Let The Birthday Celebration Begin

Hello Friends, Happy Saturday. This is Odie writing today and I want to use my Saturday post to wish a very special someone a Happy 50th Birthday. My Dad's big day is coming up next week and I can not allow it to pass without some fanfare.

I have wracked my brain for months trying to come up with a good birthday post for this big day. It is hard to top all the special birthday posts Dad has done for mom and me in the past but I want to give it a good effort.

I decided I would start the celebration of his birthday a little early. I will not turn this into a week long birthday bash, but a couple of days will not hurt. My awesome Dad deserves to be celebrated and honored. 

 

Happy 50th Birthday, Daddy, I love you so much!!!! You are amazing and I am so proud of you! Thank you for your Godly influence upon my life. I hope your 50th Birthday is fabulous!!

I reached out to some friends and family members to join in today's blog post. Thanks to everyone for your help! I could not have put this together without you.

I am going to let them finish the blog with their birthday wishes. I hope you enjoy what they have to say to my Dad and about my Dad. 

Have a good weekend. The Blog Birthday Bash continues on Monday with many special friends, so stay tuned for more. 

Odie

Found you a new saying, Dad 

 

Happy birthday! I love you, Uncle Davy!

Seth

Happy Birthday Davy! I hope you have a great one!!

Jeanna 

Davy,

Happy birthday!  So blessed to have you for a brother!!!:). 

Kim

Happy birthday, Uncle Davy! Hope your day is great. Love you! 

Courtney 

Happy birthday!!! Hope your birthday is as amazing as you! Your my favorite Davy ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Love, your favorite Morgan ever!!!!

Davy, "50 is the new 40 so you're just now getting over the hill." 

Danny 

Happy birthday hope it's the best.  

Wade

Happy Birthday, Davy. We love you and are so thankful for you. 

Your other Mom and Dad. (Betty and Danny)

Happy Birthday Uncle Davy! Love you a lot! 

Kayla 

Happy Birthday, Uncle Davy!

Hunter

Happy 50th Birthday, Dear Cousin Davy!!! So thankful for you! I love you, Cousin. 

Lisa 

Happy 50th birthday, Uncle Davy!!!! 

I love you!

Isaac 

Happy 50th birthday, friend, cousin, and brother in Christ. We admire and respect you for the life you and your beautiful family have chosen. May God bless you and give you many more years.  

Love and prayers,

George and Diana Boggs 

Happy Birthday, Uncle Davy! Thank you for your example and impacting my life more than you could ever imagine. Love you!

Victor Boy

Happy Birthday, Uncle Davy!!! Happy 50th!! I love you-

Luke

Happy Birthday, Uncle Davy! Love you so so much! I hope you have a wonderful day! 
-Lauren

Dear Davy,  This is a short note is to wish you a very happy 50th birthday. Welcome to the 5th decade!!!  I knew you when you were little and growing up, little cousin. You were still young, I think 9, when Othón and I got married but I remember you as a sweet young man back then. You are a man who is strong in God and I admire you, Kelly, and Odie for being steadfast and living for the Lord.  Don’t forget to let us know if and when you’re driving through El Paso so we can meet up and/or make you and your family some dinner.  I love you little cousin and I hope to see you soon. On your way to the 6th decade now, there’s no avoiding it!!!  Love,

Terry and Othón

Happy Birthday Uncle Davy,

Simply wanted to wish you a wonderful day. Thank you for all of the talks and advice you have given me over the years. To pick one thing I truly admire about you is hard but I'd have to say that your passion for souls is a major one. Enjoy your birthday Monday in (hopefully) sunny Alabama. If I was home I'd go enjoy some salsa for you:)) 

Love you bunches,

Deidre (your favorite niece!!!)

Davy, you have been an inspiration to me with your Ministry.  You are my favorite middle brother in law on my wife's side..  lol 
Happy Birthday! Brother!!

Jay

Happy 50th birthday Davy, 

Dad and I are so proud of you and the man God has made out of you. And what He has allowed you to do  for Him. May you have a blessed and prosperous year as you minister for Him. Our love and prayers always. 

Mom and Dad

     I remember the day Davy came home from the hospital. He was always fun to play with because he was tiny. His legs were a little short, he was a good bit smaller than me and I could pick him up, wrestle him, love him, hurt him, bury him or throw him. I remember he really liked cookies. A perfect companion for a "husky" boy like me. 

    We loved playing ball, mostly baseball or variations thereof. We'd have epic games in the yard with "ghost man on first" and house rules to hinder us from clobbering the ball continually. We had a field in the side yard and a bigger one on the front when we had more players. We were between 9 and 13 when the Big Red machine was in its prime. 

  Really though, Davy was a better boy than me and grew to be a very fine man. As teens, I dismissed much about God even though I still had to go to church. Davy got saved and God called him to preach at a very young age, I thought he was wasting his life away while I was doing what I thought life was all about. 

    He was a young man who also made mistakes, sinned, was forgiven, was foolish at times, but learned. God made a real man of him over the years, a man so worthy of my love and respect that I knew I'd never make a man like that. He has always been kind to me even when, as a young man myself, I gave him ZERO credit for anything he did for God. 

  Now, belatedly saved, I love him so deeply and thankfully for the super example he has been for me. I want to live a life that honors God as his does. He is authentic in an illusory age. A hero to me when I consider the life he leads. 
   Davy, the first fifty years have been inspiring to your eldest brother beyond any way you might guess. I love you and your beautiful girls. Happy Birthday!

Steve

Davy, you are loved so much!!! I am so proud of you! I hope you have a wonderful Birthday!! Love you, 

Theresa 

Happy "50th" Birthday, Brother.  

First and foremost… I love you. Secondly, I'm extremely proud of you and the ministry God has placed upon you and your family.  The burden and your endurance to see souls saved is evident.  Many people have big hearts, big dreams, and wishes to do what you have been doing for so many years.  Yet most are unaware of all the ups and downs, the consistency of inconsistency, a schedule that can change "like maybe today", faith (real faith) that cannot afford to bend, the tears, the worries, the stresses... The list could go on and on.  With God, you handle it and are blessed for it. I guess I'm just trying to say that I appreciate who you are and all you do, even though I wish you were around home more.  Here's to wishing my big brother a big, happy birthday with love!

~Tommy, Holly and Jonas~

  Well, well... You're 50 today???

As one of my oldest and dearest friends, I want to wish you a happy birthday Brother. You've always had my back, in the good times and the bad and I love you for that. 

  I remember some of my best blessings while with you buddy.  First time I ever shouted in the spirit, you were there. Remember?  It was in the loft of the old barn that Mayor Purkey let us use to have prayer and then camp out in.  I miss those innocent days man. We've laughed till we cried so many times, and there were times when we thought we'd never laugh again, but here we are, both in our 50's and still have laughter in us man. 

  Love ya more than you'll ever know and your friendship means more than I could ever express in words. 

May this year be your best ever!!!  Love ya Brother. 

David Riddell

Happy birthday Davy!  You're a great blessing to the body of Christ. Your vision for souls is inspiring and challenging to me. Have a great 50th! 

-EJ Lamb

Dear Bro. Boggs,

  I was delighted to hear about your birthday, and the opportunity to help join in the celebration. God has used you in a mighty way in the life of my family, and we now joy in your day.  

  You have been instrumental in the godly direction my family has gone. I believe God has used you to help keep us faithful in our work for Him. We have learned about faith, devotion, and service from your ministry. It could be said that I am strong, wiser, and better because of what God has done through you.

  The way I can call you and ask anything of you is priceless. You have been a helper in prayer, teaching, and advice. My hope is that our children will get to experience the blessings of your ministry in the same or greater ways that Leah and I have experienced. 

  By the way, thank you again for tying the knot between my wife and I. It is safe to say, the knot isn't going to ever come undone.  

 With Great Love And Respect,

Nathan Jeffreys

Tacos Tijuana!!!  We have loved all the great times we've shared in and out of church with you, you are a wonderful friend and have truly blessed us so many times... have the best birthday ever! 50!!!! We are getting old bro...

Your friends Tito and Robin Munoz

We all said "WOW Davy's 50??" 
Some many years ago when we met you and Kelly were just kids, and Odie hadn't even turned 5 yet. Where did the years go? One thing is you still have that special place in our families heart that will always be there. We have spent many enjoyable events not to mention the time you all lived in Franklin. When these old southern people were trying to make it up that snowy, icy hill after church one night. Davy says let me try, well needless to say the car slid into the street with traffic, then ended up against a tree. While all of us girls were trying to scurry up that hill, when I shouted "I'm falling, seriously I'm falling." Needless to say I survived that winter in Dayton. When I would come back for New Years service, Br. Benny would say "it's snowing outside, Sis. Whiffen". You go where God plants your roots, I would say I never have regretted God planting roots around the Boggs, always have been great friends, a wonderful attitude. So, I'll close with...

"Davy you are 50, that's just nifty". 

Enjoy every finger licking bit of it, make it a cheat day, so proud of all those shredded pounds you have worked so hard to part with, keep up the good work. God bless you with 50 more blessed years. 

  We love you, 

Chris and Linda Whiffen and all our family, those who call you uncle Davy.. too.

Reflections On City Reach

Reflections On City Reach

It seems like a cliche but it is true, it is very hard to believe that the year of City Reach has come and gone. What started as a dream that I only shared with family and friends, grew to include churches from California to North Carolina and a bunch of places in between. Now City Reach 2016 is behind us.

I finally became bold enough to begin talking about City Reach publicly in January 2014. By May of 2014 I posted about it here on Boggsblogs. (That original post is included below.) By September 2015 we had our first City Reach in Wichita, Kansas and by October 2016 we were having our last one in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

If not for the pictures, the stories I wrote down, the testimonies in my heart, Pastors that talk to me about it and many souls that were saved and delivered, it might still seem like a dream. It did start as a dream, but thank God it became a reality.

All of this became a reality because God's people made it so. Churches, Pastors and individuals prayed for us, supported us, protected us and promoted us way beyond normal and way beyond their own means at times. God used all these people to bring the Gospel to church lots, city parks, homeless camps and neighborhoods where people would hear the Word of God.

In absolutely every city, men and women that had never been inside the local sponsoring churches, came to the tent, heard the singing, heard the preaching and responded in the altar! That is exactly what we hoped would happen. That is exactly what happened each and every meeting.

We thank God for very soul that He saved. We thank God for every person that heard the Word. We thank God for every Pastor that was encouraged. We thank God for every saint that was strengthened. We thank God for every person that made one ounce of this possible. May God bless every one!

What Next?

As with many things in our lives and in our family ministry, I could not see much past 2016. I planned City Reach for that year and then expected things to get back to "normal" whatever that is. I suspected we could not keep the pace physically for more than a year so I envisioned going back to church revivals and "regular" tent revivals.

That is exactly what we are doing for now. 2017 will look a lot like many other years for us with a couple of notable exceptions that I will write about in the future. For the most part we will preach revivals, tent revivals and do our best to preach the Gospel faithfully and to be consistent in our practice of evangelism.

However, the further we went into 2016 and the more cities we visited with City Reach in 2016, the more we knew that 2016 would not, could not be the end of City Reach. Almost every city we set up in, wanted to see some version of City Reach return to their city in the future. Many of them wanted to do it again in 2017.

This much was plain to me, Kelly Jo and Bro. Jimmie; City Reach 2016 might be over, but the City Reach story was not near over. I am going to do some tent revivals in 2017, less than normal because of other commitments, and then in 2018 we will venture back into some of the cities we visited in 2016 and probably a few new ones.

I may never do a full year of City Reach from February to the end of October but who knows? God knows we are willing. I really believe that five or six cities each year are entirely doable. The cities that really desire to bring their churches together and reach for the lost in their communities, will find us willing to come along side with the Blue and White Gospel Tent to do our part in singing, preaching and reaching.

Honestly, by this point in 2017, our 2018 schedule would usually be pretty set. And although I do have many things in place, I am doing my best to be sensitive to God's voice and flexible to His will. I can think of no better place to be than in some inner city preaching the Gospel and watching hungry souls respond.

I have not given up on New York City. I have not given up on Los Angeles. I have not given up on Washington DC. I have not given up on Nashville. I have not given up on many other cities that I have prayed for an opening. Who knows what the end will be?

Unexpected By Product

A totally unexpected byproduct of City Reach is the relationships that were born, bloomed and blessed all year long. Another unexpected byproduct is all the doors that God opened as a result.

Bro. Jimmie Radcliffe started 2016 with us as a very good friend that I trusted very much. When he rolled out of the Lazy OD Ranch in his truck and trailer in November, I leaned up against the barn and cried. He was now my very dear brother pulling out and heading for Oklahoma.

Sometimes you like people a lot from a distance. You admire lots of qualities about them and you desire to know them better. But, as you actually get to know them better, you sometimes notice rough edges and blemishes in the facade the closer you look.

That was not the case with Bro. Jimmie. The longer he was with us in City Reach, the more we loved him and the more we wanted him to stay. We miss him every day and we are anxious to join up with him again in the future.

The Pastors in every city that worked closely with us will always have a dear place in our hearts. Many of them were already our friends, but laboring for souls together brought us closer.

Not only were existing relationships strengthened and expanded, but we met new friends as well. Our lives have been deeply enriched by these newly formed connections.

The sweet friendship with Pastor Johnson George, his wife Sis. Binu and the wonderful church in Phoenix is a good example. We are bound together with these saints for life and Pastor George has also opened an awesome door of opportunity in India for us.

Our new friendship and kinship with Pastor Ivan Hardyal, his precious family and church in Queens, New York is another example. I can not imagine not having them in our lives now. They have been knit to our heart.

The open door in Valley Stream, New York on Long Island with Pastor Sunny Philip and his dear wife and all of his church and fellowship is a third example. They have welcomed us into their hearts and many open doors have opened to us in upstate New York, Guyana and other places because of it.

Just yesterday I received a call from a brother completely apart from our Pentecostal fellowship asking for us to come and sing and preach in his church for a special meeting. I do not know yet if we will be able to squeeze it in this year but the fact that they want us to come, thrills us to no end.

All of these and much, much more are unexpected byproducts of the vision that God placed upon us for City Reach. I am more sure now than ever that the story of City Reach 2016 may be closing but the story of City Reach is not over at all, in fact, I have a sneaking suspicion that the story is just beginning.

Thank you for joining with us. Thank you for praying for us. Thank you for rejoicing with us as well! Below I have posted the original announcement of City Reach, many links from City Reach and a few thoughts I wrote along the way. I hope you enjoy.

Thank you for stopping in today.

Davy

Our Original Dream

City Reach is the manifestation of our burden for souls in our cities. We desire to join with local churches and ministries to reach people that are not coming into the sanctuaries we have prepared for them. Our choirs have practiced, our preachers have prepared and yet there is a certain number of people that are not coming to hear the message.

They will often come under the tent. When they come under the tent they will hear the message of the Gospel and they will have a chance to respond. When they respond, God will save, heal and deliver. We have witnessed it hundreds of times and now we are witnessing it in our cities.

The post below is the original announcement of City Reach 2016 and some of my reasons and vision for it. For updates on City Reach you can click on these links below. Some of them have links within for more information concerning particular City Reach campaigns. We are so excited about City Reach and others are letting us know they are excited too. We can not wait to see what God is going to do in lives.

Jimmie Radcliffe and City Reach

City Reach Fayetteville Summary

City Reach Richton Summary

City Reach Nashville Report

City Reach Dayton Summary 


City Reach Washington DC Canceled

City Reach OKC Summary

News On City Reach Washington DC

City Reach Tulsa Summary

City Reach Ft. Worth Summary

City Reach Atwater Summary

City Reach Phoenix Area Summary

Special Time of Prayer For City Reach

City Reach Phoenix Area - El Mirage, Arizona

Report On New York

City Reach New York City?

Jimmie Radcliffe Truck For City Reach

City Reach Trailer

Report on Planning and Vision Services

Planning and Vision Services For City Reach

Pictures of City Reach Richton

Summary of City Reach Wichita

City Reach Richton 

City Reach Newsletter August 2015

Latest City Reach Update  February 2015 Update

Planning and Vision Service in Wichita

New Tent Section - October 7, 2014

September 2014 Update

August 2014 Update (Scarecrow)

The Original City Reach Post From May 2014

Today I am announcing a project we are calling City Reach 2016. It is huge news for us and we are glad to be sharing it with you today.

Everybody that knows us well knows we have a burden to take the message of the Gospel to as many as we can. As much as I can know my heart I believe we are willing to spend and be spent to offer hope to those that are hurting. We are now in our 12th consecutive year and 15th year total of full time evangelism, preaching and singing in churches all over America while holding revivals and trying to reach people for Christ.

While pastoring in Kansas many years ago I was challenged to take the Gospel of Christ outside the four walls of the church and hold outreach services for those that were not coming into our churches. Soon I was buying a tent and having services under it whenever possible in partnership with the church I was pastoring.

Through our years of evangelizing we have preached outdoors and under a tent as much as possible. The last three years we have organized and/or conducted or preached dozens of tent revivals and outdoor crusades in several states from Alabama to Montana and in Mexico and Nigeria, West Africa. This year we have tent revivals scheduled from Virginia to California. We have devoted several months each year to tent revivals and the rest of the year we preach revivals in local churches in various states.

We are very thankful for the doors the Lord has opened for us to minister to His people in churches and to reach for the lost under the Gospel tent. We thank God that those doors of opportunity are still very much open to us. We have been greatly blessed. 

Yet, I sense God directing us into metropolitan areas to reach for men and women there. My heart is nearly overwhelmed for those that are not coming into our churches that we have built for them or hearing the singing or sermons we have prepared for them.

I have been praying for nearly two years about expanding our tent revivals into larger cities. My board and close friends have been helping me pray about this for several months. Shortly after the first of the year I began to be brave enough to mention my vision publicly. The positive response has been overwhelming.

I believe that God has been preparing our family for this very moment. It is now time to share my vision and my burden with you.

I know there are churches in large cities that share our compassion for souls. I know there are Pastors with a sincere burden to see lost souls saved. I know there are people in these metropolitan areas that desire genuine revival. We want to find those churches and work with them to reach their neighbors, families and friends with the message of the Gospel. 

We do Not desire to build a personal following or turn peoples hearts toward us. We desire to work with local churches, recognizing and working under the authority of local Pastors in an effort to bring revival.

We have some resources that the local church may not have. We have a tent that will seat several hundred, a good sound system, a few hundred chairs, the experience to conduct the revivals and a message of faith, hope and salvation for the people that need it. The local churches have a crucial element that we do not have. They have a local presence, a local touch and access to local men and women that need Christ desperately.

Can we work together? Can we do something beautiful in an age of hate and ugliness. Can we bind together in a common cause to see people delivered from the awful bondage and curse of sin? By God’s help I know we can. I and my family are willing to do our part.

I am planning to devote the whole year in 2016 to tent revivals in metropolitan areas. That is why we are calling it City Reach 2016. We want to reach specifically for people in the cities. We have churches that are willing to work with us in Phoenix, Ft. Worth, Atlanta, Nashville and other cities we are praying about. I would also like to go to southern California and a city or two on the Atlantic coast or New England.

I am only booking regular church revivals in January of 2016. I plan to devote the next 10 months of that year to tent revivals in these cities. I envision 10 day to two week tent revivals with the rest of the month spent in preparation, set up, tear down and travel.

This is a huge undertaking. The logistics, work and expense for ten months of this will be tremendous. I have men that are willing to devote time and energy to help with the tent, singing, preparation and follow up. Local churches will help with planning, site preparation, utilities, canvassing, training and much, much more. All of this will require an extraordinary amount of organization. It just about boggles my mind.

During those 10 months I envision needing to hire a brother to help with the tent set up and transportation and other logistics. I have a very good dependable man that is willing to be the man I need. These costs plus the money for lodging, food, fuel, direct expenses of revival and our regular monthly expenses on the road will be several thousand dollars each month. I hesitate to speculate how much but it could easily approach $8-10,000 each month. Some of that will be covered by offerings during the tent revivals but I think it is prudent to have as much of that in store as I can before 2016.

We will also be adding another section of tent to expand seating capacity, more chairs and more sound equipment. These three expenses are probably around $7500. We are also exploring changing the way we transport the tent during City Reach 2016. I am hoping to zero out the transport change by selling our current trailer. 

How in the world will we pay for all of this? Well, the devil has been telling me I can not do it. He told me I could not afford tent revivals in the first place. He was absolutely correct as far as he went. I could not afford it but God has provided every dollar and kept us solvent all these years! Where God is guiding I believe God is providing.

One Pastor that we preach for nearly every year has pledged a monthly offering from his family toward City Reach 2016. They have already begun sending it. Since we will not be preaching revival for them in 2016 his church has offered to set aside a week that year to fast and pray while Tent Revival is going on in some other city and to send an offering just like we are there with them in revival. I am overwhelmed by their shared burden with us and their kindness and generosity to us.

They are considering this a home missions effort. The Pastor told me that he believes that God will help them in their local effort to reach out IF they are willing to assist in reaching folks they will never know and never have access too. I believe he is on to something. 

I know for sure that when he told me what they were going to do my faith took a flying leap toward God. Maybe, just maybe, I am not crazy after all. God could really be in this!

Another Pastor told me he would like to explore the possibility of going together with a few other churches and sponsor the expenses or half the expenses of one city. All of these things strengthen my resolve to walk through these doors and preach the message of the Gospel to as many people in cities as I can in 2016! I believe God is going to help us.

Bro. Jeremy Spurlock of Maranatha Missions would like to put together a team and help with canvassing for City Reach 2016 in Nashville and possibly another city. 

Pastor Phillip Sanders has pledged his church in Salem, Kentucky to help with some of the physical and spiritual load in Nashville. 

Evangelist Jimmy Millikin and his family are willing to help in some of the revivals as their schedule allows. We love working with the Millikin's every chance we get.

Pastor Scott Morris would like to join us in a couple of campaigns if it is possible. Bro. Scott would be a great help in the services. He is a tremendous blessing in the altar services and a great personal encouragement to me.

I tell you all of this to let you know that I believe God is stirring others in the same way we are being stirred. I believe God is bringing all of the crucial components into place. Yes, this is all way bigger than me but it is not bigger than God.

We are planning a city wide Tent Revival in Wichita, Kansas with several churches participating in September 2015. That will kind of be a kick off for City Reach 2016. I think that is appropriate since the desire for tent revivals was birthed in my heart in Wichita many years ago.

Will you join us in prayer about City Reach 2016? You might consider bringing your family or church on board to physically help in a revival near you or across the country. Maybe you would like to help with your home missions budget or special offerings. Maybe you could drop us a text, email or comment to let us know you think God is in this.

Call me or send an email if you have questions or encouragement. I love sharing my vision and I am thrilled when others begin to catch fire with me. I would be glad to answer any questions you have about City Reach 2016.

The cost and sacrifice will be great. It will take a huge amount of effort and long term commitment to pull this off. I believe the souls of men are worth it. If I really believe we have what they need to change their sin sick ways I would be a fool to keep it to myself. I refuse to keep quiet. It is like fire shut up in my bones and I can not keep quiet.

Thanks for reading and thanks for praying. Would you share this link in any way you can?

Thank you,

Davy

Jimmie Radcliffe and City Reach

City Reach Fayetteville Summary

City Reach Richton Summary

City Reach Nashville Report


City Reach Dayton Summary

City Reach Washington DC Canceled

City Reach OKC Summary

News On City Reach Washington DC

City Reach Tulsa Summary

City Reach Ft. Worth Summary

City Reach Atwater Summary

City Reach Phoenix Area Summary

Special Time of Prayer For City Reach

City Reach Phoenix Area - El Mirage, Arizona

Report On New York

City Reach New York City?

Jimmie Radcliffe Truck For City Reach

City Reach Trailer

Report on Planning and Vision Services

Planning and Vision Services For City Reach

Pictures of City Reach Richton

Summary of City Reach Wichita

City Reach Richton 

City Reach Newsletter August 2015

Latest City Reach Update  February 2015 Update

Planning and Vision Service in Wichita

New Tent Section - October 7, 2014

September 2014 Update

August 2014 Update (Scarecrow)