South Florence Baptist Church Lottie Moon Gifts

South Florence has been recognized in the top 12% of Southern Baptist Churches for gifts to Lottie Moon in 2011. Our gifts support 4,919 missionaries and their 4000 children to live, function and evangelize the unreached peoples of earth. South Florence met the "Cartersville Challenge" recognizes churches that gave between $25 and $49.99 per capita based on average Sunday School and worship attendance. There's 45,000 churches that comprise the SBC. There were 5,360 churches that met the "Carterville Challenge" which represent the top 12% of SBC churches in giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. I'm thankful for a mission minded church. Thanks to everyone who gave to this offering. Just for Jesus, Pastor allen

Fellowship

The word fellowship simply means "to have in common." True Christian fellowship is really much deeper than sharing coffee and pie, or even enjoying a golf game together. You cannot have fellowship with someone unless you have something in common; and for Christian fellowship this means the possessing of eternal life within the heart. Unless a person has trusted Christ as his Savior, he knows nothing of "the fellowship of the Gospel."

I remember the day!

God is still calling young men to preach the gospel. Rev. Brandon Blair, Minister of Students at Langston Baptist Church, Conway, SC preached today. He shared his testimony about running from God. He joined the USA Marine Corp trying to get out of preaching the Bible. He found himself in the streets of Iraq with of his heart in the eyes of a sniper. He was shot in the heart and God sought to save him. He still remembers the day God gave him a second chance. He received a purple heart for the wounds he received in war. What an awesome message he preached.

Bob Pitman preached about Job having no friends. Job was told by his three friends he did not have a God. He was lost with no hope. Job said, I Have a Redeemer! Praise God Job never had a doubt about his relationship with the Father.

Good preaching and singing all day long. Praise His Name!

SCBC Evangelism Conference, Easley, SC

Two great sermons preached tonight by two preachers. Dr. Herb Reavis, Jr. preached on "Lordship." Dr. Bobby Welch preached on intentional witnessing. The Rock Springs Baptist Church Choir sang heaven down. This is an awesome choir with a good spirit.

Nancy, Martha, Donnie, and I are having a good time. Here are some photos to help you see what fun we are having:

We had an Alaskian Pizza for dessert at Copper River Restaurant after Conference. It was so good.

South Florence Baptist Church

 

God blessed us with a little snow on Sunday. Whatever He touches glows!

King and Queen 2013

Greg Hill was elected King of the Sidekicks at SFBC. Susan Bradley was elected Queen of the Sidekicks at SFBC. Congratulations! They were presented with gift cards and a small box of candy.

Sidekicks Valentine's Trip

We gathered at South Florence Baptist Church on February 16, 2013 to go to Charleston, SC. We had forty people to attend this event. We had to take the church bus and rent a van to carry these "Sidekicks." We had reservations at RB's Seafood @ Mt. Pleasant, SC located on Shem Creek.Here are some photos of this trip:

My Three Sons

Jeffery, Adrian, and Daniel Allen

These are our three boys. We are so blessed to have them. They are good boys and we are proud of each one of them. We thank God everyday for them and their wives and children. We have some awesome grandchildren. We are blessed to have Hanna, Kelsey, Landen, Caleb, Kaden, Micah, and Collin Allen in our lives.

Sharing Your Faith

Dear Friends,

I want you to think of two people you know who have not been born again. If they became Christians today, how would their lives be affected? How would their families be affected? Are the potential changes worth the effort it would take to share the gospel with them? Yes or No. We are having "Friend Day" at South Florence Baptist Church, Florence, SC on February 3, 2013. This would be a good time to invite your friends to attend church with you. Pray for their eyes to be open to the gospel message.Jesus expected those who followed Him to become personal witnesses. Ask God to give you boldness to share your personal testimony. Plan to share your testimony with at least one person each week. God will use your testimony to touch a heart of a lost soul. As we invite and share our love with our lost friends be sure to emphasize Jesus more than yourself.

We must yield our lives to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit goes ahead of us to prepare the lost person to receive our witness. The Holy Spirit guides us in what to say and do as we witness. The Holy Spirit keeps our witness alive in the minds and souls of those who hear it. Begin now to pray and identify for the lost persons you know.

You can use these verses to share your faith as you witness.
Romans 1:16
Romans 2:4
Romans 3:23
Romans 5:8
Romans 6:23
Romans 10:9-10, 13

You now ask, would you like to invite Jesus into your heart? After they say yes, lead them in the sinners prayer. It could go something like this: Lord, I'm a sinner, I confess my sins to you, forgive me for my sins, wash my sins away by your precious blood, save me, come into my heart, Lord, thank you for saving my soul. Amen!

White Oak Conference Center

Executive Board of the South Carolina Baptist Convention meeting today through tomorrow at noon. Our guest speaker is Alex McFarland, Director of Christian Worldview and Apologetics at North Greenville University. He made comments concerning churches closing down at a rapid rate in America. We need to know how to defend what we believe as Baptists. This was one awesome speaker. Good attendance at our worship service. Good job from our leaders at the convention level.

 

Upward Football & Cheerleading at South Florence Baptist Church

Upward Sports at South Florence

Opening day for Upward Football and Cheerleading at SFBC. Great attendance and fellowship with some wonderful people. Thanks to Boyce and all the people who help Upward. This is a dream come true for our church. We bought and cleared off 4 acres of land for ministries like this. In a few short years we will see the fruit from this God given dream. Thank you Jesus!

Lamar vs Chesterfield

Nancy and I attended the Lamar football game tonight, Lamar won the game 44 to 27 over Chesterfield. We enjoyed the fellowship with our son Adrian and his family.

Sidekicks

The Senior Adults at South Florence Bapt. Ch. took a trip to Calabash, NC to Captain Nance Seafood House. We had 34 Sidekicks traveling this journey. We all had a good time. Check these photos out:

 

Revival @ South Florence Baptist Church

In just a few short weeks we are having our Fall Revival at SFBC. Rev. Bobby Earls, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church, Center Point Alabama is our guest evangelist. Bro. Bobby is a great communicator of the Word of God. He is a graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has served churches in Whitesboro, Texas, Gaffney, SC, Icard, NC and now serving Center Point, Alabama.

Bobby brings to us a desire to exalt the name of Jesus. He is a soul winner and trained in Faith and CWT. He has a heart for the souls of men. God has blessed this preacher and given him much wisdom. Keep Bro. Bobby Earls in your prayers.

Schedule for each Revival service:

Sunday Morning                                     Friend Day

Sunday Evening                                      Sunday School Classes sitting together

Monday Evening                                    Family Night

Tuesday Evening                                    Men vr Ladies night

Wednesday Evening                               Youth Night

I encourage you to work hard to fill these revival services with people. Invite, Invite, Invite! When we do our part, God will open the windows of Heaven and pour us out a blessing.

Landen and Kelsey Allen at the Lamar Silver Foxes Football Game Friday night.

Leaving the Mountains Tomorrow

We are making plans to leave Pigeon Forge, Tenn. tomorrow morning. This has been a great week for us. Friday will be the special day we celebrate 43 years of marriage. Forty three years ago we spent our Honeymoon in Lake Lure, NC just a few miles below Chimney Rock, NC. We could move a little faster back then, but we can still move, just much slower. Living a life together is rewarding in your last days. You have someone who loves you and tries to take care of you. We need each other so much. I'm glad I have Nancy and I know she is glad to have me. Lol.

The journey back home begins around 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. We will make a few stops on the way back. Looking forward to being back at church Sunday. Blake Godbold and Ben McLaughlin filled in while I've been gone. Thank you men for preaching those services in my behalf. What a blessing to have men who can and will preach when asked. See you Sunday.

Forty Third Wedding Anniversary

I married the girl of my dreams. She is a loving wife and soul mate. She is the mother of our three boys and a good mother she is and continues to love on us all. She loves our daughters in law and nine grandchildren. She has been a pastor's wife these last thirty-seven years and a good one I say. She is my best friend with whom I share my life and dreams with. I would not be where I am today without her encouragement. I am blessed to have her in my life. Thank you honey for all the years you have invested in me. You are my life and I will always love you.

We took a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains this week. We spent one night in Gaffney, SC, one night in Cherokee, NC and now we are in Pigeon Forge, Tenn until Thursday morning. We have enjoyed our stay in each place. In Cherokee, NC we experience a lunch at Paula Deans restaurant. Later that day we attended a outside play or drama called "Unto These Hills" put on by the Cherokee Indians. It was awesome.

In Pigeon Forge, Tenn. we have had a great time. We attended the Smoky Mountain Opry and the Comedy Barn. These were great shows! I think I liked the Opry the best. I've sit on the benches and Nancy has shopped at the Tanger Outlet and the Christmas Place. She enjoys doing this when she can. I enjoy watching her have a good time. She is snoozing now and I just blogging. It feels so good just to get away for a short while. Thanks to a great church family who allows us to take a vacation.

We are planning to leave here Thursday morning. We hope to stopped by Lancaster, SC to visit our family before we return to Florence on Friday.

Coastal Evangelism Conference, Langston Bapt. Ch.Conway, SC

The conference started out this morning with Dr. Mac Brunson, Sr. preaching a powerful sermon. He did well relating to our temptations and guilt ridden lives. He gave us some good news concerning the schemes of Satan. We always have a choice.

Dr. Randall Jones preached one of the best messages I've ever heard him preach. We need to learn when to send out an SOS signal! ...---... is the signal for help to God in our stormy days. Lord we need you to touch our lives. Lord I'm in trouble ...---...!

Dr. Ernie Perkins, Evangelist from Edmond, OK preached with the anointing of God upon his life. He is absolutely amazing! He never looks at notes, he just puts the Word out so everyone can understand.

Dr. Johnny Hunt preached one of his best sermons ever today. He preached about making disciples. Many people are just lost in sin and have no desire to be transformed into a disciple of Jesus. Knowledge of the Word or the life of Jesus will not make you a disciple. A disciple will imitate his Lord.

Here are the others who will be preaching tomorrow:

Dr. Phil Hoskins
Dr. Fred Luter
Dr. Jeff Laborg
Dr. Herb Reavis
Dr. Ernie Perkins
Dr. Hank Williams

The Old Paths is singing at each session.

This has truly been a great day for our Lord.

Jonathan Gardner is Worship Leader

We had a great team of church members who put together an awesome July 4 celebration tonight. Thank you for all the hard work. You did an outstanding job tonight. I'm so proud of each of you.

Southern Baptist Convention 2012

Dr. Fred Luter was elected President of the Southern Baptist Convention today. It was a historical moment for our convention. Dr. Luter is the first African-American ever to be elected as president of the Southern Baptist Convention. He has been the pastor at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, LA for 25 years. The election of Dr. Luter was electrifying on the convention floor. Everyone was applauding with an overflow of joy. I haven't  seen this in years at our convention. Thank God for the unity we felt today.

Texas' Nathan Lino was elected as First Vice President of the SBC. He is pastor of Northeast Houston Baptist Church in Humble, Texas. He has about 1000 members at his church. His church has planted 7 churches in Houston, Texas.

This has been an exciting week for us. God has been good and we are so thankful. I'm grateful for a loving and caring church family. Let's continue to follow the Holy Spirit and do ministry.