Editor’s Note: Pastor Barry Ginn served on staff at Monumental Baptist Church in Petersburg for 16 years (12 ½ years as senior pastor). During that time, he grew to love the fellowship of churches that make up the SBC of Virginia. Recently, the Lord moved him and his wife, Lisa, out of Virginia due to health reasons. But he is still serving the Lord in ministry and shares this testimony of God’s faithfulness and the incredible influence of SBCV on him and his new ministry at Shoreline Park Baptist Church in Bay St. Louis, MS.
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Thank you for the opportunity to brag on how big our God is and how instrumental the SBCV has been in my life.
For a number of years, my wife has suffered from chronic pain. We were blessed to have facilities and doctors nearby but could never get a diagnosis or a plan of treatment that seemed to help or work. About two years ago, Lisa and I began to pray, as we had many times before, that God would intervene and that we would be obedient. God answered our prayer! But not the way we expected or even wanted.
Years ago, while serving in the Marines, we served close to an Air Force Base in Biloxi, MS. They had incredible medical staff and facilities. We drove from Virginia to the Mississippi Gulf Coast one week and prayed that this might be the answer. God was faithful in answering our prayers.
We drove back to Virginia, and I resigned as pastor of Monumental Baptist—a church family whom we loved dearly. We were also leaving our son, Derek, in Virginia because he couldn’t make the move with us. After resigning, we found a church on the Mississippi coast that was looking for a pastor. God, in His infinite wisdom, placed us in a church that was more than 1,000 miles away. I look back and see how gracious God is, and I am overwhelmed.
The church to which God called us was small in number, yet God has blessed us and we have seen it double in size in less than 15 months. Our baptism to average attendance ratio is 2.5 to 1. Giving is up exponentially. Our Sunday School has doubled. For future expansion, the church recently purchased a piece of property that joins the existing property. Renovations have been made to the offices, kitchen, Sunday School classrooms, and the exterior of
the church.
In closing, I would like to say, “thank you” to SBCV’s executive director, Dr. Brian Autry, Brother Steve Bradshaw (regional missionary for the Central Region), and the entire SBCV staff. I am grateful for the investment you made in me as a pastor of the SBCV, for the invaluable training you offered, and for your partnership and friendship in the Gospel.