Pastor's Blog

Mark & Brenda Timberlake’s grandson will be having major surgery this morning.  Pray for Tyler, his parents, Mark & Brenda, the rest of the family and the surgical team.

Lisa and I had safe travels and good visit with Mama yesterday.  The best thing I can say about Mama is that she is very content which is a blessing.

Regular schedule on our campus today – morning and evening.

Our students are preparing to leave for camp on Monday, 7/14.  Pray!

Bro. Abel is putting the finishing touches on our Sunday School year which begins August 3.  Is the Lord leading you to serve in this great ministry?  If so, contact Bro. Abel.

Today is the final day to sign up for our refresh committee.  Contact Henry Wyse or me.

Deidra will be sharing in our 5:00PM service this Sunday, 7/13.  Please pray and spread the word.  Thank you.

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

Lisa and I will be out of pocket today as we will travel to visit my Mama which will include a trip to Big Bob’s.  (Please do not tell Stacey Dyess as he tends to get so jealous!).

Bro. Abel will man the office today and Bro. Chris will also be available in my absence.

Regular schedule on our campus tomorrow morning and evening.

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

Happy twenty-first birthday to our great-nephew, Grayson Glenn.  Grayson is staying with us this Summer as he is involved in a research project at USA.  We will have a family gathering tonight to celebrate this milestone birthday.  Rebecca Markey baked Grayson a cake and it may just be the ugliest cake ever!  LOL!  (Actually, Becca does a great job baking cakes.  Decorating?  Not so much!).  Happy birthday, Grayson.

The Lord blessed the Friendship family with a good day in both of our services yesterday.  We praise Him.  Yes, we had folks out of town but, all in all, our attendance was good.  Thank you to those who were faithful!

My heart breaks and my prayers have focused on the folks in Texas who were affected by the flooding this past Friday morning.  Tragic!  I am praying for each family who lost loved ones but especially those parents who lost their children.  I am also praying for the first responders.  Join me in these prayers.

Bro. Chris’ schedule has changed.  He will now be working Monday through Thursday with Thursday being his grass cutting day.  He will continue to lead our bus ministry visitation on Saturdays.

Deidra, the girls and Ingrid are set to arrive here late Wednesday night.  The older two girls will be going to camp with our students next week.  Deidra will be speaking during our 5:00PM service this Sunday, 7/13.  She is excited!  (Wink, wink!)

Speaking of Deidra, Edgar, Jr. was involved in a motorcycle accident this past Saturday.  He was kept in the hospital overnight and is now on GRACE Mountain.  He is experiencing a great deal of pain.  Pray for him, please.

Keep praying for Clinton Stringfellow, Betty Hamil and the others on our prayer list.

Sonny & Jeanette Bates celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary yesterday, 7/6.  Happy belated anniversary to this outstanding couple.  I thank God for Sonny & Jeanette and the ministry God has given them at Friendship.

Word has it that Mexico beat the USA in the Gold Cup last night.  If I had known this before going to bed last night then I probably would not have been able to sleep.

“Bags of GRACE” are our focus this month.  Help us as the Lord leads.  Love offerings for this cause will be received on Sunday, 7/20, and Sunday, 7/27.

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

Today marks the fifty-seventh birthday for Lisa’s younger brother, Michael Clark, who passed from this life at the young age of eighteen in 1986.  On one hand it seems like forever ago and yet it seems like his passing was yesterday.  Death stings.  Pray for Charles, Ann, Kim and Lisa.

Regular schedule on our campus tomorrow morning and evening.  I know we have a boatload of folks out of town but I also know we have a boatload of folks in town.  I am praying the folks in that second group will come join us for Sunday School and worship.

Tomorrow will be Bro. Chris Scofield’s fifty-fifth birthday.  He just finished his one year anniversary of being on our staff.  So, we will receive a love offering in our services tomorrow to thank him for the past year of service to the Lord through the Friendship family.

“Bags of GRACE” is our focus for July.  Sample bag in tomorrow’s services.  Special offerings on 7/20 & 7/27.  Pray and participate as the Lord leads.

The “refresh” committee will soon be in place.  Contact Henry Wyse or me if interested in possibly serving.

Deidra and the girls come home this Wednesday.  Happy days!

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

Happy 249th birthday to the USA!  I pray that each of our thirteen readers of the blog will have an awesome day!  May God bless the USA and may the USA bless God!

Keep praying for those on our prayer list.

Want to be on the “refresh” committee?  Personally contact Henry Wyse or me in order to be considered.

Regular schedule this Sunday morning and evening.  Yes, we have a ton of folks out of town but I pray that all of us in town will be faithful to attend the services, give, et cetera.

I remind our deacons that we will meet Sunday morning – same time, same place.

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

The church office is closed today.  Bro. Abel and I are available in the event of an emergency.

Bro. Chris will be taking our students bowling today.  Pray for this to be a good time of fellowship.

Clinton Stringfellow was discharged from the hospital yesterday.  Keep praying.

Miss Betty Hamil is making improvement one step at a time.  Continue to pray for Betty & Andy.

Join me in praying for Gary Walton and the situation with his knees.  Hardest working man I know but his knees are in much pain.  He needs relief.  Pray!

Regular schedule on our campus this Sunday morning and evening.

“Bags of GRACE, Bags of GRACE, Bags of GRACE!”  Enough said!

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

Where did the first six months of 2025 go?  Wow, that was fast!

The number one question of yesterday was, “what was the final total from the auction?”  I have the best CPA in the world working on it but he is sorting through the numbers, trying to see if those who said they would pay online, via Venmo, et cetera have done so.  I suspect it may be sometime next week before a final total is known.  For the record, those who did not attend the auction but would like to make a donation can do so either online or by writing a check made payable to GRACE Ministries and mailing it to P.O. Box 223 Grand Bay, AL 36541.  If the Compagner boys (Steve & Tom) donate then there is no telling what the final total will be – the sky is the limit?

I did not get an update on Clinton Stringfellow yesterday but will do so today.  I do know that we need to continue to pray for Clinton.  He is a good guy!

Talked to Andy Hamil yesterday afternoon and Betty is improving one small step at a time.  Keep praying.

Regular schedule on our campus tomorrow morning and evening.  Regular schedule this Sunday, 7/6, too.

“Bags of GRACE” are the focus during July.  We will receive special offerings on Sunday, 7/20, and Sunday, 7/27.  These offerings are designed for those who would rather give and let others do the shopping, packing, et cetera.

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

Happy eighteenth wedding anniversary to Brad & Daphne Hutto!  I hope they will have a great day!

Wow, what a great night at our annual cake auction!  We added watermelons and honey to the items being auctioned and everything went well.  The cakes were amazing!  The pre-auction meal was superb (thank you Stacey & Gayla) and folks helped like never before.  To quote Miss Kittie Camp, “many hands make light work!”  Thank you to each person who helped in any way!

Special thanks to my brother, Eddie, for serving as the auctioneer.  He did great!  The reviews have been very positive.  I plan on him doing the same next year, Lord willing!

So, what was the total raised?  Great question.  Our amazing CPA, TJ Vice, is crunching the numbers as I type this entry.  I can say that we will exceed the seventy thousand dollar mark.  By the way, the top two cakes (financially speaking) were Miss Vinnie Brewer and Miss June Bailey.  The cow took the overall title.  All good stuff!

Who won?  The students/families of Colegio JET in Guatemala.  It brings joy to my heart to know that those families will have their stomachs filled because of the generosity of a number of kind folks in the States.

Who was the biggest winner actually present at the auction?  That one is easy – Stacey Dyess!  He got very emotional when he received the bottle of Big Bob Gibson’s white barbecue sauce.  I am just glad that he did not cry!

Keep praying for Clinton Stringfellow.  I will check on him today.

The church office will be closed this Thursday, 7/3, and Friday, 7/4.  Regular schedule this Wednesday, 7/2, and Sunday, 7/6.

The July emphasis is on the “Bags of GRACE!”  Virginia Morris did a great job on preparing one yesterday and Amanda Steele followed suit last night.

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

Regular schedule on our campus tomorrow morning.  Cake auction tomorrow afternoon – light meal begins at 4:00PM.  Auction begins at 4:30PM.  Silent auction sheets will be available beginning at like 3:30PM if not before.  All cakes need to be in the CAB no later than 2:00PM.  Questions?  Contact Daphne Hutto (251) 533 4595.

The menu will consist of a pulled pork sandwich, a bag of plain chips and a drink (unsweet tea, sweet tea or water).  Dessert will be dutch treat!  Just FYI.

The news relating the auction has just gotten better and better as the week has gone on.  We are now at cakes (and pies), corn beef hash (Rhett Butler), condo (Karen Walker), cow (anonymous), creatures of the sea (anonymous), cow (ground beef) (anonymous), comb (honey).  Looking forward to it!

We have some great bakers bringing cakes tomorrow.  I am obviously excited about Miss Vinnie Brewer’s cake.  Likewise, this will be the first year for Miss June Bailey to send her world famous carrot cake.  I am told it is fantastic.  Clara Broadus is making a coconut cake using Caroline Ford’s recipe.  (The true Baker in attendance will be Pamela!)

The best part of the auction is knowing that there will be students/entire families who will not go hungry at specific times because of this emergency food fund distributed by the staff of Colegio JET.

How about those who do not live in South Mobile County but want to be a part of this auction?  If you live in the Danville, Alabama area then you can bid through FT (contact Daphne) and we will get your cake to you by tomorrow, 6/30.  (I think)

If you just want to make a donation then you can do so through Venmo, mail a check, give online, et cetera.  Again, contact Daphne for the details.  Any size donation will be greatly appreciated even from the tight folks I know.  And the generous.  Can you say Ross Genzink, Robert Wiley, Tom Compagner, Steve Compagner, Willard Garnett, Rex Looney, Derek Kerley, BJ Parson, Ben Nobles, Jack Bailey, Doug Chappelle, Tom Campbell, Johnny Maxwell, Clint Landry, Kandi Adams, Eddie Burdette, David Walters and the list goes on!  Which of those are tight and which are generous?  Great question.  (All claim to be poor but some have a dollar or two in their pocket). Just saying!

I pray that you will have a great Saturday with Jesus.  Keep praying for Clinton Stringfellow.

Sorry for no entry yesterday.  Long story.  My mistake.

Clinton Stringfellow had surgery yesterday.  All went well.  He remains in the hospital.  Keep praying for Clinton.

Eddie Brinkman had outpatient surgery yesterday.  Surgery was a success and he came home yesterday afternoon.  Pray for a speedy recovery.

Gary Walton continues to have problems with his knees.  He will see the doctor today.  Pray that he can get some relief.

Regular schedule on our campus this Sunday morning.  Sunday School at 9:00AM followed by worship service at 10:00AM.

We will meet at 4:00PM Sunday in the CAB for a pulled pork sandwich meal which includes a bag of chips and drink (tea or water).  Thank you to Stacey & Gayla Dyess for doing the meat and slaw.  At 4:30PM our annual cake auction will begin.  Eddie Turrentine will serve as the auctioneer.  We have some great cakes, a condo and corn beef hash plus some twists from our normal auction.  It is going to be good and all proceeds will help with our emergency food ministry at Colegio JET in Guatemala.  I pray we will have great participation.  Thank you to each person who is providing anything for the auction.

The great news is that Miss Vinnie Brewer will place a cake in the auction.  Hooray!

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