People's Baptist Church

03/18/2020

We're sorry about this Wednesday's Bible study live stream, but we had technical difficulties with the audio, and were not able to resolve them in time. Tune in again Sunday at 11:00. We will let you know the Internet address to go to in order to see it.

12/29/2015

The youth of our churches provide the vitality that builds up our churches. I have seen churches that have very few young people. These churches have a large contingent of senior saints who have the wisdom of the years, but they lack the vitality of youth. Most are retired. Many live on fixed incomes. They do not have the strength of their youth. Most are satisfied with keeping things they way they are now. They just don’t see why they need to bring in a youth pastor to work with the young people of their town. This lack of vitality stems from the lack of vision. Vitality and vision are missing from the dysfunctional church. Senior saints are vital to the overall ministry of the church. But youth is vital to the life of the church, today as well as tomorrow.

Senior saints are the backbone of the church, but youth is the muscle. Both are necessary ingredients to have a strong, vibrant, soul-winning church. Senior saints have a unique opportunity to win souls because they are generally respected because of the gray hair and wisdom that they possess. What an opportunity they have with children and grandchildren who look to them with eyes of love and trust. They can be the catalyst for a great revival if they will be what God has saved them to be: senior soul-winners. What great wisdom we gain from just listening to them tell of experiences that they have had and how that God has been true to them over and over again. Some of the best times you will ever have is to sit down with a senior saint just to listen to stories of past days and to how good God has been to them. The saddest thing though is to see many who could be teachers by example just get out of the race and “retire” from doing the Lord’s work.

The church must have a balance between the wisdom of age and the vitality of youth. The dysfunctional church has not dealt with this very well. It is not well organized and is generally lethargic when it comes to movement of the Holy Spirit. Many come to services and sit quietly while the preacher pours his heart out. There is no response at the giving of the invitation. Few, if any, souls are saved in services. There may be soul winners there, but they generally are outnumbered. There is complacency among leaders and members alike. No one sees the problem because they have lost sight of the main thing.

Dr. John Banks, Associate Pastor

12/14/2015

The Old Testament prophets could see a better day in which righteousness ruled. God gave them insight into things that were a mystery to many. They could see things that were hidden from the wise men of the day. They interpreted dreams; they peered into the future. Yet for all this foresight, they could not see the mystery of the church that was tucked into the valley between the mountain peaks of Calvary and the kingdom. They indeed were visionaries, looking to God for the answer to the need of a nation. Yet some things remained hidden from their eyes.

Abraham was a visionary. When God said go, he went. He followed God into the unknown wilderness through faith. He could see, through eyes of faith, a city that had foundations, whose builder and maker is God. He built altars in the land to worship the true and living God. He dwelt as a stranger and a pilgrim in the land of promise. He lived by faith. Oh, that men of God today could see through those same eyes of faith! Abraham saw a sacrifice upon the altar when he led his promised son Isaac up Mount Moriah to sacrifice unto the Lord. When asked by his son where is the lamb?, he said with vision, “My son, God will provide himself a lamb”. Abraham could see a day when Jesus would be offered for sin on the altar of the cross of Calvary. He could see the sinless Lamb of God as he was sacrificed for our sins. What a man of vision! What a man of faith! He looked past the present circumstances and saw a better day. A day in which the Son of God would be victorious on Calvary: victorious because looking past death there was resurrection. Abraham never found that city for which he sought diligently. But his hope has now been made sight. He has seen that city!

The disciples were men of vision as they left their livelihoods to follow a man who they did not know; to learn what had never before been taught; to go to a people who did not want their message; to become what they never intended to be. Yet, they followed faithfully this one who spoke as no other man on earth had ever spoken. They learned the message that would save all who would believe. They went to a people who had rejected the message and compelled them to be saved. They became Apostles and leaders of the church of the living God. They viewed their lives as the vehicle by which God would do his work. God gave them vision to see marvelous things done in Jesus name. They were a group of men who came from a variety of backgrounds. Some were fishermen, others tax collectors. They were an unlikely lot to be called to represent Christ to the world. But they were endued with a vision of souls, hopelessly lost in sin, who needed to be rescued by the power of the gospel. On the day of Pentecost some 3000 souls came to Christ. The church grew so rapidly that the Apostles soon became overwhelmed with the ministry. God then instructed them to set apart faithful men to serve in the church. Yet in all this, they never lost their vision for the main purpose and calling of this newly founded body. Their vision never became impaired by the everyday problems that confronted them. They remained faithful to the heavenly vision.

Dr. John Banks, Associate Pastor

11/15/2015

The scripture says in Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” I believe that the primary cause of dysfunctional churches is a lack of vision. Primarily, it is a lack of vision for souls. This is the hearts cry of the local church. Without a vision for souls the church will dry up and blow away. A vision for people dying in sin and dropping off into Hell will propel the church into action. Winning souls is the heartbeat of the church, training men and women to win souls the work. This Godly vision brings life to any congregation. There is nothing more thrilling than to see souls coming to Christ because the people had a mind to work. No church can succeed in its primary mission without a real vision. It is the work of the Lord for the church today. Soul winning is the mission of the vision.

There must be a vision for the work of the Lord tomorrow as well as for today. We must be preparing the church of tomorrow to take over when their time comes. Living for today alone will not supply the need of twenty years from now. People are perishing where there is no vision. They are wasting away, withering like fruit left on the vine. Churches perish because there is no constant supply of strength to bolster them on. Many churches today are dying. They are not perishing for lack of preaching or teaching, they are perishing for a lack of vision. This lack of vision in churches today comes from one main source: men of God following a ministry of convenience rather than seeking and following the plain will of God. Is it not strange that they do not turn their hearts toward the Lord who has the means to supply their lack of vision!

God wants men who are visionaries to lead his church. He wants men who see a better church; a church which is vibrant; a church which is dedicated to serve God; a church which is winning souls to Christ. God wants every church to be a going church as well as a growing church. A going church is on the move. It sees a better day. With a visionary at the helm, the church prospers, it grows, it fulfills the great commission to be going as well as sending forth the gospel message to the whole world, near and far. A growing church has a heart for missions, home and abroad. Without this vision, the church becomes isolationist: that is they tend to be satisfied with those within the walls of the church and have no passion for those on the outside. The mission of the church is to reach out to those who are outside and compel them to come into the fellowship of believers. Visionaries see the need and welcome the challenge. Where does this vision come from? How do men become visionaries for Christ? Is my church a church with vision?

Dr. John Banks, Associate Pastor

11/10/2015

Without a doubt, the church is the single most important institution in the world today. I am not talking about the religious systems of the world. I am talking about the true church, the body of Christ. This church is made up of many local assemblies. These local assemblies are made up of born again believers. The church has the responsibility to proclaim the gospel message near and far, to tell the world that Jesus saves. There is no greater responsibility. There is no greater need.

The churches of 50 years ago left us a legacy. They left us a responsibility to carry on until we pass the responsibility on to another generation. It is our responsibility to carry the gospel message to the masses of humanity who have never experienced its life changing power. Our fathers prepared us for this task through the great Sunday school movement, the revivals, and discipleship. All of these prepared us to shoulder our responsibility. What have we done with the challenge which they have left us to contend for the faith? Will we be found faithful when He comes again?

Today, many churches are falling by the wayside. Some are closing their doors. Others are embracing liberalism in order to survive. I call them dysfunctional churches. These churches are neither fulfilling the great commission nor preparing saints to face the forces of Satan in the world. Many of these churches were once vibrant, vital churches preaching with vigor, proclaiming the precious Word of God and seeking souls for the kingdom of God. But now they are worldly, constantly feuding among themselves, and without a spiritual clue as to what is happening to them. What happened to cause them to err from their calling and purpose?

John Banks, Associate Pastor

11/03/2015

Praise God, our Fall Festival was a great success. We were inundated with neighborhood children, and a number of their parents. The best part is that we had two youngsters come to know the Lord! We are looking forward to baptisms now.

11/03/2015

10/25/2015

Praise the Lord! Maya, who was recently saved, got baptized today. We were blessed with a number of her family, including both grandmothers, and a great-grandmother. The pastor preached a great message about baptism from the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eu**ch. It was enjoyed by all, and a number of her family promised to come back. We also had another family visit, friends of Tom and Grace Mercer. Pray that the Lord will bless us with new members.

10/20/2015

It's Fall Festival time! Starting at 3:00 in the afternoon, on Saturday, October 31, we will be having fun activities until 6:00. We will have games, inflatables, a magic show, free food, and lots of CANDY! Everyone is invited to come and enjoy the afternoon with us. Wear your favorite costume, and have fun.