Dear IARBC family,

Last evening we had the joy of watching some of our grandkiddos for a bit. Their mom and dad had some things that needed to be done and we were glad to help 🙂 We ate pizza (cheese pizza is still very popular with children), played some games outside and then came inside as the sun went down. We were watching an older Disney movie (Swiss Family Robinson) when Sandy received a text from their dad. He asked us to have the kids look outside as it had started to rain, and they had been praying that God would send rain. He wanted them to know that God had heard and answered their prayers. It was a good lesson in the wonders (lightning and thunder) and the works of God.

In my opinion, we as fundamental Baptists have always worked hard at teaching our children the Word of God. It is also my opinion, based on many years in ministry and observation, that we have not worked as hard at teaching our children (and perhaps new believers) the works of God and His wonders.

The heading in my Bible for Psalm 78 is “Tell the Coming Generation”. Every parent should know, embrace, and, by the grace of God, put into practice the truths in this passage of Scripture…

WE must hear and know God’s Word…see and remember His wonders and His works!

We must open our mouths…not hide them……tell them…teach them to our children…the coming generation!

The “them” is God’s Word…God’s works…and God’s wonders.

All this so that they will “set their hope in God and not forget”…and not be a “stubborn and rebellious generation.”

His wonders and His works are the amazing things that God has done and is currently doing in the heavens, on earth, and in our daily lives. It is implied that if we do not show and tell our children what God is doing they will not see His wonders and His works. We must teach them the wonders and the works of God whenever we teach them the Word of God. In family devotions, in Sunday School, at VBS, at camp, and throughout the course of the day (see Deut. 6:4-9) to help them to see the hand of God in everyday life. We must help them to apply the truths of Scripture. We must show them that God is powerful…that He is actively working all the time…and that He is amazing (Psalm 78:4)!

Here are a few suggestions:

1) Make an effort to remember what God has done, and to see what He is doing in your life.

2) Teach, tell, and show your children these amazing things…God’s Word, wonders & works as you “sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise” (Deut. 6:7).

3) Trust that God will use all of this to do a work in the lives of your children…that they will put their trust in Him and not forget Him.

This weekend Sandy & I head out to Maryland for the GARBC Annual Conference. I have Council of 18 meetings on Monday, Talents for Christ is on Tuesday, and Sandy will be doing a workshop on Wednesday. She is excited about sharing what God has laid on her heart and would sure appreciate your prayers for her. Please also pray for safety for people traveling to the conference, and for a refreshing time of fellowship with people and around the Word.

Next week is also Family Camp #1 at IRBC. I mention this to remind you to pray for the summer ministries of the camp and that God’s hand of blessing would be evident in changed lives. I also mention this to say that Brenna Capon, our IARBC Administrative Assistant, will be at FC 1 with her family. If you have a pressing need either she or I can help, but I wanted you to know that we will be away from our offices for the week in case it takes a bit to respond. Thanks!

A few weeks ago I had a great time at a golf outing hosted by Nevada Baptist Church (Pastor Dennis & Barb Reynolds). There were about 30-40 men there, including some who were unbelievers. I was invited to share a devotional and join them for a round of golf. I hadn’t played since the Faith Golf Classic last September, and it showed! But it was a great time of golfing with friends, old and new. NBC did a great job of hosting the event, complete with some pretty impressive prizes. It was also a great time to connect with unsaved men with the Gospel of Christ and to challenge all of us who know the Lord to be faithful in giving out the Gospel.

Slater Baptist Church (Interim pastor Miles & Mary Grismore) is in transition between pastors. We like to touch base with these churches when we can and a recent Sunday was a good chance to do this. We popped in for Sunday morning services and had a great time with them. We caught the end of a series of SS lessons that focused on where the church was and where it should be going. It was a very transparent evaluation and I was impressed at the openness with which they talked about these things as a church family. Pastor Grismore preached and led in the Lord’s Table for the morning worship service. Afterwards, we enjoyed a nice lunch with the Grismores. I so appreciate them and believe that they, and others who serve our churches as pulpit supply and interim pastors, are doing a great work in our churches. I thank God for them.

This was our fourth year to travel with the winners for our Talents for Christ Tour. The last few years we had 5, 7, and 12 winners respectively on Tour. This year we were down to two, and could not fill all the evenings with host churches, so it was decided to do a Sunday-only TFC Tour instead of the typical Sunday-Wednesday Tour. We were few in number, but the two young TFC preachers, Wes Prindle and David Love (both from Altoona Regular Baptist Church) did a great job of preaching God’s Word. We were at Faith Baptist Church in Carroll (Pastor Jay & Megan Chapman) for the morning and at Grace Baptist Church in Harlan (Pastor Chad & Amanda Hol) in the evening. It was a short tour and a long day, but we were blessed with great host churches and the ministries of these two young men. They, and others from Iowa, will be competing at the National TFC Competition on Tuesday of next week. Please pray for them!

Summer is a time when many of our churches engage in different types of ministries. There are weeks of VBS, missions trips, wilderness trips, and, for some, weekend retreats such as the one hosted by Walnut Park Baptist Church in Muscatine (Pastor Dave & Lori Wood). I was invited to speak for this Friday through Sunday morning retreat and truly enjoyed the time with this church family. Youth Pastor David Love did a fantastic job of organizing the retreat, including some interesting activities such as archery tag. Sandy and I enjoyed watching from the safety and comfort of a golf cart. When asked if we wanted to play softball, we declined and said “amen” when another fellow said that playing would be “an accident waiting to happen.” Pastor Dave & Lori Wood are relatively new to our fellowship and to Iowa. He is a seasoned pastor and I love the way he always connects and applies whatever is being sung, or taught, to our everyday lives. I also love the way they are reaching out to people. God is blessing!

Keep praying for God to work in hearts and to open doors for the gospel.
Keep working at building relationships with people for the purpose of sharing Christ with them.

In other words…

Keep DEPENDING on the Lord, and
Keep DOING the work of the Lord!

Your friends and partners in ministry,

Tim & Sandy

“Because of your partnership in the gospel” (Phil. 1:5)