RON BACK FAMILY

SERVING IN AUSTRALIA

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 Ron Birthday 07/09
Laura Birthday 03/27
Ron & Laura Wedding Anniversary 08/07

My name is Ron Back. When I was eight years old, a missionary from a local independent Baptist church in Pierceton, Indiana, invited my brothers and me to church.  My parents enjoyed the thought of having a break from us boys every Sunday, so they encouraged us to go with the missionary family.  Shortly after this first encounter with Bro. and Mrs. Ernie Mason, I received Christ as my Saviour in Junior Church in 1980. I believe, even though I was only eight years old, that God put the desire in my heart to be a missionary, but since my family was not saved nor in a local church, Satan was able to quench that call.

My young adult years were spent out of church.  I did not get scripturally baptized until 1994 while I was attending a Baptist church in Rancho Santa Marguerita, California, during my enlistment in the United States Marine Corps.  Shortly after I was baptized, God called me a second time to the mission field under a missionary to Australia.  I went to the pastor and inquired of him about missions.  I thought God wanted me to go build churches physically with hammer and nails, not by preaching.  My pastor told me that we did not support missionaries except the kind that go and preach the Gospel and win souls to Christ, building the churches with people, not materials.  I was convinced that I was not the missionary type because I did not think I could talk or preach to large groups of people.

When my enlistment in the USMC was up, I chose to be a husband and a father instead of a career soldier.  We went back to Warsaw, Indiana, where my family was and decided to start our family there also.  Within two weeks of getting back to Warsaw in the spring of 1996, we found Open Bible Baptist Church, pastored by Sam Carns, a Hyles-Anderson College graduate.  I thought that I had finally found a home that would be permanent for my whole family.

In May of 1996, Layne Jones, a missionary to the Philippines, preached at my home church of the need for more missionaries.  This time I realized God’s call on my life. I immediately responded to the invitation and surrendered to be a missionary.  Within just a few months, I understood that God wanted me to go to Australia.

Open Bible Baptist Church
21 EMS B61b Lane
Warsaw, IN 46582
(574)834-7473
fbchammond.com

Information Packet

CONTACT

Phone Number		 (574) 216-9130
Mailing Address		 Ron Back
507 State Street
Hammond, IN 46320
Field Address		 51 Queen St. Moe, Vic, 3825 Australia

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  • Mark and Sabrina Holmes Prayer Letter: Conference, Family, and Current Events

    Mark and Sabrina Holmes Prayer Letter: Conference, Family, and Current EventsConferences/Camps

    At the beginning of November, I traveled with Missionary Evangelists Jim Belisle and Denton Bell for a special meeting in Ibadan. I was honored to preach the anniversary service at Independent Baptist Church of Ijokodo, which had been planted 38 years before by my missions mentor who eventually hosted our survey trip, Missionary Mark Sigstad. At the anniversary and during that Tuesday’s pastors’ fellowship, touching tributes were made to Bro. and Mrs. Sigstad, who graduated to Heaven in July. At the end of the month, a Thanksgiving service was held at Truth Baptist Church as the start of our Spirit Renewal Meeting with Evangelist Paul Schwanke; this was the second time for him to preach a revival and teach two days at our college. Victoria and I had our flight to Tanzania while Bro. Schwanke was departing for America. The second S.M.I.T.E. in Morogoro was a great success, and we are privileged to partner with the Wyatts in these Youth Camps.

    Family News

    New and old traditions were kept during Thanksgiving and Christmas. For the second time, our family traveled about five hours by road with the Langs and Ms. Pat Hamburg to celebrate Turkey Day hosted by the Youngs (who worked with us for nearly two years) in Jos. The week was filled with great fellowship, a chili cookoff, football games, and an old-fashioned holiday dinner. In December, our family used Christmas Eve for gift exchanging and a special breakfast, because Christmas Day was fairly busy with a morning service at Truth Baptist and then a missionary fellowship at our home with chili and gumbo. Sabrina and I stayed up very late that evening so that we could be on a video call to witness our oldest child Joseph proposing to his now-fiancée, Joy Waddington. We are thrilled to soon “officially” have Joy as a part of the Holmes family. New Year’s Eve allowed us to welcome our second son Brian for his first visit back to Nigeria, just in time to fulfill another tradition of spending a few festive nights at an area hotel.

    Current Events

    Nigeria continues to be highlighted in the news as the world is increasingly made more aware of the persecutions and regional conflicts occurring throughout the country. Especially during this time, please consider our City of Refuge; this ministry to persecuted peoples is now rehabilitating 13 families who have been affected by the insecurity in surrounding areas. Through our work, 11 former Muslims have been enrolled as students in our Bible college, and we have seen the first graduates leave Abuja and plant churches in 3 areas where no Baptist church had been started before. Pray that we can get a few offerings or monthly supports for this ministry, since the requests for help have been increasing. We’re grateful for your partnership!

    Click here for prayer-letter video updates.

    Believing God,

    Mark Holmes
    Written 31 December 2025
    WhatsApp +1.228.209.4625

    Published On: January 6th, 2026Tags: ,

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