Pastor Tim Lacock and family are settling into their new home in Ferron where he is the new Minister for the Ferron Independent Baptist Church located just off State Street on 100 North. Tim, Tammy, Tina, T.J., and Tyler will live in the apartment above the church, along with their dog, Tubby, and Teddy two, their fish. They call themselves the Five “Ts”.
Tim and Tammy met at the Wilds Christian Camp and Conference Center in North Carolina (where Tammy’s father was the Pastor) when Tim was a senior in college and “she was still in high school and very young.” Even though they saw each other many times at that camp and others, they didn’t start dating until Tammy was completing college. They eventually became camp directors for that camp and also WILDS of the Rockies Center in Colorado. Their most recent home and work station was at the Lucerne Camp and Christian Center in northern California.
The Lacocks experiences may be a help if needed to the ranch that is owned by the Ferron Baptist Church where Rick Benson is the camp director and Lenny Parlo is the program director. This popular ranch is a ministry of the church where four or five youth groups and leaders, usually from throughout Utah, consisting of up to 50 at a time, stay each summer for a week or so, for just a nominal fee for meals and housing. Other groups come to help on construction and various projects; people from states as far away as Washington, California, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Nebraska. Members of the church are involved as much as they can be. They help with meal preparation and sometimes house visitors. They helped initially with the fencing, restoring, and building that has been done.
Pastor Lacock has seen much of the world. He was born in Washington state, soon moved to North Carolina, and then spent his growing up years in Hong Kong and Taiwan where his parents were missionaries. When asked if he spoke Chinese, he answered, “Su Su,” which means a little bit. He then went on to explain people of Hong Kong generally speak Cantonese and the language of mainland China and Taiwan is Mandarin. In very populous, high rise Hong Kong, his parents conducted “roof top ministries” and in Taiwan they started and held mostly home church ministries.
He always knew he would be attending Bob Jones University in Greenville, S.C., since both his parents were graduates of there. Then he went on into seminary and planned to go into missionary aviation, but felt called to change his direction and graduated with his degree in missions, then went on to get his masters in pastorial studies.
Church Deacon, Ray “Pete” Petersen, told of the many services and programs that Lacock will be conducting as the new Pastor. Besides the Sunday School at 10 a.m., and Sunday Worship Service, at 11 a.m., the congregation meets for a “body building service” at 6 p.m. each Sunday. “A very close time of Christian fellowship,” explained Petersen. The church has held a bible study with and for the residents of the Emery County Care and Rehabilitation Center in Ferron every Wed., for several years. There is a Wednesday night prayer and Bible study at the church at 7 p.m. At that same time is Master’s Club for kids where the teens take charge and read bible stories, pledge to the flag, pray, and have activities for an hour or so. The ladies have a monthly bible study group which meets on the 2nd Tues., of each month.
One of the most exciting activities are the Teen Rallies that are normally a one day outing held every month hosted at the various churches throughout Utah. Even though the youth group at Ferron is small still, usually about twelve attending, the draw to the rallies is about 70 with fun activities for teens and leaders, a meal, and hearing God’s Word.
The church just held its annual mother and daughter day and also the men and boys camp-out “out on the reef.” Vacation Bible School for children 4-years-old to those finishing 6th grade was held June 10. “This annual event is always an exciting, well planned time that gives kids in the community something special to do,” Petersen explained. “Another outreach ministry is the jail ministry which Bill Cranford has been doing faithfully for years.”
Petersen says that he sees “no sweeping changes, but to make many disciples for Jesus Christ to reach the lost. This church was started as a mission’s church 25 years ago as part of Northwest Baptist.”
The vision for the church at this time as Pastor Lacock sees it is to transform from a missions church to one that is totally independent, “where the people of the church learn to see what the Lord wants them to do with their own lives and be willing and more effective witnesses among their own families and acquaintances.” As Lacock and his family get settled in, they hope to open many doors to ministry in this area. “We also hope this church can be a source of long term help and encouragement to other Baptist churches around the state of Utah; helping with projects and programs, speaking and teaching as needed. Maybe even use the ranch for pastor’s retreats and missionaries from the field to have a place to recharge. We just hosted a Pastor’s Conference, for 25 pastors mostly from Utah, who toured the ranch, and heard two great speakers from North Land Baptist Bible College which gave the men more tools to use and charge them up.”
At this time the Ferron church is growing steadily; there are about 35 members and usually between 30-50 at Sunday Services. Pastor Lacock and his family are enjoying meeting the people of the county and getting to see some of the scenic areas surrounding his new ministry in Ferron.
New Pastor Settles in at Ferron Baptist Church
