with gratitude Home Missions Bids Farewell to Richard and Carolyn Adams by Larry A. Powell   To learn more about the ministry of Free Will Baptist Home Missions, or to contact a home missions church about your own trip, visit www.homemissions.net.

HOW DO YOU THANK FRIENDS who have been such a tremendous blessing to Home Missions North America and thousands of Free Will Baptists? Richard and Carolyn Adams are those friends. They came to National Home Missions some eighteen years ago with great desire to be a blessing. Carolyn retired in June of this year. Brother Adams will retire at the end of this year.

She Stood in the Shadows

Carolyn often stood in the background, quietly going about her business while Richard conducted his work in pulpits and meetings. She managed correspondence for mortgage notes, receipted thousands of gifts, and made CDs of her favorite songs in order to raise funds for “Build My Church.” Carolyn hosted many tours with Richard, traveling the world for Home Missions, and did mailings for numerous yearly promotions and many other important events too numerous to name. Our staff will miss her smile and cheerful voice in our office. She has been a shining light and an inspiration to us!

Free Will Baptists' Greatest Promotor and Fund Raiser

Let me share just a few of the ways Dr. Adams has blessed us all. He began by serving nine years on the Home Mission board. During that time he helped establish the Church Extension Loan Fund (CELF).  Throughout his years as director of development, CELF enabled hundreds of Free Will Baptist churches to build facilities. The program has grown to $25 million in Free Will Baptist investments. Brother Adams also coordinated the Build My Church Endowments, inspiring churches and individuals to give more than $2 million to the program.

Each year supporters met Richard and Carolyn at the national convention for the Benjamin Randall Appreciation Dinner and at Pigeon Forge in May for the “Build My Church” Retreat. Perhaps the most unforgettable moments for our supporters came while traveling with the Adams on “heritage tours” into Benjamin Randall Country in Boston and New Durham. Thousands of supporters enjoyed fellowship tours to Europe, Alaska, Mexico, and the islands.

Indeed, Adams has been our greatest promoter and fundraiser. His primary motivation has been to help our missionaries plant more churches in North America. Brother Richard is widely known for his preaching, soul winning, and motivational seminars and has spoken at the national convention and other mass meetings.

Our Heartfelt Thanks

Thank you, Richard and Carolyn, for your tremendous contributions to Free Will Baptists and Home Missions. This denomination is indebted to you. We cherish your friendship. We praise God for the blessing you have been to so many lives down through the years.

Larry A. Powell is the general director of the Free Will Baptist Home Missions Department.