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2December 2014 Mississippi BaptistBaptist Missionary Associationof MississippiDepartment of Missions and Revolving Loan FundLarry GeraldsonDirectorBob & Edie BurchKenneth & CarolePollockState Missionaries and WivesBobby & LesaElliottDanny & BrendaBartlett601.428.8616“And there were in the same countryshepherds abiding in the field, keepingwatch over their flock by night. And, lo,the angel of the Lord came upon them,and the glory of the Lord shone roundabout them: and they were sore afraid.And the angel said unto them, Fear not:for, behold, I bring you good tidings ofgreat joy, which shall be to all people.For unto you is born this day in the cityof David a Saviour, which is Christ theLord.” Luke 2:8-11“Go, Tell It On The Mountain, Overthe hills and everywhere; Go, Tell It OnThe Mountain, That Jesus Christ isborn.” When I was a boy we sang thisold spiritual every year at Christmastime. It has one of those catchy tonesthat sticks in your head and doesn’teasily go away. My prayer for each ofyou is that the message of this shorttune will stick in your head and heartthroughout the Christmas season, andas you find yourself singing it, that youwill remember that this is our greatestpurpose. Each of us, who serve thechurches of the BMA of Mississippi inthe work of missions are all about goingand telling people the story of Jesus. Heis and will always remain that mostprecious of all gifts. So, please join methis Christmas, “Go, Tell It On TheMountain, Over the hills and everywhere; Go, Tell It On The Mountain,That Jesus Christ is born. Cherita andI want to wish all of you a very Christfilled holiday season. God bless each ofyou.”- Larry GeraldsonBob Burch“This year has been a productiveyear. We are averaging in the 60’s ormore in our morning worship and alsothe small groups aredeveloping in a spiritual manner. Wehave three smallgroups during theweek. Men on Monday (11); Youngadults on Tuesday;Wednesday night wehave an average of25. Our SundaySchool has picked up some but not asmuch as we would like. We have 5Sunday School classes which include:adults, young adults, teens, and bothSidney & BeckyFarmerboy and girl youth. We enlarged ourparking lot, and we are building a pavilion outside. We have plans drawn up toexpand the back of the building.We have seen growth in our worshipservice and our offerings are up. Average giving is about 2500 to 3000 amonth. We have been evangelizing ourcommunity as a church, and not justthe pastor. We have established a strongbase for the church, both spirituallyand numerically. I do need to baptizesome, and I am working on that. Ourgoals are to move forward with a strongbase, but this next year is a year ofestablishment. This next year we hopeto establish a faith-based driven desireto see God develop teachers and preachers and church workers for the glory ofGod.”- Bro Bob Burch 1 Thess. 5:24Bobby Elliott“This time last year we were on a roll!We now have our building. The Lordhas blessed us beyond measure. Thebuilding is finished (with a few odds andends to finish). Our attendance hasreally started to lookgood. We are running consistently inthe high 40s and inthe 50s. We havevisitors quite often.Our congregationhas grown. We havea fantastic youthleader and a lady that works with thedrama team. The youth plan a lot ofprograms and witness teams are beingput together. They have started aprayer group at the school. They startedwith about 7 and now are in the 20's.Even some teachers are joining andhelping. Praise the Lord for our youth.We have started our visitation on Tuesday and Thursday nights. We hadslacked off during the building progressbut now are back on track. Our men’sbrotherhood is working on some projectsand the ladies auxiliary are gearing uptoo.The Lord has sent us a fantasticchoir director and we have started achoir!! They sound really good. Weappreciate Bro. Kenneth Pollock forcoming up and teaching for us duringthe building process. I really was busyand he helped out tremendously. Blessyou, Bro. Ken. We ended the buildingWesley & HolleyMartinPhillip & DawnBurnsEstuardo &Yasmine Marroquinwww.bmams.orgprogram at 168,000.00. I think wereally did a great job. Thank you to allthe individuals and churches that cameand helped us from the bottom of ourhearts. May the Lord richly bless eachand every one. We couldn't have done itwithout you. Freedom Mission is looking to a great future. Pray for us thatGod will always lead us in the paths Hewants us to go. We are seeking lostsouls to add to the kingdom.”- In His service, Bobby ElliottDanny Bartlett“We are now Grace Baptist Mission.We made the name change severalmonths ago. The Lord continues tobless at Grace Baptist Mission in Clinton.The core group ofmembers continuesto attend and is excited about how Godis working throughthem at the mission.My main focus ofministry is thepreaching and teaching of God’s Word. Apersonal desire I had when I began atthe mission was to build a genuine bondof trust with those who were alreadythere. I am very grateful today that theLord has granted that desire.This past year has been a good one forus at Grace. We continue to grow in theLord and in our service to Him. I am sothankful to the Lord for His faithfulness to us. Indeed, He is a very graciousGod! God has done a great work helpingour core group mature in their faith.We did plant many seeds of the gospelthis past year. We trust that the Lordwill bless with a good harvest in thenear future.Recently, we took part in the BlockParty that welcomed students of Mississippi College to the city of Clinton.We had over ninety students stop by ourbooth and receive information about ourmission in Clinton. We hope to seemany of these students visit with us inthe future. The Lord added one younglady to Grace this year, and we praiseHim for bringing her to us. We continue to meet on Sunday mornings at10:30 at the Clinton Racquet Club. Wetrust that the Lord will bless our effort,along with the help of the State Missions Department and the Capitol Baptist Association, to close on the pur-Elvis & WendyGarciaEd & PatriciaDuVallchase of five acres of land on PinehavenDrive in Clinton in the near future. Wealso trust that the Lord will then allowus to begin construction on a buildingthat we will call home for Grace BaptistMission—Amen!Needless to say, we are very excitedabout this great gift from the Lord.Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to serve as your missionary toGrace Baptist in Clinton. Brethren,please pray for us. Thanks so much foryour patience with me! We at GraceBaptist in Clinton would like to wisheach one a very Merry Christmas.”- With a grateful heart, DannyBartlettSidney Farmer“My Vision is to build a doctrinallysound and spiritually stable churchthrough the scriptural process of discipleship. My objective is to equip thepeople for the workof the ministry bypreaching and teaching. I want to makedisciples (evangelism,baptism,teaching), and disciple makers, anddevelop South Forrest to become thecornerstone of stability and godliness inthe community. We have stayed thecourse over this past year with God'sblessings. Please continue to pray forus.”- In His Service, Sidney FarmerPhillip Burns“This past year we have located atemporary meeting place in an officesuite at BobcatPlaza. This facilityis located off Hwy 42behind the baseballfields, which seemsto be a good location.It is highly visibleespecially duringsummer baseballand when school istaking place. Bro.Geraldson and I organized a canvassingcampaign on Saturday, February 8,from 10 until 12. There were many whocame and helped us with going out intocontinued on page 3

December 2014 Mississippi BaptistWhat Do I Want For Christmas?Matthew 2:1-12Now when Jesus was born inBethlehem of Judaea in the days ofHerod the king, behold, there came wisemen from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, where is he that is born King of theJews? for we have seen his star in theeast, and are come to worship him.When Herod the king had heard thesethings, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes ofthe people together, he demanded ofthem where Christ should be born. Andthey said unto him, In Bethlehem ofJudaea: for thus it is written by theprophet, And thou Bethlehem, in theland of Juda, art not the least among theprinces of Juda: for out of thee shallcome a Governor, that shall rule mypeople Israel. Then Herod, when he hadprivily called the wise men, enquired ofthem diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem,and said, Go and search diligently forthe young child; and when ye havefound him, bring me word again, that Imay come and worship him also. Whenthey had heard the king, they departed;and, lo, the star, which they saw in theeast, went before them, till it came andstood over where the young child was.When they saw the star, they rejoicedwith exceeding great joy. And whenthey were come into the house, they sawthe young child with Mary his mother,and fell down, and worshipped him: andwhen they had opened their treasures,they presented unto him gifts; gold, andfrankincense, and myrrh. And beingwarned of God in a dream that theyshould not return to Herod, they departed into their own country anotherway.MissionsOn Saturday, July 19, Day Star hadits first annual Vacation Bible School.This would not have been possible without the help of many volunteering theirtime. My wife was the main one to headit up and organize it. First Baptist BaySprings, Big Creek Baptist, and otherscame to help. They led out in BibleStudy, Crafts, Music, and Recreation.There were approximately 42 who attended this event and without thesechurches helping financially and physically we could not have carried this out.For the closing ceremony, there was onefamily who came to see their daughterand son in the closing program. Theparents have not been in church for fiveyears. Pray that they will see the needto be back in church with their familyon Sundays.We have had a fellowship at our homewith the group that has been coming.We are also in the plans of having aSunday meal following our morningworship. This is something FBC BaySprings, our mother church, is workingtoward helping us with. Also we have agentleman who is helping some withour music, and he is a part of a local trio.Plans are in the making to have themcome one Sunday and take care of themusic portion of our Sunday service.Please continue to pray for my familyand me as we continue to follow the LordJesus Christ and His leadership for ourlives through this journey of faith. MayGod continue to bless you as you continue to faithfully follow and serve Him!!Please pray for our family as we con-from page 2the community and handing out information about the church. Fifty contactswere made during this event, and therewere 100 flyers handed out.The start of our first Bible study washeld on Tuesday, February 11. Westarted our first Sunday service on Easter Sunday, April 20th. During theprocess I have put out signs, handed outflyers, ate meals at the local restaurants, shopped at the local stores, andhave been door to door letting peopleknow about Day Star Baptist Churchbeing a new mission / church in thecommunity. I have had a good many ofthese who have said they would comeand visit but most have not made it yet.We started out with just our family offour and now we have grown to a coregroup of eleven. So far we have had ahigh attendance of twenty one. I havebeen amazed for the most part of howpeople have been receptive to me knocking on the door, informing them aboutthe church, and at times sharing theGospel with them. There are manystories of kindness and there are stillsome good godly people out in this world.Matthew is one young man who I spoketo in the community who said he waslost. I have visited him three times, andhe has been receptive each time. Pleasepray for this young man to acknowledgeGod’s love for him and invite Jesus intohis life.Christmas lists abound in every family. Today we look at Black Friday ads,Cyber Monday specials, and an endlessarray of electronic bombardments to getus to put some particular object on ourLeave ItTo Cleaverby Tony Cleaverlist that right now is 25% to 125% offregular price. It’s only X shopping daysuntil Christmas! What do I want forChristmas?What do I want for Christmas? Iwant someone to love me. Most of us areafraid to show self to others because wemight not be pretty. Puberty tells us we3might not be perfect as the models are.Older age tells us we have lost a step andgotten somewhat saggy. The blazingverse tells us “For God so loved theworld ” “Jesus loves me, this I knowfor the Bible tells me so.” The incarnation shows God’s love through the love ofthe cross.What do I want for Christmas? Iwant someone I can love. Who is myneighbor? The story of the Good Samaritan tells us. It is the one who is inneed that I can help that need. Myfamily is my closest neighbor - evencrazy Aunt Mable and Goofy Uncle Freddeserves my love. There are many peoplenext door who live lives of quiet desperation - these are people I can love eventhough they might be of a differentculture or ethnic origin. There are risksin loving others. Jesus left church inhands of us mortals like Simon Peterand the rest of His followers.What do I want for Christmas? Iwant to know a follow my Lord better.Knowing and following is a head andhand as well as a feeling and foot experience. We need systematic effort to dothis - not “hope” to in future. A rifle hitsexactly what it is aimed at. So it is withour life. Following Jesus can get one ona different path. Early Christians wereon a different path than those aroundthem. Lord let me get on that kind ofpath!What do I want for Christmas? Iwant to give my life to count for God andgood. A crazy person is “beside” himself.A selfish person is “inside” himself. Wehave a society of people of “me, me, me”and then the chorus of “me, my, andmine”. Not one person starts life notwanting to achieve a good life. No oneset out purposely to plan life to end inchaos, it just happens. God asks me togive my life to Christ. No stars willrearrange in heaven to tell me this. Itis the still small voice like that spoke toElijah with persistence to come to Himto give my life. Today, this Christmasseason, is a good time to start.What do I want for Christmas? Iwant only the gifts God can provide.One of those gifts is silence: We mustponder deep in our souls. We must beliberated from the addiction to noise.We must surround ourselves with theredeeming presence of God. Another ofthose gifts is waiting. We wait and hopein the Word of God. We wait anddiscover God’s enduring strength. Wewait and discern God’s clear direction.We wait and find harmony with beingin step with God. Another of God’s giftsis kneeling. Here we find the sacredposture and that is one of the bent kneeand the bowed heart. On our knees wesee the world differently. On our kneeswe find Christ in unexpected places andfaces. On our knees we lean forwardand onward with hopeful expectancyinto the bosom of God as we make ourway for the joyful coming of the One whocomes in the name of the Lord.What is on your wish list for Christmas?tinue this new journey of faith! DayStar Baptist Mission in Sumrall wishesall the BMA of Mississippi Churches amerry CHRISTmas!”- In His Service, Phillip Burnslarity of Reformed Theology, (4) theStrategic Battlegrounds of Mind, Heart,and Mouth in Christian warfare againstSatan, and (5) a few other topics. I wasable to provide some relief from thestress of mission work to Bro. BobbyElliott during his building project.My objectives, going forward, are tobe available in North Mississippi to (1)Teach; (2) Preach; (3) Establish educational programs; (4) Assist BMA Missionaries and Mission Churches in process toward organization as BMAChurches. We are so blessed by thelove, encouragement, and support fromthe churches of the BMA of Mississippi.Carole and I wish all of you a joy-filledand blessed Christmas.”- Respectfully submitted, Dr. Kenneth PollockKenneth Pollock“My goal this past year was to support the missionaries in North Mississippi by making myself available toassist in the development of ministriesand programs attheir mission sites;and to be availableto the BMA Directorof Missions for anysupport missionaryassignmenthedeems appropriateand necessary. Inclose associationwith Bro. BobbyElliott, Mission Pastor at Freedom Baptist Mission in Burnsville, I began astrong, doctrinally sound, Christianeducation program designed to developthe membership of Freedom BaptistMission, leading to increased churchmembership and active participation inchurch programs and work. I was ableto help the adult members acquire atrue sense of what Regular MissionaryBaptist believe and practice throughteaching: (1) the BMA of MississippiDoctrinal Statements, (2) the ChurchCovenant, (3) the Missionary Baptistposition on the Depravity of man, Election, Atonement, Grace, and Security ofthe Believer in light of the rising popu-Estuardo MarroquinThis is our commitment at El CaminoHispanic Baptist Church. This is thereason for the Hispanic Ministry inour BMA of Mississippi. God continuesto open doors for thesharing of the Gospel of our Lord JesusChrist in South Mississippi. My heart isso thankful to mySavior for this honorto serve Him andtrain people for missions work.continued on page 8

4December 2014 Mississippi BaptistBaptist Missionary Association of MississippiOpinion Pagewww.bmaofmississippi.comDEPARTMENTS & COMMISSIONSMississippi Baptist PaperP.O. Box 8181, Laurel, MS 39441601-426-3293Southeastern Baptist College4229 Highway 15 NorthLaurel, MS 39440601-426-6346State Youth Department4226 Highway 15 NorthLaurel, MS 39440662-397-6832Baptist Children's Home118 Lowe Rd., Laurel, MS 39443601-426-3928Missions & Revolving Loan Fund4226 Highway 15 NorthLaurel, MS 39440601-428-8616Commission on Senior Adults4226 Highway 15 NorthLaurel, MS 39440History & Archives Commission4229 Highway 15 NorthLaurel, MS 39440601-729-8098Moral ActionP.O. Box 88, Mantachie, MS 38855www.msbaptist.orgJournal of the Baptist Missionary Association of MississippiDon Brown - EditorDon BrownReminder: It's okay to celebrate Christmas at schoolEditor’s Note: While I find it appalling that our nation has come to thepoint that this type of information hasto be shared with the public, I ampleased to share it. Let us not let myth,the government, or those who are notbelievers, try to deny us of the right toour religious freedom. God bless you alland have a very holy, merry Christmas.(OneNewsNow.com) - A nonprofitlegal organization has sent a memo to13,000 public school districts advisingthem that students and staff have theright to celebrate the Christmas season.Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Matt Sharp says every year his firmsees the same old myths about how itChurch Directories a Valuable ToolLifetouch Directory OfferDuring our annual meeting in October, we had the Lifetouch ChurchDirectory Company with us. They took photos of each of our pastors and staffworkers in order to produce a 2014 BMA of Mississippi Directory.The free photos have now been delivered to those who had them taken. Thedirectories are in production and will be available in the near future.Lifetouch produces directories for local churches at no charge to the church.They offer a variety of family photo packages to support their business. I wouldlike to encourage our churches to schedule a free church directory! The directoryis a tool that is valuable to both the long time church member and to the newfamilies that come to your fellowship. As a former pastor I valued the use of thechurch’s directory to match families, faces, and names.Give them a call today and schedule your new church directory. There arespecial incentives for those who schedule during the month of December. Theindividual representative we have been dealing with is Ron Tullos. His phonenumber is 601-502-6936. Call him today, identify your church as part of the BMAof Mississippi and he will be glad to assist.Church of the Covered Dish BY THOMAS TAPPUSPS 353-960P.O. Box 8181Laurel, Mississippi 39441-8000Phone 601-426-3293PRICE 20.00 Per Year by Mail 15.00 Per Year by EmailCHURCH PLAN 1.30 Per Month per FamilyDon J. Brown, EditorE-Mail - editor@msbaptist.orgWeb site www.msbaptist.orgPublished on the 1st and 15thof each month by the Baptist Missionary Association of Mississippi.Periodical postage paid atHattiesburg, Mississippi 39402.Postmaster: Send addresschanges to the Mississippi BaptistPaper, P.O. Box 8181, Laurel, MS39441-8000."Our stewardship campaign is almost over,but we are meeting pockets of resistance."isn't permissible for students and staffto present Christian music in programsor cooperate with ministries that areproviding food and gifts to the needy.“We wanted to send out this memorandum to all of the school districtsacross the country, letting them knowthat the Constitution doesn’t forbid celebration of Christmas, or recognition oftraditional Christmas carols, or collecting Christmas gifts for the needy withreligious organizations,” he says.This is the second year ADF has sentout the memo. He says the response lastyear was so gratifying they decided tosend it again for this Christmas season.“We had a great response last year,”he tells OneNewsNow. “Dozens anddozens and dozens of school districtstook our information, using it to keep ineffect programs they had already scheduled, using it to bolster their defenseagainst complaints saying they had toban these Christmas celebrations.”The guidelines for religious expression in Christmas celebrations are listedhere:From the Alliance Defense FundChristmas and Public SchoolsMyth/Fact SheetMyth #1: Students are not allowed tosing religious Christmas carols in public schools.Fact: During school activities, such aschoir, Christmas programs, and otherevents in public schools, students cansing religious carols along with secularones without offending the U.S. Constitution if the school has a secular purpose for including the religious songs;for example, advancing students’ knowledge of society’s cultural and religiousheritage and the opportunity for students to perform a full range of music,poetry, and drama.Myth #2: It is unconstitutional for schoolofficials to refer to a school break as a“Christmas Holiday.”Fact: The Supreme Court has acknowledged the government’s long-standingrecognition of holidays with religioussignificance, such as Christmas. Congress has even proclaimed Christmas tobe a legal public holiday.Myth #3: It is unconstitutional for public schools to close on religious holidays,such as Christmas and Good Friday.Fact: The Establishment Clause doesn’tprohibit state officials from choosing areligious day as the day for a legalcontinued on page 5

December 2014 Mississippi BaptistFormer BMAMissionary DiesNaaman Paul Robinson of Houston,Texas, died Nov. 23 at the age of 80.“Bro. Paul was an icon in BMAA missions and a greatman in Kingdomwork,” said BMAMissions ExecutiveDirector JohnDavid Smith.“We rejoice in thelegacy of faithfulness and fruitfulness he leaves, andwe offer ourPaul Robinsonprayers and condolences to his family.”Survivors include three sons,Naaman, Stephen and RichardRobinson; a daughter, Sandra; 13 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren.Funeral services were held November 29 at Center of Life Church inHouston,and a private interment followed theservice.-Baptist TrumpetCHURCH NEWSPine Ridge to Host New Year SingSpoken 4 Quartet, from Branson, Missouri, and Bro's 4 Quartet will be singingon December 31 starting at 6:00 pm atPine Ridge Baptist Church, 220 ServiceRoad in Laurel. For more information call601-319-8466.Saucier ChurchWelcomes New PastorPleasant Hill Baptist Church, Saucier,would like to welcome our new pastorand his wife, Bro. Jerry and Mrs. JoyAnderson. They are such a blessing toour church and we are very excited tohave them! His first Sunday as our newpastor was on September 14th. Pleasepray for Bro. Jerry, Mrs. Joy, and ourchurch as we continue to serve the Lordtogether.We would also like to say “Thank You”to Bro. Sidney and Mrs. Pat Davis and thechildren at the Children’s Home for coming to visit us on Sunday night, November16th. The children blessed our heartswith their musical talents and Bro. Sidneypreached a great message for us. Afterwards, we had a “Christmas Party” for thechildren with lots of food, presents, fun,and fellowship. Our adults, teenagers,and children all participated in this eventand were so grateful to have the Davisfamily and children with us that night!Marriage BansOverturnedfrom page 1ness and concern about the change itwill bring,

penned Agents of the Apocalypse: A Riv-eting Look at the Key Players of the End Times. In the book, Jeremiah breaks down the highly misunderstood last book of the Bible into 10 sections, plus an epilogue, so that readers can distinctly piece the events together in a relatable way. To achieve this, Jeremiah, dubbed by Tyndale House Publishers as .