What the Fire Could Not Destroy

On August 22, 2006, the auditorium of Grace Baptist Church in Fair Oakes, California, was completely burned by a fire started by an arsonist. The fellowship hall at the church was not burned but had smoke damage. The church under the leadership of Pastor Charles Carter has continued with services on the property in their fellowship hall.

When Pastor Carter contacted BIMI Assistant USA Director Bob Larson concerning the fire, a date was set and Reseeding America coordinated plans for a large Scripture distribution and revival to be held at the church in early 2007. Meanwhile, California pastors helped raise funds to purchase ten thousand Romans booklets.

In spite of temperatures in the low twenties and teens, January 11-13, 2007, saw RESEEDING AMERICA, Northern California pastors and churches and two pastors from the Phoenix, AZ, area all working together with Grace Baptist Church to distribute door to door nine thousand packets of the book of Romans and a flyer about the church. The flyer for the church had pictures of the fire and a headline that read “Come see what the fire could not destroy!”

Services were held each evening during the distribution. On the Sunday after the distribution, the temperature in nearby Sacramento was a chilly twenty-two degrees. In spite of the weather, a good number of visitors attended the morning and evening services. At this writing they are still seeing visitors coming to the church, thanks to all of the pastors, churches and individuals who prayed and helped with this effort in Northern California. What a blessing to see the grace of God at work in these churches. This kind of support and cooperation must be what Paul was talking about when he thanked God for their fellowship in the Gospel to the Philippian church.

Please pray for Grace Baptist Church and the reconstruction of their auditorium. The RESEEDING AMERICA Church Restoration ministry works with churches that have experienced set backs. Contact us for more information concerning this ministry.

Hungry workers enjoy a lunch break


A good group from Bay area churches gather on a chilly Saturday morning to distribute packets for Grace Baptist.