The Monthly Publication of the Michigan State Association of Free Will Baptists

Meet Faith Free Will Baptist’s Youth Pastor

Faith Free Will Baptistpleased to announce the addition of Travis Lilly to their ministerial staff. Afterworking with the youth of Faith during the summer between his junior and senioryears at Southeastern Free Will BaTravis would be to growing the youth in their Christian walk with the Lord.

Travis was saved at the age of 5, after hearing his grandfather Curt Lilly preach amessage on hell. He was home schooled through tschool at Genesee Christian School, near Flint, MI.

Travis loves hunting and sports; he played baseball through high school and was alldistrict pitcher his junior year. Travis says the Lord had been dealing with him forsomethe Youth of Flame Conference in North Carolina, Travis answered the call to preach

at the age of 16.

Travis began his freshman year at Southeastern FWB College in the fall of 2009the entire 4 years. He graduated from Southeastern Free Will Baptist College this past spring with a Bachelor’s Degreein Bible, while majoring in Pastoral Theology and Practical Ministry.

Immediately after graduating, Travis came on staff at Faith FWB Church as Youth Minister. The church is extremelypleased to have Travis working with our youth; he’s doing a great job! He comes from a strong Free Will BaptistFamily and is conservative in his personal life and the prbunch, and aims to please Him. And oh yes, our youth absolutely love him.

Good News from SpainDear Michigan Friends,

The firsthad done for us in 2013, and also what we expect Him to do during this year.emphasized that a good goal for our church to have would be those things thatJesus prayed for in John 17, one of those being unity.church people to meet together on Sundays to worship, praise, and hear the Wordpreached, it's those times during the week when we get together that are specialtimes of fellowship.the mountai

God's creation.

Monthly Publication of the Michigan State Association of Free Will Baptists

Meet Faith Free Will Baptist’s Youth Pastor

Faith Free Will Baptist Church, located in north Macomb County, near Romeo, MI, ispleased to announce the addition of Travis Lilly to their ministerial staff. Afterworking with the youth of Faith during the summer between his junior and senioryears at Southeastern Free Will Baptist College, the church realized what an assetTravis would be to growing the youth in their Christian walk with the Lord.

Travis was saved at the age of 5, after hearing his grandfather Curt Lilly preach amessage on hell. He was home schooled through the 8school at Genesee Christian School, near Flint, MI.

Travis loves hunting and sports; he played baseball through high school and was alldistrict pitcher his junior year. Travis says the Lord had been dealing with him for

time when he prayed and told God he would do whatever he wanted him to. Atthe Youth of Flame Conference in North Carolina, Travis answered the call to preach

Travis began his freshman year at Southeastern FWB College in the fall of 2009 and served as the class chaplain forthe entire 4 years. He graduated from Southeastern Free Will Baptist College this past spring with a Bachelor’s Degreein Bible, while majoring in Pastoral Theology and Practical Ministry.

, Travis came on staff at Faith FWB Church as Youth Minister. The church is extremelypleased to have Travis working with our youth; he’s doing a great job! He comes from a strong Free Will BaptistFamily and is conservative in his personal life and the presentation of the gospel. He is a prayer warrior, loves God abunch, and aims to please Him. And oh yes, our youth absolutely love him.

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Good News from SpainDear Michigan Friends,

The first Sunday of this year we had a service where we lookhad done for us in 2013, and also what we expect Him to do during this year.emphasized that a good goal for our church to have would be those things thatJesus prayed for in John 17, one of those being unity.church people to meet together on Sundays to worship, praise, and hear the Wordpreached, it's those times during the week when we get together that are specialtimes of fellowship. One of those times was today, when a large group headed tothe mountains to spend some time together, laugh, throw snowballs, and enjoy

February, 2014

Monthly Publication of the Michigan State Association of Free Will Baptists

Meet Faith Free Will Baptist’s Youth Pastor

Church, located in north Macomb County, near Romeo, MI, ispleased to announce the addition of Travis Lilly to their ministerial staff. Afterworking with the youth of Faith during the summer between his junior and senior

ptist College, the church realized what an assetTravis would be to growing the youth in their Christian walk with the Lord.

Travis was saved at the age of 5, after hearing his grandfather Curt Lilly preach ahe 8th grade and attended high

Travis loves hunting and sports; he played baseball through high school and was alldistrict pitcher his junior year. Travis says the Lord had been dealing with him for

time when he prayed and told God he would do whatever he wanted him to. Atthe Youth of Flame Conference in North Carolina, Travis answered the call to preach

and served as the class chaplain forthe entire 4 years. He graduated from Southeastern Free Will Baptist College this past spring with a Bachelor’s Degree

, Travis came on staff at Faith FWB Church as Youth Minister. The church is extremelypleased to have Travis working with our youth; he’s doing a great job! He comes from a strong Free Will Baptist

esentation of the gospel. He is a prayer warrior, loves God a

of this year we had a service where we looked back at what Godhad done for us in 2013, and also what we expect Him to do during this year. Weemphasized that a good goal for our church to have would be those things thatJesus prayed for in John 17, one of those being unity. While it's good for ourchurch people to meet together on Sundays to worship, praise, and hear the Wordpreached, it's those times during the week when we get together that are special

One of those times was today, when a large group headed tons to spend some time together, laugh, throw snowballs, and enjoy

February, 2014

The Michigan Free Will Baptist MENORAH Page 2

We're thankful for the way God is growing His Church in Alpedrete and the maturity that we're seeing in the lives ofour church people. Thank you for making it possible for these things to happen through your prayers and support. Maythe prayer of Jesus for His Church in John 17 become a reality throughout this year.Tim, Kristi, Alejandro, and Ana

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Memorials of Pioneer Ministers in America(The Free Will Baptist Denomination)

A large 8 1/2 x 11 book, three columns wide, containing 1825 ministers acrossthis country from one of the oldest denominations in America. Dr. Alton E.Loveless took on the very formidable task of finding where these great FreeWill Baptist saints have been buried to record for posterity their gravesites. Themovement influenced the country through its many colleges and leaders. It is amust for reference, knowing the denominational movement, genealogists, andits church history.

In the northeast he followed the history of the first Baptist church in Americastarted by Roger Williams, whose church was later pastored by ministers of theRandall movement, and a great number of his descendants were ministers ofthis Freewill Baptist organization. The history of these ministers in the northwere strong absolutist and started some of the first colleges for the Freemen.

It contains sites from 40 states comprising those before and after the 1935 organization of our present movement. Also,a number of associations that were and continue to be independent with the same doctrines.

Dr. Loveless is one whose life has influenced so many pastors, laymen and the entire Free Will Baptist denomination.The brief bio's are fascinating reading and informative.

He has recently reprinted nearly 50 rare and historical books of the non-existent Randall faction that merged with theNorthern Baptist denomination in 1911 from his collection of antiquarian resources. They are located on the internetunder Alton E. Loveless at www.amazon.com.

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Welch College Named One of America’s Best Christian Workplaces

NASHVILLE, TN—Welch College received notification that it has been certified as a 2014 Best Christian Workplacein the United States, according to President Matt Pinson. The college participates in the international survey biennially.The BCW survey has been conducted for the past eight years by the Best Christian Workplaces Institute—surveyingover 100,000 anonymous employees to date.

President Pinson said, “This is the second time in a row we’ve been named a ‘Best Christian Workplace.’ What greatnews for the college family that our employees recognize Welch College as a place where God is honored and workersare respected, and they rate the college as an exceptional place to work. We outpaced the industry in 47 of 56 surveyquestions! We have a wonderful group of Christians pulling together on the Welch campus, and I’m glad the broadercommunity recognizes that fact.”

In order to be certified as a Best Christian Workplace, organizations must complete the BCWI employee engagementsurvey and meet predetermined standards of excellence. The survey covers such issues as job satisfaction,

The Michigan Free Will Baptist MENORAH Page 3

organizational commitment, Christian witness, supervisory effectiveness, work satisfaction, personal growth anddevelopment, management effectiveness, supporter satisfaction, teamwork, communications, and pay and benefits.

Al Lopus, president of BCWI, notes, “We salute this year’s Best Christian Workplaces for their intentional efforts tonurture an organizational culture that reflects God’s divine nature, even in a difficult economy. We strongly encourageanyone who isn’t working in a Christian organization to consider one of these, especially if they have a desire to bepart of a mission greater than themselves.”

BCWI is a research-based organization and human resources consulting firm based in Mercer Island, Washington. Itspurpose is to serve faith-based organizations by creating processes of discovery, facilitating organizationaleffectiveness, and encouraging practices that build healthy workplaces.

“Welch College teachers, staff, and administrators face many challenges in a very difficult economic environment anda culture that is increasingly hostile to the Christian worldview,” Provost Greg Ketteman said. “Being certified as aBest Christian Workplace in America demonstrates that Welch employees are responding to difficulty with courage,integrity, diligence, and the assurance of God’s providence. They recognize that in spite of challenges we face, servingthe Lord here is a blessing.”

FORUM 14/Bible Conference to address the topic of “The

Gospel for Life”

NASHVILLE, TN—Welch College will host its annual FORUM/Bible Conference March 9-11. The event will be heldon the campus of Welch and will focus on the theme “The Gospel for Life.” Through plenary and breakout sessions,speakers will address the implications of the gospel for evangelism, discipleship, Christian living, ministry, and publicethics.

The event promises to be engaging and informative with a wide range of highly accomplished speakers set to addressthis important topic. The featured speakers this year will be Ajith Fernando and Dr. Russell Moore.

Ajith Fernando, internationally acclaimed speaker and author, is the teaching director of Youth for Christ in SriLanka. Prior to his current position, Mr. Fernando served as the National Director of Youth for Christ in Sri Lanka for35 years. A graduate of Asbury Theological Seminary, he is a visiting lecturer at Colombo Theological Seminary andis the author of 15 books published in 20 languages, including Jesus Driven Ministry and Sharing the Truth in Love:How to Relate to People of Other Faiths. He is actively involved in a grassroots ministry to reach the urban poor in hisarea with the gospel. Mr. Fernando will speak several times over the two-day conference.

The event will also feature Dr. Russell Moore, who will speak on Monday. Dr. Moore is President of the SouthernBaptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, a post he assumed after many years as vice president of SouthernBaptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Moore is the author or editor of five books, including The Kingdom of Christ andTempted and Tried. Highly respected as an ethicist and cultural commentator, Dr. Moore brings fresh, well-informedperspective to the topic of the implications of the gospel.

Four outstanding Free Will Baptist ministers will also address conference attendees.

Dr. Jeff Manning has been the senior pastor of Unity Free Will Baptist Church in Greenville, North Carolina since1991. A 1986 Welch College graduate, Dr. Manning serves on the Board of Free Will Baptist International Missionsand also teaches as an adjunct faculty member in expository preaching at Welch College. He earned his D.Min. inexpository preaching in 2002 from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. His blog can be found athttp://www.jeffmanning.org/blog/.

Jeff Nichols recently celebrated twenty years of service on the ministry staff of the Donelson Fellowship, a Free WillBaptist church in Nashville, Tennessee, where he now serves as Executive Pastor. He is a 1987 graduate of WelchCollege and holds a M.A. degree in Business Science from Trevecca Nazarene University. Before his current positionat Donelson, he served as children’s pastor, and prior to that as a youth minister in Missouri.

Chris Talbot is a 2012 graduate of Welch College. He now serves as the Minister of Students at Unity Free WillBaptist Church in Greenville, North Carolina. He is currently pursuing an M.A. in Ministerial Studies at GraceTheological Seminary and is a regular contributor to the Helwys Society Forum, http://www.helwyssocietyforum.com.

Welch College Vice President for Institutional Advancement David Williford will speak Sunday night to open theconference. Mr. Williford joined the Welch College staff in 2002 after 27 years of successful pastoral ministry,

The Michigan Free Will Baptist MENORAH Page 4

including several years as Promotional Director for Florida Free Will Baptists. He is a 1979 graduate of WelchCollege. He also completed an M.A. in Pastoral Studies at Welch and additional graduate study at New Orleans BaptistTheological Seminary.

President Matt Pinson said, “This is shaping up to be one of our best conferences ever. We have an excellent slate ofspeakers preaching and leading breakout sessions on the most important topic we must consider: the gospel and itsimplications for private and public life. All are invited to come and join the conversation.”

Welch President Launches Blog

Dr. Matt Pinson, president of Welch College, launched a blog on January 24 entitled MatthewPinson.com. “I’ve finallydecided to start a blog,” Pinson said. “For years people have suggested that I start blogging. Many of them have usedthe argument that the president of our nationally sponsored denominational college needs to be blogging. I suppose thisis what finally got me thinking about it.”

The blog, with the three descriptors, “Christianity, Leadership, Culture,” will primarily discuss matters of howChristian faith affects believers’ lives, families, and churches as they interact with culture. The blog will also discussissues surrounding leadership and education and will comment on happenings on the Welch campus.

President Pinson’s blog may be accessed at MatthewPinson.com.

Senior Days – February 6, 2014

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Pastors, Staff and Spouses you are invited to an

Appreciation DinnerFebruary 28, 2014 -- 6:30 pm

Special Guest Speaker

Neil Gilliland

Music Provided By Woodhaven FWB Church.

Woodhaven FWB Fellowship Hall

26397 Allen Rd,

Woodhaven, MI 48183

Please RSVP by February 20 to

Tom McCullough (248-320-2538)tomatcentral@sbcglobal.net

or

Joe Wilson (734-788-9736)pastorjoe@kirbychurch.com

Steve & Becky Riggs Tim & Kristi Johnson

Guest Appearances by

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World Missions Offering Tops $800,000

Antioch, TN—The International Missions office staff and World Missions Offering (WMO) team rejoice in God’sgoodness and faithfulness. As of December 4, gifts for the 2013 World Missions Offering exceeded $800,000.

Mark Price, national WMO chairman, exulted, “As we come to the close of 2013, we have reason to rejoice in thefaithfulness of our Lord! The year-to-date total for the 2013 World Mission Offering is $803,631.58! This is thesecond-largest WMO in the history of the Mission, and we praise the Lord for His faithfulness in moving in the heartsof our churches and people. We also thank each of you for your obedience, prayers, and participation.”

The largest WMO, before 2012’s record $1 million response, was $528,107.86 in 2008. “We have the potential toclimb even higher this year,” shared Mark McPeak, director of advancement. “On our website, 878 churches indicatetheir desire to participate in WMO 2013, while our records indicate 636 have actually sent in funds. We know somemay have sent monies through state plans or other avenues and we just lost the ability to track them, but we stillbelieve some churches have monies to send in. It is extremely encouraging to know that funds are still on the way.”

“While the WMO is becoming a larger slice of the budget pie,” Price explained, “it will never be able to sustain theworkings of the Mission over the long haul. Please help us pray the Lord will move in the same manner in the hearts ofour people for more churches and individuals to partner with us on a monthly basis.”

Gifts to International Missions, through the WMO or through monthly giving, help us labor together with the Body ofChrist to fulfill the Great Commission! We praise the Lord for every person who is involved in this partnership.

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The 2014 National Convention of Free Will Baptists will be held July 27-30* at the Fort Worth Convention Center,1201 Houston Street, Fort Worth, Texas.

*Please note the later dates for the convention. The convention is traditionally held the third full week of July.However, during negotiations with Fort Worth in 2004 those dates were unavailable, so the convention was moved tothe following week.

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Michigan State Association of Free Will Baptists = May 14-16, Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth

The Michigan Free Will Baptist MENORAH4166 Maplewood Meadows AvenueGrand Blanc, Michigan 48439-3500

Rally for Right!

February 25, 2014

Courthouse in Detroit. An informational meeting will be held at the West Wayne Free

Will Baptist Church February 6, 10:00 a.m. This is a peaceful protest against same-sex marriage andallowing homosexual couples from adopting children. For more information on the informational meeting or the rally,please contact Pastor Rex Evans at revansffwbc@gmail.com or Pastor Don Viers at donviers@gmail.com.

This is our opportunity to let our voices be heard before a decision is made.

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Church Covenant

Having given ourselves to God, by faith in Christ, and adopted the Word of God as our rule of faith and practice, wenow give ourselves to one another by the will of God in this solemn covenant.

We promise, by His grace, to love and obey Him in all things, to avoid all appearance of evil, to abstain from all sinfulamusements and unholy conformity to the world, from all sanction of the use and sale of intoxicating beverages, and to“provide things honest in the sight of all men.”

We agree faithfully to discharge our obligations in reference to the study of the Scriptures, secret prayer, familydevotions, and social worship; and by self-denial, faith, and good works endeavor to “grow in grace and the knowledgeof our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”

We will not forsake the assembling of ourselves together for church conferences, public worship, and the observanceof the ordinances of the Gospel; nor fail to pay according to our ability for the support of the church, of its poor, and allits benevolent work.

We agree to accept Christian admonition and reproof with meekness, and to watch over one another in love,endeavoring to “keep the unity of the Spirit” in the bonds of peace, to be careful of one another’s happiness andreputation, and seek to strengthen the weak, encourage the afflicted, admonish the erring, and as far as we are able,promote the success of the church and of the Gospel.

We will everywhere hold Christian principle sacred and Christian obligations and enterprises supreme; counting it ourchief business in life to extend the influence of Christ in society, constantly praying and toiling that the kingdom ofGod may come, and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

To this end we agree to labor for the promotion of educational and denominational enterprises, the support of missions,the success of Sunday schools, and evangelistic efforts for the salvation of the world. And may the God of peacesanctify us wholly, and preserve us blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.