Join Us Tonight for Evangelism Workshop!

After taking a week off due to inclement weather, we are resuming our Evangelism Workshop being taught in English by Daniel Allen and in Spanish by George Diaz. Please join us for dinner at 5:30 pm, and an hour-long meeting starting at 6:00 pm. All are welcome, with dinner and resources provided. Hope to see you there!

Nursing Home Ministry

This is another ministry spotlight article. Clayton Garrow, a student at Boyce College, has started this vibrant ministry to the elderly and disabled at Signature Health Care, South Louisville. He, and a few other young New Heights men have been regularly preaching there, sharing the essential Gospel of Jesus Christ. Clayton has written his own view of this ministry.

For the past two months, New Heights Baptist Church has been able to go to Signature Health Care of South Louisville to conduct church services on the first and third Sunday of each month. The services begin at 2:30 p.m. and consist of singing hymns, praying, and preaching.

It has been a continued joy to be at the Care Center, as there are brethren there that we are able to serve, and residents who are outside of Christ, without hope and without God in this world. Through personal room visits during the week I have been able to share gospel truth with many of the residents. The Lord has provided opportunity to speak of the necessity of Scripture, and that all of our thoughts about the very character of God must be rooted and grounded in the Scriptures that God has given. The Lord has provided opportunity to share from the Scriptures the natural state of all of creation apart from the saving grace of God. What a joy it is to have opportunity to share God's grace!

There has not only been great joy and humility in sharing the very words of God with those outside of Christ, but there has been great joy in serving the brethren who are residents of the Care Center. One example is a man named Mr. Davis. We have had great fellowship with his wife and him as Mr. Davis was at the Care Center seeking to regain physical strength. One evening I stopped by his room and for nearly forty-five minutes we read through the Scriptures together, talked of salvation being all of grace, spoke of John Newton's hymn “Amazing Grace”, and prayed together. There are many such examples that could be given like this from those of us who have been serving at the Care Center.

Our motivation for continued service is that Jesus Christ has died in our place. We desire that He receive glory and honor as we seek to walk in obedience to His commands, sharing the gospel with men and women that they might hear the word of Christ and be saved.

Amen, Clayton. Thank you for your devoted service to these oft-forgotten people and to our church. Let us all remember to pray for God's continued blessing over and provision for his Word.

Food Pantry and Clothes Closet

This is a spotlight article. Every now and then we will take a look at a ministry within New Heights Church. Our food pantry and clothes closet ministries are both being run by David Wells. This ministry has already demonstrated a big impact on the local community.

David and his family have been taking in donations of non-perishable food items and clean, new and gently used clothing. The pantry and clothes closet are currently open every other Friday. These ministries present the opportunity to bring lost people into the church (a scary place for some) and meet their needs. David and our pastor, Cody, share the Gospel with these people, most of whom are in need both physically and spiritually.

This is a great opportunity for our church members and believers from other local congregations to join in and serve South Louisville. It is essential that these people understand why we are feeding and clothing them. It is not because we are merely nice, not just because they are in need, and not because they deserve it. We do this because we believe Scripture, both Old and New Testaments command it. We give food and clothing to those who need it because Jesus has shown us grace. We, in turn, show grace to humanity in the name of Jesus. Thus his Gospel is the reason for all of our ministries.

We invite other Baptist believers to become involved in this significant ministry. We also invite those in need, here in South Louisville, to come to New Heights Baptist Church and be fed in the name of Jesus.

Evangelism Encounter 1

The other day I needed an oil change and went to a local service station. When I told the manager what I wanted, I was instructed it would at least be 1 hour before they could get it done. The manager offered me some coffee and a place to sit in the waiting room which I happily agreed too. I sat down and noticed an elderly man, “Stan,” reading a newspaper; he offered a section to me. Soon I started to think, “I wonder if he knows Christ.” This thought process happens quite often with me. So I started a conversation with the man. We started to talk and he told me he worked at the Courier Journal before he retired then became a Certified Nurse and a LPN in order to take care of his wife.

I told him that I was a student at Southern Seminary, hoping to turn the conversation to the spiritual realm, but that didn’t work. I reached for a gospel tract to intentionally swing the conversation to the spiritual realm, but to my dismay I didn’t have any on me. So I prayed, asking God to help me swing this conversation to the spiritual realm. The man said, “Hey, I have some pictures to show you, wait a minute and I will get them.” He disappeared into the garage bay and returns with an envelope of pictures. I opened up the envelope and he had several pictures of the recent ice storm that hit the Louisville area. I saw what he called his “favorite picture,” the sun was shining through the clouds, hitting the ice on the trees and sparkling. It was a beautiful picture . . . I could tell this was my opportunity.

As I admired the picture, I said to him “how can someone see a picture like that and believe there is no God”. He looked intently at the picture and agreed. I then inquired where he goes to church and he named a large local church. Then, pausing, almost under his breathe, he said, “When I go.” So I asked him “what do you think happens when you die”? He said he has a friend who he discusses spiritual matters with over lunch. He said that he wasn’t sure if there is a God, but if there was, he would take into account “what good he had done while here on earth”. My next response of course was “so you consider yourself to be a pretty good person?” His reply was, of course, yes. So we then talked about God’s law to see how good he really was against God’s standard of goodness. When he saw his state before God’s law, he saw his sin, and that based on his sin, he deserved to go to hell.

I then had the opportunity to tell the greatest story ever; the fact that God, through His predetermined plan sent his Son to earth. Jesus lived a perfect life and didn’t break any of God’s Laws. He was nailed to a cross, and God poured out his wrath upon his own Son for my sin and the sins of all people who would believe. We talked about repentance and the fact that we must repent (turn from sin), and put our faith in Christ Jesus alone for our salvation. I then returned to the subject of works, explaining that our works cannot save us; it is only through the work of Jesus Christ, his shed blood for our sin, and his bodily resurrection, that we can be saved.
Stan promised me that he would read the book of John, he seemed very interested, but wasn’t sure about repenting, he wanted to read John first. I prayed for Stan and we parted ways. I pray that God will grant Stan faith and that he will repent and put his faith in the only one who can save him, Jesus Christ.

All of us can share our faith; we just need to face our fear of man. What is the worst thing that can happen to you – you are rejected? Look at the rejection that Christ endured on our behalf. Another possibility is that you plant a “seed” that another will water and someone else will harvest, God willing. The person could even repent and place their faith in Christ (and all of heaven would rejoice!). There are many methods to share your faith, but to share it biblically you must talk about: sin; righteousness/holiness; judgment; heaven and hell; and Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. If you have questions on how you can do this please contact N.H.B.C. for our training schedule in Biblical evangelism. One last thing; when you pray, pray that God opens Stan’s eyes to the truth of the Gospel.

Now go share your faith!

Danny Allen

Ministry Encounters

One of the reasons this blog exists is for the strengthening of the faith of our members. To this end, we will be posting occasional examples of different ministries that are performed by our members. It is our hope that these examples will build courage to evangelize, bring about thinking on deeper things, and solidify faith. We also hope that those who stop by this site, whether members of our church or not, will be willing to ask questions and engage in friendly exchange, so that God may be glorified.

These ministries are not only carried out by our pastoral staff and deaconry, some are carried out by "ordinary members" who feel God's calling to reach out to other brothers and sisters, to the lost, and to the community in general, all in the name of Jesus.

Clean Water in Africa: Something CAN Be Done!

There are several ministries and other non-profit groups who are making an impact across Africa. Right now there are literally millions of people who do not have adequate access to safe drinking water. These groups are doing something practical to change that. Please watch these catchy videos and consider giving to organizations such as Charity: Water or Advent Conspiracy.
You can be a part of easing the intense suffering of people who do not have any options.

This video is from Charity: Water.




These videos are from Advent Conspiracy (replace Christmas theme with Resurrection Day).