Charity Baptist Mission, Inc.

 

       Founder                                               Est. 1973                                                   Director

 

      Rev. Fred Potter               P.O.  Box 692  Bristol, TN  37621-0692                Rev. Mike Nixon

 

      Tel. (423) 646-1352  or  (423) 878-5800               e-mail cbmission@juno.com

  

 

 

Radio Broadcasts

 

A Few Words

From Our Founder

Rev. Fred Potter



"Heard a church bell ringing"

This song is about how Fred Potter got saved,

 written by Danny Minton.

Bolivia & other Hispanic countries

Bulgaria

Mexico

India

Romania

Ukraine / Moldova

United States

 

 

 

 

It is our privilege to welcome you to the Charity Baptist Mission web page. We hope this will be a testament of what the Lord is doing in America and throughout the world.

In 1973 the Lord laid upon my heart to start Charity Baptist Mission Inc., here in Bristol, Tennessee.  We started it because we were opening a children’s home in Mexico.  From there the Lord continued to bless and increased the areas to other countries by which we could share the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour.

It has been truly a blessing to see how the Lord has used missionaries to reach the lost and see them saved.

We believe in the Authorized King James 1611 version of the Word of God. It has stood the test of time and we believe this is the only true Bible.

To God be the Glory!

 

 

 

Articles Of  Faith

    

 

Recent Updates

 

 

Facts About Our Founder

 

 

CBM Our Story

 

 

Disclaimer

 

updated 2-12-25

     

 

 

Watch Brookside Baptist Church services at:

 

youtube.com/@brooksidebaptistchurchtn1954/streams

 

https://www.facebook.com/BrooksideBaptistChurchBristolTN

 

 

 

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Missions Updates

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November/December 2024

 

Dear Pastors, Churches, and Fellow Saints,

 

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. Joshua 1:8,9

 

The year 2024 has quickly passed. It was full of many blessings and events. God has helped us every step of the way.

 

I was in Bulgaria until May, attending meetings and working on a new church building. Many of you helped by prayer and financial support. We are grateful for that. We are able to hold church services in it and are enjoying our times of fellowship and worship together. Our 15-year-old grandson, Carrick LeFevre preached recently in one of our meetings and that sure was a blessing to our hearts.

 

In the past year we have had to say goodbye to some of our church folk here, that have passed from this life to the next. One of them was my dear old friend, Malcho. We had been to many church services together and he never failed to get up and give a testimony. I will miss him and the others who have gone on before, but I'm confident and at peace knowing we'll be reunited one day in our heavenly home with our loving Savior, Jesus Christ.

 

In May we were in the States for our daughter Charity's high school graduation. After graduating Charity joined the Air Force and left to Basic Training. She came through with flying colors. She is now stationed at Hill Air Force Base in Utah. Please remember her in your prayers.

 

As I mentioned in a previous letter, it was necessary for me while in America, to have a total knee replacement in August. After a couple months of recuperation, and therapy, we returned back to our home in November. I continue to slowly improve and truly appreciate your prayers for complete healing.

 

Our son, John, is stationed at an Air Force base in Germany, and he was able to visit us for two weeks during the Christmas and New Year holidays. We were so happy to have him home. Then, at the same time, we had a surprise visit from our daughter, Grace, and son, James. They spent three weeks with us.

 

Most of you are probably aware that our daughter, Hannah, and her husband William (along with their four children), serve on the mission field with us in Bulgaria. Needless to say, we all enjoyed a very happy time together. It was a very joyful ending to 2024.

 

Last of all I would like to mention a woman named, Sylvia. Please pray for her health and salvation. She works at our local village store. She has always been unfriendly toward us. But the Lord laid her on my heart recently and I was able to talk with her and give her a tract.

 

All because of Calvary,   (A printable PDF version is available here)

 

Matthew and Jane Welch

 

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December 2024 (Year-End Update)

 

Dear Praying Friends and Family,

 

Greetings: I hope this letter finds you well in the Lord as we leave the old year and enter the new. This year-end edition of our prayer letter will necessarily be longer than usual. More space is required to cover my last trip to Ukraine and give an update of our current situation and plans to return to the field. So far, we have financed four trips into eastern Ukraine. I personally participated in the last three. Our most recent trip during the first two weeks of December was one of the best yet, mostly because my son, Samuel, was with me. I want to thank Missionaries Paul Hamilton and Clayton McCurdy for their help and generous hospitality picking us up at the airport in Chisinau, putting us up for the night, and driving us across the border into Ukraine.

 

Target Area and Objectives: Circumstances in Ukraine are extremely varied and often misunderstood. The situation in most of Ukraine is not the same as eastern Ukraine where they survived the Russian occupation of their hometowns for almost a year. After discussions about our upcoming trip, Pastor Alexei and I decided that we would much rather go into the eastern regions than to go to the borders of Romania and Poland. People are needy everywhere. Everyone needs to be saved and to be given a chance to hear the Gospel. However, in eastern Ukraine, there are hundreds of thousands of people who could not flee when the Russians came. The people who survived the Russian occupation have been traumatized, while the people in other parts of Ukraine have not yet been so affected. We wanted to take the Gospel to those left behind. To those who lost everything, who were cold, in the dark, and praying, “God, please help me!” We wanted to reach those people first, to go into new regions who have not yet heard the “Good News” and, so, we went into the Kherson region (see map).

 

Preaching in the Regions Beyond: From our house, it was a 5-hour trip to get there, and we were thankful to have an abandoned church building where we could camp out. It was warm and dry. It also had a small kitchen but no bathroom or shower.

 

All total the Lord provided well over 10 tons of supplies and literature to distribute. We had lots of literature, 1,200 care packages, packages of rice, boxes of flour, and 1,200 loaves of bread to hand out in seven different towns. The leaders of these towns cooperated with us and registered close to 1,200 people collectively. We arranged a time and place in each town where they would gather to hear the word of God preached and receive help. I’ve never seen this type of cooperation from the leaders in Ukraine before. We preached the Gospel in every town and gave a clear invitation explaining that they would be responding to an invitation to call on the name of the Lord to be saved from their sin. After three long days preaching in seven towns, we saw close to one hundred souls respond to the invitations to be saved! There are plenty of stories and details I would love to tell, but space will not allow it. One newly saved person said, “That was the first time I’ve ever heard anything like this.”

 

Long Term Versus Short Term Missions: There is a constant struggle maintaining balance between long-term missions and short term. Between soul-winning/evangelism and discipleship/church planting. Long term church planting in the regions where we’ve been working is difficult right now. However, there is every indication that the eastern regions of Ukraine will be ripe for church planting and discipleship when peace is achieved. But for now, people need at least a chance to hear the Gospel clearly communicated with an invitation to be saved. Anything could happen in these areas in the months ahead! I believe in the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to not only save your soul but to change one’s life forever. The process described in Romans 10:13-15 culminates in the moment when a guilty sinner calls on the name of the Lord for salvation. Though this moment is often preached as the pinnacle, it is really the beginning.

 

I still remember the day when I trusted Jesus Christ and He changed my life forever. I still believe this is possible every time I preach the Gospel. We set out for eastern Ukraine with this in mind.

 

Tense Moments: Before we set out, we realized that we were going to be preaching just a few miles from the frontlines. There are no guarantees. There are drones, minefields, separatists, and curfews to consider. Then, of course, being that close to the front, there was a slight possibility that the Russians could break through the line and be in our area quickly. You can always hear the war from where we were. There are big explosions over there, about 10-15 miles away, not the kind that smaller drones make. During our first night a drone was shot down over the town where we were sleeping.

 

On another occasion, we had to make a stop on the side of the road. I left the van to take care of some personal business. When I returned to our van I saw my son, Sam, along with Brother Sasha both checking out a blown-up tank in the burned-up tree line on the edge of the road.

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