Pastor Chris Baker
10/8/1957-1/9/2023
“There is nothing, absolutely nothing, more important in this world than that God’s Will be done.”
My son-in-law Aaron McCarthy replaced me as the senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Groton, MA by a unanimous vote and would officially begin on Sunday, January 1, 2023. Laura and I planned a Caribbean Cruise in January 2023. We left New England in December to spend time with our TN children and grandkids before flying to Texas for our Cruise. Unfortunately, Laura and I contracted COVID in route to TN. We were able to get medicine from which we recovered in a few days, however, we had no choice but to cancel our Cruise. We were disappointed to say the least. We decided to remain in TN during the time we would have been out at Sea. It was then when I received the news that the Lord had called Chris Baker home to glory. I booked a flight to Boston to attend the Memorial Service in RI on Saturday January 14, 2023.
I met Chris Baker at the 2017 Northeast Church Planting Conference. I learned that he reluctantly attended. He was very discouraged. It was suggested earlier in the year to honor him at the Conference. On Monday night of the Conference, I called Pastor Baker to the platform to close in prayer, which he did, but he was not prepared for what happened next. When he came to the platform, I presented a plaque to him in appreciation of his generous support of NCPC and his commitment to church planting in the Northeast. I learned later that he did not like public attention. However, no one knew how much that moment would impact his life and ministry. A moment of recognition assured him that God was not done with him. Later that year, he would attend and participate in the Worcester revival in Worcester, MA. We would soon learn that Pastor Baker was making plans to plant two churches in Rhode Island, one in Providence, the other in Portsmouth.
In the few years that I knew brother Baker, we would occasionally talk on the phone or in person. We would share our burden for New England, or our latest find from Scripture. He emailed me one day to say that Timothy was probably an evangelist and not a pastor. He said, the older commentaries refer to Timothy and other companions of Paul the Apostle as evangelists. I could tell that he agreed with them. He said to me, Tom, you’re an evangelist. To him, my ministry, namely the oversight of the New England Baptist Fellowship of pastors, church planters, and preachers represented the ministry of a biblical evangelist. He encouraged me, after retirement, to call myself an evangelist. He said to me, if you’re an evangelist, I’ll have you preach revival services for me.
I remember a drive to RI just to talk with him. When I arrived at Knotty Oak, he drove us to a quiet spot in town beside a small lake. He turned the engine off, and we sat for an hour and talked mainly about our passion for the Northeast. I enjoyed his wisdom, his vision, his love for Scripture, and his friendship. Unfortunately, I did not meet with him as often as I desired. Our last discussion before He went home to be with the Lord was about the Providence Crusade. I remember him calling to ask if I would support the Crusade as the Moderator of the New England Baptist Fellowship. He was implying, that he would not appeal to the Fellowship of preachers for help without my consent. He loved the spirit of unity and the strength that the Fellowship provided. To him, it was biblical, and the unity of preachers was essential in our efforts to maximize our evangelistic and church planting efforts. He used the term “true yokefellow” from Php 4:3 frequently. We were to him, a “true yokefellow”, meaning fellow laborers, men with whom he could safely serve.
I don’t remember every detail of our final email discussion. It was October of 2022. The email followed what would be his final two-day Conference in August at Knotty Oak. In his email, he said something about the Providence Crusade, and I replied to his email with these words, “At the close of my message back in August at your Conference I wanted to challenge the preachers about the Crusade. Unfortunately, I did not share those words, however, your vision for a Providence campaign is exactly what I wanted to say.” Below is the challenge.
What if 10 soul conscious people from 10 churches or 100 soul winners canvass strategically and systematically an entire town, a town without a Gospel witness? What if 10 churches in a collaborative effort employ an Evangelist to conduct a Gospel crusade in a town that desperately needs a church and trust God for the results. Is it possible for two or more pastors to labor together with God for the furtherance of the Gospel. Could we trust God to save souls through a collaborative effort in a needy town, with every intention to plant a church?
Chris Baker’s reply,
“It is utterly amazing that at least three men would each be thinking in the very same direction! God’s men working together to evangelize a wide area with a view toward planting churches! An area so large would demand a collaborative effort. A campaign that each person would agree is bigger than themselves. Let’s you and I get together to get you up to speed and more involved.”
Sent from Chris Baker’s iPhone on October 22, 2022
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