Pastor's Blog

I was mistaken about Kaydenz Edwards and her situation.  She will see the doctor in person on January 18.  Obviously, this is the best case scenario and an answer to prayer.  Keep praying!

The doctor has determined that Miss Vel Brannon’s broken wrist was set properly and therefore it will be best for it to heal on its on.  If another examination in a week verifies this then her wrist will be placed in a hard cast.  Keep praying for Miss Vel.

Pray for the Sue Freeman family as the visitation and service will take place today in Mississippi.  Pray for those who will be traveling.

Basketball today in our CAB.  Pray for this ministry and for those who are ministering in Bro. Abel’s absence.

Regular schedule on our campus tomorrow morning and evening.  Pray, attend, expect!

Still looking for a baker’s dozen!

I pray that you will have a great Saturday with Jesus.

The celebration of life service for Gary Hickman takes place this morning beginning at 10:00AM from the chapel of Mobile Memorial Gardens Funeral Home.  Pray for Jimmy & Dede Tagert along with the family during this time.

The visitation and celebration of life service for Sue Freeman, Ann’s sister, will take place tomorrow, 1/6, beginning at 1:00PM at Jones Funeral Home in Richton, MS.  The service will begin at 3:00PM.  Pray for the Freeman family.

Miss Vel Brannon, Diane Bryant’s mother, fell and broke her wrist.  She will meet with an orthopedic doctor this morning and they will discuss surgery.  I think I am right in saying that Miss Vel is ninety years old.  Pray for Miss Vel!

Miss Jean Hatcher continues to be hospitalized.  Pray for Miss Jean and her family.

Jason Husband will see the doctor on Monday, 1/8, to get things set up for his radiation.  Keep praying for Jason.

I am praying for wisdom for the specialist who will take part in the tele-conference this Monday, 1/8, regarding Kaydenz Edwards and the situation with her heart.

If you see this before 7:30AM today, please say a prayer for Deidra and the girls.  A new school year for the elementary students begins today at 7:30AM.  Sydney is sick and will not attend but Audrey will be attending.  Soy always took the girls to school and then picked them up afterwards.  That is a fond memory the girls have of their dad.  So, this morning will be a bit tough for Deidra.

Regular schedule on our campus this Sunday morning and evening.  Let’s begin the year by attending Bible study and worship!

I am told that the roofing job is almost complete on all five of the buildings on our church campus.  Awesome!

The team from Michigan, Iowa and Mississippi arrived safely on GRACE Mountain around 6:00PM yesterday.  Pray for them to have a great week of ministry.

I pray that you will have a great Friday with Jesus.

The visitation with the Gary Hickman family takes place today from 5:00PM until 7:00PM at Mobile Memorial Funeral Home.  Pray for Jimmy, Dede and family.

Miss Jean Hatcher remains in the hospital and has many issues working against her.  Please join me in continuing to pray for her.

Kaydenz Edwards, daughter of Devon & Witney, has an issue with her heart.  She needs to see a specialist but getting an appointment has been problematic.  A tele-conference is set for this Monday, 1/8.  Pray that the specialist can see her in a timely manner.

The arrangements for Ann Clark’s sister, Sue Freeman, have not been finalized as far as I know.  Pray for the Freeman family.

Evangelist Junior Hill of Hartselle, Alabama passed from this life early yesterday morning.  What a great man of God!  The visitation and service for him will take place in Decatur, Alabama on Tuesday, 1/9.  Pray for Miss Carole, Mark, Melanie and their families.

I am told that Bro. Dylan and deacon Joey Bosarge both did great jobs in sharing the Word yesterday.

The Inspirations will be at Friendship on Thursday, January 25.  Pass the word!

Lots going on in Guatemala as the first team of 2024 arrives today, elementary school begins their year tomorrow, middle school and high school begin their respective years Monday, 1/8, et cetera.  Pray for the work here.

Thank you for praying for Deidra.  I feel that Tuesday was a really good day for her emotionally.  Does this mean she is emotionally healed?  Of course not!  One step at a time.  Your prayers and support are crucial.  We give God the glory for each victory.

I am looking for a baker’s dozen!

I pray that you will have a great Thursday with Jesus.

Gary Kenneth Hickman was born on September 12th, 1946 and passed away peacefully on Friday, December 29, 2023 at the age of 77. He was preceded in death by his wife of 46 years, Emma Weldonia Hickman, his father, Brewer K. Hickman, his mother, Olga H. Margolis, his stepfather, Harry D. Margolis, and his stepson, Joseph Keith Tagert. He is survived by his stepchildren; Donna K. Abercrombie of Mobile, AL, Ronald Kent Tagert of Valley Cottage, NY, and James K. Tagert and his wife Deanna of Theodore, AL. He is also survived by his step-grandchildren; Wayne Abercrombie, Jr., Brittany Tagert, Seth Tagert, and Ian Tagert, along with four step-great-grandchildren.

Mr. Hickman was honorably discharged from the U.S. military and attended Auburn University, graduating with a degree in Building Construction. After graduation, he began his career in the construction industry and eventually retired from White Spunner Construction in 2010. Gary was known for his kindness and generosity and was loved and will be missed by his family and friends. Funeral service will be held from the chapel of Mobile Memorial Gardens Funeral Home on Friday, January 6, 2024 at 10am. Visitation will be 5pm to 7pm Thursday evening at the funeral home.

Ann Clark’s sister, Sue Freeman, passed from this life during the night.  Obviously, arrangements incomplete.  Pray for the Freeman family.

The visitation with the Gary Hickman family (Jimmy & Dede Tagert) takes place tomorrow, January 4, from 5:00PM until 7:00PM at Mobile Memorial Gardens Funeral Home.  The celebration of life service will take place Friday, January 5, beginning at 10:00AM also at the funeral home.  Pray for Jimmy, Dede and the family.

Regular schedule on our campus this morning and evening.  May we be found faithful!

Jean Hatcher remains in the hospital.  Lots of health issues and the doctors are tackling them one at a time.  Keep praying for Miss Jean.

Ann Clark’s youngest sister, Sue, remains in the hospital.  She is not doing well and continues to need our prayers.

Ann Clark’s oldest (104) sister, Cleo, is at home.  Aunt Cleo is an amazing and godly lady.  Pray for her.

The source of the leaks on our campus have been found and, hopefully, corrected.  Again, thank you to each person who has helped with this issue.

I was told that the adult building and the youth building should have received new roofs yesterday.  The preschool building and the office building should have the same on Friday.  Those guys are fast!

It looks as though today is going to be a cool, wet day in Grand Bay.  The forecasters are calling for a low of thirty-two tonight.  Stay dry and warm!

I pray that you will have a great Wednesday with Jesus.

Jimmy Tagert’s father-in-law, Mr. Gary Hickman, has passed from this life.  I ask you to join me in praying for Jimmy and the family during this time of loss.

The visitation with Mr. Gary Hickman’s family will take place this Thursday, January 4, from 5:00 – 7:00PM at the Mobile Memorial Funeral Home on Three Notch Road in Tillman’s Corner.  The celebration of life service will take place on Friday, January 5, beginning at 10:00AM also at the funeral home.

I will post the entire obituary once it is put online by the funeral home.

Keep praying for Jimmy and family.

A belated “Happy New Year” to all thirteen of our readers.

First, I want to say “congratulations” to the many Michigan football fans whom I consider as friends.  Yes, I have heard from many of them and I am now saying, “Go Blue!”  I hope Michigan wins it all!

Miss Jean Hatcher is in the hospital battling multiple problems.  I visited her on Sunday afternoon and she was in good spirits in spite of everything.  Pray for Miss Jean and her family.

My mother-in-law, Ann Clark has two sisters who are not doing well.  Her oldest sister, Cleo, is one hundred and four years old.  She is at home but has gotten very frail.  Her youngest sister, Sue, is seventy-six (I think)  and is in the hospital on a vent.  Things are not looking favorable.  Pray for Cleo, Sue and their families.

Jason Husband will see the doctor next Monday, 1/8, to have some things done in order to begin his radiation.  Radiation will probably begin the week of 1/15.  Keep praying for Jason.

We were blessed with a good service on New Year’s Eve morning.  Thank you Jesus!

I witnessed a miracle yesterday!  Deidra, Lizzi, Sydney, Audrey & I landed in Guatemala at 1:00PM.  We stopped in the city at a McDonald’s for lunch and were on GRACE Mountain at 3:00PM.  If you have ever been here then you know that is nothing short of a miracle.  Traffic was basically non-existent between the airport and here!  Praise the Lord!  By the way, thank you to Eddie Albritton for taking us to the Mobile airport yesterday morning.  He tells me the fifty dollars (plus gas money) he charges is very much in line with the other transportation services.

I pray that you will have a great Tuesday with Jesus.

Our basketball leagues will be in action tonight beginning at 6:00PM and then again tomorrow morning beginning at 8:00AM.  Pray for this ministry.

Only one service on our campus this Sunday, 12/31/23.  That service will begin at 10:00AM.

Our students will have a fellowship this Sunday, 12/31/23, in the CAB from 5:00PM until 6:30PM.

The roofing job on the auditorium was either completely finished yesterday or very close to it.  Wow, those guys were going fast!

Special thanks to Allen Glover, Jeff Holifield and Dylan Westbrook for tackling a major job of trying to locate a leak on our campus yesterday.  The leak has not been officially found but those guys have it narrowed down to the most probable location which is underground.  A leak detection company will come on Tuesday, 1/2, to pinpoint the location of the leak.  Pray that goes well and that the leak can be located and repaired.

I pray that you will have a great Friday with Jesus.

Late entry.  My apologies.  The roofers have already gotten most, if not all, of the shingles off of the auditorium.  Deacon Jeff Holifield is the only one of the nine deacons to show up.  What is up with that?

Spoke to Larry Whitehurst yesterday.  At some point in the future the family will have a memorial service for Jerry Whitehurst.  Pray for the Whitehurst family.

It seems that some of the Friendship family who have been battling sicknesses are on the mend.  There may be others who are just now getting a sickness but we are thankful for those who are improving.

True to form, the alarm in the auditorium went off just before 10:00AM yesterday.  Translated – someone most likely showed up for the morning service.

The weather forecasters are now saying thirty-three for the low tonight followed by two nights of thirty-three.  Hooray!

Basketball this Friday night beginning at 6:00PM and then again Saturday beginning at 8:00AM.  Pray for this ministry.

Only one service this Sunday, 12/31, and that begins at 10:00AM.  We are bringing in a special duet for that service.  Lord willing, I will be bringing the message.  I hope to be joined by many members of the Friendship family!

Youth fellowship in the CAB this Sunday, 12/31, from 5:00PM until 6:30PM.

I pray that you will have a great Thursday with Jesus.