Am I Leaving FBC Stanleyville?:

This week word has traveled in my little corner of Winston Salem that a youth pastor from a church down the road from the church I serve at is leaving. My students came into CREW last night after talking to their friends who attend the other church and they wanted to know if I was planning on "abandoning" them as well.

Last week, I went out to lunch with a church from a city close to Winston Salem and the people I went to lunch with wanted to pick my brain about youth ministry and at the end of the lunch they wanted to know if I would be open to coming on staff with them to be there youth pastor.

Two questions along the same line in less than a week. Below is what I told my students and the other church and also how I feel as Student Minister/Associate Pastor of FBC Stanleyville.

Short answer to the question am I leaving FBC Stanleyville is no. I am filled with a love for my church and a love for my students. I sit at my desk typing and I am looking at different pictures of the CREW and I am overcome with love for my students. I don't just love them, I actually like spending time with them. I have no desire to leave them or abandon them.

Every day I disappear into the church and pray for my students by name. I lift up there prayer requests and I ask God to mold them into His image. Over the three years I have been on staff at FBC Stanleyville I have watched God do an incredible work in the lives of my students. I have watched God grow them into young men and young women who love God and want to serve others. I have seen God do a work in their lives and I am excited to continue to see God do a work in their lives.

I want to see where God takes my students to college, I want to be there when they get there first "real" "adult" job, I want to be there at the front of the church when they get married and I want to be there to hold their child when the time comes for them to have babies.

In order to do these things I need to invest my life at FBC Stanleyville. I have planted my stake in the ground and I don't plan on picking it up anytime soon. Which means that when things get tough I will not abandon the church. When a meeting doesn't go my way I don't begin to throw out resumes to other churches. When I receive anonymous letters filled with criticism and asking for my resignation I do not give in. I continue to put one foot in front of the other and continue to do the next thing.

I told my students I am not planning on leaving CREW anytime soon because I love them and I can't imagine working with another group of students.

I told the other church wanting to hire me that I was not leaving FBC Stanleyville because I love my church, I love my students and me and my family are very happy at Stanleyville.

Look Up:

Work On Your Knees:

A man once spent twenty minutes and twenty seconds one day looking at two different emails. The first email was from a local store that shared all of its weekly deals. He studied it in detail, not only hoping to find a great offer but also to see what was new in the world of technology. He took 20 minutes to do this and thought the rest of the day about what he discovered.

The second email this man received was from a missionary who preached the gospel and started churches in a difficult place on the other side of the earth. He didn’t read much of this email, but he did scroll all the way down to the bottom. He deleted it twenty seconds after it was opened. He didn’t think about the missionary one time the rest of the day, but he did ask God to bless “all of the missionaries out there” during family devotions that night.

I’m ashamed to say that the man in the story above was me. Thankfully, God has graciously shown me a better way. Sure, we’re free to look through a local store’s weekly ad and make wise purchases, but something is amiss in our lives and churches if we treat the reports of missionaries as flippantly as I did. We have a responsibility to partner with them not only financially, but prayerfully.

Powerful preaching and fruitful ministry on the mission field depend on the prayers of God’s people. Paul understood this. Just before his departure on the first and second missionary journeys (and presumably the third), the believers in Antioch prayed for Paul and his team (Acts 13:3; 15:40). Furthermore, five times in his letters he asked directly for prayer. In First Thessalonians 5:25, he simply says, “Brothers, pray for us.” He’s more specific in his other appeals:

Romans 15:30-32 – “I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company.”

Ephesians 6:19-20 – “[Pray] also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”

Colossians 4:3-4 – “Pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.”

2 Thessalonians 3:1-2 – “Pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith.”

The great burden of the missionary is to take the gospel to unbelievers, to see them converted, and then to help them start churches. God saves sinners through the proclamation of the gospel (cf. Romans 10:17), but He does not intend to save apart from the prayers of believers. James Fraser, a missionary to the Lisu people in China, wrote to his prayer partners back home, “I believe it will only be known on the Last Day how much has been accomplished in missionary work by the prayers of earnest believers at home.”

We should feel the urgency of this responsibility to pray for missionaries:

Pray right away when the email or prayer letter arrives. Read it thoughtfully. Study carefully any pictures that are attached. These are real people, in the most important battle happening on this earth. Heaven or hell is in the balance. You may pray again later, but don’t wait until then—too much is at stake.

Pray regularly every day. You could write their names and specific requests on a prayer list you keep in your Bible, or on cards you look at throughout the day or when you exercise. One man I know prays for certain Welsh ministers every time he uses a certain coffee cup. You might use the same strategy for missionaries. I seek to pray for a different missionary before each meal.

James Fraser, when pleading with those who sent him to China to persevere in prayer for his ministry, expressed what any faithful missionary believes: “Solid, lasting missionary work is done on our knees.”

Wednesday Worship:

Wednesday Worship:

Wednesday Worship:

Wednesday Worship

Social Media Musings:

I am not sure if you saw it but last week I posted a picture on social media attempting to show my students how far and how fast one picture could travel around the world.

I was blown away by how fast one picture could travel around the world. In less than 48 hours the picture had 625 LIKES, 582 COMMENTS, 2.3K SHARES. In one week it has had 1.1 LIKE, 1.1 COMMENTS, 6,000 LIKES. The picture made it to almost every state, every major continent (except Antarctica), the church office received emails and I received Facebook messages from people who saw the post all over the world: including but not limited to Guam, Japan, South Africa, Ghana, Germany, Russia, UK, Honduras etc, and the post was even featured on a local radio program and there Friday night show geared towards middle and high school students.

I am gathering all of the material to teach a lesson on social media to my students but below are just three brief thoughts on the activity.

1. Social Media can be very dangerous: I quickly lost control of where the post was going. When I posted the picture I was able to keep up with the comments and shares but as the minutes (yes minutes) ticked by it began to be shared quicker than I could follow. In one hour it had been shared 114 times and had already made it to: Alabama, Montana, Maryland, Nevada, New York, Russia, Japan, Honduras and this was just in one hour. Not to mention the number of people who told me they screen shot the picture and would save until the day they use against me. One person who I don't even know... screen shot the picture and altered it with another picture but the post still looka like it came from me. See picture to the right. 
1. Take away: We need to be very careful what we post online or send to someone else. It may start off as "anonymous" but once we send the post or tweet the phrase we lose all control of it. We should never post or tweet anything we wouldn't say to someone's face or do with our grandma in the room ;) You don't know how quickly that sext can be saved without your knowledge of it and shared around the internet without you knowing. One of my followers was able to alter a post and still make it look like it came from me... this has huge implications especially in our 24/7 news cycle world we need to be very careful that we are not sharing FAKE news and to check our sources.
2. Companies Need To Pay Attention To And Be On Social Media: I had an idea for a lesson on social media, I saw an idea on how to get my point across and within less than 48 hours my message was shared all around the world. Let me give you a "hypothetical" situation if every time I go to O'Charleys on University Boulevard in Winston Salem and every time the service is slow (it doesn't matter how many or how few people are in the restaurant) and every time the service is slow, how long will it be till I tweet that out to my 1,000 followers and we begin to trash talk O'Charleys on University Boulevard in Winston Salem ;)  The power of social media gives me the ability to share my opinion either good or bad with my followers and any post could go viral. 
1. Take away: companies need to be on social media and interacting with there followers. Anyone else remember the craziness which happened when Brad's wife got fired from Cracker Barrel? Companies need to invest in a social media strategy to ignore social media is to do so at their peril. 
3. Churches and Pastors Need To Pay Attention To And Be On Social Media: Social Media can be very dangerous (see point 1) but there is also an incredible potential to reach people with the Gospel. Let me give you an example I blog all the time, I am sitting at my kitchen table... typing and on my blog I have people from Russia, Canada, United Kingdom and the Ukraine not to mention 83 people from the United States reading my blog. I am ministering to people in 5 different countries and I haven't even left my kitchen. What potential social media has to reach people with the Gospel?
1. Take away: What potential social media has to reach people with the Gospel? How many followers do you have? How many of them would love to hear an encouraging word from the Bible every day? Oh, what potential Christians miss out on by neglecting social media.

In conclusion, I have learned and am still learning a lot from my post. My students have learned and are learning a lot from my post. Social media can be very dangerous but there is also a great opportunity for companies and churches. Social media is not going away any time soon... it's time for us to utilize social media in a positive way.

An Open Letter to Husbands Who Abuse Their Spouse:

Dear Abuser…

I want to make it clear that if you want to invoke Bible verses to control and manipulate your wife, the Bible is against you.

If you harm your wife physically, sexually, emotionally, or materially, Jesus stands against you.

To hide behind the Bible in order to justify how you treat your wife is vile. Justifying your attitudes and actions with the Bible is like blaming the cook book for the food poisoning you caused when you cooked a meal with putrid meat. The issue isn't with the book, but what you brought out of your fridge.

You are destroying your family, dishonouring God, and deceiving yourself.

I have met men who when their anger was exposed they became even more heated. When we assisted their families, they stormed out. When we called on them to repent, they admitted no wrongdoing and instead tried to play the victim. When we told them to leave the church, they were vindictive and spread all manner of falsity.

The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, warning him of men who would attempt to worm their way into relationships with women for all manner of evil intent. He says of such people, “They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.” (2 Timothy 3:8)

There is no place among the followers of Jesus for violence or harsh words, for sexual manipulation, for financial leverage or for making threats. Blaming tiredness or stress, or alcohol and drugs doesn’t cut it. These things are symptoms of a deeper issue in your heart. All such abuse is inexcusable, a betrayal of the standard set for husbands by the Creator of marriage.

Thankfully, the scenarios of abuse have been rare but they do exist. I know many more men who, with their wives, are faithfully serving the Lord Jesus in their marriages, and it is a joy to see their loving homes flourishing, with all the warts and occasional grumpiness mixed in.

But I am also painfully aware that I do not see everything that happens in the privacy of people’s homes or in the secret thoughts of people’s hearts. It’s possible that you may have slipped under my radar completely, which is why I’m doing the unusual thing of writing you an open letter.

If you are abusing the family that God has entrusted to your care, then the issue is not with the Bible, but your refusal to trust and believe what it says. Maybe there is a tendency in our culture to dissolve differences between men and women. It is true that our culture devalues both headship and service; they are assumed to be evils that inhibit our individual freedom.

But your abusive conduct is not the biblical alternative.

The model for marriage that the Bible offers is good and beautiful. It depicts man and woman as complementary; it upholds the dignity of both; their equality and their difference. Its takes its pattern from the person of Jesus Christ who loved his bride, the church, and gave himself up for her (Eph 5:25).

Headship is not wielding power over another, but is the exercise of responsiblilty, in love, for the flourishing of others. Submission is not the forced subjugation of one person to a cruel authoritarian, but a choice freely made to honour a person and acknowledge the weight of the responsibility God has placed on their shoulders. (And it is precisely because of that responsibility that the Bible places on husbands that it takes abuse and family violence so seriously.)

Revealing abuse, in whatever context it is taking place, is necessary.

If you are a perpetrator then there is no road to salvation that does not involve the bright light of truth shining into your heart and onto your behavior. Mercifully, the God who is against us in our arrogance and violence is also full of mercy when we turn toward him in humility and begin the long, hard road of repentance.

In Christ,


Pastor T Welch

Why I Love Autumn:

I love fall. As I sit on my back patio writing these words, the air makes me want to breathe deeply and enjoy life purposefully. Sure, part of it may have to do with the crisp, humid-less air, the anticipation for holidays with my family, and the pure giddiness that comes from stepping on the crunchiest leaf. But my love for fall is much deeper than the pumpkin spice, bonfires, and football games. This season speaks to my soul.

For a season that brings so much death to creation (including a hunter's prize), there seems to be quite a bit of joy. More than that, there seems to be a deep-rooted peace. No matter the cold that is coming for certain, I know it will not last. Spring will come. In approximately six months, the flowers will bloom and vibrant colors will return to the land. No matter how frigid the winter, life will be restored. Just think, if we did not have this certain hope, we would plead with God like the animals of Narnia for winter not to come, for all it brings is death and bitter cold. The promise of spring brings hope to my heart and a sweet reminder to my soul.

This is the gospel. Jesus Christ turns back the timetable to bring life to the dying. This is my state without Him. Just like Isaiah 40:6-7 says, “All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass.” The lushest tree in the summer cannot withstand the slightest autumn breeze that blows its coat away. On my own, I know I am living in an endless cycle of coming winter and death (Ephesians 2:1-3).

Praise God that this is not how Isaiah 40 ends. Peter comforts persecuted Christians with these words in his first letter: “You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for ‘All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.’ And this word is the good news that was preached to you” (1 Peter 1:23-25). My first birth led me to death, but praise the Lord He allowed that I was born again to a living hope through His Son Jesus Christ. This hope promises to never fade but is instead an evergreen of life and eternity with my Savior. That, my friends, is good news.

Christians are promised seasons of cold. Just like the believers to whom Peter wrote, life will be hard and suffering will come. What is even more certain than the chill that causes the leaves to fall is the hope of the Son returning in glory to bring eternal life and reward to his people.

Therefore, I do not live as one chaffed by the bitter cold of this world. I live with my eyes set on eternity, looking to the certain return of my Savior. The creatures of Narnia understood this living hope as well. As they awaited the return of their king, they sang:

“Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,

At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,

When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,

And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.” (C.S. Lewis, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe)

So enjoy this beautiful season. Take a stroll. Drink some apple cider. I’m convinced that conversation is just better around a fire pit. But more than all these things, in this season, praise God for the gospel that brings direction to the lost, rejoicing to the sorrowful, and life to the dead.

October Parent Newsletter 2017:

For Parents On the Go:

1) Kersey Valley Maize Adventure: Saturday, October 21st. Cost: $12 for maize/activities plus money for lunch. 10 am-2:30 pm.

2) Ridgecrest: Friday, November 17-Sunday, November 19th. Cost: $55. I still have spots available. If your son or daughter would like to go please let me know.

3) Operation Christmas Child Shoe boxes. We will be constructing the boxes for the church THIS Sunday in SS. We will be going shopping to fill the boxes on Wednesday, November 1.

4) We are starting a new series on Wednesday nights called "Habitudes" examining leadership principles found in the Bible.

5) Christmas Party at T and Julia's house. Saturday, December 2nd. Cost: FREE

Dear Parents,

We are one month into the new 9:00 am service and with the new service came more responsibilities for myself. One of the big questions this summer was, would the student ministry suffer as a result of my other responsibilities? I am curious to hear your thoughts on how I have been doing.

• Do you feel like the student ministry is suffering, thriving or staying the same? Please explain.
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• Do you feel as if the students are getting second best or still getting my best? Please explain.

I am curious to hear your opinion and thoughts. Please do not hesitate to share.

I am working hard to make sure that the students do not feel like second place and my responsibilities to the student ministry department do not falter.

Thank you for allowing your son or daughter to be a part of CREW Student Ministry.

Reaching, Teaching and Releasing,


Pastor T Welch