Spring has arrived with our Preaching Conference, graduation, and weddings. The first major event of our spring is the Preaching Conference. We had 171 graduates gather for our annual alumni luncheon. How encouraging it was to hear of God’s blessing upon their families and ministries! Pastors also came here from California to Maine, and how hungry some of them were to fellowship and be encouraged with like-minded men. Of course, laymen were also in attendance from as far away as Alaska, Zambia, and Switzerland. The music was uplifting again this year; however, the main event, the preaching, was so powerful that it overshadowed all else.
It is always exciting to see our seniors walk across the platform to receive their diplomas and go out to serve the Lord. They are not only the fruit of our labors but the future of old-fashioned Baptists. Especially gratifying is seeing young people who were born here and went through 13 or 17 years of our schools reach this milestone in their lives. Most of these have gone through battles in their lives when it looked like the devil might win. We had to fight with some to stay right, but now they are on the path to victory. Our friend, Dr. Wayne Williams, preached a wonderful challenge to the graduates.
Then came the weddings. What could be more heartening than to see two young adults, having gone through the conflicts and temptations of youth, come together in holy matrimony determined to live for God and serve Him the rest of their lives. We are privileged to have dozens of young couples such as these raising their children for God here at Fairhaven along with a similar number all over the world.