Voice of Hope

September 2007 OR, Hood River - Pacific Northwest Regional Ladies Retreat - September 21-23 TN, Kingsport - Youth Leaders Training Conference - Sept. 25-30 Freeport, Bahamas - Bahamas Leadership Development Institute - Sept. 16-21 El Salvador - Institute of Children's Ministry - Sept. 19-27 October 2007 NC, Ridgecrest - Southeast Regional Ladies Retreat - October 5-7 TN, Kingsport - Ministry Partners Retreat - Oct. 26-28 TX, Warda - Texas Relational Ministry School - Oct. 26-27 WY, Sheridan - Rocky Mountains Regional Ladies Retreat - October 12-14 Canada, Ottawa - Center for Biblical Leadership School - Oct. 1-5 Ukraine, Kiev - Connecting In Service: Kiev '07 - Oct.11-14 Georgia - Institute of Children's Ministry - Oct. 5-14 November 2007 FL, Fort Walton Beach - Gulf Shores Regional Ladies Retreat - Nov. 16-18 KY, Lake Barkley - Lake Barkley Regional Ladies Retreat - Nov. 9-11 MD, Salisbury - East Coast School of Ministry - Nov. 2-3 Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo - Centr...

I learned today of the passing of retired minister, Lois Smith. The following arrangements have been set: Viewing Sunday - 3:00 - 6:00 p.m. Keith St. church Service Sunday - 6:00 p.m. Keith St. church Please join me in prayer for her family.

A youth training conference has been scheduled by our International Youth Ministries Department for September 25-29, 2007 in Kingsport, Tennessee. CLICK HERE to see the conference site, and CLICK HERE to go to the International Youth Site for more information

"In our opinion, the greatest enemy of world evangelization is Christian rhetoric--the continual rhetorizing (playing the orator), discussing, arguing, the endless talking and preaching about evangelizing the world, without any of the crucial implementation." -- David V. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson in Our Globe and How to Reach It. Christianity Today, Vol. 37, no. 13. Mt 28:19; Ac 26:17-18

I just received this from Pastor Johnny Adkins Sis. Peggy Wynn will be at Jim Rush Funeral Home (North Chapel) On North Lee Hwy. Visitation is 6-9 pm on Friday and the service will be at 2pm Saturday at the Funeral Home. Thanks for all of the prayers and visits. Bro. Wynn appreciates all of your continued prayers.

I JUST RECEIVED THIS EMAIL NOTICE, AND I AM PASSING IT ON... We have lost a wonderful sister in the Lord. She loved the Lord and loved people. Peggy Wynn passed away last night somewhere around 8:30. They had taken her home as that was what she and the family wanted. They had removed the ventilator at the hospital at 9:30 a.m., taking her home at 10:15 a.m. Hospice and the family was there for Brother Wynn—the two sons, John & Jim and Sister Wynn’s sister, Virginia, made it in before she died. The lady from Hospice that was there when Peggy passed away made it much easier for the family. Brother Wynn said she was a God-send. Eva was her name and could she every sing! She sang Beulah Land—Mahalia Jackson had nothing on Eva—what a voice! Someone will be giving funeral arrangements later. Brother Wynn is to meet with the directors at 11:00 today. They appreciate your prayers. Jenna Allen Global Outreach/Harvest Partners

Our hearts are pumping a little stronger today, why? Because, it's football time. This HAS to be my favorite time of the year...it will cool off soon and we will be in full swing with the sport of champions. With that in mind, I thought you might enjoy the following taken from Parson's Biblical Illustrator (Source is credited at the bottom)... "In a never-ending effort to attract the unchurched, some churches have considered translating their unfamiliar terminology into familiar football phrases. Although these definitions are not the best football and certainly not the best theology, they would help initiate football fans into the complexities of church life. EXTRA POINT: What you receive when you tell the preacher his sermon was too short. FACE MASK: Smiling and saying everything is fine when it isn't. BLOCKING: Talking endlessly to the pastor at the church door and keeping everyone else from exiting. DRAFT CHOICE: The decision to sit close to an air-conditio...

The arrangements for Nelda Davis are: Visitation 5:00 - 9:00 p.m. Wednesday, August 29th Grissom Funeral Home (N. Ocoee St. - Cleveland) Service 11:00 a.m. Thursday - August 30th Peerless Rd. church *Body will lie in state one hour prior to service Interment in Sunset Memorial Gardens

Dear Friends, I have been having a terrible time with my email account at the "tncogop" address. Please send any future email to me at the following address: ecmckinley@mac.com Thanks for your help. God bless.

Please be in prayer for the family of Nelda Davis. Londa Richardson, Sister Nelda's niece shared that she passed away this evening (Monday). Sister Davis was a precious lady and will surely be missed. Nelda was sister to Bishop Allen Davis, a former general appointee. When more details are made available, I will pass them along to you.

Good morning Bro. McKinley, Our Children's Church, Heavenly Warriors, held an event on Sunday morning called "Super Sunday Soak Down." Yesterday was a great day @ Empowered Ministries, not only did over 50 children participate but 9 gave their hearts to the Lord. It was an incredible event featuring water games for children ages 5 - 13. There were over 2,000 water balloons, squirt guns, snow cones and many other water games. I was a little worried about what kind of turn out we would have. Our volunteers worked so hard and I missed the newspaper deadline to advertise. The only advertisement we had was word of mouth and 2 signs in the community. I was very pleased with the turn out, the enthusiasm of our volunteers and of course the decisions made for Christ. This event will excite and propel us into our October revival and our Harvest Festival to counter halloween. God is great and moving where people desire His touch. Thank goodness for Kenny and Amanda Manley,...

Last Saturday, I flew out of Nashville, headed for Salisbury, Maryland to conduct revival services at the Church of God of Prophecy, Tilghman Road. Pastor Gary Smith picked me up at the airport, and I was privileged to minister Sunday morning and Sunday night at his church. Many of you know Gary and his wife Cynthia as being very active in childrens ministries and in leadership development. Just a month ago, Pastor Smith and his congregation were honored by the 700 Club as their "Church of the Week." Their ministry to the Salisbury (and surrounding) communities were featured on the television broadcast send in all of the United States and dozens of countries across the world. The revival continues through Wednesday night, and I leave on a very early flight to return to the Volunteer State. So far several have received the Lord and the services have been extremely well attended. I would appreciate your prayers as we continue in our journey together to build the Kingdom of ...

I have been notified that Sister Peggy Wynn is currently hospitalized and in need of our prayers. Her husband, Ray was the President of the Bible Training Institute in Cleveland for many years. Please join me in prayer for both of them.

At approximately 11:00 p.m., Wednesday evening, Bishop Dave Cabales went home to be with the Lord. A Memorial Service is scheduled on Saturday, September 1, 2007 at 2:30 in the afternoon. The Memorial Service will be held at the Westminster Chapel, 13646 N.E. 24th St., Bellevue, WA.Please continue to keep Sister Kaye and the family in your prayers.WA/AK Regional Overseer, Bishop Don Knoblich

As many of you know, Bishop Eugene Weakley, former overseer and mentor to many of us has published his memoirs. You may purchase it in these locations: http://geneweakley.com eBay White Wing Publishing House

"D.L. Moody and his son Will boarded the ocean liner Spree at Southampton, England, on November 23, 1892. Moody had just finished revival meetings in London, including eight days of services in Spurgeon's Tabernacle, and now he was bound for New York. Foremost in his mind, besides seeing his family and students again, was the great campaign he was planning for the Chicago World's Exhibition the following year. On the third morning of the trip, passengers were startled by a loud crash and a shock going through the ship. Will hurried out to the deck. He quickly returned to say that the shaft of the vessel was broken. "The ship's sinking, Father," he said. The disabled ship, carrying hundreds of passengers, drifted helplessly away from the sea lanes. The vessel was taking on so much water that its pumps were useless. The crew prepared lifeboats and provisions, but they realized the small boats would soon perish in the rough seas. So they mustered passenger...

This morning, Debra and I were privileged to worship with the congregation of the mission work in Henderson, located in West Tennessee. This was a very special day, in that it was the one-year-anniversary of the work of Joe and Barbara Watson in Henderson. It was also special, because we participated in a ground-breaking ceremony for the new church. This is quite an accomplishment for the young congregation, and one I was thrilled to see. The land was donated for the church, and is located just south of the Henderson City limits on Hwy 45, a major highway. Such a prominent location is sure to be a great attraction to those looking for a church alive! This mission church, known as "Living Waters Fellowship" lives us to the name they've chosen. I was especially blessed to see a brief history of their beginning and the statement of purpose which I am sharing with you today.... OUR BEGINNING On August 20, 2006 a mission of the Church of God of Prophecy opened its doors just s...

Tonight, I had the privilege of officiating a "revewal" of wedding vows for our pastor at Chapel Hill, Keith Tucker and his lovely wife Vickie. This took place at the Columbia church, where 25-years-ago, they were married. Their two children "stood" with them, Brian and Sarah. Debra and I enjoyed the fellowship that followed at a catered event. Many of you may know that when I served as Senior Pastor at Columbia, Keith was our youth pastor and Vickie was our children's pastor. We love them both so much, and were honored to take part in this special occas ion.

You can now download a copy of the 2007 Change of Appointments document in a pdf format by CLICKING HERE Please note that some appointments are still pending, so this is NOT a final list.

I received this notice from Pastor Jack Norris "On July 20, 2007, Roscoe Long, a faithful member of our church went to be with the Lord. He was a member of the Arrowhead Church for many years before coming to Rockwood. The church has lost a faithful warrior, a diligent worshipper, a man of integrity. His burial was on Wednesday, July 25, the week of the State Convention. He left behind two daughers, Sandra Long of California and Vickie Byrd & husband David, missionaries in Guatemala, and one granddaughter, Missy Byrd of Atlanta Georgia. Roscoe was married to Doris, a member of the well known Weaver family from Knoxville. Please keep this family in prayers."

Please join me in praying for a friend in Wyoming. Pastor David Taylor serves the Casper, Wyoming Church of God of Prophecy, along with his wife Glenda. This week he underwent a multiple by-pass heart surgery, and he is not recovering as hoped. David is a wonderful man of God who is loved and respected by the people of the Northwest Region. Will you please join me in praying for him and his family? God bless.

I am posting this note from Joshua Lynn, Youth Director for Middle and West Tennessee (CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO THE RIGHT TO VIEW AND PRINT A FULL IMAGE OF THE FLYER) I am sure you received this as well, but I thought you might want to drop it into a blog as well. It appears the cost of this Youth leadership training has come down. A week in a room by yourself is now $1,125 and if you room with 3 others it would be $650. This includes room, all meals, and of coarse [sic] the training and its resources. From the flyer below it appears that you could also either commute or get your own lodging and meals you could attend all week for $300.

BAGGETTS CHAPEL IN CUNNINGHAM HAD OUR FIRST SERVICE AND OPEN HOUSE IN OUR NEW 6,000 SQ. FT. BUILDING, Sunday August 12th. This was phase one of their building program. Phase two will include a 5000 sq. ft. sanctuary (the slab is already in place for this). Phase three will be a 5,000 sq. ft. gym (this is just in the site plan of the building program and will be built as God directs).. Wing of Faith from Murfreesboro was with us and recorded a live CD. God blessed us with 175 in attendance for morning worship with another 89 coming in from area churches for our open house at 12:30. The key word here is OPEN. Open house – Everyone is Welcome in this place. We extend to Open arms – We care about people and their needs Open minds – we don’t have an agenda - God rules – This is an act of faith We have plans but our plans are OPEN to change as God leads. Open Vision – The future is as bright as the SON as God open doors we are going follow. Serving God is an adventure. Have you notice that H...

I am publishing this prayer request with permission from the sender. Please join us in prayer. Good morning! We are sending this e-mail out, along with many others, asking for prayer. Please do not feel like we are sending this to you because we only think people in positions can pray. We are asking one because you are the elder of the church, and two because we know that you all know and come in contact with soo many people. I have never ever felt impressed to do this until now. So, I am asking. Jurnee was born with not enough myelin in her brain. It is the fatty tissue that surrounds the nerves in the brain. There was no real reason that any doctor can find as to why this happened. We only know that God chose Jurnee for a reason. This seems to affect her alot like CP kids. Her speech is severly delayed, her tongue is a very weak muscle which affects her swallow,and she does not have a controlled steady gate with her walk. We are still at this time not sure where her learning curve ...

I'm sharing an email I received from Pastor Leon Graves: A BIG THANKS to all who were able to be with us during this weeks revival at the 'FIREHOUSE' with the youth. We had 9 area churches to participate in one or more nights of the revival. Youth pastors and/or youth from these churches were blessed and also blessed our youth in attendance and worship. We averaged 191 in attendance for the week. Monday night there were 205 youth and older, then on Friday night we saw 224 come to praise and worship. Youth Pastor, Kevin Carver delivered great anointed messages nightly, the praise team led us in outstanding worship. Our dance and drama team,(Ignite) was on stage nightly to begin each session as we prepared our hearts for God to bless. Again, Thank You for coming!!!!

This last week, Debra and I tried to get away for a few days. With the days leading up to the Bi-annual state convention so full of preparation, and the work to be done immediately afterwards, we waited a week before trying to get out of town. It was good to get away, even though much of the time was spent trying to get retreat locations nailed down for the upcoming year. After some site tours, we still found ourselves working, even with time off. On Friday, I was thankful to get in a truck and go to Cincinnatti, Ohio to take in a Reds game, and enjoy the fellowship of some old friends and make some new ones. The men's group from Columbia (where I was pastor for eight years) makes this annual trip, and this is my second year to tag along. I appreciate them helping me to wind down and relax. Some of the other pastors in the area went along with the group, so it was good to get the time of fellowship with them. As I write (Sunday night) I am looking forward with anticipation to what ...

Brother McKinley, I hope this finds you and your family doing well. I wanted to let you know that during this past Wednesday Children's Kids Klub service we had SIX children give their hearts to the Lord! We are praising God for this and thank Him for what He is doing at Lakemoore! You are in our prayers! God Bless, Pastor Robert Carpenter

Greeneville (Jones Chapel) will have a "Ladies Retreat" September 20-22. Lodging arrangements can be made on sight. Pastor Helen Hall invites all ladies to attend. "This is our third year and the Lord is always with us." For further information and to register contact vhall@charter.net or phone 423-581-0384.

I am sharing an email I received from Pastor Steve Boshers at Collinwood. NOTE: These numbers in attendance are markedly above what it has been. Bishop, We had another great day, we had V.B.S. graduation, 45 for S.S., well over 50 for worship. After the invitation the Holy Ghost fell, 7 were saved, many others received comfort and had issues of physical problems healed. Service ended at around 1:15. I wanted to thank all the folks from Virginia who heard that small voice and came to Collinwood instead of going to Greece on a mission trip. We had over 50 different kids there at least one service and God really honored their faithfulness.. Steve INTO THE HARVEST!!!!

Baggetts Chapel Open House The Baggetts Chapel Church Corner of Hwy 13 and Logan Rd in Cunningham Will be having their first Service in their New Building August 12th 11am To Celebrate God‚s Blessing In a day of Praise and Fellowship we are having open house with the Wings of Faith from Murfreesboro Lunch and fellowship to follow service You are Welcome

This afternoon, I was honored to have a part in the funeral services for Sister Lillian Stagner. As many of you know, Sister Stagner served the Lord with gladness for many years. She was licensed as a minister in March 1955, three months before I was born. Pastor CC Winchester (Paris, TN) officiated the service, assisted by Gary Evans (Big Sandy, TN). Both represented the Church of God of Prophecy. The service was concluded by a prayer offered by one of the members of the family. Please join me in prayer for the Stagner family.

During the "Vision-Casting" session of the Bi-Annual State Convention recently conducted in Chattanooga, I shared that two of the churches in Tennessee have been designated as "Ministry Training Centers." This morning, was was privileged to be with the congregation of one of these two churches, Waverly, Tennessee Church of God of Prophecy. The local church, under the able leadership of Bishop Lloyd Davis, will serve as one of these locations where prospective pastors will be able to sharpen their skills. I am so thankful for the congregation there, and I look forward to what the Lord is going to do with this new endeavor.

It is surely one of the most touching stories in the New Testament. A story of a man, totally helpless and alone...yes, I said alone. Even in the midst of a multitude gathered around the same pool he was sitting at, he was alone. It was obviously a situation where it was "every man for himself." This man, according to John's gospel, was sitting by a pool called Bethesda waiting for an angel to move the water around. The legend had it that when this water was moving, the first person into the water would be healed of whatever disease or sickness he had. This particular man had been lame for 38 years...38 long years. Sounds pretty helpless, doesn't it? Now, a preacher stood in front of him, asking him if he really wanted to get better. Could you imagine the gall, or the outright ridiculous nature of such a question? "Can't the preacher see that I need help? Isn't it painfully obvious that my body has atrophied and I can't get around?" ...

I am saddened to inform you of the passing of Sister Lillian Stagner, a minister from the Camden church. These are the arrangements I have received: Visitation: Saturday beginning at 5:30 pm Services: Sunday afternoon at 2:00 pm The Oakdale Funeral Home of Camden 401 Hwy 641 N Camden, TN 38320 731-584-4343 YOU CAN SEE THE LOCATION BY CLICKING ON THE ADDRESS ABOVE.

"Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest." (John 4:35) Again today, I arose a little earlier than normal because of a meeting that was scheduled first thing. As I was waiting for the hookup to be completed for the meeting, I pondered what I would share with you today on this blog. My mind went to the scripture quoted above. Now I'll admit that you may have thought about, or preached this concept before, but I think I looked at it in a new way. Exactly what was Jesus saying? Most theologians believe this event took place in either December or January, which was about four months before the spring harvest would be gathered in, somewhere around mid-April. The particular crops Jesus was using as an illustration would have been planted in November, and by now (December or January) the grain would have been pushed above the earth surfa...

Not long ago a dear friend of mine passed away. She was an awesome older lady who started attending the church I was pastoring when her hairdresser invited her to a Sunday morning worship service. We hit it off right away...she was in her seventies, and to be honest she was quite "spunky." I had always appreciated her for that quality. It was my habit to visit her on Tuesday mornings, and would quite often sit with her husband and I would listen to his "war" stories from World War II." In served in the Army Air Corps (the name of our air forces until the U.S. Airforce was officially established in 1948) and flew multiple missions over Germany as part of a bomber air crew. He was as fascinating as his wife was. I remember one Tuesday morning that stands out to me, and I will never forget. It was a hot, sultry summer morning in Tennessee, and the humidity looked like fog in the early morning hours. As we sat at the kitchen table (which we often did) drinki...

Almost three years ago, the local church at Pulaski started a journey. On this journey, they found out that a new highway was coming through their property and they would have to vacate. Their church had been doing well under the capable leadership of David and Jeanie Malone, but you would think it would be an insurmountable task. This local church, known as "House on the Rock" was a combination of two congregations, when the Anthony Hill church was merged with the House on the Rock church. The Lord opened the door to sell the properties at Anthony Hill and the local church building in Pulaski. This proceeds of the sale were held in trust by the Tennessee State Administrative Offices while land was purchased on the primary route of US 64, between Pulaski and Interstate 65. David and Jeannie and the congregation worked hard to build a church for the glory of the Lord and they have done a wonderful job. While these are not the latest photos, they give you a good view of t...

Bro. McKinley Pine Grove is looking for a Youth Minister. (Salary - $1,000 a month) If you know of anyone please send any information to me. We would also like you to post this on your blog. Thank You Bro. Jeff Rice NOTE Brother Rice email: 06rices@frontiernet.net