Though it may be hard for most of us to believe, here we are in December. The final few weeks of 2025 are upon us and, before long we will be ringing in January 1, 2026. Thus far, 2025 has been an amazing year for every church in Three Rivers and for the Association as a whole. From our churches we have heard reports of tens of thousands of gospel conversations, thousands of conversions and baptisms, overall financial stability, solid quantitative and qualitative growth in congregations, and pastors who are encouraged by church people who want to study Scripture more and more. Please pray for your sister churches in our Association, around South Carolina, and around the nation as each one works to make the name of Christ known. Similarly, overall as an organization, the Association is also doing well. We have seen an increase in participation in pastor small groups, an increase in participation in larger events, an increase in volunteers for various ministries like Disaster Relief, and an increase in churches who are interested in joining our efforts in an official capacity. However, that is not a testimony to anything Steven, Tom, Cyndi, or I do. It is a testimony to God’s providential blessings on the churches that make up Three Rivers and a testimony to every congregation member who longs to see Christ’s Kingdom expanded and sister churches encouraged. For this we are thankful every single day. We are also thankful for every penny sent to Three Rivers by each of your churches because without your continued support we would not exist. Our Association does not receive funds from Cooperative Program giving that goes to the South Carolina Baptist Convention and then on to the Southern Baptist Convention. Each church that supports Three Rivers financially does so specifically and sacrificially and for your support we are grateful and ask that you continue to do so. In similar vein, we ask that you continue to support the Association with your prayers of encouragement for the staff. Your prayers, words of encouragement, and financial support give us the ability to persist in encouraging pastors and equipping churches to engage lostness in order to fulfill our part of the Great Commission. Our continuing look at 1 John brings us this month to 1 John 5:9: “If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son.” It is providential for this verse to be our next in line as we approach the season of the celebration of the birth of Christ. God’s testimony is about Christ and is found in Scripture. The testimony of believers is always a great thing to hear, but personal stories do not change the unbeliever’s heart from stone to flesh. John is here proclaiming the simple yet profound truth that only God’s testimony about Christ is powerful enough to change the heart. So, we must ask where God’s testimony about Christ is found? The answer is easy and is found in the old kids Sunday school songs from years ago: The B-I-B-L-E, yes that’s the book for me! God’s testimony about Christ is found all throughout Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation. Indeed, as early as Genesis 3:15 is found the promise of a coming Messiah who will conquer sin and as late as Revelation 22:21 the continuing impact of the grace of Christ is mentioned. Perhaps one the greatest books in Scripture to discuss the testimony of Christ is the Old Testament prophecy of Isaiah. Though many passages come to mind, two stand out: Isaiah 7:14 and Isaiah 53:4-5. Early in the book in chapter 7, Isaiah notes the coming Messiah will be sign (a testimony) given directly by the Father and his name will be Immanuel (God with us). Later in the same book in chapter 53, the longest of the four servant songs (52:13-53:12), Isaiah reports the coming Messiah will bear our griefs, carry our sorrows, be pierced through for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, and will heal us from our sins by his scourging. And the crowning verse is Isaiah 53:6: “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.” Jesus Christ is God’s promised Messiah. As John notes in another of his books, the Gospel of John, Christ is God’s Word. He is, as John writes in 1 John 5:9, God’s testimony. God’s testimony, His word to His creation is the incarnate Word and only through His perfect, sufficient, inerrant, infallible, authoritative word can we find the divinely inspired revelation about that Word. This Christmas may we each turn with confidence to the pages of the word to find God’s testimony about His Word. Merry Christmas.
As we have been doing, please continue praying for each other (1 Thess 5:17) and for the other churches in our Association. I want to encourage you strongly to pray for each other, other pastors, and sister congregations in our area as we work together to encourage pastors and equip churches to engage lostness for the sake of fulfilling our part of the Great Commission. Lift each of these pastors and congregations to the Father, asking for His providential care for them and for His mercy and grace to work mightily through them.
Freedom Fellowship, Taylors, Joseph Vest
Friendship, Lyman, Alan Bagwell
Gap Creek, Marietta, Frank Taylor
Gowensville, Gowensville, Tim Clark (interim)
Greer First, Greer, Doug Mize
Groveland, Taylors, Paul Fleming
Heritage Chapel, Greer, Keith Crowe
Highland, Taylors, Tony Pearson
Hillcrest, Greer, Jim Smith
His Vineyard, Greer, Keith Kelly From all of us at the Three Rivers Baptist Association to each of you and your families: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
My prayer for you for December is the same as always. May the Lord grant each of us opportunities to share the message of Christ with unbelievers and disciple believers in the message of Christ. As an association of churches, we partner together for the sake of encouraging and equipping each other in order to engage lostness for the sake of fulfilling the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20).
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