Featured Article: Shine Forever!

“And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” (Daniel 12:3)

When he first heard these words Daniel was an old man, well over 70. He had served his Lord faithfully for nearly sixty years, which in itself was a rare testimony.

Add to this the humiliating details of his circumstances and some of the reasons he is a hero of the faith surface quickly. Yanked out of his home and country as a teenager, made a eunuch and forced to serve pagan kings, he still gave his life to God’s service. Somehow he embraced this graciously as the will of Jehovah for him.

Perhaps as a reward for his special faith, the elderly prophet received some of the most important end time prophecies in all of the Bible. The last one, spanning more than two chapters, ends with this interesting promise: God’s wise children will shine as the stars forever.

By itself that would be a very odd statement. How in the world are faithful believers going to shine as stars? Fortunately, the Holy Spirit gives a number of complementary passages that can shed a little light on the meaning. One of these is in the grand resurrection chapter, 1 Corinthians 15. As the apostle is explaining the glories of resurrected bodies, he makes a interesting observation, that at first glance hardly seems to fit the context.

Celestial bodies, he says, are very different one from another. Their individual glory varies immensely, a fact that modern equipment has only helped to confirm. Apparently, no two planets, stars, or galaxies are the same! This, of course, testifies to the infinite wisdom and power of our Creator.

But it does more than that. It also illustrates something about our heavenly future. Just as the expanse above us displays a vast army with different purposes and levels of shining glory, so will the future, eternal universe, teeming with redeemed souls. The Bible clearly teaches that the Lord will determine our eternal ability to shine according to our faith and works in this, our brief stay on earth.

We will all shine! Believers, no matter to what degree they influenced others for righteousness, will glow as stars . . . eternally!

I do not know exactly how this will happen, but God does. He will define it perfectly and make it happen.

But it is also significant that not all will shine with the same radiance. Our proper and never ending reward will be linked to our faithfulness to God right here, right now.

Most of us are familiar with “The just shall live by faith”, and each of us has been given a measure of faith. But do we live by it? Or do we give in to doubts that distract us, waste away our time, and neutralize our spiritual usefulness?

How much of my daily life is really lived by faith in the God I cannot see? Daniel obviously did a pretty good job with his, and he is an inspiration to me.

Dear Father, You have given me so much. You have blessed me in every direction I look. Please help me shine for Your glory here, so I can also be a bright testimony to Your grace for all eternity. Amen.

Ministry Milestones 2014

We would like to recognize several ministry milestones that were reached during the year 2014. We are grateful for these individuals who continue to serve faithfully.

Fred & Beth Daniel
Fred Daniel, Jr., has served on the Executive Board for 25 years.  He and his wife, Beth, are from Greensboro, NC where he pastors Brookhaven Baptist Church.
Michael & Boone West
Michael West has served on the Executive Board for 15 years.  He and his wife, Boone, are from Ocala, FL where he pastors Memorial Baptist Church.
Danny & Gail Alford
Danny & Gail Alford have been missionaries with World Wide for 15 years.  They previously served in Holland and England, and they are now in Aruba.
The Ashbury Family
Bill & Melody Ashbury have been missionaries with World Wide for 25 years.  They serve in Malawi with their two children, William and Hannah.
The Boylston Family
John & Christa Boylston have been missionaries with World Wide for 5 years.  They serve on the island of Pohnpei with their five children, Kyle, Kody, Kaleb, Kierra, and Khloe.
Allinson & Floretta DaCosta
Allinson & Floretta DaCosta have been missionaries with World Wide for 30 years.  They serve in their home country of Nevis, and are also involved with an orphanage ministry in Zimbabwe.
The David Family
Charles & Abigail David have been missionaries with World Wide for 5 years.  They serve in their home country of India with their two children, Beryl and Bertrum.
The Mike Family
Mike & Kristen Gali have been missionaries with World Wide for 10 years.  They serve in Chile with their three children, Matthew, Samuel, and Leah.
The Hendrick Family
Adrian & Emma Hendricks have been missionaries with World Wide for 5 years.  They serve in their home country of India with their three children, Timothy, Titus, and Trophimus.

 

 

The Howell Family
Lewis & Kim Howell have been missionaries with World Wide for 10 years.  They serve in New Zealand with their two children, Deborah and Elizabeth.
Norman & Joy Johnston
Norman & Joy Johnston have been missionaries with World Wide for 5 years.  They serve in church planting in the Charlotte, NC area, as well as on staff at Ambassador Baptist College.
Lisa Kendrick
Lisa Kendrick has been a missionary with World Wide for 10 years.  She serves in Germany.
The Milgrim Family
George & Patty Milgrim have been missionaries with World Wide for 15 years.  They previously served in Pohnpei and Guam, and they are now in Hawaii with their daughter, Priscilla.
The Newton Family
Francis & Leena Newton have been missionaries with World Wide for 5 years.  They serve in their home country of India with their three children, Japheth, Jonathan, and Jade.
Elsa Ramirez
Elsa Ramirez has been a missionary with World Wide for 25 years.  She previously served in Spain and France, and she is now in Mexico.
Mike & Sue Smith
Mike & Sue Smith have been missionaries with World Wide for 5 years.  They serve as church planting coordinators in the Mountain West, and they are currently based in Arizona.
The Zimmer Family
Paul & Sherry Zimmer have been missionaries with World Wide for 15 years.  They serve on the island of Yap with their six children, Angelina, Paul, Hannah, Jacob, Sarah, and Clara.

Prayer & Dates: December 2014

Click the link above to download a PDF of prayer requests and praises as well as the birthdays and anniversaries for December. Note: You will need to login to SecureCloud in order to view this document. Once you have logged in, click on Files Shared, then Headquarter Happenings, then scroll to the month you would like to view. This step protects people with WWNTBM in restricted access fields.

From the Memo Board – December 2014

Upcoming Dates

December 16
Please contact us by this date if you will need funds in your account before Christmas or before the end of the year.

December 16
If PrayerLetters.com sends your first-class prayer letter, please have it to us by this date in order to meet their printing deadlines and guarantee that your letter is received by Christmas.

December 22-26
The Office will be closed in celebration of Christmas.

January 2
November financial reports will be due.

January 9
Missionaries will receive their emailed statements of December Support Received.

January 12
All Missionaries will receive their final December support on this day, regardless of the day that they normally receive support.

January 15
December financial reports will be due along with any remaining receipts or financial paperwork for 2014.

 

Christmas Letterhead Templates

Did you know that we have professionally designed Christmas Letterhead templates available for your use? These are available to all missionaries whether the Office assists in sending your letter or not. For more information, contact April at [email protected].

 

December Support

Please contact us by December 16 if you would like funds in your account before Christmas.  Final December support distributions will be made on January 12th for all missionaries regardless of their regular pay date.  Contacting us by December 16 will enable us to schedule your funds around bank closings and holiday hours.  Should you have an emergency need after December 19, you may contact our staff at the following numbers:

  • John O’Malley 704-974-6108
  • Kim O’Malley 704-974-1008

 

January Income Totals

During a typical month, we close the books on the 25th, and any checks received after that date are posted to the following month.

Due to receipting requirements, we cannot do this in the month of December.  As a result, please be aware that your December support total may be higher than normal, while your January support total may be lower than normal.  Please be sure to plan ahead for this!

 

Retirement Accounts

WWNTBM currently offers our missionaries the option of participating in a 403(b) Retirement Plan, the non-profit version of a 401(k) plan. We encourage all of our missionaries to participate in some type of retirement planning. If you do not currently have a 403(b) account and would be interested in opening one, please contact our office for a listing of vendors and more information.
Due to IRS regulations, we are required to use a Third Party Administrator (TPA) to handle all 403(b) accounts. The administrative fee is $50.00 per year, which will be deducted from Support each January or February for those who contribute. The TPA assists us by administering our plan and keeping us in compliance with the Department of Labor and IRS codes.

Please note that loans and hardship withdrawals are no longer allowed. Regulations require that individuals inform the Office before taking any distributions of funds or making any changes to their accounts. We need to know in advance in order to avoid our own liability and to help insure that the account holder is provided with the most recent information.

Please see the file in SecureCloud for the latest information on contribution amounts and limits for 2014 and 2015.

 

Joe SmothersNew Missionary

Joel Smothers has recently joined our World Wide family of missionaries.  Joel graduated from the Gulf Coast Bible Institute in 2013.  He is a member of Trinity Baptist Church in Milton, FL, which is pastored by former World Wide Missionary Paul Woody.  Joel served in Honduras on a short-term basis.  His plans are now to begin deputation to go to Brazil, where he will work with Joel and Cynthia Dickens and their family.

 

Bekah CmayloNew Staff Member

Bekah Cmaylo joined our Office Staff on November 3rd.  Bekah is a recent graduate of Ambassador Baptist College, and she also works at the college part time in their financial office. She lives in Lattimore, NC and attends the Bread of Life Baptist Church in Shelby with Pastor Ed Kuykendall.  Bekah is from Williamstown, NY and is the youngest of three siblings.  Her brother, Emil, is married to our World Wide staff member, Laura Cmaylo.  Bekah’s tasks include processing support checks.  She can be reached by email at [email protected].

From Our President: December 2014

Danny WhetstoneLet the reflections begin! Each year the unwritten item on our schedule is to look back over the past year. We had some ideas about what we would like to accomplish by the end of the new year. Actually, I think that it is a good thing. Some folks are so hard on themselves if they do not meet their own expectations it ruins the first quarter of the following year, but for most of us it helps to gauge ourselves. When we evaluate maybe we find areas that we spent much time on last year that would be better for the overall life and ministry if we shortened that activity for the coming year. Paul had a strong desire to mold Timothy into a soldier for Christ. Paul told him that he could not afford to get entangled with the affairs of this life if indeed he wished to be a good soldier.

Let’s pause for a moment and call to remembrance the things that were very important to us this time last year. Now, sit back down! How did we do? Can you look back and see how the cares of this life swallowed up your good intentions? We can now conclude that whatever it was was not really important anyway, or we can place some safeguards around that activity so that we can do better in the coming year. We need God’s Word every day. Were we faithful to read, study and pray over it last year? How about meditation? Do we take time out of our busy schedule to be still and know that He is God? Everything is clamoring for your attention, and if we do not establish some very strict lines of priority we will soon be reflecting with even greater disappointments.

Set aside time for Bible reading, study and prayer. When you look at your schedule do you find that your family is represented on the calendar as you claim they are in your preaching? Where does your outreach to the lost fit in your schedule? Are you witnessing to sinners on purpose? Perhaps there are a few things that accepted far to much of your time this past year. You know very well that those little time robbers have not retired from their activity. They know that the new year brings new challenges for them. You are determined to do better at getting important things done, and the little time robbers are equally as determined to bind your hands with unnecessary activities.

Set aside some good books to read this year. Take the most productive time in your day to read the Bible. Mark out significant time to communicate with your Lord. Don’t just spend time with your family, but enjoy spending time with them. Convince them that they are important to you and God.

Let’s, by the grace of God, have a wonderful 2015 in the service of the King.

In His Service,
Danny A. Whetstone