Spotlight on Mountain Home

When I was asked to do this article, my first thought was, “How in the world can I put everything that God has done for me down on paper, into words that can illustrate just how wonderful God has been to us here at Norfork Lake Baptist Mission?” Of course, as all of you know, the whole point of putting into words the mystery of God’s works is to try to offer an example that helps others understand His influence in your life.

Many people have provided me with examples and encouragement. One is Paul White, who told me that he believed God had wonderful things planned for me. At the time, I had no idea how this one statement would ring in my heart every day. I give thanks unto the Master for sending Martha and me here, and for giving us a congregation. The first time Paul and I came to Mountain Home, I asked him if we had any churches in the area. He said we had only one. As we rode through the town I began to see people looking hungry. Hungry for something this world could not give them. I knew what it was from the start; they needed Jesus. In my heart I knew it was up to me to carry the message to them, not because I was some great, time-honored preacher out to convert the lost through pure skill, but because of something deeper, a calling I knew God was creating in my heart. There was a hunger in me that matched the people’s hunger. A hunger that is greater than words.

Everything in the coming months seemed to fit together into a puzzle. It was as if God was pouring more of His blessings on me every step I took in the direction of starting a new mission. The next time Paul and I returned to Mountain Home, we went to rent a building for the new mission. We stopped by a place called Consolidated Supply to ask them about a place we had seen about a block away. As I walked in the door, I was greeted by an old friend from Blytheville who happened to own the shop. We talked about old times. At the end of the conversation, he asked me if I would like to use his hospitality room upstairs free of charge, with utilities paid, no more questions asked. Of course, we took this as a sign from God and immediately agreed.
Many small missions experience the same restless beginning as ours. We started in March 2007, and it was immediately apparent that God had led me to the right place. People began to get saved. After talking with I.V. Hight and the Missions Advisory Committee, they decided to put me on as a bi-vocational missionary. In the meantime, between services, I had to make a living, so I got a job working for the very company that generously supplied us with the hospitality room. Every day I traveled out of town, passing by large strips of empty landscape, wanting desperately to get back to Mountain Home and do the real work I was sent there to do. On Sundays, when I was there, the room started getting smaller and the stairs suddenly posed as an obstacle for many of our less mobile members. So we changed locations, renting out a space in a strip mall. People were generous, as they often are at the beginning of a mission. An old friend from Hardy gave us a keyboard. Another friend donated his old PA system. We were beginning to look like a real congregation.

Throughout all of these restless beginnings, Martha, my wife, was always a source of pure inspiration and support. One of her largest contributions to the mission has been her youth class. After only 2 or 3 months, she had already led two students to the Lord, right there in her class. Since that time, many of these same children’s parents have personally told me of Martha’s influence in their lives. Whether it is coloring Biblical pictures or talking about school or giving hugs, she is always there for the children. And it was our dear friend Vicki White who was always there for Martha when she needed advice about the often challenging role of being a pastor’s wife.

Prayers were answered. The lost came to see the light of Jesus. People were coming up for vacation and getting saved at our mission and then go home to their respective churches. Shouts of joy and pure bliss were sounds that became familiar to us, but they never lost the power to move us to tears or bring us closer to God’s amazing grace.

And, just when things could not seem to get any better, I. V. Hight called me as I was driving on my sales route through Missouri. He had more good news. The BMA of Arkansas missions committee had voted to elevate me to a full-time missionary so that I could give proper time to the work. It was as if I could see the whole vast landscape of opportunity that I had been praying for all those months unfold just outside the windshield. I would now have the time to go out and witness to the people of Mountain Home. I got out of my truck and jumped and praised the Lord for His help.

As before, things began coming together for our mission as if by divine providence. No baptistery? A wonderful man by the name of Glen Foster and his wife bought us a sheep dip tank. It worked perfectly. Not enough chairs? The BMA of Arkansas donated folding chairs from different churches that had a few extra to spare. No song books or Bibles? No problem. All of these basic church amenities were donated for God’s cause.

No church property? Well, this proved to be a more difficult problem. As soon as I.V. Hight and I began looking for property, we knew that we would not be able to pay the steep property prices that a tourist town like Mountain Home tends to have. We drove over every inch of town and could not find a property that would work. I.V. and I were left with only one prayer: that somehow all of this would work itself out the way everything else had.

One cold Sunday night after church I turned into a local station to get some gas. Two men were buried under a car hood and I could faintly hear the words, “We’ve tried everything,” blowing through the cold, twenty-degree wind. I saw an opportunity to do some more witnessing, so I said, “Have you tried praying about it?” Then I said, “It’s too cold out here to talk too much. What I really want to ask the two of you will not take very long, but it is the most important thing two people can talk about. My question is: Do you know Jesus as your Savior?” I led them down the Roman Road, talked about the simplicity of Christ’s message, and one of them said, “I know Jesus. Do you want a job working for me at Twin Lakes Baptist Church?” He was the pastor. After laughing and helping them get their car started, we parted and agreed to call each other and be good friends. Little did I know he would be the one to show me the property where we are now meeting.

I called the missions office and talked to I.V. He and the committee agreed to come take a look at the church building. The building was more than adequate for a church (it had already been used for one in the past), but it was in need of a few repairs. The committee voted to purchase it with the help of an anonymous donation of $50,000 and another $25,000 contribution from Milligan Ridge Missionary Baptist Church. On August 24, 2008, we held our first service there. For 7 months Eddie and Carol Sikes helped us repair a recreation area (now referred to as The Master’s Blend, a sort of coffee shop atmosphere our members enjoy before church), our Sunday School rooms, and the steps for our stage. There is no way to describe the amount of work these two did for our mission unless you work with them. Praise the Lord for them and their work.

We have developed a very active outreach program. Tom Elledge, a graphic artist, has used his immense talent to design water bottles with the church’s name on it, with the phrase, “Come experience the Living Water,” written just below. We do our best to hand these out to any and all thirsty individuals we see working hard jobs in the summer heat. Tom has also designed a door hanger that says, “Pop in and see us on Sunday,” and attached to it (can you guess?) is bag of microwave popcorn.

Carolyn and Jeff Carter helped us to develop our Song Worship. Carolyn, with her almost supernatural singing voice, and Jeff, with his unyielding support for the church, have both helped to make us feel more complete as a congregation. We lift up our voices to the Creator every service, all of us, and it’s a beautiful sound.

From a slip-n-slide picnic to birthday celebrations to brotherhood breakfasts, our church is full of fellowship and a special kind of love that we believe anyone who walks through our doors can sense. People who visit say they have never seen so much love in a church. We occasionally invite a special friend of ours, Tim Tucker, who sings and plays almost every instrument. Every time he sings people praise the Lord. (He will be giving a concert here on Oct. 15 at 6:30. If you want to see these blessings in action, attend the concert!)

If we were to list all of our many blessings and all of the support we have received from others, they would not fit on the page. Still, it is always important to try.

Thanks to Pleasant Grove Baptist Church for donating a brand new baptistery to our mission.

Thanks to our mother church, Highland Hills Baptist Church, for being there for us throughout our entire journey. How wonderful to meet with them when we go to brotherhoods or other events. They always think of us and treat us as their child.

To the BMA of Arkansas for helping us win souls for Christ. They will help us continue to help these souls, to educate them with the Word of God. We must not let up, we must keep going, no matter what. Pray that we will live up to God’s commands. Charles Spurgeon said, “May your convictions be deep, your love real, and your desires profound. May your entire life be so firm and steadfast that all the weapons of Hell and all the storms of Earth will never be able to move you.”

Thanks to my buddy and boss, I.V. Hight, and his invaluable advice. He has been and will continue to be there for all of the missionaries, and his wisdom and encouragement is apparent to the whole BMA organization.

And thanks to the BMA of Arkansas committee members for their prayers and their God lead decisions that have brought missions into the new era. I’m glad to be associated with the BMA.

To my good friend Paul White, who has been there for me and listened to my many gripes and has been such a help to this mission. Without him, I would have been lost throughout this whole church building process.

To Waymon Holt, pastor of Milligan Ridge Baptist Church, who always served as an example of good Christian living. To his insights, his many ways of telling about God’s truth, to the time when he said, “Son, we have the very best thing to offer a lost person ever. That’s Jesus.” To this day I go forth out into the lost world with the confidence that Jesus is the best cure for a world-weary heart.

And I want to thank all of you, my readers and friends, for all of your prayers and support. To all of you who have given time and money, may the Lord truly bless your lives. With your help, I know this essential work of ours will continue to grow until Jesus comes on that blessed day.