Our Missionaries
Freedom Baptist also has a strong concern for missions, both locally and around the world. Almost 50% of the church’s annual budget is allocated to missions. We know our missionaries personally, and we send church delegates on visits to the mission field to assist our missionaries when possible. We also provide opportunities for members of the congregation to go on mission trips.
Here are the missionaries that we currently support:
Names withheld - Missionaries to China
The [Name Withheld] family has been serving in China since 2005. Freedom Baptist has been supporting them since they were on deputation.
The father primarily carries on the ministry of training pastors, and the mother has the primary duty of ministering to the wives of the men who are training for ministry, as well as caring for and educating the family’s four young children who are growing up in the Chinese culture.
Their current assignment is to train Chinese people to study, preach, and teach the Bible effectively, and to effectively serve as pastors and lay ministers of the Gospel.
This is being done through mentoring, curriculum writing, and theological training of house church leaders.
Bobby and Gretchen Brown – U.S.A. and U.S. Military
The Browns have been faithful servants of the Lord for many years. They have traveled across the country and around the world, ministering in music, children’s ministry, revival ministries, and a very special overseas ministry to American servicemen, as well as being bold in personal evangelism.
Ralph and Linda Copeland – U.S.A.
Ralph and Linda Copeland serve the Lord as a part of the Amazing Grace Mission. They travel throughout the country, mainly in the southeastern United States, setting up an AGM booth at fairs, carnivals, and other similar venues. They have a wonderful ministry of drawing people to the booth with interest-catchers that then allow them to share the Gospel with them. The Copelands personally lead hundreds of people to the Lord each year.
The Steve Deal Family – Asian Ministries
Steve, Ahmie (AH-mie), and Savannah Deal are our missionaries to the Philippines. They use the following ministries to draw people to the preaching of the gospel:
♦ Feeding centers in the Philippines and Myanmar
♦ An orphanage in Myanmar
♦ Redemption Ranch (Camp) in Philippines
♦ Disaster relief in nearby countries
The Deals have a somewhat unusual, yet very dynamic, ministry. Often, their calling causes them to be in grave danger and in high-risk areas. Their boldness and courage for the sake of the gospel has resulted in the gospel message being carried to very remote places.
Fain and Shelby Morrison – Philippines
Fain and Shelby Morrison have a unique ministry to the people of the Philippines. They travel throughout the United States, raising money to send to support national church workers in these countries. The Morrisons also raise money to build church buildings for those ministries, and Fain travels regularly to these countries to preach, take supplies, and supervise the building.
In the Philippines, they also sponsor a camp that reaches out to youth. The camp becomes a retreat for Christian workers during certain times of the year. The ministry is far-reaching, and many souls are being reached for Christ, and since the work is being done through national pastors, the work is likely to continue and thrive.
The Chris Murray Family – Director of Asian Missions
We started supporting Chris, Amy, Andrew, and Caleb Murray when they were missionaries to the Philippines. While serving in the Philippines, the Murrays planted several Christian ministries, including a vibrant church, a Christian camp, an orphanage, and a Bible Institute.
Chris is a local boy, and he was converted here in Greeneville, Tennessee. Key leaders of our church were instrumental in his training and calling to the mission field.
The Murrays recently became based here in the United States, where Chris accepted the position as Director of Asian Missions. The family now works to raise funds for missionary work in southeastern Asia, the Philippines, Myanmar, and Thailand. Chris travels to help the nationals and missionaries build churches, while also taking supplies and helping with teaching and training of the national pastors.
PATRIOT’S BRIGADE OF TENNESSEE
The Patriot’s Brigade is helping to re-establish the rule of law in America by limiting the reach of the federal government and restricting it to constitutional areas. Its main goal is to reclaim the God-given rights and powers which our Creator gave to us through our founding fathers: a Christian form of government. Its efforts are directed at federal, state, and local governments, with a special emphasis on confronting elected officials and informing church leaders and the public about important governmental issues which affect the Christian church.
Patriot’s Brigade stands for Biblical truth and strives to reclaim a Christian culture in our nation. It is currently focusing its main efforts on nullifying Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 same-sex marriage decision by the United States Supreme Court. Thus far, due to the efforts of Patriot’s Brigade, over 15 Tennessee counties have passed resolutions calling upon the Tennessee General Assembly to nullify same-sex marriage in Tennessee.
The state director and a few key board members attend FreedomBaptistChurch.
Pete Raymond – Juarez Orphanage
Pete Raymond is our missionary to Mexico. He lives in New Mexico, but he runs a Children’s Home right over the border in Juarez, Mexico. He has at least 35 children at the Home right now, and is preparing for at least 29 more. He supports a number of churches with his time and resources, some that he has started and others that have been started as outreaches of those churches. He spends time traveling to, and being a part of, these ministries.
The Seigfred Sandoval Family - Philippines
Seigfred Sandoval (Sahn-doe-VAHL) and his family are our missionaries to the Philippines. They are native Filipinos, and have built a wonderful ministry in their country. There are five children in his family, and they work together in the many aspects of the ministry.
They have a very active and growing church, and they have a Christian school, as well as a seminary to train young people for the ministry. Many of these graduates go out to begin new ministries as branches of the Sandoval’s ministry. They also have had feeding centers and outreaches to orphans.
This family is fully dedicated to winning people to the Lord, as well as to discipling them and seeing them grow in the Word and go on to reach more people for Christ.
Mike Smith – Oxford, North Carolina
Mike Smith has had a ministry for many years among the African-American people, most recently in Oxford, North Carolina. He started a church there, got it established, and was seeking God’s will on where to begin another work when a pastor-friend of his was diagnosed with a serious illness and was called Home to be with the Lord. Mike Smith took over his church work and continues in that work today.
The Harvey Snyder Family – Newport, Tennessee
Harvey and Kim Snyder, along with their children ~ James, Kaylee, Andrew, and Rebekah ~ have a vital ministry to public school children in Cocke County, TN. They have permission to take charge of a classroom and teach lessons about Godly character-building. Their sphere of influence is growing, and they continue adding classes each school year. Some of these school students (and some of their parents) are becoming faithful church attendees, also.
The Lacy Wheeler Family – Central Mexico
Lacy & Holly Wheeler, along with their children Titus, Levi, and Lydia are our missionaries to Mexico. Holly home schools the children. Lacy pastors the GospelBaptistChurch (Independent), which he founded in Irapuato.
Lacy was converted here in Greeneville, TN, and key men in our church were instrumental in his training and calling to the mission field.
The Wheelers are partnering with the Fellowship Tract League and other tract ministries to translate and/or distribute Christian literature in Spanish. They have their own printing press to print other materials which they distribute themselves, as well as sharing with hundreds of other ministries. They usually distribute more than 6 million gospel tracts per year, with their printed and purchased literature going into every state of Mexico, as well as into other neighboring countries.
They have a large vibrant youth camp located about 45 minutes from where they live in Mexico; they use it both as a youth camp, as well as year-round for conferences and other activities.