Shad Markuson will be speaking Saturday, September 5th, 2026 at 8:00 am at First Baptist Church - Bemidji (next to the mall)

A light breakfast will be served

Shad Markuson and his wife, Stephanie, pastor a small church in the village of Naytahwaush on the White Earth Reservation, where they have a heart to love people and share the hope of Jesus.
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Before pastoring, Shad served as a missionary, which included directing the Twin Cities Prayer Wall and helping unite believers in continuous prayer across the city. His heart is simply to follow the Lord, serve people well, and share what he has seen God do along the way.

​Video is in 2 parts - Intro and Main.
Intro:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VIrrZK7_3g
Main:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVBA5b-fuLo

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Glen Bergeron (President of Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship in Bemidji), will be speaking Saturday, September 5th, 2026 at 8:00 am at First Baptist Church - Bemidji (next to the mall)

Glen writes: l am a retired farmer from Argyle, Minnesota, located in the heart of the Red River Valley. My wife, Tanya, and I have been happily married for 49 years. We are blessed with four daughters and twelve wonderful grandchildren. For the past 17 years, we have enjoyed spending time at our second home in Bemidji, a place that has become very special to us.


Throughout my life, God has given me many opportunities to serve others. I have served on church boards, participated in hospital ministry, volunteered with the Big Brothers program, taken part in mission trips to Haiti, served as a chaplain with the Grand Forks Mission, and currently serve as president of the Men's Full Gospel Fellowship Bemidji Chapter.


In 1981, I gave my life to Jesus Christ, and that decision completely transformed my life. Since then, my desire has been to know Him better and to serve Him wherever He leads. My favorite Bible verse is John 3:16 because it reminds me of God's amazing love and the gift of salvation through His Son.

​Saturday, August 1st, 2026 at 8:00 am at  Beltrami Electric Community Room.

A lite breakfast will be served.

Our speaker will be MN Representative Bidal Duran

A dedicated public servant, proud U.S. Marine Corps veteran, and former law
enforcement officer, Rep. Bidal Duran brings nearly 20 years of combined proven
leadership and experience fighting for the people of northern Minnesota and our
country. Representing District 2A, including Bemidji, Baudette, Kelliher, Eckles,
Clearbrook, Waskish, Lake of the Woods, Red Lake, and surrounding communities,
he remains steadfastly committed to delivering practical, results-driven solutions for
hardworking families, veterans, farmers, and rural communities across the region.
Bidal served with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines and deployed to Sangin,
Afghanistan, where he proudly defended the freedoms we cherish. While serving
overseas, he learned he was going to become a father and first met his oldest
daughter when she was just five months old. He then dedicated 11 years to law
enforcement, serving his community on the front lines before entering public office.
Today, Bidal and his wife are raising three daughters together, drawing strength
from the enduring values of faith, family, service, and community that define life in
northern Minnesota.


From an early age, Bidal's grandmother was a profound source of inspiration.
She introduced him to faith and instilled deep Christian values that became his
moral compass. Even while facing significant challenges, including mental and
physical abuse growing up, those foundational beliefs, reinforced by the guiding
hand of his faith, directed him toward a life of service and integrity.


Faith continues to be a cornerstone of Bidal's life. Grounded in Christian
principles, he has made it a priority to pass those same values on to his children. His
family remains his top priority, and together with his wife, he is committed to giving
their daughters a strong spiritual foundation rooted in love, resilience, humility, and
service to others.
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As a legislator, Rep. Duran champions practical, accountable solutions that
deliver real impact for the people he serves. His key priorities include protecting
constitutional rights, especially 2nd Amendment freedoms, restoring fiscal
responsibility and cracking down on government fraud and waste, supporting
strong schools and veterans' services, strengthening public safety, securing vital
road and infrastructure funding, and defending rural economies and family farms.
He firmly believes we are stronger united than divided and works across the aisle
to bring essential resources back to northern Minnesota while holding government
accountable to the taxpayers it serves.

Meeting Saturday, July 4th, 2026 at 8:00 am - Beltrami Electric - Conference room.

 A lite breakfast will be served.

Speaker:   Scott Nyegaard
Scott write:  I was born in a small town in Oregon and was raised in the church.  I went forward at an alter call at the age of 7 and was baptized shortly after that. My faith walk continued a normal story for many years. I can remember going to a church camp one summer and hearing the guest speaker's dynamic testimony. I thought my testimony was so boring in comparison to his. Now in my mid 50's, I wish I still had a boring testimony, but my 20's came along and brought many wicked bumps and turns.

I moved to Bemidji in the fall of '89 to attend college and this area is now where I call home. My wife,
Deanna and I got married in 1991, and currently live in Cass Lake. I graduated from BSU with a B.S. in Psychology, worked at Timber Bay, Archdeacon Gilfillan Center, as a foster parent, and Northwestern MN Juvenile Center as the Treatment Director from '98-2015. I earned a MS. in Organizational Psychology (2007) and currently run my own consulting agency Legacy Group LLC, since 2010. It has been my full-time venture since 2015, and it has allowed me to train/teach in 49/50 states and all over the world, from the Philippines to New Zealand. God has richly blessed this step of faith I took when I left the 'safety' of a full-time job.

As mentioned above, I really struggled in my 20's and became involved in hidden sins. I 'came clean' in 2000 by admitting my sins to my wife. I fully expected to be divorced and to have to visit my two young children after this admission. But God has been faithful and while it has not been a perfect road, He has restored what the locus has eaten (Joel 2:25). My wife and I have attended the Bemidji Covenant Church since 2000, and I have served in many ways from bible studies, marriage conference leaders, to Leadership teams. During the last few years, God has been placing on my heart to reach out to men. I started a 2-minute radio spot on Q107 (with help from Phil!) called Men on the Narrow Road, and I pray that He uses that to grow men in their faith!

I will share in greater detail about my 20's and how God has been faithful my entire life even though I haven't always seen His presence. When we share in transparency how amazing our Heavenly Father is, lives are changed!

NOTE: SOUND STARTS 1:05 INTO RECORDING
Meeting June 6th, 2026 at 8:00 am
Speaker:  Mitchel Jon
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Born in North Dakota and growing up in Laporte, Minnesota, Mitchel Jon Kentizer was raised in a Christian home with a great family but he did not come to know the Lord for many years after a lot of miles down the wrong road. He began playing guitar and singing in his first band at 15. The door opened to start playing local clubs at 16 and for the next 12 years drugs and alcohol became a normal part of his life and journey.  Mitch finally met the love of his life, Holly, at of all places, a bar in Bemidji. The Lord had His hands on both of them and in 1991, He presented an opportunity for Mitch to sing in a tourist show in Keystone, South Dakota at the foot of Mt. Rushmore. This move removed them from the drug connections and party life and inevitably saved their lives.


They were married in 1992 and had two children, Allegra and Lincoln and in 1996 Holly and Mitch finally surrendered their lives to Jesus in a powerful small church in Sturgis, South Dakota. Mitch vividly remembers the Pastor saying, hang on! Your life is never going to be the same!
And he was so right.


In 1998 Mitch felt led to pack up his young family and head for Nashville, TN. The Lord led them to Cornerstone Church where the family was baptised. In 2001 Mitch, and two friends, started the Trio, "Three Bridges" where he was the lead singer. Almost immediately, the group landed a recording contract and began touring the United States and Canada. They were blessed to garnish three #1 National radio hits along with six top 20 charting songs. The lord opened up the doors to sing on several Gaither Homecoming videos, work and record with Edwin Hawkins, Charlie Daniels, Jimmy Fortune, Gloria Gaither, Billy Walker, Donnie Mcclurkin, Duane Allen, Ricky Skaggs and more. The group recorded 6 albums and won the Horizon award as favorite Trio in 2005 and Mitch won the Horizon Award for Favorite vocalist the same year.


In 2007, Mitch left the group and started his solo ministry using his first and middle names, Mitchel Jon. The industry thought he was crazyt) He has continued ministering in churches large and small across the country and is available wherever ministry is needed. As a soloist, Mitchel Jon became a regular guest for several years at Dr Charles Stanley's First Baptist Atlanta Church and also hosted the 2010 Charles Stanley Christmas Program with Franklin Graham. Mitchel Jon Ministries is still active and he and Holly recently relocated back to Northern Minnesota to be closer to family for a new season. The ministry goal and vision remains the same, to see the broken healed and souls saved.

​Romans 15:13 A vessel emptied can then be filled! May the God of hope fil you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overtiow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit
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 Speaker: Mike Kaehler

 How God has changed the desires of a man's heart...

 I had struggled with my past for most of my life, and God made a way for me to be a better man, husband, and father. I've been married to a godly woman for 3 years, and I have a beautiful baby girl that fills my heart with joy.  God has blessed me with my own business, Northern Minnesota Local Services LLC (NML Services), helping people with their home care and repair needs.  God has put on my heart to share my story with others so they can know that our LORD is a living and loving God.

 Matthew 5:14-16
 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill can not be hid. Neither
 do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it
 giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men,
 that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

We will be meeting at First Baptist Church
1555 Paul Bunyan Drive NW, Bemidji, MN 56601
8:00 am. (7:30am for fellowship). All are welcome 

Speaker: Larry Richter
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Larry Richter comes to us from Wadena, MN where he resides with his wife, Ruth and raised four children. He is the son of Don and Margaret Richter who was the former president of Wadena's Fuil Gospel Business Men's Fellowship.
Larry was raised in a home and believed his religion was enough for him until Christians spoke into his life. He was prayed for at a FBMF in Alexandria, that changed his life forever.
He worked as a Dairy Route Sales Specialist for nearly 40 years until his retirement in 2020 when his health made it difficult to work any longer. He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and von Willebrand in 2021. After a multiple prognosis and hard first year, the Lord and continued treatment has stabilized the disease.
He believes:
... my times are in thine hand. "Ps 31:14-15
"After David had served the purpose of God to his own generation, he was laid to rest." Acts 13:36

​Tamarius Harvey, 25, serves as a Children and Youth Director among Native American communities on the Red Lake Reservation.  He and his wife, Megan, were married May 2024 and are joyfully expecting their first child in ebruary 2026.

Tamarius and Megan met at Bemidji State University in 2019. At the time, neither knew Jesus or understood His saving grace. In the summer of 2021, God radically transformed Megan's heart through a small college Bible study that later grew into a vibrant young adult ministry at Calvary Chapel Bemidji. During that same year, after enduring seasons of hardship, Tamarius surrendered his life to the Lord --- and Jesus faithfully saved him.


Since then, God has used mentors to strengthen their walk and grow them in maturity. He has opened doors for them to share about the life-changing power of Jesus.
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Today, Tamarius is a full-time, support-based missionary serving alongside two churches on the Red Lake Reservation-one in Ponemah and one in Redby. Megan is a teacher at Heartland Christian School. Their passion is to proclaim the hope and salvation found in Jesus Christ.