Sunday evening, May 21, became a special evening in the life of Daniels Road Baptist Church in Fort Myers, Florida. The church commissioned one of its own couples, Stan and DeRonda Haynes, as short-term missionaries to Word of Life Hungary.
Both Stan and DeRonda have faithfully served in various capacities at the church. Stan—chairman of the deacons, treasurer, Sunday School superintendent, head of the men’s ministry, participant in the missions committee, and chairman of the pastoral search committee—has distinguished himself as a humble servant of the Lord. DeRonda, a real estate paralegal, is loved as a favorite Sunday School teacher by her primary class. She also teaches in the church’s ESL program every Wednesday evening, and has initiated and maintained a monthly missionary prayer calendar, collecting and summarizing prayer requests for each day of the month. In spite of a heavy work schedule, she has participated in the women’s ministry and serves as a godly role model for other women.
The Hayneses recently retired from their employment and offered themselves to serve the Lord in missions.
The service began with a graduation ceremony for several students of the church’s ESL program. The students read aloud Romans 5:8 in English and then in their native languages. Two of the students testified of the value of the program in their lives.
After Pastor Mike Banks introduced Stan and DeRonda Haynes and told how God had led them to Word of Life Hungary, he asked Chris Hindal, a close friend and former pastor who now serves as director of Regular Baptist International, to give the charge to the church. Al Green, a close friend and former deacon, followed with a charge to the Hayneses. Pastor Mike outlined the Biblical precedent for a church to send out its own as missionaries, citing Acts 13. The deacons and their wives joined Pastor Mike and his wife as they laid hands on Stan and DeRonda on behalf of the congregation. Stan expressed his appreciation to the congregation and told how humbling it is to represent the Lord and Daniels Road Baptist Church in Hungary.