Its been a great summer at Gum Springs this year! We had a number of salvations from camp and one from church services! We will be having baptism services the 2nd week of September and we are excited! Thats what God left the church here to do. We had a back to school fellowship at church this evening and it was great to hear the laughter of children in the auditorium. The grownups sat in the fellowship hall and had a great time. God has resurrected the church and filled it with the Holy Spirit! Its a joy to attend.

Well God is continuing to bless us at Gum Springs!!!We had another great Sunday at church! Attendance was up again for the 5th straight week. The spirit was so sweet that there were people in the church 30 minutes after service! We just didnt want to stop having fellowship! I believe God has great plans for us and that the congregation believes that too. With God leading us how can we fail! We serve a great and mighty God!!!

What a great Sunday again!!God is really moving at Gum Springs Missionary Baptist Church! We had another family join the church today. Attendance was 40. Last week was 52! Considering we had 11 when we started,I'm pretty excited! Our low attendance for July was 34. It was a busy month but God really blessed us. We had 3 salvations and 1 rededication from camp this month. We already had a salvation in regular service so that makes 4 in one month! It's amazing to me to watch God at work and to know that He loves us so much that he sent His son to redeem us. No telling whats ahead for us but we will cling to the cross and He will pull us thru!

Are you ready for the Rapture? Its too bad when we have been conditioned to ignore the signs that the Rapture is imminent. We believe that its going to happen just not right now. Everyone likes to quote the scripture that says we cannot know the hour or the day. While that is true if you will read the entire scripture it commands us to know the season. Read the parable of the fig tree. Lets not ignore the signs that God said he would provide. Look up your redemption draweth nigh!!

well i do have a lot of little things to report. First I guess you have noticed that we have not added any new sermons to the webpage. There are a number of reasons for that beginning with computer malfunction and ending with pure laziness! It will be back and hopefully you will be inspired by it. It still amazes me how many hits we get on the webpage and I would once again like to apologize for the problems. On to better news....God provided the way for 23 people to attend camp this year! If you stop and think that only 5 years ago there were only 9 in the entire church...attendence has been up some with morning worship averaging in the mid thirties the last couple of weeks.....had VBS last week and it was a success with about 50 kids attending.....softball team is still searching for its first victory this week but the fellowship has been great! There is a sound of abundance of rain at Gum Springs!!!

I have been watching the christian community make a fool out of itself once again. We have been called to be separate or called out of the world, This means that we must follow Gods law and not the worlds. But if you look out into mainstream Christianity today can we tell the difference? We have denominations who support homosexuality and even have homosexuals in the pulpit. We have a major christian preacher who is embracing fellowship with false religion(Islam in particular). I am very sure that God would not be pleased with this. What a confusing message we are sending to a lost world. Jesus prayed for unity for his church in the garden but not at the price of mangling the gospel! There is a word that is missing in many churches today. It is Accountability. We need to remember that we are reconciled to God, not He to us! God is a Holy And Righteous Being who will not tolerate sin. THats why we needed Jesus to atone for our sin. God did not make you homosexual, you chose it. God did not say there are many ways to heaven, there is only one. You may not like the rules that God has set forth but remember,,,you can make the rules when you create a universe out of nothing! God loves all mankind. Thats why he sent his only begotten son. Read your bible, see your sin and accept the salvation that Jesus has provided for you! God Loves You!!!

Its been awhile since I've been on here. We are in the middle of raising money for camp and getting ready for VBS. We have such a large number of people going to camp this year! But it means we will see a bigger miracle from God. So we are not afraid. There are some who faithfulness has fallen off this year and we need to pray for them. We are still in contact but they havent attended a service in a while. God has blessed with a new family! Remember us in your prayers as we go about His work in Good Springs.

Man its hot! Of course the a/c quit working in the car a little while ago. Hope its just a fuse! I had a friend of mine tell me that pastoring a church is like driving a bus. Some people get on and some get off. I really hope thats not true but I'm beginning to think it is. Here we are at the end of the age and more and more people are turningfrom the truth to grasp the "easy" truth. They dont want to hear about sin or redemption. They dont want to hear about the return of Jesus. They want their cake and eat it too. I've had people tell me that the only reason I want everyone to come to church is because I want their money! What a laugh that is!I want everyone to come to church because it is a intregal part of being obediant. I guess I could water down the message to please some...problem is I only want to please God! The time is running out, night approaches, hopefully everyone you love will be able to enter into Gods rest. Are you willing that they should be angry with you here so that they will rejoice with you in heaven? Tell the truth. Dont back up!

Just to let everyone know...The front porch singing went exceptionally well. I was afraid that we wouldn't have enough musicians but God provided! We had 3 great guys from the Henderson area that showed up and did a fantastic job. You would think that I would quit sweating the small stuff and trust God! We also ate in the front yard and a couple drove by that was looking for a church home. They came to services the next day and seemed to like it. They said they would be back next week. I'll be watching! Also I need to warn everyone about a guy named Rob Bell. Mr. Bell is a "pastor" of a megachurch in Michigan. He recently wrote a book named Love Wins. In it he states that he doesnt believe in Hell and that all people will be eventually saved. This is not a new heresy, its called universalism. It contradicts what the Bible teaches about judgement. Do not buy or read it. We are in the end times and the Bible tells us that there will be wolves in sheep clothing. Here he is!!!

Once again we are getting ready for our front porch singing outreach and once again the musicians we lined up have backed out. This also happened last year except they forgot to tell us! Praise God we had some talented friends from Victory Road Baptist who bailed us out. I will be very interested to see what God does this year. Last years ended up great and I expect the same this year. We serve a great and mighty God who will deliver what He wants us to have. His will is always the best in every part of our lives. It starts at 2 on Sat. If you can sing..come on! if you can listen...come on! Dont know exactly what will happen just know it will be good!

Another Funeral

well I had to go to another funeral today. It was for a good friend of mine named Thomas Blackmon. Thomas was a relatively young man. He was 67 years old which is not old by todays standard. Thomas is a christian so I know where he is. When you get right down to it this is what we trust Christ for. You can whitewash it anyway you want to but when you get down to it this is it! One day our corruptible body wears out and dies. But our souls live forever! The only difference is where! With a God who loved you enough to die for you or a devil who wants you in agony just to spite God. Choice is yours.

Much Talk No Action

I have been on a Christian debate forum and Im just astounded at what passes for Christianity today. While I am far from perfect it amazes me how lax we are about our God. we are willing to have blended services in our community when or bible makes it clear that we should not be unequally yoked. What message does that send to lthe lost? The one that the world wants sent..that there are many ways to heaven, that whatever religion is good for you is ok by me. Doesnt our Bible teach that there is only one Way to heaven? That our God is a jealous God? That He will not share our love with a idol? We had better get serious about our christianity and quit trying to blend it with the world. Man cannot serve God and Mammon.

Easter Aftermath

Its monday the day after Easter. Now for those of you who dont know Easter is when we celebrate Christ rising from the grave. Its a very important event because it means that we are reconciled to God. To a Christian it should be one of the two most important holidays of the year. I am extremely sad to report that Attendance at my church was down by a third on Easter. Many people are taking it as a "holiday" and not attending church. We were not the only church who's attendance was down. It is a sad thing. Psalm14 says that a fool says in their heart that there is no God. Notice he doesnt say it out loud, he says it in his heart. So in other words he says he is a christian but his actions say otherwise. How many are in our churches and wont admit it?Jesus knew that they would be here. One day He will say Depart from Me I never knew you....How sad is that.....Heartbreaking.

Thank You Lord

Lord, I thank you for the mother that you picked for me. She was the best! She loved me enough to dicipline me when I needed it. She didnt worry about hurting my self esteem just my rear end. She loved me enough to convince me that I was as good as anybody but not better than anyone. I was blessed to have her here for 53 years. Lord I know you love her too and that shes with you for eternity. I thank you because next to Jesus she will be the one i want to see most when I get to heaven. Thank you Lord!

Back From Dallas

Just returned from a trip to Arlington where my mother is in ICU with pneumonia. She is recovering very well but is not out of the woods yet. Being 87 years old doesnt help either. This whole experience has made me stop and wonder. We take so many things for granted like our parents will always be with us when i reality this is not true. We may feel immortal but inreality we are very frail. God tells us to lay up our treasures in heaven but the first treasure we need to make sure is there is us! This world will pass in a twinkling of a eye but eternity is forever. Accept Jesus now and quit worrying about tomorrow!

Mens Breakfast

We had a mens breakfast at church today. That means I had to get up at 5 am which is not my favorite thing to do. But I must admit it was a lot of fun. We had good fellowship while I was cooking and I didnt poison anyone. I think we will experience some growth this year too. Everyone is expecting it. Heard that we have upset someone in the community because we have a Assembly of God family and a Pentecostal family that attends church with us. I guess they dont have any hobbies.....or a life for that matter! It is a crying shame when christian brothers and sisters cant fellowship together because of denomination. Didnt Christ pray for unity in Gethsemane?

a good day!

I had a very good day today. Nothing spectacular happened and I believe thats one of the reasons it was such a good day! Janet and I went shopping with a good friend at Mardels today. then we went to hobby lobby next door. Didnt buy much,just piddled around.It was a very good day.

excuses

Well Im paying the price for procrastinating. I havent mowed the yard this year until today. Its about to whoop me! Im about 3/4 of the way done and I am having to take a break. I really havent mowed in about 5 years because I always paid someone to do it. Too poor this year. I will never complain about how much I am charged to mow my own yard! Shame on me!

Sunday Evening

Well its late Sunday Night and we've had a great day at Gum Springs. The attendance was up for the second straight week and we had a visiting family return for the second time. I really believe God is going to do great things here this year. Its hard not to be excited!!I look back on a journey that began over 5 years ago and I marvel at the work God has done. It may not be much by the worlds standard but we dont judge ourselves by that. We try to please God first and look for His blessings later. God bless!!

2 Days in a row!!

Cant believe Im blogging 2 days in a row! Have alot on my mind right now. My mom is in ICU with pneumonia and congestive heart failure. She is 87 years old. Have alot of praying going on and I am asking you to pray for her too. I will have to trust the Lord! I know that His way is the best and I just have to accept that. Iknow that we have been taught all our lives to be self sufficent but God wants us to depend on Him for everything. His way is best and thats what I will pray for. His will be done in my moms life and in my life. And to know that one day we will be reunited with all our loved ones and to see Jesus face to face.....How could I ask for anything more?

Laziness

well just to let everyone know, I AM LAZY!!!!!! Mark will tell you this but my lack of posts tell the story even better. Shame on me! I will attempt to do better! We have had our abnormal holiday season again this year. Seems like when the holidays roll around that everyone is too busy to go to church. this always runs over into the new year. Well here it is April and people have just started to drift back. We had 2 baptisms this year and it looks like we will grow past where we were last year God willing! Just have to stop those holiday season blues!