Never too old to serve the Lord
John and Bonita Watts were not the type of people to sit at home and watch television. “They were a pastor’s dream,” said Steve Lewis, pastor of Tulsa, Parkview, where the Wattses were members for more than 30 years. Parkview members have great appreciation for both John, 92, and Bonita, 77, and their reputations of being active in serving. The church is now grieving as the couple died after an automobile accident that didn’t...
After 36 years, Lynn still competing in Special Olympics
U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps won a record 28 Olympic medals during his career, 10 more than his closest competitor, Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina with 18. Compare that achievement with an athlete residing in Oklahoma City who has garnered hundreds of ribbons and medals, not only in swimming, but also in weight lifting, gymnastics, track, cross country and downhill skiing and snowboarding, as well as in the team sports of...
Retired missionary claims Baptist legacy as her inheritance
Frank Coy has a framed copy of his “cradle roll” certificate, which shows he was in church at a very young age. He was raised by Christian parents and was called to preach when he was 18. But his wife, the former Betty Burleson, has a different heritage. Raised in a poor neighborhood in southwest Oklahoma City, neither her parents nor grandparents were Christians. She never went to Sunday School or darkened the door of a church until...
Crafted by God: Late Oklahoma Baptist missionary is genius behind WorldCrafts
As women gathered in Betty Butcher’s stilt house in Bangkla, Thailand in the 1980s, they could not imagine the simple sewing practice Butcher was teaching them would grow into a modern-day worldwide business that helps hundreds of people lift themselves from the throes of poverty. Butcher and her husband, Orby, a medical doctor, served 22 years as International Mission Board missionaries in Thailand. While Butcher was searching for a...
Spencer’s baptism just one of many amazing stories at Coweta, Community
COWETA—This is Spencer Shamas’ story. But it’s also the story of a church plant in a small Oklahoma town that is making a big impact. Let’s start with Shamas. Shamas was born in Okmulgee, where he grew up attending the Lutheran church, playing sports and was a curious soul trying to understand life. A deep thinker, he was always inquisitive, wondering how things worked and what might be beneficial to him. For example, at age 14, he...
