Presentation (No Video)

Good morning/evening. First, I would like to say thank you to Pastor ______________ and _____________ Baptist Church for the privilege to come by and present the ministry that the Lord has called us to. Also, to thank you for the nice room/accommodations…… and for the kind welcome you have given us here. We pray that God will richly bless you for being a blessing to us!

My name is Caleb Ballew, and I would like to introduce my family. This is my wife Tracy, our children Alex, Isaiah, Elijah, and Mattie. We are the Ballew Family from Faith Baptist Church in Staunton, Va. Bro. Eric Brown is our Pastor. We are church planting missionaries to the state of Idaho, serving through Macedonia World Baptist Missions.

Let me begin by telling you just a little bit about us and what God has done in our lives.

Caleb

I was saved at the age of 12 at the Canaanland Baptist Church in Resaca, GA. On September 4, 2002, at the age of 18, I surrendered to the call to preach the Gospel.

Tracy

My wife Tracy was saved at the age of 29 at the Victory Baptist Church in Macon, GA. We met at the Morning Side Drive Baptist Church in Dalton, GA. We were married on October 21, 2006.

In the fall of 2020, God began to deal with my heart about doing more for Him. I began to pray and seek council from my Pastor, Bro. Eric Brown. On January 28, 2021, during a morning revival service, Pastor Brown quoted Matthew 14:22 And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. The moment he quoted that verse, God said in my heart, “You asked Me what I wanted you to do for Me. I want you to go to the other side of your country for Me!” That day I surrendered to the will of God for my life and the call to be a missionary to Idaho. Idaho covers over 83,000 square miles, has 2,000,000 people. That we can find there are around 25 good, Bible preaching Baptist Churches.

Ponderay is in Bonner County, about 60 miles south of the Canadian border. Ponderay has about 1,300 people, Sandpoint is the county county seat and is about 2 miles away and has about 9,000 people in it. The nearest good church is about 35 minutes away in Bonners Ferry, ID.

Ezekiel 3:15-17 15 Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days. 16 And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 17 Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

Filled with hippies and sodomites

Man at the lake (I had Georgia shirt on, he was an Auburn fan)

Lady whose sister lives in Sagle

Man from Walmart that is opening a resale shop

Mom and daughter from Pinehurst that moved to the area and are looking for a church

What we want to do is

· Tell them the Good News that JESUS SAVES! You don’t have to work for your salvation before or after you trust Him. Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

· We want to plant a church.

· Train the new converts in what it means to live for and serve God.

· See that church grow to be able to support its own Pastor.

· Go to another town and start it all again.

To do this, we must have two things.

I. Prayers

We ask that you pray for the Ballew family as we endeavor to get to the place God has called us!

In fact, I want to ask that you remember us at a specific time. What do you think of when you think of Idaho? POTATOES When you eat potatoes, pray for the Ballew family to Idaho. Fried, boiled, mashed, scalloped, baked, twice baked, POTATO CHIPS!!!!!! If we can get people to pray for us when they eat potatoes, we will be the most prayed for missionaries in the world!!!!!! And in turn, YOU will have a part in every soul we have the privilege of leading to Christ!!!!!!

II. Money

We must have money to survive. It’s true for the truck driver, the restaurant cook, the delivery guy, the Pastor, and for the missionary. Our goal is to be able to dedicate ourselves full time to the work of the Lord, to have as much impact as possible on the community God puts us in. Would you please pray about how God can use your church in a monetary way to reach the state of Idaho for Christ?