Special to the Herald

North Newington Baptist Church hosted a brotherhood of believers June 10.  Men from Springfield, Kildare, Oliver, Newington, and Sylvania came together to honor one of their own, Mike Evans of Newington.  Evans was recently diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

The chairman of deacons Bill Smith and the men’s Sunday school class, decided to host a low country boil to honor Evans for his faithful service to the community, both mechanically and spiritually. What started out with about eight men, quickly turned into over 110 men present. Ellis Meats, from Statesboro, prepared a meal for everyone.

After the meal, all of the men gathered in the church’s sanctuary, for a few testimonies. Because it has recently become difficult for Mike to speak, he asked Austin Rodewolt to share the Gospel message with all the men, for him. Mike wanted to be sure that everyone present knew that God loved them, and that Jesus died for their sins. Austin did a great job speaking for Mike. Following the message, we were all blessed to hear stories about Mike, from his son Matt Evans and Christopher Rodewolt. 

As the pastor of North Newington Baptist Church, I am thankful for the great turn out from the men in our community.  Mike Evans has been a staple of our community his entire life. He has repaired countless cars at his shop through the years and shared the truth of God’s Word with everyone who walked through his door.

The theme for the night was, “Thanks Mike for all of the mechanical and spiritual tune-ups”