Well, good evening, and thank you so much for being here tonight for our Memorial service for missionary Stuart Waugh A true man of God that we've been privileged to partner with. for a good many years. And we thank the Lord for his life and ministry, and we'll be. talking a little bit about that tonight because I know that not all of you know him. All that well.
It's been a good many years since he was here in the States because of the health conditions that he has. But You need to know about him. And we're going to... share information with you tonight that I think will be helpful to you in that regard. I know you're not accustomed to coming on Sunday nights, so thank you for.
Uh breaking the the uh stay at home and watch on on the live stream habit and Gathering here tonight in the auditorium. It's good to see you. We have been missing the regular meetings of the saints and Of course, Sunday morning has been good and attendance has really been getting strong on Sunday morning, and we're very grateful for that. Just a couple of things. This Wednesday night, the teens and the college and career will meet together in the teen room at 7 o'clock.
To enjoy a Bible study on David and also to watch the year-end review for 2019 and 2020. That of course on video. Wednesday night, seven o'clock, while the rest of us will gather in front of the computer screens and we'll tune into the uh live stream Wednesday night service. Marseille Councilman sent a thank you card, and it was good to see here in the service this morning and again tonight. And uh She says, I want to thank everyone for all your prayers, cards, and food during the two surgeries I had.
I'm so glad this journey is over. And I thank God for helping me through this. It is he is truly our great physician. I'm glad to be part of such a loving, giving church. who are already always ready to help in any way they can.
God is so good I'm very grateful to everyone. Love in Christ, Marseilles. And we're grateful. that you are doing well.
Okay.
Well, though, this is a memorial service for Stuart Wong, you'll. recognize that that will be the main uh focus throughout the evening. I want you to realize that what this is above everything else is a worship service to the Lord Jesus Christ. We've come to worship him. to give him the glory.
to thank him for the life of Stuart Waugh because He is the one who gave Stewart life. He is the one who gave Stuart the gifts that he had in such abundance He's the one that gave him a desire to serve the Lord in such a committed way. and who kept him persevering through some very, very difficult times. times. We also want to welcome Reverend Art Larson and his church in Michigan, who I understand are tuning in to their entire streaming the service into their auditorium tonight.
They have been a supporting church for Stuart Waugh for many years. And though we've never met, If you are If you're there, welcome, brother, and thank you for your participation. in the ministry of Stuart and Laverne Waugh. I'm reading from Second Corinthians chapter 12. Verses one through ten.
This is the account of Paul's being caught up to heaven. And he says It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago Whether in the body, I do not know. Or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows.
Such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man, whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know, God knows. how he was caught up into paradise. and heard inexpressible words which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Of such a one I will boast, Yet of myself I will not boast except in my infirmities.
Though I might desire to boast I will not be a fool. For I will speak the truth. But I refrain lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me. From me. And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations.
A thorn in the flesh was given to me. A messenger of Satan to buffet me lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you. For my strength is made perfect in weakness.
Therefore, most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, and persecutions. in distresses for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, Then I am strong. Two things in this passage that came to my mind as I was thinking about the service tonight.
And the one is the glorious condition of heaven.
so wonderful, so glorious, That Paul was not allowed to describe it. He saw it. But God said, I don't want you to tell about it. Just come on back and do your work. But Paul needed that revelation.
Because of the difficulties of the ministry that he was involved in, He was tried and persecuted and beaten and imprisoned and j and dumped in the ocean and uh all the things he went through. And yet God sustained him, and one of the ways that God sustained him was giving him this glimpse of heaven. He said, Here's where you're going, here's where it's going to end. And here's what you're working toward. And the gospel you're preaching is gathering others to go to this wonderful place.
And of course, that's where our brother Stewart is now. He's enjoying all of this, and he's probably saying Why did I want to hang on down below? It's so wonderful up here. Wonderful, wonderful reality of the life to come. But the second reason I wanted to read this particular passage.
is because of this emphasis upon God's strength made perfect or complete in our weakness. And when we think of the life of Stuart Waugh, we realize that he labored under infirmity. and difficulty For not months, but years, and not years, but decades. And from a human standpoint, we might be inclined to say, Lord, why did you? Why did you hinder?
Your servant in this way. He could have done so much more if he hadn't had these hindrances. And then I go to scripture. And I realize from the Word of God that actually we generally accomplish more When we are weak, because the weaker we are, the stronger He is. It's always His power working through us, if there's anything that's accomplished for eternity.
And so Stewart had a wonderful ministry before he got sick. Stewart had a powerful ministry after he got sick. And probably the key to that power was his weakness. the knowledge of his weakness and his utter and complete dependence upon God.
Well, here's what we're going to be doing tonight. I'll introduce the program which is in front of you. We're going to pray, and we're not going to be led in prayer by Eric Johnson because. He also labors under an infirmity, and though he wanted very much to be here tonight. He just had a bad afternoon and was not physically able to do so.
He has struggled with Lyme's disease for how many years now, Jane? Over ten years. And so he labors in weakness a good deal of the time. But he wanted to be here, and I wanted him to be as well, if nothing for nothing more than just to remind our congregation. of two things.
Number one, what a significant part Providence Baptist Church and Pastor Eric Johnson and then Pastor Bob Boyd, who co-labors with him and who is here tonight. what a tremendous part they have had in the ministry in Zimbabwe. That That involvement has been inestimable. It has been of such great value They've been involved in so many ways, and you'll hear more about that. As the service goes on, But also, I just wanted to remind you that that was one of the blessings that God has given to our church to have a part in the establishment of Providence Baptist many years ago.
We didn't know where that was going.
Somebody. said, Would you help us try to start a church down here? And we said, well, we'll try. It was a uh long slow I think about 10 years we labored before we were able to turn it over to Pastor Eric Johnson. The Lord used him to bring it along, and it's in good strength now.
But for ten years, many of you were involved. We s had someone go down every Sunday night and preach. And then one of our adult Sunday school classes accompanied that preacher. Because otherwise, there would have only been, at the beginning, six or eight or ten people at the most.
So we brought a Sunday school class to kind of beef up the numbers a little and have a few more folks to preach to and to encourage the people there. And we did that for ten years. until there was a large enough group, about thirty folks but at that point. to uh begin a work and so That's an unexpected Um fruit of the ministry here and it is a um It's an even greater unexpected blessing to see how that church has probably become.
Well I don't know whether to say that it has become the strongest or the second strongest supporting church. For the WAWS. It depends on how you're measuring it, but their involvement has just been amazing. And so we thank the Lord for that.
So after we're led in prayer by Bablatur, we'll sing. Then I'm going to say a few things about the life and ministry of Stuart Waugh. And Pastor Kay is going to come and talk about Zimbabwe pastors training. after which Pastor Bob Boyd from Prominence Baptist in Asheboro will come. and talk to us about the role of La Vernois.
Very important role, particularly because of the illness that Stewart has had all of these years. And she is still with us and still Committed to the work and is still going to be continuing on the work that God. has given to her there. And then after he tells us about that, we have a video. We're going to play so that you can See and hear Laverne for yourself A video that I have not yet seen or heard because of my clumsiness in dealing with uh With technical things, and it came to me yesterday, but I was not able to download it.
But the techie guys tell me they've got it, and we're going to hear it tonight.
So I'll be seeing that with you for the first time. And then after that video, we're going to hear from Stewart himself. Uh two times when he was here in this pulpit, And about a five-minute exhortation from Stuart, and then we're going to hear him sing. A song that probably is the life testimony and song of Stuart Waugh. After which I'll come and say a few more things about the legacy of Stuart Waugh.
We'll have a congregational hymn. We will close and then we'll Slip over to the fellowship hall and enjoy. a time of refreshment and fellowship together. At this time, we'll ask Pastor Bob Latour to come and pray for us, please. I was thinking this afternoon if I had to pick one word.
That I would think of in thinking of Stuart Watt, it would be faithfulness, 1 Corinthians 4. Verse 2 says, Moreover, it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. Let's pray. Father, as we come before you tonight, we want to do more than honor a man. as pastor has mentioned.
We want it's all you for what you've done in and through Stewart's life. All for your glory. And Lord, in so doing, we want to also express our love and gratitude for his helpmate. and partner in Ministry Laverne. When I think of Stuart and Laverne Waugh, indeed faithfulness is one of the first words that come to my mind.
Faithfulness to you. uh that's evidenced itself in Bowing the knee to your providence. That for purposes that only you know was hard and long and uncertain. Faithfulness to Christ and an obvious love for and a dedication of the gospel. Faithfulness in ministering to the needs of the brethren, both in Zimbabwe.
and elsewhere to the best of his ability. Faithfulness in preaching and teaching your word with a desire that it go forth. accurately with power. through the preaching of the pastures that you've placed under his care. And finally, Father's faithfulness to his wife and family, and a willingness to be separated from them.
for months and months on end. how often I marvel at how difficult that had to have been for all of them. And Lord, I pray that you'd reward them openly for this sacrifice. And so, Lord, tonight we ask you to bring honor to yourself as we reflect upon. the life and the ministry of your servant.
Stuart Laugh, and we'll praise you for it in Christ's name. Amen. Amen. Turning your bulletin, it is well with my soul. and we will stand the same.
Is well in my soul The state is God of God and his Christian state and is of love for my soul It is well in my soul It is well His bound in my soul I see all the blessed of his glory and start I sing not in heart of the Lord His kills and His cross and by them is no more praise the Lord praise the Lord of my soul It is bound and filled with my soul It is well It is well with my soul and the sand of God before we stand and earth shall be sing with his love with a soul it is well with thy soul in his I wanted to take a few minutes tonight to talk about the life and ministry of Stuart Waugh. For those of you who don't know him, that Well, that we have been heavily involved in that ministry for many years. And particularly how it was that we came to be so closely related together in partnership. I received on Thursday a communication from Missionary Mark Blackwell. And I'm going to read part of that.
Yeah. begin my explanation of the life and ministry of Stuart Waugh because Our relationship with Stewart actually goes back to His relationship with Mark Blackwell. Uh market. Blackwell is a missionary that we have supported even longer than Stuart Waugh. And Stewart came under Mark's ministry in.
What was in those days Rhodesia. And So they have had a very close relationship over the years.
So I'm going to read. Mark writes, I have loved Stewart since 1975. He was my first student in our pastor's training institute in Salisbury. That's the old name. For Harari He was ordained there.
Stewart was the first pastor of Baptist Bible Church. for a short period. Then Stuart and Laverne went to South Africa to serve as interim pastor for Mark and Wyla Grings. While the Grings were on furlough, those were other missionaries that most of you don't know, but I've had the privilege of Um visiting them and their ministry in South Africa. Then he said, Judy and I located our church planning ministry to Westville, Natal.
And he doesn't explain the reason, but that was because of the revolution in. Rhodesia when it became Zimbabwe. There was He the the Blackwell stayed there a long time through a lot of the fighting. I really got involved in some of that and very had some very close calls, but finally Uh they and virtually all Uh I think not virtually, but I think completely all missionaries left the country. Many of them went to South Africa to labor there.
And a good many of the white Rhodesians left at that time. the population of The white Rhodesians went dropped from about 250,000 down to about 10,000. Over a period of time. The climate was very, very unfriendly to them. But anyway, he says we relocated and Stewart and Laverne joined us in Durban, South Africa.
And we were a great team. We loved working with them. We visited house to house, taught Bible studies for each other, generally encouraged one another. Stuart Liverton and their children were used of the Lord to plant New Germany Baptist Church, and together we teamed up to start the Church Ministries Institute. We Stu uh the Blackwells moved to Cape Town.
But Stewart's ministry and leadership in Natal, Durban, kept on expanding, He and Laverne bless so very many. in the Durban period of their lives, and it carries on to this day. It really does. That church that Stewart established there, New Germany Baptist Church, is one of the strongest churches. Uh in South Africa, it has gone on.
It had, after he left, it had an American missionary for pastor for a while, and then for many, many years, it has been fully self-supporting, fully support their own pastor, has a beautiful building. It is a very strong church. that was established thereby Stewart. But then he went back to Zimbabwe. But this letter continues, Pastor Greg and Marty.
Your many ministry visits to Southern Africa. have been used of the Lord to encourage us. The books and materials you have sent to us were used and reused by us and our students. Your love of Beacon Baptists, love for people so far away, has made such a difference to us. and to worldwide evangelism.
We are truly honored to be your missionaries and signed, Mark Blackwell, Sr. All right, what can I tell you about the life and ministry of Stuart Waugh? Stewart was actually born in Cape Town, South Africa, but his family moved to Rhodesia. when he was very young, I think about two years of age. His father, Lawrence Waugh, was a businessman.
And I Don't remember exactly what areas of business. He was involved with in Salisbury. But he eventually became the head of the Rhodesian Stock Exchange. He was a very prominent. uh businessman, very prominent family.
And that was the family where Stuart grew up in Rhodesia. And received there at that time an outstanding education, as was available to those who had the money to pay for that sort of thing. He had a British classical education. And If you know Stewart well, you know that it was Um but I don't want to get in sidetracked into that. And he trained, his college degree was in education, and he went on to become a high school teacher.
And he was well suited. for that. But he was saved. By the influence of an American missionary. That God sent into Rhodesia in those days, and Stuart came to know the Lord.
But that missionary did not remain. And Stewart was In need of someone to teach him and mentor him, and the Lord brought him into contact with Missionary Mark Blackwell, and I just explained that to you. Uh a moment ago. When Stuart Indicated not only a desire for ministry, but also a desire for mission work rather than pastoring, even though he had pastored that. Bible Baptist Church in in uh Salisbury, now Harare, for a while, Missionary Mark Blackwell brought him back to the States to introduce him to Independent Faith Mission Board, and at that time I served on that board.
Because there weren't enough churches in South Africa or Zimbabwe to support missionaries at that time. Today there are. There are a lot of churches, not in Zimbabwe, but in South Africa. And so that's where I first met Stuart Waugh. That would have been sometime around 1979, 1980.
And um He really stood out at that time. I can't explain exactly, but there was just something about him. that was so engaging, so So radiated the love of Christ and I just fell in love with him just from the interview that we had. When we were considering whether or not to receive him as a missionary. And he was the first missionary, and maybe the only one with IFM who was not an American missionary.
This is a bit unusual. Are we going to do this? A lot of mission boards don't. Uh Don't s don't receive missionaries from other countries. But after discussion, we decided that this was the thing to do.
And I invited him to come to Beacon and present his ministry here, and he did, and we. Uh gladly Added him to our missionary family and started supporting him on a monthly basis and became involved in his ministry in that way. Um Steward As we already heard, left Rhodesia, when it became Zimbabwe during the revolution, went to A Durban, South Africa, and I visited him there and saw the ministry he was involved with there. And saw the New Germany Baptist Church and so forth. It was a real wonderful time that.
I was able to do that. I think Marty was with me when we made that first visit. Were you, yes. We had a wonderful time in Africa. We traveled all over Africa.
Uh South Africa. We visited in Kenya, we visited in Zimbabwe at that time, and at that time Stewart's parents were still there, and we stayed several days in their home. In Harare, and got to know them as well. And by this time, the Lord had brought them to faith in Christ.
Somewhere along the line And I don't remember the exact time, but it would have been about nineteen eighty six, nineteen r around nineteen eighty six. Um Stuart. Came to me, and I think when he was home on a furlough, I don't really remember if this was. By correspondence or furlough, but I think by furlough. He came to me and he said, I need to Secure another home church, another sending church, because.
My home church In Harari. that he had pastored at one time, he said it's gone charismatic. And I can no longer Remain a conscientious member of that church, and I need to find another one. And he said there really aren't any suitable churches in. Zimbabwe that I could become a member of, and so I'm looking for a church in the States.
And he said, I wondered if Beacon. would consider receiving us as members and sending us out. as our s ascending church and the church to which we are Uh countable.
Well, that was a um That was a significant request. It's one thing to support a missionary. It's another thing to take a missionary as a member of your church and become accountable for him in a a much greater level of responsibility. And we talked that over at that time and we said, well, Even though We don't know him in the way that we would like to. He hasn't been part of our congregation.
We haven't seen him function here within our church. Nevertheless, everything we know about him is outstanding. And could we ever say that a missionary that we support we wouldn't be happy to have as a member of our church? And so we decided to go ahead with that, and it proved to be one of the most delightful decisions we ever made. It proved to be far more of a blessing to us, I'm sure, than it was to them.
But somewhere along the way, this issue came up. I said, you know, we've got something we've got to clarify. Because since the time that we first started supporting Stewart, In the time that he now come to us, With this request, Our church had moved from a what should I say? A more generic A Baptist theology to a Calvinist theology. We had come into the doctrines of grace.
And We were busy bringing our congregation along. In those days, we weren't all there yet, but we were moving in that direction. And I said, you know, we've got to clarify that issue with Stewart. I don't know if he's going to be happy about that or not. And once he finds that out, if he doesn't I assumed he didn't already know it, because he hadn't been around her that much, I said he may decide he wants to find another church to request to become a member of.
And so I had that discussion with him and I was really That was really kind of What should I say? A little bit apprehensive that he was going to say, Oh, I'm sorry, I'm going to have to go someplace else, because I really didn't want to. Uh lose this relationship. And he looked at me and he said, Greg, he said I knew that. He said, Why do you think I chose Beacon?
We're on the same page and so that issue settled and we've gone on from there. We've had a delightful time together. And they became members. I've got the membership card right here. They were received into membership in July.
twenty six, nineteen eighty seven By transfer of letter from Baptist Bible Church in Harare, Zimbabwe. And that's how they became members of Beacon Baptist Church, and we took on a new responsibility.
Well, after a while, the Was just felt strongly they needed to return to Zimbabwe. The need there was greater than ever before. Everybody else had left, all the missionaries had gone, there was very little gospel witness there, certainly, no sound gospel witness. And All kinds of things springing up there. You cannot imagine the various cults and heresies and deviations from Christianity that have.
spread through that land. And that was their home country. Laverne was Um born in Rhodesia. She was a I'm a native, a citizen of that country. From birth.
And Stewart, of course, had grown up there, had been there nearly all of his life.
So they returned to Zimbabwe and went to a rural area and Rolled up their sleeves and went to work and preached the gospel, and people were saved, and they planted the church. And more people were saved, and things were just burgeoning all around him, and a number of. of men were saved who showed interest in ministry. And a couple of whom were Muslims, and the Lord saved them. I mean, things were happening there that just were outstanding.
They planted a church. They build a building Beautiful building. Still there. It's now uh chicken coop or a Goat barn or something like that. I'm sure Bob has seen it.
It was taken over, the the government confiscated the property and and uh took it over. And that's when Stewart said, you know, I'm not going to build any more buildings. I'm going to plant churches, but I'm not going to build any more buildings. Uh churches are not buildings. The buildings are not churches.
And uh Since then, he hasn't built any buildings, but now some of the churches that the men under him have planted have started building buildings. Sa'idi, one of the former Muslims, has built his own building. They've constructed it out of bricks, which they've made themselves out of mud, what mud, one by one, handmade bricks. They've constructed a building and And um So things just Blossom.
Now, this is what I want to say. I noticed this in South Africa and I saw it again in Zimbabwe. Stuart was clearly one of those people that God had his hand on in a special way, and wherever he went.
Souls were saved. And churches sprang up. It was just amazing. He may be the closest thing I've ever seen to the Apostle Paul. in having that special hand of God on him and working through him.
Um it's almost like it just happens spontaneously. And most men work like crazy. to get a little something or going, Stewart just comes in and It preaches the gospel and people are being saved and churches are planning planted. Pastors are being trained. is quite amazing, but that's exactly what I observed.
But also, somewhere along the way, Stewart got hepatitis C. And It began to work on his liver. You got cirrhosis of the liver. And he got sicker and sicker, and he dealt with that for years and years and years. He came here for an extended period of time, hoping to get a liver transplant here in the States, and he stayed with us for a long time, on two different occasions, actually.
And it became clear that that wasn't going to happen.
So he finally said, Look, I'm going to just go back. Two South Africa, I can't I can't get the medical care I need in Zimbabwe. But I can in Johannesburg. That's um has been a Medical center in the world. That's where the very first heart transplant in the world took place.
And so they've had excellent medical care there. And he said, I'm just going to go put myself under the care of the doctors there. and hopefully get my liver transplant there. In South Africa, and I'll be able to travel back and forth to Zimbabwe and stay in touch with the men there. And by this time, he's got at least eight pastors who are.
uh pastoring churches And they are needing training. And he's been training them up until now by himself and with the help of some others occasionally. And now he's not able to Train them as actively as he did before, but he stays in very close touch with them by telephone. They all have phones. They all have phones.
They may not have food, but they've got a cellphone. That's just the way it is in Africa and a lot of other places. I think I've told you the story when Marty and I were in the Philippines about and that's been fifteen or sixteen years ago now. We were taken to a a mall And Normal Fairly typical looking mall, American st st uh style mall with a Filipino flavor, of course. First floor looked like a normal mall, second floor looked like a normal mall.
Third floor, the whole floor. Was cell phone sales. I'm kids you knock. I've never seen so many cell phones in my life. This whole floor.
And when we were out I was out with John Dreisbach, who's now with the Lord. And he took me introduced me to one of the pastors he was working with. That pastor, poor, poor Filipino pastor, lived in a shack. And he said All conditions are so difficult in our village. She said, we don't have electricity here.
He said, why, we have to go to the next village to charge up our cell phones. I don't even know if I had a cell phone at that point, but anyway. Uh that's just the way it is. They stay in touch by phone. Most of the time by texting.
Texting's cheap, a lot cheaper than conversations, and so they text, but Stewart stays in close touch with these pastors, but he also Had to incorporate help with his pastor's training, and that's where we got involved. We started traveling over. He wanted to hold pastors training conferences at least twice a year, week-long conferences. And so for a while there I was going in the spring and Pastor Kay was going in the fall. And then eventually, as Providence got involved, Eric Johnson went several times and.
So this is the way that the Training has continued and we've become very close not only To the WAS and to their ministry there, but also to the pastors who we now know very. Personally, very dear. Pray for them by name. Their photos are out here on the bulletin board and I hope you'll get acquainted with them as well. But that's um That was a very Strategic way to be involved in the ministry.
But Stewart, even though he's in South Africa most of the time and Occasionally, he would be in Zimbabwe when we were holding a conference, and he would come maybe for. part of a day or two, but he just really wasn't able to to uh be there for a whole day. He just didn't his health wouldn't permit. But I would always, if he wasn't going to be in Zimbabwe, I would always plan my trip so I could spend.
some time with him, I would make sure I had a a free night in Johannesburg so that I could spend some time catching up with Stuart and talking with him and so forth.
So this became an important part of our trips. But he finally got a liver transplant after all these years. We didn't think it was going to happen. And then it finally happened on September 1, 2020. And he seemed to be doing great.
And he was looking forward to getting back in greater involvement in the ministry. And then things went awry and he began to develop some some complications and On January 26th, he passed into the presence of the Lord, about five months from the time of his transplant.
Well, many other things I could tell you, but. We're not going to be here all night. Promise you.
So at this time, Pastor Kaye is going to come and tell us about The training conferences.
Well, good evening to you. Good to see people here on a Sunday night. I've been staring at uh the back of pews for quite a while here, so It's good. The Zimbabwe pastor training conferences grew out of necessity. The first official training conference was in 20 Tan.
And Eric Johnson. And um I'm not sure who went with him, but he conducted the first conference in 2010. And I went in 2011. With he and Bill Hill, who's the director of Equipping Nationals Worldwide. And then in 2012, Eric and I went together, and that was his last year of going.
His health deteriorated to where he could not return. But between Beacon and Providence, We have conducted Uh over twenty pastor training conferences in Zimbabwe. That is a significant investment in time and resources, but. We believe in this principle. that Paul gives us in 2 Timothy chapter 2.
He's writing to Timothy. He says to Timothy, And the things that you have heard from me, among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men. who will be able to teach others also. You, therefore, must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Stewart planted Gwenora Baptist Church on the farm there in.
Zimbabwe. And the Land Redistribution Act. disrupted. The country. Um there was financial crisis political crisis And The farms that were owned by the white people were taken from them and given to the native Zimbabweans.
And toward the end of that, it was by force. And the threat kept coming, kept coming to. The WAS and Finally, uh They saw that it was inevitable that they had to abandon the farm, abandon the church that they had planted, and when they did. that congregation was dispersed. And the men that Stewart had been investing his life in, and training and mentoring to be church planners.
They and the people of the churches were scattered in the rural parts of the country. Pastor Joseph is still there on the farm. He works there. And there's still a remnant of the people that he pastors there, and it's still Gwenora Baptist Church. But that necessitated the training of these men.
They were thrust out. We would say, from a human standpoint, prematurely, But God does all things well. And these men responded and have grown and uh It's wonderful to call these men our friends and colleagues of the ministry. They're uh tremendous uh Soldiers of Christ. They are gospel preachers.
Pastor Barkman mentioned when we would plan for a conference. We would do that in concert with Stuart Wall about what he believed the needs were with the men and in the churches. And we would develop a conference theme and a plan, and then we would go and execute that, and it would take a week. Be there to preach in some of the churches, conduct a conference from Monday to Friday. and sometimes preach in the church on the back end and then fly home.
That was the the typical pattern. But um we would If Stewart was in the country, we would touch base with him. We would re-evaluate at the end. We would get his input about what he wanted to do next year. And so even though he was removed, Yeah.
the field of ministry. He was very much involved. We would uh Meet with him in Johannesburg, South Africa, either on the way in or on the way out, and sometimes he would be there. But it came at his request. There were perhaps a few others through the past 10 years who have been involved in similar things, but.
The lion's share has been carried by Providence Baptist Church. and Beacon Baptist Church. Harry Maples has been my training partner for five years. years. that he has gone with me.
Brother Jerry Gerrell from this church went with me one year. and I went two other years. Eric's been there six, seven, eight different times.
So it's a thrill to be able to be a part of that ministry, and it's so strategic to see these men growing, responding. The church is flourishing. What we would do, Stewart was very adamant that he wanted us to conduct these conferences in such a way that we were modeling expositional preaching for the men.
So, the men were being trained on how to handle the Word of God, how to preach the Word of God.
So, that was as important as the content that we were. uh communicating to them. But these men would take And we would provide extensive Notes from our sermons. They would have a copy of them, and they would take that material and they would stand in their churches, in their pulpits and preach to their people what they had received in the conferences. And that just is the pattern that has developed over these ten years.
So it's wonderful to see the extension that our two churches have had. in the land of Zimbabwe. Uh I think among those Those um Eight, nine, ten churches. probably collectively they're probably six hundred or more believers in those churches.
So we are having uh influence beyond our borders. and God's kindness to us, so In a few minutes that I wanted to take, that's what I wanted to say about the Zimbabwe training. conferences. They've been disrupted this past year because of COVID. We couldn't get in and out of the country, had tickets bought to go.
We weren't able to do that, but as soon as the borders are open, they want us to return. The need is great. Um There are Pockets of people all through Zimbabwe that these men know, people crying, asking for a Bible study. And these churches basically begin that way. A Bible study begins, somebody takes a burden for a Bible study, and before long, there's 15, 20, 30, 40 people there.
And then the need is for a shepherd, an under-shepherd, to come and pastor these people and establish a church.
So that's the pattern that's developing, and the need has not gone away. The need, we can't keep up with the need, really. The need. And that's one of the things I've appreciated about Stewart, his commitment to integrity. You would think, well, let's get somebody who can fill a hole, but he wasn't that way.
He was looking for biblically qualified men. And he wasn't quick to lay hands on a man and pronounce him a pastor and send him over here to pastor a group of people. He wanted those men. He wanted them to be qualified and trained.
So he was willing to go slow and deal with that tension that he was constantly up against. The need was great. Here's what God has given to us. I'm depending on my home church and Providence Baptist Church.
So, um The relationship that has developed between our two churches, Providence and Beacon, and with the WAS, is has been wonderful. And uh and there's many, many churches that have supported the work. But because he's a member of the church, he's committed to the same uh theology that we are and he was uh Insistent that he didn't want any confusion sown in the minds of the men, so that's why he's drawn upon our two churches. And We've been Our congregations have been willing to support that enthusiastically with prayers and financial gifts. Um so Um I'm humbled to have been a part of it and trust that the Lord will allow us to continue to do that and to see what God yet will do.
The saving of souls and the establishing of Christians and the establishment of more. Bible-believing local churches in Atlanta Zimbabwe.
Well, thank you for the opportunity to come. My part in this is to speak on the role of Laverne Waugh. It is an honor. Eric really, really wanted to be here, but he sends his regards and he's not doing well today, so please pray for him. But it is a privilege for me to be here and to represent Providence Baptist Church.
It's also been a great privilege for me to partner with you and other like-minded churches in the work in Zimbabwe. It's so encouraging for us here in the States to go there and to see the hand of God. We did a study uh this morning um Bob Randenberg. I don't know if you know Bob Randenberg from Friendship Baptist Church in Raleigh, in this morning to speak on the First Great Awakening. What a tremendous example of the Lord's hand in revival.
And then to go to a place like Zimbabwe. And to see again a tremendous working of God's grace in bringing men and women to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, to genuine conversion. It's such a privilege for us to be a part of something like that. Mm.
Now I've only known the WAS for probably six or seven years, so many of you I'm sure have known them much longer than I have. But it's certainly been a privilege to go to Zimbabwe. to spend some time with Stewart and Laverne to get to know them. In all the time that I've known them, Stewart has not been well. He has been um kind of uh Leading from the shadows, I guess you could say, a little bit, because he's just not been able to be upfront in the ministry.
Now I don't know what the dynamic was between Stuart and Laverne in terms of their roles in ministry before he became ill. But what I do know is that since I've known them and since Stuart has been facing these physical challenges that he's faced, if Stuart was the face and the voice of the ministry, Laverne has been the hands and the feet of the ministry. She really has. You may not know this, life is not easy in Zimbabwe. It is a tough place to live for anyone, and even a dangerous place for many to live, but especially for a sick missionary.
It's been a tremendous, tremendous challenge for them both. It's been a challenge because Because Stuart has not been able to interact with the churches as he desired. He's not been able, certainly not been able to go out to the churches. He's not been able to train the pastors personally like he longs to, to provide for their needs recently. The needs of his household.
It's been a real challenge for him to provide for. It's been complicated also by a drought, multiple-year drought in Zimbabwe. Praise God. I think that's kind of on its way out. They've had lots of rain this rainy season.
It's also been complicated by. political climate, which has already been mentioned. a crashing economy. as well as many other challenges in the country. To complicate matters for them both, there's been extended times when Laverne was in Zimbabwe and Stewart, because of his physical illness, had to spend long periods of time in Johannesburg, South Africa for for medical treatment.
We who are in ministry know the immeasurable value of a spouse. We know the value of a faithful wife. In terms of Laverne's involvement in the work, you can't quantify her value. to Stewart and to the work of ministry in Zimbabwe. Many of you may or may not know that she works outside the home teaching in a local school there in their hometown of Billawao.
Certainly, to supplement income, to provide for the needs of the church that meets on their property there in their home or at their home, and for the needs of many people. The culture is a little bit different where they live.
Sometimes they have multiple families that live in one area that help to do the work there and the place and the home and those kinds of things.
So they provide for the needs of many people in their home. Also, Laverne has worked out a necessity. In fact, she's required to have employment in Zimbabwe to maintain her citizenship there. I don't know if many of you knew that. In terms of the ministry itself, she has been the one in recent years to visit the churches.
to greet them on behalf of her husband, She's been instrumental in the morale of the churches, communicating her and Stuart's unwavering commitment to them. Sharing words of encouragement to the people who sometimes seem to be hanging on by a thread. It is tremendously uplifting to the churches to see her firm faith in the Lord through trials.
Now, the Zimbabwe people, you may or may not know this, are not typically enamored with white people. They're just not like some places you go in the world and they see an American or an American white person and they seem to flock to you. But that's not the case in Zimbabwe. But you can see when Laverne goes into one of these churches, out into the bush, or some of these places, you can see immediately their countenance lifts because, as they call her, mom has come. We would say mom, but they call her mom, right?
It's amazing how her presence seems to lift the morale of the people. Even traveling sometimes to places like Jombe, which is a very remote place in Zimbabwe, who before Laverne arrived there, many of them had never even seen a white person. The churches, again, they call her mom. Because they see her and Stuart as their spiritual Parents. I don't think it would be exaggerating to say that her and Stuart's direct or indirect influence in the gospel is somewhere in the thousands of believers.
I've witnessed over the times that I've been able to go Laverne's fearless witness. They're in Zimbabwe. Certainly, in places like police checkpoints. At one time, when we first started going, about every 10 kilometers, you would have a police checkpoint. And Laverne was so fearless going through those things because many times they would harass people for money or try to extort people for money.
And she was just fearless in moving through those places. Many times, even taking a moment to share a little gospel witness to some of them. Hmm. Talking to people in stores, engaging people in conversations, people that you would meet in the Places of employment or places of business, restaurants. Hmm.
In terms of her relationship to the training of the national pastors and church planning. She has been the one who has actually organized the pastors' conferences. Not the content of the pastors' conferences, but but securing housing for all the men for the week of training. providing sufficient housing with necessary amenities, right? Opening her home for the times of study, organizing the workers who would provide meals for the men, organizing transportation to and from the Conference, not to mention housing and feeding preachers like me who go there.
Not her cooking. By the way, those of you that have been there, you can talk to her about that later. Many of you may be familiar with the Simon Waugh fund. And certainly, if you watch the documentary that was made, you would recall that fund. It's specifically a fund named after their son Simon, who has gone on to be with the Lord, specifically to support those pastors.
It has the burden of organizing that support through the Simon Wall Fund in these recent years has fallen on. Laverne certainly carried the weight of the burden of managing those funds. on the Zimbabwe side of things. Mm.
Again, many of you know the ongoing drought, about the ongoing drought in Zimbabwe. Again, praise the Lord, it looks like it's finally over. But during those times, the people in the churches were greatly suffering. greatly suffering. It was Laverne, along with her son-in-law Lee and daughter Sarah Kate, who helped to organize the ongoing purchase and distribution of food for the churches.
at great personal risk to herself, by the way. You may or may not know that at one point the U.S. dollar was not legal to use in Zimbabwe. They had made it illegal to use any other foreign currency. But she had developed such a relationship with some of the store owners and some of these people and maintained these relationships that she was actually able, I don't know if this is being recorded or not, but actually able to use U.S.
dollars and to buy things at wholesale prices in order to maximize our financial resources to buy food to feed the churches in Zimbabwe when they were going through such a difficult time. I can't tell you how many times that she has over the years smuggled necessary food and resources for the churches across borders. She has risked her life for the service of Christ in Zimbabwe. No doubt, you know this. God provides for his people.
Amen. Can we amen that? But but God provides Through means. In other words, he uses the charitable giving and faithful service of his people to do that. I recall your thinking to the church in Jerusalem.
who was going through a drought. and a famine in the land. And what did they do? They gathered resources to help support the struggling brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. in a similar way.
We were able to be a part of that. Laverne was able to organize that by the grace of God to provide. for the needs of the churches. I'm convinced without her tireless efforts, many would have gone hungry. and died.
I know that LaBerne is committed to the ongoing work in Zimbabwe, really with or without the support of the American churches. I pray, I really do, I really pray to God that the churches will see the value, even though Stuart's no longer with us, right? Even though he's no longer here, I hope that the churches will continue to see the value of supporting the work, the ongoing work, the necessary work in Zimbabwe. Laverne's committed to that. I know that you're committed to that.
Our church is committed to that as well. I hope that other churches will be committed to that. I've been there. I've seen the fruit of your gracious gifts. I've seen the fruit of the gracious gifts of the church that I'm privileged to pastor in Asheboro, North Carolina.
And I would say to you, it is well worth our investment to continue to support Laverne and the work there. In closing, I ask a Another gentleman in our church, he mentioned just a few moments ago, Harry Maples, just to think about Laverne's role in the work. And let me just give you a short quote from. From him. He says, without Laverne's personal labors, our support for the churches in Zimbabwe would have been.
Impossible. She is indispensable. Irreplaceable, he Had a thing for the eyes that day for some reason. Impossible, indispensable, and irreplaceable. She is indeed, he says, mom to all the believers.
Amen. Now the uh video from Alberta. I'm gonna step down here so I can see. Dear, dear friends and church family at Beacon. I just want to begin this tribute to Stew.
by thanking you all for your constant prayers and your upliftment, your undergirding and encouragement, And for your support over the years for us both in the ministry here. And in our walk through all his problems with liver failure. Words just don't suffice to Express. my appreciation at all. for all that you've done for us and I Thank you most sincerely.
Um Stew is gone. And he's gone to glory. And I'm very thrilled for him that he has. But for me My goodness, he's left a huge, huge hole in my life. He was my friend, My soulmate my mentor, He was an inspiration in so very, very many ways, and I find facing each day without him is really difficult.
I have to Ask the Lord for grace and strength all the time. His last year was very tough. He had eight surgeries. In nine months He uh was always in pain, just the degree altered pain and nausea. and um he was in hospital a lot of the time, much of the time I could be with him.
And they would give me a special dispensation to be there because they didn't expect him to live. But some of the time He would be there alone? for ten days or so and uh That was hard, but The thing that this year has left most with me. is how committed Stew was to um The ministry here in Zim. He never ever stopped.
feeling the passion For the gospel to go forward in them, and for his pastors and his people. He wanted to make sure that the churches were well grounded in the truth, and that the Gospel was constantly and faithfully being preached, And he uh no matter how bad he felt. That was his priority. He would spend hours and hours in prayer for them. He couldn't be here on a And he would talk and discuss so many plans with me, things that he wanted for the future.
He prayed and asked God for a good five years at least that he may return here and continue with the work, but the Lord did not grant that. And Stupid. He was amazing in that he never questioned his constant illness. he would always say and always feel totally confident in the goodness of God, In giving him this suffering. In the goodness of the Lord, in all the trials that he had to go through And he just trusted the Lord implicitly with all of it.
and he said to me many times, it's a privilege to suffer with and for Christ. And God has called us to this road, and we are going to walk this road faithfully. was a great inspiration to me. I must admit there were times when he was in such agony that I would just cry and I would think, Lord, Please, Lord, And the LORD did intervene, and the LORD did give us both grace and strength, and pulled us through. All of this.
But I am I'm just so thankful to God. for the fact that no matter what happens to us on earth, We know that that our loving Heavenly Father has his hands on us. that we will not be tempted above that we are able, that we are given grace and strength, to face whatever he calls us to. And Stew's legacy was exactly that. That though he was in agony a lot of the time, he just rejoiced in the Lord all the time.
and his people were very inspired by his testimony. He's buried at Eganyana, our camp up in Hwange. is buried in a little copse near the family tent. And a little diker walked over his grave the other day. But that was absolutely wonderful.
Our boys constantly They draw in the sand around his grave 'cause he's right in the bush elephants and Every other creature you can imagine walks past him. And they write love letters to Papa on his grave and tell him how much they miss him and how much. they appreciated his testimony. and he's there It's very special because that's the site, that is the place of the beginning of our newest little church. Stew's testimony touched the lives of a good number of people there who have come to the Lord.
and the nucleus of a brand new church is there. Is the museum such a mess and I want to continue on with the work here for as long as God gives me breath Um and I do thank you again. each one of you precious, precious people. for your loving support. I do hope that I may be able to visit you maybe in August this year.
but that is still in the planning stages. May our Lord richly bless Each one of you. And now we're going to hear two recordings of Stuart himself. He being dead yet speaketh. Literally.
The first one is an exhortation he gave to our church congregation a number of years ago from this very pulpit. And the second one is when he sang to us also from this pulpit. They are audio, not video, but we will listen to them at this time. Further interesting things, which I'll close with tonight. Um He just summarizes that in if you jump over a chapter with me.
Um Chapter 2 And let's we'll go past the example of Christ Himself. And we'll be going on to verse number 17. He says, yea. Uh and if I be offered Upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, if I'm Spent as it were, if my blood is poured out as a libation on the altar upon the sacrifice or the victim and the service or the ministry of your faith. If it's if I know what your faith is, I understand who it is, I know who you are, he says, I'm willing to let my blood be poured out upon it, as it were.
Upon the faith that is yours, that is evident in your life. you Philippians he's speaking about. I am willing to let my blood pour out because of your faith. I am willing to let this light shine even to death and to be with Christ, for that's gain. It's amazing.
He says He says, I joy in that. And I rejoice. With you all. Notice that word all, it's individual and collective. It's all of you.
I know that he says. You that I know, you that I've eaten with. You that I've prayed with, you that I've had meetings with, you that have worked together with me in the gospel, and those amongst you who have supported me and worked with me in the gospel, he says, I know you, and as a church, I know you. I understand you. He says, He says, I am willing to make my life be poured out because of that faithfulness that you have.
This is the faith. for which I am willing to give My blood. as a libation offering upon the altar. What an amazing thing to say. He even wanted to send Timotheus to them.
He says uh when I I he says I He says, I I want to send Timothyus to you because I'm worried because he says I don't quite know everything. He says, So that I can know your state, he says. For he says, I've got no man like-minded who will naturally care for you. That's the thing. It's of our nature as brethren to care for each other.
It's of our nature to have tenderness towards each other. It's in our nature, our new nature. That causes us. With Christ in us. to have a relationship that desires to know about each other.
And wants to be involved and is willing to pour out even the life's blood for those people. That. Is incredible. I don't know how far you'd go.
Well, that's wrong. I do know how far many of you would go. Those people that I know intimately. I do know. I think you would be willing.
I'm confident that you would be willing. I know that you would be willing to give your lives. for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. to let your blood pour out upon the altar, for the sake of the preaching of the gospel in another land. in another city.
in another country. For I know that you are not citizens of this world, You are citizens of a heavenly country. I know that. I know I can be content in whatever state I find myself. I know, because I can count on your prayers.
I know I have learned this. I can be content with lots and little and all these things, Paul said. He understood that because it didn't matter what happened to him, for him to live was Christ. It wasn't the world's things. He didn't have to be rich.
He didn't have to be powerful. He didn't have to be any of those things. What counted to him was the gospel of Jesus Christ and the brethren. You Count. in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Will you give yourselves to it? I implore you to do that. Press. Toward the mark of the high calling of God. What is that high calling?
has to be. The gospel. of Jesus Christ and the sweetness of the fellowship. in that gospel. Thank you.
Hi. I am what I am by the grace of the Lord, and all that I ever shall be for the grace that He gave. was bestowed Not it. Revenge for it. WHAAAAAAA A lost sinner like me, I will labor for thee that the world may see that a Jesus.
Jesus I'll ever be true for I am what I am by the grace I received and that grace is sufficient for you What a what a privilege has been ours. to be involved with This Trophy of God's Grace A special, special trophy of God's grace. I'm glad Bob Boyd mentioned the Simon Waugh Fund because I almost forgot, but we are. receiving an offering for that tonight, and I hope you will join me in that at the Plates are at the front and they're at the back and We would encourage you. to have a part in that.
Well, this is the time that I'm supposed to speak about the legacy of Stuart Waugh, but I don't think I'm going to spend much time because. Because time is marching on. I will say two things about his legacy. Number one, his legacy in Africa. Is very conspicuous in the lives of the people there.
And if you could. visit there and see and meet these men and See their lives and hear their love for Christ, it's amazing. It it really is amazing. And that's going to go on. By the grace of God, that's going to go on, we trust, for many, many, many years.
to come. But also his legacy is in the example and testimony that he left behind. and touching the lives of us personally. And there are many aspects of his life that stand out to me, and I'm not going to be able to elaborate on as many of them as I had planned. But I will mention in the first place that The love of Christ in this dear brother was so conspicuous.
He loved the Lord. He loved the word. He loved people. He loved especially the people of Zimbabwe. He loved his wife.
Laverna and Stewart had a very close and special relationship.
Some have wondered how could they maintain a strong marriage being separated like they were. for many months, many years, all if you put it all together. And I can assure you that it wasn't easy, and I can assure you that that was not their choice. But I can assure you of two things. Number one, their love for each other.
only grew stronger. If you could talk to Stewart, you would know that Laverne was a love of his life and He was just as much in love with her at the end of his life as he was. when they were young people. uh romantically in love with one another, probably more so. And hers the same way.
He was not one of these. People who I think mistakenly, and this is a very strong sentiment in our day. mistakenly said that The home and marriage comes before the work of Christ. That's a strong concept. Scripturally, I think it's hard to sustain when you Here are some of the words of Jesus.
If a man's not willing to leave father and mother and husband and wife and son and daughter for my sake, he's not worthy of me and so forth. Obviously, we we have a very special relationship with our family and we must fulfill our responsibilities to it, but our Responsibility to Christ always comes first, and in the mind of Stuart and Laverne, as difficult as it was, they were willing to make that kind of sacrifice. Yes, Laverne could have gone to South Africa and been by Stewart's side virtually all of the time during his illness, but if she had done that, the work in Zimbabwe would have suffered. In fact, Who knows? Only God knows how it would have been sustained without her there.
And so it was their choice, it was their decision that she would remain there and they would be willing to be separated. as difficult as it was. Because their love for Christ was first and their love for one another was amazingly strong. The peace that filled Stewart's heart, in spite of all of the suffering. And the recognition that he was always just one step away from death.
But His heart was filled with peace and joy. I never heard him complain. Never. And all the times I've talked with him. His persevering faithfulness to Christ and to the work of the gospel is a legacy.
that certainly Will encourage and strengthen me. His gentleness, when we've been talking. recently about the Apostle Paul and his meekness and gentleness. where some people expected him to come in like a Strong, strong. Um Powerful.
Ruler And Paul just refused to do that. He said, that's not the spirit of Christ. I can be powerful as needed, and don't you doubt it. If you don't shape up, I will come in. With the power of Christ and discipline you and chasten you until you get back in line.
My general demeanor. Is one of gentleness, of meekness. That was Stuart, too. And his self-discipline. From a Human standpoint, it's difficult, even impossible, to explain how he lived so many years with his liver disease.
The doctors had told him years ago that He only had two or three years to live unless he got a liver transplant. Year after year after year continued to go by. And of course, we know that that was the grace of God. sustaining him, but I'll tell you the other side was that man Was as disciplined in life, in diet, in the things that he needed to do. as any person I've ever known.
I remember having him in our house one time, and I offered him a It was a glass of um Grape juice with a little bit of pomegranate juice mixed in. I do that. I like to mix those two and drink them, and I offered it to him.
Now what's in that? He finally did drink it, but he probably, I don't know, he probably wasn't on his list of things he should have been drinking, but. Uh Most people could not have been as self-disciplined and strict with their diet and with their regimen as he was. But he did it. for the sake of the gospel to have as many years to spend in the Gospel is possible.
And so from a human standpoint, that's How he managed to live on year after year after year after year after year. after the doctors had said ye ye that's not possible, but there he was. If he'd lived to I think his b birthday is in March. I have it here somewhere. He would have been What did I do with that?
March thirteenth, nineteen forty seven, is when he was born. If he'd lived um About a month and a half, about six more weeks, he would have reached his 74th year. And again, knowing His hepatitis C and liver damage. You just shake your head. How did that happen?
How did that happen? Well. Overall That happened because God sustained him, but He was incredibly self-disciplined. In fact, what I'm describing for you I'm going to read about Galatians chapter 5. But the fruit of the Spirit is love.
Joy. Peace. Long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness. Self-control Against such. There is no law.
Here's a man in which the fruit of the Spirit was a abundant and conspicuous. And that's the legacy. that he leaves for us. Press on in Christ. Press on.
and growing in grace and knowledge. Press on. In the work of the gospel. Press on in developing Christ's likeness in your life. Press on.
in developing the fruit of the Spirit. within you. That's what he would say to us today. Thank you, Father, for giving us the privilege of knowing. and partnering with this Servant of yours And please receive all honor and glory from this service tonight.
and from the life of this dear man, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. All hail the power of Jesus' name. Let angels prostrate fall. Bring forth the royal diadem.
and crown him. Lord. With every man and every time to him all measures he will strike and crown him over. To him all measures he will strike and crown him with glory that his name belongs with he everlasting sight and crown him. And will you bow now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.
To God our Saviour, who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty. Dominion and power. both now and for ever Uh meant.
