67th Annual Thanksgiving Missions Conference
67th Annual Thanksgiving Missions Conference
November 14th – 15th – 16th, 2022
New Hope Baptist Church
Dearborn Heights, MI – Pastor Terry Adkins
CONFERENCE THEME:
“…UNTO THE UTTERMOST PARTS OF THE EARTH.” ACTS 1:8
UTTERMOST BEGINS WITH “YOU”
Do you have any questions about Baptist Faith Missions, about who we are and what we do? Please join us at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday for our BFM advisory meeting (bring your questions and/or suggestions). EVERYONE IS INVITED TO ATTEND.
MONDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 14TH
5:00 p.m. Dinner
6:30 p.m. Music
6:45 p.m. Singing
7:15 p.m. Message, Pastor George Sledd
Jordan Baptist Church
Sanford, FL
8:00 p.m. Singing
8:25 p.m. Message, Pastor Dan Hillard
Grace Missionary Baptist Church
Wyandotte, MI
TUESDAY MORNING, NOVEMEMBER 15TH
9:15 a.m. Music and Singing
9:30 a.m. Message, Evangelist Kerry Smith
New Heights Baptist Church
Ringgold, GA
10:15 a.m. Message, Pastor Mike Farmer
Covenant Baptist Church
Troy, MI
11:00 a.m. Break
11:15 a.m. Message, Pastor Denny Herndon
Immanuel Baptist Church
Riverview, MI
12:00 p.m. NOON LUNCH
TUESDAY AFTERNOON, NOVEMBER 15TH
1:30 p.m. BFM ADVISORY MEETING
EVERYONE IS WELCOME, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE ABOUT BFM OR OUR MISSIONARIES.
TUESDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 15TH
5:00 p.m. Dinner
6:30 p.m. Music
6:45 p.m. Singing
7:15 p.m. Message, Pastor David Humphreys
7th Street Baptist Church
Cannelton, IN
8:00 p.m. Singing
8:15 p.m. Message, Pastor Keven Humphreys
Twelve-Ryan Baptist Church
Warren, MI
WEDNESDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 16TH
9:44 a.m. Music
10:00 a.m. Singing
10:15 a.m. Message, Pastor Doug Armstrong
Lake Road Baptist Church
Clio, MI
11:00 a.m Singing
11:15 a.m. Message, Missionary Judson Hatcher
Sao Paulo, Brazil
12:00 NOON LUNCH
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New Missionary Family + New Ministry at Annual Missions Conference
August 22, 2022
Dear Brethren,
We’re still here. It has been a while, but here we are with some more news from Cruzeiro do Sul.
We had all our missionaries come in with their families for a little break and to be honored during our annual mission conference. We started off on a Thursday night with a dinner for all our pastors, chapel pastors, missionaries and their wives.
For the next 3 days we had lots of training during the day and services with the whole church every night. Bringing everybody in from so far away is a big expense, but worth every “Real” (Brazilian dollar).
On Saturday night we gave all our official workers a new ID card issued by First Baptist Church. All of Latin America is big on formality (red tape, too). We decided to renew the credentials of all of our workers, for two reasons. 1. There are so many fake and false preachers around now that we wanted ours to be identified as approved by the home church. 2. Then, believe it or not, our ID card is even accepted at border crossings! We now have 33 workers officially under our authority. There are many other evangelists in our many congregations and mission points who did not get this official sanction.
Also, during the conference, we were able to present a longtime desire and dream to the whole church. For many years we have wanted to have a way to share the gospel with the deaf. For the past year and a half, we have had a big group in training to learn their language. The group has already been through three levels of training. They are in the fourth and final advanced course right now. We were able to present them and let them show the church more of how it works. They have been active for months, but this was another opportunity to get the whole church behind this important ministry. Just last night there were a few hearing impaired and our folks were preaching to them. The official launch is scheduled for November, but fortunately they are already serving this group in most services and during the week on a personal level.
During the last service of the conference, we took on a brand-new missionary family. Ronaldo, wife and daughter are now sponsored and authorized as missionaries out of First Baptist Church. They are from the Marubo tribe. He was first evangelized and taught by one of our long-time members who married a Brazilian lady from here. Ronaldo spent some time with us and then went to Rio to go to seminary. He came back and went right back to the tribe. He has started preaching points in 13 villages among his people. These villages are deep in the rainforest north of us. To get there it is a 6-hour boat trip down the Juruá River then a 2 day hike due north to the Ituí River. This is another tributary of the Amazon River. Very remote! Recently Pastor Ezi (one of our 7 pastors here at First Baptist) went to see what Ronaldo is doing. He was amazed. We now have works in 6 tribes. Two of our ten full-time missionaries are Indians.
Thanks for all your prayers and support. God bless you as much as He has us.
In Christ,
Mike Creiglow
The signing group at First Baptist Cruzeiro do Sul. 
The signing group at First Baptist Cruzeiro do Sul.
CONTACT INFO
Mike & Beverly Creiglow
Caixa Postal 24
69980 Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre
Brasil, SA
mdcreig@hotmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
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Sarah Returns from Mission Trip + A Look at Steward Leadership
August 20, 2022
Dear friends,
Thank you for your faithful financial support & prayer. Please, pray for me as I will undergo several surgical procedures in the coming weeks. 1) The removal of the port catheter from my chest (cancer-free & no longer needed). 2) Surgery on my hands/wrists due to severe carpal tunnel (I am looking forward to the pain relief). Also, pray for 3) Laura as she continues her cochlear implant hearing therapy. 4) Our return to São Paulo at the end of this year. 5) The church ministries conference at Nova Baptist Church in Manaus, where several pastors and leaders from across the country are flying in for the occasion.
Sarah returned from her two-month mission trip in the Amazon. The Lord used her mightily, and she learned so much while there. Our four children started back to school this week. In September, Raquel will attend a foster care/orphan care conference in Georgia. She is looking forward to this special event.
I have trained leaders with the “servant leadership” framework for the longest time. Within the last year, conviction has grown in my heart for the “steward leadership” framework instead. Let me share a little about “steward leadership.” One of the most outstanding steward leaders in Scripture is Joseph. What a leader and administrator! According to author Kent Wilson (2016), “A steward is someone who manages resources belonging to another person in order to achieve the owner’s objectives.” Wilson discusses the role and responsibilities of the steward. Particularly important for the steward are work ethic, personal virtues, absence of personal vices, training and experience, loyalty to the accountability structure and relationships, wise use of resources, and practical management skills.
In his book, Rodin (2010), addresses the age-old debate “nature-versus-nurture” and posits that leaders are “freed to lead”. As his primary thesis, this freedom fosters holistic transformation and renders an obedient response from born-again believers. This obedient response establishes the person’s work effectiveness. He continues, “Our call to be stewards is based on our acceptance of each as a gracious gift and our rejection of the lure to play the owner.” We are freed from self, equipped by God according to each calling. In addition, “We were created as caretakers of creation, and in Christ, we have been restored to that high and holy calling.”
Steward Leadership is a worldview mindset where a called individual is a learner who leads as a proctor administrator, free of second intentions, where with high integrity and character serves another and is responsible for resources (or an organization) with full-fledged decision-making authority and is accountable for those responsibilities, the use of power and the strategies implemented (Rodin, 2010; Simmons, 2019; and Wilson, 2016).
The steward leader is a servant at heart, but not every servant is a steward leader. This leadership lifestyle involves self-denial but not lacking confidence to influence people and outcomes. A steward leader is deeply accountable, trustworthy, and empowered to mobilize and delegate to successfully lead within all levels of an organization, selflessly empowering and encouraging people within his sphere (Simmons, 2019).
If you love to read and acquire new insights. Check out these resources:
* Rodin, S. (2010). The Steward Leader. Downer’s Grove, Intervarsity Press.
* Simmons, B. (2019). LDR 9610 Unit 1 Lecture HD. Online Studies, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOv8eyIeKSg&list=PLHAVnCRu3fmg6wLpFmZFrP80dOhf04GEs&index=12
* Wilson, K. R. (2016). Steward Leadership in the Nonprofit Organization. Intervarsity Press.
Thank you for your love!
Jud Hatcher
Contact Info:
Jud & Raquel Hatcher
São Paulo, Brazil
judsonhatcher@gmail.com
(872) 400-6522
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
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10 Baptized and Prayers Answered
August 20, 2022
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings to all our family in Christ and supporters. We pray and hope that all are doing well and blessed. We are doing great. We have had a wonderful month. Thank God that things have calmed down and we have been able to have several activities.
We had our first pizza day in the village of Ubim. We were there morning and afternoon. We enjoyed the day and so did the students. We are going to have a pizza day in the Indian village there in Ubim also. We are contacting other school in communities near us to have pizza day. We want to thank all those who have donated to this project.
We also had baptism day at our church, Pedras Vivas. Since everyone lives far away here, when we have baptism, we make it a day of fellowship. Last month we asked prayer for a family that came to live here at our place. Well, God is working!!!! Thanks for your prayers! The father and the 3 sons accepted Christ and were baptized. Also, three from Ubim were baptized. Cleomar, the teen who lives with us, was also baptized, and Gabriel, the other teen that is always at our home. Thank God for these 10 that were baptized. Pray for them!
Pray for us as we want to reach out into the communities, that God will open the doors. Also, that God will touch the lives of the members to help more and more in these projects.
Love in Christ,
Odali and Kathy
Contact Info:
Odali & Kathy Barros
Iranduba, Amazonas
Brasil, SA
odali_kathy@hotmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
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Tampa Teens Share the Gospel, English Classes Resuming
August 9, 2022
Dear Friends,
Our church’s anniversary is on July 22nd. In celebration of its anniversary, each Sunday of that month, a different aged Bible study group gave a chorale presentation and culminated with a chorale formed with the church leaders. The church rejoiced in how God has blessed in so many ways. We have experienced phenomenal growth, by His grace.
During the month of July, we had the privilege to host a team from the Tampa, Florida area. The group consisted of 8 members who ministered with our Projeto Vida evangelistic team in 3 public schools, two drug rehab centers and in a homeless shelter. The group was very enthusiastic and helpful in each outreach effort. The Lord used them and there were many professions of faith in Christ through their sharing of the gospel. Half of the group were teenage girls who were very courageous in giving their testimonies in front of hundreds of students in middle school and high school auditoriums. I didn’t think about it at the time, but in retrospect, I’m sad that no young men/boys decided to come be a part of that group and share the gospel. In fact, we have noticed that more and more, visiting groups consist of mostly girls. Come on down, young men! Be valiant servants of the Lord! A big shout out to you young ladies who heed the call to share your faith despite the fears you face.
Our traveling evangelistic team leaves tomorrow for another two-week trip to the northwest corner of our state and then on to the Federal District where they have been invited to minister in several schools. We have the van fueled up and the team of 11 members is excited about the privilege of sharing the gospel to school staff and students. Please remember them in your prayers as they present the gospel in a variety of ways and venues. We do not take this privilege for granted because we know that it may not last long, just as it has been taken away in almost every other country in the world, including the USA. What we seek is to take advantage of it as long as it is open to us and seek to honor the Lord through the sharing of His word and love.
Because of COVID-19 the government shut down our in-person English classes back in 2020. This week Charlene is restarting one of those classes and she already has about 15 students signed up for it. The classes are offered free of charge to our community for the purpose of providing an opportunity to meet new people and share Christ’s love and gain an open door for evangelism. We have already had several conversions, baptisms, and church growth through this ministry effort in the past and we pray that this will be the result again. Please pray for Charlene as she teaches these students in the weeks and months to come.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Annabelle 
Mandy & Mark 
Taylor
Contact Info:
Bobby & Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279
Sobrado 1, Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR. Brasil
Phone: 55-41-99899-2333
bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280
Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online
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A Baptism, A Wedding, & New Bible Study
August 8, 2022
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The past few weeks have been very busy and wonderful. Judy and I have driven hundreds of miles, have seen God at work in many different ways and have had wonderful moments with our family.
Early in the month was our neighborhood dinner. It was at the very first of these that we met the first person who started coming to our first Bible study and who later trusted Christ as Savior. This year we met four new families with children who have moved into our neighborhood. All of these are in homes within 100 feet of ours. I was able to speak briefly with two of these couples about what we do here. They informed me that they respected the beliefs of others but were themselves atheist. This is an answer we hear often.
On July 24 we drove north about 200 miles to baptize an 80-year-old lady, Michelle Pascale. We met her for the first time 15 years ago and she trusted Christ 7 years ago. She asked me to preach from John 4 about the Samaritan woman Jesus met at the well. “I am that woman,” she said. This lady has 6 children and all but one were at the baptism along with their spouses and children. This weekend was also Michele’s birthday. She invited her children to celebrate her party hoping that they would also attend her baptism and hear the Gospel. Some said that they would not attend the baptism. However, God allowed us to befriend most of them before the baptism and I invited them to attend. ALL of them attended and in later conversations with me and other believers, they expressed how they were touched by the message. Please pray for Michelle’s family.
Our daughter, Lydia, and son-in-law, Adam, and their four children (our grandchildren) arrived from Chicago on the Tuesday after the baptism. They came to attend Nathalie’s marriage. Nathalie, our second grandchild and Philip and Amanda’s second child was married to Brice Arlot on August 5. Brice is a fine Christian young man from the city of Briançon, the highest European city in the Alps. Philip and Amanda are not only family, we have been working together in the mission work here for 21 years. We cannot begin to describe the central place they and their daughters have had in the service of the Lord in Tournefeuille and surrounding cities. I was honored to be asked by Nathalie and Brice to celebrate their wedding. What a joy it has been to see her come to Christ and herself serve as a missionary to refugees in Austria.
The trip to the Alps was about 400 miles each way around, up and down mountains. It was well worth it to be able to enjoy the outdoor wedding in a beautiful setting in the Alps. We met many believers and many who need Christ who are members of Brice’s family and friends.
Philip bringing in Nathalie to be married to Brice. 
Philip and Amanda Hatcher. Parents of the bride. (Our son and daughter-in-law and co-workers.) 
Marriage setting
Judy and I are delighted to be starting a new Bible study in the city of L’Union in the home of a family to which we have ministered for many years. Several people, seekers that we have never met are planning to attend this Bible study. Thank you for your prayers for this new opportunity.
We are continuing to enjoy Adam, Lydia and their children as I write.
May God’s riches blessings be enjoyed by you. We are delighted to be in the Lord’s service with your help.
Your brother and sister,
John and Judy Hatcher
Contact Info:
John & Judy Hatcher
4, rue d’Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, France
JMHatcher@aol.com
Present USA phone 1-812-416-1033
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
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Prepping for Class + Two Prayer Requests
August 16, 2022
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,
I find myself in “gear-up” mode. The college is on term break and the new school year begins at the end of this month. This is good because it gives me an opportunity to prepare and to try and figure out what I’m doing. Changing directions in ministry and in life can be (translate “can be” as “IS!”) challenging as many of you know. And I have a lot to learn. Do we ever wonder whether we’re getting too old to make major or even minor changes in life? No! C’mon, those of us over fifty! We can still do the things God calls us to do and what he calls us to do he will give us the strength and power to do. Look, I’m not saying we have all strength to do anything we want. Nor does God promise us success. But He does promise us his presence and his Spirit and what he wants us to accomplish, we can accomplish.
Among other things, I am preparing for a class I’ll be teaching starting at the end of August. I’ll be teaching Principles of Biblical Interpretation to first year Bible students. Can you believe that? I get to teach incoming students (who will know practically nothing) possibly the most important topic they will learn in college – How to read and interpret the Bible properly. I’m not saying that I know much of anything either, but what a great privilege and responsibility to teach young students, who will some day be pastors and church leaders, how to properly interpret the Scriptures. I’ve heard a lot of sermons from a lot of Kenyan pastors and, believe me, they need the training this class will offer. In most Kenyan sermons, context is ignored, grammar is butchered, allegory is employed, meaning is changed, application is stretched beyond the text, and just in general…well…it’s awful. I get the awesome privilege of helping these incoming, first-year students learn how to avoid wild and fanciful interpretations and how to seek God’s true message from His Word. The churches in Kenya desperately need this. Believers in Kenyan churches need this. Unbelievers in Kenya need this. There is a weighty responsibility that accompanies this privilege for me. May God receive glory in His Kenyan churches and in his Kenyan people.
There a couple of things I wish you all to continue praying about.
First, Julie still has not regained her strength after recovering from Covid. She came down with Covid over a month ago, struggled with the disease itself for two weeks but is now still suffering with some dramatic side effects. She still cannot eat and has no strength for any activity. She has had tests run at the hospital and was even put out under general anesthesia in the hospital theater to get a scope to her stomach. So far, nothing unusual has been found. On Monday she goes back to the hospital for a CAT scan that may or may not reveal something. Please pray that if something is wrong that the doctors would be able to discover it and if there is nothing wrong but that she just needs more time to recover her strength, that God would quickly strengthen her. Thank you, beloved.
Second, Kenya is facing major elections at all levels of government on Tuesday of next week – President and vice-president, senators, governors, and local government. These kinds of major elections have caused problems in the past. Many Kenyans don’t trust the system or the validity of the outcomes. In the past this has caused violence and tribal conflict. Tribal allegiance is still big in Kenya and certain tribes don’t always get along. Sometimes, tribal relations is like a shook up can of Coke. The outbursts can be kept under control until someone pops the lid. But when the lid is popped, the contents explode. Elections can present the opportunity for the lid to be popped. If it does, this can lead to great suffering for the Kenyan people. Please pray that the elections would be fair and honest and above all please pray for peace in Kenya. For the glory of God.
Blessings to all,
Roger, Julie, and Chloe
CONTACT INFO
Roger & Julie Tate
P.O. Box 96
Kitale, Kenya 30200
rojuta@gmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
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Praying for Kenyan Presidential Election
August 6, 2022
Dear praying friends,
Another month has come and gone, and we are already moving towards the end of 2022. Time is precious, and may it be used faithfully in service to the Lord. This update will share current prayer requests as well as ministry updates.
A major prayer request we have currently is for the presidential election which is scheduled for August 9th. One of the big presidential candidates visited Kitale recently, and from my understanding, much of the town was blocked off and thousands went to the rally. We have had multiple visits here in Kitale from the presidential candidates over the past few weeks, and now Kenyans will vote on August 9th for their candidate.
Please pray for the country and any post-election violence. You never know how things will go – some years have been peaceful, and others have been with more unease and conflict. The year 2007 was one of the more unpeaceful elections, so we pray for peace and safety for this year, with no unnecessary rioting or violence. We are thankful to be in Kitale, as Kitale has a mixture of tribes and is generally very peaceful. In all these matters, we are trusting the Lord. Psalm 5:11 says, “But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.” Psalm 28:7 also says, “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.” What a faithful God we serve.
Please continue praying for our family during this time, as many families have relocated from Kitale since we returned earlier this year. It has not been easy with all the adjustments, but we are praying and trusting God to bring other families in His timing and plan. Psalm 123:2 says “Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that he have mercy upon us.” We are praying, and trusting the Lord with this in our current situation, and we know He will provide in His timing.
I (Nathan) am continuing to disciple younger Kenyan men in the village of Taito. I thank the Lord for those who have been faithfully attending. Please pray for these men and their spiritual growth. As I have talked with other missionaries who have succeeded at church planting here in Kenya, this is the model – disciple (give them a strong Biblical foundation), train, and send. This is the model that I am currently following and has yielded the best results. All of this must be bathed in prayer. Colossians 4:2 says, “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.” Please pray for me as I trust the Lord in church planting endeavors here in Kenya. God is faithful.
We will update you next month on the election and how things are faring in the country. We know God is in control and we trust Him with all these matters. Thank you so much for your prayers, sacrificial giving, and interest in missions around the world. You each mean so much to us.
Until next month,
Nathan and Carrie Radford
Contact Info:
Nathan and Carrie Radford
naterad[at]yahoo.com
P.O. Box 4150
Kitale, Kenya
East Africa 30200
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
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