Several from our body have gone into the Lord’s work full time. Jessie (Kline) Easterly served two terms in Africa as a young woman, and was married to missionary Herbert Palmer in Belgian Congo in 1939. She returned to Africa in 1989 at the age of 72 and served at the Things to Come mission school in Embu, Kenya, East Africa. She is 94 now and living in Grand Junction, CO. Lorraine Killilay served for a time in Home Missions, Claire Longuevan was in the Mali Republic for many years, and is now with ECMI based in Grand Junction Colorado. Claire and his wife Mayanne can also count their daughters as missionaries. Ruth Swanson married Dick Young, and they served with  Inter Varsity in Minnesota and Wisconsin for a while and are now retired from Converge (BGC) in Lingle, Wyoming.

David Kline pastored a mission church in Greenville, South Carolina, and his son Dan has been in the ministry for more than 30 years. Mae (Grobe) Palmer is currently serving with her husband Donovan On the Africa Mercy ship, where Donovan is the General Manager. Kevin Foster and his wife Danielle are serving with New Systems International after a short term trip to Kenya, and Kevin Young (nephew of Randy & LuAnn Kline, is serving with Christian Challenge in Grand Junction, CO) Misty Pfifer-Mohl, Daughter of Kenya Morse, is serving in El Paso Texas.

In recent years, the concept of short-term mission work has become very popular, and First Baptist has been active in this area. In the early 1980’s, Tony Zeimer went to Liberia and Chari Markham and Christina Moyer and Jorin Rudd went with YWAM to Mexico, in 1997. Wendy Wooden served for a short time in Bolivia on a GMU trip, and Karl Kline and Kevin Foster have both worked at Christian summer camps as counselors in recent summers. In the summer of 1997, the Youth Group traveled to Denver for a week of work in Denver’s inner city, and doing some street ministry. Youth leader, Gary Morse, and Youth Pastor Intern Jared Gustafson led them. The next summer a group went to Minneapolis, Minnesota and met Jared for a week of work that included the Salvation Army Rescue Mission. In 1999, Justin Jenison became full time Youth Pastor at FBC and took a group to the Young Life Camp in California for a workweek during Spring Break of 2000. The FBC youth group , consisting of 14 youth and 5 adults, made a trip to the country of Belize to serve with Gospel Missionary Union for 10 days in

First Baptist Church has had at least two ladies Missionary organizations.

The oldest one was the Ladies Auxiliary. It was organized in the home of Mrs. George Cutler on July 22, 1924. The first president of the group was Mrs. Ethel Simms. There were about 40 charter members, because the membership was held open for a year. Four Charter members were still active in 1970 –Julia Havenga, Mabel Kline, Elizabeth Kline and Myrtle Miller. The second group was the Maranatha Women, organized in 1958 by Louise Duggan to accommodate the ladies who worked during the day. It met on alternate Tuesday afternoons at the church, while the Auxiliary met on Thursday afternoons in various homes. Olive Jean Smith was the first President of Maranatha.

The Women’s Auxiliary
The Society was organized on Dec 7, 1928

This is a list of the members, 1928-1930:
Ambrose, Belle
Ambrose, Mrs George
Babb, Mrs. John
Babb, Nell
Bailey, Mrs.Virgil
Breeze, Mrs
Brown, Cecil
Brown, Lillian
Campbell, Lucy
Colburn, Elisabeth
Cook, Lovey
Cook, Mrs. Edgar
Craig, Mrs Lew
Cross, Mrs.
Cutler, Clara Belle
Davis, Mollie
Davis, Mollie
Davis, Nina
Draper, Katherine
Draper, Mrs. William
Dresser Mrs. E. L.
Dresser, Ruby
Featherston, Mrs
Field, Mrs Selah
French, Jessie
French, Mrs. Clarence
Fuss, Mrs. Conrad
Gambell, Myrtle
Gibbs, Margaret
Haines, Carrie
Hansen, May
Hardy, Mrs.
Havenga, Julia
Huff, Pauline
Irick, Mrs
Jandos, Mrs
Johnson, Irene
Kendall, Marie
Kerzt, May
Kline Elizabeth
Kline, Mabel
Kline, Olive
Lawson, Bessie
Lloyd, Mrs. John
Martin, Ida
McCowan, Margaret
McGinnis Mrs. John Sr.
McGinnis, Mrs. J. H
Medlock, Jessie
Miller Mrs. W. H.
Miller, Francis
Mobby, Mrs.
Morrison, Mrs. LA
Parfet, Stella
Pelican, Mrs.
Smay,Mrs. Frank
Poland, Daisy
Ratcliff, Ethel
Sammon, Mrs
Schrader, Mrs.
Self, Floy
Short, Laura
Shunk, Mrs.
Simms, Ethel
Stockton, Myrtle
Struble, Mrs AR
Thomas, Tessie
Twight, Pebble
Van Dorn, Myrtie
Van Skike, Mrs
Welch Mrs Bertram
Welch, Lillian
Wiley, Adele