"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him."  Ephesians 1:17

As we embark on a new year I am already challenged about how fast it is going by.  It is already the end of January!  It is my sincere prayer that as we face 2007 that God will give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him that we may move swiftly and prayerfully to redeem the time.

During the month of January we spent some time in Canada with one of our missionaries, Brother Gordon Horton and his family.  I preached for him while we were there. On January 14th  I had the honor of preaching for my son Jonathan who is the pastor of Amazing Grace Baptist Church, one of our supporting churches, and we saw five precious souls saved that morning!!  I also preached in three different mission conferences here in the states.

February and March will be very busy.  I will be preaching in several conferences in a number of different states.  Please help us pray that these churches and the people will get a hold of Faith Promise mission giving.  Also help me pray that God will touch the hearts of good men and that they will see the great need of missions here in the United States.  We currently have 41 men and their families either on the field or on the way to the field in the U.S. alone.  But we need more.  Pray for these 41 families that God will give them all they need to effectively serve him.  I have had the honor of working personally with these men.  I have been with the most of them to their field and I know personally the great need there.  Some of these men that are on deputation need to be on the field this year.  Some are just before being ready to go and the people there need them now.  Please make this an urgent matter of prayer.

I would also like to remind you of the Southeastern Conference for World Missions that our pastor, Dr. Jeremy Simpson and our home church, Walters Grove Baptist Church in Lexington, NC will host on February 28-March 2.  I know you will be blessed and stirred for missions if you can come.  For more information call the church office at 336-859-4892.

On a personal note, would you please remember to pray for my dad, Olin Barker?  He will be 86 years old in March and has faithfully preached the Word for over 55 years.  Right after Christmas we found out that he had a large mass in his stomach which was cancer.  He has had surgery and hopefully they got it all, but his recovery has been very slow.  He longs to be able to preach again.  Please pray for him.  Also in January I was diagnosed with two herniated discs in my back.  Presently I am undergoing some treatments, but traveling has become difficult. I sure would appreciate your prayers concerning my health.

Thank you for your faithful financial support and prayers.  We love you and pray for you faithfully.