Blanchard's First Baptist Church

Paihuano, Chile
In 2008 four representatives from our church met Jerry Coy, a missionary from Chile, at South American missions conference in Phoenix, Arizona.  The group quickly formed a bond with Jerry and sensed God’s direction to visit him in Chile to prayerfully investigate opportunities to serve the Lord there.  The next fall, the church sent a vision team to Chile to lay the groundwork for future ministry. The mission team was drawn to the Elqui River Valley region which runs from the eastern edge of the rural outskirts of the coastal city of La Serena all the way to the western edge of the Andes Mountains along the border of Argentina.  There are 80,000 people living in the Elqui River valley.  Most of the people live in rural villages and make their living as goat herders or produce pickers. There are only 3 evangelical churches serving the needs of all these people.  By comparison, the Blanchard area has about one-tenth of the population of the Elqui River valley and ten times the number of churches. Most of the residents claim to be Roman Catholic, but that tends to be a cultural designation, rather than a religious affiliation. 

Our church has sent subsequent teams to work with a small Baptist church in the remote village of Paihuano. We seek to encourage and strengthen the ministry of their church by there by leading English camps and Bible clubs in the local school and assisting them in outreach and service projects in the town and surrounding towns. In time, we also hope to join the church in Paihuano in reaching out to the unreached and unchurched villages in the surrounding area. We seek to send 2-3 groups to Chile each year to continue the work God has begun there. Our church is so excited to fulfill the Acts 1:8 mandate taking the love and good news ofd Jesus Christ across town and around the world.  Click HERE to find out the lastest news from Jerry and Kathleen Coy, International Mission Board Missionaries in North Central Chile.

World-wide Disaster Relief
Over the last decade, more and more members of our church have joined the Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief Team. They help provide vital ministry to people who are suffering the harsh aftermath of natural disasters. The team helps alleviate emotional and physical suffering, clean up wreckage and share the hope found in Jesus Christ. Whether its clearing fallen trees of the homes of the elderly after an ice storm in Oklahoma or serving meals to and digging water wells for the earthquake victims in Haiti, our Disaster Relief volunteers bring God’s love when and where it’s needed most.  To find out how you can get involved, click HERE.   

Student Missions: SE Asia
In 2009, our Student Minister, Nick Atyia made an initial trip to SE Asia (name of country undisclosed for security reasons) to discover future opportunities for our church’s students to return to encourage the persecuted believers there and join them in sharing Christ love and message of eternal hope. In 2010, Nick and a group of our youth led English camps in the schools as a gateway to minister to the students and their families. God used the trip to touch the hearts of our church’s youth as they not only saw the vast need and opportunity for the gospel, but the courage and conviction of the local believers. Nick and another group of youth, college students and adult sponsors will return in the summer of 2011.   Pastor Andy had the privilege of traveling to the same region of SE Asia in the fall of 2010 to help train and encourage leaders of the house churches there.  To get involved, see Nick.  For more information about International World Changers ministires, click HERE.

Student Missions: PowerPlant in Washington, D.C.
In the summer of 2011, students from our youth ministry will participate in the laying the groundwork for a new church that is starting in our nation’s capitol. The students will learn church planting principles and evangelism skills each morning, then have a chance to engage personally through assigned ministry team activities in the afternoon and evening. Students and adults will begin to see that the church is not about buildings . . . it's about people!  To get involed, see Nick.  For more information about PowerPlant, click HERE.