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May 10, 2021

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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.

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May 7, 2021

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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.

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Called To Plant
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May 4, 2021

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Church Planting, National Missions

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Called To Plant

By Vince Daniel, Director of National Missions

It was a Tuesday. I had been fighting the call to preach for nearly a year. I moved states. I blamed my wife. I couldn’t keep a job. I was running, and it was obvious to everyone but me. But that night, that Tuesday night, in Mountain Home, Arkansas, God spoke so clearly through an evangelist. He had just marched around the entire church. He was stomping and wiping sweat from his face and the pages of his Bible. Then he stopped right at the pew I was sitting at, looked at me, and asked a question I didn’t have a real answer to: “Why aren’t you preaching?”

And everything changed. I fell to the floor in repentance to God for running, and at the end of the night I stood and proclaimed, “If God wants me to preach, I will preach!” Within two days, I received my first call to fill in at a church about an hour from our home. Within six weeks I was a full-time pastor at a church in Melbourne, Arkansas, where my ministry started.

I know this article is titled “Called to Plant,” but I need to assure you that I know what it means to be called, to have something speak so deeply to your soul that there is nothing else you can imagine doing.

It was eight years after that initial call that I felt it again. My family and I were in an established church that was growing and doing well. We had been the pastor for three years, and God had done some amazing things while we were there. But I was struggling, not with my ministry or my marriage. Both were thriving! I was struggling with an ache in my heart for an area that was dear to me. We had driven through north-central Arkansas a few weeks earlier, and God, as only he can do, broke my heart. I couldn’t sleep or find peace. As a result, we resigned from the church. It didn’t make sense to those that knew us. In fact, it didn’t make sense to us. We had resources, facilities, people, and opportunities. But God called, and we had to listen. In the next year, we learned a lot in regard to planting a church (I am not being completely honest. We didn’t know a thing!). With $1200, a used soundboard, and borrowed chairs from every church that would send any, we opened Real Life Church.

I knew God had called us, but I wasn’t sure of what all He had placed in us to complete the task. That may be where some of you are right now. You sense that God is moving in a radical way in your heart to plant or do something different, but your just not sure. I want to lay out what we call some non-negotiables in church planting. After each one will be some definers for each attribute.

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