Staff Report. June 2, 2011. BLOWING ROCK -- Quite literally, the Men's Connection Bible Study Breakfast group will have a very special Guest when it meets on Monday, July 11, at Chetola Mountain Resort & Spa.  Everyone is invited, men and women, and there is  no cost.

Each year, the Men's Connection group hosts a special meeting, inviting spouses and friends to hear a guest speaker.  For 2011, that guest speaker is The Rev. Dr. John Guest.

Men's Connection organizer and Blowing Rock resident Tucker Yates told Blowing Rock News, "Dr. Guest was born in Oxford, England where, at the age of 18 while studying to be an engineer, he attended a Billy Graham crusade & committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ. He was ordained some years later & shortly thereafter moved to the United States as part of the Christian Rock Band, 'The Exkursions.'

"He began his ministry in Pittsburgh some 40 years ago," Yates continued. "He was dedicated to help make that city 'as famous for God as it was for steel.' He served as Senior Pastor of St. Stephens Episcopal Church for more than 20 years & of Christ Church at Grove Farm for 15 years, both located in Sewickley, PA."

Yates went on to say that as President of the John Guest Evangelistic Team for over 20 years, Dr. Guest & his team conducted city-wide crusades, traveling all over the US as well as to Albania, Romania, Cuba, Ukraine, Ghana, & West Africa, reaching over 1,500,000 people. "One of our Men's Connection members here in Blowing Rock has known John Guest for over 35 years & happily recalls hearing him speak at the Norfolk, VA. coliseum one night.  He had teamed up with Tony Evans, the equally dynamic evangelist from Texas. This person says the contrast between the tall, white Brit & the short African-American Texan, not only in appearance but style, was incredibly dynamic: both enjoyable & effective!"

Dr. Guest has been widely involved in Christian outreach, serving as co-founder of Trinity School for Ministry, a seminary in the Pittsburgh area; was a participant in the Lausanne Committee on World Evangelism; & co-founded the South American Missionary Society. Additionally, he was a founding leader of the Coalition for Christian Outreach (CCO). Officially retired, he continues as Minister-at-Large with Christ Church at Grove Farm & Chaplain at Ocean Reef Community in the Florida Keys, speaking widely throughout the country.

"Perhaps the mark of John Guest's ministry," Yates concluded, "is his uncompromising, thoroughly evangelical, preaching style. He has been called 'the thinking person's evangelist,' a term that rightly describes his gift for combining brilliant apologetics with a powerful speaking style. Dr. Guest has authored 10 books on the Christian lifestyle & is currently working on his memoirs."

All members of the Men's Connection extend a warm invitation to attend this meeting. John Guest is literally an unforgettable speaker, & you will be bountifully blessed by hearing him!`

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