A New Baby Smith

Adam and Stephanie had a baby girl (Elizabeth Claire? name still in negotiation :-) 6 lbs 12 oz, 19.5 " at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan 3. Mother and daughter doing very well. We'll post pics under Recent Photos as soon as they arrive.

Hezekiah James Smith

Colin and Jen had their first child, a little boy, Hezekiah James, 7 lbs, 3 oz, 20" at 6:25 p.m. on Dec 30. Mom did great. Her folks were there; they made the 12 hour trip from Chicago. Colin was with her for the delivery, but both sets of grandparents were there just a few minutes after Hezekiahs's birth.

Grace Baptist Church

The Lord has blessed and our little church plant of two years ago has grown into an independent Baptist Church. We are renting the Newton Recreational Center on Wednesdays and Sundays. Our Christmas Eve service drew several families from the area. This past year we moved to Newton, began a Sunday School, elected 5 deacons (up from 3), and officially called an associate pastor, Ben Rust, and a worship pastor, David Harris. We have about 120 people attending each Sunday morning at 10:45 a.m. and our prayer meeting is the most enjoyable prayer time that I have known in 30 years of ministry with 60-70 people praying for an hour. Believers want to gather together to pray. Our goal is to call a full time Senior Pastor by this time next year.