Orting Community Baptist Church

Orting, WA
Pastor Dale Gore

Our visit to Orting Baptist was very exciting! Tyler Huggins, a music major at Crown, accepted Christ as his Savior and was taught piano by one the members. We were very surprised when Pastor Gore asked us to perform a few skits in the evening service. We were so glad to have Julianna with us! As a former Mount Moriah Camp staff member, she was full of good ideas. All of the girls have been blessed with a great sense of humor and we not only made our audience laugh a lot, but we kept ourselves laughing also. After singing, testifying, and preaching, we did some fun skits and even got some of the congregation involved. The atmosphere of the church was happy and friendly. After the service, people were very talkative and truly made us feel at home. Thank you, to the Pastor and church family for inviting us to "serve the Lord with gladness" along with you.

Having fun with some skits:

Faith Baptist Church

Tacoma, WA
Mark Smith
This Sunday morning service was very exciting for us. We have heard so many wonderful things about what the Lord is doing through this church! It is also home to two Crown students: Nelson Meaders, who is traveling in the Northeast Quartet, and Ashley Weberg, who just finished her first year of school. The Webergs were so wonderful, allowing us to enjoy their home and their wonderful home cooking!

We had the opportunity to sing in the teens Sunday School class and share with them information about Crown College and how the Lord led each of us there. . Bro. Derrick preached a sermon to the teens about "What is your life?" from James 4:14. For the main service, we were able to sing a few songs right before the sermon.


After we sang some songs in the morning service, the youth pastor, Dan Kirchner, preached on "Jesus Christ" and the importance of the name of Christ. Pastor and Mrs. Smith were not with us because the people of the church all pitched in to send them on vacation for a week to celebrate 15 years of his ministry at the church. It was great to be in a church that is always seeking the Lord and His will. There is a great spirit within the heart of this church and they are always striving to move forward for Christ. Pastor Kirchner showed us the property and explained the vision that Pastor Smith has for the future of the church. We also enjoyed a wonderful meal in town with him and some of Pastor Smith's family. The Lord is greatly using the people here at Faith Baptist to do wonderful things for Him. What an encouragement it is to see the Lord working through this vast growing church! We pray that the Lord will continue to bless Bro. Smith and this great ministry!

Summary of Canada

We just arrived back in the states after three weeks in western British Columbia. The Lord has really opened our eyes to the need in this area and we wanted to share with you some prayer requests and tell you a little of what the Lord has taught us about Canada.

We were very surprised by the varied demographics of the greater Vancouver area. There are so many people from around the world who have immigrated to western Canada, but especially from Asia. We could not help thinking that anyone with a burden for people from China, Korea, or the Philippines would have plenty of opportunity to work with them in this city. Several churches that we were in were primarily Asian and we enjoyed the over-abundance of kindness and hospitality that they showed. The young people in these churches were especially friendly and easy to talk to. Being with so many international people was a surprising but very enjoyable part of our trip and we hope you pray with us for more laborers to work in the area of Vancouver to reach various peoples of the world.

Pastor Turner and some of his congregation at the Anchor Baptist Church in BurnabyThe children's choir at Anchor Baptist Church in Burnaby

Another need we noticed among many Vancouver area churches was the difficulty in acquiring a building of their own. Many of the churches we visited meet regularly in a hotel meeting room or some sort of community center. Pastor Turner's church in Burnaby has a sizeable membership but the extreme costs for property have kept them in rented facility for eight years. God continues to bless works all over BC despite this difficulty, but it is surely a hindrance to what the Pastor's are trying to accomplish, so please pray that ample funds will be raised for more church buildings in British Columbia.

A gift from Pastor Sexton to Pastor Fred Davis of the Chinese Tabernacle Baptist Church in Vancouver
Touring Vancouver with Pastor Beliveau and his family. Their church meets in a hotel in the very heart of Vancouver.

Of course, just as in many parts of the world, there is a great spiritual darkness in Canada and the greatest thing we could pray for is revival. Despite the beauty of British Columbia, we have seen first-hand that the Lord must do a special work in the hearts of people to bring them to Himself. We are so thankful to have been given the opportunity to better understand the need for laborers in Canada and will surely be praying more for this area. Thank you for your prayers for us while we were in Canada and we hope you continue to pray for us during the rest of our travels.On Vancouver Island

Castlegar Baptist Church

Castlegar, BC Canada
Pastor Tom Kline


Thursday evening we joined the congregation of the Castlegar Baptist Church. We were greeted by Bro. Richard and his wife, who hosted us as the Pastor was out of town. Waiting for us was an amazing dinner of Turkey and dressing with mashed potatoes and gravy, prepared by the ladies of the church. They even had wonderful southern style sweet tea to make us feel more at home. We thoroughly enjoyed being in this church and talking with the young people before and after the service. It's great to see churches like this with young families eager to serve and see the Lord work. This was our last service in Canada, and was a great reminder to continue to pray for the faithful Christians still serving the Lord in difficult places.


Julianna is showing much promise...maybe we'll have a trumpet duet soon!

Beaver Valley Baptist Church

Pastor Tom Stastney
Montrose, BC

We were so blessed by the people we met at Beaver Valley Baptist. We ate dinner with the Hawkins', the lovely couple we were staying with and then had a good service with the church. We were encouraged by the prayer life of the church in the way that they brought every need before the Lord in prayer. After we sang several songs, Bro. Derrick delivered an encouraging message on following Christ from Matthew, chapter 8. Please help us pray for the church to find a new pastor very soon. Bro. Stastney has resigned and is moving to help his son who is pastor in another part of BC. Bro. Hawkins is going to help lead the church in the meantime, but they are really praying for the Lord to send the right man to them soon. We enjoyed our stay at this friendly church and pray for God's blessing on them, especially as they search for new leadership.

Thompson Baptist Church

Pastor Dave Crews

Kamloops, BC

On Monday night, we had a special service with Pastor Crews and his church family at the convention center where they normally meet. It was a good turnout and we enjoyed getting to know the faithful members who were able to come. After our songs, Bro. Derrick preached a great message challenging the church to evaluate how they are living the one short life they have been given. After the service, we ate pizza and played a terrific game of softball with the church. The kids especially enjoyed the fun time on the field, and we certainly did too! The only injury occured when Hannah was sliding into 2nd and skinned her leg very badly. Please pray that it heals quickly as it causes her a good deal of pain and discomfort.

We are very grateful for Pastor Crews and his wonderful family for their hospitality to us while we stayed in their home. We enjoyed good food, fellowship, and a beautiful trip to Wells Gray Park to see some majestic waterfalls and have a picnic by the river. We have had a great time with this family and we hope we have been a blessing to them as they have been to us.

Berean Baptist Church

Pastor Greg Vaal

Kamloops, BC Canada

It was just a short trip to our service tonight from the church we were in last night. We enjoyed a delicious supper with Pastor Vaal, his wife, and their two adorable daughters. Before the service started, we had time to speak to many of the sweet people who graciously made an effort to come on a Tuesday night to hear us. The former pastor of the church, Bro. Horton and his wife still attend and Mrs. Horton told us many fascinating stories about her life. She was placed in a Japenese concentration camp along with the school of the China Inland Mission during World War II along with Hudson Taylor's grandchildren and was re-united with her family years after the war was ended. They were such interesting people to talk to and really had a heart to continue serving the Lord, even though he had to retire as pastor because of his failing health. We thank the Lord for the hospitality of the Vaal's and the kindness of the people at Berean Baptist. We enjoyed meeting you all and pray God's blessing on you.

New Testament Baptist Church

Abbotsford, BC

Pastor Eugene Epp

In our third service Sunday, we were greeted by the pastor and his lovely wife who were very warm and welcoming. The pastor's daughter, Heather Epp, is a graduate of the Master's Program at Crown. We enjoyed visiting with her and seeing how the Lord is greatly using her in her father's church. The church family were so encouraged to see young people serving the Lord and giving their lives to Him. Bro. Derrick preached a sermon very fitting for Father's Day. He spoke on Standing for the Lord and applied it to Father's being the right example for their children. We pray that the Lord will continue to bless this church especially in their upcoming VBS.

Metro Baptist Church

Burnaby, BC Canada
Pastor Russell MackayThe Lord really gave us a treat this past week with the privilege of staying in Pastor Mackay's house while he and his wife were on vacation in Hawaii. It is not often that we are able to stay long in one place, so it was such a luxury to stay in this lovely home for five nights in a row! We are so grateful to this generous family for giving us their home for the week and we were doubly blessed on Sunday morning by the warm reception we received in their church. We were so impressed by how Pastor Mackay's children helped set up the church in the community center where they meet, and his daughters played piano and keyboard for the service. All the fathers were given a Tim Horton's gift certificate (a popular breakfast cafe in Canada) and after we sang, Bro. Derrick preached a great message to challenge Fathers to live a godly life before their children. There were several children in the service, and we enjoyed getting to talk to some of the people before having a delicious lunch with the Mackays and the assistant pastor, Bro. Josh and his wife. Again, we thank you, Pastor Mackay and your lovely family, for being kind enough to share your house and allow us a break from moving. We pray God will continue to bless your ministry in greater Vancouver.

Harvest Baptist Church

Langley, BC

Derrick Goette

We were privileged to have services on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with this thriving church located just outside of Vancouver. It is a church made up of very friendly Filipinos and they served us great ethnic food both nights. We also were able to pass out literature with the youth and enjoyed getting to know them. Harvest Baptist has a great group of involved young people, many of whom attend West Coast. Every service was so energetic and they were so hospitable and loving to us. Bro. Derrick preached powerful messages all three services and the Lord really used His Word in the lives of the people as well as in ours. We are so thankful for the kindness of these warmhearted Christians and we pray God's continued blessing on this ministry.

Chinese Tabernacle Baptist Church

Vancouver, BC Canada
Pastor Fred Davis

Thursday we had the unique opportunity to be in a Chinese church. This church is centered in the heart of Vancouver, which we've already found to have a very large Asian population. Pastor Davis, who was a missionary to Taiwan for 17 years, normally conducts services in Chinese, but for our sakes, spoke English as well. It was wonderful to spend time with these great people. The youth have a Bible study every Thursday night and are very interested in the things of the Lord. The children enjoyed our music and loved playing the piano with us afterwords. We pray that the Lord will continue to bless this much needed ministry in Vancouver.
Melody insisted on showing Hannah how she could play this piece without looking!
Julianna holds Jaivan, the Pastor's grandson.

Central Valley Baptist Church

Abbottsford, BC Canada
Pastor Mike Nulph

This evening we visited the church of Pastor Nulph and his wife, Nettie. The people were very attentive and cheerful as we sang for them. Afterwards we all had a great time getting to know the sweetest group of ladies that were so eager to talk to us. We went to a Bro. Freisen's house after the service to have a snack, and he told us some incredible stories about getting the gospel out to people while in Russia, and also about witnessing to Muslims. He has apparently been involved in quite a bit of mission work in many different parts of the world. It was a tremendous encouragement to hear someone speak with such heart for lost souls and we look forward to going street preaching with him next week.

Sunshine Community Baptist Church

Gibsons, BC Canada

Pastor Dave Cottrell

With Pastor Cottrell, his wife and their youngest daughter, Skye

We needed to take another ferry to reach the peninsula where beautiful Gibsons is located, but the extra effort was worth it all. Not only is the terrain along the coast gorgeous, the people we have met here have helped us so much.After spending some time with the Pastor and his family we headed to an assisted living center where we found a large group of elderly people waiting to hear us sing and play. We sang many songs, testified, and Bri played several trumpet peices (which the residents enjoyed singing along with). They were so thrilled to have us come, but we were more encouraged by their excitement in the Lord and their kind words to us.

We got to meet and speak with many of the church family during the pot-luck supper and we learned so much about the need along this western coast of Canada for good fundamental gospel-preaching churches. There is a heavy demonic oppression in his area through the influence of New Age philosophies and ages-old tribal religions that deal in superstition and witchcraft. As one man in the church put it, Gibsons is a "beautiful land in spiritual darkness." God is powerful enough to overcome Satan's power however, as we saw through the salvation of 22 year-old Sarah after Bro. Derrick's gospel message. Praise the Lord that He is turning the tide in one family's life and showing Himself strong through this church.
Before crossing back over on the ferry the next day, we sang and played in two more nursing home services that the Pastor had lined up ahead of time. They were such sweet people and we enjoyed taking extra time to minister to them. May the Lord bless Pastor Cottrell and his family for their heart for the people God has given them to serve.
With Sarah, our new sister in Christ.

Greater Vancouver Baptist Church

Vancouver, BC
Pastor Gordon Conner

On Sunday we had an exciting evening with the people of Greater Vancouver Baptist. This church had a large majority of Asians and everyone was so warm and welcoming to us we felt right at home as soon as we walked in. It was most encouraging to see how they were so involved in the service and enjoyed worshiping Him. The choir sang a special number, which was a great blessing for us, and later the church presented the Pastor and his wife with a special gift for their wedding anniversary. It was great to hear about all the outreach ministries the people were involved in and know that they have a heart to reach their city for the Lord. After the service we were overwhelmed by the number of with people interested in books and CDs. We were so happy to help provide them with helpful books and uplifting music, knowing that such things are hard to find in this area. Thank you, Pastor Conner for allowing us to sing and be a part of your congregation for the evening and a special thank you to Bro. Paul Conner for the delicious Greek supper we enjoyed after the service.

Bro. Derrick, with Gabrielle, a young man in the church.

Anchor Baptist Church

Pastor Ben Turner
Burnaby, BC Canada

With the Turners (except Brianna)

We enjoyed a wonderful weekend with Pastor Ben Turner and his family at Anchor Baptist Church. This church was celebrating their 8th anniversary on Sunday and we were priveledged to be with them on this big day. In preperation, the church handed out 15,000 flyers throughout neighborhoods. Meeting up with the Pastor and some church members Thursday evening, we helped distribute many flyers in a local neighborhood. It was great to see so many of the church members involved in this effort and getting the Gospel out to their community. Friday, Pastor Turner took us out to a delicious Chinese lunch before going to visit and sing for some shut-ins. We met some wonderful ladies from the church and enjoyed talking to them about the Lord. It was such an encouragement for us to hear these ladies talk about their love for Christ and burden for lost souls. Later that afternoon, we joined the Turners and Lesters for a barbeque. The Lesters are a family that recently returned from the mission field of Australia. They will be joining the Turners in their ministry at Anchor Baptist for a while, working with the deaf and starting a university ministry. Saturday, we passed out some of the last flyers and helped the pastor clean the church bus, as well as our own van and trailer.

The anniversary Sunday began with some of the members setting up for the service. The church has been meeting in a community recreation center for the majority of its 8 years and has to set up its own auditorium and sound system. The church usually averages around 130 on Sunday mornings and we were all praying that the Lord would use the flyer distribution to bring many first time visitors to the service. During the Sunday School hour, we were able to sing a few songs and Bro. Derrick encouraged the people with a message about "The Fullness of Christ." When the morning service began, we were amazed to see how people kept coming in and the ushers had to keep bringing out more chairs. By the time we got up to sing, they were almost to the back wall. The Lord truly blessed the service and used Bro. Turner as he preached about "A Journey of Faith." There was a fellowship afterwords and the pastor announced to the church that there were 30 first time visitors with a total attendance of over 220! It is so exciting to see how the Lord is working in this church! We pray that He will continue to bless these wonderful people as they serve him. Thank you, Pastor and Mrs. Turner for taking great care of our group and allowing us to be apart of this special day. We enjoyed our time with you so much and are thrilled to see what the Lord is doing through your ministry. Keep up the good work!
Pastor Turner leads Raymond, a 7 year old boy in the church, to Christ.

Bro. Derrick helps Pastor Turner with an illustration about how Christ bridges the gap between us and the glory of God.