My dear son,
I realize you will be serving Christ in a world far different than the one where I was trained and first released into ministry. Your methods, your dress, your vocabulary, the technologies you use and even the problems you face may have little in common with the world I knew, or even the world in which we both minister today. You will be a faithful servant of Christ not because you mimic my works or imitate my ministry style, but because you live out the timeless values we share—values that come to us from the Word of God and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
So while I still have the opportunity, I want to take a few minutes to summarize in writing the values and life lessons I have attempted to live out before you and most want to pass on to you…
Remember the legacy left by those who fostered the Word of God for the past 100 years at First Baptist of Nanty Glo.
Rely on the sound teaching you learned from me and stay true to the calling to minister you have received. You will be tested…you will go through trials, and when (not if) you do, remember the Sacrifice of Christ. Put to death the old sin nature and the desires that distract.
Surround yourself with solid believers, reliable men and women, stay focused on your calling, strive to reach the potential that our God placed within you.
Be prepared for, but not affected by troubles. Others you encounter may be influenced greatly by worldy attractions, lusts and opinions. Do not allow that to discourage or distract you from the work.
Preach the Word. Be passionate, so much so that you compel others to want what you have—solid faith and unwavering confidence in the redemptive blood of Jesus Christ.
We have a glorious reward to come, don’t faint.
Geno Bartoletti