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July 2008
Dear supporting friends,
We just recently celebrated our one year anniversary! The year
has flown by. God worked in so many different ways that it is
hard to remember all of them. He provided a beautiful
building, housing, auditorium chairs, song books, a pulpit, a
piano, a baptistery and changing rooms. There was also a paved
parking lot, a 66 passenger bus, an 18 passenger shuttle bus,
a 1997 Ford pickup, flags, a front porch, a steeple, Sunday
School chairs and tables, a sound system...the list just goes
on and on.
It is such a blessing to reflect back on our first year and
see all that God did for us. What a wonderful God we serve! He
is the one who brought the 365 first time visitors that walked
through our doors ! And God is the one who brought the 85
precious souls who asked Jesus Christ to come into their
lives. We could never thank Him enough!
It is exciting that we now have seven faithful families
attending regularly who are all young in Christ. And how could
I not mention the blessing my family has been as they
faithfully serve Christ at my side? We have many other
projects in our plan to reach Appalachia. Pease continue to
pray for us as we shine the Gospel Light to reach Appalachia
for Christ.
I will close with an invitation to our Eastern Kentucky
Mountain Tent Meeting on September 6th-11th. Pastor Jeff
Fugate, Russell Anderson and Brother David Frazie are this
year's speakers. We would love to have you attend and see with
your own eyes what the Lord is doing here. God bless you.
August 2007
Dear supporting friends,
It is time again for another update on CrossRidge Baptist
Church. I am happy to report that CrossRidge Baptist Church is
right under the spout where God's blessings are pouring out!
Every day God seems to bless in so many different ways. Here
are some of the wonderful things going on:
* In our three months of ministry there have been 63 precious
souls saved! If only we could hear those angels singing!
* We have had 186 first time visitors.
* Since sharing our need for a baptistery, the need has been
met and more! We will soon have it ready to use!
* Our first teen activity saw fifteen teenagers attend with 3
coming to Christ!
* Twelve teens accepted Christ and walked the isle this last
month!
* Average attendance over the last month
27 Sunday School
33 Sunday Morning Service (high day of 57)
30 Sunday Evening Service
26 Wednesday Evening Service
13 Visitors a week
I know you rejoice with me as you read what God is doing here
in this new work in the Appalachian mountains of Kentucky!
I ask you to pray with us over a need that has come up. Our
family heads three different directions before each service,
filling up our vehicles with those who need a ride to church.
We need bigger means of transportation. We do have a 66
passenger bus but it cannot make it up the tiny mountain
roads. We are in need of a van or shuttle bus to be more
effective. We know that God will fill that need, just as He
has in every circumstance thus far.
Would you also please pray for our three youngest girls as
they start a new school this fall? This will be a change for
them as they have been homeschooled in the past. Also pray for
Sindi who will help teach at this same school. One of my
dreams for the future is to start our own christian school.
There is much potential and need here in our area. Thank you
for your prayers for our ministry. God is faithful!
Steve & Sindi Richardson
July 2007
Hello to all our friends and supporters! CrossRidge
Baptist Church is nine weeks old and many exciting
things have happened since our last newsletter. We
have had 116 first time visitors come to our new
church. We are averaging 27 on Sunday mornings and in
the last four weeks, we have averaged 19 on Sunday
evenings. At our first Junior Activity, 18 children
came! But, the best news has been saved for last: 40
souls have come to know Christ!! Please pray for them
to attend church and grow in Him.
There has been work done around our beautiful property
as well. We had our parking lot paved to make it more
convenient to park our cars. Madison Baptist Church
in Minford, Ohio donated the funds for our pulpit
which Bro. Jerry Smith from Clays Mill Road Baptist
Church in Lexington built us a beautiful wood pulpit.
We purchased a water cooler for our auditorium and
plans are being made for a front porch with a
steeple. CrossRidge Baptist Church is becoming a
beautiful place to visit and we are so thankful for
the Lord's provision.
We still have need for a new Baptistery. With the
tank, water heater, paneling and four changing rooms,
the cost is $800. Please pray that God will supply
this need just as He done all along.
Our family is doing well. Leeanna graduated from high
school in June and we had a wonderful time of sharing
with our family and our friends. We are very proud of
her as she works toward becoming a secretary. Renae
had an 8th grade promotion the same day. Lacey
continues to make plans for her December wedding and
Nicole and Katie are enjoying their summer off.
We know that God has a purpose and a plan for
CrossRidge Baptist Church and it is a privilege to
watch the Lord work here in Southeastern Kentucky.
Please keep us in your prayers as we serve Him.
Pastor
Steven K. Richardson
May 2007
Dear
supporting churches and friends,
Praise the Lord! As of April
16, 2007, our new building is sitting on its
foundation! It had a rocky beginning as the foundation
was put in wrong and it took them some time to correct
the problem. They finally had to get two cranes to lift
the units into place. They now have finished the
interior, skirting, plumbing and septic system.
The electrical work should be completed in the next few
weeks. Lord willing, our first Sunday will be May 20th. The
Lord has answered so many of our prayers. Pastor Kevin
Gullian and Madison Baptist Church of Minford, Ohio, is
now one of our new supporting churches. They also were
kind enough to donate funds for a pulpit.
Our first Annual
Mountain Memorial Tent
Meeting will be held Tuesday, May 28th thru
Friday, June 1st. It will also double as our Grand
Opening Revival. We want to invite each and everyone of
you to come and be a part of this special occasion. We
have three speakers: myself, Dr. Jeff Fugate and
Dr. Russell Anderson. Dr. Fugate, pastor of Clays Mill
Road Baptist Church, will speak Tuesday, Thursday and
Friday evening at 7:00 pm. Dr. Anderson, born and
raised in McDowell, will speak each evening and I also
will speak on Wednesday evening.
We are so thrilled to have
these men come and be a part of our meetings. Both Dr.
Fugate and Dr. Anderson helped to make CrossRidge Baptist
Church a reality. Dr. Anderson has donated much of the
funds to start our church. He has donated over $35
million to the Lord's work, helped start over 700
churches and 10 Bible colleges and has seen over 8
million souls saved both here in the states and many
countries abroad.
Dr. Fugate has had a goal of
starting 50 churches in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
CrossRidge Baptist Church is number 13 and number 14 is
starting May 20th as well.
We do have family news.
Lacey, our oldest daughter, is now engaged to Brent
Schuck. They met last year at Commonwealth Baptist
College. He is from Evansville, Indiana. They are to be
married December 29th of this year. Leeanna is
graduating from high school on June 9th and is praying
about which college to attend. Her graduation ceremony
will be at Willow Valley with her friend, Michelle
Treadway. Also at Willow Valley, I will be hosting the
4th Annual Pastor’s Encouragement Conference on June 4th
and 5th.
We are excited about what God
is doing here in Floyd County, Kentucky. Please keep us
in your prayers. We are looking forward to beginning the
ministry of CrossRidge Baptist Church.
Pastor
Steven K. Richardson
February 2007
Dear Brothers & Sisters in
Christ,
It a
wonderful thing to serve such a great and awesome God. We
would like to share with you how God has answered prayer
since the last newsletter.
* Auditorium chairs (80 total) $3,840
* Baptistery and heater (Horse Troth decorated) $1,200
* Gospel Tracts (quantity of 10,000) $800 ******
Clays Mill Road Baptist Church
* Piano $600 ******
Donated by Hardin Community
* Pulpit
* Porch for front of modular $2000
* Landscaping $800
* Church Sign $500 *******
Clays Mill Road Baptist Church
As
you can see, there are still some needed items but the Lord
is supplying, for which we are truly thankful.
This
week, we are traveling to Buffalo Ridge Baptist Church in
Gray, Tennessee, to pick up a 1984 Chevy bus which they have
graciously given us. It will be a great bus to get us
started in our ministry.
Many of
you have been asking about the house that was for
sale across the street from our property. We did talk with
the owners again and they are pretty firm on selling
for $270,000. Please pray for wisdom and discernment and
that God’s will and work will be accomplished whether it is
this home or another for us. We are still asking God to give
us this house. The persons that were interested in our
double wide at Willow Valley will now not be able to
purchase it. Again, we ask for your prayer that the double
wide will sell so that we can focus fully in Kentucky.
We took
advantage of the time before our Church begins and went to
Newports News, Virginia, to visit my sister and her family
and watch my niece play with her basketball team. We had a
great time! February 8th and 9th we
will be singing at a Revival Fires Conference at
Resurrection Baptist Church with Pastor Blakeman in
Circleville, Ohio. During this time we will be able to visit
with our family in Grove City.
Again, thank you for your prayers, concern and support for
our ministry. We have a web site under construction
www.CrossRidge.org and we hope you will keep up
with our progress. My brother-in-law, Steve Fletcher, from
Newport News, Virginia, has worked very hard on this site
and is doing a great job!
CrossRidge Baptist Church
9239 Kentucky Route 122
McDowell, Kentucky 41647
www.CrossRidge.org
Home and Church (606) 377-2560
Cell (606) 791-3164
January 2007
Dear Partners in Christ,
We write with excitement as we begin this new ministry in
which God has led us. As we look back over the past years, we
can see His working in our lives as He used people and
situations to bring us to this point. We know that there is
much ahead of us and we know that it can not be accomplished
in our own power. We rely on the work of Jesus Christ and
understand that it is only through HIM that the Holy Spirit
will begin a work here. We ask for your prayers for our family
and for CrossRidge Baptist Church as we seek to begin a church
in McDowell, Kentucky.
We would like to share with you all that God has accomplished
so far:
* Land purchased ($75,000 from Clays Mill Road Baptist Church
of Lexington, Kentucky)
* Land Survey ($2,500 from Clays Mill Road Baptist Church of
Lexington, Kentucky)
* Property clearing (first time in many years)
*Entrance Way Permit by the State of Kentucky
* 74 x42 Modular purchase to use for church auditorium
($85,000 from Clays Mill Road Baptist Church, Lexington, Ky)
*Hymnals donated by Bible Baptist Church of Grove City, Ohio
* Septic System approval by Kentucky Health Department
* Accepted bid for septic system ($3,530 from Clays Mill Road
Baptist Church of Lexington, Kentucky)
* Redirection and repair of gas line ($500 from Clays Mill
Road Baptist Church of Lexington, Kentucky)
* Relocation of creek, removal of brush and parking lot
readiness which allowed for twice the room for parking ($700
from Clays Mill Road Baptist Church of Lexington, Kentucky)
* 160 tons of Gravel #2 (base) and bobcat rental ($2163 from
Clays Mill Road Baptist Church of Lexington, Kentucky)
We want to express our deep appreciation for our monthly
supporters and for those who keep us before the Lord in
prayer. As you can see, Pastor Jeff Fugate and Clays Mill
Baptist Church has done so much for us. We are so thankful for
them. Though we did lose a supporting church recently, God has
given us new supporters through Bible Baptist Church in Grove
City, Ohio and Central Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon, Kentucky.
Here are some still much needed items for our new church:
* Auditorium chairs (80 total) $3,840
* Baptistery and heater (Horse Troth decorated) $1,200
* Gospel Tracts (quantity of 10,000) $800
* Piano $600
* Pulpit
* Porch for front of modular $2000
* Landscaping $800
* Church Sign $500
We have an urgent need in the area of our housing situation.
There is a house on the property, built in 1924. As we worked
on the house in the hopes of moving our family in, it became
obvious it would not be wise to continue putting money into
it. It could possibly be used for Sunday School rooms, but not
for every day use. We have done much searching in the area
around McDowell for a rental accommodating a family of seven,
but we have not had much success. Due to the coal mines, the
cost of housing is very high.
There is a house across the street from the property that is
for sale. It is a large home of 5023 square feet and 56 acres
which is mostly mountainside. I have included a picture of it.
It has five bedrooms, 4 baths, living room, dining room,
livable basement and free gas heating. Not only would it be a
good size for my family but would be convenient for church use
as well, being so close. We talked the owners down from
$340,000 to possibly $225,000. It is still a great deal of
money and we do not want to have a great burden on us. We
would like to work full time for the church and not have to
work outside of the ministry. Please pray for wisdom and
discernment and that God’s will be accomplished whether it is
this home or another for us.
Again, thank you for your prayers, concern and support for our
ministry. We have a website under construction which we will
share with you. Our new address and phone numbers are:
CrossRidge Baptist Church
9239 Kentucky Route 122
McDowell, Kentucky 41647
www.CrossRidge.org
Home and Church (606) 377-2560
Cell (606) 791-3164
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