The Trumpet would like to keep our readers informed about your activities, needs and prayer requests through our Spotlight on Missions column. Due to limited space, we can only run your updates once a month, and must restrict them to about 150 words. (Photos — jpeg format, as large as possible with a resolution of at least 300 dpi — can also be run as space is available.) Please be sure to include your name, place of service and email address. We look forward to hearing from you!

Ed Stephenson —We Must Preach The Word —Preachers, are you glad God called you to preach? What an honor! When I was 15 years old and told my church that the Lord had called me to preach, everybody started crying. I thought to myself, “Well, I broke their heart.” Then Bro. Marvin, who always called me Eddard, stood up and told the church, “Now, listen, folks, we ought to be glad God called Eddard to preach. It was either that or prison!” In the last 49 years, I’ve preached to few and I’ve preached to many. What a thrill it is to preach the Word of God. Let me assure you that if you’re looking for someone to join you in de-emphasizing the importance of preaching, you’ve elected the wrong man.

The Baptist Missionary Association Theological Seminary of Jacksonville, TX, will hold its 2013 commencement exercises on Saturday, May 18, 2 p.m. in the seminary’s Dorman Memorial Chapel. BMA Seminary is located at 1530 East Pine Street, and the event is open to the public. This year’s graduating class will be the seminary’s 56^th. Graduates will receive Associate, Bachelor and Master’s degrees during the ceremony.

The picture on our Special Emphasis poster this year showed my best side — my back — and the poster got right to the point: “The Baptist Trumpet needs our friends to watch our backs… The Trumpet operates on a shoestring with only about $4,000 to back us up. Since the cost for an issue (printing, postage and mailing alone) is over $2,850, we are only one issue away from not being able to put out a paper at any given time. A good Special Emphasis offering will give us a little breathing room…” I set our goal at $15,000, which was a bare minimum to keep our noses above water… As of today, May 14, we have received $32,786.26 (well over twice what I asked for) and I’ve been told that more is coming!

Terry Kimbrow — Central Baptist College honored a record number of graduates at commencement on Saturday, May 11 at 3 p.m. with an outdoor ceremony. Graduation activities started at 1 p.m. with a reception honoring the graduates in the Mabee Student Services complex Dining Hall… Each graduate received a brick with his/her name that will be placed in the Alumni Walk. The bricks will be laid in the walkway in between the Harold E. Cooper and David T. Watkins buildings. The CBC Alumni Association also presented graduates with a CBC Alumni tumbler. The class of 2013 totaled over 120 graduates, with 87 of those participating in the ceremony.

Travis Plumlee — A news commentator on MSNBC recently said, “Conservative parents need to get over this notion that their children belong to them. Children belong to the collective community.” But children do belong to their parents according to God Almighty! This is clearly established in Eph. 6:1, 4: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” The State Department does not have the authority to raise children. God has given the authority, and the command, to parents to raise their children.

Larry Barker — Mission America is connected with the Lausanne Conference with their focus on reaching all of North America with the gospel. They have begun a new campaign called Love 2020 with a threefold approach of Prayer, Care and Share. They state, “The vision of Love 2020 is for every person in America to be loved by at least one Christ follower, who is living a prayer-care-share lifestyle, by the year-end of 2020.” The spirit and passion to blanket our country with the gospel of Jesus Christ was very compelling.

Valarie Fish — These are turbulent times. Every day on the news you hear of more conflict as religion gives excuse to violence and hatred; atrocities done in the name of jihad — holy war.God says we are in a holy war — but not with each other. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Eph. 6:12 NKJV)As believers, our enemies are not those who practice a different religion or who serve a different god. Our battle is not against the abortionist or the political left. We do not war against ideologies or militant extremists. Although it may seem this is the battlefield, we have to remember that our real enemy is Satan.

Jonathan Stone, Church Planter in Celina, TX

The women and girls of Denver Street Baptist Church at Greenwood will host their second annual Sisters Mentoring Conference on Saturday, May 18, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Joanna Allen, missionary to Philippines, will be the keynote speaker for the conference. The Asia-Pacific Women’s Conference Trio will lead music for the worship sessions. The conference theme is “Beautiful Storms” and will focus on hard times and healing. The conference is free and open to the public. Lunch will be provided by men of the church. Also included will be a fundraiser for Asia-Pacific Women’s Conference and will feature used media materials (books, DVD’s, CD, music, etc.) at yard sale prices. Women and girls 12 years and older may register by calling Sherry at (870) 543-9640. For further information, call Jerene at (501) 733-0996.