25th Anniversary Celebration!

This past weekend we traveled to Connecticut to help the good folks at River Valley Baptist Church in Ansonia, Connecticut celebrate the 25th anniversary of their church. God used us to plant this new work in October of 1987, and after pastoring the work for 18 years, I turned over the reins to Pastor Chris Camp, my able associate of many years. Pastor Camp and the church people put on a wonderful anniversary dinner on Saturday evening, with delicious food made by the church's hospitality committee. The choir sang, and there was special music. Dr. Barry Brown, now the associate pastor at Central Baptist Church in Southington, CT and part of the staff of New England Baptist College, but in 1987 the pastor of White Oak Baptist Church in Stratford, was the special speaker for the evening. It was under Dr. Brown's ministry that I was called to preach, and through his leadership and direction, we were sent to Ansonia to begin the new work. He challenged the church from 1 Corinthians 15:58 to remain steadfast to the task God had called them. He and I received special gifts from the church as tokens of their appreciation, and after the dinner it was time for pictures that will be tokens of remembrance of a wonderful event in the life of the church.
On Sunday, I was privileged to teach the adult Sunday school class and preach both the morning and evening services. It felt good to once again stand in the pulpit before our friends of many years. It was also good to see new faces of those whose lives have been touched by the continued ministry of the church. River Valley will always hold a special place in our hearts as we recall the miracles God performed in the lives of so many over the years. It was difficult to finally go home after the Sunday evening service after emotional "good-byes" were said. Our prayer is that God will continue to bless Pastor Camp and the congregation of River Valley as they continue to remain faithful to God and their calling upon their lives.

Pastor Norm Aabye

A Special Time of Year

October is a special time of year that always brings fond remembrances of God's hand at work. After four weeks of "get acquainted" meetings in the Ansonia Red Cross building, we held the first service of the River Valley Baptist Church in Ansonia, Connecticut on October 25th, 1987, in the gymnasium of the Lincoln-Hayes School. This week marks the 25th Anniversary of that church plant, and we are looking forward to attending the special services, and seeing old friends again. Pastor Barry Brown, who is the assistant pastor at Central Baptist Church in Southington, Connecticut will bring the message Saturday evening at the anniversary banquet. Bro. Brown was the founder and pastor of White Oak Baptist Church in Stratford, Connecticut back in the early '80s, and it was under his preaching that God called me to preach. After many years at White Oak, Pastor Brown became affiliated with the New England Baptist College in Southington, as well as a staff position at Central Baptist. He has always been a good friend in the ministry, and I am looking forward to hearing him deliver the Word of God. I will have the privilege of preaching the Anniversary Sunday morning message at River Valley, am looking forward with great anticipation of standing behind the pulpit once again, of the work God used us to begin. Brother Chris Camp, who was my able associate for many years, is now the pastor at RVBC, and doing a great job of keeping a good testimony for the Lord in the Naugatuck Valley area. The Lord has been faithful to that work for all these years, and there are still some folks at River Valley who were in that first service 25 years ago!
RVBC is our sending church for our missionary work among the elderly in the nursing homes of America. They have stood by us and faithfully supported our work, as well as having a significant presence on the mission fields of the world through a solid church missions program. White Oak Baptist Church, from which we were sent to plant River Valley, also plays a very real part in supporting our present work. Without partners in the ministry like this, we could not be able to make  a difference for the Lord. We do not take it lightly that we represent not only the Lord, but also those faithful friends who share our burden for the lost and who financially help us to remain "full-time" on the field. Our prayer is that if the Lord tarries in His coming, He will raise up others to catch the vision of reaching those who are living literally "on the brink of eternity".

Missionary Pastor,
Norm Aabye

God's Hand At Work!

Autumn is almost on its way out. Cold nights, frost on the ground in the morning, and the colors of the leaves at their peak tells us that the season we dread most is on its way. Of course there's nothing we can do about winter (unless someone has a free plane ride to warmer climates, with free accommodations until the snow's gone!), and the work of the  ministry must go on. We have seen some amazing work by the Holy Spirit as He's worked in the hearts of nursing home residents. Recently we had five individuals (4 men and 1 woman) accept Christ during a service at a facility near our home. To make sure they understood the invitation, I reworked from another angle (!) and again asked them if they would like to receive the Lord as their Saviour. All responded affirmatively. Praise the Lord! We were back at that particular home today. It's sometimes a difficult place to minister because the people are not sick, but are either developmentally handicapped in some way, or have some slight diminished mental capacity. Today several were complaining that no one ever comes to visit them. It was sad, but then one of the men told everyone that I had been his friend for several years. It really choked me up a bit. I then told everyone present that we were aware that most of them seldom had visitors but that's why we were there....we were there friends. We thought the service was going to be disappointing because I had inadvertently left the suitcase of songbooks at home. The people were wondering what we were going to do (they don't do well with disappointment). I said, "Let's all just sing the first verse of the songs you know". What a great time we had, with many lifting their voices loudly to the songs they were familiar with. It was a great service.
Earlier this week, the Lord wrought a great victory. After our service at one of the larger nursing homes in the area, one of the workers approached me and said that the Jehovah's Witnesses had been given a place on the calendar twice a month. When they came for their first service they told the people they were going to teach "Christianity". As they began, the "teacher" told everyone that God had created the angels and then created a "very special angel" named Jesus! Workers and residents were in an uproar, to say the least. The activity director's office is right in the corner where the service was held. She had heard the whole thing. She approached the JW leader and told them they were being removed from the monthly calendar immediately. Praise the Lord for discerning staff members with backbone!
We constantly need your prayers. We are on the front line of the battle for the souls of those nearest eternity.
Thank you to all those who make our continuing ministry possible.