July 9th Report

Praying for the Ministry of Dr. Rick Flanders

We have been very grateful, both to the Lord and to those who bring our ministry before Him, for the blessings of this year so far.  It seems as if I have been everywhere to preach the Gospel and revival truth in 2013!  The year has sent me to Wisconsin, Michigan, Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, as well as the province of Alberta in Canada!  I have slowed down a little bit for the summer, for several reasons, but I will summarize our summer plans so that you can pray for us.  June found me in several important revival efforts.

• I was at the Old Kanawha Baptist Church in Pratt, West Virginia, May 26 through June 2, as many of you know, for a “protracted meeting” for revival in a needy town and a needy church.  For some reason the visible results of this effort were not great, but Pastor Baughan felt that God was doing a significant work.  When Toni and I left on Monday, he had another preacher continue the meetings.  Do keep on praying (as I am) for Dr. David Baughan and this church up in the mountains.
• June 8-14 I was in a revival campaign with Pastor Darren McClintock at the Cromwell United Bible Church of Three Springs, Pennsylvania.  This fine Baptist pastor heard me preach at Pensacola Christian College and at the Bill Rice Ranch, and was led of the Lord to ask me to help the cause of revival at his church. Toni and I got to attend the wedding of Jonathan Knoedler in the Dayton, Ohio, area before I went on to Pennsylvania.  It was here I discovered that I was coming down with “shingles,” a pretty serious illness.  However, the Lord put me in touch with a fine doctor in Troy, where our daughter Bonnie lives, and he gave me the anti-viral medicine that kept it at bay.  Jonathan is the son of Pastor Marc Knoedler, our good friend and former co-laborer at Juniata.  On Friday I left for Three Springs, and on Saturday I taught a group of fine men about prayer.  Then that afternoon the Lord arranged for me to meet with Evangelist Tom Palmer for a serious talk about call fundamental Baptists to revival.  I will be working with him next year in a revival gathering in Pennsylvania.  The Lord gave us good meetings at this church, with many making important progress spiritually.  I will never forget the conversation pastor and I had with a man named Jack who dealt with a heartache that had been the cause of bitterness over many years.  I believe God brought him to peace about it.  In a few days, unexpectedly, this brother went to heaven.
• Sunday morning June 16, I was able to preach for my friend, Pastor Chris Cain, at the Grace Baptist Church of Moline, Illinois.  It was Father’s Day, and I preached in the church service on the father of Mark 9, who cried out to Jesus for the deliverance of his son.  In Sunday school, I got to teach the adult classes about what I call “the disclaimer” at the beginning of the Bible.  It answers the question many have about how it is that a good and all-powerful God allows evil in the world.  I am to come back to this good fundamentalist church in December.
• Sunday afternoon, I drove to Rockford, Illinois, to preach that evening at the North Love Baptist Church, which is led by my friend, Dr. Paul Kingsbury.  The people here are always receptive to revival truth, and there was a wonderful response to my sermons on the Lord’s Day and Wednesday.  As you may know, the church is the international headquarters of the
  “Reformers Unanimous” ministry, and is the site of many miraculous transformations.  It was my joy to teach this whole week on the book of James at the North Love Baptist Bible College, which is also a ministry of the church.  What a blessing this visit to Rockford was to me!  I often tell people that they ought to visit this remarkable church at least one time.  It will encourage you about the wonderful way God is working in lives and in His church these days.
• On Sunday, June 23, I preached morning and evening at the Lighthouse Baptist Church of Flint, Michigan.  Pastor Joel Stiff, who is being used of the Lord to build up a fundamental, soul-winning church in a needy area, was away, and let me preach on revival truths both morning and evening.  Numbers of folks were helped by these sermons.  We also had a meeting to pray for revival and Holy Spirit power in the church.
• June 26-30, I was at the First Baptist Church of Black River, New York, for a revival campaign, working with Pastor Jack Young.  This is a fired-up soul-winning, convert-nurturing congregation ministering in an area populated largely by the military personnel from Fort Drum.  The pastor and several of the members are acquainted with revival truth, and the meetings were highlighted by fervent prayer meetings, life-altering decisions, evangelistic efforts, and the moving of the Spirit of God.  For those acquainted with the history of revival, it will be interesting to note that this part of New York State is “Finney country.”  The evangelist Charles G. Finney was converted in Adams, a nearby town, and began his work in revival campaigns in Evans Mills, which was actually where I stayed.  Of further interest is the fact that the Baptist evangelist Jacob Knapp was pastor in Watertown, also in this area, when he set out to be a travelling evangelist.  Pastor Young and I made several productive visits on folks in the area, and also visited the grave of Daniel Nash, the pastor who taught Finney to pray.
• OUR “VACATION”: The first few days of July, I took Toni with me to southwestern Michigan for a little time away.  While there, we attended the Berrien County Baptist Church in Stevensville, a healthy, evangelistic church led by our old friend Pastor James K. Whitman.  He pastored a church in Harbor Beach that Juniata Baptist helped to get started.

There are some important matters coming up this summer for which we really want all of you to pray.

1. 1.       THE MEN’S RETREAT in Manitoba, Canada, July 10-14, where I will preach to a good number of men gathered by Pastor Michael Sullivant and the wonderful Valley Baptist Church.
2. 2.       TONI’S SURGERY, which is slated for July 17.  She will be getting a “knee replacement,” and we really want you to pray for her operation and recovery.  I will be sticking at home for some weeks to take care of her.
3. 3.       THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PRAYER AND REVIVAL, August 4-7, at the Greater Cumberland Baptist Church of Hopkinsville, Kentucky.  Dr. John Van Gelderen and I will be speaking in this important revival conference, which I hope all of you will consider attending, especially revival-minded Christians in Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois, and Mississippi.  The program will be directed by Pastor Ken Shaver, whom I met in a conference by the same name in 1992.  The music will be directed by one of the best music men in the country, Brother Roger Powell, who also worked with me in the 1992 conference (which met in Oberlin, Ohio).  The conference begins on Monday night, although we will begin revival preaching in the church on Sunday.  Call the church at to get a brochure.
4. 4.       REVIVAL CAMPAIGNS IN EATON RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, AND PLEASANTVILLE, IOWA, which are planned for later in August.

Thank you for your continuing interest in my work, and for your zeal for revival.  I especially appreciate your reading this longer-than-usual update, and praying for us this summer.  Call me for any reason at 989.863.0784, and look for another report at the end of August.

RICK FLANDERS

Acts 1:8