2012 October/November fellowship!

fellowship!

CBF

October/NOvember 2012

Cooperative baptist fellowship | www.thefellowship.info

Serving Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission

Rebuilding lives through education In Indonesia, CBF field personnel Cindy and Eddy Ruble are being the presence of Christ through educational projects, programs and partnerships.

CBF photo

Read more about their ministry on pages 18-21.

A new way forward

By Patrick Anderson, CBF Interim Executive Coordinator To me, CBF is an emboldened group of people living in this uncertain world, living free of fear and embracing life in the Spirit. The folks who make up the CBF universe are forward-looking, optimistic, hopeful, tolerant and patient.

This has been the case from our beginning, at least as I have experienced it.

I recently met in Atlanta with five people I may never have been blessed to know as friends were it not for CBF: Buddy Shurden, Hardy Clemons, Carolyn Crumpler, Lavonn Brown and Randall Lolley. Those five, and I could make a much longer list of their peers, were courageous leaders and creators of what we all claim as our Baptist home, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. We honor them, and by doing so call up the courage to make ourselves useful in our own time, for our own time of transition and creation also requires the same qualities which were found in them in abundance.

The life path of CBF has not been linear, orderly. Our life together has not been preset and predictable. Risk has often been required, and where risk exists, some courage and conviction is required. Godly risks are the kind that can change the world. Who among our forebears, both in CBF life and in the Scriptures, lived dull, ordinary lives?

Did anyone lead a more courageous life than Esther or have a greater adventure than Mary the mother of Jesus?

As children of God, we are not slaves and will not fall back into fear. We will not be afraid of anything, much less changes that lead us into the future. We will not fear the unknown or unpredictable. Those have been home for us.

Changing times, changing organizational structures and changing dynamics in churches all led our 2012 Task Force to create a new way forward for CBF. This is an exciting new wrinkle in our adventure. The Task Force and many others in CBF life spent time in prayer, all seeking to hear the voice of God regarding CBF. Like Samuel in Eli’s care it is not easy to hear and understand God. In our age of cacophonous noise and constant communication it would be easier if God could just text us his message. But God does not make it that easy. God expects us to pay close attention and discern God’s voice in the midst of the noise of our lives. I believe God spoke and the Task Force has listened. We will move forward to implement the 2012 Task Force Report in that firm belief.

Part of that plan invites churches to formally state, for everyone to see, how and to what extent they partner and identify with CBF. Each church may do this in its own way, offering a symbol of partnership as we look together toward CBF’s promising future.

But in the process of change we will step out in the spirit of Esther and Mary, of Paul and Peter, of role models in the life of CBF like Molly Marshall and Daniel Vestal and many others we can all name. We will resist becoming afraid of change Vol. 22, No. 5 and the consequences of new ways of doing things. And like Samuel who heard the Interim executive Coordinator • voice of God and later became a man of strength and confidence, the adult CBF Patrick Anderson managing Editor • Patricia Heys organization is strong, confident and still listening.

Associate Editor • Carla Wynn Davis Phone • (770) 220-1600 Fax • (770) 220-1685 E-Mail • fellowship@thefellowship.info Web Site • www.thefellowship.info

fellowship! is published 6 times a year in Feb./March, April/May, June/July, Aug./Sept., Oct./Nov., Dec./Jan. by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Inc., 2930 Flowers Road South Suite 133, Atlanta, GA 30341. Periodicals postage paid at Atlanta, GA. USPS #015-625. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to fellowship! Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, 2930 Flowers Road South, Suite 133, Atlanta, GA 30341.

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Contents Serve: Construction opportunities

Church Spotlight: Monte Vista Baptist Church, Maryville, Tenn.

Partner Spotlight: Columbia Partnership

Five online tools that can help your church

Ministry through art • In Bali, CBF field personnel build relationships, connect people of faith • Jewelry making business helps empower women in Kentucky • Crafting ornaments helps Romany women provide for families

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Affect: October Ministry through art Rebuilding lives through education • CBF ministry helps rebuild lives in Indonesia • Hope Academy provides Karen refugees with resources for success • CBF field personnel use education to promote community development

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Affect: November Rebuilding Lives through education

2012 Task Force: What’s next?

SELAHvie retreat for college students

CBF Photo

CBF field personnel Jonathan and Tina Bailey live and work in Bali, a culture that places emphasis on beauty and art.

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When you give...

CBF photo

Kim Wyatt, one of CBF’s field personnel, ministers among immigrants and refugees in Canada through Matthew House.

“The story of Matthew House is about refugees being welcomed, and not just symbolically. It takes bricks and mortar, bread and water, hugs and tears, laughter and authentic Christian community to make the words of Matthew 25:35-36 visible.

And thousands of refugees continue to be welcomed into hope, joy and freedom because of the CBF Offering for Global Missions and other gifts.”

Kim and Marc Wyatt, CBF field personnel in Canada

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wo years ago, while living in Montreal, Canada, Alexa divorced her husband and in the process lost custody of her daughter, Ariane.

Seeking the comfort of home, she returned to Thailand but could not bear living 8,000 miles from her daughter. So she quit her job, sold her car, bartered her possessions away and returned to Montreal. While she found employment and a place to stay, both accommodations were only temporary, and Alexa found herself on the verge of homelessness.

In her moment of need, a Christian friend came with encouragement, an invitation to church and a referral to Matthew House, a network of immigrant refuge centers co-founded by CBF field personnel Kim and Marc Wyatt. At Matthew House, Alexa not only found a permanent home but employment as well. She now serves

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as the host of Matthew House Montreal, where she welcomes refugees who have fled their often broken and war-torn homelands in search of a new life.

With homes in Toronto, Ft. Erie, Windsor, Montreal and Ottawa, Matthew House continues to be the presence of Christ among internationals like Alexa by offering shelter, help with immigration procedures, assistance with permanent accommodation and true friendship.

But Matthew House means more than a friendly welcome, Marc said. Since its holistic ministry began in 1998, Matthew House has relied on God’s provision through support from Christians, especially Fellowship Baptists.

“Those who live at one of the five Matthew Houses are not simply invited but truly adopted into the families of churches and individuals who follow Jesus,” Marc

said. “In the beginning, we brought what little loaves and fish we had, because we were just the little boy at the big meeting.

But we took it and said, ‘Lord, use this,’ and since those first pieces of furniture, God has multiplied our resources a thousand times.”

Alexa believes God brought her to Canada so that she would find her way and experience truth. She speaks often with her family and friends in Thailand about her new life and hopes to return one day as a missionary among her own people. God rescued her at the right time, she said.

“I questioned myself,” Alexa said.

“Should I secure myself and follow God later? Should I get what I need first? But God knew everything about me, my heart and my need and led me to Maison Matthieu Montreal (Matthew House). And instead of moving into an apartment of my own, I moved into God’s kingdom.”

Your support of all the Fellowship’s mission and ministries makes possible countless stories of lives changed. To give, go online to www.thefellowship.info/givenow or use the envelope provided in this issue.

October/NOvember 2012

Serve Opportunities to

Help build and repair homes, churches and schools n Haiti

CBF photo

CBF photo

www.thefellowship.info/haiti Church campus reconstruction Reconstruction efforts began in April 2012 on Temple Baptist Church with church members donating time and materials to the project. Short-term mission teams are needed to work alongside Haitians in this effort.

If additional funding is received, the church hall and pastor’s house will be built.

Through the Haiti Housing Network mission teams are helping build earthquake resistant permanent housing in Haiti.

Community housing efforts In partnership with Conscience If additional funding is received, teams n Lebanon International, the CBF-coordinated will be needed to add a second story to Haiti Housing Network has built 100 www.thefellowship.info/boulos the school. homes at a cost of just $4,500 per house.

In Lebanon, CBF field personnel The homeowner helps construct his Chaouki and Maha Boulos have worked to or her house and, when possible, local n North Carolina build the White Wings Conference Center, building supplies are used. Teams are www.thefellowship.info/anderson which opened last fall and can house up to needed to help with construction on these LaCount Anderson, one of CBF’s 70 people. Teams are still needed to help expandable starter houses. field personnel, works with Union continue construction and expansion. The School construction Mission in Roanoke Rapids, N.C. Union center provides a place of retreat, learning Mission serves as a community center and fellowship for Christians from North In January 2012, Baptiste Siloe School and homeless shelter for people in this Africa and the Middle East. reopened for up to 400 students. The rural area. Teams of eight to 10 people are 13-classroom school and administration needed to help with repairs and painting building was rebuilt using local labor and at the center. support from short-term mission teams.

serve

To learn more about specific opportunities, contact CBF staff member Chris Boltin at engage@thefellowship.info or visit www.thefellowship.info/serve. fellowship!

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prayerspeople of the

Keeps me singing as I go

prayerfully to the music. This experience will be enhanced if you read the printed song lyrics as well. Listen for a spiritual truth to emerge that will encourage, inspire

By Bo Prosser, CBF Coordinator and fill you with God’s spirit. of Missional Congregations As you begin, pray, “Lord, or the next few what would you have me to hear weeks, we are today? Fill me, God, with your Bo Prosser going to practice message.” And then escape into praying through the music for a few minutes. The spiritual the songs of your favorite messages might be difficult to grasp at first, music. It doesn’t matter the genre. Christian but as you really begin to focus on the mesmusic or hymns would make this an easier sage in the music, your prayers will become prayer practice, but don’t feel bound to that. real. Spiritual truth will come clearly to you.

Spend 10 minutes each day listening Now, add one more part to the experi-

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CBF Ministries Prayer Calendar CH = Chaplain FP = Field Personnel FPC = Child of Field Personnel GMP = Global Missions Partner PC = Pastoral Counselor PLT = Church Planter October 1 Tina Bailey, Southeast Asia (FP); Ron Craddock, Evans, GA (CH); Jonathan Davis, Spring, TX (CH) 2 Maha Boulos, Lebanon (FP); Keith Holmes, Netherlands (FP); Rebecca Reynolds, Bulverde, TX (CH) 3 Jonathan Bailey, Southeast Asia (FP); Matt Norman, Greece (FP); Lucy Vick, Cincinnati, OH (CH); Gene Vincent, Fairview, TN (CH) 4 Matthew Eddleman, Travelers Rest, SC (CH); Dennis Herman, Raleigh, NC (CH) 5 Gwen Brown, Grayson, GA (PLT); Jo Ann Hopper, Emeritus (FP); Gregory Thompson, Oakwood, GA (CH); David White, Johnson City, TN (CH) 6 James Layman, Kirkwood, MO (CH); Jerry Richards, Apex, NC (CH) 8 Melissa Kremer, Rome, GA (CH); Robb Small, Geismar, LA (CH) 9 Sarah Carbajal, Fort Worth, TX (CH) 10 Joseph Boone, Cold Spring, KY (CH); Nomie Derani, Little Falls, NJ (FP) 10 Beth Duke, Smithville, TN (CH); Amber Hipps, Gadsden, AL (CH); Jay Martin, Woodland Park, CO (PC); Tina Woody, Spartanburg, SC (CH) 11 Laura Senter, Everett, WA (CH); Sing Yue, Bakersfield, CA (CH) 12 Ben Newell, San Antonio, TX (FP); Greg Sink, Kileen, TX (CH)

SC (CH); Fran Turner, South Africa/Zambia (FP); Gretchen Watson, Louisville, KY (PC)

November

14 Katie Anderson, Louisville, KY (CH)

1 Lynne Mouchet, Johns Creek, GA (CH)

14 Jeffrey Payne, Fairfax, VA (CH); Kathy Reed, Hot Springs, AR (CH)

2 Karen Alford, Southeast Asia (FP); Mark Elder, Spartanburg, SC (CH); Brad Holmes, Gaffney, SC (CH); Jesse W. Hunt, Ft. Drum, NY (CH); Ryan Yaun, Wetumpka, AL (CH)

15 Cris Avila, Newnan, GA (PLT); Marcia McQueen, Eden, NC (CH)

15 Bruce Guile, Mexico, MO (CH); Denise Ryder, Greenwood, IN (CH) 16 Karen Black, Fort Worth, TX (CH); Betty Drayton, Sumter, SC (CH); Gregg Drew, Wiesbaden, Germany (CH); Greg Greason, Kansas City, MO (CH); Monty Self, Little Rock, AR (CH)

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3 Michael McCawley, Elizabethtown, KY (CH); David Reid, Boise, ID (CH); Jeffrey Ross, Virginia Beach, VA (CH)

17 David Fambrough, Todd, NC (CH)

4 Cyndi Abbe, Waco, TX (PLT); Eric Maas, Belize (FP); Mark Westebbe, Waynesboro, VA (CH)

18 Will Bridges, 1998, San Antonio, TX (FPC); Hank Demous, Opelika, AL (CH); Danny Garnnett, Irmo, SC (PC)

5 __, North Africa (FP); Michka, 1992, New Jersey (FPC); Cameron Gunnin, San Antonio, TX (CH); Clyde Waters, Columbia, SC (CH)

20 Carl Brinkley, Fayetteville, NC (PLT); Annette Ellard, Louisville, KY (FP); Chuck Hawkins, Pearland, TX (CH); Brian Krohn, Newport News, VA (CH); Luke Langston, Durham, NC (CH)

6 Emerson Byrd, Fort Bliss, TX (CH); Jeff Lee, Macedonia (FP); Meghan McSwain, Winston-Salem, NC (CH)

22 Keith Cooper, Lubbock, TX (CH); Paul Robertson, Sugar Land, TX (CH); Missy Ward, Uganda (FP); Michael Williamson, Clinton, MS (CH) 23 Adele Henderson, Greenville, NC (CH); Carl Price, Lebanon, TN (CH); Michael Weaver, Knoxville, TN (CH) 24 Ben Collins, Deland, FL (PLT); Wes Monfalcone, Casselberry, FL (CH); Robert Powell, Lubbock, TX (CH); Rick Ruano, N. Miami Beach, FL (CH) 25 Doug Cobb, McGregor, TX (CH); Suzie, Thailand (FP) 26 Dean Dickens, Dallas, TX (FP); Doug Dickens, Indian Trail, NC (PC) 27 Robert Carter, Virginia Beach, VA (CH); Terrell Moye, Riviera Beach, FL (CH) 28 Marilyn Menges, Coronado, CA (CH); Jim Travis, Durham, NC (CH) 29 Sam Scaggs, Dublin, GA (CH); Troy Todd, Sneads Ferry, NC (CH) 30 Richard Brown, Troutville, VA (CH); Hazel Thomas, Houston, TX (CH)

13 Bob Newell, Greece (FP); John Painter, Charleston,

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ence. Pick one of the field personnel, church planters, chaplains or pastoral counselors listed below to pray for each day. They need to hear the “musical message of God,” too.

As you hear a message of musical truth, then pray, “Lord, please give (add the name) this similar encouragement today.”

Pray listening, pray singing. Pray in melody and harmony, in rhythm and rhyme.

This musical prayer will stick with you; you’ll find yourself humming through the day. And, each day you’ll discover a new bit of musical truth to guide you. As the hymn writer penned, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know. Fills my every longing, keeps me singing as I go.”

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7 Craig Butler, Sugar Land, TX (CH); Pat Coley, Sugar Grove, WV (CH); Mike Graham, Asheville, NC (FP); Roland G. Kuhl, Round Lake Beach, IL (PLT); Zachary Morrow, 1995, Aledo, TX (FPC); Jeffrey Porter, Statesville, NC (CH)

16 Edwin Hollis, Odenville, AL (CH); Anita F. Snell, Emeritus (FP) 17 Chuck Strong, Olive Branch, MS (PLT); Elizabeth Thompson, Littleton, CO (PC); Cade Whitley, 2004, Spain (FPC); Dylan Whitley, 2004, Spain (FPC) 18 Elaine Greer, Frankfort, KY (CH); Kristin Long, Richmond, VA (PC); Pam Magee, Mendenhall, MS (CH); Kat Spangler, Shelby, NC (CH) 19 Will Kinnaird, Keller, TX (CH); Nancy Stephens, Georgetown, KY (CH) 20 Chuck Christie, Loganville, GA (CH); Kevin Park, Bellingham, WA (CH) 21 __, Turkey (FP); Fred Madren, Indianapolis, IN (CH); Becky Smith, Atlanta, GA (FP) 24 Will Barnes, Savannah, GA (CH); Carol Lynn Brinkley, Fayetteville, NC (PLT); Peggy Gold, Durham, NC (CH); Will Manley, Johnson City, TN (CH)

8 Mark Weiler, Greeley, CO (CH); Debby Bradley, Owensboro, KY (CH); Charles Seligman, San Antonio, TX (CH); Audrey Wilson, Durham, NC (CH)

25 Gary Batchelor, Rome, GA (CH); Tony Biles, Richfield, NC (CH); Robert Cooke, Selma, NC (PC); Ed Farris, Topeka, KS (CH) ; Brad Hood, Knoxville, TN (CH); Sue Smith, Fredericksburg, VA (FP); Lee Weems, Pineville, LA (CH)

10 Kevin Crowder, Fredericksburg, VA (CH); Angela Lowe, Lawrence, KS (CH); Ralph Mikels, Jr., Seymour, TN (CH); Jim Smith, Atlanta, GA (FP)

26 Carol Fletcher, Athens, GA (CH) ; Blake Hart, Chile (FP); Michael O’Rourke, Lawton, OK (CH); Charles Reynolds, Spring Lake, NC (CH)

11 Phoebe Angel, 2010, Belgium (FPC); Scott Blair, San Antonio, TX (CH); Dana Durham, Sacramento, CA (CH); Mike Langston, Blythewood, SC (CH); Victor Perez, Knoxville, TN (PLT); Troy Petty, Palmyra, VA (PC); Bert Sanders III, Winston-Salem, NC (CH); Steve Sweatt, Birmingham, AL (PC)

27 Macarena Aldape, India (FP); Butch Branscome, Charlotte, NC (CH); Saul Burleson, Atlanta, GA (CH)

12 Michael Cox, Elizabethtown, KY (CH); David Cromer, Lancaster, VA (CH); John Lepper, Crestwood, KY (PC); Caroline Smith, South Africa (FP) 13 Shelia Earl, Macedonia (FP); Earl Martin, Emeritus (FP); Gail Smith, Hillsborough, NC (CH); Cindy Wallace, Carpentersville, IL (CH)

28 Ronald King, Midland, GA (PC); Abigail Parks, 2004, Slovakia (FPC); Mark Tidsworth, Chapin, SC (PC); Joel Whitley, Spain (FP) 29 Shannon Binkley, 1993, De Soto, KS (FPC); Paul Mullen, Clemmons, NC (CH); Duewayne Tullos, Clinton, MS (CH) 30 John David Hopper, Emeritus (FP); Lucas Pittman, 2003, Miami, FL (FPC); Peter Stephens, Georgetown, KY (CH)

church spotlight Monte Vista Baptist Church

Church members Gary Vines, foreground, and Mark Coleman help build a deck for Neverfail Church in Crossville.

Location: Maryville, Tenn.

Founded: 1955 Pastor: Jerry Mantooth Congregation: Averages 325 in morning worship Mission statement: “To help people become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.”

Partnership with CBF Monte Vista has partnered with CBF since the Fellowship’s beginning in 1991.

In 1997, CBF became the church’s default missions partner.

For more than eight years, Monte Vista members have served in Perry County, Ala., partnering with Sowing Seeds of Hope — for Hope. Teams completed construction projects and led Vacation Bible Schools and Bible studies.

The church has also sent mission teams to southern Kentucky for projects similar to those in Perry County.

After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Monte Vista partnered with CBF to help clean up and rebuild homes. After meeting a displaced New Orleans resident with multiple sclerosis at a Maryville evacuee shelter, church members

Photo courtesy of Monte Vista

part of CBF’s rural poverty initiative Together

support and leadership training in partnership

with Global Women to help prevent

with the Croatian Baptist Convention.

human trafficking.

Additional ministries: “When someone feels called to be involved

• The church has a regular ministry to homeless families and individuals.

• In Haiti, mission teams from the church

formed a relationship with the woman and

in missions or work in a special area, the

have done work with disaster relief,

helped rebuild her home.

church supports that person wholeheartedly

children’s ministry, education, evangelism

without making them jump through hoops to

and leadership training.

Monte Vista has collaborated with Tennessee CBF in several projects, including

do it. We believe if God is opening a door,

construction projects with Neverfail Church

then you ought to go through it.”

in Crossville, participating in numerous

— Jerry Mantooth,

Tennessee disaster relief projects and providing construction assistance, financial

Monte Vista senior pastor • Church members are partnering

• In China, church members have led English as a Second Language training.

• Monte Vista partners with local Trinity Dental Clinic to provide emergency and urgent treatment for underserved adults. fellowship!

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Partner spotlight

The Columbia Partnership The Columbia Partnership (TCP), a religious non-profit, works with churches from more than 50 denominations in the following areas: coaching leaders, funding ministry, sharing knowledge, transforming congregations and transforming denominations.

“TCP offers a rich array of resources to assist

Partnership

TCP

TCP became an official CBF partner in

Founded: 2005

2011. The two organizations share a vision

Location: Columbia, S.C.

Bo Prosser, CBF Coordinator for Missional Congregations

for growing missional congregations,

Website:

“The majority

leaders and deepening the missional vision

congregational ministries. Their strategic planning process is one of the models used for congregations in a variety of faith groups. Their publishing and training resources are also practically oriented to help church leaders.”

of the consultants and coaches related to TCP are Baptists with a strong affinity for CBF. Part of our passion is for CBF-related congregations to experience fruitful missional formation and engagement. We believe we can through our partnership with CBF help make this a reality for many congregations. We further believe that as the congregations of CBF thrive, so will CBF.”

strategically developing congregational of pastoral leaders.

www.thecolumbiapartnership.org Mission statement: “The Columbia Partnership is a

The two organizations have partnered

Christian ministry organization

to provide coaching for church leaders

that seeks to transform the

and guidance to teaching congregations,

capacity of the North American

including host two events to help

Church to pursue and sustain vital

strengthen churches.

Christ- centered ministry.”

George Bullard, TCP Strategic Coordinator

CBF Photo

The Columbia Partnership strategic coordinator George Bullard, standing, leads a workshop at CBF’s General Assembly.

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5 onlinet00ls T

that can help your church By Carla Wynn Davis, CBF Communications Specialist wenty years ago we used phone land lines, wrote letters and depended on the grapevine to stay in touch with friends and family. We didn’t have smartphones, Internet access or Facebook — and now many people can’t imagine their lives without these innovations. Our world has changed and so have our ways of communicating. Has your church updated its communication tools to better connect with today’s

world? If not, your congregation could be missing important opportunities to reach your church members and community. Take advantage of the benefits offered by these five online tools:

1

Website First things first. If your church doesn’t have a website, launch one. Many people search for churches online, so if you don’t have a web presence, you’re missing a chance to connect with new people in your community. Potential visitors want to know something about your church before they step foot in the door.

Anticipate their questions and make sure your website provides easy-to-find answers. Add an event calendar and links to audio or video of sermons to communicate even more. You can further your reach by connecting with CBF. One of the most popular features on the CBF website is the Find-A-Church tool (www.thefellowship.info/find-a-church) through which people can find a CBF partner church in their area.

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E-newsletters Instead of mailing a letter and waiting a couple days for the message to arrive, your church can utilize e-newsletters to update members instantly.

Not only is it faster but it’s also cheaper than snail mail. Services such as MailChimp, Constant Contact, iContact and others offer affordable monthly rates (some even have free accounts if your e-mail list is small).

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Internet-based phone and video It’s easier than ever to communicate with people worldwide — and it’s mostly free. Tools like Skype allow CBF field personnel to visit your church virtually. With just a laptop, projector and Internet connection, field personnel can join your church as a Sunday morning or Wednesday evening missions speaker.

Interested? E-mail fellowship@thefellowship.info to learn about upcoming webinars or field personnel with whom you can connect.

4

Blog A blog is an online publishing tool that many churches utilize. Often it contains articles written by the pastor or other church staff, information about upcoming events, updates on church ministries and more. Be sure you link your blog to your church’s website and make sure that you post regularly with content that is short, engaging and relevant.

(Above) If your church isn’t listed on CBF’s Find-A-Church tool, ask your pastor or church administrator to e-mail fellowship@thefellowship.info and request to be included in this growing list.

(Right) Need to see an example? Sign up for a CBF e-newsletter at www.thefellowship.info/ subscribe.

(Below) Visit the CBF blog at www.thefellowship.info/blog for blogging ideas.

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Social media Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites are all the rage these days. Consider launching a Facebook page for your church or starting a Twitter account. Both tools can help you stay in touch with church members and others interested in your church. There are many resources online that will show you how to start using social media. Still need tips? Find the social media sites of large churches (maybe one in your area) and watch how they use these powerful tools.

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‘Points to who God is’ In Bali, Baileys build relationships, connect people of faith through the arts

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versity, the Baileys participated in several of the musical and dance pieces on stage.

Hindu University places a unique emphasis on the arts and spirituality, and the Baileys’ partnership with artists at the school leads to relationships with students and staff.

Some anthropologists have suggested that Bali’s name comes from the word “wali,” which means ceremony or ritual, or more specifically, an art that relates to a religious ceremony.

CBF photos

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s the sun softened in the sky, the musicians took their places behind a set of traditional Balinese instruments called a gamelan and began to play.

Bali is famous for its gamelan music, which is deeply linked to the culture and religion of Bali. But on this night, during an outdoor performance at Hindu University, the music of the gamelan crossed cultures and religions. On this night, the dancers and the musicians used Balinese art forms to create a performance inspired by stories from the Bible.

Two of the pieces performed were based on stories of the birth of Jesus — Mary being visited by the angel Gabriel and Mary’s singing the “Magnificat.” Another piece was a legong, a dance performed for centuries in Bali. This particular legong was inspired by the story of Adam and Eve and focused on relationship, conflict and a resolution that restores peace.

CBF field personnel Jonathan and Tina Bailey have been the presence of Christ in Bali for 15 years, and they’ve learned that Bali has a lot to share when it comes to faith and art.

On that warm evening at the local uni-

“The arts in Bali are vast,” Tina said.

“They’re integrated into everything you see.”

Following God’s call Jonathan grew up as a musician, playing cello in an orchestra. When he came to Bali, he learned to play in unison in an entirely new way. In Bali, emphasis is placed on the effort of the group to find a — Continue on page 12

CBF Photos

The components of the gamelan, an instrument native to Bali, are always played together.

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singular sound. The instruments in the gamelan, which Jonathan has learned to play, are always paired and played together.

“Two instruments are needed to make one sound,” Jonathan said. “They’re made to be slightly out of tune with each other.

When they’re played together, then you get the sound that you’re looking for.”

For the Baileys, this musical experience serves as a metaphor for their ministry. As they seek to be the presence of Christ in Bali, the Baileys use their God-given gifts as artists to encourage people to express and explore faith.

“When we bring our whole body, we bring our voice, when instruments become an extension of our hands, the arts go beyond just something utilitarian to meet another end … When we talk about the arts, we’re really talking, I believe, about the heart of God in many different ways,” Jonathan said.

Tina, a dancer and painter, uses her

gifts each week to lead a group of women in further developing creativity and selfexpression through dance.

“I think sometimes as Christians we forget that our bodies are also works of art,” Tina said. “Somehow in today’s world, as we become adults, our bodies become suspect. I don’t think that’s God’s plan for our lives.”

Trained as a ballerina, Tina has learned how to dance in new ways, learning from Balinese dancers.

“Bringing dance into my identity as a minister, as a woman, as an artist, is bringing those things together and worshiping my God fully as I dance,” Tina said.

Building relationship through art Living in Bali, the Baileys have built relationships with local artists, including Ida Ayu Made Diastini, one of Bali’s top choreographers. Diastini works in the highest

level of arts and culture in Bali.

“She is Hindu,” Tina said. “I am Christian, but when I told her that I also dance in expressing my faith, she said, ‘Now we can connect, because you’re the first dancer who is from the West that I have ever met that dances with the same purpose: to worship God, as I do.’”

Diastini, a life-long student of the arts, said that in Bali, art and religion are deeply connected and cannot be separated. For the performance at Hindu University, Diastini worked with the Baileys to study the character of the angel Gabriel in Luke. As a result, a beautiful hybrid was created where Balinese dance, makeup and costuming reinterpreted the biblical text cross-culturally.

“We believe that Bali’s art forms, because they are tremendously weighty in their ability to communicate messages of spirituality, can also bear a Christian message,” Jonathan said.

CBF photos

The Baileys build relationships with local artists in Bali, where art and beauty are an integral part of the culture.

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The Baileys also work with a preeminent painter in Bali, Nyoman Darsane, who is a Christian. In his younger days, Darsane created his own style of painting by incorporating Balinese artistic concepts to paint portraits of God’s kingdom.

“When he became Christian, he didn’t reject his culture and put on the coat and tie of the West,” Jonathan said. “He continued to be Balinese. He has been for me, in many ways, a mentor.”

Darsane’s partnership with the Baileys is a space of mutual growth. In working together they have been able to more fully reflect on the role of Balinese art in Christian worship services in Bali. Because many churches in Bali have patterned themselves after Western models, they are hesitant to use Balinese art forms in worship.

Yet in their work with the Christian churches in Bali, the Baileys have been able to reintroduce Balinese art, music and dance to Balinese Christians, including some who had previously abandoned these art forms when they joined the church.

Through their involvement with local artists and churches, the Baileys have developed a new, unexpected ministry of reaching out to international college students.

These relationships began to evolve as college students who came to Bali to study art heard about the Baileys’ work.

Now, several students play in the gamelan with local Balinese performers, and others have joined Tina’s weekly dance group. The Baileys help these students adjust to life in a new place, hosting dinners and inviting students to performances.

Not a luxury, but a needed medium Living as artists, the Baileys use their giftedness and talents to help churches and individuals rethink the importance of art

Learn &Give

Jonathan and Tina Bailey talk with Nyoman Darsane, a prominent painter in Bali who incorporates Balinese artistic concepts to paint portraits of God’s kingdom.

in life and faith. Bali, a place where art and life and faith are so deeply intertwined, has much to teach the rest of the world.

“The churches in even Europe and North America have a lot to learn from Asia in general related to arts and the sacred,” Tina said. “I think one of the biggest ways the church can broaden the understanding of the arts is to erase this notion that the arts are a luxury.”

Because of the CBF Offering for Global Missions, which funds their ministry, the Baileys are able to create a space where art is not a luxury, but a needed medium for exploring and expressing faith. They have been able to create a space where art can help the church — both East and West – rediscover worship and rediscover who God has created us to be.

Jonathan compared the arts to the story of the woman who broke the alabaster jar on Jesus’ feet.

“Some of the disciples said, what’s going on, this isn’t who we are,” Jonathan said. “Expensive perfume could have been sold and we could have used it to feed the poor. And Jesus said, you don’t understand, the act is symbolic and it’s got meaning that’s going to outlast all of us.

That’s what the artist is trying to do, and that’s what the artist who is devoted to God is trying to do. We’re trying to create a symbol that points beyond us, points us to who God is.”

By contributing writer Melissa Browning

The CBF Offering for Global Missions provides funding for the lifechanging ministries of more than 135 CBF field personnel. This year, the Baileys are part of the CBF Offering’s international focus. You can go online to www.thefellowship/ogm to download and order free resources for your church.

As you learn more about the Baileys’ ministry, consider how you can be a part of their work through giving. Go to www.thefellowship.info/givenow. fellowship!

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Gorgeous Gals

Jewelry making business helps empower women in rural Kentucky

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he Gorgeous Gals jewelry business in Powell County, Ky., was organized to help teach job skills to local women and help build their self-esteem. But one woman said the initiative may have helped save her life.

In less than four years, Faye Warfield lost both of her daughters to drug overdoses. And when her youngest daughter, Pam, died in 2009, Warfield said she found refuge in making jewelry and traveling to

churches to sell it. For a while, it was the only thing that kept her going.

“I had never done anything like this before in my life,” Warfield said. “I’ve learned a lot, and it’s helped get me through this.

I’ve kept busy making bracelets and necklaces, and I surprised myself. I don’t think I’d be here today to tell this if I hadn’t been involved in Gorgeous Gals.”

Paula Settle, one of CBF’s field personnel who serves in eastern Kentucky, helped organize the jewelry making cooperative.

Settle said the idea originated with Wanda Kidd, who works for CBF of North Carolina, and was first implemented in Arkansas through the ministries of Together for Hope, CBF’s rural poverty initiative.

“Some of these women have never had a job where they have to get up early and be responsible for getting to a certain place on time,” she said. “[Gorgeous Gals] is like a modern day version of the old quilting bee. We have a short devotional, prayer time and lunch. But we established

CBF photo

Paula Settle, center, travels with the jewelry makers to CBF partner churches where they share their stories and sell jewelry.

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“I had never done anything like this before in my life.

I’ve learned a lot.” — Faye Warfield

learn

pans — basic items that many in the community don’t have or can’t afford. Larger items, such as furniture, might cost as much as $1 to $5, but all proceeds are channeled back into the ministry.

At two senior centers in Booneville, Settle organizes bingo games to help distribute staples such as dish detergent, toilet paper and paper towels.

From the sale of a $10 pair of earrings, the jewelry maker “They love bingo, and receives $6. Sixty cents is put into a community savings fund. The they’re very serious about remaining $3.40 buys more material and funds travel expenses. it,” Settle said. “A $1 bottle of dish detergent can mean a whole lot.” “reverse mission trips,” where Kentucky Last year, Settle hosted 30 mission teams residents travel to host churches, like in that came in to work on home remodelAsheville, N.C.; Raleigh, N.C., Washington, ing projects, conduct backyard Bible clubs, D.C., and other destinations. serve among retired seniors and organize “Some of our kids would have never had other events. The teams also brought dothe chance to see Washington or the beach nated items for yard sales. had it not been for our generous partners.”

In her sixth year working with CBF, SetSettle said she would still like to find tle has developed long-term partnerships more churches willing to sponsor famiwith churches that send mission teams each lies or even local schools, many of whom year and build lasting relationships in the have significant budgetary shortfalls that Kentucky communities. impact education.

“We have several churches that have “There are ways for churches and inmade long-term commitments to the rural dividuals to make a huge impact on our poverty initiative to come here and make community without even setting foot in an impact year after year,” Settle said. “They Kentucky,” Settle said. “Many of our schools build relationships, they get to know our are lacking the basics, like pencils, erasers, folks and keep track of each other through paper, tissues and other things for the classFacebook, e-mail, cards and letters. It’s room. I’m hoping churches might want to much better than coming here for a week, adopt a class and send supplies directly to working, then saying goodbye and never the school.” seeing each other again.”

Several churches have also hosted By contributing writer Bob Perkins Patricia Heys photo

guidelines like any job to help teach the women responsibility.”

Settle travels with Warfield and several other women to CBF partner churches where they share their testimonies and sell jewelry. From the sale of a $10 pair of earrings, the jewelry maker receives $6. Sixty cents is put into a community savings fund, and the Gorgeous Gals decide how that money is spent within their community.

The remaining $3.40 buys more jewelrymaking material and funds travel expenses.

Recently, the Gorgeous Gals used proceeds from the community savings fund to purchase a microwave for a member as a wedding present.

“Getting out to meet people on these road trips, and hearing people ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ over the jewelry really helps their selfesteem,” Settle said. “Faye is a great seller.

She’s always helping buyers find something to match the clothes they are wearing.”

Mountain Hope, a ministry of Kentucky Baptist Fellowship and part of CBF’s rural poverty initiative, was created to help serve Owsley, McCreary and Powell counties, which are among the nation’s poorest.

Isolated by the Appalachian Mountains, most of the towns and communities are rural. Once a thriving mining area, today jobs are scarce. Through a variety of ministries, such as Gorgeous Gals, Settle serves in these rural areas, working to provide resources and empower people to create change in their own lives.

Through a yard sale at a local church, Settle sells donated items. The sales feature household items like linens, dishes, pots and

Learn more about Settle’s ministry online at www.thefellowship.info/settle. fellowship!

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‘You are important to God, too’ Crafting ornaments helps Romany women provide for families

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their business.

When Nina and Virginia, approached van Rheenen with an idea to crochet crosses and Christmas ornaments, an idea began to take root. With good credit, they acquired the means to produce their art, generating more than 70 Christmas bells in their first effort and selling Virginia helped develop a small business of making and selling crocheted the items through crosses and ornaments. local churches and development funds. to attend entrepreneurial workshops and “I see these women becoming creative, grow their vocational instincts. Van Rheenthinking differently, exploring opportunien hopes they will continue to practice inties,” van Rheenen said. “We Americans novation and creativity in developing more tend to take creativity for granted, but in viable sources of income. the Soviet system it was not encouraged.

“Christ focused on those at the edges of These women live under a mindset in society, and in his day that meant women,” which you simply do what your parents van Rheenen said. “Jesus first appeared to did, and innovation is a foreign concept. women, his resurrection news first came to But creativity can be learned, and I see that women and women were charged with the in these women.” good news. And I see Christ empowering Through the local Baptist church, Holthese women through economic developmes and van Rheenen are reaching out to ment, telling them, ‘You are important to Romany women in the village with periodic God, too. You count. And God is interested gatherings full of conversation, prayer and in you as an entire person.’” encouragement. Through this program, Nina, Virginia and other women continue By contributing writer Blake Tommey CBF photo

I

n Moldova, where approximately 20,000 Romany Gypsies live, discrimination and prejudice still exist. Because of a lack of trust, Romany people are not hired to clean houses, wash cars or take care of children. And in an already failing job market, they face a two times higher risk of poverty than non-Romany. Often the only guaranteed way to obtain money is through begging, so many Romany often spend time on the streets trying to find what little revenue they can from generous individuals.

Romany culture dictates that women act as the primary providers for their husband or family, but Mary van Rheenen, one of CBF’s field personnel, says this is seldom a possibility for an oppressed minority. But in one village, Romany women are beginning to find solid ground.

“The Roma tend to ask us a series of questions,” van Rheenen said. “‘Can you help me get to the United States? Can you help me get to the Netherlands?’ But the next question is, ‘Can you help me find some way to earn a decent living for my family?’ And well, we can work on that.”

Partnering with Operation Mobilization and microfinance organizations, van Rheenen and her husband, Keith Holmes, assist women from a Moldovan village in acquiring loans for small business. While some women sell roasted sunflower seeds or other products at the village market, others were hair stylists looking to establish

Keith Holmes and Mary van Rheenen’s ministry is made possible by the CBF Offering for Global Missions. Learn more about their ministry at www.thefellowship.info/holmes.

Support their ministry by giving — www.thefellowship.info/givenow.

October/NOvember 2012

Opportunities to

Missions Education Resource How to use this page

October 2012

The suggestions below will be helpful for using the stories on pages 10-16 of this issue in the life of your church. Small Group interaction, Study Group or Reading Group options are given, as well as suggestions for other congregational or family settings. Go online to www.thefellowship.info/affectonline for more suggestions.

Ministry through art

In Small Groups:

The following is an outline for adult mission groups, Bible study classes or other small groups. Share copies of fellowship! with group members prior to the meeting and have some extra copies available. These suggestions are for a 45-minute time frame.

1. In this session you’ll be focusing on the role of art in Christian worship.

Before the session, gather paper, markers or color pencils and copies of fellowship! magazine for each person in your small group. Also, read through (and be able to summarize) the article on the Bailey’s ministry in Bali in fellowship! (pages 10-13).

2. Begin the meeting by asking each person to use the paper and markers/ pencils to draw a Christian symbol. It can be a well-known symbol or something that they think represents an aspect of our Christian faith (encourage people to think outside the box, so everyone doesn’t draw a cross).

3. After everyone has had a chance to draw a symbol, allow each person to share and explain his or her drawing.

6. OPTION: If you have access to video, you can also watch a short video about the Bailey’s ministry on the CBF website at www.thefellowship.info/jonathantina

fellowship!

CBF

Cooperative baptiSt fellowShip | www.thefellowShip.info

Serving Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission

OctOber/NOvember 2012

Rebuilding lives through education in indonesia, Cbf field personnel eddy and Cindy ruble are being the presence of Christ through educational projects, programs and partnerships.

Read more about their ministry on pages 18-21.

7. After learning about the Bailey’s ministry in Bali, ask, “Do you think art can give us a common language to talk about faith across traditions?” and “In what ways might art allow us to communicate with others?”

4. Then ask the questions, “Are symbols important to our faith?” “Why or why not?” and “Is art important to our faith?” “Why or why not?”

8. After giving some time for participants to discuss, return to the symbols each participant drew at the beginning and ask a few volunteers how they might describe the symbol they drew to a person of another faith.

5. Then, summarize for the group the article on the Bailey’s ministry in Bali from this issue of fellowship! magazine.

9. End by praying for the Bailey’s ministry and for CBF field personnel mentioned in the Prayer Calendar on page 6.

Around the Table: At Church 1. For this activity, you will be creating bracelets around tables at a Wednesday night supper or in a similar setting. Before the event, gather enough beads and leather bands (for beading) for each person to make a bracelet. Place the uncut leather bands, a bowl of beads and a pair of scissors on each table along with copies of fellowship! magazine. If you have time and volunteers, open up fellowship! magazine to the “Gorgeous Gals” story (pages 14-15).

2. Either through printed instructions or an announcement, ask participants to make a bracelet, and as they do, say a prayer for women in Powell County, Ky., who make jewelry to support themselves and their families.

3. OPTION: If possible, have a facilitator at each table that is familiar with the story and can lead discussion.

4. After everyone has had time to make their bracelets, have a “Show and

Tell” prayer, by providing an open mic where people can come show their bracelet and say a one sentence prayer for the women at “Gorgeous Gals” and other people who support themselves through craft and microfinance organizations.

In Reading Groups A House in Bali — by Colin McPhee and James Murdoch In the 1930s, American composer Colin McPhee heard gramophone records of Balinese gamelan music and knew he needed to travel to Bali to study the music he was hearing. This text, originally written in the 1940s, offers a literary narrative of a classically trained musician who immersed himself in another culture.

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‘A common

bridge’

Rubles’ education ministry helps rebuild lives in Indonesia

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(Right) Cindy Ruble, far right, partners with local organizations to help end human trafficking.

(Below right) Eddy Ruble, far right, works to help rebuild homes and schools following the 2009 earthquake.

C

indy Ruble will never forget that day in 2007 when the morning was interrupted by the earth rumbling and the house shaking.

The first 6.1 magnitude quake was

followed two hours later by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake.

The two quakes combined to kill 80 people in West Sumatra, Indonesia, where Cindy and her husband, Eddy, The Rubles quickly learned that the earthquakes were not isolated incidents, but that they were living on a major

CBF photos

served as Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel.

fault line entering an active phase. And in September of 2009, another earthquake shook West Sumatra, registering at a 7.8 magnitude, killing approximately a thousand people, destroying more than 115,000 homes and more than 1,100 classrooms.

By necessity and through God’s call, the Rubles, who now live in Malaysia, shifted their ministry from focusing solely on education to using education to help people rebuild their lives.

Rebuilding educational infrastructure Throughout their ministry in Indonesia and Malaysia, the Rubles used their skills, training and gifts to be the presence of Christ through educational projects, programs and partnerships.

“We surveyed the needs and what our gifts and skills were, and we saw education not only as a universal need, but also as a common bridge for Christians working together with Muslims,” Eddy said.

In West Sumatra, the Rubles have focused their educational ministry in three areas: providing scholarships for students, providing teacher training and rebuilding homes

and schools destroyed by the earthquakes.

“I believe education empowers,” Cindy said. “I believe that as Christians we are called to care about marginalized people and about kids that are economically disadvantaged.”

In October of 2011, a new school that was built through the Ruble’s work was dedicated in West Sumatra.

“Because the school needed to be rebuilt in an area that has a lot of seismic activity, we wanted to make sure that a building we rebuilt was strong and would protect children as much as possible in the event of another earthquake,” said Eddy. “As a result, the construction of the new school was much stronger than that of the average public school.”

In the same area as the new school, the Rubles worked to help rebuild homes using an earthquake resistant method called “interlocking compressed earth blocks.” In order to complete this project, a business was

created to make the blocks, providing local jobs and making earthquake resistant building materials available in West Sumatra.

The Rubles’ work does not stop with the buildings. One of their most successful projects has been implementing a curriculum training program where teachers and principals are trained by local educators in new, hands-on learning methods for students.

The project started by sending several teachers to Jakarta. One headmaster, who later attended onsite training in West Sumatra as well, took what he learned and transformed his school’s curriculum. The school was soon winning awards and now is ranked as the second best elementary school in Indonesia.

Partnering to provide educational opportunities The 2009 West Sumatra earthquake caused landslides, which buried and fellowship!

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destroyed entire villages on mountain slopes. In one village, a young girl named Septiani returned from boarding school to find earth-moving equipment where her home had been. Her entire village had been destroyed and her whole family was dead.

In the aftermath of the earthquake, a CNN reporter interviewed Septiani and told her story.

Jan Williams, a former CBF missions worker with the Rubles and member of First Baptist Church of Rome, Ga., saw the story and asked Eddy to find Septiani. Williams wanted to sponsor her through her church’s partnership with the Rubles, which provides educational opportunities for students in Indonesia.

With a name and a picture, Eddy traveled to Septiani’s village to find her. Today,

as a result of this scholarship, Septiani is in a midwifery school and one day hopes to open her own clinic.

The partnership with First Baptist Church supports not only students such as Septiani, who studies in Indonesia, but also high school and college students who study in the United States. Through partnerships with Berry College, Shorter University and Darlington High School, all in Rome, Indonesian students can study in the United States and improve their chances for further education or employment in Indonesia.

Syaweli was given an opportunity to spend his senior year at Darlington High School. But when he first arrived in the United States, he was unsure of what he would experience. He was nervous

that because he was a Muslim and most of his classmates were Christian, he wouldn’t be accepted. When he attended his first chapel service at Darlington, he was nervous and afraid. One week he was asked to be a speaker at chapel and give a presentation on Islam. This was life changing for Syaweli. He had the opportunity to share with his classmates about his faith while also learning about theirs. For the first time he felt people really understood him.

“The world is so big,” Syaweli said. “If we cannot understand each other, there will be war again; we will be fighting each other.

But if we can understand each other, life will become happy.”

Once Syaweli was chosen to receive a scholarship to study in America, everything

CBF photos

In 2009, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake destroyed more than 115,000 homes in West Sumatra.

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changed for his family in Indonesia. Living in a simple board house, Syaweli’s family was supported by his mother selling food on their front porch and his father driving a motorcycle taxi. In many ways, they were marginalized within their community.

After Syaweli’s acceptance, his parents became respected The Rubles have facilitated educational opportunities for students at local schools and for young people such as members of the community.

Septiani, who lost her family in a 2009 earthquake (far right in red).

Syaweli returned from his year abroad and was able to gain entry to On a recent vacation, the Rubles met new passport, retrieving a portion of her the University of Indonesia, the most presan Indonesian girl they believed had been back pay from her employer and getting tigious university in the country, where he trafficked. When Cindy approached her, her safely back to her home country. is now studying public health. she learned the girl had been working in The Rubles say that without the CBF slave-like conditions. She had been passed Offering for Global Missions their ministry Advocating for victims from one employer to another, her wages would be impossible. of human trafficking withheld and her boss refused to return “Partnerships with churches is essential For Cindy, being the presence of Christ her passport to her. She had no freedom of to everything we do here,” Eddy said. “We also includes partnering with education movement, which is one of the hallmarks of are the hands and feet in these countries, and advocacy initiatives to eliminate modern day slavery. And the girl thought but the body which supports us is a netviolence against women and children. that without her passport she would never work of stateside church partners and orgaShe gives community talks in schools, be able to return home. nizations. Without their support, we cannot factories, churches and other venues, “After talking to a local non-profit do what we do.” helping individuals and families recognize working on the forefront of helping the signs of abuse, identify the perpetrators trafficking victims, I told her that even By contributing writer Melissa Browning and create safer communities for women without her passport we and children. could help her get back “Human trafficking is a global issue,” to Indonesia,” Cindy Cindy said. “When we look statistically said. “She became so at how many slaves there are in the world emotional that she threw today — it’s estimated that there are over her arms around me and 27,000,000 — that’s more than at the height just began sobbing, and in of the transatlantic slave trade.”

Indonesian, saying, ‘I can For Cindy, this advocacy work is deeply go home, I can go home.’” linked to her calling as a Christ follower.

With the help of a loShe feels compelled to serve among some of cal non-profit, the Rubles the world’s most neglected people. assisted in processing a

Learn &Give

The CBF Offering for Global Missions provides funding for the lifechanging ministries of more than 135 CBF field personnel. This year, the Rubles are part of the CBF Offering’s international focus. You can go online to www.thefellowship/ogm to download and order free resources for your church.

As you learn more about the Rubles’ ministry, consider how you can be a part of their work by giving. Go to www.thefellowship.info/givenow. fellowship!

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‘I belong

here’

W

hen the U.S. Department of State gave Eh Thaw Thaw’s parents the option of coming to the United States instead of staying in the refugee camp in Thailand, the decision came down to education. His parents packed up their family, left all they knew and came to the United States so Eh Thaw

Hope Academy provides Karen refugees with resources for success

Thaw and his siblings could go to school.

The problem, he quickly found out, was that the public schools were not prepared to handle him and his fellow refugees from the oppressed Karen ethnic group of Burma. He completed sixth grade in Thailand, but was placed closer to his age group in 8th grade in Kentucky. His English consisted of the ABC’s and “Hi,

how are you?” It added up to a lot of frustration. He understood little in class and couldn’t articulate his confusion. After repeated mockery of his questions in class, he stopped raising his hand.

For fellow Karen refugee Chee Low the frustration in class was bad, but bullying made things worse. Students threw things at him in class, then laughed when he retali-

Hope Academy meets in donated classrooms of Crescent Hill Baptist Church, a CBF partner congregation.

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Annette Ellard, center, has used her experience as a former public school teacher to help create Hope Academy.

ated and couldn’t explain to the teacher what happened. He didn’t dare walk the halls alone due to the intimidation he felt. “Go back to China,” students said to him. He resorted to sleeping in class or cutting it altogether.

“Skipping school is better than being laughed at,” Chee Low said.

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel Steve Clark and Annette Ellard minister among Karen refugees in Louisville, Ky. They saw Eh Thaw Thaw, Chee Low and other boys their age struggling. They saw young men who wanted to learn but were increasingly lashing out in the public schools.

As a former public school teacher, Ellard knows there’s not enough time to devote to each student who needs it, especially if that student has limited understanding of the language and little foundation of knowledge in the subject.

She knew they needed a change. She and Clark felt called to start Hope Academy in August 2011 with eight students from the Karen community, all boys between 16 and 20. Girls often suffer through school more quietly and make it through. Younger children pick up English, make friends and fit in more easily. High school boys, however, really struggle at this critical time when they are figuring out who God created them to be, Ellard said.

“There was no more waiting,” Ellard said last summer. “We have to do something now.”

So they started Hope Academy with no budget in a donated room at CBF partner Crescent Hill Baptist Church. A Sunday

serve

school class donated $300, which became the fall budget. A Karen Sunday School class donated 400 pounds of rice, which became school lunch.

“From the beginning it has been clear that Hope Academy is God’s project,” Ellard said. “We are blessed we get to be a part of what God is doing.”

Clark and Ellard create an environment where the boys can succeed and grow spiritually. Ellard and other volunteer teachers take time to explain the subjects.

They pray and read the Bible together.

The small group size allows for field trips, where students can use all their senses to learn about ecology in the forest or history at Abraham Lincoln’s birthplace. Seeing Lincoln’s humble beginnings, Chee Low had a revelation. A smile exploding across his face, he said, “He was poor like me.”

The main subject, however, always comes back to English. Student Der Lwe said he learned more English in one year at Hope Academy than in the previous four years of living in America. He’s comfortable talking in class without ridicule. He’s no longer frustrated, intimidated or angry.

“My home is really in heaven,” said Chee Low. “But now I feel like I belong here.”

With an education, Der Lwe hopes to become a leader for his people — a different kind of leader. Before Hope Academy, he thought the only way to help his people was to be a soldier. He now believes with an education he can have a greater impact for the Karen and their homeland. He and his classmates are advocates, writing letters to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton before her visit to Burma and meeting with U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on relations with Burma.

Chee Low doesn’t have plans for college.

Instead, with a better education he hopes to have a better paying job than his current landscaping job. With two disabled parents, the responsibility falls on him to make sure his four younger brothers have the opportunity to go to college.

Eh Thaw Thaw, Chee Low and Der Lwe are set to graduate next year, following the four students who graduated this spring at a formal commencement ceremony complete with gowns, speakers, “Pomp and Circumstance.” Two of those graduates begin community college this fall.

By contributing writer John Foster

Learn how you can partner with Steve Clark and Annette Ellard’s ministry at www.thefellowship.info/serve or contact CBF staff member Chris Boltin at engage@thefellowship.info. fellowship!

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‘Fresh eyes on

the gospel’

Williams partner with church, use education to promote community development

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CBF photo

T

his Emmaus is not the one mentioned among the resurrection appearances of Jesus. It’s a rural South African village, where the beauty of the surrounding Drakensberg Mountains is almost overshadowed by poverty and AIDS. Working with a local Zulu pastor and Christian congregation, CBF field personnel Mark and Sara Williams are using education to promote community development.

The educational model is a holistic one. It includes Christian discipleship, of course, but also preschool education, health education, job training and economic development. Not all of those programs are up and running yet, but after only a year in South Africa, the Williamses are excited about the progress.

“Part of our excitement is we feel strongly about community development,” Sara said. “The goal is to have a community center that includes a church, a home for orphans, a clinic, an education center and a training center for church leaders.”

The Williams arrived in South Africa in 2011 to partner with the Arise Ministry Group, based in Johannesburg. In May, they moved to Winterton, in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, so they could be close to Emmaus.

To get to the village, it’s a difficult 14mile trip over rough dirt roads — a journey they make about three times a week. Once there, they assist Pastor Musa Zondo and church leaders, particularly with ministry among orphans.

Sara assists at the preschool operated by Zondo’s church. She also works to develop partnerships for a future health clinic.

Approximately 80 children from the area — many of them orphans — attend the preschool program, where they also receive a free meal every day. The children walk

Small children walk from surrounding villages to get to the Emmaus school where they receive a healthy meal and education.

to school from surrounding villages and homes, making their way across the grassy valleys and rolling hills.

“It’s amazing how many children there are,” said Sara. “Some are as young as 2.

These toddlers find their way home without any supervision. They just disappear into the savannah grass.”

One of the first things you notice about KwaZulu-Natal is that children are everywhere — but parents are not. “Out here it’s directly related to AIDS,” Sara explained.

A stunning 39 percent of KwaZulu-Natal’s residents are infected with HIV, according to the United Nations. AIDS tends to kill adults in their prime — parents — leaving behind an abundance of orphans, many of whom themselves carry the HIV virus.

Against the backdrop of so much trag-

edy, the Williamses have been inspired by the faith of the Zulu Christians, particularly Zondo, who became a Christian while serving a three-year jail sentence for selling marijuana. He returned to his village of Emmaus and started sharing his faith and building the Emmaus Apostolic Church, which has been meeting for four years.

Mark, a graduate of CBF partner Campbell University Divinity School, focuses primarily on writing discipleship materials for believers, particularly for pastors of churches Zondo has started in the region.

“What has impressed me is their eagerness to spread the gospel,” Sara said of the local believers. “It has given me fresh eyes on the gospel.”

By contributing writer Greg Warner

Learn more about the Williams ministry at www.thefellowship.info/williams.

October/NOvember 2012

Opportunities to

Missions Education Resource How to use this page

November 2012

The suggestions below will be helpful for using the stories on pages 10-16 of this issue in the life of your church. Small Group interaction, Study Group or Reading Group options are given, as well as suggestions for other congregational or family settings. Go online to www.thefellowship.info/affectonline for more suggestions.

Rebuilding lives through education

In Small Groups:

The following is an outline for adult mission groups, Bible study classes or other small groups. Share copies of fellowship! with group members prior to the meeting and have some extra copies available. These suggestions are for a 45-minute time frame.

1. Before the meeting, gather copies of fellowship! magazine for each person in your small group. Also, be sure you have extra Bibles on hand.

blessing the children (Matt. 19:13-15, Mark 10:13-16 and Luke 18:15-17).

fellowship!

CBF

Cooperative baptiSt fellowShip | www.thefellowShip.info

Serving Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission

Rebuilding lives through education

2. Begin by breaking the group up into three small groups. Ask each group to read and be ready to summarize one of the articles on education in this issue of fellowship! magazine (pages 18-24).

6. Ask the groups to reflect on the following question as they read: “How might education be part of God’s mission to welcome children?”

3. After giving time for each group to prepare, ask a volunteer from each group to summarize their article for everyone else.

4. Then ask the entire group the question: “How is education valued in each of these contexts?” You can also ask, “How are these educational initiatives a way of responding to God’s call to care for children?”

7. In small groups or in a larger group, encourage participants to put the Scripture in dialogue with the three stories on education. Ask, “How is Christ calling us to respond to God’s concern for education and mission to welcome children?”

5. After giving time for discussion, ask everyone to return to their small groups to read Scripture together. Assign each group one version of the story of Jesus

8. End by praying for the ministries that support education and for field personnel mentioned in the Prayer Calendar on page 6.

In Worship: Children’s Sermon 1. In preparation for the children’s sermon, read the articles on education in this issue of fellowship! magazine. Gather a CD player (or arrange to use the sound system) and a recording of anything in a foreign language that children will not likely recognize (one easy way to do this is to download any foreign language podcast). OPTION: If there is someone in your congregation who speaks a foreign language, ask them to help instead.

2. Begin the children’s sermon by telling the children that you are going to do a listening activity. Tell them that they will need to listen to something and then summarize what they’ve heard.

3. Begin the foreign language recording (or have your foreign language speaker begin talking) and then stop after 30 seconds to ask the children what they heard. Continue to dialogue with them and ask why they can’t understand what’s being spoken (they don’t speak the language, they’ve never lived in that country, etc.).

4. Summarize the fellowship! article on Hope Academy (pages 22-23) using language the children can understand, and tell the story of Eh Thaw Thaw and Chee Low who struggled in school because they didn’t understand the language.

5. Say, “After trying to listen to something in a new language today, I’m sure all of you understand how difficult it must have been for Eh Thaw Thaw and Chee

in indonesia, Cbf field personnel eddy and Cindy ruble are being the presence of Christ through educational projects, programs and partnerships.

Read more about their ministry on pages 18-21.

In Reading Groups Sold — by Patricia McCormick This novel introduces us to the world of Lakshmi, a 13-year-old girl from Nepal who thinks she is finding work to help her family but later learns she has been sold into prostitution. In India, Lakshmi’s life becomes a nightmare as she tries to survive in this terrifying new world.

Next month (December) Banker to the Poor — by Muhammed Yunus Banker to the Poor is Muhammed Yunus’s memoir of the way he changed the world — by offering microloans to the poor. Believing that credit should be a basic human right rather than a privilege of the few, Yunus redefined banking among the poor in Bangladesh. Today he provides over $25 billion in micro-loans and 94 percent of his clients are poor women.

Low when they arrived in the United States and knew very little English.”

6. End by praying for Hope Academy as well as other CBF ministries that provide educational opportunities. fellowship!

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2 12 T as k F o rce What’s next?

At the 2012 CBF General Assembly in June, those gathered approved the final report from the 2012 Task Force. The process of implementation will be made gradually, as the report calls for changes to the CBF Constitution and Bylaws and development of a new organizational model of staff, committees and teams.

In August, CBF moderator Keith Herron and CBF interim executive coordinator Pat Anderson put together the following group of Fellowship Baptists to serve as the Implementation Team: Keith Herron

Ruth Perkins Lee Minister of students, Auburn First

CBF moderator and pastor of Holmeswood Baptist Church

Baptist Church

Kansas City, Mo.

Auburn, Ala.

Renée Bennett

Dave Odom Executive director, Leadership

CBF recorder and assistant to the coordinator for finance,

Education at Duke University

CBF of Georgia

Durham, N.C. Bill McConnell

Macon, Ga.

CBF moderator-elect and partner at Rogers & Morgan

Colleen Burroughs

Susan Fendley Attorney (retired) for Tennessee Valley Authority Knoxville, Tenn.

Pat Anderson CBF interim executive coordinator Atlanta, Ga. Connie McNeill

Bo Prosser CBF coordinator for missional congregations Atlanta, Ga. Jim Smith CBF interim global missions coordinator Atlanta, Ga.

CBF coordinator of administration Atlanta, Ga.

CBF immediate past moderator and vice president of Passport Inc.

Knoxville, Tenn.

Birmingham, Ala.

Timeline for implementation

October Implementation Team meets for a two-day work retreat to begin developing a plan for implementing the 2012 Task Force final report. At the fall meeting of the CBF Coordinating Council, held in Decatur, Ga., the team will share its initial report for review, interpretation and revision.

February Implementation Team meets to fine-tune the initial work and to reflect on the input received from the Coordinating Council. At the winter meeting of the CBF Coordinating Council, the team will share findings and recommendations for review.

May Implementation Team will present final recommendations to the CBF Advisory Council for approval. The Advisory Council consists of CBF officers and chairs of Coordinating Council committees.

June Implementation Team will share the proposal at the 2013 General Assembly, which will be held June 26-28 in Greensboro, N.C. “This is a complicated adventure we’ve chosen to take. Institutional change of this order will be tedious at first, but as we achieve measured milestones in our implementation, we hope the wisdom of this courageous path we’ve taken will result in renewed energy in the Fellowship and a clearer understanding of why we exist and how we will more effectively serve the needs of the world through our efforts.”

— Keith Herron, CBF moderator Read the 2012 Task Force final report and learn more about the implementation process at www.thefellowship.info/2012taskforce.

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Join the Community New websites connect you to CBF missions opportunities, field personnel

Do you want to make a difference in the world? Find the place where God’s mission and your passion meet.

This summer CBF unveiled a new interactive website www.missioncommunities.org where you can connect directly with CBF ministries you’re most passionate about.

Browse the eight featured mission communities, choose one to join and then get involved in the discussion. You’ll be joined by CBF field personnel from around the world plus other Fellowship Baptists who share your same ministry passion.

Learn. Give. Pray. Serve. Meet new people. Make a difference. Find a community below and join online today!

Education Providing better futures through

Church Starts & Faith Sharing Supporting and strengthening church

educational outreach, including literacy,

planters and lay leaders — both in the

English as a Second Language, children’s

United States and worldwide — as they

education and theological/ministry training.

seek to begin new congregations and

Join at www.missioncommunities.org/education

Economic Development Providing better futures through environmental sustainability and micro-

share the good news of Christ.

Join at www.missioncommunities.org/churchstarts

Internationals Meeting both physical and emotional

enterprise projects, including vocational

needs of refugees, immigrants and

skills training, business as mission and

international students.

sustainable livelihood groups.

Join at www.missioncommunities.org/economic

Healthcare

Join at www.missioncommunities.org/ internationals

Disaster Response

Offering spiritual and physical healing

Delivering the hope of Christ to the

to those who suffer with HIV/AIDS, malaria

hopeless in times of crisis — both in the

and other diseases, through medical

United States and around the world.

training, outreach and education.

Join at www.missioncommunities.org/healthcare

Justice & Peacemaking Ministering to those who are persecuted

Join at www.missioncommunities.org/ disaster

Poverty & Transformational Working together to alleviate and

for their faith, and working with partner

address the systemic causes of urban

organizations to combat human trafficking,

and rural poverty including hunger, clean

war and genocide, women’s rights, child

water and community development.

labor and reconciliation.

Join at www.missioncommunities.org/poverty

Join at www.missioncommunities.org/justice fellowship!

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c’est la vie SELAHvie PAUSE Life.

SELAHvie builds tradition of reflection on summer of service The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is teaching college and graduate students that life can have greater meaning when you pause to reflect.

The end-of-summer SELAHvie Conference, which convened for the third year in August at the Shocco Springs Baptist Conference Center near Talladega, Ala., has grown into an anticipated event for young Baptists and students who have spent their summer serving through local churches, alongside CBF field personnel and at summer camps sponsored by Passport, a CBF partner.

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did different things, but we did it for the same reason.”

The conference’s name is derived from the Hebrew word “selah,” which means “pause” and the Latin word “vie” which means “life.” The idea is for participants to pause after their busy summers of service to reflect before resuming their lives.

“SELAHvie’s just great,” said Vanderbilt Divinity student Lauren McDuffie of Nashville who worked at Glendale Baptist Tevin Moore of Severna, Md., reflects on his experience of serving at National Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., through Student.Go.

Meggie Dant photos

“It’s gotten to the point where I can’t imagine closing my summer out without it,” said John-Mark Brown of Jefferson City, Tenn., who served as recreation coordinator for the PASSPORTkids West team and is an entering student at Wake Forest Divinity School. “It’s provided me with friends — stronger friendships than I would have ever imagined that three weekends in three years could give.”

More than 140 young Baptists were led in worship by Eric Mathis, who teaches music and worship at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., and serves as minister of music at Dawson Memorial Baptist Church, and a praise band of Samford students.

Rodger Nishioka, the Benton Family chair in Christian education and associate professor at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga., spoke at six worship services touching on Jesus’ parables.

The schedule also included small group discussions designed to help students process their ministry experiences and reflect on God’s work in their lives.

“The first day was kind of intense,” said Salisbury University student Tevin Moore of Severna Park, Md., who worked at National Baptist Memorial Church in Washington, D.C., serving as part of CBF’s Student.Go mission program. “We’re all working for the same purpose … this conference put it all in perspective. Yes, we

Church in Nashville for the past three summers as an intern. “I love it. I look forward to it every year. It’s really created this great community of young adults who are all passionate about CBF life.”

By CBF Communications Next year’s conference is still in the planning stages. Look for details from www.passportcamps.org/selahvie.

At SELAHvie, students pray, reflect, worship and fellowship after busy summers of ministry.

Teacher becomes student Chip Rotolo of Henderson, N.C., went to Kampala, Uganda, to help refugees as a teacher and friend. The University of Chip Rotolo North Carolina student served through Student.Go alongside CBF field personnel Jade and Shelah Acker.

He quickly saw that he would gain more from the experience than the people he thought he was going to help.

“Although technically, I took on the role of teacher, there was no doubt I was a student all summer long,” Rotolo said.

“When I first got to Kampala, so much was thrown at me. Everything was new, from being out in the city to attending worship services, there were things I couldn’t understand, things that were frustrating because I couldn’t process them. It was just really, really powerful.

So now that I’m back, it’s really hard to do anything without seeing their faces, capabilities, hopes and dreams.”

Call confirmed

Now what?

Jaime Fitzgerald felt called to ministry, and after a summer as a CBF Collegiate Congregational Intern at Randolph Memorial Baptist Church in Madison Jaime Fitzgerald Heights, Va., she knows God is preparing her to pastor. During the internship, she was able to preach, teach Sunday School classes and help with disaster relief after storms hit the community early in the summer.

“The most valuable experience I had was the complete affirmation of the church family and my calling to be a pastor,” Fitzgerald said. “It was really neat. I preached one Sunday and this older lady came up to me afterward and said, ‘I have never heard a woman preach, but you did an excellent job.’ It was cool to see that and to introduce people to new things.”

After a summer of serving as camp pastor for the PASSPORTkids East Team, James Blay, recent Mercer University graduate and native of Monrovia, Liberia, James Blay will be returning home to start a servant leadership program and help churches with youth and children’s ministries. His work will be with the Ricks Institute, a CBF partner, and the Liberian Baptist Convention.

“It’s going to be an enormous task,” Blay said. “I’m excited about the opportunity because in order for Liberia to move forward after all those years of civil war, it’s important that we start training our young ones in a way that they can embrace community and extend grace. They will learn the importance of life together.”

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Current Retreat October 18-19, 2012 Georgetown College, Georgetown, Ky.

The Kentucky Baptist Fellowship will host its annual Young Leader’s Retreat.

This year, the retreat will be held at Georgetown College and will feature keynote speaker, Rachel Held Evans. This event is open to all young Baptists, not just those serving in Kentucky.

Cost is $50 ($25 for college/seminary students), which includes dinner Thursday and lunch Friday.

www.kybf.org/-kentucky-current-retreat

ChurchWorks February 25-27, 2013 Broadway Baptist Church, Fort Worth, Texas

Kenda Creasey Dean

Join Princeton University professor and author Kenda Creasey Dean to discuss the church, culture and our response to the times in which we find ourselves. The ChurchWorks Conference combines worship and small group time in a setting where ministers deepen their understanding of ministry, discover new ideas and meet others who are also in vocational ministry.

www.thefellowship.info/churchworks

Advocacy in Action

March 10-13, 2013 – Washington, D.C.

Join the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship on a three-day journey to become a voice for the world’s poor and marginalized, to advocate for religious liberty and to witness a local missional congregation in action.

www.thefellowship.info/advocacy

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Greensboro awaits.

Be here June 26-29, 2013.

Join us for the CBF General Assembly June 26-29, 2013, at the Sheraton Hotel and Joseph S. Koury Convention Center in Greensboro, N.C. Register online now — www.thefellowship.info/assembly

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship

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Cooperative Baptist Fellowship 2930 Flowers Road South, Suite 133 Atlanta, GA 30341 www.thefellowship.info • (800) 352-8741

lc eatner Greensboro awaits. wa Be here June 26-29, 2013.

The best gifts don’t fit under christmas trees This Christmas use the CBF Gift Catalog to shop for the perfect life-changing gift. Choose from dozens of items such as water, food, medicine or a Bible. Whatever your choice, you will help meet physical and spiritual needs in the name of Jesus Christ. And that might be the best Christmas present ever.

www.thefellowship.info/giftcatalog

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship