2017-2018 CBF Offering for Global Missions
Worship Resources
On the leading edge of the modern missionary movement, Baptists have been forming together, making disciples of all nations through long-term presence and commitment to serve the most forgotten and forsaken people around the world. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship engages in three primary contexts: Global Poverty, Global Migration and the Global church, spreading the love of Christ in 30 countries across the globe. Through the work of CBF field personnel and Together for Hope, CBF’s rural poverty initiative, Cooperative Baptists are bringing renewal to God’s world through ministries that transform lives and extend the hope of Christ. The CBF Offering for Global Missions is the primary source of support ensuring the long-term presence of field personnel around the world, funding salaries, benefits, housing costs and children’s educational needs. You and your congregation are invited to journey with us as we discover the ways that God is working alongside CBF field personnel cultivating beloved community in Uganda, Virginia and the Research Triangle of North Carolina. We invite you to join us as we engage in these ministries of transformation. By watching our Cultivating Beloved Community video series alongside these Bible studies for children, youth and adults, you and your congregation will learn about the amazing impact of the long-term presence of field personnel and ways to engage in transformational development in your own community. The OGM Bible studies for children, youth and adults each feature three lessons centered around the ministries of Jade and Shelah Acker in Kampala, Uganda; Missy Ward-Angalla in Kampala, Uganda; Marc and Kim Wyatt in the Research Triangle of North Carolina; and Jessica Hearne in Danville, Va. Each lesson includes a ministry focus on CBF field personnel, biblical connection, missional connection and a call to action.
Editor Aaron Weaver, CBF Communications Manager
For more information on the CBF Offering for Global Missions, visit www.cbf.net/OGM.
Associate Editor Carrie McGuffin, CBF Communications Assistant Specialist
Graphic Designer Jeff Langford
OFFERING FOR GLOBAL MISSIONS www.cbf.net/OGM
IMPACT STORY #1 Learning about the soil, cultivating the land, planting the seeds, taking care of the plants, and enjoying the harvest— necessary work to maintain any garden or farm. And these actions of learning, cultivating, planting, caring for, and enjoying are also important actions in building an enduring and stable community. Creating a garden requires time, commitment, and even sometimes asking hard questions about what to do next to continue growth. Just as a gardener may ask questions about ensuring the growth of a crop, as Christians, we are encouraged to ask hard questions about what steps we must take in order to grow, and to eliminate the walls we sometimes create to separate ourselves into categories or labels like “us” and “them.” What began as a 5-person Bible Study and a shared meal in Danville, Virginia, turned into a group of people asking hard questions about what it means to be a community that provides radical hospitality. Cooperative Baptist field personnel Jessica Hearne is a part of this group of people. Through the simple acts of eating together, praying together, and asking hard questions together, the community of Grace and Main was created. The community of Grace and Main is a group of people committed to provide for each member of the community through shared resources, shared meals, and shared prayer. The ministry that Jessica and the community of Grace and Main embody, is a ministry that lives in relationship and finds the needs within the community. One of the major ways that Jessica and her husband Josh build relationships with their neighbors is by sharing meals. Jessica and Josh know that the rate of people experiencing poverty in Danville
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is extremely high, but that there are also many people and resources in the community that are waiting to engage with each other. Jessica says that, “Transformation is not clean work, it’s not something that happens because of a program that you implement. Transformation is something that happens by building relationships with people.” And one of the best ways to do that is through sharing a meal with others, and Grace and Main continues to provide a place for meal sharing. Because the community of Grace and Main focuses on meal sharing and living life together, urban farming has helped build and strengthen relationships in this community as well. The planting of seeds, the care for the garden by the people who live in the neighborhood where the farm exists, and the harvesting and eating of the produce has proven to be a cultivator of relationships. As the garden is cultivated and cared for, so is the community. And out of the meal sharing, and praying, has come a deeper sense of hospitality. People who have previously experienced homelessness or hunger are demonstrating the lived out radical hospitality that tears down walls that restrict our community from growing. There are people like a man named James who now opens his home to allow others to stay with him, and people like Kenneth who uses his gifts of cooking to share with the community so that together they may learn, cultivate, plant, care for, and enjoy life together. There are many others who are a part of the community of Grace and Main, and we have the opportunity to participate with and learn from this community through the gifts we give to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s Offering for Global Missions. Will you join us as we cultivate community?
IMPACT STORY #2 He continued, “What’s a good image for God’s kingdom? What parable can I use to explain it? Consider a mustard seed.When scattered on the ground, it’s the smallest of all the seeds on the earth; but when it’s planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all vegetable plants. It produces such large branches that the birds in the sky are able to nest in its shade.” Mark 4:30-32 (CEB) Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel, Jade and Shelah Acker and Missy Ward-Angalla, have given life to Jesus’ words about the mustard seed. They have joined in the work of providing a place of refuge for people in Kampala, Uganda through the nonprofit organization Refuge and Hope International. Though Refuge and Hope began as something small, it has grown into something bigger that helps provide education, counseling, and social workers. Refuge and Hope International is a place that provides rest, hope, and empowerment for refugees, much like the large branches of a mustard plant that provide a place for birds in the sky. Uganda is unique because unlike many other countries, the people in Uganda want to be a welcoming center for those in need. Ugandans are a key part of the growth that has occurred at Refuge and Hope. Uganda welcomes almost 2,000 refugees a day, and has decided to keep the borders open to those seeking refuge. The Ugandans have experienced a history of hard times, and they want to be a place that welcomes people who are experiencing these same things. The work that the Ackers began in 2001 to help seven former child soldiers and two young street boys find a place of refuge, has grown to become a place of refuge for thousands of people in Uganda. The work they began as a small act has grown to be an example of a global community working together.
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As a young seminary student answering the call God placed on her life, Missy Ward-Angalla spent a summer working with the Ackers in Uganda. From her experience, she decided to continue to be a part of the growing community in Uganda, and has extended the branches of the kingdom through ministry with women who are especially vulnerable. The community center in Kampala that began with around 25 refugees, now serves around 1,000 refugees in one year. And the goal of Refuge and Hope, to not just provide a place of refuge, but to also provide a place of empowerment, can be seen through the faith and hope of people like Esau. Esau came to Refuge and Hope as a refugee participating in the youth group, and although he left his country, his home, and his family, he continues to walk with Jesus by giving back to others in the community by teaching and helping mentor the youth who are going through the same things he has gone through. The tree has extended beyond the city of Kampala, guided by churches in the U.S., churches in Uganda, field personnel, and refugees who all partner together to provide growth and hope for one another. God’s kingdom can be seen in the growth and willingness of the global community coming together. By giving to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s Offering for Global Missions, we help extend the branches of the mustard plant to provide hope and refuge for the thousands of people who are a part of the community in Uganda.
IMPACT STORY #3 Part of the challenge—but also the beauty—of living in community together, comes in the unique gifts that each person contributes to the community. Sometimes it is easier to focus on the things that make us different from one another, but when we acknowledge and are attentive to the unique gifts and needs of our community, we are better able to remember God’s vision for the Church working together. We are better able to put our gifts into action to meet the needs of those in the communities around us when we are attentive to the ways that the Holy Spirit is moving in our world. In Raleigh, North Carolina, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel Kim and Marc Wyatt rely on the Holy Spirit to guide churches and individuals to recognize their gifts and offer their gifts to ensure that the community of refugees in North Carolina is taken care of. As refugees arrive in a new country with nothing but the clothes they are wearing and sometimes a suitcase of personal belongings, they are met with the challenge of moving forward, finding community, and making a new home. The decision to leave your home country is not something that is easy. Refugees are fleeing violence that has taken over the place where they call home. When refugees flee, they are seeking a community that will welcome them, and as Christ’s Church, we are called to welcome and employ our gifts to help others in need. Deuteronomy 10:18-19 reminds us of our call to love the foreigner residing among us and to give people food and clothing. Part of the ministry that Kim and Marc Wyatt participate in is through
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the development and sustainment of Welcome House Raleigh. Welcome House Raleigh provides a place of community for refugees who arriving in the U.S. Sometimes, though, when refugees arrive, there is not a permanent apartment ready for them upon arrival, so Welcome House provides a home for them until their apartment is ready. There are many examples of people who use their gifts to provide for refugees at Welcome House Raleigh. People have constructed beds for furniture in the apartments, hospitality teams have been created to prepare apartments, and people have volunteered time to take refugees grocery shopping. Grocery shopping is something that does not seem like a new or challenging task, but operating a selfcheckout is a new task for many refugees who have never been in a grocery store. By providing guidance and help in a new community, people are also providing hope. Churches have taken seriously the call to love their new neighbors by considering the resources and gifts they have to offer. One example of this is Hope House, which is a house modeled after Welcome House Raleigh that provides refugees a home when they arrive in the U.S. Hope House was established after a church in Durham prayerfully considered what they had to offer their neighbors. By sharing our gifts with one another, we are sharing Christ’s love and sharing in community. We have the opportunity to share our gifts that will encourage and support the community through the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s Offering for Global Missions.
RESPONSIVE READING #1 BASED ON EPHESIANS 2:11-22 Leader reads the light print Congregation reads the bold print All read the Italicized print As Jesus reconciled the Gentiles and the Jews May our feet move to restore relationships within our community As Jesus broke down the dividing barrier of hostility May our words of peace remove hostility among us As the Church is gathered together as God’s household May our arms extend to open our doors to embrace those who are different from us As the Church has endured times of great pressure May our stories continue the hard work toward the vision of God’s Church As we have created the church in our own image May our eyes be open to the beautiful diversity in the church created in God’s image As we once felt that we had no hope May our hearts be changed as we welcome the hopeless from far and near May we embody the vision of God’s church in the world. Amen.
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RESPONSIVE READING #2 BASED ON JOHN 13:1-17, MATTHEW 22:37 AND MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.’S “THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH IN FACING THE NATION’S CHIEF MORAL DILEMMA,” 1957 Leader reads the light print Congregation reads the bold print All read the Italicized print Jesus came to serve Not to be served May we seek to serve because it is right Not because we seek a reward Jesus washed the feet of those around him May we join with Jesus to serve as an example of the hoped for future May we find ourselves on the ground, sitting with and serving with those in our community and around the world May we not be afraid of getting our hands and feet and clothes dusty for the sake of serving others We confess that sometimes it is easier to walk away than to sit together and mend relationships But the end is reconciliation Jesus says, “love with all your heart” The end is redemption Jesus says, “love with all your being” The end is the creation of the beloved community Jesus says, “love with all your mind” An overflowing love which seeks nothing in return Let us commit ourselves to the example of Jesus, to the hoped for vision of God’s beloved community.
OFFERING FOR GLOBAL MISSIONS www.cbf.net/OGM
CHILDREN’S SERMON #1 PREPARATION:
Gather a table cloth, plates, utensils, napkins, etc. to prepare a picnic or “table” on the ground. Before the children’s sermon, if given in a multi-generational setting, give cookies, chips, juice boxes, etc. to various church members throughout the congregation. If this sermon will be given in a setting without adults, give older children the food. Instruct them to pull out the food when asked if they have any chips, cookies, etc.
SAY:
Today we are going to have a picnic! I brought what we need to set our table. Can you all help me set the table?
ASK:
(After the table is set) Okay, now who brought the food? (Let children look around for a minute. Take a moment before asking the next questions) Did no one remember to bring the food? I’m kind of hungry… To congregation/older children: Does anyone out there have any food? What about some chips? (person should walk forward bringing chips) Cookies? Juice? (Everyone with food should now join the picnic)
SAY:
Thank you all for sharing with us!
ASK:
Did any of you worry we may not have any food?
SAY:
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Thankfully, our friends shared with us and joined us to make our meal even better, with even more people sitting around the table. There are people in our community that are hoping and praying to be able to join us at a table. They may be hoping because they are hungry or maybe because they feel left out. Jesus asks us to share what we have and to invite others to join us at our tables, in our homes, and in our church, so that we have an even better understanding of how God wants us to live together.
One lady who works with people in her community to make sure that everyone has a place at a table, is a lady named Jessica Hearne. Jessica is a CBF Field Personnel who lives in Virginia, and she loves people by inviting them to eat with her in her home. Jessica says that it is “hard to sit and eat with somebody and not start to care about (them)”
ASK:
Have you ever eaten with someone you didn’t really know? Was it kind of hard to know what to talk about at first? Sometimes it may be hard to eat with strangers, but after a little while, it gets easier and we learn so much about other people.
SAY:
This week, I want you to think about who you can invite to your table. Let’s pray.
PRAY:
Dear God, thank you for people like Jessica Hearne who remind us what it looks like to live together with our neighbors. Help us to think deeply about who we can invite to our tables, so that we can understand how to love our community better. Amen.
CHILDREN’S SERMON #2 PREPARATION:
For this children’s sermon, you should have a few helpers who can guide children from one space to the next, as this children’s sermon is a walk through the sanctuary or worship space.
SAY:
Today we are going to go on a walk throughout the sanctuary. As we do, I want you to remember things you have experienced in this space. So let’s start by standing up. Start in the area where communion occurs.
ASK:
What happens here? (Communion, eating bread, etc.)
SAY:
When we take communion, we remember that we are a part of a story that is bigger than us. Just as Jesus ate with the disciples, and just as Christians around the world share this moment of remembering Jesus together, we remember that we are a part of a community that is bigger than just the people within this space. Walk to an area close to the baptistery that is visible to children. If you are in a space without a baptistery, you can simply ask children “what happens in the baptistery? “
ASK:
What happens here? (People are baptized)
SAY:
If you have been baptized, this water can remind you of your own baptism. And if you haven’t been baptized, this water is here when you are ready. This water is a reminder of how we agree to walk with and follow Jesus in our own community. Move to the middle of the sanctuary/ worship space. Make sure there are people surrounding you.
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I want you to look out into the congregation around you. Look at all of these people in this space. Think of someone in this place who has helped you when you were having a hard time. The people in this room who we are walking by, these people have agreed to walk alongside you, too. Even when you are having a hard time. (If your church participates in baby dedications, this can be a time to include the commitment made by the church to the children.) Walk to the back doors/exit. The things that happen in this room are a reminder of how we are supposed to live when we leave. Jesus asks us to walk alongside each other—even when it’s hard. Jesus asks us to share food with each other, to spend time with each other, to encourage each other, and to walk with Jesus. But Jesus doesn’t just ask us to walk with the people who are inside our own church. Jesus asks us to walk with people in other churches around our town and around the world, and people who may not go to church. When we walk together, we learn and remember that we are a part of a bigger story, a story that reminds us that we are a part of a community in the good times and even the hard times.
PRAY:
God, thank you for giving us a community that walks with us. Help us take steps to walk with those who are outside the doors of our church. Help us to remember we are a part of a bigger community than what we even experience here on a Sunday morning. Amen. When you get back to your seats, turn to the people around you and say, “I am glad to walk with you.”