One Blessed Man

Pastor Byron and wife Mary with the Houser Family

The life of a pastor isn't always sunshine and roses, in fact, it rarely ever is; however, every now and then everything comes together in a way that only the Lord could orchestrate. Today was one of those great days in the life of a pastor.

The Houser Family

This morning, we had special guests, the Houser Family, missionaries to the Philippines, in our worship service. I had never met them before and only had conversed a few times over email and once on the telephone. Bro. Houser and his wife are both graduates of the same college that I graduated from, The Crown College of the Bible, so I knew they were doctrinally sound and was not worried at all to turn the service over to them. What a blessing it was to hear them sing, present their ministry and for Bro. Houser to preach a message. They were a joy to be around and to worship with.

After church my family and I drove over to the home of one of our shut-in's and spent some time with her, singing, talking, and praying. She is always a delight to be around and loves being visited. Her heart's desire is to be able to come back to church and if her health would allow it, she certainly would be right there.

My family rarely ever eats out on a Sunday but today we made an  exception and stopped off at the Mandarin House Chinese Buffet. We had a delicious meal and even though it was a buffet I didn't really over do it on the food.

Tonight I brought a message about John the Baptist and expounded upon 4 attributes that made him such a great man of God and a true hero. I spoke of his purpose, his truth, his humility, and his impact. During the invitation period one precious girl walked the aisle and prayed to be saved. What a blessing it was to know that God is still convicting hearts and saving souls. As a pastor, I could not have asked for a better day. I wish it never had to end. I am definitely one blessed man.

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Sauder's to Zambia, Africa

What a joy it was to have the Sauder family with us in our Wednesday evening worship service. They Sauder's are currently on deputation with hopes of being able to move to their mission field this coming Summer. Bro. Justin shared their ministry with us along with his personal testimony and he also brought a great message out of Mark 2 concerning the 4 friends that help lower their paralyzed friend down through the roof so that Jesus could heal him.

We recently began supporting the Sauder's on a monthly basis and was so glad they had a chance to stop by and be with us again.You can learn more about them, donate to their ministry, or request for them to come by your church to present their ministry, at their website: http://www.sauders2zambia.org/ Tell them that Pastor Byron sent you!

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New Support

I am excited that we voted this past Wednesday night to begin supporting three new missionary families. I have personally met and worshiped with all three of them and look forward to being part of their ministry for many years to come. This now makes 6 missionaries that our Church supports.

Justin and Danielle Sauder - Missionaries to Zambia, Africa

Jonathan and Natalie Vandenhurk - Missionaries to England

Brandyn and Alicia Knight - Missionaries to the U.S. Military and their families

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Honduran Missions with the Jacksons

Alan and Becky Jackson, Missionaries to the Honduras

It was a thrill to connect again with Alan and Becky Jackson, our missionaries to the Honduras, at Church last night. We set this meeting up months ago and I've been looking forward to it ever since. It had been 3 years since we last saw them. They have been in the United States for the past couple of months, raising funds for the new Church they established in Danli, Honduras. They are needing more land so they can expand. Right now folks are having to stand.

As always, the Jackson's were very friendly and we shared great Christian fellowship together. Bro. Allen shared their missions via a slide show and then he brought a wonderful message from Mark 5, concerning the maniac in Gadarenes. He titled it "From a Maniac to a Missionary."

Pastor Byron Chesney with Alan and Becky Jackson

Before we knew it, the service was over and we said our parting good-byes. I am so excited for the work the Jackson's are doing in the Honduras. The people down there seem to be hungry for the Gospel. I wish we could say the same thing for the people in the United States.

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Burdened for Nicaragua

Jeremy, Michelle, and Lila Blanz

This Sunday, August 26, 2012, I had the privilege of meeting Jeremy and Michelle Blanz, BIMI missionaries to Nicaragua. The Blanz family is based out of West Jacksonville Baptist, the church where my first cousin, Jonathan Williams, is currently the pastor of student ministries.

Me (Byron Chesney) and Jeremy Blanz

It was a joy to spend some time with the Blanzes and learn of their burden for the people of Nicaragua. I learned a lot about that country and some of the culture there by listening to Bro. Jeremy and watching their mission video.

Blanz Family Mission table

Bro. Jeremy preached a wonderful message out of Luke 10:24-37, concerning the good Samaritan. He gave a very clear presentation of the Scripture and I could tell he had a real heart and passion for the ministry. Like I told him, I wish we could support every single missionary that comes to visit but we just aren't able to. We can, however, support them through prayer.

You can listen to Bro. Jeremy's message HERE or at the link below:

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Meet the Claypools

Tonight at church we had the Claypool family as our special guests. Doug and Amanda Claypool are missionaries to Sao Tome and Principe, Africa. Doug started off by presenting a slideshow with pictures from their mission field. He explained the culture differences and the obstacles they had to face in order to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a 3rd world country. After the presentation, the Claypool family blessed us with 2 songs in which they sang both English and Portuguese on. It was really a great treat. Then Pastor Doug brought a wonderful message from John 3:5-7: "Ye Must Be Born Again." He explained in detail what it meant to be born again. I had never heard it brought out in such a way before.

I so admire people like the Claypools that are willing to sacrifice everything in order to spread the Gospel. It would be a very scary thing for me to leave everything that I know and love to move to a country where I couldn't speak the language or have any family. I'm glad that God calls folks to fill that much needed ministry.

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The Great Commission

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Amen. - Matthew 28:19, 20

One of the things I love about being a Baptist, is the fact that we support missions. I am a firm believer that we as Christians are responsible for seeing that all of the world is evangelized. I'm glad that God lays it on the hearts of people to become missionaries. It takes a special person to travel to unknown places and live among complete strangers, often faced with perils, danger, and hardships. I've always wanted to follow God's complete will in my life and I've never felt that He called me to become a missionary. I do, however, believe in tithing 10% of my income and from that tithe a portion goes to missions.

Tonight at church we were blessed to have Garry and Pam Tyler, missionaries to Brazil, visit with us during our worship service. The Tylers have been missionaries for 32-years! They have been able to penetrate areas of Brazil that no other American missionaries have been able to work in. The Tyler's were approved as Baptist International Missions, Inc. missionaries to Brazil in October 1974. They have started several churches and a Bible institute. Garry preaches on the radio for 30 minutes each weeknight, and Pam teaches Bible and sign language in the school for the deaf

After watching a short DVD that described their mission life in Brazil, Garry stood in the pulpit and preached the Word of God. What a wonderful message he brought from Psalm 96, detailing the Christian's responsibility for evangelizing the heathen in the world. He outlined 4 truths from this passage of Scripture; 1. We are to share our salvation with the heathen. 2. We are to declare God's glory among the heathen. 3. We are to declare to the heathen that God reigns. 4. We are to tell the heathen that Jesus is coming. It was a message that all Christians should hear because if you are saved, you are responsible for these truths from God's Word. You can listen to the message at this LINK.

I know this hasn't been a music post but I just wanted to share with everyone the wonderful ministry that the Tylers are involved in. Below, you can see all of the pictures that were taken during tonight's service. Thanks to Greg Fisher for the photography work.

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