Blog

Good start to the week

08/06/2026 21:10

God is blessing our time with the group from Virginia Beach. This morning we went down into Edinburgh and did street evangelism. The team passed out literature as I preached on the street.

After lunch, half of the group put out around 1600 John and Romans and the other half worked on painting and staining the play park and picnice area. When the distribution team got back, we put down new play park in the play area. We had a couple fun outings along the way today as well.

Thank you for praying. The weather has been very unsettled but God gave beautiful weather today. 

Mission team update...

07/06/2026 14:04

God has blessed our time with the group from Tabernacle Baptist in Virginia Beach. Our son-in-law, Pastor John Owenby, and our daughter, Kay Lee, are leading the group. There is a second married couple who are teachers in the school and 3 teens with them as well.

The trip down to London to get the group went very well. We were back in time for our Wednesday PM. The team have been diligent in their labours. We were given 10k John and Roman with 2,000 of our personalised covers already on them. We removed around 5,500 covers and replaced them with our own. We were lacking about 2500 covers to finish the work. So, we'll have to see if we can find out what happened to them.

The Ladies' afternoon tea was such a blessing. There were several sister churches present with nearly 40 ladies in total in attendance. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their time together. It was a special blessing to have some visitors ourselves. 

The Lord also helped us to put out around 600 of the new bookletts yesterday morning. A special blessing was a divine appointment with a young mother. Please pray that we can help her as she is definitely thinking about God.

This morning the team shared testimonies in the SS hour. They did so welll at it, that we still have 2 to testify for the next Sunday School hour. We also enjoyed a fellowship meal after the morning service. In the morning service I preached the second message on a series on revival. This morning was, "Participating in Revival" from 2 Chronicles 30:10-20. Please pray for us not only to learn how God has worked, but experience His working ourselves. 

This week, we will seek to; do street evangelism in Edinburgh, put out the John and Romans, paint the play park and area fence. We are doing a lot of fun activities with them as well. The team will be with us all of the week and will depart the following Monday. Thank you for praying. God's hand has been evident.

God continues to work...

31/05/2026 15:51

Thank you for praying for our ministry. God's hand continues to be evident. God gave grace for good evangelism opportunities this week. He gave us several great Gospel conversations as we knocked on doors yesterday. Please pray for fruit that will remain.

Today, the family did not visit that we had hoped would come. However, another family did visit and it seems they plan to come again. We also had a father out, who has not been in attendance. What a blessing to have the whole family present. (3 in total) Please pray that his work would allow him time off to bring his family to church on Sundays.

I preached this morning on, "Preparing for Revival" from the revival in Hezekiahs day. (2 Chronicles 30) This was part one of a three part series which I am going to share on Sunday mornings. It's been a good study for me and I look forward to completing this series with our church. Please pray that God would revive His church in Scotland. We certainly need it.

Please also pray for the mission team from Tabernacle Baptist led by our son-in-law and daughter. They depart this evening for London. On Tuesday, Nelson and I will go down to collect them. We'll arrive back up here on Wednesday. Also, this Saturday is our Ladies' Afternoon Tea. So, there is much to do and we need God's help. Thank you for praying with us for God's blessings upon this mission team opportunity.

Getting going again...

27/05/2026 00:00

God is helping us to get back into the rythm of ministry. I was able to get out street preaching on Monday morning. I always pray for a place to preach and that God would prepare that place. Edinburgh was very busy yesterday morning as it was an English Bank Holiday weekend. Sunday had also been the Edinburgh Marathon. So, there were many bagpipers in locations where I could have preached. 

Thankfully, the Lord had a place for me further down the road where I have preached before. It's usually open. It doesn't look like a great place, but it has a crosswalk near it. It also has storefronts on the other side that allow those passing by on that side of the road to hear. And, it has a tram stop not far away where people congregate. It was obvious yesterday that some who were standing nearby were also listening. I also had some encouragement from passer's by yesterday and very little opposition to God's Word. Please pray for God's continued enablement and blessing as I get back into street evangelism. 

Yesterday, Nelson helped me put out several hundred church flyers in a nearby village. A family that is very close friends with us live there. It is the intent of the father to attend with his children this coming Sunday. Would you please pray for God's special help for him as he brings them?

Our Home Church

24/05/2026 13:02

We loved every church that we visited while we traveled in the States. But, as the saying goes "There's no place like home." What a blessing to be back with our people in our church building in Loanhead. God blessed us with two visitors who honoured God on their travels and spent the morning with us. It was a joy to meet them.

Our SS attendance was not high, but we had some back who had been absent since our departure. The morning service was better attended. God blessed us with some  attendance who had been gone for quite some time. It was a sweet reunion Sunday for sure.

This Sunday is a bit of a vision Sunday for our church. There are a couple of texts that God encouraged my heart with during our furlough. I shared one of those this morning, "Christ, Our Fountain" from Psalm 107. Tonight I will share the second from Deuteronomy. God gave us a good time around His Word.

This week is our first "normal week" since our return. That is a good thing. The week following I will drive to London to pick up a mission team from Tabernacle Baptist in Virginia Beach. The team is led by our son-in-law and daughter. (John and Kay Lee Owenby) We'd appreciate your prayers for this team as they get ready to participate in our ministry. 

God's good. His hand of blessing is evident today. Thank you for your prayers.

Back home!!!!!!

19/05/2026 14:55

Thank you for all your prayers for our travels, health, safety, ministry, family time, provision, etc. Thank you as well for tangible help along the way as we visited your churches. God was VERY GOOD to us. We experienced wonderful ministry time, family time, and had extra special blessings along the way.

Just to illustrate the extra which God gives... Parker was able to get his driver's license while we were traveling through WI by taking his tests at two different locations. Our kids were able to tell us in person about their pregnancies. We were able to be at our niece's adoption party and our nephew's graduation party. We saw Washington D.C. NYC, Niagara Falls, and the Gulf of America. And... yesterday on our first flight Katie said, "We have a 7 hour layover in Philidelphia. Why don't we go to see the Liberty Bell." It was SOOOO MUCH MORE FUN to do that outing that sit in the airport for 7 hours."

God has been SO GOOD to us in answer to your prayers.

 

 

Near our departure destination.

14/05/2026 11:09

God has given us safety on all of our travels. We have seen many interesting close calls and are thankful for the Lord's protection. The last trip was the most hours in the car as we went to Southern Florida. Thankfully, we were able to have some fun family experiences while enjoying time with two supporting churches.

We are now back in Lattimore, NC and depart from Greenville, SC on Monday. Our 20 year old son, Logan, is also getting ready to leave as he departs tomorrow to Chicago for Neighborhood Bible Time training. Our nephew, Charlie, will also be traveling with NBT this summer. Please pray for these young men as they serve the Lord this summer.

Another exciting event tomorrow is the adoption of a niece by Katie's brother's family. Mahala has been in the family for a few years, but the adoption process is finally coming to completion.

God has blessed us with great family time. We get to enjoy a littlle bit more of that before we leave. Benson and Christina are in Lattimore. Most of Katie's family is also nearby. God is good!

12 days until our departure

06/05/2026 10:59

The past 3 months have been very interesting. I don't know that another period of life has ever gone so quickly. It has been great to connect with many of you at your church home. We've enjoyed beeing with those who have laboured with us in prayer for our church and our country. Thank you for holding the ropes.

Here is the update I sent to our church this morning. There are some fun happenings in the very near future.

Thanks for praying!


Good afternoon church family,


We look forward to being back at our church two weeks from tonight. We'll arrive in Scotland on Tuesday the 19th. It's hard to believe that the ministry of furlough is nearly completed. It's gone very quickly because it has been very busy, but also a very good schedule for us.

We have had a really good time with Kay Lee and John. The ministry time here has been precious. This morning we met with a married couple and 3 teens that are coming on a mission trip to our church at the beginning of June. Kay Lee and John will be leading this group. This team is going to help us with our Ladies' Afternoon Tea and also with our John and Roman's project.

About the John and Romans, Brother Jim Voltenburgh in Dundee is giving our church 10,000 John and Romans booklets. 2,000 are going to be prepared with a personalised cover. The other 8k will need the covers removed and a new cover stapled onto them. This will be a church and mission team project. Please pray about helping out with this. I will let you know how to help and make the opportunity available to you.

Tonight we are presenting our church ministry and I am preaching at Great Hope Baptist Church in Chesapeake, Virginia. Tomorrow, we'll drive 6 hours to Lattimore, North Carolina. Logan will leave from there with us on Friday as we drive to Titusville, Florida for a meeting on Sunday AM. Sunday afternoon we will drive four hours further south to Bonita Springs FL for a PM service. We will take two family days in Florida before heading back up to Lattimore, North Carolina next Wednesday. Sunday will be our final formal meetings though I may get other opportunities to preach before our return. THANK YOU for praying for the many church meetings we have had on furlough.. Your prayers are MUCH appreciated.

I let Brother Dave Barba know that a visiting family is supposed to attend our church on the Barba's final Sunday. Pastor Demastus let me know that a family from his church is moving down to our area from Aberdeen. As with all of our guests, please greet them upon their arrival. We look forward to meeting them upon our return.

As always, please keep us informed of your prayer requests and praises. We love hearing from you,

Pastor Ben

Psalm 89:15-16
Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.



12 days until our departure

06/05/2026 10:59

The past 3 months have been very interesting. I don't know that another period of life has ever gone so quickly. It has been great to connect with many of you at your church home. We've enjoyed being with those who have laboured with us in prayer for our church and our country. Thank you for holding the ropes.

Here is the update which I sent to our church this morning. There are some fun happenings at Southside Free Baptist Church in the very near future.

Thanks for praying!

 

Good afternoon church family,

 
We look forward to being back at our church two weeks from tonight. We'll arrive in Scotland on Tuesday the 19th. It's hard to believe that the ministry of furlough is nearly completed. It's gone very quickly because it has been very busy, but also a very good schedule for us.
 
We have had a really good time with Kay Lee and John. The ministry time here has been precious. This morning we met with a married couple and 3 teens that are coming on a mission trip to our church at the beginning of June. Kay Lee and John will be leading this group. This team is going to help us with our Ladies' Afternoon Tea and also with our John and Roman's project.
 
About the John and Romans, Brother Jim Voltenburgh in Dundee is giving our church 10,000 John and Romans booklets. 2,000 are going to be prepared with a personalised cover. The other 8k will need the covers removed and a new cover stapled onto them. This will be a church and mission team project. Please pray about helping out with this. I will let you know how to help and make the opportunity available to you.
 
Tonight we are presenting our church ministry and I am preaching at Great Hope Baptist Church in Chesapeake, Virginia. Tomorrow, we'll drive 6 hours to Lattimore, North Carolina. Logan will leave from there with us on Friday as we drive to Titusville, Florida for a meeting on Sunday AM. Sunday afternoon we will drive four hours further south to Bonita Springs FL for a PM service. We will take two family days in Florida before heading back up to Lattimore, North Carolina next Wednesday. Sunday will be our final formal meetings though I may get other opportunities to preach before our return. THANK YOU for praying for the many church meetings we have had on furlough.. Your prayers are MUCH appreciated.
 
I let Brother Dave Barba know that a visiting family is supposed to attend our church on the Barba's final Sunday. Pastor Demastus let me know that a family from his church is moving down to our area from Aberdeen. As with all of our guests, please greet them upon their arrival. We look forward to meeting them upon our return.
 
As always, please keep us informed of your prayer requests and praises. We love hearing from you,
 
Pastor Ben
 
Psalm 89:15-16
Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.

 

Where are we?

30/04/2026 22:10

It is difficult at time to remember where we are in the USA. Thankfully we know who we are. :) God continues to keep us safe and help us in our travels. My back is great. Mac's cough was nearly gone, but came back last night and is getting worse again. It seems evident that it is allergies and changes of location affect it. Thank you for praying for healing. We've seen a lot of improvement.

Thank you for keeping up with us. I have met several of you in your churches and your informed intercession is extremely helpful to us. We thank the Lord for His enablement at each church and know that God's people are praying.

Below is the update I just sent to our church family. We can't wait to be back with them and are excited to be at this point in the furlough. However, we continue to enjoy the ministry of furlough and our time with our supporting churches. God blessed us with a new supporting church recently. (First Baptist Church in Napoleon, MI.)

 

Good evening church family,

 
Wow, we miss all of you and can't wait to get back to Scotland in God's timing. (Tuesday, 19 May) Thank you for praying for our travels. All is going really well. This past week is a blur as we did some adventures along the way as well as doing a lot of ministry.
 
The adventures were - Niagara Falls, Manhattan (NYC) and Washington D.C. God blessed each activity and we are thankful for God's extra blessings.
 
We have just now arrived at John and Kay Lee's home. On Sunday I will be teaching S.S. at Tabernacle Baptist, Virginia Beach and will be preaching in the PM service. On Monday morning I will preach in two school chapels at their church school and will visit a geography class. Wednesday night will be a half hour away in Chesapeake, Virginia at Great Hope Baptist Church. So, after a very busy travel schedule, we get to stay at our daughter's for a week. We are thankful to put down some roots for a little while.
 
At every church it is very evident that the church knows what is going on at Southside Free Baptist and that they are praying for our church. Praise the Lord for God's people and their interest in our family, church family, ministry and our country. Our church is truly blessed.
 
We were thankful to hear of the man who visited the church this past Sunday morning. We continue to pray for the Barba's and for each one of you. If you have any specific prayer requests, please send them our way.
 
Praying for you,
 
Pastor Ben
 
Philippians 1:3-8

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, [4] Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, [5] For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; [6] Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: [7] Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. [8] For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.

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