Pulpit Exchange

  
         
 

In the year 2005 Dr. and Mrs. Futch will participate in a pulpit exchange with a church in England. The exchange will be with a Baptist church in Bristol which is West of London on the western coast.. The Reverend Kevin Donaghy and his wife Linda and their eight year old daughter, Anna will be the guest of the River Ranch Chapel. Plans are for the exchange to be for the Sundays of June 19th, 26th, July 3rd and 10th of 2005.

The church in Bristol is a new church sponsored by the Baptist Union of Great Britain. At Present it has about 20 to 45 in attendance and has just begun to meet in a rented hall. It is a planted church with about 3000 new homes in it's community. It should be very exciting to exchange pulpits with a church with such great potential.

The exchange helps the pastors learn about churches in another country, their worship customs, church polity and government. Other benefits are the opportunities to visit historical Christian and cultural sites. Plus get to know the people, their customs and ways of life.
 

The last exchange for Dr. and Mrs. Futch was in the Pathhead Baptist Church in Kirkcaldy, Scotland in the summer of 2002. Dr. David Greenaway, pastor of the Pathhead church, his wife Pearl and their son Phillip, were the guests of River Ranch Chapel while the Futch family serves in Scotland.

Dr. Futch was invited to wear a Kilt while preaching on a special Sunday at the Scotland church. While in Scotland the Futch's visited many historical religious sites and even played a round of golf at St. Andrews.
The exchange was very successful and the Pathhead church was very warm and receptive to the ministry of the Futch team. In addition to preaching for a month, Dr. Futch officiated in a Lord's Supper service. Out of the exchange developed many lasting friendships that even continue until today. The Scotland people have a very rich and histiric background of the Presbyterian Church.

Upon finishing their ministry in Scotland, Dr. and Mrs. Futch went to Northern Ireland and preached in the Dungannon Baptist Church. There they had an excellent tour of Northern Ireland and attended some of the national celebrations along with a visit to the Parliament. The beauty of the country was breath takeing and a visit to always to be remembered.

After leaving Northern Ireland the Futch's took a week and toured The Republic of Ireland. There they visited castles, the Ring of Kerry, Waterford, Dublin and many religious and historical sites.

 

The first Pulpit exchange began in 2001, with a cooperation beween the Selsdon Baptist Church and the River Ranch Chapel. Selsdon is a town south of London and has a great ministry to the community and around the world. The Reverand Michael Elcome is the pastor and the church has a full staff of very capable ministers and laity. The Rev. Elcome and Caroline his wife and their three daughters served River Ranch Chapel for a month and Dr. and Mrs. Futch serve the Selsdon church for a month.

While in Selsdon, the church had their Vacation Bible School with over 500 in attendance each day. Dr. Futch Preached each Sunday, administered the Lord's Supper and met with the staff on occasions. The results of the ministry afforded each minister the oppertunity to experience new church ministries, different cultural backgrounds and gain insight into new growth and worship methods.

While in the London area, the Futch's visited Cantebury, Westminster Abbey, took a tour of London and the English countryside, and saw many historical and religious sites. One of the benefits of such an exchange is the many friends that are made while in the church and members homes.