New Beginning, Ministry, Dr. Lewis R. Woodard Ministries

Doughnuts have played an important part in my life! Doughnuts? Yes, doughnuts! One morning back in 1971 after buying some doughnuts the lady behind the counter (Marie Hamilton) handed me a Gospel tract titled "The End Of The World" by Oliver B. Greene . When I got to the car I told my wife I had gotten something besides doughnuts. I told her "You can read it if you want to, but I'm not about to". That night while camping out, in a tent, there was a terrible storm. My wife had read the tract and was a "little" worried because of the thunder and lightning.

A few days after the camping trip on our way to work we decided to stop and get some doughnuts. I said to my wife "I'm not going in there!". So, my wife went in and Marie gave her another tract and invited her to church. We started stopping by the same doughnut shop every morning (the best doughnuts you ever tasted). After several invitations from Marie to attend church my wife finally went. One night when she came home after church, she didn't have to say a word. I said "you got saved tonight, didn't you?". She said yes and asked me if I would like to be a Christian. I said I was already a Christian! I explained that since I lived in a Christian country, I was as much a Christian as she was. (I of course knew what I had said wasn't true.)

My wife kept inviting me to church, told me how she got saved, (gave me the verses), but I had made up my mind I was not going to be "tricked". After several months, some relatives (you guessed it) of Bill and Marie Hamilton, owners of the doughnut shop, became friends of ours. I was invited to church for a special week of services by the friends. Rather than hurt their feelings I went the first night. Nothing happened. I wanted to make sure nothing happened, so I didn't go the second night. The third night I was feeling pretty confident so I went. The moment I walked into the church, I knew something was wrong. That night I really don't know what the evangelist preached. All I know is when the invitation was given I went forward. While kneeling at the front, I waited for the Pastor to show me the verses my wife had been shown who in turn had shown them to me. He (the Pastor) was reading Romans 3:23 (KJV) , and I said "I know all of that. How about going to chapter 10?" He started reading Romans 10:9 (KJV) , and my eyes went to verse 13 (Romans 10:13 (KJV) . After he finished reading he asked me if I would like to ask Jesus to come into my heart? I told him I already had asked Jesus into my heart as he was reading chapter 10. A few hours later it really dawned on me what had really happened: I was on my way to Heaven! The joy of the Lord flooded my heart!

I was soon on a bus route that I started and was bringing souls to Jesus. I kept driving the bus and also started teaching a Junior class in Sunday School. Next came being assistant Youth Pastor. After attending a bus conference at the Thomas Road Baptist Church I started a Children's Church for the kids coming in on the buses (some of the older congregation needed "relief" from the youngsters, so, the Children's Church was started.).

While attending the bus conference at Thomas Road, God started speaking to my heart about Bible School. Within a few months my family and I were in Lynchburg, Virginia where I attended the Thomas Road Bible Institute. Immediately upon graduation my family and I moved to Logan, West Virginia and founded Logan Baptist Temple. God blessed the ministry in Logan giving us a
Christian School, Bible Institute and above all: souls being saved to His honor and Glory!

(Over 200 attended our first anniversary. Pictured here are some of those who attended.)

Lewis R. Woodard

(The preceding was written over 20 years ago.)

"Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14