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Rogers Update 11/14/2016
November 15, 2016
Dear Praying Friends,

It is very comforting to watch God work out details. The true reality of serving the Lord is we make our plans, but God decides (Proverbs 16). All my life I have watched God solve issues that seemed unsolvable, cause events to happened that never seemed possible, and make a coincident happen that clearly was more than a coincident. Here is an example for you that happen this fall… I had just returned home from a great ministry trip to Wisconsin. I had preached a couple of Sundays as well as a midweek service for Woodruff Baptist Church in Woodruff, Wisconsin. I had the privilege of teaching the “Relationship Series” during the services at Woodruff. This was followed by the opportunity to do the same series in Conference format at Maranatha Baptist Church of Navarino, Wisconsin. The people of both churches were a joy to spend time with.

Anyway, I had just returned home when one morning the pastor of First Baptist Church of Russiaville (church we attend when we are home in Indiana) called me and asked if I could meet with him and a couple of LDS (Mormon) missionaries he had met a few days before. Here is the background: During the last week I was in Wisconsin, a tornado had hit Kokomo, Indiana (about six miles from where we live in Russiaville) and destroyed some houses and at least one business. (It turns out that another tornado had touched down only a couple of miles from where we live. Even though I was not there, Beabea was as well as my daughter, Christy, who was visiting with her three children, and of course my mother-in-law who lives with us. My son, Jeremiah, who lives in Kokomo with his wife and two children were just blocks from where the Kokomo tornado touched down. None of my family was hurt with no real property damage!)

Okay, back to my story. Our pastor at First Baptist, Ned Sutherland, and some of the people from the church had gone out to the damaged area of Kokomo to help clear the destruction that had occurred. While there they met a couple of LDS missionaries who were doing the same thing. They were on assignment at the local Mormon Ward. (LDS missionaries do a two year mission after High School graduation before they move on with their lives in whatever career they choose.) Pastor Ned started visiting with them and developed a friendship with “Elder R and Elder B”. During the time they were all working together, it was decided that it would be interesting to get together and talk with each other about what everyone believed. Shortly after that I arrived from Wisconsin. Pastor Ned contacted me, and we met for the first time with the missionaries. They also had a lady from the LDS Ward present and the three of them gave Pastor Ned and me a tour of the Ward building. We met for a brief while afterward. It was a very positive opening discussion. The two LDS missionaries agreed to meet with Pastor Ned and me each week. (The lady was only there for this first visit, and we did not see her after that.) Here is where the power of God’s timing comes into the story. I had just arrived from Wisconsin and for the next six weeks my trips would be one or two day trips freeing me up to meet with Pastor Ned and the LDS missionaries. To have that much time home in Indiana is very uncommon in the ministry that I do. Secondly, to have Pastor Ned meet the missionaries just before I arrived home was perfect.

Pastor Ned and I spent the next six weeks in a very positive relaxed interaction with these two young men. We had a great opportunity to present the Bible as God’s unique Word. As the weeks passed we were able to share who Christ is and the very distinctive difference between what the Bible teaches about salvation and what these missionaries believed was necessary to get them to God. Both Pastor Ned and I wondered when the moment would come that the missionaries would decide to quit our discussions, but that never happened. We did not pressure them, but allowed them time to think through each point of discussion. Early on they were trying to teach us, but as the weeks passed it became more a time for them to try to understand what we were sharing.

At the end of my six weeks home, the LDS church moved both missionaries out of our area. This is not uncommon when missionaries start asking questions of their leaders. We do not know that is what happened, but it is a real possibility. Pray for “Elder R and Elder B” as well as the LDS lady that sat in on our first conversation. We don’t know what is happening with them, but God does. I am certain that all of this was planned by God.

Currently, I am Utah helping Faith Baptist Church in Spanish Fork. This is the church Beabea and I started when we first arrived in Mormon land many years ago! It is always a joy to be with these special people in the church here. Faith Baptist has had to face some real challenges in the last few years including some recent difficulties, but Pastor Martens and the people truly love the Lord and want to serve Him. I am speaking in the Sunday services of the church for a couple of months. Along with the preaching responsibilities, I am involved in Joy Club and teen time as well as visiting with those who are here. (I head for home December 19th.) Pastor Martens works full time for Fed Ex, and this is a very busy time before Christmas. Pray for the pastors here in Utah. Many of them have to work in some form of employment to provide for their families. God has a way of using this to open the door for new contacts, but it is still very difficult to carry on ministries – especially at certain times during the year. While I am in Utah I will be trying to get together with friends, both saved and unsaved. Pray for me. I will be meeting with a man who is a strong LDS member this Saturday. We have been developing a friendship, and I look forward to spending some time with him.

Life does have surprises. Shortly after arriving here, I had a car pull out directly in front of me. I tried to stop but I hit the right back end of the vehicle. The driver thought it was a four way stop and did not realize that I had the right of way. I was only driving about 27 miles an hour or the whole accident would have been much worse. While waiting for the police to arrive I had a very good conversation with the driver. He was very interested in why I was in Utah. The damage to my vehicle was very small (only around $900.00 which is not much in the car body work world). The police cited the driver, and he was a true gentleman about it. His insurance is going to pay for all the repairs and a rental car. I know that the world looks at this as an accident, but I don’t believe God allows anything without a purpose. Please pray that God will accomplish His purpose in this unexpected occurrence.

I am starting to report back to churches again. Over the next couple of months I will be contacting churches and individuals who support us to set up meetings with them. I have developed a PowerPoint covering the last five years of ministry with BEM. As I was putting it together, I was amazed at all God has done. Reporting back to those who have prayed and supported us financially is a privilege, but also a bit challenging. Our ministry at BEM has grown to a point that we have had to turn down opportunities. It will probably take a couple of years to get back to everyone. Pray for wisdom for us as we set up the itinerary!

As always, remember to pray for Beabea who is staying home most of the time and taking care of her mother while working as a caregiver for others. We miss each other as I travel, but we are at peace that we are doing what God wants us to do.

Enjoying working for the Lord of Heaven who is totally in control of all things!

 

John

 

John (and Beabea) Rogers
jtrbem@gmail.com
7265 West 320 South
Russiaville, IN 46979

Home: (765) 889-3264
Cell:     (765) 753-0056

 

Commissioning Church: Shepherd Road Baptist Church, P.O. Box 1054, Mulberry, FL  33860

 

 

 

Barnabas Enrichment Ministries
P.O. Box 229
Elkhart, IN 46515-0229
 
(765) 667-2532

 

 

 

Please send all financial gifts to Barnabas Enrichment Ministries with a note designating the gift for the ministry of John & Beabea Rogers.