Forty Days

When I came to All Seasons Baptist Church, the doors were ready to close. The church had only had about a fifteen people left. During the next five years, all but three of those fifteen either moved away or died. We had some come and go during that time, but we also had some come and stay.

I heard about a pastor who told a young church planter, "In 30 years in the ministry, I have started 8 new churches: all in the same location!" I thought I could relate to that sentiment a little. This past spring I told our little group if fifteen; (three of which were from the original fifteen,) that we were starting over from scratch. We were going to relaunch All Seasons Baptist Church as a new work. We had a new work, and a new vision. This made for an exciting summer.

I wanted to incorporate a program that would get as many people involved as possible. We had a fall program called, 40 Days of Prayer and Evangelism or the Forty-Day P.U.S.H. (Pray Until Something Happens)

We just wrapped up our fall campaign at All Seasons Baptist Church. We set a goal back in September of distributing 1,000 Gospel tracts in 40 days. October 4th was the fortieth day. We gave out just under 1,100 tracts in 40 days.

Sunday, October 4th, we had a total of 28 in attendance. We had 8 first-time visitors in our services, with thirteen first-time visitors during the campaign. Many good things have come out of this program. This has energized our church! One thing that was accomplished; our people have now seen how hard we have to work to achieve our objectives.

We are now into fall here in Iowa, The corn is being harvested around us. We expect to have many souls saved as a result of this campaign. That is then harvest for which we are working and praying. During the forty-day program, I often quote my former pastor, Dr. Bill Slayton. He would say, "Let's pray like it all depends on God, and work like it all depends on us." Thanks for the advice, Brother Slayton; It still works.

Just a thought. Thank you for reading.