Jesus Changed my Life!      

What We Believe

Pulpit Supply and Speaking Engagements

Hear the story from the radio drama, Unshackled, aired on over 250 radio stations around the world from the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago. I had just graduated from high school, and I had been a Christian for about a year when this was recorded.

UNSHACKLED

I was raised in a church that did not preach the Gospel. When I became a teenager, I became very hateful and rebellious. I ran away from home three times, breaking the heart of my parents.

On my third trip as a runaway, I had been gone for 6 weeks when I ran into an evangelistic group from Youth for Christ. There, at the age of 16, I heard the Gospel for the first time in my life.

God used these teens to show me that Christianity was a relationship with Christ, not just a set of deeds and dogmas.

After watching these kids for 3 days, I had to know more. I sought out the local pastor. He shared the Good News of Christ with me. That evening, my name was written in the Book of Life, and I became a new creature in Christ!

I returned home a week later, and finished my senior year in High School. I went on to Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, and Detroit Bible College in Detroit, Michigan.

Over the years God has allowed me the privilege to serve Him in radio, music, evangelism, church-planting and pastoral ministries across the United States and in Canada.

My passion is to see God's people equipped and motivated to win souls to Christ.

I believe that every believer can and should win at least one soul to Christ every year. I believe that every church should make this a core part of their program. I will be developing more information on this site to help you develop this into your church program, so please bookmark this site and come back often.

I have served in Conservative Baptist, Independent Baptist, Southern Baptist and Independent Bible churches (IFCA), and have preached in churches of many denominations.

Influences in my life

Rev. Ralph Barteld  

Ralph was the pastor of the Methodist Church in Port Sanilac, Michigan. He led me to Christ on July 28, 1965. He told me to write the date in my Bible because it was the most important day in my life. The same night he led me to Christ, he told me, "Bob, Jesus wants you to tell others about Him so they can go to Heaven too." I have never forgotten those words. This web site is dedicated to reaching others for Christ as Ralph told me to do more than 40 years ago.

Ray Clendenan

Ray was the Youth for Christ Director in Marlette, Michigan, who brought the YFC Teen Team to Port Sanilac, where I received Christ. He was 100% committed to reaching teenagers for Christ. He influenced me greatly by his devotionals and by the weekly Bible study follow up literature he mailed me during the first few months of my Christian life.

I remember the names of four of the members of the team - Phil Driscoll, Maria Gonzales, Jim Bolin and Randy Jergensen, even though I only knew them for a week back in 1965. Their dedication to Christ made a big impact on my life when I was 16 years old. 

Dr. Sumner Wemp

Dr. Wemp was the Director of Practical Christian Work when I was a student at Moody Bible Institute. He is a powerful preacher of the Gospel and a dynamic soul winner. His love for people and his enthusiasm for Christ are contagious. Anyone who ever meets him will hear about Jesus. Sign up for his online devotionals. If they don't move you, nothing will.  www.sumnerwemp.com

Rev. Tom Turley

A lot of people thought of him as a "hillbilly." Tom did not have much formal education, but he memorized Scripture by the chapter, and he had a consuming passion for winning souls to Christ. He was a master of the basics of the Christian life. He was a powerful illustration of the fact that knowing the Word and being filled with the Holy Ghost is far more important than a formal theological education. Tom also introduced me to Why Revival Tarries and other writings of Leonard Ravenhill. He told me, "Bob, God will give you souls. You just have to want them badly enough."

Leonard Ravenhill, 1907-1994

Leonard had a passion for revival like few men in history. He dedicated his life to preach it, write about it, and most of all, pray for it. Two of his books, Why Revival Tarries, and Revival Praying influenced my life greatly as a Bible college student and later as a preacher. My copies of both books are well-worn, as I have read them many times. I only met him once. I had the privilige of hearing him preach at the Milldale Camp Meeting in Zachary, Louisiana, in the early 1970's.

Dr. Kenneth Wall, 1921-2006

Brother Wall was my pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Jennings, Louisiana - the heart of "Cajun Country," where I was ordained on July 2, 1972. He was a strong leader who taught me that I need to have a soft heart and a tough hide. The year I was ordained, over 50% of the church budget went to Missions. He had a heart for God and a passion for winning the lost. He taught me how to build an evangelistic church with an expository preaching ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Dr. John R. Rice, 1895-1980  

"Prayer is asking, and the answer to prayer is receiving."
Dr. Rice motivated many preachers to build soul winning churches. He taught us that every church should baptize at least 200 people a year until they run out of lost people to reach. His emphasis on praying for the power of the Holy Spirit and winning souls in His power is forgotten by most Christians today. I had the opportunity of working with him in The National Conference on Soul Winning and Revival in Dallas and Detroit.

Dr. Jerry Falwell, 1933-2007

As I watched the broadcasts of his services when I was a young preacher, I would pray and weep, "God, help me do that. Let me build a great church that reaches thousands of people with the Gospel." Every pastor should be a student and practitioner of Saturation Evangelism: "Preaching the Gospel to every available person at every available time by every available means."

Dr. Elmer Towns

Dr. Towns' series of books on great soul winning churches and his personal counsel over breakfast challenged me to build a great church - a Great Commission church. I listened to his tapes and read every one of the books over and over. Dr. Towns is a master teacher and a captivating author with a burning passion for souls.

Kathy Sharpe, 1981-1996

My beloved daughter Kathy was killed instantly in a car accident on Memorial Day, 1996. She taught me the brevity of life, the importance of family, the significance of winning your children to Christ and the importance of serving God now. Many times she would go out, and I would wait for her to come home. Now she is waiting for me to come Home. I love you, Kathy! I'm coming Home! I just need a little more time so I can bring some more people with me.