Open-Air Preaching at Georgia State University in Atlanta

Greetings, Remnant Body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace, mercy, and peace be with with you in these troublesome times. Almighty God yet reigns, and His purposes will be fulfilled, every jot and every tittle, for the good of those that love Him. So, be of good cheer, my brethren. The battle is already won.

Since my last post nearly a month ago, we here at Full Proof Gospel Ministries have been busy preaching, not only from behind a pulpit, bus also in the open-air: on college campuses, in front of abortion clinics and bus stations, and along public sidewalks. The arms of ministry we support in Argentina and Nepal have been doing the same to the glory of God. For the moment, I find myself gazing at an original page from a 1611 first-edition King James pulpit Bible that I inherited from my late grandfather, Jesse Laney Boyd. This precious and extremely rare treasure hangs in a place of prominence in my ministry office and just happens to contain the theme passage for Full Proof Gospel Ministries - II Timothy 4:1-5. In these verses, the Apostle Paul exhorts young Timothy to "Preach the word; be instant in season and out of season" and to "make full proof of thy ministry." These days are definitely "out of season" in terms of the public preaching of the Word of God: out of season for the world, and sadly, out of season for the American Church. But, we must heed this biblical exhortation and preach, preach, preach the Gospel while we still can. In this, as I see it, we make full proof of our ministry.

Nate Henderson lifts up his voice in Birmingham, Alabama.

Our recent college campus preaching tour in the Deep South went really well. I was joined by Brother Ken Lightsey from Newman, California (This brother came to Nepal last year and aided us in the work there) and Nate Henderson, a homeschooled young man from our local house church that I have been discipling. We targeted a total of 15 campuses across five states (North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama). Surprisingly, we encountered very little opposition (i.e. not the norm), and Gospel tracts went out in abundance at every campus. Many heard the Word of God, including Muslims from Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Southern China. Pray specifically for Hamid, an Iranian Muslim who clearly heard the Gospel as we conversed for a good while on the campus of Georgia Tech. Per his request, I recently shipped him a really nice Bible that he promised to study. May the Word of the Lord NOT return void in this young man's life. Numerous Christian students on these campuses were also exhorted unto a bolder walk with the Lord. Truly, God was good and gave us an open door of utterance. I was real proud of Nate. He was a tracting machine and had the guts to publicly read aloud the Holy Scriptures on several occasions. At Winston-Salem State University, Daniel Middleton, another brother from our house church, joined us and likewise preached in the open-air for the first time. How pleasant it is to see the fruit of discipleship.

Ken Lightsey prepares to preach outside of Mississippi's only abortuary.

Along our route, we also had the privilege of preaching outside the last remaining abortion clinic in the State of Mississippi; in downtown Mobile, Alabama while the out-of-commission Carnival cruise ship was docked there; and at one of my favorite haunts, the busy transit center in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina. We also exhorted the brethren at a couple of churches, including a Chinese Fellowship in Greater Atlanta. I loved being with my Asian brothers and sisters. In all of this, the Lord gave a spirit of boldness and assuredly answered the prayers of His saints.

Posing with a Portrait of my Great Grandfather and One of His Books

Mississippi College, one of campuses along this preaching tour, was especially memorable. Why? Let me provide some background: My great grandfather, Jesse Laney Boyd (1881-1967), was a notable figure in Mississippi's Baptist history. He planted and pastored a number of rural frontier churches there during the early 1900's, served as a chaplain in France during World War I, and later helped establish the Mississippi Baptist Historical Commission at Mississippi College in Clinton (1938). He also authored several books dealing with Baptist history and taught at Mississippi College, a historically Baptist institution and his alma mater, from 1947-1959. I never knew my great grandfather, but I am told he was a godly man who loved history, particularly that of Baptist circuit riders and street preachers during the Great Awakenings. He loved the Word of God; he cherished the pastorate; and he often longed to preach Christ on the foreign mission field. Unfortunately, the latter was never realized in his lifetime. But in a way, that dream is fulfilled through me, three generations later. For we preach the same Christ, love the same Bible, and have the same heart for the lost. And, in a big way, is it my godly heritage that has compelled me, convicted me to be obedient to the Great Commission, even to the farthest reaches of the globe. Anyway, while in Mississippi, I wanted to honor my great grandfather by preaching on the public sidewalk at Mississippi College to the professing Christians that attend classes there. So, Ken, Nate, and I drove over to Clinton and first visited the office of the Mississippi Baptist Historical Commission that he established and is now housed in the school library. While there, the secretary blessed me with a couple of his books, both currently out of print, and allowed me to peruse through boxes of old documents, photos, and papers concerning Jesse Laney Boyd's life. It was a blast. I had been wanting a copy of his "A History of Baptists in America Prior to 1845" for quite some time but had given up on finding it. Ironically, the lady in the office gave me a well-preserved copy that had been laying in the vault. I am working my way through this text even now, finding myself freshly convicted by the examples of my Baptist forefathers to keep preaching the Word, both in season and out of season. It has often been said: "Those that don't know their history are doomed to repeat it." But, I say: When it comes to Bible-believing followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, those that don't know their history are doomed NOT to repeat it. If you sit around and do little for the cause of Jesus Christ; if you are caught up in the world and love having your ears tickled with sermonettes for Christianettes; then study your church history. You will be ashamed and convicted, hopefully unto boldness for the faith.

Preaching to Students at Mississippi College

Anyway, after our visit to the Office of the Historical Commission, we proceeded to set up at nice location on the public sidewalk adjacent to the campus and Clinton's historic downtown. It was pretty cold and dead, but simply for the sake of heritage, I started to preach with a small speaker, particularly speaking to Christian students concerning complete surrender to the Great Commission of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amazingly, several groups of students showed up to listen. Some started sitting down on the steps above the sidewalk. Others gathered at a corner across the street. Before long, I actually had a crowd. When I finished preaching, several students approached to thank me for taking the time to convict and remind them concerning the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. The conversation continued for awhile as we spoke of the mission field, evangelism, discipleship, and all sorts of relevant topics for young believers. They asked questions; I answered. They then gathered around to pray for me and our ministry. I was truly blessed that afternoon. One young man later wrote: "Hey man! I just wanted to thank you once again for coming to MC today and preaching the gospel so boldly man! That was some serious encouragement for me! Praying for you man!" Another penned: "This is Ty, I met you at Mississippi College. I just want to say thank you again for your encouragement, and I will be praying for you as you continue your journey." Who says street-preaching isn't "effective"? Please lift up a student at Mississippi College named Danny Ruth. He loves the Lord and has a heart for missions. He is seeking an open door to go into a closed country with the Gospel. Please join me in praying for the Lord to open such a door. Wow, two Scriptures immediately come to mind: "Thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name" (Psalm 61:5); and "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required" (Luke 12:48). I have no choice but to keep preaching while I can. Below, you can follow the link to actually hear the message I preached that day in Clinton, Mississippi. I trust it will be as much an encouragement to you as it was to those Christian students:

To Christians on a Christian Campus

Brethren, when I preach in the open-air, I don't desire to be like "shock-n-awe" preachers who rant and rave from all over map, calling out individuals and seeking to create an uproar. I like crowds, but I am not one to go out of my way to draw them. Instead, I'll take what the Lord gives me, and I aim with each message to exegete the Scriptures in proper context while giving attention to reading, exhortation, and sound doctrine (cf. I Timothy 4:13). I pray that in these things I have been found a faithful steward. Below, you might find some of the open-air messages preached on our recent campus preaching tour useful and edifying. All of these can also be found on Full Proof Gospel Ministries' PODCAST.

As mentioned, the arms of ministry we support in both Argentina and Nepal have also been busy preaching the Gospel and doing the work of the Great Commission. Recently, I received awesome updates from both Ricky Springer in South America and Bishnu Shrestha in Kathmandu. Please take the time to follow the links posted below and read these updates. Ricky and Bishnu need your continued prayers and support.

We need your support to keep funding work like this medical/preaching camp in Nepal.

Dear friends, I need to be blunt about an issue I normally avoid. We have seen Full Proof Gospel Ministries grow with God's blessings these past few months. Not only are we busy in our normal endeavors, but we are now laboring to support another full-time missionary, Ricky Springer, in South America as well as Project Jagerna and Bishnu's growing work in Nepal. A simple perusal of the above-mentioned updates from these individuals will plainly indicate the needs we are facing. It is of utmost necessity that we see our committed monthly support increase if we are going to continue underpinning these works. As has been the case for most of our history, our regular monthly operating budget exceeds our levels of pledged monthly support. Please pray about supporting this ministry on a monthly basis. Even $25 or $50 a month would go a long way. Currently, we are faced with several financial needs. Ricky's support is nearly exhausted, and he still has nearly four months remaining in Argentina where many things are more expensive than the United States. In mid-June, I am planning to rendezvous with Ricky in Chile so that we can follow the Israeli travelers north as they migrate toward the Equator with the onset of the austral winter. Our proposed route will include remote corners of Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Colombia; and we anticipate abundant opportunity to preach Christ to both Israeli backpackers and Spanish-speaking South Americans. Airline tickets have gotten so expensive; the Lord is going to have to provide for the cost of this journey. As for the work in Nepal, there are needs. Bishnu needs a trustworthy vehicle and help to be able to keep up with the rent on the newly-opened Gospel Center in Kathmandu. As always, we cannot print enough Project Jagerna Scripture portions, so there is always a need for printing funds. Traveling and preaching in the United States, one of the world's largest mission fields, is not cheap these days either. For more information on how you or your church can help Full Proof Gospel Ministries financially, CLICK HERE. We need more committed monthly support, plain and simple. God's will be done, and thanks for your prayers in these matters. Thanks also to those who have been so faithful to support this work over the years. Your financial generosity is not taken for granted; and we trust we have shown ourselves proper stewards of the Lord's money.

A Recent FPGM Tract Distribution in Patagonia

On a side note, please pray for the persecuted brethren in Pakistan. Recently, a whole bunch of Christians near Lahore had their homes ransacked, torched, and destroyed by barbaric Muslim mobs. Here is a link to an online news article about this. In the past, we have supported and labored with a dear Pakistani brother who hazards his life for the sake of the Gospel on a daily basis not far from where this transpired. Recently, Full Proof Gospel Ministries had the great privilege of sending funds to Pakistan to help this brother obtain food, blankets, and other basic necessities for the Christians who lost everything at the hands of those wicked Muslims. Please pray that these items get to the brethren in a timely fashion. Please also pray for our colleague there on the ground. He is a bold preacher, a genuine soldier of the Cross. For security reasons I cannot go into further detail.

We also covet your prayers for Brother James, one of pastors we have labored alongside in Bangladesh, a Muslim country. We have been endeavoring over the past few months to help this brother secure a tourist visa to America so that FPGM can bring him here for evangelism training and to help better equip him for the very difficult work there in his own country, another place where believers see real persecution. You might remember that we were able to do a similar thing with Bishnu back in 2008. Initially, James' application was rejected; but a local Congressman has since contacted the Dhaka Embassy on our behalf, and we have made a 2nd appeal. Please pray that the Lord "moves the heart of the king" per se and opens this door. I cannot go into any further details at this point; just pray that our dear brother, a bold man of God, gets the visa. If he does, we are trusting the Lord to then provide financial means to make the journey possible sometime in the spring or summer.

This week, we will be doing some more preaching on local college campuses here in North Carolina. As in times past, please pray for boldness and an open door of utterance. We must keep preaching while we still can, both in season and out of season. The results are in God's hands.

For the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ,

Jesse & the Boyd Family

P.S. Don't forget about Jesse Boyd's ongoing exegetical study from the Book of Revelation at New Testament Christian Fellowship here in Conover, NC. These messages are and will continue to be posted on FPGM's PODCAST and HERE. You can also subscribe to them on ITunes (Full Proof Gospel Ministries Podcast). I pray these are an encouragement to the brethren in dark times.