Dear Pastor and Church Family April 2024 Update
Hello church family, and friends. We earnestly pray each of are well and Lord is blessing you. We do have some ministry updates and answered prayers.
First, as you may remember one of the works in Kentucky that we have been working with over the past year had voted an interim Pastor in at the first of the year. Great news he is now the Pastor of New Friendship Baptist church, this is special to us as Brother Roger was a Preacher in one of our other churches we have been helping for some time. Brother Roger attended our Preacher classes for some time and the Lord spoke to his heart about Pastoring and thru the Lord’s Sovereignty and grace we will be ordaining Brother Roger Allen as THE NEW Pastor of Friendship Baptist April 21st at 2pm. Now to our oldest work nearly two and half years we have labored and prayed with Grace Baptist in KY while they have been without a Pastor. It is with joy in our hearts that we can tell you God still answers prayers. April 21st Grace Baptist will be voting on their New Pastor Brother Chris Humphrey, Brother Chris was a young preacher who we counselled with several years ago When we began in this ministry. Now praise be to Jesus Brother Chris Lord willing will be the new Pastor of Grace Baptist church in KY. As for Creston Baptist they too will be voting on their new Pastor even though we had a limited role with this church we still rejoice in Gods Faithfulness to his church. As we write to you full of gladness there is also a sadness that comes with our ministry as we say goodbye to friends and families, we have grown to love during our time with them. Looking forward we now have a few trips planed to the west for different things the Lord is allowing us to be a small part of.
In closing we are now waiting to see where God will have us go next, would you please pray with us as Paul ask the church in Colossians 4:3 pray for us that God would open unto us a door of utterance.
As always, thank you for your support and mostly your prayers. We could not do what we have been able to do without the Lord! Thank you! Pastor, if there is anything we can do to be of service, please let us know.
January through March 2024
Dear Pastor and Church Family,
Hello church family, we pray you had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We do have some ministry updates and answered prayers. First, one of the works we have been working with over the past year Fellowship Baptist in Kentucky has voted in a Pastor as interim and, Lord willing, will be voting on him as full time Pastor in March. We are thankful for Brother Roger Allen, his wife Michelle, and son Joe for following the Lord in taking Fellowship. Please continue to lift this family and the church up in prayer as God binds their hearts and blesses the ministry.
We are currently working at Grace Baptist in Ky. They have a few men that they are calling to come preach in January and February. Lord willing, their new Pastor will be among them. As for us, this means we have more availability to help other ministries. We have been contacted by another church to come and help them while they are without a pastor. Please pray for guidance with this new work.
Our schedule has begun to start to fill up for the coming year please be in prayer that God would use us in all he allows us to be a part of.
We have also learned some encouraging news – as a Pastor, I supported a missionary to Puerto Rico. He was on the field for a few years when my wife and I were able to go visit him and his family. Within a few hours, he shared the struggles that his family was going through. When I asked why I had never read of these struggles in his support letter, he replied if I wrote these things, “I would lose over half my support”. This floored me. The Lord used this family to show us the need for the ministry that God has called us to. There are missionaries and pastors who are secretly struggling in the work for the Lord. The update is that after a year back in the states, they are returning to Puerto Rico, to resume the only English speaking church on the island. The need is great. Please remember this family!
As we close, we ask that you please remember a few prayer requests:
- Pray that God will provide Pastors for Grace Baptist and Creston Baptist that we are currently helping.
- Pray as I try to Biblically instruct each church that God would give me clear direction.
- Pray for these congregations… that they stay encouraged in the Lord.
- Pray for us as we seek what God would have us do in service to these local churches and to the missionaries He puts in our path.
- Pray for our ministry partners, Mike and Kelly Sutphin as they are currently working in Alaska.
As always, thank you for your support and mostly your prayers. We could not do what we have been able to do without the Lord! Thank you! Pastor, if there is anything we can do to be of service, please let us know.
Jimmy and Melissa Perkins
September – December 2023
Dear Pastor and Church Family,
Hello church family! We pray that you all are doing well. We have had a busy time in the ministry the past few months. It has been amazing to see the providential hand of God work. We are still working with two churches in Kentucky. Let me correct myself – God has been working. He has sent a candidate for each church. We are not sure as of today (9/8) if they are going to be the man to take each church, but we are praying that the Lord’s will be done.
Grace Baptist is looking forward to a short revival meeting in September, with Brothers Brian Bridges and Jimbo Seaton preaching nightly. Please pray for this meeting! We were also, with the help of the Lord, able to replace the roof of one of the church’s fellowship hall. Huge thank you to the men of Grace Baptist in Liberty and Pleasant Run Baptist in Parksville for volunteering their time and for our supporting churches who gave specifically for this project. The small congregation was greatly encouraged!
In August, we were able to travel to Wyoming to participate in the first IMS meeting. There, we were able to minister to some missionary families to Utah. They were able to meet each other, fellowship, and make connections that hopefully will be used to encourage each other and support each other in the work that God has called each of them to do in Utah. There was a lot of work involved, but great blessings received! The verse for the meeting was Psalms 34:3 “O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.” Focusing on the Lord, laying aside egos, the need to promote ministries or self, and being honest with where you are with God and in the ministry were just a few drops of the worship that flowed during the meeting. Immense help was received!
As we close, we ask that you please remember a few prayer requests:
- Pray that the men coming to candidate for Grace Baptist and Fellowship Baptist in Kentucky are the men that God would have to lead these congregations, and if not that He would make it known.
- Pray as I try to Biblically instruct each church that God would give me clear direction.
- Pray for these congregations. Grace has been without a Pastor for quite a while and Fellowship is still morning the death of their dear Pastor.
- Pray for us as we seek what God would have us do in service to these local churches and to the missionaries He puts in our path.
As always, thank you for your support and mostly your prayers. We could not do what we have been able to do without the Lord! Thank you! Pastor, if there is anything we can do to be of service, please let us know.
June-August
Dear Pastor and Church Family,
We pray that you all are doing well. This last month has been busy. Along with Grace Baptist, we have begun working with another church.
Grace Baptist is doing well and eagerly waiting for their new Pastor. We did have a candidate for them, but the Lord had different plans. We are planning a Vacation Bible School for the end of July and a revival in the fall (Lord wiling). The Lord has given guidance in moving the church forward in spiritual growth and preparation for their Pastor, while still actively serving the Lord in the community. They are wanting to do more visitation, door knocking, and witnessing. This is a church that is hungry for the Lord which is a true blessing for us to witness. Please continue to pray for the Lord to send Grace a Pastor!
The new church is a church which sadly, their Pastor of the past 10 years passed away in March. The remaining members, including the Pastor’s widow, are still in a state of morning. They have been only having 1 service a week, but with the help of a preacher friend, they are now going to have 2 on Sunday. This is a big step in the right direction. The people need the preaching of the word and comfort that only the Holy Spirit can give. Along with spiritual encouragement, the church has some building maintenance issues that the elderly congregation cannot handle right now. The Lord has given us some direction so that we may be able to help them. Please pray for this church to heal from this loss and for the Lord to send new leadership!
As far as our work, we have a meeting with Moore’s Temple Baptist in Hampton, GA July 9-12 with Pastor Jake Hayslip. We are looking forward to being with these folks. Also, in August, we plan on being out west in Wyoming with brother Mike as we try to be an encouragement to some of our missionary families. Please pray that the Lord will use us for His glory.
God Bless,
Jimmy & Melissa Perkins
March-May 2023
Dear Pastor and Church Family,
As we begin the month of March, it is our desire to
- Honor God with all we do
- Willingly obey what He would have us to do.
These should be the desire of every born-again believer.
We have been privileged to present the ministry and preach at a few churches in Franklin and Hampton, Georgia recently. The folks there were so kind to us. We pray that God will bless those works and that church family. When we are in Liberty, we are still helping at Grace Baptist in Kentucky until the Lord would provide a pastor.
We are excited and looking forward for the opportunities that God has and will open up for us to present the ministry. Please continue to pray for us in that area.
We also are looking for more areas to be able to help churches, pastors, and missionaries. If you know of a pastor who needs help because of illness or maybe needs to take a sabbatical, please share our ministry with them. We want to let God use us to strengthen the local pastor and church who may need encouragement. Many smaller churches cannot afford to pay for fill in preaching. It is our desire to keep these churches and pastors going for the glory of the Lord and to help in carrying their burdens.
Please continue to lift us up in prayer as we will continue to pray for you.
Also, we need to inform you that we are changing our support church/address. You can send any support going forward to
Son Rise Baptist Church.
1410 Thompson Rd. Hartselle, AL 35640
These changes will allow us to better serve in more areas. If you have Any questions regarding these changes please feel free to contact us. Make checks out to Son Rise Baptist and write Jimmy Perkins in the memo. Thank you for your prayers.
God Bless,
Jimmy and Melissa Perkins Matt. 6:33
Sept-Nov. 2022
Dear Pastor and Church Family,
Our prayer is that we find you all well. We are presently serving at Grace Baptist in Liberty, Kentucky. God has really been blessing at Grace, we recently completed a three day revival meeting where God seemed to move in the lives of many families. Although the people there have been growing spiritually, they are still in need of a Pastor. We ask that you please keep them in your prayers and that God would send the man He wants to fill the pulpit as their Pastor.
The need for the ministry to the local church and missionaries is almost overwhelming. Calls come regularly from churches without Pastors and needing help. Missionaries sadly are still leaving the field defeated on a daily basis. Please pray for one of the missionaries we have worked to try to help, as they are leaving the field returning home later this month. God knows their situation and needs.
While we have been so blessed to step into this ministry so quick, it left us with little time to raise our support. We continue to have needs in this area and believe God will meet these needs as He is Faithful.
To our existing supporters, thank you for your faithfulness and most of all your prayers. If you have any prayer requests or if we can be a blessing to you, please let us know. As always, we are so grateful for what God is doing with us and for us in this ministry.
May 23, 2022
Dear Friends and Supporters,
We pray this letter finds you well. We wanted to update you on what we are doing in the ministry. Since I stepped away from pastoring last October, God has been working. In January I was contacted by a church that needed help. At that time, the church had been without a Pastor for over a year. The last two Pastors of the church had left a great void among the congregation. I went and preached for them in January and explained what we had been called to do in in this missionary work. After praying, they asked us to come and help at their church.
We have been at Grace Baptist Church since the end of January and God has really blessed. When we started there, the people were weary and very discouraged. But God! I like that phrase. But God began to work. The once empty altars are being used, joy is back among the members, and Christ is lifted up. God has reignited the spark of worship in the congregation. After every Sunday night service, the members remain and gather around the altar together. They are praying for the man of God who will fill the pulpit and lead them. They are excited and praying for their Under-Shepherd before he even comes.
What can you do? Join them in prayer that God will send the right man to Grace Baptist Church in Liberty, Kentucky. Please continue to pray for me that I will lead these people to that end and for wisdom in the work God has called me to do. Also, please be in prayer that God will direct us to where He wants us to be in this ministry.
Lastly, we cannot thank you enough for your support. Your prayers, calls, and cards are so valuable and precious to us. If there is anything we can do for you, please let us know.
God Bless You, Jimmy and Melissa Perkins