First Baptist Church of Barlow, Kentucky ministered at GAP the week of June 5th. The team was as busy as bees as they worked at the McWherter staff house, organized a trailer at the distribution center, ministered at the senior citizens’ center, visited the group home twice, served at BeansTalk, and several home visits. Wow! We are so grateful for the love of Christ they showed to all our clients and to us the staff of GAP! (Please click on the photo below to view more pictures.)
Friendship Baptist Church from Centre, AL partnered with us for a week full of wonderful ministry. Some of the team worked on the McWherter staff house painting the walls and finishing up some siding work. Tuesday during BeansTalk they served taco soup, washed clients’ windshields, and above all shared the love of Jesus! They held a three day VBS which the children loved. The week was finished up by doing some home visits. Thank you Friendship Baptist Church for being the hands and feet of Jesus! (To view more pictures please click on the photo below.)
Men from Smoke Rise Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, GA served alongside of us at GAP the week of May 22nd, 2016. The team worked hard fixing up a staff house for GAP’s new staff the McWherter family who will arrive and begin ministry on July 1st. A few of the men also served food and ministered to our clients during BeansTalk on Tuesday. Thank you Smoke Rise Baptist Church for a great week of ministry and your continual partnership! (Click photo below to view more pictures.)
GAP’s annual Community Easter Egg Hunt was held on March 19, 2016 and was a huge success! One client commented, “My children had a wonderful time at the Easter Egg Hunt but I don’t know who was more excited to discover the truth about Easter, me or my kids!” This client was referring to the new theme for this year’s ministry event called “Hunting for the Truth.” When families arrived to the event, each received a brochure listing the day’s events and schedule, but also, a coded message, which was the truth of Easter. As each child played various carnival-type games they collected 10 specially coded cards. Once they had all 10 cards, the children and families went to the Truth Pavilion in order to decode the truth. There they received special glasses that allowed them to view the message on each coded card and to decode the truth of Easter – Jesus is Alive! At the Truth Pavilion, each child also received a bracelet that had resurrection symbols which allowed us to share the full message of Easter.
The day was filled with egg hunts for different age groups, various games that families could play together, inflatables, food, singing, and so much fun! 457 people attended the ministry event. Volunteers from seven different churches partnered with us on that day to share the love of Jesus Christ with all who attended. The following week Patty came to Distribution and confessed that after the Easter Egg event she prayed to accept Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior! She stated that when the young man was sharing with her child about what Jesus had done for him she knew she was a sinner in need of Jesus. It wasn’t until the next day that she got the brochure out again and read how to become a Christian. She then gave her life to the Lord!
We praise God for all who partnered with us making this year’s Community Easter Egg Hunt a great event. Thank you to the several WMU groups and children groups who prepared over 6,500 eggs. Our prayer is that all who attended will continue “Hunting for the Truth” because Jesus is alive! (Click the photo below to view more pictures!)
John Morris, Executive Director of GAP was named 2016 Kentucky Missionary of the Year. He received the award on April 9th at the Kentucky WMU conference held in Madisonville, KY. We would like to congratulate John as we celebrate this honor with him. To view the presentation of the award and to hear John share his call to missions, please click on the image below.
Joshua and Tasha McWherter were commissioned at the Kentucky WMU conference held on April 9th in Madisonville, KY. The McWherter family are now North American Mission Board (NAMB) missionaries who will begin their ministry at GAP July 1, 2016. To view the commissioning service and to hear their call to ministry, please click on the image below.
First Baptist Church of Winter Garden, FL came and served at GAP during their spring break. The cold mornings here in the mountains took some of the team by surprise but they stayed busy serving and ministering. The team ministered daily at the Group Home which brought such excitement to all the residents and they worked on a couple of our staff houses. The team also served at the local senior citizens’ center, went with us on a few home visits, served at BeansTalk, and ministered at Distribution. Thank you Winter Garden for your love for Jesus that radiated from each of you! (Please click on the photo below to view more pictures.)
South District Baptist Association in Central Kentucky held their annual food drive for GAP. Sixteen churches in the association participated in the food drive that not only supported GAP but 5 other food ministries in the state. Monday afternoon Parksville Baptist Church and First Baptist Church of Danville arrived with 26,000 items for GAP! Praise God! Thank you South District Baptist Association! A special thank you to the swim team of Campbellsville University who came and unloaded the trucks and trailers; they were such a huge help! Our prayer is that our people here in the mountains will see God’s gracious provision and unconditional love through these resources He has provided. (Click image below to view more pictures!)
We are excited to announce that the McWherter Family is planning to join the GAP staff on July 1, 2016! Josh, Tasha, Kaelyn, and Ziley McWherter are from Murray, KY. In February of 2013, Josh and Tasha knew that God was calling them to fulltime missionary service somewhere in the world and the only question left in their minds was where. They looked at different countries, towns, people groups, and ministries, but their hearts always returned to the people of Eastern Kentucky and Appalachia. Tasha said, “I began to feel so compassionate about a place I had never been.” In August 2015, the McWherters made a 3 day vision tour to Eastern Kentucky. That trip was confirmation that 3 days would never be enough; that they belonged in Eastern Kentucky.
Since then, the McWherters have made other trips to GAP and God has confirmed that this is where they are to serve. At this time, the family is in the process of being appointed as NAMB Missionaries with the Southern Baptist Convention and will be MSC/self-funded missionaries. Josh and Tasha will be serving on our GAP staff team as the new Missions and Ministry Associates working with mission teams coming to serve here. Please pray for the McWherter Family during this exciting time of transition. If you would like to become acquainted with them, and follow their move to GAP, please “like” their new Facebook page “The McWherters in Appalachia”.
GAP’s theme verse for 2015 was I Corinthians 3:7, “So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow.” I am so thankful for all the partners who have came alongside us this year to help plant the Word of God and water the seeds already planted. Prayer partners who have faithfully prayed, financial partners who have sacrificially given, and volunteer partners who have answered the call to go, have all played a vital part in the Lord’s ministry here at GAP during 2015.
This summer we saw the beginning of a weekly women’s Bible study at Left Beaver Townhouses. God provided two faithful ladies to lead this study, and although attendance varies from week to week, the ladies are growing in their relationship with Christ. One of the ladies from the study told us how much she enjoys the study and how the teachers seem to bring the Bible to life for her.
Last year was packed full of exciting ministry. Teams helped us hold several Backyard Bible Clubs, VBSs, wonderful ministry times at the Group Home, many great home visits, and there were awesome times of ministry at BeansTalk as teams engaged our clients with the love of Jesus Christ. I’ll never forget going to check on a team working on a client’s home (Nason) during some minor repairs. The excitement in Nason’s face and voice as he took me into his newly remolded bathroom to show me around, but then shared that he had knelt beside his tub that day with a member of the mission team and accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior! It has been a year full of ministry.
As 1 Corinthians 3:7 talks about planting the seed and watering, the verse reminds us that it’s not about the one who plants or the one who waters; it’s all about Him. For it says, it is “only God” who can plant the seed. It is “only God” who can water the seed. It is “only God” who can give ladies a desire to study His Word each week and bring it to life for them. It is “only God” who can make Himself and His love known to others. It is “only God” who can transform any of us just like He did Nason. Praise be to God, forevermore!
It is “only God” who can bring together a bunch of broken, worthless vessels, like ourselves, for His glory and honor! Thank you for making 2015 a year of growth! Thank you for your faithful prayers of petition. Thank you for your generous financial gifts of support. Thank you for answering the call to “go” and serve alongside us in 2015. “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever, “ 1 Chronicles 16:34.