by Wayne Guinn
What a joy it was to meet with this new church planter recently and see the work that God is doing with this baby congregation. Join me in praying for David and the people in his community, that the Lord would save many of them and grow this baby church into a mature one.
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Nearly nine years ago, God called Pastor Bryan Kelly from his home and career in Connecticut to move to southwestern Pennsylvania to begin casting the vision for church planting through a new church work. Pastor Kelley established Bethel Baptist Church and began reaching out. Little did Pastor Kelley know God began grooming prospects for him even then who would catch the vision.
My brother and I were just teenagers at the time, and came to know the Lord through the ministry of Bethel Baptist Church within the first few weeks. Pastor Kelley then began encouraging everyone to go through discipleship. My brother and I were among the first to commit. As we continued to learn, grow, and serve, God continued to expand our radius, and opportunities to lead. In the fall of 2012, God called my brother, Aaron Douthitt, to plant a church in Masontown, PA. Going into the following year we were all super excited about the new work, and couldn’t wait to see how God would continue to move. However, I don’t believe any of us could have predicted what would happen next.
In February, another local church, a congregation we knew had been suffering for some time, contacted us asking that we might assume responsibility for their entire property. The property included a church building with several classrooms and fellowship hall, a parsonage, and just under three acres of ground. As much as it broke our hearts to know they were surrendering their work, it would have broken us more to see the grounds used for anything else.
We did some minor remodeling, and re-opened under the new name New Life the first week of June. Since then, we have seen much fruit. This Sunday we will be having our first baptisms — a husband and wife who were saved through the services, and are excited to start discipleship! Please continue to partner with us in prayer, as we look forward to seeing God do His awesome work!
Pastor David Douthitt