It was all hands on deck as we prepared for our church’s 10-Year Anniversary. We had planned a three-day celebration with guest speakers, Evangelist Chris Hustler and Pastor Brad Williamson (the pastor of Living Hope Baptist Church’s mother church, Crossroads Baptist Church in Sydney). I had the responsibility of making signs for the new building, planning the four services, and providing specials with my wife singing “I Have Been Blessed,” while a video montage I had prepared played, showing the memories from the 10 years that Living Hope Baptist Church has been in existence. On Saturday, we had an anniversary dinner, with Bro. Hustler preaching. It turned into an evangelistic meeting, with five people being dealt with regarding salvation. We praise the Lord for the one who trusted Christ as Saviour! It had been such a great series of meetings that our young adults felt compelled to start winning souls. That Sunday, we had seven people go out door knocking in the area, and they went again the following Sunday. It’s great to see revival in the hearts of our young adults!
We praise the Lord for the Valerans, who have been serving at Living Hope Baptist Church for 10 years! The church has seen many ups and downs, but through it all, God’s been faithful. In our little country town, we had almost 70 in attendance on Anniversary Sunday. Praise the Lord! I look forward to preaching for them from time to time in the future.
This was a very sweet time for our church, but also a sad time as we move to Port Macquarie, where God has placed us to start our new church. In the midst of the hustle and bustle, we relocated from the small town of Wingham to a much larger coastal town of Port Macquarie. God has really been working wonders in our new location. God brought to us Mrs. Joy Anger, who is the widow of Missionary Evangelist Gilbert Anger. He was the one who preached at the camp where I got saved 26 years ago. What an honour it is for me to serve with such a spiritual giant. She has been such a great help so far, and we look forward to seeing how the Lord will use her during her time here.
As we prepared for this new church, we stumbled upon some free pews that a Presbyterian church was giving away. What a blessing! We’ve been able to meet new people since moving here, and we’ve told them about our new church plant. We keep hearing of people who’ve moved here and are looking for a church like ours. We will be starting our first home Bible study on the first Sunday of March. Please continue to pray for the Lord’s blessing upon this new work.
Thank you so much for your continued prayers and for your support!
Your servant in Christ,
Garry Tingson