Thomas and Barbara Knickerbocker
Home and Global Missions
January – March 2023
“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1:8
The above verse can be applied to describe the various places we have been sent to go with the gospel of Christ. Jerusalem could be our hometown; Judaea, the surrounding counties or states; Samaria, to those who are foreigners or those of other religions who live among us; and then to every other country in the world. We are to reach people both locally and globally. Let us bloom where we are planted, then ask God for greater opportunities.
Reaching People Locally: Our local church, Labelle Baptist Temple, under the leadership of our pastor, Archie Parrish, has been challenged to reach our “Jerusalem” first by putting door hangers on every door in our county. In the packets there is a John/Romans, a letter from our pastor and several tracts with an insert that says, “Can I Be Your Friend?”
To date, the church has passed out 2,423 door-hangers. On February 25, our church people handed out 1,250 gospel flyers at the Swamp Cabbage Festival Parade in Labelle, Florida. The next day a new visitor came to church who had received the flyer from one of the young people at the parade. This flyer was written by our son Luke Knickerbocker titled: “Five Facts about Life that You Must Know.” On the back was a QR Code video they could upload to their phones presenting the plan of salvation. As we go, God keeps sending in new visitors to hear the Word of God. Every church needs to do something to reach their Jerusalem, Judaea and Samaria.
Teaching Preachers Globally: From January 7-23, Mark Reichard, pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Wildwood, Florida, and I went to Kenya, Africa to teach and encourage national pastors. We were one week in Nairobi, the capital, teaching 30 national pastors on topics such as Balance and Contentment in the Ministry, Knowing and Doing the Will of God. The next week we taught 20 preachers in Mombasa, Kenya, near the Indian Ocean.
We were able to visit 15 churches and participate in a college graduation of graduates and church planters from among the Samburu tribe.
Here I am teaching five of our national pastors a class on Missions during our HELP Conferences in Florida, March 1-15. They were from Mexico, Ghana, Kenya, Haiti and the Philippines.
Barbara and I want to again thank each of you for your faithful prayers and support in our travels for the work of local and global missions.
-Thomas and Barbara Knickerbocker