar-ter ly meet ing. Theleavesonthet rees werea l i t t le past their peakcolors , however, thesun was shining beaut i ful ly which brought out the beauty of the mountains . Brother

Carl Li l ly wasaskedto br ingthemorningmessageandthentwodeaconswereordained. Pastors EdwinHughes,Glen Wiley, and Bud Casto along with the other ordained pastors and minis ters handled their business in anorder ly fashionbefore lunchwasserved. Pleaseprayfor this conferenceand theWardRoadChurchas theyhope to havea pastor soon.

Greenbrier Nicholas Conference

The Freedom Conference met October 15 at the Liber ty FWB Church. Rev. TomDyer sang“TheKingis Coming”andBrother Carl Li l ly brought themorningmessage.Thethreepastors of theFreedomConferenceare Rev. FreddyClay, Liber tyFWB;Rev.Charles Vance, CrownFWB; andRev. Linzel Walls of theLyburnFWBChurch. Thesethree men are pi l lars , not only in their own conference, but a lso in the WV State As-sociat ion.

Freedom Conference

The Greenbrier Conference met a t Feamster Memorial FWB Church on October 8 .According to Brother Carl Li l ly, i t appeared as though God just took a paintbrush andpaintedthet rees withanarrayof beaut i ful fa l l colors . Pastor Hobert Mil ls of theFeam-ster Memorial FWBChurchhostedtheconferenceandconductedthebusiness in a veryeff ic ient manner. Brother Li l ly brought themorningmessaget i t led“MissedBlessings.”TheFeamster Memorial Churchhas a r ichhis toryand i ts sanctuary is soconduciveforfe l lowship and the preaching of the Word of God. Please pray for this wonderful con-gregat ionas theyminis ter to their community.

Greenbrier Conference

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THE MESSENGER • DECEMBER 2011�

Beckley: February 3 & 4

Brotherhood: January 7

Christian Fellowship: Jan 28

Eastern Panhandle: Feb 11

Elk River: February 18

Fayette: January 28

Freedom: May 19

Greenbrier County: April 7

Greenbrier Nicholas: Jan 21

Guyan Valley: February 18

Huff Creek: February 18

Kanawha: February 17 & 18

Liberty: January 27 & 28

Logan: February 4

Mingo #1: January 7

Trinity: February 3 & 4

Tug River: February 11

Unity: January 28

Upper Ohio Valley: January 28

Wayne: May 12

Wyoming: February 3 & 4

upcoming conference dates

M e rr y Ch ri s t m a s & H a p py New Ye a rMay the joys of Christmas fill your home

I would l ike to wish al l of our churches,pastors , and members a very special

“MerryChris tmas.” Chris tmasis a t imeofgiving and shar ing. God gave us His Son,the best gif t Heaven had to offer that wemight havel i fe e ternal . Lukewri tes , (Luke2:11) For unto you is born this day in theci ty of David a Saviour, which is Chris ttheLord. Johnwri tes , (John3:16) For Godso loved the world, that he gave his onlybegot tenSon, that whosoever bel ieveth inhimshouldnot per ish, but haveeverlast ingl i fe . My prayer is that the West VirginiaState Associat ionof FreeWil l Bapt is ts wil lsee many lost people saved this comingyear andbrought to matur i ty in Chris t . Thef ie lds are s t i l l r ipe, but the laborers few.God has cal led us to go and work whilei t i s cal led day. The great commission,(Matthew28:19) Goyetherefore , andteachal l nat ions, bapt iz ing them in the nameof the Father, and of the Son, and of theHoly Ghost : 20 Teaching them to observe

al l things whatsoever I have commandedyou: and, lo , I am with you alway, evenunto the end of the world. Amen, is s t i l lour cal l ing. May God cont inue to help usaccomplishthis goal for theupbui ldingofHis Kingdom.

Rev. Carl Li l ly WVState Promotional Director

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upcoming conference dates

DearFriendsandFel lowServants ,

The past few months have been wonderful . The Lord hasblessed in several great services and we cont inual ly thank Godfor theopportuni t ies Hegives us to share His Word. Wehaveseensouls saved, Chris t ians revived, andchurchesblessed. Thereis noend to what theLord is able to do. Praise God! I t seemsthat theseasonscomeandgosoquickly. Thanksgivingcameandwent andnowChris tmasis uponus . Thet rees andf lowerstake their s leep for the winter and when spr ing returns they wil lresurrect for a newbeginning. As the hol iday shopping season is upon us , le t ’s not get soinvolved and forget the real reason for the season. I t ’s very easyto get dis t racted from the important things and look toward thethings that are not that important . Real ize and understand thegreatest gif t ever knowntohumanityis f ree for theasking, (Chris tJesus, TheGif t of God.)

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begot ten Son, that whosoever bel ieveth in him should not perish, but have everlast ing l i fe .

Ephes. 2:8 - For by grace are ye saved through fai th; and that not of yourselves: i t i s the gi f t o f God:

Tangible gif ts wil l soonfadeaway, but theGif t of Godl ives andreignsforever. Duringthis season, many of us are touched when we see the needs of those who are less for tunate ,and the s ick and shut- in . Let’s chal lenge ourselves to do something to show Chris t ian spir i tand love toward others . Things you can do include taking a meal to an elder ly couple or anindividual , a phonecal l , or sendinga cardor le t ter. Thereare manyways to bea blessing tothosewhoare lonelyor in need. Bydoingso theLordwil l havea blessingfor you. Thank you for your many prayers and considerat ion for this minis t ry. I could neverthank you enough for a l l that you do. Please cont inue to pray and help as God directs yourhear t .

Havea Spir i tual ly BlessedandHappyHolidaySeason!

Evangel is t Luther Dingess 1680Paddle CreekRd. Fort Gay, WV25514 (304) 648-5901

M e rr y Ch ri s t m a s & H a p py New Ye a r

THE MESSENGER • DECEMBER 2011�

H arvest Free Wil l Bapt is t Chi ld CareMinis t r ies , locatedin Duff ie ld , Virgin-

ia recent ly celebrated 18 years of minis t ryto abused, abandoned, neglectedor t roubledchi ldren. Since that t ime, over 1 ,400 chi l-dren have l ived in a Chris t ian home envi-ronment with car ing, loving house parents .Within the las t three years our minis t ry’sfocushas shif ted. While wes t i l l servechi l -drenwhoare in s ta te’s custody, wenowfo-cusmoreandmoreonpr ivatelyplacedchi l-dren – chi ldren from our church famil ieswho come here without the involvement ofs ta te authori t ies . This is a newandexci t ingt rendfor theminis t ry. Without theinvolve-ment of the s ta te , we have more la t i tude toprovide the services we feel the famil iesneed. These chi ldren are able to s tay lon-ger – some indefini te ly. Also, we f ind thatthese chi ldren are bet ter behaved and morewil l ingto accept guidanceandsupport f romus. What a blessingi t i s to workwithfami-l ies , within our own network of churches,who need extra support to care for theirchi ldren. One such chi ld came to Harvest thevery day his parents’ divorce became f inal .With the ongoing turmoil within the fam-i ly, this family needed the support Harvest

provides . With the s t ructure and nurtur ingHarvest provided, a long with family coun-sel ing; af ter a few months this young manwasable to bereuni tedwithhis mom,andtoa more workable re la t ionship among al l ofthe familymembers . He learned that s t ruc-ture wasso important to his success that hegave his parents our behavior managementprogram, so they could learn how to par-ent him when he returned home. Chi ldrenwant rules andboundaries - this is howtheyknow they are loved and cared for. This isthe success of Harvest! We would l ike tohelpyouas wel l . I f youor a family in yourchurchis in needof theservices Harvest of-fers , please cal l Execut ive Director, NewlDotsonat 276-546-4400. Youmayvis i t ourwebsi te a t www.harvestcm.org for programdescr ipt ions.

Harvest is a non-prof i t chi ld care agency, l i -censed by the Virginia Department of Social Services . In addi t ion, Harvest is af f i l iated with the Free Wil l Bapt is ts and the Virginia Associat ion of Chi ldren’s Homes.

www.wvfwb.org �

Free Will Baptist Family Ministries90 Stanley Lane

Greeneville, TN 37743

ThewonderfulworkingofGod’sspiritisunexplainable.ThegreatestthingthissideofHeaveniswhenyoungpeoplebowontheirkneesandaskGodtocomeintotheirhearts.Itistrulyhumblingtobeasmallpartoftheunexplainable.WewouldliketosharesomeoftheunexplainablewaysGodhasbeenworkingthroughFree Will Baptist Family Ministries:

Wecanreporttoyouthatthisisour12th consecutive yearofwitnessingover100childrensavedinayear.OurdedicatedstaffensuresouryouthrealizethecommitmenttheyaremakingandencouragethemintheirnewwalkwiththeLord.WepraiseGodforeacheternaldecisionmadeforHisKingdom.Duringthisyearalone, 132youngpeoplehavereceivedChristastheirpersonalSavior–12ononeSunday!Wewerealsooverjoyedwhen7ofouryouthwerebaptizedinAugust,withanadditional14alsoexpressingtheirdesiretofollowHiminbaptism.Sixty-sixbabieshavebeenborntomomsreceivingservicesfromTheHopeCenter,withseveralmoretodeliverbeforetheendoftheyear.

TherehasneverbeenatimethatFamilyMinistriesneedsyoutobelieveinusmorethanrightnowandbelievethetimeandcostisworthitfor:

♥ prayerforGod’sprotectionandprovisionforthisministry♥ thosebeingwontoChrist♥ theunbornbabiesbeingsaved♥ ourseniorsbeingcaredfor♥ livesandfamiliesthatarebeingchanged

Pleasejoinusinourministryefforts:♥ sendgiftcardsoramonetarycontributiontoprovideChristmasforouryouth♥ investineternitythroughestategiving,endowments&annuities♥ cherishalovedonewithamemorialgiftorcontributionintheirhonor♥ gotoourwebsiteatwww.fwbfm.comandmakeacreditcarddonation

Formoreinformationonwaysyoucanhelp,contactourofficeat423.639.9449.

THE MESSENGER • DECEMBER 2011�

Asenior Missions major a t Free Wil l Bapt is tBible Col lege found herself thrust into an

emergencyl i fe-and-deathencounter duringa mis-s iont r ip to Hai t i in ear ly September. KacyStone,a pastor ’s daughter f rom Morehead, Kentucky,t raveled to the is landnat ionwitha groupof vol-unteers to ass is t withVacat ion Bible School a t amissions ta t ion twohours f romPort-au-Prince. After a week of VBS act ivi t ies with morethan700people in c lasses , most of thevolunteersre turned to the United States . Pastor Rick Stone(Kacy’s fa ther) droveanSUVtoanother missions ta t ion to observe a new water f i l ter system andvis i t wi th f r iends. Kacy, Cai t l in Hal l , and Hai-t ians Pastor John and John Bapt is t accompaniedhim. On the dr ive back, they encountered roughweather withheavyrain, thunder, and l ightning. AstheSUVpasseda roadsides tand, l ight-ninghi t thesmall t in s t ructure , s t r ikingsevenofthe eight people under i t . Pastor Stone s toppedthe vehicle , and the group began pul l ing bodiesf romthe tangledpi le to adminis ter CPR. “We had a hard t ime get t ing the bodiesseparated, because theywere face-downand tan-gled together, lying on top of each other,” Kacysaid. “While Pastor John and John Bapt is t sepa-rated the bodies , we began CPR and mouth-to-mouth resusci ta t ion. Three of us could performCPR, and seven people needed at tent ion—onlyonepersonhada pulse . I workedonthreeor fourpeople . During the s torm, Pastor John s tood be-neath the rainand l ightningand raisedhis handsto Heaven, prayingfor mercyfromGod. ” All three CPR personnel worked on a 13-year-old gir l , reviving her once, but she died atthescene. After 20minutes , thegroupplacedfour

survivors ( threemen, onewoman)in theSUVanddrove to a hospi ta l . Kacy, Cai t l in Hal l , and JohnBapt is t rodein theSUVtoassis t . Threesurvivorswere conscious and thrashing about , unaware ofwhere they were. The fourth (a man) was uncon-scious with shal low breathing, and a s low heart-beat . Thegroupcont inuedto workonhim, but hediedbefore theyreached thehospi ta l . “We lef t three dead at the scene,” Kacysaid, “and one lonely l i t t le gir l about sevenyears old, the only one not hi t by l ightning. Shewatched her s is ter and grandmother die , and herfa ther taken to the hospi ta l—he also died. Whenwewent backfor thel i t t le gir l , shehadgonewithanother family member. We later found out thegrandmother wasa voodoopr ies tess .” This markedKacy’s thirdVBStr ip to Hai-t i . She plans to re turn and cont inue the minis t ryoutreach. TheFWBBCsenior learnedCPRproce-dures a t CampCaleb in Kentucky. When asked about advice for others whoplanmissiont r ips to Hai t i or s imilar f ie lds , Kacysaid, “Although nothing can prepare you for anencounter l ike that , prepare for the unexpected.Know what you can do in emergencies and s t ickwithwhat youknow.Dowhat youcan, and leavetherest to God.” She cont inued, “Five people died thatday, four people who may have never heard theGood News of Chris t . I won’t l ive long enoughto forget what happenedor ful ly understandwhyi t happened. I must remember that God is sov-ereign, rules with a sovereign hand, and alwaysdoeswhat is r ight .”

www.wvfwb.org 10

OnTuesdayeve-ning, September27, 2011, theBoard of FreeWil l Bapt is t In-ternat ional Mis-s ions, during acal ledsession inNashvi l le , Ten-nessee, votedto employ ClintMorganas gener-al director. Mor-gan has served

as inter im general director s ince February10, 2011. On Wednesday, September 28,the board convened in the Internat ionalMission’s conference room with the newdirector to discuss s t ra tegies andplansformovingtheMissionforwardin i ts quest towin souls , plant churches, and t ra in lead-ers . “Theboardis thoroughlyencouragedbytheselect ionof Brother Cl int ,” declaredBoard Chairman Danny Wil l iams as heannounced the board’s decis ion to theoff ice s taff . “We are convinced his s te l larperformance as inter im director and hisabi l i ty to think s t ra tegical ly eminent lyqual i fy himto lead this organizat ion.” “I’m humbled by the board’sconfidence in me and exci ted at this new

opportuni ty to impact the world with thegospel of JesusChris t ,” Cl int disclosed. “Ihave total ly enjoyed these months get t ingto know and work with the off ice s taff . It rust my tenure as general director wil ls t rengthen and encourage our Missionfamily scat tered around the world. Pleasepray for me,” Morgan requested, “ that Iwil l lead with spir i tual wisdom, s t ra tegicacui ty, andconsis tent excel lence.” Cl int andhis wife Lynet te , daughterof pioneer medical missionaries Dr.LaVerne and Lorene Miley, served withexcel lence in Côte d’Ivoire (1976-2005) .The couple spent two terms in evangel ismandchurchplant ingbefore helpingini t ia teand establ ish a Bible inst i tute for t ra iningIvorian leaders . Cl int received a specialass ignment f rom the board in 2002 toresearch the possibi l i ty of the Missionenter ingcreat iveaccess areas of theworld.Asa resul t , TheHannaProject wasbornin2004. Cl int wasnamedi ts general directorin 2010. Cl int has a lsoservedas a regionaldirector s ince the program’s incept ion in2004. The Morgans minis tered in Francefrom2007 to 2011. Cl int andLynet te havefour chi ldren (Trey, Adam, Aaron, andAutumn)ands ix grandchi ldren.

Clint Morgan Named General Director of International Missions

The Messengerc/o Jef f Bennett100 West E lm StreetAshland Cit y, TN 37015

PRESOR T STDUS Postage

PAIDPermit 229

Huntington W V

Published Q uar terly by the West Virginia State Associat ion of Free Wil l Baptists

100 West E lm Street • Ashland Cit y, TN 37015

Rev. Car l L i l ly, Promotional Direc torHome: 740-867-4266

Cel l : 304-972-5507Emai l : c l i l ly21@zoominternet .net

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Jeff Bennett , Editor and Publ isherCel l : (304) 673-6959

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featured church

R Sprague Free Wil l B aptist Church | B eck ley, W V | Rev. Fred Lovell