Dear Friends in Faith,
    An end of an era has come with the sale of the Grace and Truth Chapel in Baldwin, Michigan. This building was constructed over 50 years ago under the leadership of Pastor Dirk Venlet, who did much of the work himself. He was a courageous teacher of the evangel of God’s grace, and firmly upheld the truth of universal reconciliation through the blood of Christ’s cross.
    On the evening of October 21, 1951, Brother Venlet preached a sermon in the Baldwin chapel on 1 Timothy 4:10. Following are some of his comments from that message:

    Faithful is the saying: This is a saying of God, and that it what makes it faithful. There is nothing that is more sure and certain.
    Worthy of all welcome: We should welcome what God has said, especially since there are so many things said by man that are constantly proved unfaithful.
    We rely on the living God: The living God is faithful. That means He is trustworthy; you can believe what He says. That is the reason Paul used the word “rely.”
    We do not look for evidence on the outside. Visible evidence may prove to be contrary, but Paul relies on the living God.

    Who is the Saviour of all mankind: Since God is the Saviour, He is going to save mankind in His own way, time and method. God is the Saviour, and He sets the standard. God cannot put His faith in any human being’s ability to save himself, but man can and will be saved through the faith of Christ, Who never for one moment failed to have faith in His Father.
    Especially of believers: We are not working, but believing. Suppose you work a week, and your employer pays you and says, “Here is a gift I’m giving you.” You would say, “I worked for this; it isn’t a gift.” In grace are you saved, through faith, and this is not of ourselves (Eph.2:8). “To him who is not working, yet is believing on Him Who is justifying the irreverent, his faith is reckoned for righteousness” (Rom.4:5).

    The 16-page paper, Faith Fellowship, (issued quarterly, P.O. Box 3616, Kalamazoo, MI 49003) was part of Brother Venlet’s ministry, and is still prepared and mailed out without charge by his widow, Gertrude Venlet. The current issue contains our brother’s message entitled “Identity with Christ,” based on 2 Timothy 2:11. A number of his tracts are still available from us or from the Faith Fellowship address above, including his testimony “Christ Jesus, my Lord.”

    There will be a day of fellowship in Kitchener/Waterloo, Ontario on November 9. Tony will be in California helping at the Concordant Publishing Concern for much of the month.

    We have heard from several sources about the stand of an influential church leader in Oklahoma for the truth of the salvation of all. This is Bishop Carlton Pearson of Tulsa Oklahoma, who evidently has reached this conclusion on the basis of the finished work of Christ at Calvary. We certainly rejoice to hear of this testimony and pray that God will use it to open may hearts to this truth.

Yours in God’s grace and peace,
Dean Hough and Tony Nungesser