TO THE THIRSTY... By Rev. Mark Powell
As John grapples with the visions he tries to record in Revelation, he comes to a place where he quotes the One who is seated on the throne (Revelation 21:5-7). He reveals Himself as the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. He extends an invitation “to the thirsty…” An invitation with a promise, “To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.” General Baptist Ministries Living Water project was initially funded by the 2019 LAUNCH offering. Churches, youth groups and Bible study groups pitched in to help provide water projects for our various international fields. The result was one of our most successful VBS/LAUNCH offerings, totaling nearly $50,000. This doubled the goal we had set. To date, two international locations have received the most benefit from this generous offering. The first project funded from the Living Waters Project was to assist Saipan Community Church and School with new catchments
8 | General Baptist Messenger Spring 2020
designed to help the church/ school campus with water. Catchments designed to catch and store rainwater are essential on the small island of Saipan. The old catchments had been worn by time. Following damage by two major typhoons over four years, they simply burst. With fresh funds on hand from the Living Water Project, General Baptist Ministries was able to quickly offer assistance to help purchase new catchments for the water. A substantial amount of the funds for the offering were earmarked for the Calvary Grace Association in India. Pastor Jessey was in the United States at the time of the offering and was actively promoting the offering as he visited churches. To date, we have placed more than fifteen (15) wells in India through the Calvary Grace ministries. Risen Church in Dexter, Missouri contributed nearly $20,000 to the Living Waters Project, so it was appropriate that a recent team from Risen Church was able to participate in several well dedications during their visit. It was humbling to observe the group as we made our way from location to location to say a few words, read some scripture, and offer a prayer of dedication over these new wells.
