Ministry Update
Steve and Kristen Wynn
Associate Church Revitalizers, Smyrna, NY
April 2026
Hello Prayer Partners!
Thank you all for your prayers and notes of encouragement for my ordination. Everything went well and I am officially Reverend Wynn per council recommendation and confirmation from our church family! My utmost prayer for the weekend was that it would be a time of worship – adoring God for who He is and of His tremendous love toward us. Praise the Lord – it was!
I am incredibly grateful for the fifteen men who served on the ordination council (listed below). Present around the table were men of faith that I deeply respect. We had representation from Baptist Church Planters, sister churches, and almost every church that partners with us in ministry. What a joy it was – all praise to God!
Sincere thanks to J. Fischer, Patrick Ashcraft, Neil Shupp, Jon Jenks, Eric Nihart, Dave DeLeon, Steve Little, Daniel Nelson, Zach Eshleman, David Semans, Paul Brown, Scott Paris, Josh Rathmall, Tom Taylor, Linn White, our Faith Baptist Tabernacle church family, and a special virtual appearance from Brian King!
What’s in progress?
It has been a very busy month! Praise the Lord for His answers to our prayers.
West Smyrna Baptist Church
We’re in our second month of ministry in our revitalization extension plan. Join us in praising the Lord for all He is accomplishing in His church:
- Judah Sayles is the new pastor of West Smyrna Baptist Church! After candidating on March 29, the church family affirmed via vote on April 12.
- Steve will continue being the “face” of ministry for the month of May, transitioning preaching to Judah on May 31 (with Steve continuing to preach at least once a month).
- Steve has begun mentoring and transitioning ministry over to Judah.
- Pastor Tom, and his wife, Shari, are excelling in their ministry at Bible Baptist Church. Steve continues to meet with Tom to work through his action plans.
- The church met for their annual meeting. It was great to recount all God has done in the past year!
- Kristen and Steve are involved in ongoing discipleship studies and evangelistic opportunities.
- Leadership Journey concluded in April for Linn, Hank, and Jesse. We are already working on identifying the next group of men to be discipled.
Judah and Maddi Sayles met with the church leaders to discuss the onboarding timeline. The parsonage is ready for them to move in! In adult Sunday school, we are reviewing the principles of our SENT life.
Constantia Center Baptist Church
CCBC celebrated Pastor Dave DeLeon with an installation service on May 2. Pastors David Little and Paul Brown shared the charges to the church family and pastor.
Bible Baptist Church, New Hartford
- Missionary Pastor Tom and his wife, Shari, continue their ministry at Bible Baptist, including preaching, teaching/discipleship, counseling, and more.
- BCP Director Marty and Steve are meeting with the church’s deacons to make changes to their constitution and create a pastoral search process.
- The steering committee will continue to meet on a monthly basis with Steve, Linn, and Judah serving on the committee for WSBC.
- Steve is continuing discipleship twice a month with BCP’s “Step B” Study.
Missionary Pastor Tom Taylor preaching through the book of Galatians.
Faith Baptist Tabernacle, Sherburne
- Pastors J. and Patrick helped Steve prepare for his ordination examination. They were a tremendous blessing!
- The pastoral search process is underway.
- Camp Recharge was a big success! We had 28 teens and leaders attend.
- The teen praise band did a wonderful job leading worship at Camp Recharge.
- Our family was able to be at FBT for four Sundays. It was a blessing to be with the church family.
Constantia Center Baptist Church gifted Faith Baptist their pulpit. What a wonderful symbol of our common bond in Christ! Patrick is one of the primary teachers for youth group.
We had over 170 teens and leaders at Camp Recharge. London and Calvin served on the teen praise band. Many thanks to fellow coordinator, Pastor Josh Rathmall, and NFIBC Director Brian King – it was a joy serving with them for the event, along with our guest speaker and workshop teachers.
Odds and Ends
- Now with the completion of the Discipling Teachers module, Steve, Jon, and Ginny met with a group of pastors to share an overview of the discipleship training to gage interest in each church participating in the launch – potentially occurring in the fall.
- The module is designed for a teacher to train and disciple an aspiring or fellow teacher (who has completed BCP Leadership Journey or Grove) in a one-on-one format with a shared classroom so that the mentee gains competence as a teacher with the ability to train another teacher. Steve will serve as the point person for this training.
John & Wendy Bensley were married on April 11. It was a wonderful day celebrating with them! Steve and Erik were the “flowermen” in the ceremony – wearing matching plum suits! Many smiles as they threw 17,000 flower petals into the air. A group of men from church celebrated the upcoming day by doing an escape room with John for his bachelor’s party.
We have a fun time homeschooling! London and Calvin created custom shields in our “shop class.” We celebrated one of Steve’s favorite holidays – “May the Fourth be with you!” (Star Wars Day) Calvin had a great 12th birthday – complete with a party to watch the new Mario movie.
Praise & Prayer Request List
Praises
- Praise God for providing WSBC’s next pastor – Judah Sayles. Praying for wisdom during the onboarding transition.
- Praise God for Tom & Shari’s ministry at Bible Baptist Church.
- Praise God for Camp Recharge.
- Praise God for John and Wendy Bensley’s wedding.
- Praise God for Steve’s ordination.
- Praise God for Leadership Journey with Linn, Jesse, and Hank.
- Praise God for the spiritual growth occurring and for opportunities to share the gospel!
Prayer Requests
- West Smyrna Baptist Church: Pray for the church family as they welcome Pastor Judah and Maddi.
- Faith Baptist Tabernacle: Pray for the Fischers, church leaders, and church family during this time of pastoral transition.
- BCP: Pray for BCP’s NEXT 35 Campaign.
Schedule
- May 12 – BBC Meeting w/ Deacons to plan Pastoral Search Process
- May 13 – WSBC Deacons Mtg w/ Judah
- May 16 – London Craft Sale (she is selling crochet items and baking goods!)
- May 19 – Discipling Teachers Introduction Mtg
- May 23 – Calvin’s Drum Recital
- May 26 – BBC Steering Committee Mtg
- May 28 – WSBC Steering Committee Mtg
- May 29 – Kristen’s Bday
- May 31 – Judah’s first day preaching at WSBC
- June 7 – Preaching at BBC
- June 14 – FBT Sunday Night Kids Party
- June 19 – FBT Youth Group Senior Banquet Luau
- June 28 – Fischer Family’s Last Sunday at FBT
- Ongoing: B Study, youth group, preaching, discipleship, and outreach.
Our Mission Statement:
Through the grace of God and His word, the redemptive works of Christ, and the sanctifying efforts of the Holy Spirit, we encourage and equip the body of Christ in order to ensure its members, both near and far, are enduring in the lifelong work of glorifying God and discipling faithful men and women who will be entrusted to continue this work until our Lord and Savior returns.
We are passionate for the local church. We desire to see churches disciple their members to grow in adoring Him, loving one another, sharing the hope of the gospel, and living transformed lives.
