Raleigh
North Gideon Newsletter
March
2003
"When
Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the
physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but
sinners to repentance."
(Mark 2:17)
Pastors
Appreciation Banquet:
Monday,
March 17
Don't miss this year's dynamite Pastors Appreciation
Banquet! It will be held at 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 17, at the North Raleigh Hilton (Salon ABC).
Tickets are $20 each. Our speaker is Kyle Compton, former Gideon State
President of Virginia. The testimony speaker is Mike "Tank" Kersey, who
was featured in the Aug/Sept 2002 issue of The
Gideon (p. 32). Some of you may remember his testimony from the Louisville
Convention last summer.
Brother Compton has been a Gideon for 40 years and is past Gideon State
President of Virginia. He has also served on two EAPs (Extension Action
Programs) to Africa and Spain. He has held various positions on the Virginia
State Cabinet and is currently serving as camp Membership Program Assistant. A
retired Division Manager with Robertshaw Controls Company in Independence,
Virginia, brother Compton and wife Hazel make their home in Galax, Virginia.
They have four children, all grown with families.
Tank Kersey bought his first motorcycle at
the age of 16 and began a life of liquor, drugs, and crime. Learn what happened
one night in a motel room as he held a pistol in one hand and a Gideon Bible in
the other.
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Clockwise from left: Special music: Kenyon Clark Main Speaker: Kyle Compton Testimony Speaker: Mike "Tank" Kersey (and wife Pat) Auxiliary Report: Kathy Gross Special Music: Jeremy Funk |
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Raleigh East Camp's
Kathy Gross will share about the important role the Auxiliary plays in this
ministry. Kathy joined the Auxiliary in
1996 with her husband Bud. She served as Area 8 (that's us!) CPPA from 1998 to
2001. She is employed at North Raleigh Christian Academy on Perry Creek Road
where she is the administrative assistant to three principals. A member of
Raleigh East camp, Kathy currently
serves as Secretary/Treasurer. Kathy and Bud have been married for 38 years in
May, They have three married children and one grandchild is on the way.
Special music will be provided by Kenyon Clark and Jeremy
Funk, a duet from Forest Hills Baptist Church. Kenyon is originally from
Asheville, N.C. and attends Forest Hills Baptist Church in Raleigh. From
1982-1992, he was part of the Kingsboys/Chronicle. Originally from Baltimore,
Maryland, Jeremy is an R&D Chemist for The Dow Chemical Company and a
member FHBC. He likes woodworking and running.
Faith Fund Offering
The Faith Fund
Offering goal for the banquet is $5,000. Remember that 100% of all funds given
to the Faith Fund are used to buy Scriptures for the lost. If you are not able
to attend the banquet, you can still help us meet this important goal. Please
mail your designated check to:
Richard Justice (camp treasurer)
112
Shenandoah Farm Road
Wake
Forest, NC 27587
Jerry Campbell on EAP
Speaking of Scriptures for the
lost, State Scripture Secretary and Tar Heel Gideon editor Jerry
Campbell leaves Saturday, March 29th for two weeks to help distribute
scriptures with 31 other Gideons in Columbia, South America. Please pray for
Jerry as he travels to Bogota and Barranquilla and for his wife Martha as she
guards the home place. Pray for our Colombia brethren who are making the final
arrangements. Pray that there will be enough scriptures available to place into
all of the hands that will be reaching out. Pray for the team's safety, for
open doors, and that souls will be reached for the Lord. Their reward will be
in heaven for the souls that will come to know Jesus through these efforts.
Gideon
Booth at Providence
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| Bill Swart (left) & Bill Schone check over Gideon Bibles. | Parade of nations in Providence Baptist Church. |
Bill Schone and Bill Swart represented the Gideon ministry at the annual Missions Festival, sponsored by Providence Baptist Church. At the festival, people saw firsthand what God is doing around the world and across the street. Approximately 30 local ministries and 50 international missionaries took part, including Gideons International (which Providence helps support). Bill and Bill set up a Gideon booth and manned it for parts of 3 days, February 13-16. They also gave a Gideon report to a Sunday School class. Bill Schone's wife, Sunny, talked about the Gideons to another Sunday School class of over 60 children. By Sunday afternoon, very bad winter weather moved in, but the conference was only minimally affected. Praise the Lord for the faithfulness of Bill and Bill and Sunny!
Camp
Meeting April 15:
Camp Elections
Our next
camp dinner meeting is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, April 15, 2003 at
Embassy Suites (across from Crabtree Valley Mall), 4700 Creedmoor Road. Our annual camp elections will be held. Pray that the Lord
will call the right men and women to the right offices. And pray if God would have you serve in one of these offices
below. Let God answer how much time and effort you can put in,
because none of us "really have the time."
Elected
Officers:
Gideons:
President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Chaplain.
Auxiliary:
President, Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer, Chaplain.
Appointed Officers:
Gideons:
Scripture Chairman, Church Assignment Chairman (and Committee member), Memorial
Bible Chairman (and Committee member), Membership Chairman, Faith Fund
Chairman, Wake County Jail Chairman, Butner Prison Chairman, State Fair
Chairman.
Auxiliary:
Scripture Secretary, Memorial Bible Liaison.
Note: We try to be good stewards of our resources, so if you have
confirmed and cannot attend we ask that you cover the cost of your meal ($16
per person) with camp treasurer Richard Justice (570-0145).
One-On-One
Canceled: Bad Weather
Due to bad
weather, our One-On-One meeting, scheduled for February 18, was canceled.
March 11
Camp Meeting Update:
Camp President Lee Warner officially welcomed three new members to the camp and led us in prayer that the Lord would use them mightily in the Gideon ministry. Vice-president Malcolm Hawkins utilized the program time for last-minute planning for the March 17 Pastors Appreciation Banquet. The Auxiliary Special Feature was on the Jail Ministry. Several Auxiliary members shared the experiences they had while distributing copies of God's Word at the jail. (Photo from left: John Massey, William Eaton, John Gaydos, Lee Warner)
It's not
too Late to Sign up!
Charlotte
Scripture Blitz is March 23-27
Make your plans now to attend the
Scripture Blitz in Charlotte March 23-27. Over 200 Gideons and Auxiliary
are needed to distribute more than 50,000 Scriptures to open hands. There is a
handy registration form in both the January and February Tar Heel Gideon. For
hotel reservations and other details, see the contact chart below.
Bible Blitzes Around the
USA
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Date |
Place |
Contact |
Phone |
E-mail/"Snail-mail" |
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March 2-7 |
San Jose, CA |
Jerry Schrimsher |
510-881-0243 |
GideonJerry@hotmail.com |
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March 9-12 |
Mobile, Alabama |
Jim Blanton |
205-455-2426 |
PO Box 794, Grove Hill, AL 36451 |
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March 23-26 |
Kansas City, MO/KS |
Durward K. Sobek |
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March 23-27 |
Charlotte, NC |
Don Rhodes |
704-394-4811 |
CharlotteScriptureBlitz@hotmail.com |
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April 7-9 |
Albuquerque, NM |
R.E. Stinebaugh |
505-275-3170 |
RCStine@MSN.com |
Auxiliary News
On
Wednesday afternoon, February 26, Dot
Rawley (with the help of husband Frank and John Kay), distributed 3 Bibles and
17 medical testaments to a dentist's office (right) and a doctor's office
(left, with receptionist).The Association for Home and Hospice Care of North Carolina will hold a nurse's convention at the Sheraton Imperial on May 19-20, 2003. Auxiliary members will be contacted to help set up and operate a booth from which to distribute nurse's Testaments.
will be held at the April 15th camp meeting.
Bibles я Us:
A busy
Scripture month!
Scripture Chairman John Kay
reports a very busy month of placing Scriptures wherever God leads him. We
praise God for all his efforts. Pray that the Lord continue to lead him as he
searches out locations to place God's Word.
Tuesday, February 25—Raleigh Community Hospital
On of the most amazing things is the way that the Lord has
answered prayer about getting scriptures into Raleigh Community Hospital. They
now have a part-time Chaplain, Adrian Dixon, who contacted International about
getting Bibles for the hospital. What an answer to prayer! Adrian determined
what they needed and talked to the VP there about what they want to do. He and
John Kay discussed the situation; John ordered 200 Bibles and 150 Medical
testaments to meet their needs. The Lord just keeps doing these things to
surprise us as to how He can bring down the barriers to people being exposed to
His Word. Let's pray for Chaplain Dixon as he develops the ministry at Raleigh
Community Hospital.
Wednesday, February 26—MEPS (Military Entrance
Processing Station)
Frank
Rawley and John Kay distributed Service Testaments to raw recruits on their way
to perhaps eternity. Please pray for the recruits and for those Gideons who
have the responsibility to offer testaments to them. It is clear that the Holy
Spirit is using His Word to convict those on their way to war as to the need to
get spiritual life in Christ. As reported recently on network news and in the
N&O, many soldiers are already being baptized in Kuwait.
For many years, many of you remember that our camp's Clarence Jeffreys (photo, left) was the one responsible for the MEPS ministry. So he was very grateful when John dropped in to update him on what the Lord is doing today with the military testament distributions.
Wednesday, February 26—North Carolina State Highway
Patrol
Charlie
Rabb and John Kay had an opportunity to offer testaments to the new SHP cadets.
They sat at a lunch table with some instructors and rejoiced at their faith.
They read Romans 13:1-5 to them and told them they are working for God on our
behalf. When a tough defense-training instructor shares his life experience of
knowing about God and then getting saved by Jesus and his life changes, that is
something to rejoice about! Praise God for the number of believers involved
with the SHP. Please be sure to daily commit these law enforcement and fire and
EMS folks to the Lord . . . when you pray for the military. (Photo: NCSHP cadets ready for action!)
Friday, March 7—Rex Hospital
John Kay delivered 7 Bibles to Andrea Funk, volunteer
coordinator at Rex Hospital. She will place them in the ICU waiting room. She
was very appreciative and says she will try to help us place Bibles in the
other waiting rooms.
Sunday, March 9—Residence Inn, Navajo Road
Frank and Dot Rawley delivered 25 Bibles to the Residence
Inn and distributed 15 PWTs (mostly Spanish) for hotel personnel.
Monday, March 10—NC National Guard
Most of
you know what the Lord has been doing in our Gideon camp recently in providing
military testaments for the NC troops being deployed. On Sunday afternoon,
March 2, John Kay's military chaplain friend called him with a "head's
up" that there may be an imminent need for more of the new camouflage PWTs. On
Monday, John verified with General Ingram's office that 4,500 would be needed.
John ordered them by Internet and they arrived Friday! That Sunday, John loaded
up his Jeepster with the PWTs and the members of his church bathed them in
prayer (see photo left). On Monday, March 10, John
delivered all 4,500 to the NC National Guard Headquarters. Lt. Col. Chris
Greene helped John to get them into a secure area so they will be available
when it comes time to get them to the troops. Those folks are very glad to have them in place for the next deployments.
(Photo l to r: John Kay, unidentified
Guardsman, Lt. Col. Chris Greene)Monday, March 10—Attorney's office
An historic occasion for our camp as Gideon Gary Pendleton made our first attorney's office distribution. Here, Gary presents Attorney Robin Pipkin (photo, left) a Bible for his office. By the way, Robin is preparing for us a list of other Christian attorneys that are members of the Christian Lawyers Association so we can get going in these areas. Thank the Lord!
Church
Speaking Opportunities
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Praise
for these churches and speakers: |
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Feb 2 |
Bayleaf
Baptist Church North Campus |
Charlie Rabb |
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Pray for these churches
and speakers: |
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Mar 16 |
North Raleigh Church of the Nazarene |
Kyle Compton |
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Mar 16 |
Six Forks Baptist |
Richard Justice |
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Mar 23 |
Creedmoor Road Baptist (25-min.) |
Charlie Rabb |
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May 18 |
St. Mark's
United Methodist Church |
TBA |
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Apr 9 |
North Ridge
Bible Church |
TBA |
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Jul 27 |
Westminster
Presbyterian |
TBA |
Church Assignment Chairman Larry Davenport continues to make
contacts and attempts to arrange services as his schedule allows. Keep praying
for his success!
Church News: Six Forks
Baptist's Pastor Brian Barndt may send one of his associate pastors to the
Pastors Appreciation Banquet to give him additional exposure to the Gideons.
Creedmoor Road Baptist's Pastor Mike Carter has replaced Reverend Millard
Crumpler as Pastor. He is still in Southeastern Baptist Seminary and will
graduate in May. Check out http://northview-raleigh.org,
website of the Northview Community Church.They meet at The Exchange Park, 1905
Spring Forest Road. Contact Larry at 841-4610 or e-mail larrydvnprt@aol.com if you want to
schedule a Gideon report or want to learn to be a speaker.
A Wonderful
way to Say "I Love You"
With
Living Memorial Bibles
Memorial Bible Plan Chairman Doug
Schmidt (782-5311) encourages us to "use the Memorial Bible Plan, exchange
outdated church racks for ones with current prices, and show the video."
With Easter Sunday just around the corner on
April 20, what better way to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus
Christ than by making His Word available to those who need to know Him. As a
part of the Memorial Bible Program, special Easter cards are available from
headquarters in packs of 5 cards with envelopes for $1.00. You can provide one
or more Bibles to express your love and appreciation for pastors and church
staff, Christian friends and relatives, Sunday school teachers, or others. They
will be especially blessed to know of your love both for them and for the Word
of God, and you will surely receive a blessing knowing that somebody will have
a chance to read His Word. To receive your Easter cards in plenty of time for
mailing, simply go to www.Gideons.org or
cut out the form below and return it to:
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EASTER CARD ORDER FORM
Number of Amount Method of
Packs ($1/pk of 5) Enclosed Payment
__________
$_______________
______
Check _____ Credit Card
Send to: Credit Card Expiration
Date______________________
________________________________________
________________________________________ Credit Card Number_________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
Cardholder's Signature_______________________________________
MAIL TO: The
Gideons International, 2900 Lebanon Road, Nashville, TN 37214
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Jail Ministry
On Sunday, February 23, 8 Gideons and 1 Auxiliary
member from our camp visited prisoners at Wake County Jail. Serving the Lord
that night were: Cliff & Liz Merrill, Charlie Rabb, Gary Pendleton, Malcolm
Hawkins, Frank Rawley and John Kay. Ray Cooksey and Richard Justice went to the
Hammond Road Annex. Wake County Jail Chairman Charlie Rabb reports that four
prisoners were led to the Lord! The Gideons gave out 183 PWTs and 65 Spanish
PWTs. For the Auxiliary, Liz gave out 34 PWTs and 8 Spanish PWTs.
Charlie
also tells us that he, John Kay and State Gideon Prison Chaplain Tom Trochum
have met with our new sheriff, Donnie Harrison, and staff. They found the
sheriff to be very helpful and supportive of the Gideon ministry, even though
Bettye Poole, who has acted as jail chaplain for several years, had to be let
go (February 28), primarily due to budget cuts. Sadly, there is no Chaplain
position in the Wake County Jail system now. They promised we could distribute Service Testaments in the future to graduating cadets.
Gary Pendleton says his approach to the prisoners is to say, "Would anyone like me to pray for their family?" He says that's the key--when you get 'em down on their knees and pray with them. "Usually, each cell block I go to, I'll get somewhere between 5 to 15. They'll come over and pray and then I may lead a few of them to Christ and give them the handouts and the PWTs. Then, if you just sit there on your knees, some of them will come over as individuals. They'll say, 'Would you pray for my family?' For most of them, you pray for the family, then you talk to them individually."
He says that's it's hard to tell how many are saved on any given night. He's sure that many more come to Christ as a result of Gideon visits because they all don't get reported to Charlie Rabb. And only God Himself knows how many more pray to receive Christ after the last Gideon has gone, leaving them to read God's Word on their own.
"Not long ago," said Gary, "a guy came up to me individually. He was only about 18 years old and all his hair was combed into dreadlocks. He said, 'Do you have any anointing oil?' I said, 'No, I don't.' But then God must have gotten hold of me, because I said, 'But this'll do.' I put my hand (I have big hands) over his forehead and then over his whole head. I just held his head with my whole big hand wide open and prayed with him. He was just beaming when I got through. It was a real highlight for me, too."
Butner Prison Ministry
Our Gideon-led Bible study
continues to meet Friday nights from 6:30—8:30. John Kay has been doing an
excellent job of teaching the prisoners AND the teachers. They are still in the
book of Mark 10 (and beyond). The cold weather has shrunk class size recently
but it should grow back when spring returns. If you want to be part of this ministry,
call Tom Wallace at 782-0903.
MEMBERSHIP DUES CAN NOW BE PAID ONLINE!
New
enhancements to the on-line community now make it possible to pay your dues on
line via your member profile. Just log onto www.gideons.org, go to the Online
Community and select your name under "Membership Listing." A "Pay
Dues" button displays a template to pay your dues online.
Third and final dues notices will be sent to all unpaid
members on April 1, 2003. You can also use your renewal slip or send your check
marked "Dues Renewal" for $40 ($55 for Gideon and Auxiliary) to: The Gideons
International Headquarters, PO Box 140800, Nashville, TN 37214-0800.
Conventions are just Around the Corner!
It's not too late to sign up for the 56th
Annual Gideon State Convention. This year it will be held May
1-4, 2003 at
the Adams Mark Hotel in
Winston-Salem, N.C. The theme is "Walk Worthy," (Ephesians 4:2). To get the
guaranteed hotel rate, you must register prior to March 28, 2003. Look in your February
Tar Heel Gideon for the registration form, fill it out and send it in
today!
Countdown 100
Reminder: In your February Tar Heel Gideon you will find a blue
envelope and flyer marked "Countdown 100." The flyer explains that if you had
deposited $1.30 per day in the envelope beginning January 26, in 100 days there
will be enough to purchase 100 Scriptures! These Scriptures will be supplied to
outreached hands in over 160 countries. Please read the flyer for details and
return the filled-up envelope to Camp President Lee Warner no later than our
April 15 camp meeting. The camp will write a check for the total amount from
all the envelopes and Lee will take it to the State Convention to rally round
the Faith Fund Goal of $230,000.
While you are at it, look in next month's (April's) Gideon
magazine for a registration form for the 104th Gideons
International Convention. This year it will be held July 22-27 at the
Sheraton Hotel in Birmingham, Alabama. Take your family. Take your
grandchildren. And it's a shorter drive than last year's convention in
Louisville, Kentucky!
Join us for Prayer and Breakfast!
We
would love to have you join us on Saturday mornings for Prayer and Breakfast.
We meet at the Clarion Hotel (formerly Fourpoints) across from Crabtree Valley
Mall at 7:30 a.m. Breakfast (optional) is at 8:00 a.m. We typically meet in the
executive meeting room on the 10th floor. Gideons and Auxiliary are always
welcome! For more information, call Lee Warner (846-7726) or Nadine Kay (870-9266).
Camp Calendar
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Mar 17 (6:30pm) |
Pastors Appreciation Banquet,
6:30 p.m., Salon ABC, North Raleigh Hilton; Kyle Compton, speaker; Tank
Kersey, testimony speaker. |
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Mar 21-22 |
NC Camp Presidents Conference,
Charlotte, NC |
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Apr 15 (6:45pm) |
Camp
Meeting: Camp Elections |
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May 1-4 |
56th State Gideon
Convention—Adams Mark Hotel, Winston-Salem |
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May 20 (6:45pm) |
Camp
Meeting: State Convention Reports |
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Jul 22-27 |
104th International
Gideon Convention, Birmingham, Alabama |
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Aug 29- |
Bonclarken Zone 10 Annual Labor
Day Retreat; Paige Patterson, main speaker. (Registration form in February Tar Heel Gideon.) |
Respectfully
submitted,
Pat
Simpson,
Newsletter Editor
(919-877-0434
or e-mail
PatSimpsonBooks@cs.com)
This
newsletter is published by the Raleigh North Camp of
The Gideons
International
P.O. Box
33635
Raleigh NC 27636
Phone: 919:781-0305
WEB:
https://members.tripod.com/patsnews
February 2003 Status:
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