Author Archives: General Baptist Ministries

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

May 13, 2021

Posted under

Calling, Pastoring

Called To Stay

An Interview with Barry Cullen & Byron Beck

The average tenure of a pastor in the United States is less than 6 years. In some extraordinary cases, a pastor stays at a single church for all or much of their ministry. Such stability in ministry is not always possible or ideal, but those cases where a pastor spends 30 or 40 years in the same congregation should be celebrated for the commitment to a particular people and a particular calling. Furthermore, these pastors who are called to stay in one congregation for so long have much to teach other pastors about consistency, faithfulness, and intentional freshness in ministry. Byron Beck has been Senior Pastor of Fellowship General Baptist Church in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, since 1987. Barry Cullen has been Pastor of the Providence General Baptist Church in Providence, Kentucky, since 1988. These pastors have seen many changes in their ministry lives. Interim Executive Director Danny Dunivan interviewed them to allow them to talk about their callings and how they have been able to maintain ministry in the same congregations for so many years.

Danny: Tell us about your original sense of calling to ministry. At what moment did you realize you were called to ministry as a pastor?

Barry: I first felt the call to ministry when I was about 14. I was attending church camp, and I believed that the Lord wanted me to preach. I shared with some of the leaders about how the Lord was dealing with me. They prayed for me and encouraged me to go back home and talk to my pastor. However, by the time Sunday arrived I had convinced myself that I was too young for God to use as a preacher and I never mentioned it to my pastor. I was leading music at my home church, and I convinced myself that I was doing enough.

Several years later, at the age of 19, God began to deal with me once again, and I became very burdened. I spoke to a pastor whose opinion I greatly valued. He urged me to follow God’s leading and the next Sunday I announced my calling.

Byron: Calling to the ministry for me, was somewhat “undefined” at first. It began to stir in me about one year after my conversion. I was a senior in high school. I was being discipled through a powerful movement of the Holy Spirit in the McLeansboro First General Baptist Church in McLeansboro, Illinois, and, at the same time, a vibrant high school youth ministry in Carmi, Illinois. I was watching others do ministry and was gradually being invited to serve by people around me. There were two people in particular who saw something in me and encouraged me to listen for God’s voice and His will for my life. It eventually became a slow-growing but unmistakable calling to serve Jesus with all of my life— and, the more I moved into my calling and acted on it, the more it was confirmed for me.

Continue reading →
Standard

Posted by

Posted on

May 10, 2021

Posted under

Calling, Faith Home, GBBC, Honduras, India, International Missions

Called In The World

By General Baptist International Missions

God is at work in the lives of His people. We have a collection of His work in the lives of people in the pages of the Bible. We have assembled in this Messenger further evidence that God continues to call people to particular places of service. This article reminds us that it is not only here in the United States that He is at work in the lives of His followers but around the world as well. International Missions asked four of our many faithful co-laborers to share their story of calling for this Messenger. The first two of these come from Honduras, where missionary Rodney Walls gathered, translated, and edited the callings of Pastor Miguel Ramirez and Dr. Sharon Castro. The others come from the Philippines and India, with General Baptist Bible College President Dr. Joyce C. Porcadilla-Rubia sharing her calling and Pastor Dr. Prakash Pamu in India.

Pastor Miguel Ramirez with Dr. Rodney Walls

The depth of success of mission work rests in the development and equipping of nationals. The mission of making disciples for Christ in Honduras has been greatly blessed with a host of Hondurans who serves Christ as General Baptists. Our General Baptist movement today would not be where it is without the sacrificial service of Pastor Miguel Ángel Ramirez Padilla. Foremost, Miguel is a pastor and has a pastor’s heart.

“In January 1996, the Lord called me to His vineyard as a pastor. This was a new experience for me and my family. I did not know how to do it, but I prayed to the Lord, and He began to move the lives of the people in the community of Canchias, Comayagua, where I was born. It was very nice to see the spiritual movement in the church as my family and I worked with the ladies, gentlemen, young people, and children.

“One day in January 2005, I was praying in the early morning and God spoke to my spirit and said, ‘tell the church that you are not a permanent pastor in this place. I’ll take you somewhere else.’ That night I said exactly what God told me to the church. The brothers of the church were saddened by the news, as they were accustomed to our work as pastors.

Continue reading →
Standard

Posted by

Posted on

May 7, 2021

Posted under

Calling, Christian Life, Christian Walk

Called For His Purpose

By Vicki Smith, Women’s Ministries Executive Director

“Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.”

– 2 Timothy 1:9

Merriam-Webster defines the word calling as “a strong impulse toward a particular course of action especially when accompanied by conviction of divine influence.”

I sometimes have felt that the phrase “I feel called to do it” has been used flippantly and often without real thought. I do not know how many times a woman has come to me and said, “I really feel called to do this,” and maybe six months later says that she does not feel called in that area anymore. We could spend countless hours discussing what it truly means to be called. Calling for each of us is different, and it comes in different forms. And yes, God does move us from one service area or “calling” to another. There is a passage of scripture that, in my mind, sums it all up. Isaiah 6:8 “Here I am Lord, Send Me.”

I ran across a quote by the author Emilie Barnes that says “Instead of thinking of the will of God, why not think of it as I will. God, I will do whatever you desire me to do.”

I have been so blessed in my life to have known so many Godly women. Women who only want to do the will of God. Some have stepped out of the box and have or are serving in some areas that have made them true pioneers in the denomination. Others have served in very traditional ways, while still others are unsung heroes serving quietly behind the scenes but faithfully answering God with “I will.” They cover a broad spectrum of ages and live in varying demographic areas. Their experiences are varied. Some I have known for a long time and are close friends. Some are colleagues that I have served alongside at some time or another. Some I have known only for a short time, but I am so thankful that God caused our paths to cross.

In 1911 Asenath Brewster responded to God with “I will.” To date, over 100 women have answered with “I will” and have gone to serve on one of our General Baptist mission fields. Over one-fourth of those going as a single woman.

I hope that as you read about these seven women, you will be as touched by their testimonies and as blessed as I am by their faithfulness. I also pray that their stories will inspire you to search for the “I WILL” in your life.

Continue reading →