Sometimes, You CAN Go Home

The Bible quotes Jesus in Mark 6:4 (NKJV) this way:


But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.”

I had the honor of preaching a revival meeting in the small community where I live this week. The services were held at First Baptist Church of Olustee, Florida. This is the church I "grew-up" in and that licensed me to the Gospel Ministry.

Each service presented new opportunities to share the Gospel with family, friends and some folks I was meeting for the first time. We had some great music provided by the church's music leaders, Kevin Owen and Cheryl Kent, and they treated us to several specials. We also had the Minister of Music from First Baptist Church of Lake Butler, Stephen Wells and his wife Christy leading the music and singing specials on Monday night. On Tuesday night, one of my brothers, Eddie Croft sang a couple of songs for us. The music was really great. You can see and hear one of Kevin and Cheryl's songs on our YouTube Channel.

Pictured below (left to right) are: Christy Wells, Stephen Wells, Pastor Mike Williams, Kevin Owen, Cheryl Kent, and "yours truly" in front.


During the five services the Lord made His presence known with many people coming to the altar for prayer. We also had one person to rededicate their life to Christ. The greatest miracle came on Wednesday night as a lady gave her life to the Lord and was saved!!!

I understand that this lady had started attending, at the request of a friend, a weekly morning ladies Bible study led by one of the women of the church. This led to her and her family attending a few worship services and then the revival meeting. This is a wonderful illustration of how important it is to reach out to others. It also shows us that no ministry is a small ministry, God can and will use us if we just let Him. One more thing, revival fires could have been sparked by that one invitation.

Ministering to friends and family; ministering with friends and family; and seeing the miracle of salvation! Yes, it was a great week serving the Lord in my hometown, Olustee, Florida.

Sometimes, a preacher CAN go home, with the Lord's help. 8-)