Following Jesus Sept. 2014

FREE SUMMER 2014 | FR A ZER UNITED METHODIS T CHURCH

FOLLOWING

JESUS T

H E M

A G

A

Z

I N E

ANNE LOUISE PASS

Hiding Place PAGE 14

MY FATHER’S IMAGE HANNAH VANDER HEY 8

FORMING OF A PASTOR LEVI GARDNER 20

MIK E A ND L I S A C O NN

A FAMILY TEAM PAG E 4 0

PLUS TRANSFORMATIONS IN PROGRESS • MISSIONS UPDATES • MORE

PLEASE TAKE ONE.

more together We are more when we are together.

More alive. More open. More powerful.

This fall, take the More Together

But what if we could make our times

Challenge. Reach out to another couple,

together more meaningful? What if we could be intentional about bringing our walk with Christ and our circle of friends together?

or two or three friends—people you already connect with. Ask them to take a 6-week Spiritual journey with you.

We’ll work with you on all the resources and training you’ll need to have a lifechanging experience with your group.

CONTACT SMALLGROUPS@FRAZERUMC.ORG TO GET STARTED.

What God will do when we become more together?

FOLLOWING JESUS VOL. 2 NO. 1 SUMMER 2014 Published by Frazer Memorial United Methodist Church 6000 Atlanta Hwy. Montgomery, AL 36117 Printed in USA by Publications Press

Editor & Layout Ken Roach

Editorial Coordinator Amy Presley

Writers Judy Payne Candace Rutherford Ken Roach Photographers Lori Mercer Lee Werling Mac MacLellan cover image:

Mark Stuart, Gabriel Stevens and Patrick Quinn look at land in Haiti.

Photo contributed. ©2014 Frazer Memorial United Methodist Church. Limited permission is granted to reproduce articles in their entirety for the purpose of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ without commercial gain.

APPLY TO BE A VOLUNTEER WRITER OR PHOTOGRAPHER. CONTACT KEN ROACH, KEN@ FRAZERUMC.ORG 334.272.8622

Amazing Grace IF YOU KNOW MY STORY, you know I didn’t come to Frazer for it’s great worship, world changing missions, powerful preaching or deep theology; no, I came because of a girl! I was dating Emily (now my wife), and she went to Frazer, so I went to Frazer.

Having been raised in another denomination, I knew very little about the Methodist church. But I loved what I found—not only the girl—but also the spirit of the Frazer family, the Bible based Christ centered message, and the emphasis on service and missions.

As I began my studies this summer at Asbury Theological Seminary, however, I began to develop an even greater appreciation for the Methodist tradition: particularly, the unmatched emphasis that John Wesley and his successors in the Methodist movement have put on the incredible power of God’s grace.

Grace is God’s power at work within to transform us from the inside out. Mercy is God loving us even when we were sinners, but grace is God loving us enough not to leave us sinners. Grace is God patiently, persistently, powerfully perfecting the work He began in us by His Holy Spirit, until we are filled from top to bottom with love—love for God and love for people. Grace really is amazing.

In this issue of Following Jesus, grace abounds. It’s there in the story of two daughters, one facing the challenge of growing up without her dad (p. 8), and one seeking to find self-acceptance (p. 14). It’s there in the calling of a young man to leave his plans to be a medical doctor and enter the ministry (p. 20). It’s there in a couple who both came from broken homes, and have made it their mission to teach God’s plan for marriage to others (p. 40). It’s there in an artist struggling through depression, and in a young man who was thrown into teaching Sunday School before he was ready, and ended up teaching Sunday Schools around the world (p. 30). It’s certainly there in the stories of women who have gone from being homeless, to hope-filled (p. 35).

Grace is changing us. It’s changing the world. If you let it, grace will change you, too.

Ken Roach, Content Director Frazer United Methodist Church

FOLLOWING JESUS

|3

✝

✝ SHARE CHRIST

Socially Like. Follow. Comment. Share. Join the conversation.

When you think about Social Media like Facebook and Twitter, do you think of it as a mission field? Followers of Jesus at Frazer are already connected to over 88,000 people in the Montgomery area through social media. Imagine the potential for sharing the message of Christ if we all became intentional about living out our faith in our online neighborhoods. Sign up, find Frazer at the accounts listed below, and start sharing the story of God’s love with others in your social network.

Facebook “f ” Logo

CMYK / .eps

frazerumc

Facebook “f ” Logo

@frazerumc

CMYK / .eps

frazermethodist

@frazerumc

Questions about how to get involved? Email Ken Roach ken@frazerumc.org

frazerumc.org 4

| FOLLOWING JESUS

TABLE OF CONTENTS Amazing Grace Grace is fundamental to following Jesus. We can no more follow Jesus without grace, than we could follow a fish without gills, or follow a bird without wings. Grace begins with the free gift of salvation in Christ, but it extends far beyond that. Grace is the transforming work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts that fills us with love for God an for our neighbor. Be on the lookout in this month’s stories for evidence of grace at work!

8

26

In My Father’s Image: Hannah Vander Hey

Jim and Diann Holston

14

30

Hiding Place: Anne Louise Pass

The Artist and the Teacher: Jim and Ann Salminen

20

40

The Forming of a Pastor: Levi Gardner

24 Missions Updates

A Family Team for Christ: Mike and Lisa Conn

35 Transformations in Progress FOLLOWING JESUS

|5

SHORTS Frazer Reaches Out to Persecuted Believers

ABOVE: Pastor Patrick Quinn and Children’s Director Theresa Reiter each receive a pie in the face from their children, as a celebration of VBS participants reaching their goal to fully fund Frazer’s backpack ministry to feed underprivileged students.

Children, Student Ministries Wrap Up a Great Summer of Spiritual Growth and Fun Summer may be down time for some, but it’s busy season in the Frazer Children’s Ministry and Crave Student Ministry.

A few highlights for the Children’s Ministry included another wonderful year at Camp Sonshine and Camp Chandler in June, when Pastor Patrick Quinn taught the “iPhone, iPad, iPod” generation that all we really need is “iGod.” Then in July more than 1,000 children from throughout the community enrolled in VBS. Through the “Workshop of Wonders” they discovered that God creates each of us uniquely and invites us to join our creativity with His. As just one example of the personal impact VBS can have, Children’s Ministry Director Theresa Reiter shared this incident: “A fifth

6

| FOLLOWING JESUS

grade girl was staying with her grandparents for the week. She wanted to accept Christ. I met her Thursday after VBS and she was so excited she wanted me to baptize her right then. I told her she would need to go back and discuss it with her parents. I gave her a new Bible and she was so happy.”

Student ministry leaders Bryan Levangie and Brittany Finch led our 6th-12th graders in special prayer breakfasts throughout the summer to pray for the needs in our community and our world. Of course, there were also events just for fun, from Paint Ball to Six Flags to White Water Rafting.

Both ministry areas are looking forward to a dynamic fall season now that school is back and regular ministry programs are underway.

With the recent atrocities in Northern Syria and Iraq, as Christians are being persecuted, many of you have asked, “What can we do?” Frazer’s pastors called the church to a special time of prayer for these groups this summer, and the church also reached out with a donation to three organizations with people in the region in a position to offer aid and assistance. Donors can designate a gifts above and beyond their tithe to the Disaster Relief Fund. Previously, the fund has been used to aid victims of the tornado in Tuscaloosa, and the tsunami in Japan, among other tragedies.

Welcome Mary Causey Frazer is excited to announce the addition of Mary Causey to our staff as Connections Coordinator.

Mary will take on responsibilities for coordinating the staff and volunteer efforts to reach out to our community, welcome visitors, and help new members, connect to the life of our church. Mary and her husband, Adam have a 2-year-old daughter, Abby James. They have been members of Frazer since 2007. Look for more of Mary’s story in a future edition of Following Jesus.

Pastors offer innovative video Bible study You don’t have to wait until you die for heaven. God wants you to start your next life now!

will open your eyes to God’s power

This innovative Bible study led by pastors Tim Thompson and Patrick Quinn will be broadcast live on WFRZ TV and frazerumc.org/live so you can tune in at home or on your mobile device and even interact with questions or comments.

Downloadable study guides will

Offered for six Sunday nights, 7:308 p.m. starting Sept. 7, this study

WFRZ and archived for viewing 24/7

to transform your life through Jesus Christ right here on earth.

help you dig even deeper into the scripture in your personal study time or with a small group.

Followership 2015 is your opportunity to plan how you will follow Jesus in giving, service, and mission in the year ahead.

Followership Churchwide Dinner/Rally SUN . OCT. 19 5- 7PM WESL EY H A L L Enjoy food and fellowship as we celebrate together

Can’t watch live? Videos will be

what God has done in and

rebroadcast during the week on

through Frazer in 2014,

on frazerumc.org.

and share dreams for what 2015 has in store. RSVP for food and childcare to

Fall sermon series focuses on unity in both Sanctuary and Wesley Hall worship as we continue our study through the Gospel of John throughout the months of September and October.

One team. One way. One command.

One love. “One” is the heart of God for his people. “One” describes who we are and who we want to become as a church family.

Join pastors Tim Thompson and Patrick Quinn on Sunday mornings

The “One” teaching series will prepare our hearts to recommit to following Jesus in 2015 through our annual Followership campaign. Save the date now for the Followership churchwide dinner and rally on Sunday, Oct. 19, and our Commitment Sunday celebration and consecration on Sunday, Oct. 26.

followership@frazerumc.org.

Followership Commitment Sunday OCT. 26 For those who have not already completed their card online or at the Dinner/Rally, we encourage every member to turn in their Personal Response Card during worship this Sunday morning.

FOLLOWING JESUS

|7

FAMILY

IN MY

Father’s Image Karen and Hannah Vander Hey Learn to Follow Jesus through Tragedy

8

| FOLLOWING JESUS

BY KEN ROACH | They say she is the spitting image of her father. From her baby pictures on, Hannah Vander Hey stands out from her sisters in this regard. The similarities are not just physical.

Her mother, Karen insists Hannah has many of Elmer’s personality traits, even speaking like him at times. Elmer was a mathematician; Hannah, who just graduated from high school, plans to major in math at Troy University and become a teacher.

But her father has been gone since she was in sixth grade.

In October of 2007 Elmer Vander Hey passed away after a battle with melanoma. The skin cancer that at one time he thought he had fought into remission came back with a vengeance, rapidly spreading and taking his life in a matter of weeks.

Through it all, Elmer stayed strong in his faith in Jesus Christ. “He was a free spirit; even while dying, he didn’t act like he had cancer,” remembers Hannah. “He never turned his back on God. He never got mad at God; we did, but he didn’t. He stayed positive,” says Karen.

A Legacy of Faith Elmer grew up in church, accepted Christ in middle school, and although his faith was “back and forth” in college according to Karen, he got serious about following Jesus when he married. “He told me he had been wild in college, but he would pray in his dorm room for God to send a godly woman to help him get back on track,” says Karen. He went on to become a solid follower of Jesus. “He left a legacy of faith, courage and strength,” says Karen.

The couple visited Frazer together, and although they initially thought the church was too big for them, their older daughter, Heather, kept asking, “When are we going back?” Eventually they joined, and got involved as volunteers, purposing to be part of whatever ministries their children were participating in. After their youngest daughter, Hollon Jane, was born, Karen came on staff part time in Frazer’s nursery.

During Elmer’s illness, Karen remembers praying and asking God, “why aren’t You healing him?”

Eventually she realized she was “praying wrong”— seeking her own will, rather than God’s will. After submitting her heart to the Lord, she was able to see His hand in everything as they sought to make the most of those last days, and she was able to give Elmer “permission” to leave. “He was tired of fighting,” she says. “I was able to tell him, we’re going to be okay; God has never let us down, and He never will.”

Karen had to be strong through the midst of her grief for the sake of her girls. “I made a promise to Elmer that I would stay faithful for them,” she says.

“I was all they had. If I cave in and turn away from God, what’s that showing them? Yes, this is horrible, it’s not what we had planned, but God has a plan.”

Her church family provided Karen with love and support. While she says it is too hard to come to church on Father’s Day, every other Sunday they are here in worship, and she has continued to be actively involved as a volunteer in the student ministry with her daughters.

Admitting Need For Hannah, the story was a little different. She had accepted Christ at Camp Chandler with Frazer’s

PREVIOUS PAGE: Hannah and Elmer Vander Hey. ABOVE: Karen Vander Hey and Elmer. P HOTOS CONTRIBUTED.

FOLLOWING JESUS

|9

ABOVE: The Vander Hey family on vacation: Elmer, Hannah, Heather, Hollan and Karen. P HOTO CONTRIBUTED.

Children’s Ministry in second grade, but her relationship with God was about to be severely tested with her father’s death. “I didn’t care,” she says, “I didn’t want to believe. I didn’t want to trust anyone who would take my dad away.”

Hannah says she did not really cry until three years later, in the 9th grade. It took that long to process her grief enough to let out her emotions. “I had to learn that you need people. I’m not one to show emotions, but you can’t do it by yourself. It doesn’t get easier if you push people away. I had to push my stubbornness and hard-headedness to the side and be willing to let others know how I was feeling.”

Each year of high school, Frazer’s DNOW weekend for students was a milestone in Hannah’s faith life. Her 10th grade year was when she considers herself to have become a fully devoted follower of Jesus, truly owning for herself the decision she had made as a child. This year, as a senior, she once again rededicated herself. “It

10

| FOLLOWING JESUS

was hard as an upperclassman, someone who is looked at as a leader, to stand up at DNOW and say, ‘I don’t have it all together, I need You now, Jesus,’ but that’s what she did,” says Karen, “and I think that was a great example to the younger students, because that’s how God works—when we admit we need Him.”

Influences Along the way, Hannah’s faith was formed in a variety of ways. Attending public school at Brewbaker Technology Magnet, her teachers were not able to give her faith-based advice or Bible teaching, but she says she benefitted from those who genuinely cared about her and pushed her to the top, especially her math teacher, inspiring her to want to be an educator herself. Youth leaders like Brian Word invested in her, and she says she saw Jesus in the way Brian “treated everyone like they were his own sons and daughters.”

Perhaps most importantly after her parent’s influence, Hannah found her way to a Life Group.

That created a context to stay in God’s Word with daily devotionals and Bible based discussion. But it also provided accountability and an opportunity to do life with a group of girls who were going through the same stage of life she was.

“When we first met, the walls were up,” Hannah recalls, “but now we are very open. We have times of deep discussion. The walls come down and the tears come out. We call each other out when we need to.” The group, which Karen helps to lead, is emphatic about trust and accountability. They started together in 7th grade, and over the years have only lost one member, gaining two new ones along the way. All of them are now heading to Troy University except for one who will attend UAB. No one in Hannah’s school classes went to Frazer. “Most of them don’t have faith as part of their lives except on Sunday. They don’t judge me

(for being a believer), we just didn’t have a lot of common ground,” she says. Her Life Group at church was vital to have a place to talk through things, and to keep her in check from wandering away from Christ—something she hopes to replicate at Troy so she will continue to stay on the right path through college.

Impact Like her parents, Hannah got involved in service. Twice she went on mission to the Dominican Republic, as well as participating in numerous local mission projects at Trenholm Court, Adullum House, neighborhood block parties and nursing homes.

Through Youth Worship Arts she sang, went on tour, and developed a reputation as the “white girl rapper.” Her love of hip hop often enabled her to make a connection with boys and girls at the youth clubs and missions her group would minister to.

BELOW: Whether at a local outreach in Montgomery or on mission overseas in the Dominican Republic, Hannah

shares the love of God wherever she goes. P HOTOS CONTRIBUTED.

FOLLOWING JESUS

| 11

Hannah also demonstrates leadership traits.

Karen recalls one incident when Hannah became convinced that YWA should perform a particular skit in contemporary worship at Frazer. “She emailed (teaching pastor) Patrick Quinn because she wanted other young people to hear this message,” says Karen. “I can’t imagine doing that myself when I was her age.”

In 9th grade, Hannah set a goal to become valedictorian of her class. She worked hard at it, but also gave it to God, Karen says. This year, she accomplished that goal. Along the way she took the ACT test 10 times in order to get the score she needed for the maximum scholarships, so that her tuition costs would not be a burden to her singleparent mom.

Through that gift of leadership, Hannah is

turning her hurts into opportunities for ministry.

“I learned when my dad died not to say to people, ‘I know what you’re feeling,’ because no one fully knows,” she says. “But I am able to honestly come alongside people who are hurting and say, ‘I’ve been there, too.’” She has reached out to a friend who lost her grandfather, and another who lost her mother with the same message God has taught her: you don’t have to go through pain alone. God is there for you, and people are there for you if you’ll reach out.”

I ask Hannah how her life experiences have shaped her image of God. “I didn’t really know God as a Father even until this year,” Hannah admits.

“But I do now. He is my Father is in heaven.”

In both the earthly and the heavenly sense, it turns out, Hannah is growing right into her father’s image.

BELOW: Hannah’s Student Ministry Life Group has been a critical source of spiritual strength and growth throughout

her high school years. From left, Sofi Gelabert, Katie Heacock, Victoria Conner, Cayla Hamilton, Logan McKissick, and Hannah. RIGHT: Hannah (right), her mother Karen and sister Hollan Jayne show their joy in Christ after participating in a “color run.” P HOTOS CONTRIBUTED.

FOLLOWING JESUS

| 13

14

| FOLLOWING JESUS

Hiding Place Anne Louise Pass is learning that grace is for everyone

BY KEN ROACH | If you heard her singing a solo in the Sanctuary at Frazer, or sharing a testimony on stage in Wesley Hall, or saw her playing a role in the church Christmas drama or a school play, you wouldn’t imagine that Anne Louise Pass was the sort of person to hide from people. But when her family first came to Frazer when she was in the 6th grade, Anne Louise skipped Sunday School and hid to avoid being around the rest of the youth group. “I knew every hiding place in the church,” she says.

What has changed over the years is not simply a story of a young woman who has matured in selfconfidence; it is the story of a follower of Jesus who has learned what it means to trust in his grace.

Anne Louise’s parents have been in ministry in one form or another since before she was born.

Frank, her father, spent 17 years as a youth minister and now serves as a Frazer-supported missionary with the international ministry of Visiting Orphans.

Her mother, Robin, is an interpreter for the deaf and is involved in the church as a volunteer in many ways, including the drama ministry, OneFamily ministry and Deaf Ministry. “My dad has dedicated his entire life to following God’s calling,” says Anne Louise, “and my mom is also following a calling, even if it’s not in ‘the ministry.’”

Anne Louise says her grandparents were also formative influences on her faith. For example, she remembers her grandmother “Lee Lee” Pass (also a long-time Frazer member) taking her regularly to visit nursing homes, modeling early morning devotions to her, and conducting weekly Bible study times with her granddaughter.

OPPOSITE: Anne Louise Pass at her graduation with her father Frank Pass. PHOTO BY BILLY POPE. ABOVE: Anne Louise being baptized at Frazer in 2008 by former teaching pastor Rev. John Schmidt. P HOTO CONTRIBUTED.

FOLLOWING JESUS

| 15

LEFT: Anne Louise with her mother, Robin. PHOTO COURTESY OF NIKKI P. PHOTOGRAPHY AND POTENTIAL MAGAZINE. RIGHT: Playing with a child at a special needs orphanage on a mission trip to China. P HOTO CONTRIBUTED.

Through their legacy and witness, Anne Louise accepted Christ at a very early age and was baptized. However, she remembers her confirmation classes in 6th grade as a turning point when she fully understood the meaning of salvation and began to take ownership of her faith.

Over the years she developed a hunger for God’s Word that has helped to continue to grow. She starts her day with a Bible reading app, as well as an app that gives her a daily devotional thought from her favorite Christian apologetics author, C.S. Lewis. Her parents gave her a Bible with wide margins where she takes plenty of notes, and then copies those thoughts over into her journal to meditate further on what God is speaking to her.

Prayer is also an important part of Anne Louise’s daily walk. Beside prayer on her own, her family has recently started praying together every morning before they set off on their separate ways, a practice she says has been very helpful. She also draws close to God through music and Christian books, such as Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia or William Young’s The Shack.

16

| FOLLOWING JESUS

Where the private side of her walk with Christ has been strong, the social side—relating to other people—has been a challenge. Shy by nature, she says she has always struggled with feelings of insecurity and lack of self-acceptance.

“At school, I was the nerdy kid,” she says. “I was different. I was teased. I tucked my shirt in just because the dress code said to, and I used big vocabulary words, and that made me different.” That feeling of not being accepted at school was symptomatic of a root need to connect to her identity in Christ. “I didn’t really know my identity—who I was, or Whose I was,” says Anne Louise.

That began to change for her through participation in Frazer’s Youth Worship Arts (YWA). “The first day of YWA I tried to find an excuse not to go, but my mom forced me to,” she recalls. When she got there, the girls in her section made her feel welcome, as did director Debbie Peavy. Matty Drollette is one girl she remembers particularly who reached out and talked to her, and became a friend.

Through YWA, Anne Louise found an outlet where she could use her gifts and talents. “I come from a

musical family,” she says, “and I love to perform.” For her, singing in the church is a way to find herself, to do what she loves, and at the same time serve a higher purpose than simply singing in her school chorus group affords.

The acceptance she found at YWA encouraged her spiritually, their acceptance helping her to feel God’s acceptance. Choir became not just “hangout,” but also a “support group.” “I hang out with my church friends much more than my school friends, even though in many ways we’re nothing alike, but we build on the good in each other and hold each other accountable for the bad.” Through her church community, she says she is able to trust the way God has made her instead of worrying about how others may perceive her.

At least, that’s true some of the time. Anne Louise admits that overcoming insecurity through faith in Christ is more of an ongoing daily war than a one-time battle. For example, after joining YWA

she invited other girls to join the group as well, including her best friend, Olivia Wilson. However, when Olivia started to become popular in the group and gather a lot of attention, Anne Louise felt jealous. “I acted like a jerk to her on our first choir tour together and nearly messed up our friendship,” she admits. Once again, she had to learn to look to God and not others for acceptance, she says.

Anne Louise and Olivia certainly seem to have made up any differences they might have had in the past, behaving more like sisters today. At the time I interviewed Anne Louise, she had just come from spending the night at Olivia’s house. She credits Olivia with sharpening her intellectually and spiritually. “She’s an intellectual person who challenges ideas, and wants to know why she believes what she believes,” Anne Louise says. “She has strengthened me by being a force to both encourage me, if I claim to believe something, then I need to actually do it.”

BELOW: Anne Louise and Robin perform in Frazer’s 2012 Christmas musical drama. P HOTO BY CHRIS THORNTON.

FOLLOWING JESUS

| 17

In addition to learning about God’s acceptance through her friends and church community, Anne Louise has been influenced by her siblings. Her sister Katy models for her what it means to feel deeply for others. “She demonstrates real empathy for others,” Anne Louise says. Her younger sister, Ella Grace, and brother Gabriel, were both adopted.

“When mom and dad brought home Ella Grace from China, that changed the way I see the world,” Anne Louise says. More recently, she learned more about the power of prayer and relying on God along with her family through Gabriel’s medical conditions. Before he was even adopted, they waited and cried together outside an ICU ward, uncertain if their infant future brother would even survive.

However, Anne Louise is quick to point out that, for the Pass family, adoption isn’t some kind of “Christian service.” People may tell her that her parents are ‘good people’ for adopting, but she knows “they didn’t do it out of ‘charity’—they just did it because that’s their kid. They love them exactly the same as their biological children.”

Instead, adoption for Anne Louise is a reminder of the relationship all Christians have with our Heavenly Father. “We’re all adopted into God’s family,” she says. As a result, she has learned to be more sensitive to all kinds of people. “My sister is Asian, my brother is Hispanic, my mom works with the deaf, my brother is blind, my dad works with people in Africa and South America, and I’m blonde; who

am I going to make fun of?” she jokes. But in all seriousness, she sees the hand of God at work through combination of her family experiences and her own personal struggles to prepare her to be sensitive and caring towards the needs of others.

That dual lesson of finding one’s acceptance in God, and through Him learning to accept others, has doubled back to some of the same class mates who teased her for being a “nerd” when she was younger. She refers to middle school as her “dark years.” “I was angry at school, mean to people, and bitter, because I felt excluded by them. But when I got to know them better in high school, I realized, they weren’t judging me, I was judging them. I became friends with some people I never thought I would, and I’m grateful.”

The love and acceptance she has found in Christ overflows for Anne Louise in service and mission.

Whether it was visiting retirement homes with her grandmother, going on choir tours with YWA, or traveling on short term mission trips to work with the deaf in Haiti or visit orphans in China, she sees service as simply the outflow of loving God and loving people. She stresses that serving God is seen just as much in being there for a friend, or cleaning your room when your parents tell you to, as in traveling across oceans to share the gospel. (And yes, Frank and Robin, she admits that she needs to do a better job of cleaning her room!)

As Anne Louis prepares to head off to college at

LEFT: Matty Drollette was instrumental in welcoming Anne Louise into Frazer’s Youth Worship Arts.

RIGHT: Olivia Wilson and Anne Louise during the 2014 YWA Choir Mission Tour to Chicago. P HOTOS CONTRIBUTED.

18

| FOLLOWING JESUS

Auburn University, she feels prepared academically by the gift of a challenging school and excellent teachers. She feels prepared spiritually and intellectually by youth leaders and church friends like Olivia who have held her accountable and challenged her to grow. She feels prepared emotionally by the love of her family, knowing that even as she moves away from home, family will still come first.

However, her greatest preparation for life has been learning that she doesn’t have to be perfect.

“We’re all just humans, trying to make our way in the world,” she says. She knows she will make mistakes, and will probably still struggle with shyness, self-consciousness, and insecurity, along with the

pride and arrogance that can so often be ways in which we overcompensate for our fears. But Anne Louise knows those very weaknesses are the things that cause us to turn to God, to rely more on His strength, and to draw closer to Him for our sense of worth and acceptance.

“The best thing my dad has ever told me is that grace is for everybody,” she says.

Amen, Frank.

As her journey continues, Anne Louise may yet have more days when she feels like “skipping Sunday School” to go find a place to hide. But she has found the best hiding place of all: in the arms of her Heavenly Father.

SIBLINGS: Katy, Anne Louse, Gabriel and

Ella Grace Pass. P HOTO CONTRIBUTED.

FOLLOWING JESUS

| 19

THE FORMING OF A

Pastor

Levi Gardner completes seminary while on Frazer staff

BY KEN ROACH | Frazer has often played host to special services and ceremonies as part of the Alabama-West Florida Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. But this year, the Commissioning Service had a particular interest for our congregation, as we had the opportunity to see our own minister of outreach and evangelism, Levi Gardner, ordained as a provisional elder in the church. The young man, who graduated from Candler School of Divinity at Emory University earlier this spring, was appointed by the bishop to serve as associate pastor at Perdido Bay UMC down on the Gulf Coast starting this summer. As Levi’s time on staff here at Frazer was drawing to a close, I had the opportunity to sit down with him and reflect on his journey into ministry, as well as his season of service here in Montgomery.

DISCOVERING A CALLING Levi was baptized in the Episcopal church in the Gulf Coast region of Alabama. He remembers serving as an acolyte in worship and attending Sunday School, but he also remembers when he reached fifth grade and his mother allowed him to choose for himself, sometimes he would just lay in bed and skip church on Sunday mornings. Nevertheless, over time the Holy Spirit continued to draw him toward devotion to Christ, and in his sophomore year of high school he made a conscious decision to fully follow Jesus through the youth ministry of Gulf Shores United Methodist Church. His faith

20

| FOLLOWING JESUS

became his own through engagement in missions, Bible study, regular spiritual disciplines and group leadership through that ministry.

One powerful missions experience that impacted him was in Savannah, Georgia, the summer after his senior year of high school. After graduating, he intended to go to medical school and become a doctor, a profession that had gripped his imagination for years. However, during this mission trip he had a powerful encounter with God in worship, combined with a growing awareness of the needs in the world. For the first time he had the opportunity to verbally share his faith with someone else, a boy he recalls was named Lorenzo. During that experience he joked with a friend, “if I don’t end up becoming a doctor, maybe I’ll be a pastor.”

Nevertheless, when the time came he enrolled in the University of South Alabama and started to work towards a major in biomedical science. The first day of classes, his youth pastor called him up.

She explained that they were starting a ministry to 5th and 6th graders, and his name kept coming up as the person to lead it. After some prayer, Levi felt led to give back to the ministry that had invested so much in him, so he began driving back and forth from school every Wednesday night to lead the ministry. Over time he realized he was getting far more life and joy from his time spent studying the Bible to develop his lesson plans, than he was from his basic science classes in college.

By that November, Levi sensed a calling to full

ABOVE: Rev. Levi Gardner and his wife, Caroline. PHOTO BY STEGALL SEMINARY SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION.

time ministry. He found the courage to talk to his parents about the decision, and they were “100% supportive.” In one sense, it was a struggle to let go of the aspiration to be a doctor, but in another sense, he found that he was fulfilling his desire to serve human needs—he would just be working to heal the soul rather than the body!

Looking back on the people who most influenced his walk with Christ, Levi thinks of his youth pastor, Julianna Cooper. “She modeled Christ in everything,” he recalls. “She was encouraging, prayerful, a gifted teacher who connected scripture to life, and relational with all types of kids.”

He also thinks of Bill Camp, an older mentor who took the unusual step as a 60+-year-old of playing golf with a young teenager every week. Somehow they found common ground—both were “lefties.” The two would carry on conversations while they played

about life and faith. Levi saw Bill, who passed away a few years ago, as a servant leader, who used every interaction in his position in business to honor Christ.

GROWING MINISTRY OPPORTUNITIES IN COLLEGE Levi traveled the summer following his call in Quito, Ecuador, helping to build a Christian daycare.

For the first time, he was able to see that our God is not just God of the Southeast part of the United States in North America—He is truly God of the whole world. Seeing children with joy on their faces, serving alongside them and developing relationships with them despite barriers of culture and language, reinforced that Christianity is not limited to a particular worldly lifestyle or earthly community.

Later he spent three months on mission in Costa Rica. As he worshipped and served in their native

FOLLOWING JESUS

| 21

BELOW: Bishop Paul Leeland commissions Levi as a provisional elder in the United Methodist Church during the

2014 Alabama West Florida Annual Conference hosted by Frazer. PHOTO BY LUKE LUCAS (AWFUMC). church and got to know their families, he could see that human needs were not so different around the world.

His junior year of college, Levi transferred to Auburn University, where he had the opportunity to serve as an intern under Pastor Tim Thompson, who was serving at that time at Opelika First Methodist. He went on to intern at the Auburn Wesley Foundation, helping to build its vibrant ministry to students during his senior year.

After graduation, Tim once again hired Levi, now in his new appointment at Frazer. Arrangements were made for Levi to serve as director of outreach and evangelism while traveling back and forth to attend seminary in Atlanta. For the next three years, Levi would greet visitors, lead new member classes, and help the church extend welcome to the community, all the while keeping up the class load for his theological education at Emory.

“What stands out about Frazer is the opportunity I’ve had to learn from Tim, Patrick (Quinn), the whole contemporary worship planning team, and all of the talented staff here,” says Levi. “I’ve loved leading the new member classes, getting to know people, their names and their stories, as they make that first vital connection into growing and thriving church members. It was phenomenal to get to preach my first sermon in a church this large,” he continues.

“The church really placed a lot of trust in me, which in turn gave me tremendous opportunities to grow.”

22

| FOLLOWING JESUS

ON MARRIAGE AS DISCIPLESHIP On June 16, 2012 Levi married Caroline Van Pelt, whom he had known in high school and got to know again while at Auburn. He sees marriage as the latest aspect of how he is learning to follow Jesus. Spiritual disciplines like reading scripture and prayer take on a new dimension as you learn to do them together, he explains. The every day frictions that come along for every couple as you learn to live together are also a school for discipleship. “I have a new understanding of Luke 9:23, “take up your cross daily and follow me,”” Levi notes. “That’s what marriage is about, no longer living for your own agenda, always thinking of the other person.”

That’s even more important in ministry, he says. “It would be easy to fall into the trap of thinking, my job is more important to God than yours; the reality is that God wants me to help nurture Caroline’s calling just as much as my own.”

THE NEXT SEASON July 1, 2014 began Levi’s appointment as associate pastor at Perdido Bay, UMC, not far from where he and Caroline grew up. When we talked, Levi said he looked forward to continuing to expand his ministry in this new opportunity while continuing to deepen his walk with Christ, always carrying with him those who have invested so much in him, including the people of the Frazer family.

ARE YOU BEING CALLED INTO MINISTRY?

W

hile Frazer has recently celebrated a number of members who have decided to pursue ordination in the church later in life, relatively few young people of Levi’s age are choosing to enter ordained ministry (Frazer’s college ministry director, Patrick Craig, who will head to Duke Divinity School this fall, is a notable exception).

In fact, there is a worldwide shortage in trained pastors, making the development of a new generation of Christian leaders one of the United Methodist Church’s four “areas of focus.”

I asked Levi during our interview what he would say to students who feel like God might be calling them into ministry, and to their parents.

Students: “Be open. You may think you want to be a _____ (fill in the blank), and that may be a great and noble thing, but God may call you full time ministry, and that is a great blessing, too. You get to be with people at the greatest moments in their lives—births, baptisms, weddings—and at their moments of greatest need, in hospitals, at funerals, in times of tragedy. There are many roles in ministry—leading the church, preaching God’s word, counseling—so many ways to engage in mission and live out your gifts.”

Parents: “Let your children know you will support them however God may call them. The greatest thing to me was my parents’ affirmation. Have the share their call story, and back them up.”

Here are some further steps you can take to explore your calling: 1. Serve where you are. Remember, every Christian is called to ministry. At Frazer, our core value is “everyone matters, everyone ministers.” The real purpose of the ordained clergy is not to do the work of the ministry, but to equip the church so that they can do the work of the ministry. With over 200 volunteer positions at

Frazer, there’s somewhere that you can begin serving Christ today. Often it is in the process of volunteer service that God gives you greater clarity about your longterm calling.

2. Participate in a mission trip. Cross-cultural missions can opens you up to the presence and power of God in new ways. This doesn’t mean you will end up moving to Africa or some third world country; remember there is tremendous need right here at home. However, going outside your comfort zone opens your eyes to the breadth of God’s mission, showing you how God is at work around the world.

3. Talk to your pastor or youth pastor, as well as your parents and friends, about your calling. As you tell your story to others, it will often become more clear.

4. Find out more about the various types of ministry. Often when we think of pastors, we think of preaching, but there are many other roles for ordained clergy as well: music, children and youth ministries, hospital and military chaplains, counselors, Christian educators, and many more. Your pastor can also help you understand more about the various paths into ministry that are available, and the types of schooling that each requires.

You can also learn more at explorecalling. org.

5. Keep following Jesus. Remember, you are called first to be a child of God, and only then a servant of God. To put it another way, you are responsible to deepen the message, God is responsible to broaden the ministry.

Your most important asset as a minister is a warm heart, the love the overflows out of nurturing your own personal walk with God. Gifts, skills, experience and education are important, but none of it matters without the love of God living inside of you.

FOLLOWING JESUS

| 23

ANOTHER SIDE OF

Haiti

Frazer moves forward with a new project aimed at rescuing child slaves in this poor but beautiful nation

BY KEN ROACH | At Hands and Feet orphan villages, children are given food, shelter, education, medical care and most importantly, the love of Christ.

But what happens when they become adults and can’t find jobs in this poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere? Will the cycle of poverty continue, that so often results with “restaveks,” children who serve as household laborers in harsh, slave-like conditions?

These are the questions that haunted HAF’s founder and director, Mark Stuart. But God has begun to point the way toward a solution. Foreign aid alone cannot provide the answer. Billions have been spent with little long-term effect, often making things worse by replacing the dignity of work with various forms of begging. However, one thing the thousands of aid workers can’t help but notice is the natural beauty of the island. If someone could take the lead, there is every possibility of Haiti developing a sustainable tourism industry, fed in part by Christian missionaries who want to share the love of Jesus with Haitians and at the same time can enjoy the beauty of God’s creation. That is the concept behind HAF’s “Mission Guest Villages,” resort quality properties that combine the relaxation of a

Caribbean getaway with authentic opportunities to build relationships with the orphans God has called us to minister to in Haiti.

In March of this year Frazer’s Board of Stewards approved an agreement for our church to be the first of a handful of major partners, funding a third of the $2.4 million village project over a three-year period, and working alongside HAF to guide the vision.

Now in August, a small team traveled down to scope out potential properties to build on. While there, they were able to worship with the Deaf Community at Leveque, Frazer’s previous mission project in Haiti, which has gone so well it now largely sustainable without Frazer’s help. They also visited with Frank and Jan Stevens, new Frazer supported full time missionaries who left their home in Montgomery to serve as coordinators for one of the HAF orphan villages. The team also connected with other partners in the region through a major Christian music concert, Song for Freedom.

“Seeing visions like this, which can literally transform a nation, begin to come to life—that’s what following Jesus is all about,” says pastor Patrick.

“It’s the adventure of a lifetime.”

TOP: Haiti’s beautiful Caribbean beaches could point the way out of Haiti’s dependence on foreign aid and toward a future of dignity through tourism. PHOTO BY JAN STEVENS. BOTTOM LEFT: Mark Stuart, director of the Hands and Feet

Project (HAF), and Frazer pastor Patrick Quinn, at Haiti Made, a new manufacturing initiative that provides jobs for older children and adults served by the HAF orphan villages. BOTTOM RIGHT: Frank and Gabe Stevens. The Stevens family are Frazer members who were commissioned by the church earlier this year to follow God’s call as full-time orphan village directors through HAF in Haiti.

24

| FOLLOWING JESUS

MISSIONS

FOLLOWING JESUS

| 25

BELOW: Jim and Diann Holston have been

married for over 50 years. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED.

MAKING

History

Jim and Diann witness to God’s love through history, Biblical prophecy, and investing in children

26

| FOLLOWING JESUS

BY JUDY PAYNE | Have you ever been drawn to someone because they just seem to “have it”?

Jim and Diann Holston are two such people that others are just “drawn to,” likely because their love for Jesus shines through to everyone they meet. A life long member of Frazer, Jim was raised in the church, attending even before Frazer moved to its current Atlanta Highway campus back in 1968. Not long after they married 50 years ago, Diann transferred her membership from another local Methodist church, and ever since, they have been a strong equally yoked team of two.

As a young couple, Jim and Diann experienced many of the same struggles that young couples still experience today. In the midst of finding their place together, they juggled finishing school, wanting children, money, and finding that special commitment to each other. For several years after marriage they tried to have a child. However, this was not in God’s plan for them. Unknown to them at the time, though—and before God could give them a biological child—He had selected a child for them that needed the warmth, grace and love that only they could give. When they welcomed Lee into their lives, they never dreamed that God would also grant them the desires of their heart, too. With Lee barely a year old, Scott soon arrived into their family, followed by Meghan 13 years later. Add a few loving pets and God made this family complete.

Diann has worn and continues to wear many titles including that of daughter, wife, mother, friend, grandmother, and teacher. Having received Jesus in her heart at the early age of 6, she remembers well when she invited Him into her heart. She was attending church as a child and walking to Sunday school with her neighborhood friend. Diann now has a very tender heart for children. She has spent many years at Frazer working in the children’s ministry teaching 4-year-olds, and has also volunteered her time on Wednesday nights in the nursery.

Until recently, Diann could be found spending much loved time with the precious children in our church. Unfortunately, adversity in the form of cancer delivered itself and she was forced to rely on her faith and love of Christ even more than ever.

Her battle has been tough, but her strength and

FOLLOWING JESUS

| 27

outlook is magnificent. Her pace may have slowed down because of time spent receiving treatments, but she is gaining her strength and praising God each day for her health. Her future is bright and being blessed with grandchildren, she looks forward to spending as much time as possible with them.

Jim, like Diann, has also faced trials in life with his health. Several years ago, Jim found himself facing heart problems and had to have stints put in place. For Jim and Diann both, John 3:16 is a favorite Bible verse: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

For Jim, however, one favorite verse is not enough and he says that his favorite verse changes periodically. Revelation 1:18 is another: I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.

Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.

(NKJV) “Until we are washed in the blood, we are dead and only live forever after receiving Christ as our Savior,” Jim explains. When asked how they have dealt with trials of health, they both claim Hebrews 13:5, “I will never leave you nor forsake you,” as the glue that helps to hold them together Jim holds many titles, too, including son, father, grandfather, teacher, brother, friend, and leader. He says “though I am a creation of God I was not a child of God until I received Jesus in my heart”. At the young age of 12 years old, he joined the church and his life took on a different direction. With eyes on college, he attended Huntingdon where he received his degree in Biology, but his eyes were gazing on a career in Pharmacology. Diann, however, had other ideas and got an application for him with the State of Alabama. He completed the application and submitted it, but never dreamed he would be hired on the spot and spend the next 25 years with the Department of Health. At retirement, he was Director of the State Labs.

Over the years, Jim has enjoyed an interest in history. He often found himself buying and collecting many first edition books on the Civil War. Through the years of working and planning for retirement, he was hungry for the time he would spend enjoying his hobby and retirement at his leisure. As plans go, he soon learned that his idea of enjoying history

28

| FOLLOWING JESUS

and God’s plan would soon intertwine. In lieu of reading history on the Civil War, his prime interest grew in Bible history.

“I first became interested in prophecy while attending a Seder dinner at Frazer,” he said (a traditional Jewish Passover meal explained from a Christian point of view). Listening to the speaker talk about the Jewish people praising the God who was delivering them to their promised land got Jim’s attention and his love for history turned to the pages of the Bible.

Though his plans were diverted, he said he realized that God always has plans that we do not know about.

After listening to the guest speaker, Jim began to study prophecy, and discovered a truth in Jeremiah that opened his eyes. Loving history and knowing that history repeats itself, he read what the Bible says and saw what is actually happening in today’s world. In Jeremiah, the Lord says He will gather His people and bring them back to the place from which they were carried into exile. “Israel became a nation again in 1948 and since that time, thousands of Jews have and continue to return to their homeland. With the words from prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel, one can easily see how the teachings, warnings and calls for repentance can spring forth from the Bible when you see their words coming to life in today’s world,“ he explained.

With a growing interest in what was happening in today’s world as written in prophecy, Jim began teaching a very interested group of students in Bible class on Wednesday nights, based on the study of Daniel and Ezekiel. Using books by Dr. Jimmy DeYoung, John Hagee and Dr. David Jeremiah, just to name a few, he kept the study going with information that you do not hear in everyday news.

A few interesting facts Jim shared involve the priests’ robes. Exodus 28:4-8 describes how beautiful and ornate the priests robes were, and details what the robes were to be made of and the colors to be used. For nearly 2,000 years, the dye needed to make the robes was extinct.

The red “scarlet” dye had been made from the “Crimson Worm” which was found in the trees.

After the Romans came and cut the trees down, making the land barren and desolate, the worms disappeared. Also, liquid from the small gland of a mollusk, which gradually changed to a blue or violet color when exposed to light, was used for the blue color in the robes. For hundreds of years, no one could locate the worm nor the shellfish needed to make the scarlet and blue colors. “However, they have now “mysteriously” reappeared and the priest’s garments have been made as described in the Old Testament, awaiting the return of Christ,” Jim says.

With each passing day, learning what the Bible foretells by the prophets and what is happening in today’s world makes one feel that definitely our Lord is getting closer to returning to us, according to Jim.

With growing interest from his class, the idea to bring Dr. Jimmy DeYoung (Prophecy Today) to Frazer for the Faith Radio Rally was born. Faith Radio listeners may be familiar with Dr. DeYoung after hearing him talk with Bob Crittenden many times on-air. In March, Dr. DeYoung came to Frazer as they key speaker for a three-day Prophecy Conference.

Diann says her prime interest these days are their grandchildren and trying to keep up with Jim. When not spending time with grandchildren and studying today’s world events, Jim enjoys his Civil War books and helping the auctioneer at JM Wood Auctioneering. Both enjoy sharing their many talents and interests with others as they exemplify what it means to live as a Child of God.

BELOW: Diann Holston with her granddaughter. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED.

FOLLOWING JESUS

| 29

The Artist AND THE

Teacher Jim and Ann Salminen Share a Journey With Christ Together 30

| FOLLOWING JESUS

BY SARA PRINCE | Jim and Ann Salminen compliment one another in many ways, including their ways of following Jesus. One is a teacher; the other an artist. For both, their walk with the Lord began to take root when they were in high school. But it would be many years before they each personally gave their lives to the Lord and felt confident about calling themselves “Christian.” As Ann puts it, “We thought we were Christians—until we became one.”

The Teacher Jim Salminen grew up in a church-going family in a small village of 350 people on Long Island, New York. His father was a deacon in the American Baptist Church (later called the Community Church), the only one in the village. His mother was an elementary school teacher and the Sunday school superintendent. At just 15 years old, he took on the role of a Sunday school teacher.

It happened this way: Jim’s mother had six boys as students—Jim’s two brothers among them—whom the other Sunday school teachers could not handle.

She decided to set up a class especially for these boys and asked Jim if he would teach it for her. Jim reminded her that he had never done that, but she assured him that she would “walk him through it.”

“So I started,” Jim says, “and, you know, those kids behaved. They listened. I couldn’t believe it. I knew them all, and they knew me, and I guess the fact that we were on an even playing field—it just worked. That’s how I got started.”

“Now mind you,” Jim continues, “I was not yet a Christian. I knew about Christ, I knew about the Bible, to cite from it, that sort of thing, but I did not become a Christian until Ann and I had been married for 11 years.

“Ann became a Christian first, and I saw her miraculous change…she was being treated at the time for depression—actual, chronic depression—by psychiatrists and psychologists. And when she became a Christian, God healed her. I saw a tremendous change in her, so I became a seeker—very quickly.”

Jim had an unexpected day off and decided to go fishing, but he found himself bored and restless.

“So I started looking around in the Volkswagen

ABOVE: Jim Salminen preparing to go on a combat mission in Vietnam, 1968. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED.

camper I was driving,” Jim says, “and I found a little New Testament that had been given to me at my Confirmation class in the little church where I grew up, by Dr. Stacey, our pastor. There was also a book that Ann had gotten someplace from a friend, called The Holy Spirit and You, by Dennis and Rita Bennett. I started reading that book, and it led me to the scriptures. Before lunchtime, I had tears running down my face, and I got out and knelt down on the ground, all by myself, and gave my life to the Lord. And so, that’s when I started following Jesus.”

The Artist When Ann was in the ninth grade, she joined the First Christian Church, in her home town of Selma, Alabama. “I hate to say it,” Ann admits, “but all I got was wet when I got baptized then, and I did not grow into maturity as a Christian then.”

“I remember we were supposed to pick a verse,” she says, “–it would be our ’life verse’ that we could use. I must admit that in the ninth grade, I didn’t have a lot of ‘intense purpose’ looking for the right scripture. But I took the Bible and it fell open to Psalm 46. I read the first verse and it said, ‘God is my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.’ And I said, ‘Hmm, I think that sounds good; I’m going to adopt that one.’”

FOLLOWING JESUS

| 31

Yet despite her casual attitude at the time, Ann says the verse has ended up holding great meaning for her. “God brought it to my mind over the years many times, and it has been a comfort to me all these years, even now,” she says.

Fast forward to 1975, when the couple found themselves stationed with the Air Force in Newport News, Virginia. Ann had started watching the Christian television show “The 700 Club” during the day, and found the testimonies of the various speakers inspiring, learning a great deal from the books she ordered authored by guests on the show.

“I actually called the 700 Club once,” Ann says.

“One day I decided, ‘I think I need to make a decision for Christ.’ I knew it was at that time that I really experienced being born again. I wasn’t aware that anything was happening that would show on the outside, but that’s when Jim said that he began noticing changes in me. I had had no direction

by myself, but suddenly I had direction. The story began there.”

Ann’s doctor recommended a class called “I’m Okay, You’re Okay” for her depression, as well as medication. “They wanted me to be in the class and I joined it,” she says, “but I didn’t want to take any medicine for my depression; I wanted to be in touch with it. The Lord was really sharing the journey with me. But the doctor didn’t believe that I would change. I began sharing with him about Jesus—that I was on a rock. He thought I was hiding behind a rock. He didn’t understand that I was standing on the rock of Christ.”

Ann eventually decided to take herself out of the class, finding more encouragement through the testimonies of people based on the Bible. She reiterates, “The Lord was really sharing the journey with me. He blessed me with insight into His Word. I learned the value of God’s Word from the get-go.”

BELOW: Jim and Ann Salminen with daughter Krista and son Scott in 1990. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED.

32

| FOLLOWING JESUS

Jim agrees: “Ann has had a thirst for reading the Bible. She’s a much better Bible scholar than I am.”

As she immersed herself in scripture, God began to speak to Ann in other ways as well. “I’m an artist,” she said. “God has shown me a lot of things through pictures, in my mind. In one of them, I saw this river. I was sitting on the bank watching the people swimming in the river, and they were all going in the same direction, and they all looked happy.

And I’m wondering, ‘hmm, what’s that all about? I want to be in there; I want to be real happy.’ Later on the picture changed, and I saw that I wasn’t on the bank any more. I was in the river swimming with those other people. As I was sifting through what the image meant, I thought, ‘Oh, yes. It’s the River of Life. I was in the River with those other people and I knew I was very valued.’”

On another occasion, while praying, Ann says she was suddenly aware of being showered by something beyond water. “It was like a shower of God’s love, and I was feeling it pour over me.

These experiences of God’s love, undergirded

by His Word, are what began to transform Ann’s struggle with depression. “During that time I used to spend a lot of time in the rocking chair in the den and thinking and not really feeling very well about myself,” she says. “I had very little self-esteem. I remember I used to say, ‘If only I had more self-esteem, self-confidence.’ And one day the Lord spoke to me—it was that clear, I turned my head to see who spoke—He said to me, ‘You’ve been looking for confidence in yourself; but what you need is confidence in me.”

Ann says that through that experience she learned to say “no” to some of the demands and expectations of people, and focus instead on God’s approval.

Serving Side by Side No longer Christians in name only, it became natural for Jim and Ann to want to share their born again experience by teaching God’s Word to others. As Jim’s career in the Air Force progressed, around the U.S. and on two tours in England, they had many opportunities to be involved in the military chapels and to teach.

“Ann and I became Sunday school teachers almost every place we went—little kids, adults, high schoolers, didn’t make any difference, we did some of each of that from that time on,” Jim recalls. “I can remember our daughter Krista saying, ‘Mom and Dad, when will I get to go to Sunday school and you’re not going to be my teachers?’”

While stationed in England the Salminen’s led a study for high school students and young airmen, and some British friends as well. It was a family affair. “On a Friday night it wouldn’t be unusual for us to have 50 or 60 young people in our home,” Jim says. “They filled up the living room, spilled over into the dining room, sat up on the stairway. And our daughter, who was in the sixth grade then, would make two cakes every Thursday night for us to have after the Bible study was over.”

Jim’s wove his talent as a musician into his service to Christ as well. Having learned to play ukulele and then guitar as a teenager, music had long been a part of his life. Together with other musicians and singers in that Friday night study in England, Jim and Ann helped produce and performed in a published Christian Musical called “Come Together.”

I Am Doing a New Thing After England it was back to the States for Jim to go to War College at Maxwell. After some time at Cannon AFB in New Mexico, they returned in 1984, this time with Jim on the faculty of the War College.

Before that final move back to Montgomery, Jim had another encounter with God. “When I was leaving Cannon, the Lord gave me a verse,” he says.

“It was Isaiah 43:18-19—‘Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!’ When we were in Sunday school the next Sunday, a prayer partner wanted to share a verse with me—and it was the same one.”

“It was a good transition,” Jim says. “Our daughter was starting college at Auburn, so it was a good time to come back. We joined Frazer in 1988 and got involved in the Sowers class; Mike Hudson was the teacher. Mike sponsored me on a Walk to Emmaus.

There, at a worship service on a Saturday evening, I got off by myself and said, ‘Lord, here I am. I’d just

FOLLOWING JESUS

| 33

like to spend some time with you right here. Lord, I’m coming up on retirement soon, and I need you to give me some direction in what I’m supposed to do in retirement.”

“The Lord spoke to me,” Jim continues, “and He said, ‘Jim, I asked you once before to be a minister to my people. I’m going to ask you once again; will you drop what you’re doing and be a minister to my people?”

“I said, ‘Yes, I will, Lord…but Lord, when did you speak to me before?’”

“I spoke to you before,” the Lord said, “when you finished your Confirmation class.”

Jim then remembered the pastor at his first church, who given him the New Testament he read the day he was born again, had asked Jim to stay after class that day. He said, “Jim, what are you going to do when you grow up?”

“I told him I was going to be a math teacher,” Jim recalls. “My aunts and uncles were all teachers, and my mom was a teacher. My pastor said, I see something in you that tells me you are going to be a pastor one day. I thanked him for that, but

I couldn’t believe that it would ever happen; that didn’t cross my mind. But the Lord took me back to that conversation.”

After coming home and telling Ann, Jim went to John Ed Mathison, Frazer’s long time senior pastor, and he agreed to help Jim pursue ordained ministry. He went through the Methodist “Course of Study,” a substitute for regular seminary designed for second career ministers, for the next five years. He came on staff at Frazer in May of 1990 and was ordained as a deacon in June of 1995.

Jim has retired twice since his appointment to Frazer in 1990, but he still loves to teach God’s word. He leads a weekly Bible study for a group of 15 men, and presents a weekly devotional for two local businesses on Tuesday mornings.

Jim says that, with Ann as his partner, he has had two wonderful careers; serving his country and serving the Lord. The artist and the teacher each came to know the love of God in their own personal way, and together they have spread God’s Word around the world.

BELOW: Jim serves communion to a Frazer member Ryan Colburn at a special worship service in 2006.

34

| FOLLOWING JESUS

Transformations in Progress Transformation Montgomery expands and deepens through Getting Ahead program

BY CANDACE RUTHERFORD | To ‘transform’ means to change in form, appearance, nature or character. It implies an ongoing process. Thus Transformation Montgomery, Frazer’s faith-based community development ministry, is aptly named as it continues to transform the lives for participants, volunteers and our city. Three years in the making, many lives have been positively affected; houses have been renovated in a previously depressed part of the city; and the ministry keeps moving on inspiring others in its wake and making a big impact.

From the beginning, however, the vision behind Transformation Montgomery was about more than houses. Affordable home ownership is simply one

piece in the puzzle of giving people a pathway out of poverty and into a fully flourishing life in Christ.

WHAT IS POVERTY? Approximately 21.6% of people in Montgomery live below the poverty level, according to recent census information. If you ask most people to define poverty, they will describe in terms of a lack of material things. But if you ask a person who is experiencing true poverty, they are more likely to describe their condition in psychological terms such as a feeling of shame, frustration or helplessness. According to the authors of When Helping Hurts, you can’t ‘cure’ poverty by giving things to people. Their

FOLLOWING JESUS

| 35

the workshops. “Being involved in the program has been very inspiring and at the same time eye-opening. They all have exhibited a true determination, perseverance and deep faith that drive them to succeed.” After graduation, these women continued their relationship through Bible study.

“While we studied God’s word together, we were able to share our hearts. I developed a real appreciation for the obstacles that these amazing ladies have overcome and continue to battle to be successful.”

A GROWING IMPACT

mindset has to be changed.

To address these issues, Frazer has created the Getting Ahead workshop, under the leadership of Peggy Spaeth. A unique program that offers support and friendship to people who want to create a path out of poverty, the Getting Ahead Workshop is free and open to everyone in the community. Getting Ahead is required for individuals entering the Steps to Home Ownership, but it can be beneficial to anyone whether or not you are interested in home ownership at this time.

“Getting Ahead is not about getting information, it is about changing your thinking,” says Peggy.

“Poverty has a way of focusing our thinking on the present—just getting by from day to day. Faith starts when we think about the future—how we can get ahead, not just get by.”

FINDING ALLIES Participants in Getting Ahead are paired with volunteers called “Allies” for 16 weeks of meetings.

Allies aren’t there to tell people how to live their lives, but to help them to identify and achieve goals using support networks and various church resources. These goals can be financial, educational, job related, strengthening of family and relationships, and spiritual.

Jane Allen has been an ally to three women in

36

| FOLLOWING JESUS

The workshop is a big commitment, both for the volunteers and for the students. Peggy said “The program has sure come a long way in three years.

We just graduated our third class and have over 21 graduates overall.” A class started in August with another planned for January, 2015. Right now there are three graduates on the waiting list to move into houses.

A recent addition to the program has been a component for children, led by volunteer Debbie Peavy. “Getting Ahead for Children has seen wonderful growth and deepening. Debbie Peavy has been outstanding with the children,” commented Rusty.

For more information, including volunteer opportunities, visit the website at www.transformationmontgomery.com The following are three stories shared by participants in the Getting Ahead Program.

Sophia’s Story

BY KEN ROACH | For Sophia and her 16-year-old son, the worst part of finding themselves homeless was that it was the second time around. Sophia had worked her way out of poverty as a nurse in the past, but lost her license due to poor life choices.

Without that income she found herself back in poverty. She remembers when she first told her son they would have to leave their home, he climbed into a bathtub and did not want to come out; although only a boy, he blamed himself for not taking care of his mother.

However, Sophia found a place to live at the

Friendship Mission, and there she learned about the Getting Ahead program. Her first impression was that this group offered an open forum for all types of personalities, backgrounds and thoughts.

Through Getting Ahead, Sophia learned that poverty comes in many areas—relational and social, for example, not only financial. She also learned the hidden rules that keep people in poverty, like the predatory practices of high-interest lenders who sound good as a short term solution, but turn into a trap in the long term.

Sophia also learned about herself: how she handled adversity, how she could grow through it, how she could gain composure and self assurance by pushing through difficulty and staying focused. She learned that although she needed the realism to recognize that homelessness was always just a paycheck away, she did not have to stay in poverty; she could network, build relationships, make intelligent choices, and put herself in a place to succeed.

Calling herself a reformed addict who celebrated seven years clean in July, Sophia draws inspiration from the story of Jesus’s temptation. “It would be so easy to turn to the thing that would take away the pain,” she says, “but in reality the pain would still be there.” Instead, like Jesus she wants to say no to temptation and hold on to the promises of God. Currently, Sophia is working towards a Master’s degree in professional counseling at South University and working at an internship for the Center for Child and Adolescent Development. This second time around she is seeking to be patient, and wait on God’s timing for a lasting recovery. “I believe that what the devil took God will give back, if I obey and do what He expects of His child,” she says.

The bottom line for Sophia: “I’m living. I’m no longer dying. I’m not in a deep dark hole any more.” She credits that transformation to discovering the God of mercy, grace, and favor.

Valery’s Story In January of 2014, Valery was living in her car with two young children. Six months later when we sat down, she had a job, an apartment, and hope for the future. What brought about her transformation is a remarkable “God story.”

Valerie grew up in a dysfunctional family: a mother with mental health challenges, a father who “liked crazy women,” and grandparents who were uninvolved. By the time she reached the 12th grade, she had failed math twice. When she turned 18, she dropped out of school. She married, and soon had two children.

She was happy staying home, and focusing on being a mother. Her husband Chris worked, but they stayed close to poverty. Then a dishonest landlord took advantage of them, taking money for a house that turned out to be unlivable due to substandard electrical wiring. They found themselves homeless, having lost what little savings they had.

During that time, however, Chris had become a believer through the ministry of Faith Rescue Mission.

He started reading the Bible to her in the evenings.

Because of the change she began to see in him, Valery also turned to God. “At first, I didn’t feel any different,” she admits. However, she soon became, as she puts it, “addicted to my Bible.” She read it night and day, especially Psalms and Proverbs, color coding it with highlighters.

FOLLOWING JESUS

| 37

Her newfound faith would be tested, however, when Chris was arrested for drug possession and sent to prison. He had begun a journey with God, but not everything in his life changed overnight, and in this case the consequences for the family were severe. Valery had no home, no job and no high school diploma.

Browsing the internet looking for a shelter for her family, Valery came across an announcement about the Getting Ahead program on Frazer’s website, and decided to join. Through the program she learned about the concept of “bridging”—gaining strength by being willing to reach out to others as they reach out to you. She learned to understand more about her own personality strengths and gaps, and how to create a structured life plan to address those gaps.

As a result of various “bridges” she built, Valery was able to get an apartment, get her car in good working condition, and start a part-time job with a supportive Christian employer. She has been working on her GED, and with Frazer member Tom Harrell serving as her math tutor, she should complete it this summer. Chris has been able to visit with his family now at a

38

| FOLLOWING JESUS

halfway house on weekends, and they can go to church together.

A huge part of Valery’s progress has been the relationship built with her Getting Ahead Ally, Edna Stein. “She’s a go-getter, but she’s sweet,” says Valery. “I’m not scared to ask her things, and she’s not scared to tell me things I need to hear.”

She says what has made her relationship with Edna successful is her openness and ability to connect with her.

Allies in the program are encouraged to form genuine friendships based on mutual respect, explains coordinator Peggy Spaeth. The relationship is not client-patron or teacher-student, but simply peer to peer.

On one occasion, Valery mentioned that she would like some nicer clothes for her children to wear to church. Edna not only helped her find some, she also gave Valery some dresses. “I realized later that these were expensive dresses, nicer than I had ever had. I don’t even like dresses, but this meant so much, just the thought that someone would want to give these to me.”

For the future, Valery’s goals include completing her education, and seeking a full time job with health insurance, as well as rebuilding their family life when Chris is released later this year. In the mean time, she says she is learning to be patient.

“For me, ‘faith’ means not giving up,” she says.

In Valery’s beloved book of the Bible, the Psalms, the message we see over and over is, “God hears your cry.” Valery says this spoke to her at a time she was wondering if God could hear her. “I was looking for a safe place. This was His answer.”

Sheila’s Story Unlike other participants in the Getting Ahead program, Sheila was not homeless or unemployed when she came into the class. She had a small apartment, a good job, and a church that she loved. Some might not have considered her to be in “poverty.”

But one of the themes of Getting Ahead is that there are many kinds of poverty, and for Sheila, as she sat in her small apartment feeling that the walls were getting smaller and her spirit was shrinking,

she heard God tell her to get up and join this class.

It was a moment of faith for her to believe, “God wants me to go further.”

Sheila has already accomplished a lot, having raised four boys mostly on her own. However, the pain of a divorce left her depressed for many years.

Both of her parents have passed away, and her children live across the country on the West coast, leaving her isolated. She has found a new family in Frazer, attending the Women in Christ class on Sundays as well as two worship services.

Through Getting Ahead, she began to recognize “invisible” forces keeping her from reaching her potential, including predatory lenders and a lack of healthy boundaries in her relationships with relatives. After graduating from Getting Ahead she moved on to Transformed, by Rick Warren, offered

by Frazer as a follow up study that delves more into the spiritual aspect of getting out of poverty.

Through it, she is learning how to better read God’s word and hear His direction through the Bible.

Sheila’s immediate goal is to own her own home. She is in the process of applying to be part of Frazer’s Transformation Montgomery project in Garden Square that makes renovated housing available at zero percent interest.

Ultimately, Sheila wants to help others in the same way that she has been helped. She was homeless in the past, and she wants to reach out with the love of Christ to other homeless people. “I want to do something like Ladonna has done,” she says, referring to the Reality and Truth ministry to the homeless started by Frazer member Ladonna Brendle.

From shrinking walls that go nowhere, to a new home and a new mission to offer hope to others, God is in the process of expanding Sheila’s horizons through His grace and power.

FOLLOWING JESUS

| 39

40

| FOLLOWING JESUS

MARRIAGE

A FAMILY TEAM

for Christ Mike and Lisa Conn Thrive on Sharing God’s Plan for the Family

BY KEN ROACH | When the Air Force moved Mike worship, but he was persistent. After six weeks, and Lisa Conn to Montgomery, Alabama as a young they agreed to come. The first Sunday at Frazer, couple in the late 1980s, nothing in their past had Mike describes feeling a “tingle down my spine,” prepared them to have a strong marriage or a strong and he and Lisa said to each other, “we’re home.” family. Lisa’s parents divorced when she was 16, Lisa had been raised in the church, although back in a time when that was still considered un- she does not recall her parents sharing much about usual. Mike’s father, who died of alcoholism many their faith with her. She accepted Christ at a church years later, left home when Mike was just 5 years camp around age 12, but did not truly begin followold. Mike calls himself his father’s “twin” and be- ing Jesus at that time. “He was my savior, but not lieves he would have followed much the same path my Lord,” she explains. that his dad did had he been left to his own devices.

Mike likewise went to church with his mothWith shaky models to build on, and the pressures er and older brother every Sunday “whether we of military life, the first few years of marriage had wanted to or not,” and was baptized at age 10, but been difficult for the young couple. “With both of it was not a meaningful experience for him. “All I our parents divorced, we vowed not to make divorce remember is seeing the chest waders the pastor part of our vocabulary,” Lisa says, “but those were wore, and realizing that was how he didn’t get wet.” hard times. We were not equipped.”

God was distant for him.

All of that was about to change when a young At Frazer, the preaching of pastor John Ed captain invited the Conns to come and worship Mathison opened up a new appreciation for the with him and his family at Frazer United Methodist relevance of the Bible. Mike remembers thinking, Church. They turned him down, thinking they had “this was written thousands of years ago, but it already found a comfortable church home to attend actually applies to us today.”

OPPOSITE: Lisa and Mike Conn. P HOTO BY LORI MERCER.

FOLLOWING JESUS

| 41

Even more importantly, the Conn’s found a small group where they could be discipled: the Explorer’s Sunday School class, led by Rev. Rudy Heintzelman.

Rudy first opened up for the Conn’s God’s biblical plan for marriage and family, but he didn’t do it simply through lecture. The class utilized discussion, application, and accountability. Members shared with one another what they were learning, and how they were putting into practice what God was teaching them. “No matter what we faced as a couple,” says Lisa, “there was someone else who was going through the same thing, or who had been there before who could encourage us.”

Both Mike and Lisa mark that time in the Explorer’s class as when they began personally following Jesus, and credit the experience as the reason their marriage and family have stayed strong. In fact, it made such an impression on them that when Mike’s Dad died from alcoholism, he and Lisa went to talk to Frazer’s congregational care pastor, Earl Andrews, ready to resign his Air Force commission so they could go to work full time in Family Ministry. Earl convinced him to stay in the military, and instead find ways to serve God where he was at.

That time came when the Conns were relocated to a base in California, but not in the way they expected. After searching in vain for weeks to find a church “like Frazer,” they were discouraged and disheartened. They were still “grieving for their home church.” Gradually they realized that God was calling them to be the ones to create what they were seeking. Working with other young couples

42

| FOLLOWING JESUS

through the military chapel, they started their own small group, “Explorers West,” and replicated the discipleship techniques that Rudy had modeled for them. Rudy even sent them copies of his class curriculum on building biblical marriage and family.

After three years out west, Mike turned down an opportunity at the Pentagon, opting instead for an assignment teaching at Maxwell AFB that would move their family back to Montgomery. “At 32 I finally knew what I wanted to do in life,” Mike recalls. “I was a flier by profession, but a teacher by passion.”

His role as a designer of instructional courses for the Air Force was preparing him to effectively teach even more important content.

Back at Frazer, the Conns became the lay leaders of a fledgling family ministry. “John Ed always taught the philosophy of ‘Every Member in Ministry,’” says Mike, “and they lived it with us. We saw it in Rudy, who didn’t just teach us, he taught us how to teach ourselves and how to teach others. We also saw it in how the church entrusted us as lay people with a $6,000 budget for family ministry.”

That money was put to good use as a nationwide movement back to biblical family foundations was beginning to get underway: Promise Keepers.

Mike and Lisa organized seven busses of men to attend a Promise Keepers rally in Indianapolis the first year, challenging men to keep their promises as husbands, dads, and followers of Christ. Altogether, 321 men from 52 different churches made the lifechanging trip to Indianapolis where they joined 70,000 other men worshiping Christ. The next year

OPPOSITE: Mike and Lisa at their wedding. Both

acknowledge they were unprepared for marriage, a driving factor behind their passion for equipping young couples. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED. ABOVE: Mike and Lisa lead the unique Family Teams for Christ class on Sunday mornings at Frazer (pictured here from 2011). PHOTO BY LORI MERCER. RIGHT: Military families are a big part of the Conn’s ministry, like this gathering of military moms and their children at a local restaurant. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED. they expanded to 42 busses and over 1600 men from hundreds of churches all across Central Alabama, travelling to the rally in Atlanta in a caravan that stretched over 6 miles. Each bus had a unique name like the buses of Luke, John, Matthew, etc.

On each bus were men from at least four different churches who were not only building a stronger relationship with Christ, but who were also building Christian relationships that crossed denominational and racial lines. The man whose dad left at 5 years old was literally leading the parade of men promising to stand by their family in Jesus’ name.

Even the difficulties of those days were inspiring for Mike. On one trip, the Bus of Job, named after the biblical character who endured so much suffering broke down in the parking lot at the Georgia Dome. The men were stranded and had to pack into other buses in order to get home. Mike saw that suffering together can actually be a great way

to learn. “Those men were more bonded together as brothers by that shared experience than any of the groups whose busses didn’t have problems,” Mike remembers.

In 1997, Mike retired from the Air Force, and was finally able to put his desires for full time ministry into action, forming a non-profit the next day that he and Lisa called Covenant Family Ministries.

They raised support so they could focus their attention on teaching couples God’s plan for marriage, and teaching godly character even in public schools through another branch of their ministry. Financially, the decision was not easy, but God always provided.

Mike and Lisa believe they were blessed in part because of their commitment to remain faithful tithers despite a steep decline in income.

One aspect of their ministry has been the Family Teams for Christ class here at Frazer, a 10-month course meeting on Sunday Mornings with “college

FOLLOWING JESUS

| 43

level” practical instruction in following Jesus, covenant marriage, and character-based parenting. However, the military has continued to be a key part of their lives. Many of the couples who attend Family Teams for Christ are officers and their spouses. Because of their non-denominational status, Covenant Family Ministries is also able to provide marriage and family training through the Maxwell base chapel. The result is that, as these couples move on to other assignments around the world, the Conn’s influence is literally being felt around the world. One colonel assigned to Korea requested that Mike send him curriculum so he could train others. Just as the Conn’s created an “Explorers West,” now there will be a “Family Teams for Christ East”!

The Conns have also been able to follow Jesus in reaching out to the nations through couples mission trips to Brazil, Haiti and Cuba. Going on a mission trip together can be an effective way for a husband and wife to bond more closely with God and with one another. Mike has also found mature believers in the indigenous churches who are able to take the biblical teaching he has developed and put it to work to share God’s plan for families in their own nation.

The Conns still have days of discouragement in their ministry. “No matter how much you try to teach them, some couples still choose to get divorced,” Lisa admits, “and those days are always tough.” On the other hand are the miraculous moments when God shines through by transforming a marriage. For example, the Conns have organized groups to participate in Family Life’s “Weekend to Remember” marriage conferences over 20 times, and it has not been uncommon for one of the returning couples to say, “we already had divorce papers drawn up, but now we have hope and a plan.”

For the Conns, the foundation of following Jesus is the daily discipline of listening to God through the Bible, and talking to Him through prayer. They especially cherish their devotional time together. A favorite resource is Dennis and Barbara Rainey’s Moments With You. Accountability and support from other believers is also critical. Lisa participates in a women’s group led by Charlotte Robertson, and Mike has gotten up early each week for six years to meet with a group of men at a local business.

Mike and Lisa have seen evidence of the faithfulness of God “in sickness and in health”. During the first ten years of their marriage, Lisa had

BELOW: Mike and Lisa with a Frazer mission team and local church members in Cuba. The Conns have discovered

that taking couples on a mission trip is not only a way to share the gospel around the world, it is also an excellent way to build marriage oneness. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED.

44

| FOLLOWING JESUS

numerous health issues. In the last five years, the tables have turned, and Mike has gone through a bone disease, a broken hip, colon cancer, and a sinus surgery that led to near-fatal meningitis. At the time I interviewed them, they were facing a major health challenge with their youngest daughter, Aimee (see sidebar). But through it all, God’s grace has sustained them and kept them strong.

“Following Jesus is freeing,” says Mike. “We have

total peace. He is always with you, he never leaves you or forsakes you.”

Marriage and family are ultimately designed to be living pictures for us of the self-sacrificing love of Christ for His Bride, the Church, and the promise-keeping love of the Heavenly Father for his children. Mike and Lisa discovered a new life when they discovered that plan, and they’ve never stopped sharing the good news with others.

SUFFERING IN HOPE: AIMEE’S STORY When I sat down in the Conn’s living room to to God answering an “un-uttered prayer.” interview them, they were joined by 15-year-old Fast forward to today and Aimee is forming Aimee, the youngest of their three daughters. In into a godly young woman with a heart to follow many ways, Aimee represents the “next chapter” in Jesus. She takes an active role in her parents ministhe Conn’s story. Whereas try, helping with everything Mike and Lisa grew up in from preparing mail outs to dysfunctional homes, what providing childcare during will it look like for a child events. Perhaps the most who has grown up with parformative experiences for ents who teach others how her have been seeing God’s to parent according to God’s power at work on mission plan? (No pressure, right?) trips to places like Cuba Aimee joined the Conn and Haiti. When you grow family through a “miracle” up surrounded by stories of sorts. Lisa was 42 years of the Bible, sometimes it old, and with daughters takes moving out into the Ashley and Ali already 15 wider world to fully see the and 13, she was already exreality of what you have periencing sadness about been taught. the coming day when they Sometimes, young would leave home, a sorrow people whose parents are that was deepened when highly involved in ministry she went through a miscarcan have unrealistic expecriage. For weeks she would tations put on them by the cry as people who had not church, or by themselves. yet heard the news would Aimee admits that she is SHARING LOVE: Mike and Lisa youngest daughter, congratulate her on her a “micromanaging perfecAimee, gets a hug on a mission trip with her family. pregnancy. When she betionist” used to making PHOTO CONTRIBUTED. came pregnant again later straight A’s in school. that year, she initially asIn order to teach her to sumed she was going through menopause. The “sur- depend on His grace, not her own perfectionism, prise” of having another daughter instead turned God had to literally hit Aimee over the head. OK, not her tears into unexpected joy, which she attributes exactly, but here’s what happened. In September of

FOLLOWING JESUS

| 45

last year (2013) Aimee was preparing to go with her homework or finishing reading assignments, her parents on a mission trip to Cuba. Not long before goal was just to pass the 9th grade. For all of the they were to depart, Lisa’s father became ill. She family, the experience has pushed them to draw was able to see him one last time before he died closer to God, to spend more time in prayer, crying on September 11. A week later, Aimee had an ac- out to Him, and learning how to quietly trust in Him. cident during a self-defense class that knocked her “It forces you to your knees,” says Lisa. unconscious. She was rushed to the ER, but seven Just as her parents turned the pain of dysscans revealed no serious problems. They thought functional families into a passion to minister to things would be fine. families, Aimee’s chronic pain is making her more However, over the days that followed she de- sensitive to the hurts and needs of others. Her veloped horrible headaches that caused her to miss struggles in school are a constant reminder that two months of school. Those days forced Mike and we “make the grade” with God because of His Lisa to their knees. “These past months have been grace in Christ Jesus, not because of our own the hardest in my life,” says Lisa. “There’s nothing efforts. In the midst of the trial, God has given harder for a parent than seeing your child suffer their family these verses from Romans 5:3-5: “we and having no control over it and no way to make also boast in our sufferings, knowing that sufferit better.” Doctors now speculate that Aimee expe- ing produces endurance, and endurance produces rienced a “minor traumatic brain injury” that would character, and character produces hope, and hope not have shown up on scans. does not disappoint us, because God’s love has Meanwhile, the straight-A student has had to been poured into our hearts through the Holy adapt her expectations. With difficulty focusing on Spirit that has been given to us.”

A FAMILY TEAM: Lisa, Aimee, and Mike Conn. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED.

46

| FOLLOWING JESUS

HOW TO BECOME A

Follower of Jesus 1. REPENT | To repent means to turn around, to change your thinking and your direction and go the other way.1 The Bible teaches that every person has a Sin Nature—a deeply ingrained inner tendency to go our own way instead of following God’s way.2 When we follow our sin nature, we violate our conscience and break God’s commands by not loving Him and not loving our neighbor as ourself.3 The results are broken relationships, lack of peace, loss of purpose, anger, worry, fear, frustration, and hopelessness. The ultimate consequence of sin is death.4 you can pray a prayer of repentance like this: “God, I admit that I am a sinner and I deserve to die. I have broken your commands. I have not loved you as I ought to, and not loved my neighbor as myself.

I repent of my sins. I turn from going my own way to go your way and obey you as Lord.”

2. BELIEVE | The “gospel” (good news) of Jesus Christ is that we do not have to earn a relationship with God and pay for our sins by doing good deeds or religious rituals.5 Instead, God Himself took the initiative to come to us, being born as a man, suffering on the cross and dying in our place on the cross. He won the victory over sin and death by rising from the grave.6 God promises a new spiritual birth to those who believe in Jesus, trusting Him by faith.7 This new birth makes the believer a child of God, and begins a process of inner transformation8 that fills us with His joy, peace, and love, and the hope of eternal life.9 you can pray a prayer of belief like this: “God, I thank you that Your Son Jesus died and rose again the third day. I trust in him alone to save me from my sins and give me your abundant, new, spirit-filled life to transform me now, and to give me the hope of resurrection and eternal life.”

3. COMMIT | The decision to follow Jesus begins with repentance and belief, but it is lived out by a daily commitment to live according to the pattern of life and teaching Jesus showed us.10 Some of the ways you can follow Jesus daily include: • become a member of a local church. The church is the Body of Christ,11 the living expression of Jesus on earth. Joining a church means more than signing up for a human institution. It means you are committed to building authentic relationships with other believers for worship, growth, fellowship, and service together.

• read and prayerfully reflect on the bible. God has revealed himself to us through the scriptures.12 The Holy Spirit uses the words of the Bible to give us understanding of who Jesus is and how we can live like Him as we study it on our own and in community with other believers.13 • serve others in humility. We enter into the experience of Jesus’ death and resurrection by “dying” to ourselves and our selfish desires so we can discover the joy of giving and living for others.14

1 Mark 1:15 2 Rom. 3:23 3 Mark 12:29-31 4 Rom. 6:23 5 Tit. 3:4-7 6 I Cor. 15:3-6 7 John 1:12-13 8 2 Cor. 5:17 9 John 3:16 10 Luke 9:23 11 Eph. 5:29-30 12 Heb. 4:12 13 John 14:25-26 14 Mark 10:43-45

FOLLOWING JESUS

| 47

New city?

New church!

Whether you are a military family, job transfer, or just new to the community, we know change can be hard.

Finding a place of worship can help. At Frazer we welcome new faces. We invite you to explore our faith family, discover our ministries for children, students and adults, and learn more about how you can get connected at frazerumc.org.

Frazer Church: find hope, Follow Jesus • Sunday worship 8, 9:30 & 11AM 6000 atlanta Hwy. Montgomery • frazerumc.org • 334.272.8622 •