The Alabama Messenger May/June 2023

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KENNETH W. DRAUGHON, D.MIN.

NETWORK SUPERINTENDENT

ds@amnag.org

AMN Conference Recap

We recently concluded our 2023 Annual Network Conference (District Council) here in Montgomery at First Assembly of God. We are so grateful for the excellent hospitality Pastor Greg Kelley, Ginger Kelley, MGM staff, and the church family afforded us. We were blessed with the ministry of Dr. Joseph Dimitrov, and General Superintendent Doug Clay in our main services. Thanks to Ryan Moore, Laura Lee, Dr. Jeffery Portmann and JusPn Mack for ministering in our banquets and luncheons.

I was humbled and deeply appreciaPve for this wonderful Alabama AG family returning me to office as your superintendent. I look forward to conPnuing to seek God’s plan for this fellowship as we posture ourselves to accomplish God’s plan. I am thankful for the Network ExecuPve officers, Network Leadership team, Office staff that work with me. Also, the AMN Network Presbytery is a fantasPc team to work with.

I shared in the opening service on the theme of: Your Call—Your Assignment. “And the Lord said, “This is the one; anoint him” (1 Samuel 16:12). You are called by God to do amazing things with your ministry. Let me share the points of the message.

I. The REVELATION of the call—CHOSEN BY GOD.

“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God” (Rom. 1:1). You have to know that God called you! God chose you—not man.

GIVE ME A MAN OF GOD – George Leddell

Give me a man of God—ONE MAN, whose faith is master of his mind, and I will right all wrongs and bless the name of all mankind.

Give me a man of God— ONE MAN, whose tongue is touched with heaven’s fire, and I will flame the darkest hearts with high resolve and clean desire.

Give me a man of God— ONE MAN, one mighty prophet of the Lord, and I will give you peace on earth, bought with a prayer and not a sword. Give me a man of God— ONE MAN, true to the vision that he sees, and I will build your broken shrines and bring the naPons to their knees.

The supernatural nature of the church demands a leadership which rises above the natural human plain—it must be supernatural. You were called by a supernatural God requiring you to have a ministry graced by the supernatural. Next,

II. The REQUIREMENT for the call—THE ANOINTING.

“...and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward” (1 Sam. 16”13).

Smith Wigglesworth wrote, “God does not call those who are equipped, He equips those whom He has called.” Aier God calls you, he equips you with his anoinPng. You can’t afford to allow the anoinPng to grow stale—it must be fresh. It needs renewing!

III. The RESULT of the call—THE OPPOSITION.

1 Sam. 17:10-11, “And the PhilisPne said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together. 11. When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the PhilisPne, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.” When you walk with God in your calling you will be opposed by the devil. You must stay prepared and willing to fight the enemy.

Ephesians 6:10-12, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authoriPes, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

We are in a balle with the forces of Hell! Whether it be nine-foot giants or “camouflaged imps.” WE IN A FIGHT FOR OUR LIVES! Next, IV. The RESOLVE of the Call—FINISH WELL.

Billy Graham said, “Suppose you could gain everything in the whole world and lost your soul. Was it worth it?” David was chosen by God and did awesome things. IN the last days of his life, he lost focus and sinned. You need to finish well! God wants to bless you and your family.

Isa. 59:21, “And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring,” says the Lord, “from this Pme forth and forevermore.”

Let me remind you that you are called by God and His plan is to use you to change the world. Make plans to be involved in the opportuniPes afforded by this Network to partner together to change Alabama and the world.

MICHAEL D. SHARP, D.MIN.

NETWORK SECRETARY-TREASURER

msharp@amnag.org

BEGINNING WITH MOSES … HE INTERPRETED TO THEM ALL THE SCRIPTURES

On the aiernoon of ResurrecPon Day, the risen Lord Jesus Christ joined two of his disciples who were walking on the road to Emmaus. Distraught over the crucifixion, they did not recognize Jesus. Christ turned their conversaPon to the Old Testament Scriptures, “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). The word “Interpreted” is translated “explained” in the NIV. The original word is hermeneuo, meaning to interpret, explain, give the meaning. As Jesus’ words opened the Scriptures to them, enabling them to understand how the Old Testament pointed forward to Messiah and was being fulfilled in him, their hearts began burning within them. When Christ broke and blessed the bread, their eyes were finally opened, and they knew it was Jesus!

Aier Jesus lei, the two disciples hurried back to Jerusalem to the Eleven and others. They excitedly shared their story. Jesus appeared to that gathering as well. “He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was sPll with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is wrilen about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:44-45).

Because Luke carefully reported both of those moments in the Gospel, God was shining a brilliant spotlight on this truth: Jesus forever exalted knowing how to correctly understand the Scriptures as the primary, indispensable starPng point for His Church. This is a focal point of Luke 24. The opening of the disciples’ hearts-minds-eyes depended on the opening of the Scriptures. In other words, unPl Jesus correctly interpreted and explained God’s Word to them, they could not understand or believe. Everything depended on the Book being correctly understood and believed as it revealed Jesus of Nazareth for who He really was and what He really did, leading to obedient submission to Christ as Lord and God!

From ResurrecPon Sunday unPl His ascension forty days later, Jesus spent his Pme with the disciples teaching them how to correctly read the Old Testament through Himself, His person and His work. In His final forty days on this Earth, Christ conducted a forty-day hermeneuPcs seminar! And, many of these followers had been with Him for over three years. How much more do we conPnually need to grow in our ability to correctly interpret and understand God’s Word!

Luke 24 is a glorious chapter, bringing together the redempPve history of God from Genesis to RevelaPon. Under the Holy Spirit’s guidance, Luke craied this chapter as the explanaPon of the crucifixion, and as the bridge into the Book of Acts, the second volume of his two-volume work. There, in Acts 1-2 and beyond, the story conPnues without interrupPon. We move from the crucifixion, to resurrecPon, to ascension, and the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost which proves that Jesus truly was Messiah and Lord. There at Pentecost the breath and fire of God’s Presence forever marked the followers of Jesus as the People of God, God’s image upon the Earth, God’s unique and final temple, the meePng place of God and humanity. There the Church was launched into sacrificial, supernatural Gospel ministry unPl Christ returns.

How important is it to have God-given principles of interpretaPon guiding our Bible reading, our study, our teaching and preaching? Well, according to Jesus Christ, it is the single most important aspect of your devoOon to God, for how else can we correctly understand and obey! Sound hermeneuPcs, with Christ as the lens and as the fulfillment through which all Scripture is understood, produces everything else: Understanding, seeing, believing, obeying, following Jesus into the Mission of God. I think I will agree with Jesus and conOnually learn to beSer interpret and understand God’s Word. How about you?

May 12-13 // Sr.

May 29-June 6 // Foreign AIM Trip to Honduras

June 19-July 14 // Summer Camp

July 31-August 4 // National Fine Arts Columbus, OH

August 24-25 // Youth Rep/Cabinet Meeting

August 26 // G5 Conference

September 2 // Sr. Bible Quiz

September 27 // See You At The Pole

September 25-26,28 // Regional Conference

October 13-15 // PK

October

Mason Montgomery First Assembly $200.00 Evangel Church, Montgomery $75.00 Tuscaloosa First Assembly $60.00 Goodman Assembly, Enterprise $45.00 New Beginnings, Warrior $45.00 Robertsdale First Assembly $45.00 Dothan First Assembly $40.00 El Bethel, New Brockton $35.00 Fountain of Life, Saraland $30.00 Lake City Assembly, Guntersville $30 .00 * U P C O M I N G * E V E N T S *
Steven A.
Quiz
Finals
Bible
Regional
Tour
Retreat
The Light Day Island Church, Island Church, Orange Beach $10,859.00 Phenix City First Assembly $9,168.00 Vincent Revival Center $6,446.29 Fountain of Life, Saraland $5,079.86 Bay Mintete First Assembly $3,393.87 Risen Life Church, Columbiana $2,483.19 Centerpointe Assembly, Mobile $2,282.19 Montgomery First Assembly $2,109.60 Dothan First Assembly $1,981.47 Range Assembly, Repton $1,670.00
January-April Top
Giving January-April
15 // Speed
Top Youth Group Ofering
Speed The Light
6 DAVID STRAHAN
d s t r a h a n @ a m n a g . o r g THANK YOU ALABAMA! Alabama Ministry Network Conference O v e r $ 2 7 0 , 0 0 0 i n s u p p o r t w a s p l e d g e d t o o u r A l a b a m a m i s s i o n a r i e s ! The W*****r, Tillman, Sasser, and Jones families' budget was raised! We are so excited to send them to the field God has Called them. Congratulations to our 2023 Alabama Missionary Ordinands: Caleb Dayer Briggs Roberts Josh Tillman 1 in a sensitive country W e r e c e i v e d $ 1 6 8 , 0 9 0 i n p l e d g e s f r o m A l a b a m a c h u r c h e s f o r t h e C o n t i n e n t a l T h e o l o g i c a l S e m i n a r y !
Network Missions & Men's Director

CORRECTLY PREACHING CHRIST From ALL of SCRIPTURE

How do you know that you are truly preaching the Word of God? That you are fulfilling God’s requirement in 2 Timothy 2:15? If I don’t study deeply and carefully and receive equipping from people who are truly qualified to teach me these things, then I may mishandle God’s Word and teach it in error. I may feel good about it, I may think I “feel” some kind of “anointing” as I preach, but I may be dead wrong. I may even be quoting a lot of Scripture but misunderstanding what it means and declaring God said and meant something that He never said or meant in the passage(s) I am preaching from! All because I refused to receive training and truth from a genuinely qualified Teacher of the Church. Friend, this should never be. One of the best series ever written on correctly preaching Christ from all of Scripture is “Foundations for Expository Sermons” by Dr. Sidney Greidanus. He is one of the most highly respected preachers, and teachers about preaching, in our lifetimes. It is in properly connecting a passage to Christ and the Gospel that Greidanus excels. In this series he explains how to correctly interpret all genres of Scripture and correctly preach Christ from these passages. He provides many examples of sermons that do this. Greidanus explores the many illegitimate ways that a preacher can misinterpret passages from various places in the Bible. All volumes are published by Eerdmans. “Preaching Christ from the Old Testament” (reviewed on the page opposite) is the best starting point for the series.

The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text: Interpreting and Preaching Biblical Literature, 1988. In this work Greidanus explains how to choose the passage from which to preach, then how to research its genre, its historical context , its place in biblical theology, how to make it live to the listeners. He explores both the Old and New Testaments and provides examples of how to interpret specific passages, and how to link each passage to Christ and the Gospel.

Preaching Christ from Genesis, 2007. Here, Greidanus goes into detail, drilling down into Genesis using all the tools from the previous volumes, including the wide range of genres in Genesis. He demonstrates how to use legitimate ways to connect each chosen passage to Christ as well as his ten-step method to correctly move from the text to a Christ-centered sermon. The author also provides a series of sermons that cover the entire book of Genesis. Genesis comes alive as never before as you read this marvelous work.

Preaching Christ from Ecclesiastes, 2010. In this volume Greidanus uses the excellent tools explained in the first two volumes to interpret and preach this marvelous example of Old Testament wisdom literature. After explaining the genre and origins of the book, he explains how to recognize and exegete the many Hebrew literary conventions used throughout. Greidanus then provides an interpretation, sermon development, and application of the entire book. If you ever intend to preach from, or through, Ecclesiastes, use this book.

Preaching Christ from Daniel, 2012. Few books are preached more poorly and inaccurately than Daniel. Greidanus employs his outstanding interpretive and homiletical skills to provide one of the best interpretations and sermon series from Daniel that you will ever see. The sermon series he provides covers the entire book of Daniel, connecting every sermon to Christ. This work will prevent you from misusing Daniel as if it were a wildly speculative prediction of the future.

Preaching Christ from Psalms, 2016. Using the interpretive tools for wisdom literature and poetry, Greidanus skillfully unearths the beauty of God’s message in the Psalms. Choosing over 20 Psalms, he demonstrates how to properly interpret them, connect them to Christ and preach powerful Christ-centered sermons that relate to the lives of 21st century believers. You won’t find a better guide than this.

Preaching Christ from the Old Testament: A Contemporary Hermeneutical Method, Sidney Greidanus, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999, 373 pages.

Award-winning author Sidney Greidanus is emeritus professor of preaching at Calvin Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He organizes this book in a logical, sequential manner. He first examines both the necessity of preaching Christ and the necessity of preaching from the Old Testament. He explains the unique nature of the Old and how to correctly understand its relationship to the New. The history of preaching Christ from the Old Testament is then summarized, beginning with the ancient church and concluding in the 20th century.

Greidanus next explains the New Testament’s principles for interpreting the Old. He describes the legitimate ways leading from the Old Testament to Christ, including the ways of redemptive-historical progression, promise-fulfillment, typology, and longitudinal themes. The author proceeds to examine each one of these in detail from the scriptures. This chapter, entitled “The Christocentric Method,” is a powerfully enlightening explanation of how the Old Testament flows into the New, and is fulfilled in Christ. This chapter alone is worth the price of the book! The two final chapters take you step by step through the process of building a Christ-centered sermon from Old Testament texts, even providing examples of how to do it. This book is the number one text on preaching Christ from the Old Testament. Its clear and simple style makes its great truths accessible to any reader. It corrects errors we sometimes fall into and provides outstanding insight into properly handling God’s Word. I recommend this wonderful book without reservation. It should be used regularly by any serious preacher. This is the first book in Greidanus’ series.

Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture : The Application of Biblical Theology to Expository Preaching, Graeme Goldsworthy, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000, 272 pages. Graeme Goldsworthy is lecturer emeritus in Old Testament, biblical theology, and hermeneutics at Moore Theological College, Sidney, Australia. This book was honored by Preaching magazine as Book of the Year for 2000. Goldsworthy organized his book with two large sections. In the first he deals at length with such basic questions as “What is the Bible?, What is Biblical Theology?, What Kind of Unity Does the Bible Have?, What is the Structure of Biblical Revelation?, and Can I Preach a Christian Sermon Without Mentioning Jesus?”

Having laid this foundation, in the second section the author begins by examining the progressive revelation of God and Christ in the Bible’s theological historical epochs, and how it all ties together. Goldsworthy then describes how to correctly see and preach Christ from Old Testament Historical Narrative, the Law, the Prophets, the Wisdom Literature, and the Psalms. He next does the same with Apocalyptic literature, the Gospels, Acts, and the Epistles. Goldsworthy concludes by explaining the nature of a holistic, redemptive-historical, Christ-centered biblical theology, and how to preach faithfully from this essential Christian perspective.

This work is the preeminent text on applying biblical theology to preaching. In a day when much preaching is superficial, man-centered, focused on self-help, and filled with clichés and cheerleading, Goldsworthy’s work is a powerful blast of Christ-centered, Bible-based Truth. It is bracing, it is right, and it should be used by every sincere preacher of God’s Word. Graeme Goldsworthy’s works are excellent companions for those of Sidney Greidanus.

CORRECTLY PREACHING CHRIST From ALL of SCRIPTURE

“GENERAL COUNCIL of the ASSEMBLIES of GOD BYLAWS

B. DOCTRINES and PRACTICES DISAPPROVED

Section 13. Accountability in Educational Attribution

a. Attribution. In order to maintain our testimony of quality and integrity in educational credentials before the Church and the world, and to minimize the possibility of our ministers and churches being victimized by, or supporting, or perpetrating frauds in education or credentialing, we maintain certain standards for the attribution of degrees, certifications, and titles.

(1) Attribution by ministers. Our ministers shall refrain from listing, promoting, or attributing to themselves or others any degrees or titles conferred by institutions or organizations having, at the time of conferral, a formal accreditation status less than that of our appropriately corresponding Assemblies of God institutions (whether our institute, regional university, or seminary levels).

(2) Attribution by the General Council. No media, ministry, department, arm, or employee of the General Council shall list, attribute, or promote for any person, any degree or title conferred by an institution or organization having, at the time of conferral, a formal accreditations status less than that of our appropriately corresponding Assemblies of God institutions (whether our institute, regional university, or seminary levels).

(3) Attribution by local churches. We strongly encourage our ministers, boards, and churches to take great care to ensure that all ministers and church employees have actually earned the legitimately accredited education, training, and certification, as defined above, which they claim by their titles or degrees (such as counselor, therapist, doctor, and so on).

(4) Attribution accepted. All previously earned or conferred degrees prior to August 2007, from any institution whatsoever shall be fully accepted and grandfathered in.

b. Intentional failure to comply. Intentional refusal to comply with this ethical standard for educational credentials constitutes perpetrating a fraud upon the church and the world, personally and in the good name of the Assemblies of God, and the General Council disapproves of such practices.

ARTICLE VII. MINISTRY

Section 15. Integrity in Educational Credentials

a. Continuing education encouraged. Our ministers and churches are encouraged to seek continuing education, discipleship, spiritual formation, and training opportunities of all kinds, of all degrees of difficulty, of their own initiative or in cooperation with the district council and the General Council, but with great care always taken to properly understand and honestly describe all such training, certifications, degrees, and titles.

b. Using adequately accredited institutions. Because of the many questionable institutions offering unaccredited or deficient training and education, and since the General Council, our General Council schools, and our regional Assemblies of God universities are committed to achieving and maintaining the highest standards of accreditation in education, we strongly encourage our ministers to meet their continuing education needs either through endorsed Assemblies of God institutions or through other reputable institutions having accreditation status at least equivalent to that held by our own regionally and nationally accredited schools, and to consult the district council or General Council offices if they have questions in these matters.”

ALWAYS Check with the Secretary-Treasurer’s office before taking courses for ministry. A “college” or “seminary” may be a diploma mill, with a fraudulent accreditation.

UNAPPROVED EDUCATIONAL
ENDANGER YOUR MINISTERIAL CREDENTIALS
SOURCES

REVIEWING ACCREDITATION CRITICALLY IMPORTANT, OFTEN MISUNDERSTOOD

“Your ‘credits’ will not transfer. You used an unaccredited ‘school.’ They will not satisfy our Fellowship’s educational requirements for ministerial credentials. You should not have tried to take the easiest, quickest, cheapest route.” Sadly, many people trying to enter the ministry are hearing these very words today.

Because of the potential student loan debt load, some people prefer a non-accredited educational preparation for ministry. When that is the case, the two institute level options our Network recommends are Berean School of the Bible or the Alabama School of Ministry (ALSOM). The content of these two options is produced by our national office, covers all of the courses required for ministerial credentials, and provides a very low-cost alternative for ministry preparation. We are always working to improve the educational experience for ALSOM students. If you must use a non-accredited, low cost alternative, we recommend that you consider these institute level opportunities. However, if you do desire a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree in preparation for ministry, it is extremely important that you obtain your education from a properly accredited institution. There are many Internet sites and some church-based schools that call themselves colleges, seminaries, and universities, claim to have some kind of accreditation, claim to offer all levels of authentic degrees, but in reality all of their claims are false The problem of bogus degree mills and accreditation mills continues to plague Christian higher education If you sense a call into ministry and you desire a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree, our Fellowship strongly recommends that your first choice for education be one of our regionally accredited Assemblies of God universities.

Fully accredited degrees are available from Global and other AG universities through inexpensive distance education.

We recommend that parents and students pursuing education in any field, especially the ministry, carefully research the accreditation status of prospective schools. Never simply trust what a website, church, or minister tells you! The website may be lying, and even well-meaning churches or ministers may be misinformed.

An unaccredited or improperly accredited institution has NO real accountability for their educational product. Their degrees are not recognized, and their credits will almost never transfer to legitimately accredited institutions When you see any website try to explain away their lack of accreditation, or claim they are avoiding government interference, or cite an unrecognized accrediting agency, but still claim to prepare you for a lifetime of ministry, you should NOT use that institution. They are lying. It is a con. Legitimate institutions will clearly describe their nature and status and will not claim to be something they are not.

Many degree mills create fraudulent accreditation mills that will then turn around and “accredit” the fraudulent “educational” site! Because the website looks slick and legit, because they use spiritual and educational language, because they offer the quickest, cheapest way to get a “degree,” many innocent people are deceived. Even local church-based schools of ministry sometimes do not use acceptable sources for their educational component. Parents should be very wary of locally produced material and all non-AG distance “education” offerings.

You should thoroughly investigate the accreditation status of any “degree-granting” “school” you consider. You may access AG Higher Education at http://colleges.ag.org. Names of the legitimate accrediting agencies and other important information are available at the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, http://www.chea.org, and at http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation and http://www2.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html.

Finally, I will be glad to speak with you at any time to answer questions about education, accreditation, or preparing for ministry. If after checking the accreditation of a school you are still in any way uncertain or confused, please call the Network Office and ask for Dr. Sharp. This is a life-changing decision. We are here to help you choose wisely. –

In memory of those who have gone before us

Rev. Wayne Bradley

Reverend Wayne Bradley passed away Monday morning March 13, 2023, following a long illness. He was 84 years old. He leaves his wife of 65 years, Clara Mae Bradley (Averette), Sons Larry Wayne Bradley, Michael Ray Bradley, and Martin Kent Bradley. Reverend Bradley had 5 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren. He also leaves a younger brother Ronnie Bradley, and younger sisters Kathy Bradley, and Deborah Davis (Bradley). He is the son of the late Reverend and Mrs. Beauford Bradley of Sellersville, Alabama.

Reverend Bradley served as pastor for 8 churches during his 66+ years in the ministry as well as many revivals he did in his early ministry. He served in various rolls with several districts of the Assemblies of God as well as a Bishop with the Church of God. He loved all people and never met a stranger.

Rev. Randal Keith Ray

Reverend Randal Keith Ray was born in Chilton County on December 16, 1953. He went to his eternal home on April 20, 2023, at the age of 69. Rev. Ray is survived by his wife of 49 years. Barbara Caver Ray; daughter, Lauren Ray; and sister Becky Ray (Al McCloskey) of Clanton. Rev. Ray was a graduate of Southeastern Bible College, Lakeland, Florida. He received his Masters of Divinity degree from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, Springfield, Missouri. He was a Board Certified Chaplain, having received credentials from Princeton Hospital, Birmingham, Alabama. During his 46 years of ministry, Rev. Ray served as associate pastor of Batesfield Assembly of God, Mobile, Alabama; pastor of First Assembly of God, Florence, Alabama; associate pastor of Central Assembly of God, Springfield, Illinois; principal of Garywood Christian School and associate and executive pastor of Garywood Assembly of God, Bessemer, Alabama; and Director of Pastoral Care at UAB Medical West, Bessemer, Alabama.

Rev. Ray and his family had recently returned to his childhood home of Clanton, Alabama. Rev. Ray was a devoted husband, father, brother, and son. Rev. Ray's gentle and kind spirit was a blessing to all to whom he ministered. Each sermon he preached and each Sunday School lesson he taught came from a reliance on the Holy Spirit and his search for Biblical knowledge. His prayers brought comfort to his family, friends, and to the staff and patients at Medical West. Rev. Ray was a faithful servant of the Lord he loved.

Rev. Marie Boothe White

(December 16, 1931 – March 30, 2023) Marie Boothe White, 91, died peacefully on March 30in Andalusia, Alabama.

Marie was born in Opp, Alabama, to Hilliard and Thelma Boothe. She graduated from Opp High School in 1949. She was recognized as salutatorian and awarded a scholarship to Troy State Teachers College. After working for a time in Mobile, she returned to Covington County to marry Billy White in 1951. They traveled with his business for three years then settled in Mobile. In 1963, Billy and Marie moved to Andalusia where they purchased and operated the Barber’s Milk franchise for more than 50 years. In 1990, Marie received her ministerial credentials from the Assemblies of God. She was dedicated to preaching and teaching at Sanford Assembly of God for 17 years. She received great satisfaction from ministering alongside the late Charlie Smith for 15 years in a weekly worship service for nursing home residents. She regularly taught a Sunday school class for women in the Covington County jail. Marie enjoyed trips to New England and across the United States. She found joy in painting and studying. She took a keen interest in her six grandchildren. Marie was preceded in death by her husband Billy, her parents, and two brothers, Robert and Leland. She is survived by her children Rebecca (Mark) Rhoades of Springfield, Missouri, Greg (Jan) White of Andalusia, and Randy (Kathy) White of Enterprise. She will be missed by her six grandchildren Kelley, Kimberly, Anne Marie, Billy, Katherine, John Mark and her great granddaughters Savannah and Emily. She is survived by her brothers, Kenneth Boothe and Jerry Boothe.

MINISTERIAL CHANGES

Transferred in: N/A

Deceased:

Wayne O Bradley

Marie White

Randal Ray

Pastoral Changes:

Grace Way Fellowship

Evergreen, AL

New/Upgraded CredenOals:

Branden Bates (C)

Marshall Troler (L)

Sabrina Metcalf (L)

C. Westley Green (C)

Katelyn Dewrell (C)

Julia G. Pope (C)

2023 ORDINATION CLASS

Colby Bellew

Caleb Dayer

Phyllis Fulcher

Johnny Hunt

Andrew Johnson

Tyler Oswald

Briggs Roberts

Joshua Tillman

Charles Wright

2023 SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS

Student School

Emma Edgar SAGU

Mary Patrice Entsminger SEU

Anna Grace Jones SEU

Elisha Joy Jones SEU

Ava Lugo SEU

Chase Mason SEU

Zackary Mills NPBC

Tyler Oswald AGTS

Jordan Phillips SEU

Anna Reid SEU

Deborah Sekaya SEU

Carsyn Sims SEU

Kevin Sowers SAGU

Sieanna Sowers SAGU

Nathan Strahan SEU

David Varela SEU

Tyler West SAGU

Emma Renae White SAGU

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