All to Him I Owe

“The great matter is not how long you pray, but how earnestly you pray. Consider the life of the prayer more than the length of the prayer. If your prayer reaches heaven it is long enough.”

– C.H. Spurgeon

1.) Over a year and a half ago God providentially put Dr. and Mrs. Jones on the church calendar to come and do a missions conference here at Faith. The pulpit committee decided to cancel the missions conference in consideration of our coming and have them do a series on “New Beginnings.” The Lord was so gracious to teach us what He did those days, and Dr. Bob’s counsel and encouragement to me was priceless.

2.) Faith Baptist Church has graciously begun to let me be their pastor. I marvel at their humility to be transparent, teachable, and receptive to the Word of God.

3.) Faith Baptist Church has a strong foundation. There is a reason it has weathered the storms of the last months. Christ is our foundation here and His spirit has empowered right responses, and faithfulness.

4.) There are a lot of people doing a lot of things! Servants are everywhere I turn around. So many ministries were either maintained or even started during this transition time. I can’t believe it. I hope that spirit never ceases.

5.) Trust is not always immediately given, neither is it quickly given.

6.) Faith Baptist Church is a church family. I cannot fully comprehend the amount of love and support that is shown to one another.

7.) New folks are visiting, folks who have been watching are still watching, and some are making up their mind to stay. I hope God will perfectly place and build the church body He desires here at Faith.

8.) Patience is something I need to work on!

9.) Folsom California needs this fundamental Baptist Church. The people of Folsom are busy playing, working, and trying to raise “fun” families without God. One of the challenges before us in the ability to look beyond the facade of wealth and pleasure and see their hearts that are yearning for an answer to the emptiness that pleasure and ease does not fill.

10.) I am going to need God’s help everyday. I cannot afford to not be in the will of God!

I’m excited to be here and what the future holds.

All to Him I owe!

God has bountifully given us the grace we needed to say goodbye to the ministries of Ironwood and Faith Baptist Church of Cherokee Road. The tears still come at times and our heart still aches at times as the memories come to mind however we still firmly believe God has brought us here and we are in the will of God. We have found the grace to say goodbye and we are now finding the grace to say hello. We are excited to be here !

The move was fairly uneventful. We are currently settled into our home and putting the final things together. It has been amazing to see how much time and effort is required to do some of the simple things like setting up a phone, moving bank accounts, etc.

Our first official Sunday is September 13th. I begin my official duties on Thursday, September 10th.

August 16 is our last day at Faith Baptist Church of Cherokee Road and August 18 is our last day at Ironwood. We are planning on moving sometime that next week. Between now and then we are praying for a number of things and covet your prayers with us as we anticipate a busy time of life and a number of changes.

We are praying that God would do the following in our ministry here at Faith Baptist Church of Cherokee Road.

1.) A spirit of unity and committment among the congregation.

2.) A interim pastor during the time of transition.

3.) Wisdom for the deacons as they carry a heavier load as well as begin a pulpit search committee.

4.) Protection against complaining, false thinking, and conflict among believers.

For our ministry at Ironwood we are praying:

1.) For Torrey and Jalene Jaspers as they move to Ironwood to assume a number of the responsibilities we have done here.

2.) A good start to Ironwood Institute of Ministry this fall.

3.) A good transition and time of teaching as we hand responsibilities off.

4.) A good finish to the summer camp season.

We are praying for our future ministry in Folsom:

1.) A home or apartment to rent.

2.) The sell of some items here that will enable us to move easier and more effeciently.

3.) Health Insurance

4.) Efficiency and effectiveness as we pack

5.) Wisdom to help our two girls transition well and understand and see God’s hand.

We covet your prayers and earnestly desire to finish right. I am praying that God will allow us to see and remember His mighty hand during this time of wonderful transition.

All to Him I owe!

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!