First Day of School

On Monday, Micah and Andrew started school at Bridgeport Baptist Academy in Saginaw. They both love their new school. Micah is in 2nd grad in a combined class of 17. His teacher's name is Mrs. Allen who has been teaching for 30 years! Andrew is in K5 which is also a combined class with K4. There is a total of 11 students in Andrew's class. Andrew's teacher is Mrs. Corl who surrendered to full-time service as a result of one of Grandpa Flanders' sermons. The boys miss their school at Falls, but like their new school because of the cool playground (it has a ship!), the nice teachers (including a new principal named Pastor J.D.), and the fact that there as well as real lockers for elementary kids! Andrew has been "caught being good" three times already! So far, so good!

Tigers Game

Last night, I (John) took Micah, Andrew, and Caleb to Comerica Park in Detroit to see the Tigers play the lowly Indians. We had a great time! Mom and Dad Flanders came along with "Aunt Sus" (Susanna). Before the game, we got to meet relief pitcher Phil Coke. He was very nice and signed a bunch of stuff. We also happend too run into my cousin Crystal at the game. The tigers won 5-0 and we had a great time. We stayed after the game for Fireworks and got home very late. It was great to see the Tigers, but I so enjoyed the time spent with my family. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

"The Battle" Youth Outreach

Last night, Landmark Baptist Church hosted a youth rally for teens in our community called "The Battle". This outreach was led by a team from Baptist College of Ministry under the direction of Evangelist Jon Barber. Much labor went into recruiting throughout the week. We doubled our efforts by also canvassing for next week's VBS. Last night we had over 30 teens from our community come for the rally. There was a total of 10 teens and adults saved this week through recruiting (2) and the rally (8)! Praise the Lord! We are so thankful for the help of the team and for God's directly answering prayer. Please pray for next week's VBS!

Ordination and Installation Service

On Sunday, August 1st, I was ordained to the gospel ministry and officially installed as the pastor of Landmark Baptist Church. It was a very special day for our church. We had a church-wide picture, ham dinner on the grounds, and an installation service in the afternoon. The service was led by my dad and was attended by our own church family as well as by folks from Juniata, Mio, and Milwaukee! Pastor McMorris gave a great challenge to the church and Pastor Van gave a challenge to the candidate via video. It was a wonderful day... to God be the Glory great things He hath done.

Ordination

Well, it's official! By God's grace, I passed my ordination council last Friday morning. We had planned to have 6 or 7 pastors make up the council but several had to cancel at the last minute. In the end, the council was made up by Pastor Gary Hirth, Pastor Van Gelderen, and my dad. Though they were few in number, they certainly did not lack in Biblical knowledge or thoughtful questions. The questioning lasted aroud two and a half hours and was in the end a very good experience. I so appreciated the wisdom and spirituality of each of the men. Around 25 folks came to attend my "grilling". The council whole heartedly recommended me for ordination. The questioning was followed by a very nice dinner prepared by the wonderful ladies at Landmark. Ironically, Roast Beef was on the menu! Those who know me well know that I do not typically like roast beef. However, it was tolerable on Friday. I do have to admit that I ate muck more of the chicken so I am have not yet turned the corner on that issue:).