This site is about four great Pioneers of the Faith; four men who gave their lives to planting, building and pastoring churches in Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana. One of these men planted his life in the enterprise of building the church of the Lord Jesus Christ – both the body of believers and the church buildings. The buildings that he built cannot be compared with the great cathedrals of Europe such as Notre Dame in Paris with its majestic towers and bells; the Westminster Abbey in London with its famous spires and tombs of famous people. These structures were built over centuries at enormous financial cost, and today are primarily tourist attractions.
Nevertheless, the churches that this man built are some of the greatest churches in the world – all of which are in Kentucky and Indiana. They are great churches because they were there to say: “We are here for Jesus’ sake to minister to the needs of the people, to preach the gospel – to change lives to see people saved and started on a new path in life.” They continue to say that today. They are great churches!
This man organized the congregations and led them in building the church houses. He personally led hundreds of people to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, baptized them, ministered to them, and served as their pastor. His name was Robert Edward Sasser. He was a Southern Baptist, a pioneer, a missionary, and a preacher. He was a builder of churches. He was my father. It is also about his wife, Maud Muller Estep Sasser, for without her he could not accomplished what he did.
And it is impossible to tell the story of my father’s thirty‐five years in the ministry without including V.B. Castleberry, Audley Turner and C.E. Wiley, and I would not want to do so. Thus, in this book I will attempt to describe what I believe was God’s purpose for four men’s destiny and how God wove events into their lives that have affected the past, present and future of Southern Baptist in the State of Indiana and tens of thousands of individual lives in Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana. |
