O * H * I * O AMBASSADORAMBASSADOR Volume 59 Number 4 July-August 2019 “The Voice of Ohio Free Will Baptists Proclaiming The Words of Christ to a Lost World” NationalNational ConventionConvention IssueIssue 2019 National Association of Free Will Baptists July 21-24 Cincinnati, Ohio Things Are Possible”. This is true! We can experience National revival and we can have the greatest National we have Association See Convention ever witnessed­­because the Lord is here and with Him, Schedule on page 20 all things are possible! Welcomed So welcome to Cincinnati. We are glad you are here. to Ohio Feel at home, and feel free to worship God. You are The Free Will Baptist Denomination has had an active among His people. This week may we all strive to presence in Ohio almost from the state’s inception. honor our Lord and when you leave Ohio may we be Ohio joined the union in 1803 and two years later the able to say that God surely met with us there. Welcome or the fifth time in our association’s history, we are first Free Will Baptist Church was born. For 213 years to Ohio! F planning to host the 83rd National Association of Free Will Baptists have been witnessing the saving Free Will Baptists. The four previous Nationals met in grace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Five Speakers Will Develop Dayton in 1975, Columbus in 1983 and in Cincinnati in Teaching Free Grace, Free Salvation, and Free Will to 1997 and 2009. It is a great honor for the 18 confer­ all men! National Theme ences, 129 churches, and more than 7,000 members of The 2019 convention speakers will address passages the Ohio State Association to host this year’s National The name “Ohio” comes from the Iroquois Indian centered on the convention theme, “Lifted Up.” Each Association of Free Will Baptists. We hope you will be word meaning “Something Great”. We have been pray­ passage will challenge Free Will Baptists to Lift Up blessed by being here. ing for “something great” to happen at this year’s Their Eyes (Psalm 121:1), Lift Up the Discouraged National Association. We have been praying that God (Hebrews 12:12), Lift Up the Son of Man (John 3:14; In Ohio you will find people who love the Lord Jesus would bless this meeting with revival and that this John 12:32), Lift Up the Promise of Christ’s Return Christ with a desire to follow and serve Him. You will would be the greatest National we have ever seen. This (Luke 21:28), and Lift Up Our Eyes to the Harvest also find some very loyal Free Will Baptists who love would be a good place for this to happen. (John 4:32). this denomination and desire to cooperate with others to see it prosper and grow. The motto for the State of Ohio is “With God, All Ohio Participants in the Make An Impact on Cincy National Association Make plans to arrive a day early and participate in Impact Cincinnati. This one­day out­ Sunday morning July 21st, Ambassador Bookstore reach event will be held Saturday, July 20 throughout the Greater Cincinnati area. This Manager Paul Keener will be teaching the Adult is our opportunity to leave a spiritual impact not just a financial impact­­in the Cincinnati Sunday School Class in the convention center. New area. Road FWB Pastor Tom Dooley will be preaching in the Tuesday evening service July 23rd. Porter Youth Pastor Derrick Lute will be speaking for the Sunday Morning Volunteers should contact Jeremy Luthy: Email: [email protected] Vertical 3 meeting June 21st. Secretary’s Schedule July 9 Coalton FWB Area­Wide Meeting, Tim Simpson, Pastor Together We Can July 14 Mt. Sterling FWB AM Service, J.D. Bowman, Pastor July 19 National Executive Committee Meeting Possessing the July 20­24 National Association of Free Will Baptists Ascribe July 28 Faith FWB Homecoming, Tony Vanover, Pastor Right View August 4 Island Road AM Service About God August 11 Samantha AM Service, Wiley Perkins, Pastor ye August 11­17 Gahanna FWB Revival, Curtis Booth, Pastor August 18 Newark FWB AM Service, John Davis, Interim Pastor We sure do seem to have a lot of greatness August 25 New Hope FWB AM Service ­ George Grice, Pastor problems today! You can see it in God September 1 Island Road AM Service people’s faces; the worry and unhap­ unto our September 15 Good Hope FWB Homecoming, Paul Peterson, Pastor piness. This is especially true for young people. They seem to be the September 15­18 Franklin Conference Revival meeting at Westerville FWB most unhappy! September 22 Bells Chapel FWB Homecoming, Willie Gene Hayes, Pastor We are also witnessing much confu­ The Ohio State Association of sion. People are confused about the importance of life, what is right and FWB Office & Ambassador wrong, and even the difference Deuteronomy 32:3 Bookstore will be between a man or a woman. CLOSED I think that at the core of this is having a faulty concept about God. When a man doesn’t really July 19-28th view God as He truly is then he finds himself making up his own god out of his own imagina­ We will tion! Then he ends up with the age old problem of following after idols. No wonder we see so much anger and confusion! REOPEN Monday, July 29th Man has been doing this for centuries, making idols that rival the true God. We see it in the Old Testament when gods like Baal, Ashtoreth, Dagon or a host of other “gods” people worshipped in EDITOR Edwin Hayes STATE CTS BOARD place of the true God of the Bible! This led them into grievous sins and open rebellion against 7554 Slate Ridge Blvd Jason Luthy­Chairman 2026 God. Reynoldsburg, Ohio 43068 Aaron Justice 2025 (614) 751­1190 Deanna Price 2024 To combat this, the Old Testament Prophet Jeremiah wrote “But let him that glorieth glory in this, [email protected] Derrick Lute 2023 that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judg­ STATE MODERATOR Mark Price* Marcus Bailey 2022 ment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.” Note in this 2710 Dogwood Ridge Road Mike Ellis 2021 verse that Jeremiah records that mankind glories in things of this earth like wealth, a position, a Wheelersburg, Ohio 45694 Mark McCarty 2020 name, or a nationality. But he said, if we are going to glory, the best thing would be to glory in (740) 935­0328 understanding and knowing God! That is what we all should be pursing and making the goal of [email protected] NOMINATING COMMITTEE our lives. ASSISTANT MODERATOR Tom Dooley* Adam McCarty 2020 4697 Crabwood Drive Randy Keffer 2020 When we have the right concept of God our lives will be blessed. Austintown, Ohio 44518 Roland Luthy 2020 Our marriages will be much stronger and our children will be (330) 792­5700 much happier. Our society will not be divided and the church will [email protected] NATIONAL GENERAL BOARD MEMBER CLERK Bryon Justice* Edwin Hayes 2021 have a true understanding of our purpose here on this earth­ to 4857 State Road worship and glorify our great God in heaven! Medina, Ohio 44256 STATE MISSIONS BOARD (330) 618­9609 Jerry Sargent 2026 What happens when people do not have the right concept of God? Look at the religious leaders bjustice­[email protected] Kenny Cordell 2025 concept of God in the time of Christ. You had the Pharisees who viewed God as an exacting ASSISTANT CLERK Manuel Lopes* Wendell Combs 2024 taskmaster. That is why they wanted to make sure that the people “crossed every ‘t’ and dotted [email protected] Tim Stout 2023 every ‘i’.” They made people’s lives missable! Then you had the Sadducees who viewed God as Bill Crank 2022 distant and weak. They didn’t believe in the existence of angels or the power of the resurrection. GENERAL BOARD Mike Gladson­Chairman 2021 This robbed people of their hope. Charles Crider* (Little Miami) 2021 Paul Ray Etterling II 2020 Donnie Massie (Lawrence) 2021 Look at what has happened to our society as the true concept of God is being removed from the Ed Barney (Jackson) 2021 The AMBASSADOR is the official publication of the: public square. When the thought of God is removed, it does not leave a vacuum. Someone or Mike Martin (Great Lakes) 2021 something will take His place! Notice all the passion in our society about politics, sports, science, Bill Chadwick (Franklin) 2021 OHIO STATE ASSOCIATION pleasure and material things. Many have made these (and other things) their god! I think that Robert Prichard (Cuyahoga­Lorain) 2021 OF FREE WILL BAPTISTS because of this we are witnessing a decline in just about every area of life. Look at the condition Russell Street* (Central Ohio) 2021 of our marriages and our families. Listen to the coarse speech even among our leaders and espe­ Jeremy Luthy* (Tri State) 2021 7554 Slate Ridge Blvd. cially the young people. See the way people are at each other’s throats! Witness the light attitude Ronnie Conn Jr. (Northeastern) 2021 people have about sin. See the dishonesty that abounds, it is almost expected. Randy Keffer (Capital City) 2021 Reynoldsburg, Ohio 43068 Bruce Copley (Northern Ohio) 2020 What will understanding and knowing God do for us as a people? First, it will truly set our think­ Leon Stevens (Trinity) 2020 The Ambassador is committed to promoting the ing straight.