Converge Point - Summer 2015 by Converge

summer 2015

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president from the

VOLUME 7 n NUMBER 4 EDITOR Bob Putman

DESIGNER, PRODUCTION MANAGER Pam Nelsen

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Fran Anderson Alllison Hurtado Point (issn/1546-3257) 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. Nonprofit Standard postage paid at Arlington Heights, Ill., and at additional mailing offices. © 2015 Baptist General Conference.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Point, 2002 S. Arlington Heights Rd., Arlington Heights, IL 60005-4193.

SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:

In recent weeks I had the privilege of visiting many of our districts and seeing the work of God lived out among our great churches. In PacWest, executive minister David Yetter and his team are taking ground with the gospel in rural, urban and suburban communities. A beautifully diverse group of leaders practice a wide variety of ministry styles. In our Northwest district (Steve Welling, executive minister), I met Jeremy, a young pastor helping a 130-year-old church find new life through renewed investment in their community. I attended the MidAmerica (Gary Rohrmayer, executive minister) celebration banquet and was thoroughly impressed by stories of life change through innovative church planting and community outreach strategies. At Bethel University, president Jay Barnes shared amazing stories of the power of Christ to transform lives on campus, in local communities and around the world. God is using the intentional interaction of students, staff and alumni in their circles of influence. Each day I see the kingdom of God being moved forward around the world through the passionate, intentional, creative efforts of God’s people. I marvel at the variety of methods, tactics and angles used to advance the gospel of Jesus to start and strengthen churches worldwide. The Apostle Paul said, “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some” (1 Cor. 9:22). That same thinking is driving our movement forward in wonderfully unique and creative ways. A new spirit of faith is sweeping through our churches — a spirit of innovation. It comes from a sense of urgency to take the gospel to those who are far from church but near to the heart of God. In this issue of Point, you will read about the efforts of many in our movement who understand that “to reach people we have not been reaching, we must do things we have not been doing.” Join me in embracing innovative efforts for the sake of helping people meet, know and follow Jesus.

ERIC JOHNSON

God-empowered innovation

Your partner in this mission,

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Scott Ridout President

on the cover Torry Babb served on several missions teams, but wondered why the gospel was rarely spoken. Seeing the universality of soccer, he invented the Mission Ball. PHOTO: DAVE EGGEN / INERTIA

2 n point | summer 2015

people converge

Jim Capaldo new Converge Heartland executive minister Jim Capaldo (r.), former outreach pastor of Central Baptist Church, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is the new Converge Heartland district executive minister. Capaldo replaces former executive minister Larry Odle (l.), who retired May 31. Odle began in his role in October 2003. During 12 years of leadership he effectively staffed the district for pastoral care, church planting, women’s ministries and global outreach. Twelve churches were planted, Heartland held annual ministry renewal retreats, pastoral prayer ministry flourished and Odle fostered global outreach to the Dominican Republic, Ukraine and Belize. Thanks, Larry and Kay, for a job well done.

Regional director for Europe begins In late March, Dennis McMains, with his wife Amanda, accepted the new position of director of Leadership Development — Europe. He will provide godly leadership to Converge missionaries on the continent. McMains served stateside for 27 years as a youth pastor and an executive pastor. During the past seven years he had significant ministry engagements in Europe.

John Marrs with the Lord John Marrs, former bgc missionary to Brazil, World Missions associate director and Mission Advance church representative, died April 4 from injuries incurred in an April 1 auto accident. He was 83.

Missionaries Gollings, Nordines and Sparks retire

Missionary Walton departs Bangkok to pastor Minnesota church Since July 1990, Kevin and Cynthia Walton have served as Converge missionaries among the urban poor in Bangkok, Thailand, planting Peace Community Church. With Thai leadership and numerous short-term workers, they also led the formation of additional pcc house churches in impoverished Bangkok communities. Returning to the U.S., on April 6 Kevin began ministry as pastor of Bethany Baptist Church, Roseville, Minnesota. Cynthia and their son Lucas joined him in June.

Longtime Mexico missionary Ruth Gollings (1) retired February 28. In January 1982, Ruth and her husband Dick moved to Mexico City to plant churches. They relocated to Tijuana in 1987 to continue that ministry, seeing many churches reproduce themselves. After Dick died in 2004, Ruth developed the Debora House of Refuge to reach hurting Mexican women and families. It continues as a Converge missions project. Dennis and Melody Nordine (2) retired May 30 after serving 37 years in the Philippines. Leaders of Baptist Theological College in Cebu and Cebu Graduate School of Theology, they mentored more than 4700 men and women. For the past decade they also led the Bethlehem Star of Peace in recruiting, training and deploying Filipino missionaries: 38 field interns (usually one year of service) and 26 career field workers. They continue as bsp volunteer staff. Other missionary retirements and departures: Steve and Suzanne Sparks (3) will retire in July after a long career training Christian surgeons in Cameroon. Chris and Faith Creech (4) resigned from Converge missions in January and now work with Pinnacle Ministries.

Gary Schroeder retires from MidAtlantic In his 13th year of ministry in the Converge MidAtlantic district, Gary Schroeder retired March 31. He completed his ministry as CMA associate minister of church enrichment. Previously Schroeder pastored Deerwood Baptist Church, Brown Deer, Wisconsin, and Calvary Baptist Church, Avon Lake, Ohio.

MORE ONLINE... New books from Converge authors

Read online summaries of A Grandmother’s Prayers, by Kay Swatkowski; Raindrops From Heaven, by Twila Belk; The Crucified Couple! Success Through Sacrifice in Relationships, by Joel Rissinger; Transferable Leadership, by Abe Funk at cvrg.us/summer2015. summer 2015

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INNOVATORS

Funny man Half the year he tours the States performing standup comedy in 100 bookings. The rest of the year he’s a passionate missionary in the Dominican Republic. What’s the punch line? BY BOB PUTMAN

If Mike Williams wasn’t a serious believer, you might think he was schizophrenic.

This spring he performed his crazy, clean comedy routine at 51 engagements. In the fall he’ll up that total to 101. The rest of the year he and his wife Terica (pronounced Teresa) and their four kids live in a 22- x 24-foot bunkhouse atop a mountain in Sosúa, Dominican Republic. Mike’s Cups of Cold Water project (cupsofcoldwater.com) helps deliver young girls from sex trafficking, feeds Haitian refugees, trains young girls and boys in work skills, discipleship and athletics and much more. So how did Williams’ bifurcated life come about? From 1995 to 2003 he served under pastor Steve Smith on staff at Grace Church, Lakeland, Florida, ultimately pastoring the church for three years. People found him humorous, and when he spoke at other churches, the congregations also loved his messages and his comedy. Eventually he met Christian comedian Carrot Top (Scott Thompson) and began writing for him. Driving home from a Carrot Top performance one night, Mike pulled off the highway and, in the glow of the Rooms to Go warehouse lights, asked God to make it clear if he should do Christian comedy instead of preach. Three days later a pastor friend asked Mike to do a comedy routine for a church event. Within a couple of months Mike was performing for 6000 college students at Daytona Speedway, after opening music acts Casting Crowns and Jessica Simpson. He’s been performing for 24 years, with daily appearances on SiriusXM Satellite Radio and for the Bananas Comedy Television series, Focus on the Family, Family Comedy Minute, Premier Christian Cruises, almost every Christian music festival and his staple: Pregnancy Resource Centers. Then a friend invited Mike to join him on a missions trip to Haiti. The poverty he saw there broke his heart. He returned to Florida wrestling with the question: How much can we Americans possess and still be in right standing with God when our Christian brothers around the world literally don’t have food? Six and a half years ago Mike and his family held a big garage sale, packed up and moved to Sosúa, where he and Terica now minister during the summer, late fall and winter months. They set up near a trafficking district where there were no churches or ministries. Traffickers use the area to round up little girls to sell on the streets. “Sometimes you can’t just sit there and do nothing,” Mike says. So they started Cups of Cold Water, based on Matthew 10:42. And they began to literally follow Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 25:35-36 (paraphrase): I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me something to drink, a stranger and you invited me in, naked and you clothed me, in prison and you visited me. The Cups weekly feeding ministry aids the poorest Haitian refugees and Dominicans living in the garbage dump. To house children, they partner with a local Christian orphanage. Their Sewing for Souls ministry teaches girls self-worth, discipleship and life skills while providing clothing for those in need. Other Cups efforts include a prison ministry, a movie truck that brings Christian films, summer teams that share Jesus’ love with trafficked girls working the streets and a banana plantation and Talapia farm, directed by a Bolivian missionary who also teaches farming techniques. Cups also has helped start two Pregnancy Resource Centers on the north coast of the Dominican Republic and three churches in Santo Domingo. So what’s the punch line? God chose to use a stand-up comic to reach people most of us would avoid. Funny? But then, isn’t that what Jesus had in mind? n Bob Putman is Point editor. Story idea suggested by Steve Smith, Lakeland, Fla.

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INNOVATORS

Why Tutapona? While watching the documentary “Invisible Children”

in 2005, professional counselors Carl and Julie Gaede were blown away by the Lord’s Resistance Army’s horrific brutality. The rebel group in northern Uganda, led by Joseph Kony, abducted 30,000 to 50,000 children from their homes, forcing the boys to fight as soldiers and often giving the girls to commanders as sex slaves. Some children were forced to kill their parents so that they wouldn’t have a home to return to. Other youth mutilated people, cutting off their hands, arms, lips, etc. Ugandan soldiers also committed atrocities. “We felt we had to do something,” Carl says. “No one was helping resolve the emotional trauma of the war. We saw an opportunity to bring Christ’s love to these hurting, vulnerable people.” The Gaedes, Bethel University graduates who later earned master’s degrees in social work, were managing Stillpoint Counseling Center in New Richmond, Wis., where they are members of Faith Community Church. In December 2006, Carl joined a missions team to Uganda to see the situation. In 2007 Julie joined Carl on his second trip. Upon their return, they met with fcc pastor Mike Evans and the elders to discuss their passion to help victimized Ugandan children and families. The church appointed the Gaedes missionaries, and in August 2008 the family moved to Gulu, in northern Uganda. While serving in Gulu with a ministry to orphaned children, to also provide trauma counseling, Carl and Julie set up their ministry: Tutapona (“We shall be healed”). Julie, their two daughters, adopted daughter and grandson relocated to Kampala, the capital city. Carl travels between the two locations. Carl adopted Empower, a two-week Christian trauma rehabilitation program by Australian Robie Sonderegger, to conduct trauma recovery counseling in villages around Gulu. The results were astounding. “Sometimes 80 percent of the participants came to know Christ,” he said. Over the past 6½ years, Tutapona used the trauma counseling program with more than 26,000 people in 75 villages. Tutapona also began working in three government refugee settlements in southern Sudan and used the Empower program in them for 18 months. But this success created two other pressing needs: (1) following up with so many new believers and (2) providing places for them to worship. For the first, the Gaedes added a two-week discipleship course for new believers. The second is more challenging. While on a home visit to New Richmond, Carl spoke about Uganda with pastor Evans and fcc Extension Ministries director Todd Hennlich. Evans is a member of the St. Croix Valley lead Team, pastors and leaders from six Converge churches and church plants who work to expand church planting in their corner of Great Lakes district (see sidebar). He and Carl discussed Uganda with lead Team head coach Larry Szyman (missional life pastor of Faith Community Church, Hudson). Evans and Szyman visited Tutapona this February to explore establishing three-year church planter training, to be funded by the six churches and offered three times a year. The churches committed $110,000 to the project, seeking to raise up a catalytic leader to direct church planting there. But Uganda is just the beginning. “I see a huge mission field before us,” says Carl. “With war and conflict across the globe, there’s an opportunity to present the gospel to millions of refugees.” And what of Kony and the lra? They still operate in Sudan, but the army is drastically reduced. n

Why would a successful Wisconsin couple uproot, move to Uganda and start a ministry among victims of Joseph Kony’s brutal Lord’s Resistance Army? BY THE EDITOR

St. Croix (Wis.) Valley lead Team Churches The Bridge Bible Church SOMERSET

Faith Community Church HUDSON

Faith Community Church NEW RICHMOND

The River RIVER FALLS

Torrent Church PRESCOTT

The Village Church BALDWIN

Bob Putman is Point editor. Story idea suggested by Pastor Mike Evans, New Richmond, Wis.

summer 2015

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INNOVATORS

Gap year Strengthening the bond between students and Christ Millennials are leaving the church. Here’s what a oneyear Bible school, tucked away on a lake in Washington, is doing about it. BY ALLISON HURTADO

6 n point | summer 2015

Hidden among trees and small wooden cabins is Adelphia Bible

School, a single, humble building proudly boasting the Adelphia logo. The one-year school is nestled on the shore of a lake so clear it is obvious nothing lurks at the bottom. A dock of colorful kayaks pops out against the magnificent mountain backdrop. The homes dotted around the lake belong in a Thomas Kinkade painting. Adelphia is located at Converge Northwest’s Lake Retreat, Ravensdale, Washington, steeped in a tradition of summer camps and ministry retreats. Many Adelphia students have legacies at the camp. Their parents went there for summer camps; they themselves were lifeguards. What was once a solution to the camp’s financial challenges is now a gap-year program about to begin its fifth year. Adelphia aims to equip millennials to grow deeper in their faith. The school originally opened in 1905, under the Baptist General Conference flagship. Dr. Emanuel Schmidt was the only teacher, instructing just five students. Adelphia was successful, but it closed in 1918 due to lack of finances during World War I. In fact, the library from the original school is now at Bethel University, in St. Paul, Minnesota. There is still a plaque at the original location, now part of Seattle University. “Steve Welling, Converge Northwest executive minister, and I were going through the Converge Northwest history book when we came to the section on Adelphia. We said to each other, ‘Heck, let’s revive it,’” Adelphia executive director Rob Neumann said. “And so we did.” Neumann brought Sean Post on board, who serves as the school’s academic dean. He believes “discipleship” is the word to describe the program they created.

Can millennials’ faith be preserved? “A lot of people are frightened by the statistics regarding millennials leaving the church. There’s a disconnect between the way we approach discipleship and how they perceive what it means to be a follower of Jesus,” Post said. “Discipleship is getting lost in translation. But at Adelphia, we are giving people a real way to follow Jesus.” Reaching millennials has proved to be a difficult task for the church. Sixty percent of high school students walk away from their faith after they graduate. Even more students abandon their faith during college. Todd Arrambide, director of Adelphia recruitment, says most students don’t know what to do after high school. Working with career and college-age students, Arrambide noticed many feel forced into attending a university. “The goal of the one-year Adelphia program is to prepare students to go into whatever they will do having experience in missional living and a biblical perspective,” Arrambide said. “It’s way more important to have a deep faith than a bunch of education and no faith. About 30 percent of Adelphia students go on to university.” Adelphia classes focus on what it means to live for Christ and in a community of believers. Arrambide teaches classes on the body, mind, soul and stewardship. Missions are a big part of the curriculum. A team goes into downtown Seattle every week to form relationships with the homeless. The students learn firsthand what it is to show people Christ. Young people in the United States are expected to earn a bachelor’s degree, even if they don’t know the direction they want to go. Post notes that following the American dream dictates life a certain way, and discipleship and God don’t compute. Neumann points out that gap-year (sometimes called link-year) programs between high school and college are common in Europe and Canada. “Very few programs in the U.S. target students who are unsure of attending college,” he said. “If you look around the world, we are the only country that doesn’t have gap programs.”

Karissa Daiber: ‘No idea what I was going to do’ Karissa Daiber (at left, center) is just one of many students who wasn’t sure what she would do after high school. She grew up in the church and even at Lake Retreat, spending summers there. Daiber enrolled in a local Christian university but didn’t know what studies she was going to pursue. That’s when she decided to check out Adelphia. “I was still trying to figure out what I was going to do, and the idea of a one-year Bible school was not appealing to me at all,” Daiber said. “Eventually God revealed to me my heart was in the wrong place and that I was going to college for the image and not for the right reasons.” Daiber was one of 20 Adelphia students in fall 2012: 10 men and 10 women. “Here [at Adelphia] I was able to focus on learning what it is to live for Christ in a community of believers and to go through all the ups and downs of that,” Daiber said. “It was here I fully understood the depth of grace and how that impacts my view of myself and the grace I extend to others.”

From disconnected faith to learning to live for Christ Neumann points out the practical standpoint of Adelphia: it continues relationships yearround. The program itself was inspired by the ministry happening at Lake Retreat. The camp saw 60 to 70 students bond each summer. Most of the Converge Northwest pastors have a tie to Lake Retreat. It’s a place believers get their first taste of ministry. “We should take advantage of and strengthen these bonds,” Neumann says. “I personally would love to see every district of Converge have a gap-year program. It builds up students instead of losing them as they go into college. The youth really need support.” Looking back at her decision, Daiber can’t imagine it any other way. She admits that before attending Adelphia, she never saw herself working at a church. Now she’s open to the idea. Before Adelphia, she had a relationship with God, but it lacked depth. She knew what evangelism was, but never practiced it. “My relationship with God was something I had, but I wasn’t doing the hard things and furthering my relationship with him,” she said. “If challenges arose, I didn’t know how to handle them. When I was in the Adelphia program, I had mentors and others who helped me. We faced problems together. If I had been at a public university, who knows what would’ve happened?” Over the course of five years, Adelphia has reached 75 young adults. Many go straight into ministry or, as Daiber will this fall, enroll at a community college to earn an associate degree. Daiber wants to help people. Her advice to other youth: “If you know the direction you want to go, go for it. For me, that just wasn’t the case. I was doing what other people wanted me to do as far as my education was concerned. Before going into debt, pray about your education. Be open to new ideas such as a one-year Bible school.” n Allison Hurtado is a Point contributing editor. Story idea suggested by Rob Neumann of Converge Northwest.

summer 2015

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INNOVATORS

A place to meet God Zoning ordinances, school and hotel usage regulations, overpriced rents, local restrictions on religious organizations — new churches face numerous challenges in finding a place to meet. With God’s help and provision, Converge church planters take some creative approaches to resolve this problem. Here are a few.

3 CHURCH IN A SKATING RINK

Ambassadors of Christ Fellowship Columbus, Georgia Luis Scott, pastor

CHURCH IN A MOVIE THEATER 1

Iron Ridge Church Waukon, Iowa Marlan Mincks, pastor After Mincks inked the contract to purchase the Main Feature Theatre & Pizza Pub in October 2007, the church decided to keep the restaurant open and remodel the theater as its sanctuary. All restaurant profits go to Iowa church planting.

8 n point | summer 2015

2 CHURCH IN A MOVIE THEATER

Epikos Church Milwaukee, West Allis Danny Parmelee, pastor Founded in 2004 in Milwaukee, Epikos purchased the Paradise Theater in suburban West Allis in June 2011 and completed remodeling a year later. Continuing to meet in Milwaukee, they opened their West Allis campus in June 2012.

In 2010 ACF bought the 25,000-squarefoot Lambert Skating Rink, which had been unoccupied for six years. After remodeling the rink, the church opened its sanctuary in October 2011 and added eight classrooms and three nurseries in 2012. English- and Spanish-speaking congregations share the facilities. A fellowship area, café and offices are under construction.

5 COFFEEHOUSE & CHURCH COMBO

SoZo Coffeehouse & Missio Dei Community Church Chandler, Arizona Scott Morgan, pastor

CHURCH IN A COMPUTER STORE 4

Heartland Church Indianapolis, Indiana Darryn Scheske, pastor Leading a new church of 30 people, pastor Scheske signed a lease in May 2001 on a former Elek-Tek Computer store. The church remodeled the building for classrooms, offices and a 1000seat sanctuary. Since then, additional sites were added in Indianapolis and at Purdue University in Lafayette.

When you walk into SoZo Coffeehouse in Chandler, Arizona, you won’t see crosses and Bible verses on the walls. And you won’t know a church of more than 100 people worships here every Sunday. In fact, the only hint of a church you’ll find is an 8.5”x11” sheet of paper displayed on the countertop. It reads “Missio Dei Community Church meets here every Sunday. All are welcome.” Pastor and owner Scott Morgan calls SoZo Coffeehouse and Missio Dei Community Church his “unique venture,” a combination of business and missions. Read more at cvrg.us.sozo.

CHURCH IN A GAS STATION 6

Epiphany Station Thief River Falls, Minnesota Jeff Gauss, pastor Available sites were hard to find in Thief River Falls for this 45-member church plant. After a long search, church planter Jeff Gauss settled on remodeling a gas station. Epiphany saw more than 500 attendees this Easter.

summer 2015

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INNOVATORS

International innovators It takes an entrepreneurial spirit to bring the gospel to unreached and overlooked people groups abroad. Here are four exemplary examples from Converge workers. BY THE EDITORS

10 n point | summer 2015

B. and Deb M. (left)

Tania Martin

West Africa

Ukraine

This couple, serving in Western Africa since September 2007, use chronological Bible storying in villages to reach an unreached people group of more than 5.5 million. Most people learn by listening, and in many cultures literacy is low or unpracticed. So, telling Bible stories that are passed orally from person to person is a powerful way to deliver the gospel and other biblical teaching. This March nearly 130 women came from five villages to participate in a women’s gathering. Most are involved in weekly meetings in their villages, where Bible storying and appropriate development lessons are facilitated. The M.’s continue to publish portions of the Bible in the local language, and last June, B. led a five-day consultation for ministry leaders who reach out to the unreached people group. The M.’s regularly bring their friends into contact with national believers. Last September, their team hosted a gathering of 80 people for a day of good food, friendship and Bible study. About half were followers of Islam open to learning more about Jesus. A former Muslim led discussion on the life and death of the Messiah.

A member of First Baptist Church of Glenarden, Landover, Md., Tania Martin has served as a Converge missionary in Rivne, Ukraine, since January 2009. Armed with gifts of evangelism and discipleship, Martin weathered the Russian military takeover of Crimea and its incursions into Eastern Ukraine. Up to and throughout those troubled months, the home groups and discipleship/ study groups she leads continued to meet, with one girl from the teen group placing her faith in Christ. Last September Martin helped launch a monthly women’s discussion at the church she attends. The women meet in small groups during the week for prayer, friendship and spiritual growth. Some of her other ministry involvements include: n Weekly one-on-one discipleship with three teen girls and a woman. n MovieCenter for teens every Friday during the school year and Ultimate Frisbee twice a week in late spring and summer. n Social issues lectures for eight- and ninth-grade classes in a school near the church. n Teen camp each summer. n English School Summer Camp annually. Martin shares the gospel with teens and reports conversions having occurred after a birthday party, at the closing of English School Camp and on other occasions. She is highly effective in a nation where her skin tone doesn’t blend in. David J., Converge’s International field director, said of her, “If every missionary had the impact Tania had in her first term, it would be mind-blowing.”

Mike and Nicole Zins Thailand Since January 2013, the Zins have been combating the dark world of human trafficking in Thailand. They work for the hug Project, a local faith-based organization run by a Thai woman named Boom. The project exists to protect children from violence, exploitation and abuse. The Zins provide emergency foster care services for child victims of trafficking, high-risk cases of trafficking and child sexual abuse. One girl, daughter of a single alcoholic father, dropped out of school at 13. A friend introduced her to a trafficker, who put her to work. When she escaped, the Zins gave her protection and care for several months. The girl made a commitment to trust in Christ and made great strides in her restoration. She recently graduated from 9th grade, which opens up many jobs and higher education opportunities. Last September the Zins’ team participated in an investigation that led to the arrest of an American pedophile who was sexually abusing boys. Then this January, they collaborated with other nongovernmental organizations under the lead of the Royal Thai Police Woman and Child Protection Unit Region 5. Together they were able to locate and capture the trafficker who delivered boys to the American. The Zins are currently helping Boom, police Lt. Col. Apichart and other partners to establish a Children’s Advocacy Center in Chiang Mai, the first of its kind in Thailand.

Ellie Lundquist Brazil Lundquist has sought numerous ways to pursue her unique calling: bringing the gospel to the deaf in São José dos Campos, Brazil, so that it is understandable and with Christ’s love. Many deaf Brazilians are isolated from their families and communities due to lack of communication. Serving in Brazil since February 2009, Lundquist currently co-teaches a weekly sign language class for 25 students at Igreja Batista da Graça (Grace Baptist Church). Students are trained to share the gospel using sign language. For World Deaf Day last September 27, Lundquist participated in an evangelistic outreach event for the deaf that was exclusively in Brazilian sign language. Last October she interpreted at a plenary session of a conference of over 2000 people. She works closely in collaboration with Editora Fiel Ministries in São José dos Campos, developing training and discipleship materials for the deaf and for those who work with them. n

summer 2015

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C E C R O WITH A S MESSAGE

INNOVATORS

Torrey Babb and The Mission Ball BY CHRISTA OLSON RUDI INTERNATIONAL

DAVE EGGEN / INERTIA

In 2005, Torrey Babb,

a 30-year-old youth leader and hockey player from Brandon, S. D., found himself building houses in Mexico on his first short-term missions trip. The bug bit. Soon he visited Israel, Guatemala and New Orleans. Meanwhile, Babb grew frustrated. “We’re delivering food, houses, fresh water — great things in Christ’s name. Why not the gospel? Without it, we’re paving their road to hell!” God was at work, igniting fire in Babb’s spirit. Fast forward: February 2008, Minneapolis Target Center. While Babb’s wife Heather and church youth stood with 22,000 others worshiping at the Let Your Voice Be Heard conference, Babb sat — wrestling in prayer. Head bowed, he recalled a recent missions trip to Ecuador, where he saw impoverished children kicking wadded-up sacks for balls. When his team tossed a real soccer ball onto their concrete slab, 12 kids instantly grew to 30. He entrusted the ball to a local pastor, who shared the gospel. Then they played soccer. It hit Babb: “In every country where we ministered, we played soccer. Whenever we had a soccer ball, we had a crowd.” Excited, Babb startled Heather from worship with a scribbled note: “What if we put the gospel on a soccer ball?” For The Mission Ball, it was game on. After scouring the Internet studying soccer balls, in May 2008 Babb ordered his first 100 sample Mission Balls, jam-packed with Scripture in English. Now folks saw The Mission Ball meant more than scribbling John 3:16 on a cheap soccer ball with a Sharpie®. Money was raised for a few more. Babb founded the nonprofit organization Gomadis (Matt. 28:19, “Go... make disciples”) to oversee The Mission Ball, and orders mushroomed. Since the first official 2009 production of 10,500 in five languages, 65,000 Mission Balls in 34 languages have gone to 70 countries and, in the U.S., to all 50 states. Balls have been distributed mostly through short-term missions trips, through such events as the World Cup and music festivals and through VBS, sports camps and gifts. Testimonies abound, even from difficult areas, including a Nigerian village recently devastated by Boko Haram terrorists. A high-quality soccer ball with the gospel presented three ways on six panels, The Mission Ball withstands concrete, asphalt and gravel pits, the “soccer fields” of the world. (To order, visit themissionball.com.) Today, Babb and his family attend Faith Baptist Fellowship, Sioux Falls, S.D., and he keeps books for CrossFit Phós, a fitness training facility he and Heather co-own. But you’ll frequently find the Babbs packing or distributing Mission Balls and training pastors worldwide. Babb’s passion? “Grace alone by faith alone through Christ alone. Giving people an opportunity to share that message. Anywhere, anytime, with anyone.” n Christa Olson is the wife of pastor Dana Olson, Sioux Falls, S.D., who suggested the story idea.

12 n point | summer 2015

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Learn more www.bethel.edu summer 2015

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INNOVATORS

The $1 church

PAUL GARROD

Most of the stories in this issue of Point show us what innovative ministry looks like. This one reminds us who is the real innovator. BY ALLISON HURTADO

Freshwater Community Church launched in Paw Paw, Michigan, in 2005.

Planter Troy Gentz scoped out his new community for locations, with few to be found large enough to hold a church. He found an iconic two-story brick school building and asked the board if they would be willing to rent space to a new church. At first Gentz could not even get the school director to answer his calls. He went above her head — to the district superintendent. It was then he got his answer: No. The 90-year-old school wanted nothing to do with a church. “It was really disheartening at the time,” Gentz said. “We had such a hard time finding a building, we even had unchurched people calling me and trying to help. My wife prayed, ‘God, we can plant anywhere — just don’t put us in a warehouse.’” And that’s exactly where the church wound up. “Building options kept getting shut down, so I finally called the owner of a warehouse, and honestly, it looked like a crack house,” Gentz said. “I told the guy I’ll rent your building, but I’ll renovate it first, and he thought that was cool. We were eight weeks from launch. We had to push it back a month.”

From ‘No’ to a conditional ‘Yes’ After two years, Freshwater Community outgrew the space. They did what most churches would do: looked into buying property for a new building and at an old church building. Executive pastor Jason Bull was excited to expand the church but, yet again, something just wasn’t right. “Both plans were exciting,” Bull said. “But God closed the doors on both scenarios. At the same time our youth director took an IT job at that old school.” While the youth director was building a relationship with school faculty, Freshwater members were out in their community helping with various projects. Bull says they raked yards and helped reboard a boardwalk in the center of town. Although he credits their youth director with encouraging them to give the school director one last phone call, being visible in the community was a large part of opening the door. “I think people started noticing us,” Bull said. “They saw us and thought, ‘Hey, those Freshwater Church people are cool and really like to help out.’” A conversation started between the church and the school about structuring a use agreement to share the space. Such an agreement had never been done before, but Freshwater was granted a five-year

14 n point | summer 2015

STUDIOONE CREATIVE

agreement. They shared the building with the Michigan Avenue Academy, an alternative education school with a teen mom program and ged classes. Parts of the 57,000-square-foot school were dilapidated and falling apart. “The auditorium was unusable. Paint was peeling off the walls and chairs were broken,” Bull said. “We had $75,000 saved for whatever God wanted us to do. So we renovated the auditorium.”

Used as an alternative education school, the building wasn’t part of the district’s normal operating budget, leaving limited funds for upkeep and repair. The congregation went well beyond its agreement. The church painted, renovated the library, replaced carpet and even bought the school children Christmas presents. At the end of the five years, in October 2013, the school director gave Gentz a call. She said, “I want you to hear it from me first. The Paw Paw school district is consolidating and looking at possibly moving the academy from the property.” “She wanted us to know they had every intention of allowing our church to stay because she believed our partnership was a really cool and divine thing,” Bull said. Instead of continuing to lease them the space, the school offered fcc a chance to buy it. “The transaction was a really long process, with studies and building assessments and lots of board meetings. It was hard because we had to prepare our body without telling them more than we could.” This February, the school board held a meeting and put the school building up for bids. “From the nature of our conversations, we knew the school district wasn’t after making a profit on the sale. So we decided to bid one dollar,” Bull said. “They had to wait 60 days to see who submitted bids. Ours was the only one.” The school board voted on the sole bid and passed it unanimously. Freshwater Church bought the building for a buck. Even the school board president called the situation a “God thing.” A decade of praying bought a building, which a church plant of a dozen could only dream about. The church had risked saying yes to a usage agreement, with no permanent plan in mind. “We believe our church only needs half the space, but what’s crazy is that way back when we were in our first location, we started seeing people coming to Freshwater who were addicts or recently released from prison,” Bull said. “Early on, we thought our calling to Paw Paw was to be a community center and a church, so it’s crazy that God had said no to all our other options, leaving us in a rental situation that we had no idea would end this way.”

STUDIOONE CREATIVE

From ‘Yes’ to an amazing offer

Top left: Carol Edinger, director of Community Education; Troy Gentz, lead pastor; Anthony Habra, superintendent; Jason Bull, executive pastor.

Only God could do this Freshwater continues to pray as a church to find a way to use the building as more than a church. Bull says they will do a capital campaign to raise money to make the floor plan more church-friendly and address some maintenance issues. One thing won’t change, and that’s community involvement. Each year Freshwater holds a free Kids Zone during the town’s annual festival, Paw Paw Days. They also partner with another organization to fight meth addiction and have raised almost $50,000 for the program over the past four years. Freshwater has adopted a slogan: “In the community for the community.” “The building is amazing, but the favor we’ve received in the town and the openness people have is bigger than the building,” Gentz said. “We have the building because God granted us favor. He really did. We’ve been faithful to our community. We’ve lived out what Jesus did.” “We feel incredibly blessed by God. You couldn’t build this building for under $5 million,” Bull said. “It’s huge. We will continue to position ourselves for the greater good. God is here.” God leads people to accomplish many innovative things for the growth and health of his kingdom. But behind it all is the King, an innovator who can provide a young congregation its first building — for a buck. n Allison Hurtado is a Point contributing editor. summer 2015

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16 n point | summer 2015