There’s an online church directory for Free Will Baptist churches around the nation! Next time you travel you can find out what churches will be near you. You can even add picture and a welcome video for your church! Check it out:

http://directory.nafwb.org/#top

Want to be sure you’re up to date on what’s happening around the nation and around the world with Free Will Baptists? Sign up for the newsletter here:

https://app.e2ma.net/app2/audience/signup/1913541/1911555.172295939/

One Magazine is available online any time at: http://onemag.org/aprmay2021.htm

You can also register to receive a copy at: http://onemag.org/subscribe.htm

Here’s one sample of MANY articles and news stories in One Magazine:

FIRST GLIMPSE: Hidden Treasure?

A driftwood fire crackled merrily, and the smoky smell of coffee wafted through the cool morning air. Easing back on my elbows in the powdery sand, I waited with a smile for the old, blackened coffee pot to finish perking. I yawned and stretched as I admired early morning clouds tinged with pink on the distant horizon.

After backpacking five miles through soft sand and scratchy underbrush the previous evening, my daughter and I discovered a pristine location near the end of the deserted Gulf island we set out to explore. Tucked into a hollow between two enormous sand dunes, we raised our small, worn tent against an enormous drift log. After scavenging firewood, we spent a fantastic evening roasting marshmallows and drinking hot chocolate. My last thought before drifting off to sleep was how much I enjoyed the sound of crashing waves on the shore. Perfect.

Eight hours later, as dawn slowly brightened to brilliant sunrise, I savored my coffee and simply relaxed as I waited for Sleepyhead to stir. Running my toes through the sand, I wondered for the umpteenth time how sand could be so soft.

“Ouch!” A sudden sharp pain between my toes put a damper on the otherwise idyllic morning. Reaching down, I pulled a short length of corroded chain from the sand. “Litterbugs!” I exclaimed with disgust, rubbing the small cut left between my toes. Shaking my head, I shoved the corroded metal into the side pocket of my hiking shorts to discard later. At that moment, a sleepy face surrounded by tousled blond locks poked from the tent door. “Do I smell coffee?”

We turned attention to breakfast, breaking camp, and retracing our route back down the island. Four hours later, we arrived at the parking area scratched, sunburned, sweaty, and ready for shade. We stowed our gear and, after a last glance at the scenery, prepared to head for civilization.

Remembering the refuse, I stepped over to the drab green trash bin. As I drew back my hand to toss in the chain, I froze. The hours of rubbing back and forth in my pocket had removed the corrosion and turned the links a soft, golden glow. The trash had become treasure! A trip to an antique dealer confirmed it. The buried chunk of corrosion was not only gold, but pure gold—scarred and worn but just as precious.

Jesus spoke clearly about treasure in His Sermon on the Mount. He taught followers one’s “treasure” says much about the condition of the heart. Obsession with the material, a lack of generosity, and misplaced confidence in wealth (Luke 12:27-34; Matthew 6:19-21) point to a heart divided, torn between two masters—God and money (Matthew 6:24). In contrast, generosity, careful stewardship of resources, eternal values, and faith God will provide reflect a heart fully devoted to God, not distracted by the glittering baubles of this life.

Most important, we must not bury our most precious treasure: salvation. Christ’s gift of redemption is not something to be hidden or hoarded but shared. Like a candle in the darkness or a shining city on a hill (Matthew 5:14-16), God’s grace should gleam from our lives, pointing others to a treasure far better than anything marked by an X on some tattered parchment.

Hidden treasure? No way! Not for the Christian.

About the Columnist: Eric K. Thomsen is managing editor of ONE Magazine. Email: eric@nafwb.org.

I believe I speak for everyone when I say that it was great to be back together with a semblance of normalcy. But, what is normal anymore? If you attended you would have felt the same sense of happiness and sense of urgency to spread the gospel. Part of the experience of being at the meetings is we get to be around other like-minded believers, encourage each other, and get motivated to do go back out and share the gospel!

Pastor Faron Thebeau did a fantastic job of bringing the word and firing us up to jump into the mission–the great commission! He shared a little of what God is doing through him and his ministry at Mosaic Church (that he planted) in Rolla, Missouri. Faron is “becoming all things” and doing whatever he can to “reach as many as possible” in the diverse city that God has sent him. The Mosaic has a unique opportunity to engage with people from many countries around the world. Faron is capitalizing on these and making disciples.

It was great meeting with everyone and seeing what all is happening in all of our churches around the state, seeing what new ministries are in the works, and just being encouraged. The world may be going the wrong direction, but God is most definitely doing big things! If you, or your church is ever tempted to think otherwise, I challenge you to reach out to your brother and sisters in the church. Talk with each other. Share what God is doing. Hear what others are doing and what God is doing now, so that you will know with certainty that He is still working. Go and make disciples!