March-April News Letter

Dear Pastors and Praying Friends,

     I have a lot of good news I want to share with you concerning the last couple of months.
I am most excited about the three souls that were saved over the last three weeks so I will start with their stories.
     A woman named Kelly was saved a couple of weeks ago on Saturday visitation.  I knocked on her door looking for someone else; but I asked her about her salvation before I left. She said she had always wanted to know for SURE she was saved.  She allowed me to take the Bible and show her what God has to say about eternal salvation.  Praise the Lord that after about an half hour she received the Lord with humility and tears!

Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. - Acts 8:35-38

     Timothy, a young man about 25 years old,  was saved about a week or so ago.  His girlfriend has been attending our church off and on for about two years.  She already has a solid testimony of salvation and desires to join our church as soon as possible.  They have been attending services together for the last two months.  They called me during the week and asked if I would be willing to marry them.  I agreed to perform the service only if they would submit to some counseling before they were married.  I went to visit them and first ask if they were equally yoked...meaning were they both saved.  Of course I already knew her testimony, but I hadn't heard his.  She shared hers with me again, and he said he "got saved just a few days ago".  This puzzled me because I hadn't dealt with him after any of our services; so I asked him to elaborate.  He said he had heard me telling folks how to pray to be saved after every service for two months...so he finally decided to do it a couple of nights ago.  Praise the Lord!  I continued to counsel them and before I left he was asking me when he could be baptized.  In next months issue I hope to be able to tell you about at least 3 baptisms that will take place this month.  To wrap up this story though...they were married the next Saturday afternoon at 12:30. 

     I am particularly excited about the third salvation that took place last week.  Between our services on Sunday I retreated to me room after lunch to look over my notes for the evening service when I heard a little knock on my door.   "Daddy, can we pray?  I want to be saved."  My little Aaliyah (age 5), after answering many questions from me and my wife, prayed and asked the Lord to become her Saviour!  Every day since her salvation she has thanked the Lord...of her own accord...everytime we pray for saving her and letting her become His child.  Hallelujah!!!

 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. - Matthew 18:1-3

There are many other events and things that I would like to elaborate on in this letter, but for the sake of brevity I will just mention them -
1. Our folks gave enough money to put really nice carpet down in our main hallway.  This has cut down on a lot of noise and made the hall a lot more warm and cozy.
2.  Our church celebrated another anniversary! We had a good number in attendance and enjoyed some light refreshments and fellowship after the evening service.
3. Three preachers came through and were a blessing to our people as well as our family.
4.  We have seen many visitors and a few  members we hadn't seen in a long time return.

Thanks so much for your prayers and financial support!

In His service until He comes,

Pastor Raymond Beckles
Newport, Arkansas

January-February Prayer Letter

Dear Pastor and Praying friends,

 

Praise the Lord for this winter season!  Usually this time of year our numbers are pretty consistent and this year is no different.  One thing different is that  a few visitors have  come through with solid independent Baptist backgrounds.  One has expressed interest in joining.  He had been attending another Baptist church in town and said he was disappointed because the Bible wasn't being preached.  We look forward to seeing what the Lord will do if he does join and decide to be an active member.

Recently at Wal-mart I ran into one family that had been visiting, but missed the past two Sundays.  The wife said they missed the first Sunday because they attended a birthday party for a cousin.  She said her son looked at her and asked, "Mom isn't church more important than birthday parties?"  She told him yes, but they still attended the party.  He became seriously  ill a day or so after  and he and the family continue to battle with sickness.  We are praying for them to get well and the whole family to return to church next week.

 

Children's Church

Matthew 10:42 - "And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward."

 

The children in our church have become more excited about church since I decided to have my wife teach them during the regular church hour.  We attempted to have a Sunday School hour before church for years, but there was very little attendance in the three years we held it.  Teaching them at this time seems to be working for us a lot better and the children are able to learn skits and songs that they can perform in church  on special occasions.

Family News

Our family is doing well.  We have seen the Lord do some wonderful things and answer so many prayers on our behalf it is amazing.  One that I'll share with you is concerning our plumbing problem.  This has been on the prayer list for the past two years.  Our kitchen sink would not drain no matter what I did to it.  I even spoiled two snakes trying to fix it.  We had to call in a professional.  He fixed it, but it took him two days.  Praise God he charged us  less than half of his quote!  Thank you all for joining us in prayer about that.

 

Please continue to pray with us about:

 

1. Our family’s health and wellbeing. Praise the Lord that everyone is doing well.

 

2. Praise the Lord for the church’s parsonage- our home; but it does have one other serious plumbing problem.

 

3. Souls, souls, souls! Please pray with us that we will see more souls saved and become active in church.

 

In His Service,

 

Pastor Raymond Beckles

 

August - September Prayer Letter

Dear Pastor and Praying Friends,

Church News

Things at church seem to be picking up again as it does every autumn.  Recently we have seen one young man saved and many new and unexpected faces visit the church.  Probably the one person I am most thrilled about seeing in church is a man who attended once last summer for a wedding.  I have visited him often at his home; but he finally came for the first time a couple of weeks ago.  What a blessing!

Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. -  Romans 12:13

A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;  - 1 Timothy 3:2

Apparently this has been a season of hospitality for us.  Several pastors and missionaries have passed through since our last letter, including my home pastor from Bethel Baptist Church in Wilson, NC; and my pastor friend from Crossroads Baptist Church in Kentucky along with several of his faithful men.   What a blessing and encouragement they were to our family and church.  These men preached and helped in so many ways around the church and church property.  They were able to finish in a short time what would have taken me weeks to do.  Praise the Lord for friends in the ministry!

Family News

All the Beckles are well.  Our children are doing especially well since they were able to see their grandparents who came to visit with us for a while.  I always enjoy seeing my parents, but it was a special blessing to watch them get to know their grandchildren a little better.  In fact, this was my father’s and little Raymond DeSean’s first time to meet.

 

Please pray with us about:

1. Our family’s health and wellbeing. Praise the Lord that everyone is doing well.

2. Praise the Lord for the church’s parsonage- our home; but it does have some serious plumbing problems.

3. Souls, souls, souls! Please pray with us that we will see more souls saved and active in church.

In His Service,

Pastor Raymond Beckles

 

 

March- April 2014

Dear Pastor and Praying friends,

“…Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in…”

Luke 14:23

 We would like to invite you to attend Lighthouse Baptist Church this Sunday. 

…I am not in church right now; but when I do go, I only attend the Church of Christ.

May I take the Word of God right now and show you how you can know Jesus as your Savior?

...Actually, I am kind of busy.  Bye.

We continue to be amazed on visitation by the responses we get from people.  I am sure this scenario is one you have experienced before if you invite others to church on a regular basis.   Be it the Church of Christ, or some other false religion that has infested your area; people know just enough to keep them from hearing the truth.  That being said… We continue to praise God.  Souls are still being saved and added to the church here in Newport, Arkansas!  Since our last prayer letter we have seen two young men and one lady in her mid- thirties pray to receive the Lord while we were out soulwinning.  Also, one single lady who has been visiting with us for the past month or so has asked to join the church next Sunday.

We were seeing about thirty to forty souls every Sunday morning a couple of months ago. Since our last prayer letter our church has gone through a time of pruning.   It is a little discouraging for a church planter whose goal is to build a church  to see those you care about move on; but it just goes to show that God is not only concerned about numbers.  He is also concerned about spiritual fruit. 

Another noteworthy topic is the storms that recently hit our area.  One particular Sunday evening the tornado sirens were sounding about every ten minutes for hours it seemed.  We were in our home praying and prepared to go to the basement. Many in our town were bunkered down in the community storm shelter down the road.  Thankfully the tornados did not hit Newport; but a few neighboring towns lost loved ones and property.

Slammed doors and dis-interested people, times of pruning and discouragement, and horrible storms show us how much we need the Lord to intervene on our behalf.  Thank you for your prayers and financial support which enable us to continue to spread the gospel in Jackson County of Arkansas.

Please pray with us about:

1.  Our family’s health and wellbeing.  Praise the Lord that everyone is doing well.

2.  Praise the Lord for the church’s parsonage- our home; but it does have some serious plumbing problems.

3.  ‘Tis the season to be mowing!  I spend a good amount of time mowing grass every week.  Please pray with us about a tractor.

4. Souls, souls, souls!  Please pray with us that we will see more souls saved and active in church.

In His Service,

 

Pastor Raymond Beckles

 

September - October Prayer Letter

Dear Pastor and Praying Friends,

 

So much has happened since our last prayer letter.  We are proud to introduce to you the newest member of our family, Raymond DeSean Beckles.  He was born in Labor Day, September 2, 3013 at 6:32 p.m.  I am happy to report that both my wife and son are doing very well.

And I , if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. - John 12: 32

 

The church is doing well also.  We continue to pray for numerical and spiritual growth and we are happy to report that we are seeing both.  Every  week for almost two months we have had visitors!  Three of them have continued to visit regularly, four souls were saved just this past weekend - two on Saturday and two on Sunday; and our people are taking tracts to pass out and asking how they can effectively witness to their loved ones.  What a blessing!  God continues to amaze us as we see Him keep His promises.

Sumday Morning Service

Please continue to pray with us about the following things:

1.  A tractor for the church.  We have five acres of land that the has to be maintained regularly and a tractor would be a great blessing.

2.  Provisions for our nursery.  Four women in our church have had children this year.  We think that is wonderful, but we would like to have provisions for them when they come to our services.

3.  Prayer for wisdom concerning our children's ministry.

 

In His Service,

Pastor Raymond Beckles

Lighthouse Baptist Church

Newport, Arkansas

Dear Pastor and Praying friends,

“We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of everyone of you all toward each other aboundeth;” – 2 Thessalonians 1:3

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!  As usual, our numbers have dipped for the summer.  We are still praising God.  This is an opportunity for us to get to know the “faithful few” a little better and for them to get to know us.

We have had two workdays since our last letter in which, among other things, the men have repaired our church sign which was damaged by termites and a severe storm; and the ladies finished some much needed cleaning in the church.

We also enjoyed our Mother’s and Father’s Day services.  I took that opportunity to teach and remind our folks about their roles as Christian parents.  Both holiday services brought visitors which we are always delighted to have.

I am excited about witnessing some spiritual growth in our church. One family who recently moved back to Newport has been visiting our services and even came and helped on our workday.  They display a teachable spirit, and have expressed that they enjoy our services.  Another blessing - a young lady (who has been with us for a while) recently gave a testimony about how the Word of God helped her overcome an obstacle in her life. A young man who was saved here at Lighthouse Baptist Church last summer has recently decided to trust the Lord with a tithe!

On a Personal Note - My wife is expecting our third child in about nine weeks!  Everything thus far looks good.  Also, the girls celebrated their fourth and second birthdays on the 17^th and 18^th of June.  Aaliyah is really taking the fact that she is four and is now a “big girl” to heart. Thank you all for your prayers and much needed financial support!  God Bless!!!

 

In His Service,

 

Pastor Raymond Beckles

Dear Pastor and Praying Friends,                                                         May 1, 2013

We continue to praise God for his goodness to us here in Newport, Arkansas and thank Him that Spring is finally here. Along with the beauty and growth we see around us outside, we are seeing growth in our church numerically and spiritually.  Our members have increased their giving and have begun to enthusiastically invite friends and family to church. 

This past Sunday we celebrated our church’s sixth anniversary.  For months we have been praying and preparing for this event and the Lord truly did bless.  We were praying for fifty souls to attend and forty-seven showed up. One of the forty-seven walked the aisle and trusted Christ as his Savior!  This gentleman is a mechanic and is the man responsible for keeping this preacher’s vehicle on the road.  I had invited him several times and am glad that he chose to attend our anniversary service. 

After the service we enjoyed a time of food, fellowship, and a slide presentation to remind us of what God has done over the years.  Everyone must have been enjoying themselves because about two hours later I had to usher some people out the door- in Christian love of course!

On Resurrection Sunday we truly had a blessed time!  I would like to say it was due to the power of God being manifested during my wonderful message; but I am afraid that would not be the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  The youth of our church sang and put on a little skit about the resurrection of Jesus.  I am proud to say they did a wonderful job; I am also proud to tell you that many friends and family members came to see their performance. These visitors were present to see the children perform, to hear the whole and true Gospel message, and to experience the blessing of being at Lighthouse Baptist Church on Sunday morning.  Several of them have returned since and others promise to do so soon.

On a personal note :  Our family is doing well.  My two girls continue to grow like sunflowers and we continue to anticipate the coming of a new little one in September.  Last week my wife had an ultrasound and the doctor said everything looks great, when she ask if we wanted to know the sex of the baby I said no; but my wife said yes!  She found out; but  promised to keep it a secret until the baby comes.  Two of us (myself and Cassidy) are hoping for a boy; but two of us (my wife and Aaliyah) are hoping for a girl. Half of us will be disappointed; but I trust the disappointed half will get over it quickly.

I would now like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued prayers and financial support.  Without which we would not be able to carry out the Great Commission in Newport, Arkansas.  

                                                                                    In Christ,

Pastor Raymond Beckles