Summer

 The heat of summer is here in Mississippi, along with all the accompanying activities. The original plan was to be in Papua, New Guinea, at this time, but that meeting had to cancel. Accordingly, we find ourselves ministering in our church in Mississippi, at least those of the family who are here.

Josiah has moved out of our home and has taken a position on staff at our home church, Clearview Baptist Church in Southaven, MS. He will heavily involved in music, both in the church and Christian school. Currently, he is busy readying the facility for school, along with the rest of the staff.

Daniel is away as well, having finished a ministry trip to Nebraska and entered his first of two consecutive weeks of camp. The first is Camp Barnabas, a camp run by Ambassador Baptist College for young people considering full-time ministry. The second week will be Timber Ridge Bible Camp, a ministry of Grace Baptist Church in Woodstock, Virginia. Esther has been serving on program staff there all summer. Her last week begins this coming Monday.

As for Abigail, she has been serving in the Platte Valley Baptist Church of Fort Morgan, Colorado, completing her college internship. She is to return today, provided the flight schedules work out for her.

Sarah and I are trying to fight coming of old age with all of its trappings. Particularly acute right now is our growing addiction to quiet. Not many weeks ago, the piano in our home was going nearly 18 hours a day. Someone would be singing at the top of (usually) his voice, while other sounds randomly mingled their way into the cacophony. As I type this, there is no sound save that of the keyboard in front of me. I have had my time with God in total silence for several days on end, and I can feel the tentacles of addiction wrapping themselves about my psyche. The fear is, of course, that if I become addicted to quiet that I might become a grumpy old man when those around me are less than serene. 

Soon, however, three of our children will be back, although not for long. Abigail returns to college for her final year this year, after which she plans to be married. She has been officially engaged now for a few weeks. 

As July winds down, we will need to turn our attention to getting our trailer ready to travel. We need new tires because the old ones are cracking in the side walls, and one of them has a leak. Every time we move it, we have to pump up the tire. The issue was minor whenever Sarah was teaching at Ambassador, but once we are going to be in a new place every week, we need dependable tires. This will be the most costly trailer procedure that needs to be done, but also the easiest.

In addition, we have two sewer valves that are leaking. That means that the entire underbelly of the trailer has to be taken off the valves replaced. You may remember that we did this once before, but there seems to be an ongoing issue. Additionally, the rear tank has a leaking valve as well. We did not try to tackle the rear valve earlier.

By September, we should be on the road nearly every week pulling the trailer. Please pray for fruit as we minister.

About Jesus

April and May have been busy months for our family and ministry. April 2025 was the last month of traveling without Sarah for me. She finished her work at Ambassador Baptist College teaching piano and is now traveling with me again. Daniel comes with us as well.

As for the rest of my family, the older three children are scattered all over right now. Josiah is serving in a church and school in Colombia, South America. While this ministry seems to be short term, it is keeping him very busy. Based upon two years of high school and a couple of trips to Hispanic countries, he finds himself giving devotions and music lessons in Spanish. It definitely is stretching him and teaching him to rely upon God. He will be there for a month, after which he has to return to the United States. What the Lord does with him from there is still a matter of prayer.

Abigail is fulfilling her college internship at the Platte Valley Baptist Church of Fort Morgan, Colorado. She will be there for 8 weeks. 

Esther is serving at Timber Ridge Bible Camp, a ministry of Grace Baptist Church of Woodstock, Virginia. She and Daniel were campers there last year, and when she was offered the opportunity to return as a staff member, she determined that the Lord would have her go.

Daniel himself will be leaving after a while heading to a special mid-America missions trip headed by Dr. Roger Luiken of Ambassador Baptist College. Bro. Luiken pastored churches in America's heartland for many years and understands the unique dynamics of the area. While it would not be technically correct to say that Sarah and I are empty nesters, the house is growing rather quiet these days.

My meetings have gone very well. It is a joy to see people saved in our meetings. The entire family except for Abigail was able to go to New York City again this year. I was amazed at the number of Muslims who sat and listened to me preach. The church is one block away from a large Muslim section of Brooklyn. Please pray that God would open the eyes of these dear people.

Ordinarily, I am not a sought-after conference speaker. Many conference organizers seek to fill the pulpit with well-known preachers with excellent name recognition. Many would argue that my name is not recognized enough to be a conference speaker. 

In late May, however, Pastor Tom Brennan hosted his first ever Christ Conference. The idea of the conference was simple: every preacher would preach about Jesus. I was asked to be the keynote speaker in that I was to preach every night of the conference in addition to all day on Sunday. Not one man who spoke was a "well known" preacher, including me. At the end of the conference, Pastor Brennan informed me that in his 28 years of being a pastor, he had never had a better meeting. Focusing solely on Jesus caused me to wonder why everyone everywhere is not doing the same thing. I found myself falling before God and confessing to have taken my Savior for granted for many years of Christian experience. It was such a joy to prepare and preach many messages focusing only on Jesus.

Our summer schedule is much lighter this year due to a large mission's trip that had to be canceled. We plan to be mostly home serving the Lord in the Clearview Baptist Church for the summer before leaving again for a heavy schedule in the fall.

Manifold Blessings

 March has been a month of blessings for our family, both spiritual and financial. As you may remember from last month, Sarah's car broke down and needed a very costly and notoriously unreliable transmission. We opted to get another car instead of repairing the one we already had. The factory would only warranty a new transmission for 1 year or 12,000 miles, so great was their confidence in it. The Lord provided us two very noteworthy things: first, the money to purchase another car; and second, a dealer willing to take our old car in on trade. This willingness to trade was very important because I could well understand someone not wanting the car, given the notoriety of the transmission troubles to which it is prone. In the end, for the cost of the transmission repair plus the trade-in, we were able to get another car. Sarah now traverses the town and country in a Cadillac. It is 13 years old and has some minor issues, but it is a beautiful and dependable vehicle.

The Lord gave safety and a great meeting in Lighthouse Baptist Church of Alexandria, Virginia. It is always great to be with Pastor Philip Bishop and his dear people.

After a whirlwind visit to Alabama for a short meeting there, I made a touch-and-go appearance back home to Mississippi to take care of some business. Every time I am able to be back in the Clearview Baptist Church, I am grateful to God for leading our family there in the first place. What a blessing to see the growth in the church in the weeks and months that I have had to be away!

It has been many years since I have been able to attend the Ambassador Baptist College Bible Conference. This year, some of my good friends in the ministry were preaching, and it was a blessing to be there. God worked in a special way in every service.

In a couple weeks, Sarah and I will be together for our one meeting per semester that we get together. We will head to Calvary Baptist Church of Urbana and minister with Pastor Tyson Olheiser and his people. His church is located not far from the University of Illinois. He himself was a student when the church reached him many years ago. Would you pray that God would give us souls as we go? The Olheisers are dear friends of ours and we look forward to ministering alongside them.

After April comes graduation and then more meetings. Busy times ahead. Thank you for all of your prayers.

Technical Difficulties

 The Lord gave us some great times of ministry during this past month, even though the month is not yet over. While I am not out preaching, I have opportunity to serve in the Morganton Baptist Church of Morganton, North Carolina. Pastor Qurollo invited me to preach to his people a couple of times while we have been there, and the church gave us a very generous love offering. We are so grateful for the people that God has brought into our lives.

There seems to be a rash of breakdowns that have hit our family. As we left church last night for an hour drive back home through the rolling hills of western North Carolina, the engine of Sarah's car suddenly began to race for no apparent reason. I noticed that we were losing, rather than gaining, speed up the hill despite the revving motor. A few weeks ago, one of the men in the church had seen our car and asked us an interesting question: "Have you ever had transmission trouble with that car?" At the time, the answer was no. As of last night, my answer has changed. 

A man in the church loaned us his trailer to use to haul the car. Currently, the vehicle is sitting on the trailer not far from our RV while we wait for the transmission shop to get back to me with a price to repair or replace the transmission. 

The decisions related to this repair are difficult because the car is at the place where the cost of repair is about the cost of the vehicle. We might be able to repair it and use the car for a few years. We might also be able to find something more dependable and forget about the current car. Please pray for wisdom as we negotiate the ins and outs of this decision.

At the end of this week, I am scheduled to board a plane in Charlotte and fly into Reagan National Airport just outside of Washington, D.C. You may remember the airliner recently that crashed into a helicopter there. I am to fly the same airline into the same airport. Please pray for safety.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers.

New Year

 The month of January has been a full month full of blessings and sadness. Through it all, we rejoice in God's faithfulness.

Twenty-three years ago, I was a young evangelist just starting out. Pastor Randy Hartwell, in Michigan at the time, had me for a meeting on the recommendation of a pastor-friend of his. Through the years, he had me on a regular basis, even though he was no longer in Michigan. In the latter years, he would have me in once a year to preach to his people. Before the first of the year, he got in touch with me and wanted me to come preach for him yet again. I did, although he was so sick that he was unable to be at the services. Not long after I preached for him, he slipped into glory. There is something to be said for any pastor that will take a chance on a young preacher. I will always appreciate what he did for me.

A meeting of young evangelists was next on the schedule. Somewhere along the line, I have moved from learning as a young man to teaching other young men. That is a humbling reality. 

It appears that a trip to the Dominican Republic is becoming a regular part of my annual schedule. Again this January, I found myself in the warmth of the Caribbean sunshine and the Haitian immigrants in the DR. It was 15 years ago that Biz Lerisse moved to this area to work with displaced Haitians. At the time, the people lived in fear of Satan and his potential to harm them. As the years went by and the Gospel was preached, the instances of demonism began to wane. This last Sunday, over 330 people crowded into the upper story of the church where the auditorium can catch the island breezes and thereby give a break from the heat. Ten people followed the Lord in believer's baptism that day as the church praised the Lord for His power and goodness. I preached a simple Gospel message. Six more people were born again that weekend. The entire service seemed to serve to give the Devil a black eye. As I watched person after person publicly identify with Christ through baptism, I was reminded of the verse in II Corinthians 2: "Thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place." God is doing a great work there, and I am humbled to be able to have a part.

The work with the podcast continues. The number of listeners is growing slowly as word gets out. If you would like to listen, the quickest way is to go to my website paulcrow.org. You can also find it on Spotify and Apple Podcasts by searching for "Evangel Paul Crow." Evangel is the name of the podcast, but there are some churches who went by that name some years ago and have since quit podcasting.

The family is still in North Carolina where three of the children are college students at Ambassador Baptist College and Sarah is teaching there. Occasionally Daniel will travel with me, but he has a job now, further complicating travel options.

We look forward to seeing what God will do for us this year. Thank you for your support and prayers for us.

Christmas Blessings

 The last month of ministry and life in general has flooded my mind with a realization of the manifold blessings of God.  He has given us another year of serving Him and seeing others turn to Him as we give the truth.

For the family, this Christmas will be the first in which our family will not be all present.  Josiah is currently in Colombia ministering with a friend from college. He plans to be there through the new year serving God. The rest of us are currently in Mississippi doing the kinds of things that normally occupy our time near the Christmas season.

For an evangelist, meetings are usually fewer in number this time of year.  Despite that tendency, the Lord has blessed with meetings unusually close to the Christmas holiday that have been a blessing to us.  

One meeting in particular deserves special mention because of what the Lord did.  Great Hope Baptist Church of Chesapeake, Virginia, has done a living nativity for the past 3 years.  Last year, they discovered that it would be better to have two Gospel preaching stations rather than one.  That way, there would never be a bottleneck of people to distract those who were hearing the Gospel.  The pastor of the church, John Godfrey, Jr., is a friend of mine from my days in college.  For two years straight during the college years, we traveled together in music groups.  He called me this year and asked me to help present the Gospel at the end of the living nativity.

The event lasted three nights, from December 13-15, 2024.  In that time, we had 1,785 people attend the event. After they went to each location to hear actors tell the story of Mary, Joseph, and the birth of Jesus, they then proceeded to the cross and the empty tomb where a man dressed as a Roman soldier told them about the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. From there, the groups--each numbered about 60 people--came into one of two tents where the pastor and I preached the Gospel, he in one tent and I in the other.  The entire event was built around making much of Jesus.  Over the three days, we had 270 people profess Christ as Savior.  It was a great way to celebrate the Christmas holiday.

Not long after Christmas, Abigail and I head for Louisiana, she to work in a winter camp and I to preach in Lake Charles.  We scarcely return from there before she heads off to college, and I to my traveling schedule.

As many of you know, I have been producing a podcast on a regular basis throughout much of 2024.  The computer that I have been using for seven years is giving me some problems recently.  This machine has become essential to the work that I have been doing.  Please pray for wisdom as to whether we should repair or replace what we currently have.

May all of you have a merry Christmas and a wonderful, fruitful new year.

Gratitude

A week from today, the United States of America will celebrate the greatest holiday of all, Thanksgiving. Granted, there is more hype surrounding other holidays, but the idea of being grateful should reign supreme among the nobility of virtues. Truly, our family has much to be thankful for.

God gave many open doors of ministry during the last month. An annual highlight is our trip to Fort Morgan, Colorado, to minister in the Platte Valley Baptist Church. Every year, together with Evangelist Dwight Smith and family, we have ministered among those dear country people. This year, we dug out some pictures from the very first time we were there ten years ago. In those ten years, our children have grown up, our horizons (waistlines) have broadened, and my hairline has receded to the back of my head. Also, the church has more than doubled in that time. During our time there, four people walked the aisle to trust Christ as Savior. The Wednesday before our family arrived, six were saved in a special teen service. What a thrill to minister with faithful people!

Because Sarah is still teaching at Ambassador Baptist College, I travel either alone, with pianist Dale Lieser, or with Dale and my son Daniel. God has given us some good meetings together as we learn how to serve each other and the churches where we are.

Work is already underway for the 2025 schedule with many weeks already full. We are looking forward to seeing what God will do in our travels then.

In the family front, Josiah has one more semester after December to complete before he graduates with his master's degree. Please pray for the Lord's leading as he seeks a place of ministry. Abigail has one more year after this school year before she will graduate with her bachelor's degree. Esther has one more semester after December and she will finish her one year Bible certificate. Daniel is in his junior year of high school and looks forward to getting his driver's permit soon. Pray for his mother in that regard.

My podcast continues with a new episode being added every month. In the next week or so, I plan to begin a short series of episodes on objections to the Gospel. These have value, not only for unsaved people, but also for believers who must give the Gospel to less-than-receptive coworkers and family members. Below are links.

Spotify  Apple Podcasts YouTube

In addition to the podcast, I also publish preaching shorts under a YouTube channel with the same name and logo as the podcast. You find a link to the entire channel, including podcast and shorts here.

May the grace of God fill you with gratitude this holiday season. Thank you as always for your prayers.