It is hard to believe that four years ago, I was elected Mission Strategist for Haywood Baptists! "Time flies when you're having fun," it is said. There have been many reasons to celebrate what God is doing through our Haywood Baptist churches. That does not mean there have not been challenges, too. Still, God is faithful and I am grateful for the privilege of serving here.
During this time, we have begun work on our new offices as we head toward a true "Haywood Baptist Mission Center." Currently, we have an architect drawing plans as we hope to be able to house mission teams here. As we have seen the destruction from Hurricane Helene, we can agree that having places where work teams can stay is a vital part of our rebuild efforts. West Canton has continued to use these facilities as they near completion of their renovation.
I was able to attend ground-breaking for Biltmore Church's Waynesville campus. There are some four hundred plus members who have been driving from Haywood to Buncombe who will now have a house of worship near them. Curt McClure is the campus pastor, and a faithful servant of the Lord, that I have been blessed to know for several years.
I was invited to preach at Beaverdam Baptist Church in July. My wife and I were warmly received. I spoke at our Pastors' Conference on July 29, August 26, and October 28. I preached at Concord Baptist Church in Bostic on August 4. Certificates for giving to the NC Missions Offering were presented by me to Crestview Baptist, Oak Grove Baptist, and Green Valley Baptist during August. I preached Homecoming at Pole Creek Baptist Church on September 8. This past Lord's Day, I was blessed to be part of ordaining a deacon at Rock Springs.
I have been participating on the board of Word of Grace Ministries. This chaplaincy ministry is headed up by Wesley Stephens. I would encourage you to support his outreach to the jails and nursing homes. I counseled with a couple having marital difficulties. I also counseled a young man dealing with discouragement. My wife and I met with a lesbian and shared the Gospel with her. There were many conversations with our pastors, offering words of counsel and encouragement.
For 9 weeks, I met with a Haywood County man for discipleship. I was blessed to baptize a young man at Mt. Zion on July 28. I finished teaching the Summer Quarter at Fruitland Baptist Bible College, where I am professor of Biblical Counseling. I participated in ServeNC by assisting Crestview Baptist Church in their work at Broyhill Children's Home. I also attended the Western Area Conference at Broyhill. I participated in a Labor Day Outreach with Crestview at the Canton Labor Day Festival. I attended three "Seminary for a Day" classes in conjunction with Buncombe Baptists, along with several of our pastors.
I met with Jason Miller and conversed with him numerous times concerning his call to be a Regional Catalyst for the Baptist State Convention. I was part of his sending service at Dutch Cove. Since that time, I have begun an intentional interim pastorate with Dutch Cove.
During this time, we hired Karen Holcomb as the new Ministry Assistant here at the Association. She has "hit the ground running." The Lord has blessed us with someone so capable. We are grateful for the good work done by Kayla Mashburn and Roarke Mabe and are sorry to see them go. Kayla resigned to be full-time mom and Roarke to pursue his schooling. Please make Karen feel welcome!
Multitudes of communications and relief distributions have been a daily task for this Association since the hurricane. We thank God for the partnership with our churches, jumping in and making a difference. You are doing great Gospel work! Still, there is so much more to be done.
Yours for God's Glory,
Dennis Thurman, AMS
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