Superintendent Bill Welch and Missionary Terry Hull were honored to take a trip to Point Hope to celebrate with Interim Pastor Roy Welch and the Assembly of God congregation. Pt. Hope AG recently finished their new building and was able to move in and occupy the church. They started the project in the summer of 2003. With the help of Missionary Odis Ganey and a crew of 12 from Idaho, in 2004, they set the floor and framed the building. The congregation made the decision to pay for the project as the money came in, doing rest of the work on their own, receiving some electrical help from former Pastor Dale Crandall who made several trips to Pt. Hope. After 9 years they are rejoicing that the building is finished and paid for. They give God all the glory and praise for their new building. Gordon Omnik said, “They would not have been able to finish the building if it had not been for all the encouragement they received from Interim Pastor Roy Welch.
The church has ordered 125 pew chairs, which will arrive on the barge in late August. They are planning a special building dedication ceremony for early next fall. Please pray that the Lord of the harvest will raise up a full time pastor for this wonderful congregation.
The new church building was built next door to old church. In 2003, Gordon Omnik and Tommy Frankson were the key church leaders in moving the old church building and setting the pads in place for the new church building.
In the Sunday morning service there were 38 in attendance. There was a very sweet presence of the Holy Spirit.
Brother Roy Welch has been serving as the Interim Pastor since February 2002. He has faithfully served as his health would allow him for 9 years. Currently he is spending about 8 – 12 weeks in Pt. Hope and then he will come into Anchorage and rest for 3 – 4 weeks before he returns. He loves the Pt. Hope people very much. Brother Roy will be 80 years old in July. His ministry to this village has been a tremendous blessing.
Superintendent Bill Welch was honored to speak in the morning and evening services. He commended the congregation for all the dedicated work and being faithful in their service unto the Lord. In the morning he encouraged them to remain strong during the storms of life. On Sunday night he challenged them to be vessels of service and to have a righteous impact on their village.
On Sunday afternoon there was a potbless to celebrate moving into the new building. The potbless took place in the old church building. There were 48 in attendance, the fellowship was grand, and there was a lot of food. Several pots of caribou stew were brought in and the berries and cake were wonderful. Pastor Bill’s favorite was the stew and sheefish.
Sunday evening there were 50 in attendance. Gordon Omnik led worship and did a fantastic job. People entered in and worshiped. The building was filled with lively praises and sincere worship unto the Lord.
U.S. Missionary Terry Hull accompanied Pastor Bill on the trip. He was a tremendous blessing in many different ways. He had the opportunity to share with the people, prayed in the altar, encouraged people, took pictures and video and was a major support for Pastor Bill. On Sunday morning during the altar service the Lord spoke to Terry there was a specific man that had the call of God on his life. As Terry ministered to him he confirmed he was feeling a call into the ministry. Please pray that he will answer God’s Call. Oh, that many would be raised up in our villages and answer the call to ministry.
Sunday evening most of the people responded to the altar call to receive prayer. Pastor Bill first asked for those who needed a healing touch. Many others came forward with different types of needs. God was moving in such a special way that nobody wanted to go home. The evening finally came to a close around 11:45. It had been a long day, but hearts were encouraged. Pastor Bill and Terry told Interim Pastor Roy Welch that the real blessing was the one received in ministering to the people of Pt. Hope.
