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president from the
Volume 5 n Number 3 Editor Bob Putman
Designer, Production Manager Pam Nelsen
Contributing Editor Fran Anderson Point (issn/1546-3257, usps#517-620) is published quarterly (with a special edition in December) by the Baptist General Conference, 2002 S. Arlington Heights Rd., Arlington Heights, IL 60005. Printed in U.S.A. Periodical postage paid at Arlington Heights, Ill., and at additional mailing offices.
In this issue of Point you will find an article I wrote about Cirilo and Dory Doguiles. While still in their 20s, they immigrated to America. They planted two churches, raised their family here and gave direction to Converge’s Intercultural Ministries. Now they are returning home to the Philippines to play a strategic part in our missions efforts there. With children and grandchildren still in the States, I wonder where home truly will be for Cirilo and Dory. One of the great blessings of our movement is cultural diversity or, as Cirilo likes to put it, cultural synergy. When we think about Vietnamese, Haitian, Japanese, Filipino or Latin American peoples, we not only think about our wonderful members in churches scattered across our country but also about those in their homelands, where we join with them in fulfilling Christ’s mission. This issue is all about those who call the nations of this world home. We like to say that home is where the heart is. For many in our movement, hearts are invested in places they call home both here and there — homes of residence and homes of origin. On a higher level, we all know we’re not really home yet. During this season when we celebrate Christ’s resurrection and ascension, it is helpful to think about what our Living Lord is doing in our world. We know he is building his church, and he is building it among all nations. It is our passion and mission as a movement to join him in this endeavor. We also know our Living Lord is at the right hand of the Father, interceding for his Church. So we join him as we develop a culture of prayer in our lives and in our congregations. In addition, he is preparing a place for those who believe, so that we might be with him. As we pray, give and serve toward this purpose, our hearts are increasingly invested in the kingdom of heaven. Our calling, together with Christ, is to invite people from every tribe and nation to become citizens of heaven — our home sweet home.
© Baptist General Conference 2013.
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Jerry Sheveland President Converge Worldwide (bgc)
MATT STEPHENS
Home is where your heart is
inside features
4 A Vietnam vision 12 ‘I shall return’ 17 Come teach me
AUTHOR’S NAME WITHHELD
4
BY JERRY SHEVELAND
by KELLY BASTOW-COX
12
extras
10 The land of their hearts
14 Sandy came calling
20 When immigrants revive a church
22 Connection
n Shevelands author book for mentors, coaches n Superbowl champ Ravens look to Converge pastor n Transform 2013 brings ministry leaders together n ‘Cully’ Olson and Don Anderson with the Lord
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on the cover Southeast Asia includes many of the world’s most-populous and influential cities, along with hundreds of unreached people groups. Converge is expanding its footprint in this booming region. PHOTO: MARK [LAST NAME UNKNOWN]
n Who leads Converge Northwest? n New books
How to reach us n To add/remove your name from our mailing list, call 800.323.4215, M-F, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. EST n E mail us at point@convergeww.org @convergeww Converge Worldwide convergeworldwide.org
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A
Vietnam Author’s and source names withheld for security reasons
Vietnam — a diverse country of mountains, jungles, plains and coastline — stretches in a long “S” from China in the north to the Gulf of Thailand in the south. The people are friendly, educated, industrious and young: the median age is only 28. With a population of nearly 88 million, arguably one in every 79 people on the planet lives in Vietnam. Vietnam’s largest cities of Hanoi in the north and Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) in the south sprawl out on busy streets, crowded with motorbikes
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Above: A woman sells freshly picked fruit on a Ho Chi Minh City street. Above center: The entrance to the Vietnam War era prison known as the “Ha Noi Hilton.” Above right: School children play during a lunch recess. Vietnam’s population has a median age of only 28. Below, r.: A woman worships and prays with Vietnamese church leaders.
and pedestrians from predawn to almost midnight. The food is distinct as well, with French, Chinese and even some American influences. Think kfc next to a noodle soup sidewalk restaurant next to a traditional banh mi cart serving up baguette sandwiches. So what is the state of Christianity and Christian ministry in Vietnam? The simple answer is “it’s complicated.” According to Vietnam’s Constitution and laws, Christians may practice their religion privately, but public gatherings, formal recognition as a church or church leader, erecting buildings dedicated to church services or following any other public religious practice is lawful only with the sanction of the government. And achieving the official sanction of the Vietnamese government has proved very challenging for Christian organizations, new churches and church leaders. According to the U.S. State Department’s 2011 report, there are 10 officially recognized Protestant church organizations in Vietnam (see sidebar). The number of Protestants ranged from government figures of 1 million to claims by churches of more than 2 million.
BGC’s Vietnamese Initiative In 1993 Converge (bgc) representatives first visited Vietnam to assess ministry opportunities. They returned in 1995. “The Vietnamese government was stunned,” remembers R.C., reflecting on the initial meetings Converge (bgc) officials had with government leaders to register Con-
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verge for recognition as an official church organization in Vietnam. “They were shocked at our desire to work aboveboard and with respect for their laws,” he continued. In 2013 Converge hopes to achieve government recognition of our ministry, concluding a 20-year process. The earliest Converge (bgc) projects in Vietnam included vocational computer training, English as a second language classes and micro-loans to individuals for small businesses. In 2000 a project to build a playground in Da Nang for local children was highly supported. “Many people raised funds, and some helped with the construction,” said R.C., who was involved in the special project. Today the playground sits in ruin, overgrown with thorny weeds. “No children play there… there was no
caretaker to maintain the park and keep things in order,” observed a local elderly woman to a visiting team last fall. Upon seeing the state of the park, a Converge leader noted, “My first impression was ‘little forethought, no afterthought.’ It is critical to carefully think through and highly involve Viet nationals and local community members in future ministry endeavors.” Another Converge worker, J.N., reported, “While the micro-loans were paid back in full, there were mixed reviews on the effectiveness of other projects.” Formal Converge ministry efforts in Vietnam languished and then came to an abrupt end in 2009.
are the “open” churches of Vietnam and their adherents the “official Christians.” Across town, in much smaller spaces embedded in industrial parks or down alleyways with little or no signage, Christians worship God together in unregistered or non-sanctioned churches. These Christians may experience threats to disband from local police or government officials. Church leaders caution worshipers to arrive and leave the gatherings in small groups of three or four every 10-15 minutes to avoid attracting the attention of neighbors, government or police. Even with all the cloak-and-dagger, the larger cities are the safest places to be a “non-sanctioned-church Christian.”
A new vision for Vietnam In 2012 the Vietnamese Ministry Expansion Team (vmet) was formed under the Converge Intercultural Ministries office. The vmet plans to develop and implement future ministry among Vietnamese living in the U.S. and in Vietnam. “Each member of the vmet brings something unique to the group, and together they make a great team,” said a Converge leader. The three Vietnamese-born members of the vmet each describes his individual role: “the businessminded — the head,” “the task-oriented — the hands” and “the spirit-focused — the heart.” In Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), it isn’t unusual to see expansive church buildings teeming with worshipers on Sunday mornings. These
Persecution and tight controls From the rural villages, Christians tell harrowing stories of persecution: murders, beatings, arrests, imprisonment, forced renunciations, seizure or destruction of properties and restricted access to basic community services such as education and public welfare. In some villages of the South, and the Central and Northwest Highlands, tribal leaders rule with absolute impunity, breaking the country’s own religious freedom laws. Many victims of persecution belong to Vietnam’s ethnic minority groups. But most surprising were the reports of Christians from sanctioned churches exposing unregistered-church leaders to government officials
Protestant organizations
with date officially recognized n Evangelical Church of Vietnam North, 1963 n Southern Evangelical Church of Vietnam, 2001 n United World Mission Church, 2006 n Vietnam Baptist Society (Southern Baptist), 2007 n Vietnam Mennonite Church, 2007 n The Vietnam Baptist Convention (Grace Southern Baptist), 2008 n Vietnam Presbyterian Church, 2008 n Vietnam Seventh-day Adventist Church, 2008 n Assemblies of God (registered nationally), 2009 n Vietnam Christian Fellowship, 2010 Source: U.S. Department of State Reports
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‘ Seeing the Christians of Vietnam, hearing their stories, praying with pastors and faithful leaders eager to share the gospel, sometimes at great personal cost... it all makes you feel like you are walking through the Book of Acts.’ 8 n point | spring 2013
and rural authorities. While all the dynamics at play are unclear, the fact remains disturbing: Christians are sometimes involved in the persecution of other Christians. Vietnam’s government tightly controls all religious publishing. Through official government publishing houses, the Bible is printed and available in Vietnamese, Chinese and English, but not in ethnic minority languages. Seizures of Bibles or other religious materials printed abroad have been reported, and distributing Bibles or religious materials not published by the government is considered illegal.
‘Like walking through the Book of Acts’ Despite the restrictions and persecution, the gospel continues to thrive. “Seeing the Christians of Vietnam, hearing their stories, praying with pastors and faithful leaders eager to share the gospel, sometimes at great personal cost… it all makes you feel like you are walking through the Book of Acts,” said one Converge leader of his experience in Vietnam. “Continued training and credentialing of pastors and church planters remains a top priority,” said a representative of the vmet. In partnership with the vmet, a respected theologian and established Vietnamese church leaders, Converge hopes to help develop a registered theological school in Vietnam.
One visiting team made their way to the famed Ho Chi Minh Trail, now a two-lane highway with just enough potholes to ensure a sleepless ride. After traveling through the night, they arrived at the home of a local pastor at 3 o’clock in the morning. The team was greeted with a breakfast of hot soup and coffee. The pastor shared that God had given him a vision 21 years earlier. The vision was a picture of the faces of two men imprinted on the palm of his hand. The men would come to anoint him as the first pastor to bring the gospel to nonbelievers on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and churches would be established. Now he saw the two men on the team, one of whom he knew: a Viet pastor who is a respected church planting leader and has been his mentor over the past 12 years. He did not know the second face he had seen in the vision... until that moment. “He looked at me and through an interpreter said, ‘You are the other man in my vision. I have waited for 21 years for you to come and anoint me to be the first pastor on the Ho Chi Minh Trail.’ Then he asked me to bless him,” marveled the Converge leader. “I was deeply moved by God’s sovereignty and greatness. We wept and prayed together as I shared a prayer of blessing and God’s anointing on his life. I was filled with awe and wonder at what God might do next on the Ho Chi Minh Trail.” n
Left: Church leaders gather to study the Bible and learn together. The Vietnamese government tightly controls the printing of all religious materials, including Bibles. Above: A “registered” church in Vietnam draws a large crowd on Sunday morning. Worshipers pack every seat in the building and spill out onto the adjacent terraces and sidewalks.
Learn more
Want to know more about vmet? Email vmet@convergeww.org.
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The land of their hearts
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A picture of humility, this retired Converge (bgc) Vietnamese pastor – who partners with several Northwest churches – continues to make a profound impact in his homeland. By the editor
Photos by Amanda Sands
“The Vietnamese Ministry Expansion Team
wants you to interview pastor Cam,” Cirilo Doguiles, former executive director of Converge Intercultural Ministries, told me. “He is the most senior leader in Converge Vietnamese ministries in the U.S. and highly respected. The church he planted in Portland under the Vietnamese Initiative is reaching back into Vietnam.” Several months later Converge Communications director Amanda Sands and I are sitting in Cam Tu Le’s comfortable living room in Portland, Ore., interviewing him. We watch closely as he has us view a series of amateur videos depicting extraordinary examples of God at work among people in Vietnam. One segment shows a man who had been possessed for 10 years — and who bathed once a year — now free in Christ, clean and well-dressed. Cam tells us that in one night the man spoke to a large crowd in his community and saw 800 people come to Christ. Another segment is a concert of prayer consisting of former drug addicts, now pastors. “The people who do the most amazing work,” Cam says, “used to be substance abusers or alcoholics or were possessed or suffered from cancer or chronic diseases. They are people their community knew as rejects who stumbled, but were transformed, and now God uses them. They draw a lot of attention and become effective ministers.” Along with Cam and his family, a group of churches and individuals have placed their trust in his vision to reach his homeland and financially support these and other gospel-bearers in Vietnam. Because of this funding group, between January 2007 and February 2012 Cam was able to forward more than $1 million to about 200 effective ministries in Vietnam.
In the footsteps of martyrs
During our interview with Cam, our hearts were moved by his story. Cam’s family carries a legacy of determination to follow Jesus despite persecution. When Cam’s father trusted in Christ, his family disowned him and beat him till apparently dead. His body was sent to a morgue. But a Christian recovered it, and Cam’s father survived. The parents of Cam’s wife Hanh and her 16-year-old brother
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were killed one night in 1947 because they served God. “They give us the motivation and have left us a legacy to carry on,” said Gia Bao, a daughter of Cam and Hanh and our interpreter during our interview. Before emigrating to the U.S., Cam had faced numerous challenges in Vietnam. A captain in the South Vietnamese Army, he was a military postal director for six South Vietnamese provinces. Hanh was a secretary at the U.S. Consulate. When the war ended in 1975, for more than two years Cam was imprisoned in a pow camp on the Cambodian border. After his release, he worked as a watch seller to support his family of nine. He had several opportunities to leave the country, but refused, believing the Lord had called him to stay and minister. Working with a group who brought 4500 Bibles into Vietnam, Cam personally led hundreds of people to faith in Christ. He and Hanh also committed to giving 70 percent of their income to ministry. By January 1991 Vietnam’s economy was faltering. Cam brought his family to Portland, Ore., through the Humanitarian Operations program, where he worked initially as a custodian and a medical interpreter. Vietnamese Hope Baptist Church was launched by Cam and his family in their apartment. They held services there for a month before Cam met pastor Matt Hannan of New Heights Church, Vancouver, Wash. Hannan helped Cam attend a pastors event, and introduced him to Mike Pinkerton of Temple Baptist Church, Portland. tbc wanted to support a growing ethnic congregation. Cam’s Vietnamese congregation of now 30 was a great fit and benefitted from financial contributions from tbc and use of its facility at no charge. vhbc grew and added new converts.
Looking to Vietnam “In 1997 I saw the church had reached a plateau and could not increase,” Cam states, “so I looked to Vietnam. In my heart I want to spread the gospel to all people, not only Vietnamese, but my language is limited.” Cam decided to support one pastor in Vietnam. On a 1998 trip to visit family members in his homeland, he discovered that the church planting model he was supporting was unsuc-
cessful. Yet he sensed God encouraging him to invest in 10 more church plants. Cam revised his guiding principle from denominational support to: “Whoever is fruitful, I help.” In 2001 Hannan and nhc joined Cam, giving $500 per month to his Vietnam ministry. By 2004 the amount had grown to $2,000 per month. A debilitating stroke that year resulted in Cam’s retirement from the pastorate. But his heart for bringing the gospel to his people continued to beat strong. He could no longer stand or preach, but he could support people who do. Today a multichurch Converge support base contributes $11,075 per month, or $132,900 a year (see participating churches at r.), to the Vietnamese ministries. Non-Converge churches and friends contribute about $3,600 per month, and Cam’s extended family — including two entrepreneurial sons — contributes $4,650 per month. Cam and Hanh continue to give 70 percent of their income to Christ’s work. “It’s not my work, not anybody’s work, but a work of God,” Cam firmly asserts. “We are only supporters of people doing God’s work.” The multichurch fund helps support 12 orphans, 45 elderly people, five blind people, three people confined to their beds and numerous others who are sick. It also supports seminarytrained evangelists among ethnic minorities, a woman suffering from kidney failure who witnesses at the dialysis center, children’s services throughout northern Vietnam, upcoming evangelists and church planters identified by a network of denominational leaders and much more. The multichurch support base is effective. In 1997 a friend from another denomination identified five key evangelists in northern Vietnam who had received support from the fund. From those five have come 10,000 Christ-followers, according to Cam. Along the way, Cam served for six years as chairman of the bgc Vietnamese Association of Churches and was a member of the bgc board of overseers 2000-2003. Now in their 70s, Cam and Hanh continue the family legacy: deep commitment and sacrifice to expand God’s family in the land of their hearts. n
Common Viet belief systems n ancestor worship n animism n an underlying foundation of Buddhism and Confucianism
Participating churches Vietnamese Hope Baptist Church Portland, Ore. Vietnamese Hope Baptist youths Portland, Ore. Temple Baptist Church Portland, Ore. New Heights Church Vancouver, Wash. River’s Edge Church Vancouver, Wash. Woodhaven Community Church Sherwood, Ore. Cornerstone Christian Fellowship Bellevue, Wash. Journey Community Church Camas, Wash. Living God Church Portland, Oregon
(Far left) From their hillside home in Portland, Ore., pastor Cam and his wife Hanh support ongoing ministry in their homeland. (Above, clockwise from top l.) Hope Vietnamese Baptist Church leaders Aaron Truong (youth), Lien Ngo (Christian education) , pastor Thai Nguyen and board chairman Nguyen Nguyen.
Bob Putman is editor of Point.
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‘I shall return’
Why are our Intercultural Ministries director and his wife taking on a new role and a new challenge? By Jerry Sheveland
12 n point | spring 2013
When I became pastor of College Avenue Baptist Church (San Diego) in 1989, Cirilo and
Dory Doguiles were planting a Filipino-American church on our campus. I found it easy to love and appreciate Cirilo and Dory from the very beginning. Cirilo is a warm, enthusiastic leader, motivated by a passion for the gospel and Christ’s church. Dory’s quiet strength and gracious spirit wonderfully complement her energetic husband. Our friendship has grown into a valued ministry partnership as we have enjoyed serving Converge Worldwide together for many years. Before coming to cabc, the Doguiles’ had already started and established a church in Seattle after emigrating from the Philippines in the ’80s. Today their ministry is coming full circle. In January, at our Transform Network Gathering, Converge senior vice president Doug Fagerstrom introduced to the 400-plus participants Converge’s newest international missionaries: Cirilo and Dory Doguiles. He referred to General Douglas MacArthur’s famous promise to the Philippines: “I shall return” and told of the Doguiles’ promise 28 years ago to return to their home country after their tour of duty in the States. Cirilo confirmed his intent to begin his new ministry in the Philippines in early 2014 and to announce then, “I have returned!” Cirilo joined the Baptist General Conference (now Converge) office in 2002 as the new director of our then Cultural Association Team and as our national coordinator of Filipino Ministries. Under his direction the ministry expanded and reorganized. In 2009 Cirilo was promoted to executive director
of Converge Intercultural Ministries. He and Dory moved to Orlando, Fla., as a part of the first wave of staff members opening our new center. In 2012 he earned his doctorate in ministry from Bethel Seminary.
Innovator in our cultural ministries Cultural diversity is one of Converge’s core movement values. Cirilo prefers the term “cultural synergy.” It speaks of the energy and insights cultural leaders and churches bring to our shared mission. Cirilo described his vision in this way: “The rationale for adopting the intercultural concept was my conviction that creating cultural synergy in the movement is more important than simply respecting diversity. A new ministry construct created two major innovations within Converge Intercultural Ministries: an expanded focus on people group ministries and the creation of a Converge cross-cultural missionary category. This resulted in Converge deploying missionaries to reach Muslims, the inner city in major cities (particularly in Philadelphia) and Brazilians in the United States.” In addition to directing Converge Intercultural Ministries, Cirilo launched “A Decade of Change,” a church planting partnership with the Baptist Conference of the Philippines. It is an aggressive plan to start congregations in the Philippines capable of sustaining a long-term church planting movement. I enjoyed traveling to the Philippines with Cirilo on multiple trips. It was fun to see him ministering on his home turf. This softspoken, humble man leads with spiritual authority and personal credibility. He casts vision and builds partnerships around compelling kingdom dreams. I love watching him influence others to exercise greater faith together. Converge leaders in the States and the Philippines are grateful for Cirilo’s ministry and look forward to working with him in his new role.
‘ This softspoken man leads with spiritual authority and personal credibility… casting vision and building partnerships around compelling kingdom dreams.’
Strong legacy and a new vision As Converge IM missionaries, Cirilo and Dory will be part of the Converge Worldwide Philippine field, with his special assignment to work as the executive coach of bcp national leaders. He will help them to advance Converge’s one mission of multiplying transformational churches through Starting and Strengthening (S2) Filipino churches. Fagerstrom spoke for us all when he wrote the following commendation to the president of the bcp: “Cirilo is leaving a wonderful legacy with the Converge Worldwide Intercultural Ministry. He has led well for 10 years as the executive director of icm. I am confident that Cirilo and Dory will be a great asset to our mission work in your country because of their vast experience in starting and strengthening churches, excellence in leadership development and deep passion to see the gospel transform lives and communities.” In December Cirilo and Dory received official approval to transition their ministry to the Philippines as Converge International Ministries missionary staff, effective once their financial support is raised. Their dreams for their Philippine ministry include: n Serving as executive coach of Converge Philippines (Baptist Conference of the Philippines) national leaders in multiplying transformational churches n Establishing S2 centers in each Converge Philippines district n Establishing a School of Church Planting in Cebu City n Reaching the goals of starting 70 new CP churches and training 70 church planting coaches n Strengthening 70 CP churches for effective ministry Our staff already feels the loss of the Doguiles’ joyful, loving presence. We know they will be a gift to those they will work with in the Philippines.
amanda sands
(L.) Senior vice president Doug Fagerstrom introduces Cirilo at Transform 2013 Network Gathering.
A proud ‘Papa’ of churches When I think of Cirilo, I especially remember a Sunday morning we shared in the Philippines celebrating the second anniversary of a Decade of Change church plant. The service was conducted in a large hotel banquet hall, electrified with the excitement that flowed from the 200 worshipers — mostly new believers. The highlight was welcoming a large group of new members who had been baptized in recent weeks. What a morning. What a memory. Cirilo glowed with the kind of smile you see on the face of a proud papa. Rightfully so. He and Dory live to see transformational churches started and strengthened. n Jerry Sheveland is president of Converge Worldwide.
Watch Cirilo and Dory’s video
Vimeo.com/57681272
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AP Photo / Donald Traill
Sandy came calling
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The Sunday morning before Superstorm Sandy battered Long Island, pastor Phil Prestamo
answered a call from distraught church member Laret Williams. She was beside herself. “Pastor Phil, you don’t understand,” she said. “I just put up the curtains. It was the last thing I needed to get my house back to normal.” A year earlier Hurricane Irene had swamped Laret’s house. Now (late October 2012) Superstorm Sandy was bearing down upon her, and upon much of the eastern seaboard. Prestamo reassured her, though he wasn’t sure how his church of 40 attendees could help. He had no idea he soon would be point man for Converge world relief efforts in Freeport, N.Y., and as far away as Brooklyn. All anyone knew was that catastrophic destruction would strike soon.
When you have a huge task — like coordinating Hurricane Sandy relief teams — God’s man for the job might just be the pastor of a church of 40. By the editor
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Hurricane cleanup: ‘A nasty job’
It took two days for Converge staff to reach Corey Unger, interim executive minister of Converge Northeast. But the Granby, Conn., resident moves fast. He asked Prestamo, a bivocational pastor and custom cabinetmaker, to coordinate relief teams in his area. Prestamo, although working 50 to 60 hours a week, said yes. Even before Unger’s call, he had recruited several people to make and distribute sandwiches and water to people digging out their homes. First Baptist Church of Freeport sits about two miles inland. It was unaffected by the storm surge. But about 3000 homes in Freeport were swamped. Once the water receded, Long Beach, a nearby barrier island, found itself buried in four feet of sand — basements and yards. “We drove around and it looked like a blizzard had hit,” Prestamo said. “Except it wasn’t snow.” Within three days the city of Freeport had opened an emergency relief center and was on top of food, clothing and water distribution. Meanwhile Unger was working his phone. Prestamo told him they needed to focus on construction. Eight days after Sandy struck, the first of eight work teams arrived, all but one from Converge Northeast churches. The group of 15 from Wellspring Church, Kensington, Conn., included people who had been trained in disaster relief. They brought generators, about 30 large cans of gasoline and other much-needed supplies. They pulled water-soaked furniture and debris from basements, dug out sand and muck, tore continued on page 16
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PHIL PRESTAMO
continued from page 14
out wet drywall and pulled insulation from under floors and between walls. They filled up Prestamo’s gas tank so he could focus on making contacts with neighbors rather than waiting hours in the line at the gas station. Laret Williams’ home was one of the first places the Wellspring team worked. One team member pumped water out of her crawl space, then jumped in and ripped out the fiberglass insulation — heavy and wet, it gets in your skin and eyes. A nasty job.
COREY UNGER
Teams like these from Wintonbury Baptist Church, Bloomfield, Conn. (above) and Valley Brook Church, Granby, Conn. (r.), performed lots of dirty work — digging out basements, yards and first-floor rooms; ripping out ruined floors, drywall and insulation; spraying mold-kill.
Work teams keep coming
Superstorm Sandy relief Income: $94,807 Disbursements: $57,785 to Converge Northeast for Long Island reconstruction teams
The second team came from Bethany Baptist Church, Gardner, Mass., a four-hour drive. The 10 men worked for four days on demolition and cleanup in Freeport and on shoveling out sand in Long Beach. They slept overnight in Prestamo’s church, as did all the work teams. The following week a team of 12 arrived from Wintonbury Baptist Church, Bloomfield, Conn. Lakeside Christian Camp (Pittsfield, Mass.) director John Mead joined this team. They too worked four days on similar jobs. John DeConti from Grace Church, Fairfield, Conn., arrived alone and contacted Prestamo, who matched him up with a team from Crossroads Church (Assembly of God), Fitsburg, Mass. They had heard about the great experience of the Bethany Baptist Church team and wanted to get in on the blessing. Their 18-man team went to their local Home Depot and loaded up trailers with 20 4-ft. x 12-ft. sheets of drywall, joint tape and compound and 25-lb. containers of drywall screws. DeConti returned twice with small teams from Grace Church. Another GC team member returned for his third time with four people. Each day trip included the four-hour commute on each end. On Thanksgiving Day, Carmella Ehle from Wellspring Church and Prestamo’s wife Joya hosted a dinner at First Baptist for 30 community members. Trisha Ruocco attended. An older couple from the Wellspring team had done a lot of demolition and cleanup work in her home. She has been attending fbc consistently since. Valley Brook Church, Granby, Conn., brought a 25-member team right after Thanksgiving. They worked in the home of Janice Jackson, in her 60s and disabled. A bit of a hoarder, every room was so packed one could hardly move around. The floor and bottom foot of wallboard had to come up, so teams (including Prestamo) took a room at a time, moving everything to one side, tearing up the floor and base of the drywall, installing new materials, then moving everything to the other side of the room to repeat the process — in every room in the house. On February 17 a large team from Christ Redeemer Church, Hanover, N.H., arrived to lend their hands and skills to the recovery efforts. Then on March 1 a team came from New Life Church, an independent congregation on the University of Michigan campus, where the Prestamo’s son Joseph attends.
Two semis full of drywall
$20,000 to Christ in Action for New Jersey reconstruction teams $15,000 to Beraca Baptist Church, Brooklyn, N.Y., for food and clothing distribution
For the first few weeks after Sandy, Prestamo worked seven days a week. By late January that had dwindled to weekends. He tapped volunteers wherever he could: the church youth group, the Little League where he coaches, people whose homes were cleared and now wanted to help their neighbors. One of the best days was when two semis pulled up to his church to deliver 400 sheets of drywall, 200 rolls of insulation and boxes of drywall screws — all purchased with Converge relief funds. Prestamo called needy neighbors to say, “Get a truck and come take what you need.” “I’ve been blessed tremendously in this,” he says. “Just to have the resources to ask people, ‘What do you need? We can help,’ is a tremendous impact for such a small church. It’s a great feeling, especially when people are in such dire circumstances.” To you — our reader — Prestamo, Unger, Laret Williams and hundreds of others in New England and on the Jersey Coast want to say, “Thanks for your Christ-honoring generosity.” It’s good to have friends like you. n Bob Putman is editor of Point.
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Speak English? Then you may be qualified to teach conversational English to students in China’s beautiful and most-diverse province. By Kelly Bastow-Cox
Tucked away
in the extreme southern part of China lies Yunnan Province. With varying terrain — from gorges, to rainforests, to snowcapped peaks — the true expanse of its diversity is seen in the cultures of its people. They wear white caps and sell skewers of fatty lamb that scent the air with mouthwatering smoke: the Hui people. They dress in simple blue-and-white clothes and use one of the last remaining hieroglyphic languages: the Naxi people. Their culture still practices open marriages in which kinship is passed through the women: the Mosu people. They feed the spirits in small houses erected in their yards and wear brightly colored clothes more suitably matched to other Southeast Asian countries: the Dai people. They decorate their ears by enlarging their earlobes and filling the holes with flowers: the Jinuo people. They are tea farmers and traditionally tattoo their arms, legs, chests and stomachs: the Bulang people. They believe they are descended from frogs’ eyes and wear elaborate headdresses made of feathers, beads and coins: the Hani people. Muslim, Buddhist, Animist, farmers, laborers, city dwellers, mountain folk, tattooed, adorned, oppressed, exalted — these are the people of Yunnan.
The power of the classroom Yunnan is China’s most ethnically diverse province. It is home to more than 50 ethnic minority groups that share little in common, each having preserved their unique cuisine, languages, clothing and traditions within their remote villages scattered across the province. Here, people groups as small as only several hundred people exist alongside the ever-growing Chinese multitudes. Without exhaustive travel from one tiny village to the next, traversing daunting geographical and linguistic barriers, only a single place offers access to the diversity of Yunnan’s people groups: the university classroom. The various people groups have come streaming into Yunnan’s 13 universities and dozens more technical colleges. Families with little reliable income will sacrifice deeply to provide an education to secure a future for their sons and daughters. Students come
Come teach me spring spring2013 2013
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Previous page: Tiger Leaping Gorge exemplifies Yunnan’s striking panoramas. Above: The university campus is the best place to experience Yunnan’s diverse people groups. Below: Nationalities Park in Kunming is dedicated to representing the varied cultural groups.
looking for career advancement, the opportunity to achieve a higher living standard for their families and more security for themselves. Some want to leave behind the stigma of their minority status. Others desire to protect their heritage at all costs. They mix and mingle, unite and separate, as they study in these higher-education institutions. In the classroom they all communicate in standard Mandarin Chinese, but the dorms reverberate with the cacophony of dozens of mutually unintelligible dialects. Homesick students crave their native snacks and the familiar boundaries of their familial cultures as they embark on studies that will take them far from these. Among their required courses is English.
Teachers needed, friendships wanted Perhaps the most valuable thing an American has to offer any Chinese student is the opportunity to practice speaking English. The treasured native-speaker capabilities of someone born in America are sought after in every major tourist location in China. The average traveler is accosted, not for money, but for far-more-difficult-to-obtain conversation practice. It is not uncommon for a friendly looking tourist to be approached by a small group of giggly Chinese girls or nervous Chinese boys who know only a handful of phrases but are eager to learn more. Chinese universities and colleges increasingly seek qualified and well-trained native English speakers to come and work as conversation and composition professors. This opportunity shows no sign of waning as China moves to the global stage to compete with other English-speaking powers in the world economy. The need for English speakers is true not only for major economic centers in China such as Beijing and Shanghai but also for less-developed provinces such as Yunnan, far from the beaten path. Faithful teachers, committed to building relationships of lasting impact with their students, have no greater opportunity to interact with unreached and unknown minority people groups than in Yunnan’s college and university classrooms. A classroom might include dozens of students who are the only people in their villages to receive a college education and have the chance to hear about a different way of life. Students — whose entire families will never leave their mountainside tea farms or look beyond their family shrines — are required to attend an English class likely taught by a native speaker of English, maybe even you.
The reason you shouldn’t ignore this opportunity
Take the next step
To further explore teaching English in China, contact SteveV@convergeww.org, or fill out the Connect Now form at convergeworldwide.org/ Reach-Nations.
Unlimited reasons exist to ignore this opportunity as fit for you and your family, to read about the need in Yunnan and turn the page. But there is one very compelling reason to consider it: the Good News. The same good news told to you by someone who cared for you. This news, which you likely heard at a very young age because of where you were born, is reason enough to share with others, even with an entire people group, who have no such access. Maybe you have never taught anything before. You can be trained. Perhaps you have never traveled before. You can be equipped. It could be you are uncertain. You can ask. People with flowers hanging from their earlobes await. Others selling fatty lamb on the street corners have ears eager to hear. Those who have only heard they were descended from frogs’ eyes are wondering. Students who left their family altars to attend college are ready to learn. Will you teach them? n Kelly Bastow-Cox formerly served on the elic communications staff. She now teaches esl in Chapel Hill, N.C.
18 n point | spring 2013
The offer and sale of certificates is limited to persons who are, prior to receipt of the Offering Circular, members of, contributors to, participants in or affiliates of Converge Worldwide (BGC) including any program, activity or organization which constitutes a part of Converge Worldwide (BGC), its district conferences, or its member churches or other persons who are beneficiaries or successors in interest to such persons (“Investors”). This shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state in which such an offer, solicitation or sale is not authorized. The offering is made solely by the OFFERING CIRCULAR. The offering involves certain risks, which are more fully disclosed in the Offering Circular under the heading “Risk Factors.” These investments are not FDIC or SIPC insured. In the event the Fund exercises its right to redeem a Certificate prior to maturity and upon 60 days notice to the holder thereof, payment of the outstanding principal and interest will be made to the holder to the date of redemption, rather than to the Certificate’s maturity date.
Investment Options Fixed-Rate Certificates Minimum Term Rate investment
6-month 1.250% $100 1.375% $100,000 1.500% $250,000 1-year 1.375% $100 1.500% $100,000 1.625% $250,000 2-year 1.500% $100 1.625% $100,000 1.750% $250,000 3-year 1.625% $100 1.750% $100,000 1.875% $250,000 4-year 1.875% $100 2.000% $100,000 2.125% $250,000 5-year 2.125% $100 2.250% $30,000 2.375% $100,000 2.500% $250,000
Demand Certificates Minimum Rate investment
1.250% $100
Church Savings Certificates Minimum Rate investment
IRA underperforming?
1.375% $5,000
IRAs Minimum Rate investment
2.625% $10 2.750% $100,000+
Rates subject to change without notice.
Might be time to try something new. Converge Cornerstone Fund IRAs offer a competitive rate of return while helping Converge churches expand to bring more people into God’s kingdom. Cornerstone IRAs have no hidden fees or costs. The rate adjusts semiannually to the best rate the Fund offers. You can roll over your retirement funds from a qualified plan — 401K or 403B or other qualified plan — to a Cornerstone Fund IRA. Or transfer a Traditional or Roth IRA from another institution to an IRA with Cornerstone.
Time to take a closer look?
Visit us at cornerstonetoday.org, email csfund@convergeww.org or call 877.228.8810.
In 2014 Cornerstone will celebrate 60 years of ministry! Plan ahead and join us on a Caribbean cruise out of New Orleans, February 9-16, 2014. Call us for information.
2002 S. ARLINGTON HEIGHTS RD. • ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL 60005-4193 spring 2013
| point n 19
W
By Jonathan Larson
When pastor Doug Roth
returned to his hometown of Worthington, Minn., to retire in 2006, he did not expect that in months he would be pastoring Indian Lake Baptist Church (from which he retired in 2011). Nor did he expect that within a year his life would be transformed by ministry in a newly multiethnic congregation. A visit to Indian Lake one Sunday by two Karen (pronounced Kuh-ren) refugees led almost immediately to approximately 50 new Karen attendees. A brutal winter and the Karen’s need of help in finding work soon led Indian Lake members to undertake an emergency blanket-andclothing collection and Roth to assist in completing 100 or more employment applications for his new friends. In its 140th year of ministry, Indian Lake is experiencing a return to people’s roots. Founded by firstgeneration immigrants from Sweden in 1873, the church has been revitalized in the past several years by the addition of many first-generation immigrants from Burma. Most are part of the Karen people group, who fled by the thousands across the eastern border of Burma into Thailand. There they lived for years in refugee camps until granted legal entry into the U.S. Today a jbs pork production facility about seven miles from the church employs 2400 in this community of 13,000 and is the primary job source for the Karen. The Karen have brought growth and vitality to Indian Lake. The congregation had lost younger members, and, though excellent, the church facilities are located in the midst of farm fields several miles from nearby towns. Church leaders a decade ago began praying for five new families, and God answered this in an unexpected way. The newly published church pictorial directory includes about 65 Karen households — more than half the roster. Approximately a fourth of those attending the Sunday (English) service are Karen, and a Karen-language service at noon each Sunday, led by lay pastor Eh Ler Plaw, averages about 100. The majority of children and youth in the Sunday school and the Family Night programs are Karen. In a church whose nursery had been empty, about 20 newborns have been recognized in services in the past 18 months.
A truly thankful people
The impact of the Karen at Indian Lake goes far beyond numbers. Perhaps most striking is their thankful spirit. They have emerged from hard times in their homeland, where some lived in the jungle for years to avoid the Burmese military. Others saw family members and friends shot by soldiers. One new church member lost a leg to a land mine near the Burmese border. Another, now an Indian Lake leader, told of frequent attacks and threats on the refugee camps. Emigrating to America, however, has brought the hardship of separation from family members remaining in Burma or Thailand, or now located in Australia or some other host nation. Despite all this, the Karen live out Philippians 4:11b: “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” Thanksgiving for the Karen is not once a year in November. Almost every week they hold a home Thanksgiving Service so that friends and family can sing, pray and hear a message thanking God for a birthday, an anniversary, a new house, a recovery from illness or a loved one now deceased.
Strong traditions, generous givers JAMES HINTGEN
20 n point | spring 2013
The Karen are very loyal, and they remember it was an American Baptist, Adoniram Judson, who came to Burma and led to Christ Ko Tha Bu, who became an evangelist to his Karen people. So Karen in America often find their way to Baptist churches. They bring strong traditions of music and worship, fellowship and prayer that in some ways have brought Indian Lake back to an earlier era. For example, on New Year’s Eve 2012 the church meal, English service and communion concluded at 9 p.m. But, like the early Swedish worshipers, the Karen held a 12-hour prayer vigil that closed with a worship service starting shortly before midnight.
JAMES HINTGEN
Many at Indian Lake have been touched by the generosity of the Karen people. Despite sometimes limited resources, they are givers. Karen services are marked by several offerings each week and frequent special offerings. Personal gifts of traditional Karen clothing, food and cash are common. My wife Lois will always remember last Mother’s Day, when she and several others were escorted to the platform. There they were draped with garlands, honored with a special program and presented a bag of gifts. Ministry among these special Karen people has been absolutely delightful.
Cultural adjustments on both sides For all the positives the Karen brought to Indian Lake, these new members and the church encountered significant challenges. For the older Karen who remember life in Burma, and who struggle with the English language, there is the issue of how much change they can accept. Many hope to have their own Karen church in the future, so that their language and customs can continue — much like first-generation Swedes at Indian Lake who worshiped in Swedish for 50-plus years. Younger Christian Karen face the challenge to progress in academics, music and sports without absorbing aspects of the American youth culture toxic to the Christian faith. Most Karen youth are doing well, but some have struggled. One new member grieves over his teenage sons, who have been in constant trouble. In 2012 Indian Lake sent more than 30 children and youth to summer Bible camp for the first time. During the camp eight made decisions for Christ. Last fall one of them, a high school senior, testified as he was being baptized, “It was like heaven!” Last summer Indian Lake hosted a regional conference of Karen Baptists from eight churches in four states, including delegates from Trinity Baptist Church, St. Paul. Minn. On the same plot of ground where many years earlier Swedish immigrants had congregated, about 200 Karen immigrants gathered to hear a Karen message in the pietist tradition by a visiting pastor from Burma. Any 19th-century Swedish immigrant would have said, “Amen!” Later that month, Indian Lake received into membership a lady who grew up in Toungoo, Burma, the city in which Johanna Anderson, the first Converge (bgc) missionary, once ministered. The God of history is at work in leading Indian Lake into new days of ministry. n
Left: On the Karen New Year, lifelong Indian Lake member Richard Greve poses with Karen friend Mu Lar Taw. Above: Unlike our once-a-year celebration, this January 6 home thanksgiving service is a regular occurrence among Karen believers. Below: Karen traditional dress is bright and colorful.
Jonathan Larson is pastor of Indian Lake Baptist Church, Worthington, Minn.
spring 2013
| point n 21
connection converge
Transform 2013 brings ministry leaders together
numbers
1027
3 Recent multisites launched:
Number of North Bank Baptist Christian Association churches in northeast India. Converge missionaries started church planting there in 1946. (Photo circa early 1950s)
AMANDA SANDS
n CrossPointe Coast Viera/Melbourne, Fla. Jeremiah and Sandi Fyffe, church planters n CrossPointe Downtown Orlando, Fla. Andrew and Stacie Kitchens, church planters n FLOOD Church — Hillside El Cajon, Calif. campus pastor Scott Wildey and Linsey
22 n point | spring 2013
New churches and multisites underway since January 2010 towards the 2015 faith goal of at least 351 starts.
A record-setting 401 registered ministry leaders from across the U.S. and the Caribbean gathered at the Hyatt Regency, Garden Grove, Calif., January 28-31. Besides plenary sessions, the attendees participated in smaller breakout groups throughout the week, representing 22 unique ministry areas. “This kind of event is so essential for making authentic connections and experiencing spiritual renewal,” said Jerry Sheveland, Converge Worldwide president, as he thanked ministry leaders for attending. Keynote speaker Henry Cloud, author and leadership consultant, challenged leaders to embrace “necessary endings” in their personal and ministry lives: “Proactively pruning areas of your life will create space for new, healthy growth.” Kay Warren, author and co-founder of Saddleback Church, spoke of her journey to becoming an hiv/aids advocate. “If we want to be Christ’s disciple, we have to move from the ‘Kingdom of Me’ to the ‘Kingdom of God’…. We need to learn how to say ‘no’ to ourselves and ‘yes’ to God.” Sheveland closed Transform 2013 with this reminder: “Our transformation moment isn’t meant just to shape us but to shape the communities we lead… transforming them into a band of mighty men and women.” The music team from Whittier (Calif.) Area Community Church led attendees in worship. Sun Valley Community Church (Gilbert, Ariz.) supplied lighting, sound and media equipment and expertise. “An event like Transform is truly a team production. We are so grateful for the churches, leaders and sponsors that make it all possible,” said Don Windmiller, director of Network Gatherings.
Danny Ostrowski
Who leads Converge Northwest?
‘Cully’ Olson and Don Anderson with the Lord Carl O. “Cully” Olson, 95, died December 17. With his wife Ruth he served as a bgc evangelist 1948-1953. He then pastored bgc churches in Anchorage, Alaska (Lake Spenard), and Mt. Vernon, Wash., and planted and pastored a bgc church in Simi, Calif. From 1970 to 1984 he served as executive secretary of the Northern California Baptist Conference. He resumed ministry as an itinerant evangelist until retirement in 1993.
Superbowl champ Ravens look to Converge pastor Since 1999 Rod Hairston has served as chaplain to the Baltimore Ravens. He is also senior and founding pastor of Messiah Community Church, Owings Mills, Md. Learn more at rodhairston.com.
Shevelands author book for mentors, coaches
Donald E. Anderson, 85, died December 11. He pastored South Shore Baptist Church, Chicago, Ill., 1958-1964. In October 1964 he became editor of The Standard, serving until retirement in December 1992. He was editor of three bgc decadal histories: The 1960s in the Ministry of the Baptist General Conference, The 1970s… and The 1980s…. The National Association of Evangelicals honored him with the 1992 James DeForest Murch Award for excellence in journalism.
Converge president Jerry Sheveland and his wife Dee recently published Overcome: A Survival Guide for Spiritual Leaders. Twenty-five frontline leaders tell authentic stories about facing and overcoming ministry challenges and lessons they learned. A great conversation starter for mentors. Available from harvestbooks.org.
more online... New books from Converge authors
Read summaries of The Apple Tree Wish, by Maria Martinez; Freedom at All Costs, by Daniel K. Luc; Pass the Salt: Contemporary Devotionals, by J. Michael Smith; Songs From the Heart: A Devotional Journey Through the Psalms, by Dean Hill; and The Trust Edge, by David Horsager. All are online at cvrg.us/spring2013.
Steve and Susie Welling serve the Converge Northwest district, which includes Washington, Oregon, Montana and Idaho. Following years of pastoral ministries and management consulting roles, Steve has served as the executive minister since 2006. His passion is helping people. With his fun sense of humor (you have to listen closely for his subtle jokes) and godly leadership, Steve is ever-present for the ministry leaders in his district. His personal commitment is “To help people and churches understand their God-given design and become their best.” He came to faith in Jesus in 1968. Their home sits on a hill overlooking Puget Sound. With this stunning view, Susie spends time each morning reading the Bible. Since becoming a Christfollower in 1970, she finds her way into people’s lives by, in her words, “creating something.” The Wellings are surrounded by the beauty of creation in one of the most picturesque areas of our nation. In light of this, Susie observes, “We find many people who love the creation more than the Creator.” It is the Wellings’ desire that our Converge family pray for a spiritual awakening in the Northwest so that people become aware they need the Savior. Because of this great need, they also request prayer for God to raise up leaders and funds for more robust church planting in the Northwest. Steve and Susie live with a great desire to increase their understanding and leadership skills in order to lead others to a higher level of ministry effectiveness. Learn more personal details at cvrg.us/spring2013. By Donna Fagerstrom, staff writer
spring 2013
| point n 23
24 n point | spring 2013