Dr. James Alexander Stewart wrote in his autobiography, I Must Tell, about the wisdom and influence of his mother.

James Stewart’s father was very sick and the whole family had to work to help keep the family together.  When he was six years old, James told his mother that he would help by working for the farmer next door.  Over the few next years he had many jobs, including delivering milk, newspapers and morning rolls.

Dr. Stewart said the biggest thing in his life was soccer.  By 8 and 10 years of age, his skill was so good that he played with boys much older than himself.  His headmaster at school said, “James is a genius at sports.”

James’ father passed away when he was fourteen years old and every spare  moment of his life was given to perfecting his soccer skills.  Sports leaders were already speaking of James turning pro by the age of 16.  He was gifted!

His mother had prayed before James was born that God would use her son for the salvation of souls. Her son was gifted and talented.  The world desired his talents and offered him fame, pleasure and money.

James Stewart’s mother claimed Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”  His mother made sure her son went to church.  Dr. Stewart said, “My mother made sure that I sat under the best gospel message.”  She believed the Bible and honored God’s Word.   Though James had the ability to be a star soccer player, he instead went on to become a world-famous missionary, evangelist and author.

Mom and dad, Be faithful to church!  The souls of our children and grandchildren are the target of the devil.

We must be faithful!

You are loved,                                                                                                                                 Pastor and Muzette

Happy 4th of July!  This is the day we celebrate the   freedom we enjoy as Americans, with family, food and fireworks!

Faith and family have great influences on our freedom. Spiritual freedom and political freedom are all moved in a positive or negative way by the spiritual health of our homes and churches.

As individuals we touch and influence our family and loved ones through our faith.  When we walk close to the Lord, our faith is strengthened, but when we allow ourselves to grow cold and careless we become spiritually weak.  Our families, our friends, our church, and our community are all influenced by our walk or lack of walk with God.

As we approach July 4th, let’s pause to give thanks for the bold faith and courage of our Founding Fathers.  Now it is the responsibility of our generation to have faith for our future as we reflect upon our own personal faith and commitment.

As we look forward to this wonderful summer holiday, let’s not forget the Lord and America’s great spiritual need!

Please be in prayer for exciting opportunities to reach out to our community. Watch for more information about our Back to School Extravaganza and be much in prayer for our Jubilee.

Enjoy a safe and fun holiday.

Pastor Ralph and Muzette

Trinity Baptist has always been a place of love and acceptance.  We strive to be a church that makes everyone feel welcome and a part of the family of faith.

One of our sayings has been,

Trinity Baptist Church, Hope, Heritage and a place to call Home.

Home is a great place in a world that seems to have lost its way.  The power of the home is the glue of a marriage.  The home is the safe place for our children and teens.

Think about the influence of a mom and dad that love God, love each other and love to attend church together.

Do you realize that there are over 74 million young people under the age of 18 in America?  That is about 25% of our population.

Please join with me in prayer that we can reach more children and families than ever before.

Our nursery department starts with the infants and loves them until they grow to toddlers.  Let’s be sure that we continue to nurture these children as they grow through all age groups of our Children’s Ministry.  These are all God’s Children.

We want to see growth in our Sunday School department and to expand the outreach of Vacation Bible School.  All of our Sunday Night activities are reaching out to the 18 year old and younger age groups.

Just this past week, Linda Green left us to go to heaven.  One of her wishes was to support growth in our Children’s Ministries.  The Green family has honored her with a wonderful memorial.

Let’s work and pray together to leave a lasting legacy for our children and grandchildren.

You are loved,

Pastor and Muzette

Trinity Baptist is blessed with wonderful families.  We have many couples expecting babies or in the process of becoming foster parents or adopting.

Our families are our future, and great families are built upon great faith.  It is this faith that carries us through as we encounter the heartaches of life as well as the joys.  Our faith is our families’ glue.

Families bring their babies to church and together we watch them grow and mature.  Our church functions as an extended family as well as the place of worship.

We honor our graduates today.  Some have grown up in Trinity and we share in the joy and congratulate each one on their hard work!

Last Sunday, Caleigh told me she had graduated. She was so proud and happy to share her story.  I asked her, “What grade will you be going into?”  She replied, “K5!”

We have graduation excitement in our own family.  Granddaughter Lexi completed her “Stepping Up Ceremony” at Asheville Christian Academy.  She now enters into her four years of high school, while Savannah has graduated from Western Carolina with her Master’s Degree.

We have graduates from high school, some from college, and even some from post-graduate studies.

Today we will honor you all and celebrate together as a very blessed family.

Our families and our faith are our future.  May we thank the Lord together for our graduates and our church!

You are loved,

Pastor and Muzette

Memorial Day, the day to honor our Heroes, Past and Present.

Originally Memorial Day was called Decoration Day, and was designated as the day to remember those who have died in the service of the United States of America.

This day of remembrance was born out of the Civil War, a time of unbelievable death and destruction.  The war ripped families apart as well as the nation.

In May, 1966, President Lyndon Johnson gave the honor to Waterloo, NY, as the birthplace of Memorial Day.

General John Logan issued General Order No. 11:

“The 30th of May 1968 is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of Comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion…”

They chose to call this day Decoration Day because it was not in honor of or on an anniversary of any particular battle.

On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery as they decorated the graves of 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried there.

That was Past and now is the Present.  We still have men and women in uniform that are in harm’s way.  We honor them today, for as we know, FREEDOM IS NOT FREE!

There is also a Memorial Day for all eternity.

Two thousand years ago, Jesus, the Son of God, invaded hell for our salvation.

Jesus gave His life for us!  He took our place in the justice of God.

We must never forget that Jesus paid our sin debt.  HIS LIFE FOR MINE!

Please be careful this holiday weekend as we remember together our Heroes, Past and Present.

You are loved!  Thank you again for being faithful.

Pastor and Muzette