Monday, 9 November 2020

The Taylor Family and Front Range Missions


Greetings Brothers and Sisters,


My name is James Taylor. Many of you may know our family from the time that we spent as missionaries in Kenya, Africa. I have been serving as the lead pastor at Pauline BC in Monticello, AR, for the past five years but resigned the end of August to follow the Lord’s call back into missions.  We are excited to announce that God has called our family to church planting in the state of Colorado. We are partnering with our sending church, Northern Hills Baptist Church in Texarkana, AR, and our pastor Roger Copeland to establish Front Range Missions. Our desire is to cultivate Jesus-centered communities of faith in the shadow of the Front Range Mountains of Northern Colorado beginning in the city of Longmont. 


We are asking you to join us in praying for Front Range Missions and our family as we prepare to relocate to Longmont in the spring of 2021. If you would like more information or if you would like our family to come and share in more detail what God has put on our hearts, please contact us to schedule an appointment.  Our family is excited for all that God is going to do in Colorado as we share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are also excited and praying for those that God is calling to participate in Front Range Missions alongside us whether prayerfully, financially, or even physically going with us. Would you prayerfully consider how God could use you to partner with us in this mission?

Sincerely, 


James Taylor 

frontrangemissionsco@gmail.com 

Cell# (870) 723-7640

Church# (870) 773-3850

Tuesday, 26 January 2016

Important Announcement


 
Greetings from Monticello, Arkansas,

            I want to begin by saying thank you so much to each of you who have faithfully supported our family over the past 15 years of mission ministry. God has done amazing things as we have labored together in preaching the gospel both here in the United States and in Kenya. Some of you have been with us from the beginning of our missionary journey back in 2000 and others more recently. We have never felt alone on the mission field knowing that there were faithful supporters praying and laboring on our behalf before the throne of grace.
            We returned to the States the end of July this past year to begin our regularly scheduled furlough. Our intentions were to set up housing here in Monticello near our sending church Pauline Baptist Church then to visit churches to say thank you, put our children in public school for a year, and for me to do the classroom work for my Masters in Theology at the Missionary Baptist Seminary. We began visiting churches and started school in the fall as planned.
In September our pastor Brother Chad Graves resigned as the pastor of Pauline BC.  As a church we began the process of seeking a new pastor. A selection committee was formed, a process approved, and names were submitted for consideration. Just before Thanksgiving the selection committee approached Kenya and me and asked us if we would consider the pastorate at our church. We took a week to pray about it and consider where we were in ministry, where we are as a family, and the possibility of serving in this capacity. We sought council from several of our mentors and men that we respected about even being considered. We could not discern in our prayers a yes or a no so we decided to submit to the church and ask God to help us along with our church to discern His will.
Over the past six weeks we have been in process with our church praying and proceeding through the church’s selection process for calling a pastor. There were multiple votes, conversations, and times of prayer. The church had the final vote on January 24 as to whether of not they believed we should serve as pastor or return to Kenya as missionaries. They voted to call me as pastor believing that it was the Lord’s will and knowing that it meant leaving the mission field.  We believe that God has worked all the details and the timing out for this decision. I have accepted the pastorate of Pauline Baptist Church and our family will begin to make the transition into this position.
East Kenya Missions will continue on with Brother John Strader and his family sent out by Creekmont MBC, La Porte TX. Brother John and others that God is raising up will continue to work with the churches and the Bible Institute.  I have the utmost confidence that they will do a great work.  The pastors and churches on the coast will continue to grow in the Lord and I believe will do a great work. We will be returning to Kenya for a few weeks in June to say good-bye to the churches and to collect our personal belongings.
Please pray for our family during this transition into stateside ministry. We believe God has big plans for Pauline BC and what she can do for the cause of Christ locally and globally.  If you have any questions or would like to speak with us our phone number is (870) 723-7640. Please feel free to call and leave a voice mail if I do not answer and I will call back as soon as possible. 

James Taylor 

Monday, 9 November 2015

October 2015 Report

October 2015
 
Missionary Training Ministry
        
              I was privileged to speak during the MTM 2015 module one held at the Missionary Baptist Seminary this past month. MTM continues to provide biblical and practical training for missionaries both in the states and over seas. Brother Larry Clements invited me to speak during his sessions on “The Necessity of the Missionary’s Quiet Time.” I was the last speaker in a series of speakers to share on to subject and it was awesome to see God take everything and put it together for a moving of His Spirit. It was a revival meeting as far as I was concerned as we all came together in prayer to close out the session.
                  The Missionary Baptist Seminary also asked MTM to give the Fall Chapel lectures. It was an honor to be invited to speak for the lectures. Brother Joe Morrell and I spoke on leadership from the church and missionary perspectives.  There was a good number in attendance and it was a great chance to fellowship and learn from God’s Word.



www.missionarytrainingministry.com
               
Furlough Travels

            I am continuing to travel to our supporting churches on the weekend to give report and to say thank to those who partner with us in the East Kenya Missions ministry. The churches have been so gracious and encouraging. Kenya and the kids have not been able to travel to very many of the churches because of school but they travel when they can. We appreciate so much the understanding of the churches in regards to our family not being able to travel with me. I know the churches love to see everyone and how much they have grown, not to mention I do not like traveling alone.

Straders Continuing in Kenya

              The Straders are continuing to do well in Kenya.  Brother John has had preachers’ meetings and has been visiting the churches weekly. We are so excited for him also because he has preached several times in Swahili! This is a huge milestone in their adaptation and acclamation into the culture.  God is opening up new opportunities of ministry also and Brother John is providing great leadership. Amber and Ellanora seem to be doing awesome as well in the community and in the churches making friends and sharing Jesus. We are so proud of the Straders and excited at how God is using them.

The Howells Deputation

              Clayton and Lindsey are still visiting churches and raising funds. Please pray for them as they travel and share the Farming God’s Way ministry. If you would like the Howells to come and share please contact Clayton at missionaryhowell@gmail.com or (870) 265-0326.
             

Sending Church Pastor Search 
             
              Please continue to pray for our church Pauline BC as we seek a senior pastor. The church is so blessed to have several pastors on staff that are able to continue to meet the needs of the church in this time of transition. Brother Larry Clements is serving as our interim pastor and doing a great job at leading through this process. The church has a pulpit committee in place and will soon be considering candidates. We are certain that God will give leadership to the church during this time and will make His will clear.

Upcoming Furlough Appointments

November 15 Holland Chapel BC, Benton, AR
November 15 Northern Hills MBC, Texarkana, AR
November 22 Jeffersonville BC, Jeffersonville, OH
November 29 Sugar Creek MBC, Ironton, OH
November 29 Flatwoods MBC, Mountain View, AR
November 29 Mountain View MBC, Cave City, AR
December 6 First BC, Sullivan, MO
December 6 Mount Calvary MBC, Sikeston, MO
December 13 Bridges Creek BC, Caulfield, MO
December 27 Columbus BC, Columbus, IN
December 27 Victory MBC, Seymour, IN



PO Box 299 Monticello, AR 71657


James Taylor State side Phone (870) 723-7640 missionarytaylor@gmail.com

Taylor Tribe
 



 

This month was crazy busy with school and Fall festivities.  We had parent teacher conferences, report cards, spirit week, red ribbon week, Halloween parties, Fall Fest, class breakfasts, picture days, and awards assemblies.  With even one or two kids that would be pretty hectic.  But take all that times 5 kids and WOW, was I running circles trying to shop for costume items, snacks, candy, and keep up with all the different schedules.  It was a ton of fun, but I must admit that I am starting to think that American moms have super powers.  In Kenya my biggest worries are no water, no electricity, and cooking from scratch.  I am most grateful that water and electricity are the least of my worries these days.  I am, however, concerned at how any mom, including myself, could swing all that goes on in this fast paced life and not kill over from the ever building pressure to look like a million bucks WHILE juggling all that pinterest perfectionism that must creep into the hearts of every mom who ever pulled up in front of their child’s school on two wheels to bring them lunch because Fish Sticks are on the lunch menu again.  I’m still trying to process all that God is doing in my heart through the activities and happenings of this month.  I have loved every minute of it, but I also know that God is using all of this to change my heart and bring it closer to Him. 
            The kids are doing amazingly well in school.  They all made the A/B honor roll.  Josiah received the 9th grade academic student of the quarter.  Abigail received the 8th grade female student of the quarter.  Seeing them succeed in public school makes me proud to know that they are well-behaved and self disciplined.  I think sometimes we, as parents, don’t give our kids enough credit.  We do our best to teach them and it’s up to them to make right choices.  One of the things I love most about our kids attending public school is they can put all the biblical principles we have been teaching them into practice.  Something that has been very shocking to our kids is how badly behaved or negative many kids are.  As a parent I could just say, “yes, those kids are terrible, stay away from them.”  But that isn’t applying godly character.  Instead we talk about why they might act that way and how God could use us to minister to those kids.   Both Josiah and Abigail have gone out of their way to reach out to someone they thought was lonely with two very different responses.  Josiah’s kindness was received, Abigail’s was rejected.  But again, it was an opportunity to teach Abigail that we don’t give up on people.  Jesus said to love our enemies and to bless those that curse us.   I love all that God is teaching them and us.  I feel like I could write pages but I don’t think the PO will let us have that many pages at our current mailing costs. 
            I can’t forget to mention that my parents also came down this month.  My mom had fall break, so she and my dad came and stayed the whole week.  We went and had lunch with all the kids at school and showed them around the church.  I’m so glad that being state side we are within driving distance. 
Thank you to all who are praying for us.  God is awesome and we are super grateful that he has given us this experience.  Thanks for reading.