All to Him I Owe

Yesterday during the Boston Marathon a victory line became a line of destruction. The horrific pictures of blood stained sidewalks, smoke, and injured people fill our mind. It will be a topic of conversation both today and many days ahead. People without a Biblical worldview will quickly conclude that this is simply another piece of evidence supporting the absence of God’s existence or an absence of God’s control over the world.

In Luke 13:1-5 we find a text to use as a guide for us as believers during times like this. Christ used the “headlines” plucked from the news of that day to create a conversation with unbelievers. In the conversation He answered their questions and brought other news events to their attention. Throughout the conversation He did not allow the tragedy of loss to distract Him from the need of the living.

I urge us to not forget the living who are around us today. The people around us are not just bodies with personalities. They are bodies with souls that will one day spend eternity somewhere. The events of yesterday remind us that death may come to people at a time when and where they least expect it. Life truly is a vapor (James 4:14).

The Gospel is most precious during times like this. It is the clearest evidence that God does truly care for mankind and that He is in control. We have an opportunity before us to present the gospel to souls that may be more attentive then they were two days ago. We have an opportunity to see the power of the gospel at work in the lives of people who believe. We have an opportunity to see God take what seems like a line of destruction (the marathon) and once again turn it into a line of victory through the lives that are gloriously changed through the gospel during this time. Let’s seize the opportunity!

I’m praying today for the families of those whose loved ones were lost or seriously injured. I’m praying for the safety that is only of the Lord for my country, city, and family. I’m also praying for opportunities to give the gospel. — Pastor Ron (John 16:33)

Last week was the launch service of our sister church, Faith Baptist Church of Roseville. Click on the website link below if you are in the Roseville area needing a good church home, or wanting to keep an eye on another church planting ministry.

Faith Baptist Church of Roseville Website

Many of you have made comment that there are aspects of our church website that are out of date or in need of improvement. If you click on www.fbcfolsom.org you will find that slowly but surely things are becoming updated.

Ted Hayes has faithfully served our church through his ministry with our web and has recently handed those reins to Jason Taylor and Eric Palmer. Together with those men we are attempting to stay consistent with the foundation Ted has laid for this ministry.

Take note of the following things:

1.) Picture Gallery – Ted Hayes has served as the unofficial photographer within our church for many years and has an ever growing collection of photos from church events.

2.) Sermons from our study in Joshua continue to be uploaded to our site.

3.) Areas that were out of date or primarily the writing of the previous pastor have been removed until they can be accurately updated.

A couple of things that we are researching and considering are the following:

1.) A calendar glance of a whole month.

2.) A video portion that would include an introduction to our church.

3.) A Frequently Asked Questions page.

All to Him I owe!

P.Ron

The letter below was sent out and posted in many places.

Dear Family, Friends, Supporters, and Prayer Partners,

The Lord graciously led our family to California in January of 2002. Upon arriving at Ironwood, we were quickly immersed into the camping ministry; and we have seen the breadth of our ministry grow over the last seven years. We have seen countless decisions made through the Ironwood Institute of Ministry, and we have seen a program called Ministry Bound start and grow to be one of the finest camp internship programs among fundamental camps. God has enabled us to minister to students in the Ironwood Christian Academy and to many campers and sponsors as they have stepped foot on the property here.

It has also been our privilege to plant Faith Baptist Church of Cherokee Road and to serve both at Ironwood full-time and as a part-time pastor here in our community. Through the ministry of the church we have seen folks saved, discipled, and conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. We praise the Lord for the ministry He has given us and for each of you who has invested in these ministries financially and prayerfully.

Over the last year, God has increased our burden for pastoring and for reaching California through the ministry of the local church. At first we believed that God would have us continue here and see Faith Baptist Church of Cherokee Road grow to the point that it could support a full-time pastor. However, through much prayer and evaluation, we have come to the conclusion that for now, Faith will probably remain a bi-vocationally led ministry for many years to come. Because this seems to be the clear leading of the Lord for Faith Baptist, we recognize it as a good thing. The fact that it is not financially strapped to paying a pastor full-time enables it to do many things that another church may not be able to do.

Having come to this conclusion concerning the future of Faith Baptist Church of Cherokee Road, we began to pray that God would clearly show us His will regarding our ever-increasing burden to pastor full-time. Slowly, yet deliberately, God began to lead us to the ministry of Faith Baptist Church of Folsom, California. After spending the last week candidating there, the church has officially called us to be their pastor; and we have accepted. We praise the Lord for His leading and are excited to see what He is going to do.

There are many more questions to be answered, but for now we will continue the process of trying to finish right here, while we eagerly pursue a good start in Folsom, California. We covet your prayers for this time of transition and assure you that we believe we are doing the Lord’s will.

We have loved our time here at Ironwood. We will miss the people and the ministry here and will always have a special place in our heart for the ministry that originally brought us to California. We love our church family here dearly and will miss them more than they will ever know. In many respects we have “learned on them” while trying to minister to them. God has been so good to us, and we look forward to continuing to serve Him.

Your friend and co-laborer,

Pastor Ron Perry (for Beneth, Jessica, and Mackenzie, too)

We are excited about what lies ahead and plan to keep a record of those things using the blog to share the stories, praises, and prayer requests of our new ministry in Folsom. We covet your prayers!

All to Him I owe!