The Ohio Independent Baptist, July/August 1994

Free Free 11/\ fS () l:i : to I arry 1:ct1cr f r serving five yc.1rs as s tate rcprcscntati c and l\.vn year, a. stat· 1nsurnncc atljus tor! Free Abbe Road Baptist in Elyri a bas a K dak copier/duplicator to g ive away . Interes ted? all the church a l 2 16- 65-7394. Across the State Pastor Mark Ashley An in t.aJ lation erv ice wa held at Northfield Baptist on April 17 for Rev . Mark J. A hley. Pa tor A h ley had been erving a tlle a i tant pa tor for tllree year . . When Pastor Lynn Roger rel1red after 40 year at Northfiel d, t11e ch~rch c~led Pa tor A hley to becon1e thetr cn1or pastor . I Ic a.. urned hi dutie a cnior pa tor on February 1, 1994 . The in taJlalion ervi ce featured ~ pecial n1u. ic and a me age by Pa tor Bradley Quick, of Fir t Bapti t, E l yria. The Charge to the Pa tor wa gi ven by Mark ' fatJ1cr, Rev. Willard A .. hley. The ?eacon ?Oard had a pecial prayer of 1n laJlaLJon .for ll1eir new pastc>r , and pre~ented hun with a I3ible f rom tJ1e board and , everal gift fro1n ilie congre– gation. TI1c afternoon was concluded wiili a cake reception . A hl ey i a graduate of Bapti t Bible Coll~ge_of Penn y l vania. He i pre ently con t1nu1ng graduate work, and antici– pate, completion of hi Ma ter degree in May, 1995 . He and hi wife, Debbie, are parent~ o f two ons, Jonathan and Joel. Fonner pastor and member gathered wi th the pre ent congrega– tion as the new Calvar y Baptist facility wa dedicated on June 5. A cl o e bond bas developed wiili the funda– mentaJ mi ionary Bapti t church which pur~ha ed C~vary· o ld building; each part1_c1pated 1n the other·s dedication ~ crv1ce . Robert Riedy i pastor at Calvary Bapti l. 4 Union Baptist ho tcd i ts annual missionary conference May 15- 17 . The conference tJ1e1ne wa , "Focu On Mi ionarie ." At each ervice a different mis- . 1onary pre ented his field, and another br~u$ht .the mis ionary challenge. Paruc1pat1ng missi onarie were Dr . Car on Freemont, Dr. Charle Pau ley, Sr ., Charle A lexander, and Terry Morgan. A "Know Your Mis i on– ary" fellow hip dinner was beld on Sunday . Charl e Arnett i pastor at Union Bapti t. Pastor Merlyn Jones reports tllat the Friend Day held April 24 at Faith Baptist wa a huge ucce . Seventy– even fir t-time vi itor attended, with a total . attendance o f 424 . The day ' event included a balloon launch f ro1n the front l awn. Of tJ1e 150 balloon launched, even were found, witl1 two of the attached tract igned, meaning that ~ e finder bad prayed to a k Christ into ht /her heart. One balloon was found 100 mile from the church. "God i pouring out Hi ble ing upon tlle Emma nuel Baptist Church,' ' writes BMM mi ionary pa tor Jim Ruck . " In three month time, 33 vi itor have attended our ervi ce . Twen ty four of these have been back at l ea t three time ! One couple has j oined tlle churcb. We are in the planning taoe of our fir t VBS, which i scheduled for July. Many of our new attender have volun teered to help. We.~e havi ng our church recognition counc1l 1n July . After the council , we plan to appl y for fel l ow hip in the GARBC ~nd OARBC. Our core group of 15 ha 1ncrea ed to approximatel y 40. We reached a hi gh of 86 on May 15. We praise I-Jim for many new young couples! " Pastor John Gowdy Temple Baptist recentl y held a reception to honor Pastor Jobn Gowdy and bis famil y in apprecia– tion for his completing ten years as Temple' s pastor . Temple Baptist bas been a part of John Gowdy, s life since tlle age of 13, when he was aved during a youth activity ho ted by the church. He graduated from Tennes ee Templ e in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where be recei ved bis Bachel or of Arts degree in 1979. H e was ordained at Temple Bapti t in 1980, and was cal led to be Templ e's minister of youlh and vi sita– tion. In 1983 be became pa tor of the church . For the program, members of the ~ongregation .brought together peopl e 1~ tr~men~ 10 Pa tor Gowdy' s piritual li fe, 1nclud1ng Rev . Wilbur Parri b of Fir t Bapti tin Strongsville, who was lhe youth leader when John was a teen and who l ed John to the L ord . Special musi ~ included two of Pa tor Gowdy 's favontes . Mr . Marian Dautel read an ori g_inal p~ m d~di cated to the Gowdy famil y entJtled, The God of Little B oys, " and pre ented copi e to Pastor Gowdy and bi mother , Mrs. Mary Gowdy, as memento of the occasion. Guests were treated to refreshments and viewed everal ' John Gowdy- Thi I s Your Life" di play throughout the building. Several table were decorated using a their theme the ministries of ilie cburch . Pastor Gowdy grew up before the eye of 1nany of those in attendance and ha erved the congregation failhfully through the years.