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Pastor Beal On February 24, Dr. R. S. Beal celebrated his 35th an niversary as pastor of this church. In 1918 the church n um be red less than 200 members and today the mem bership is well over 3000. One h u n d r ed and thirty- four y ou th of the ch u r ch have entered the Lord’s serv ice in all parts of the world. Dr. Charles B. Beal is serv ing as a medical missionary in French West Africa. An other son, Richard Jr., is a professor of theology at
First Baptist Tucson
From a small adobe struc ture to an auditorium seating 1200 people. This is the story of the First Baptist Church of Tucson, Arizona— the story of a spiritual river in the Southwest desert. On April 7, 1881, six peo ple of the Baptist persuasion banded themselves together to form this church which from that time until now has maintained a faithful witness in behalf of the gos pel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Wohlin Association of America. For the most part the church expends its mission ary money through the Conservative Baptist Foreign Mission Society and the Conservative Baptist Home Mis sion Society. Thus the tributaries of this spiritual river stretch around the world. The missionary -vision of the ' church starts at home, however, and during Dr. Beal’s pastorate he has led his people in the establishment of several mission stations in the lo cal Tucson area. Nine of these mis sions have grown into independent churches, supporting their own pas tors and owning their own property. One of these is the Southern Tucson Mission, typical of the various buildings which the church has helped to sponsor. It is about ready to organize as an independent church. They have sought to locate each one of the missions in a strategic spot where the growth of the city seemed to justify it. Some have been en larged to seat three hundred people. The church pu b lish e s Dr. Beal’s sermons under the general title of Rivers in the Desert. These ser mons are sent to all parts of the world free of charge, and at the end of each year a thousand of them are put into bound form for the benefit of those who wish to preserve them. Nine volumes have been completed. They are in the Congressional Li brary at Washington, D. C. The church has two associate pas tors, Rev. W. Edward Epps and Rev. Lowell J. Leistner.
the Conservative Baptist Theologi cal Seminary of Denver and a third son is pastor of the First B ap tist Church of Nogales, Ariz. Two sons-in-law, Rev. Robert B. Thieme Photo
Under the leadership of the present pastor the church constructed its present building after the brick church erected to replace the original meeting place became too small. Later a two-story office building was erected to care for the administrative work. Now in the process of con struction is a three-story educational
Church has started many local missions. building with provision for two addi tional stories when needed. The church is famous for its throngs of young people who take an active part in the outgoing of the gospel. Besides singing on Saturday evening to the shut-ins of the com munity, they conduct gospel services in the county jail every Sunday aft ernoon, and a public service in the city park using a loud speaker system. Seeing the need for a larger and more direct ministry among the stu dents of the University of Arizona, the church purchased a beautiful res idence directly across the street from the campus. Four Bible classes a week are conducted in this house for the benefit of the students; daily prayer meetings are also held, and many social activities are featured. The church employs a consecrated housemother to supervise the home. The church is now in active fellow ship with the Conservative Baptist 20
R. S. Beal, D.D. Jr., and Lt. Col. Ridgeley O. Ryan, are Baptist ministers, and former stu dents at B io l a . Dr. Beal, the thirteenth pastor of the church, is a member of the State Board of Missions, the E x e cu tiv e Committee of the A riz on a Baptist Convention, a member of the Board of Directors for Rockmont College and also on the Board of Trustees for the Conservative Baptist Theological Seminary of Denver. He is one of the few ministers of the Southwest whose name appears in Who's Who in America. He is teacher of the men’s Bible class, mentioned by many as the larg est class of its kind in that area.
THE KING'S BUSINESS
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