mission:word | Reach Your World

mission:BMA

Me, a Missionary?

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BY: JEFF SWART | GALENA, KANSAS

he dictionary defines the word missionary as, “A person undertaking a mission—particularly a religious one” or “a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism.”

Perhaps the average Christian today might define the word missionary as “a man called by God to move to a new area where he would attempt to plant a new church by means of the preaching of the Gospel.” The logic of some Christians is that since they have not been called by God to preach, to be a missionary, or to plant a church; they are not missionaries. But is that really true?

Some of the last words spoken by the Lord to His disciples are recorded by Luke in the opening chapter of the book of Acts, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). One of the key thoughts in this verse is, “…ye shall be witnesses unto me.” “Ye” refers to individual believers. It refers to you and it refers to me. Everyone who has ever experienced the grace of God and trusted Christ as his personal Savior has been commanded by Christ to be a “witness” to the lost of the life-changing message of the Gospel.

Jesus said that believers were to be witnesses first in “Jerusalem.” Our witness for Christ always begins at home. If Christianity does not work in your home or in my home, it won’t work anywhere else either. So first of all, we’re to be witnesses in our own homes, our own neighborhoods, our own workplaces, our own schools, and our own communities.

Although being a witness for Christ begins at home, it doesn’t stay at home. Next we are to be witnesses in “Judea.” Judea was the state in which the city of Jerusalem was located. Not only are we to be witnesses for Christ in our hometowns, but we’re also to be witnesses in our home states. Jesus then said we were to be witnesses in “Samaria.” Samaria was a neighboring state to Judea. And finally, Jesus said we were to be witnesses to the “ends of the earth.”

The point is that personal evangelism starts where we are. My Jerusalem is different from your Jerusalem. My Judea is different from your Judea. Your Samaria is different from my Samaria.

But if we put our Jerusalems, Judeas, and Samarias together, we can reach the whole world for Jesus Christ!

As individual believers, we cannot win the world to Christ, but we can win our world to Christ. If enough believers win their worlds to Christ, we will win the world to Christ! Although our lives touch each other, our worlds are different. If my world does not hear of Christ from me, where will they hear of Him? I may be the best Christian someone knows because I may be the only Christian they know!

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There are more than seven billion people alive on planet earth, and they all need to be saved. Seven billion is an extremely large number that is hard for us to comprehend. Let me see if I can break it down into something we can understand. If you were to lead 1,000 people per day to Christ, it would take three years to lead one million souls to Christ and 3,000 years to lead one billion souls to Christ. Therefore, by leading 1,000 souls per day to Christ, and if the population never changes, it would take 21,000 years to win the world to Christ!

However, if you led one person per year to Christ and discipled that person so that he or she could lead one soul per year to Christ, and everyone won to Christ led one soul to Christ each year, in approximately thirty years the world would be won to Christ! It doesn’t take a Ph.D. in math to figure out that the greater the number of believers engaged in personal evangelism, the greater the number of souls who will be won to Christ.

In summary, the Great Commission (Mathew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8) is more than a single command to evangelize the world. It is a step-by-step process by which we win the unsaved and disciple them so that they are able to reproduce themselves in the lives of others. Through this God-ordained process, the world will be reached for Christ.

In Acts 1:8, Jesus described the ripple effect of evangelism as a rock thrown into a pond causing ever-expanding circles of personal salvation, each one reaching a new and different demographic region with the Gospel until every last person alive on this planet hears the good news that Jesus saves. In light of this, doesn’t it seem only Biblical, reasonable, and Christhonoring to define the word missionary as “me?”

mission:world (USPS 575-320) Volume 3 - Issue 1 January-February 2015 www.bmaamerica.org

Contents

Editor Donny Parrish Managing Editor Phillip Rice Design & Layout Jared Eakin Published bimonthly by the Baptist Missionary Association of America, 611 Locust Street, Conway, Arkansas 72034 Entered as Periodical Rate at Conway, Arkansas.

Periodical Postage paid at Conway, Arkansas and at additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER send address changes to: Mission:World P.O. Box 1188 Conway, Arkansas, 72033 Subscription rate is $7.50/year Church Plan, 50 cents/month per family

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An American Dream for the Church Every dream has a setting. Ours is the thirdlargest mission field in the world.

The following information is provided in compliance with USPS requirements.

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GARRETT MEMORIAL GMBC in Hope, AR is impacting its community

36

BMA CHAPLAINCY Reaching the United States Armed Services for Christ

Lifeword.....................................................................8-11 DiscipleGuide............................................................12-15 Seminary...................................................................16-19 mission:news...........................................................44-47 January - February 2014 | mission:world ::: 3

An

American Dream for the

church BY: SCOTT ATTEBERRY | DISCIPLEGUIDE

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BMA of America

R

emember the American Dream? It is the idea that anyone who is willing to work hard can prosper in America. Over the years, immigrants have flocked to our nation in order to seek a better life. In the past, the new citizens would undoubtedly be exposed to the Gospel through local churches as a part of their new American experience.

However, due to the decline of churches over the past fifty years, those days are over. Although founded on Christian principles, the United States as a whole is no longer a “Christian Nation,” but rather a “Post-Christian Nation.”

Perhaps it is time for a new American Dream, more specifically, an American Dream for the Church.

Every dream has a setting. Ours is the third-largest mission field in the world. “The land of the free” seems like a strange description for a nation that is home to approximately 235 million unbelievers. That means that three out of every four Americans are living without Christ.

How many people in your neighborhood are destined for hell right now? What about on your street? In your house?

For decades, the American church has established mission points around the world for the sake of the Gospel. Each mission point purposed to launch a multiplying mission outreach within its local area.

Where, then, are the mission points in the United States?

Where will the outreach of the Gospel overflow into our nation’s streets? How will the message of Jesus infiltrate our homes?

The answer is found in the church. Although we typically think of a mission point as a place from which a church is planted, we must not forget that the mission itself has been given to the church.

In fact, the moment a church loses its sense of mission, it begins to decline.

The new American Dream, then, begins with every church becoming a mission point. The good news is that our nation already has a broad network of evangelical churches. The sad news is that many, if not the majority, of those churches are in decline.

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BMA of America That is why DiscipleGuide is working diligently to invest in churches. We long to see revival come to America once again.

Can you envision a move of God in which once dying churches become abundantly fruitful once again? Do you hunger for the baptisteries that have run dry for years to suddenly become overflowing with new converts? Can you imagine the glory Christ would receive as once-empty pews become packed with sinners repenting and the wayward returning home?

If America is to be reached for the Gospel, it will only happen through the church!

No entity other than the local New Testament church has been ordained by God for the task.

No matter the size, location, budget, or resources, every church should be a viable mission point for the kingdom.

Could it be that churches scattered throughout the cities, towns, and communities of our nation are a sleeping giant just waiting for a divine awakening?

Revival and mission work hand in hand. Trace the history of revival and you will always see a renewed fervor for missions accompanying it. The plot of the new American Dream, then, must be a new great awakening among our churches.

Associations, departments, agencies, and para-church ministries do not birth revival.

Instead, God always stirs up an awakening of His people through the church.

Real revival, not just meetings, requires no large financing or

facilities. It can break out in a church of fifteen just as easily as in a church of five hundred.

All that is required is a move of God’s Spirit.

In the book of Acts, when God’s Spirit moved, the small church of 120 believers in Jerusalem increased on the day of Pentecost. The Bible says that the Lord added 3,000 souls that day. In Acts 4:4, another 5,000 were added to the church and in Acts 5:12, “multitudes” were added. But what is even more astounding is that after that, the Bible switches from talking about “addition” to “multiplication!”

Acts 6:1 and Acts 6:7 explain that the number of disciples multiplied greatly. Then, later, in Acts 8:1, we see that God scattered the church throughout Judea and Samaria, just as Christ had promised in Acts 1:8. God not only multiplied believers, but He also multiplied churches!

Where was the mission point that planted all of those early churches? It was the church in Jerusalem. That’s right; God uses churches to plant churches! In the same way that only humans can reproduce humans, only the church can reproduce churches.

It’s by God’s design!

In order for the United States of America to be reached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we need churches to rekindle their passion for reaching their communities, and we need

churches to help plant new churches. In other words, we need a movement of God like we see in the book of Acts.

We have seen God move this way in our country’s past. The dying churches of today were once the exciting church plants of the past. Now, they lay waiting for revival.

One advantage that the churches of America have on the early church is that we already have a network of churches spread throughout our nation.

Now, we desperately need God to move among us.

The departments of the Baptist Missionary Association are under no illusion that they can bring revival to our churches, for that is God’s work. However, each of our departments can serve churches as an instrument God uses to spark revival, revitalize congregations, and mobilize churches!

At DiscipleGuide, we dream of the day when every BMA church is gospel-centered, disciple-making, and missiondriven.

Gospel-centered: The church has a responsibility to preach and teach truth. We are stewards of God’s Word. In order for our nation to experience revival, pastors must stand boldly in the midst of a culture that is rapidly corrupting.

DiscipleGuide’s curriculum, camps, and conferences

“If America is to be reached for the Gospel, it will only happen through the Church! No entity other than the local New Testament church has been ordained by God for the task”

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are designed to help define and deliver the truth to congregations. Most recently, our “We Believe” series has focused on the foundational truths of Scripture.

Disciple-Making: The Great Commission calls every believer to make disciples and to incorporate (baptize) them into local churches. This, according to Jesus, is the strategy for reaching the world. Our DisicpleWay material is designed precisely for that purpose: To make disciple-making disciples of Jesus Christ.

Mission-Driven: Every church has a responsibility in their communities and their world. The call to “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the world,” is not an “either-or” statement, but instead a “both-and” statement.

Biblical churches will work toward simultaneously reaching their communities, regions, nation, and world.

Of course, not every church will do it the same way. Some will plant multiple churches; others will join with multiple churches to plant one church.

Some will sponsor a local school or soup kitchen as an outreach while others may volunteer at local events or go door-to-door in order to make contacts for the Gospel. The point is that every church has a role and every role it vital.

DiscipleGuide’s Tuesday Talks series airs online every second Tuesday of the month at 10 a.m. on bmalife.com/tv in order to provide training, solutions, and relevant ideas on reaching communities for Christ. Past episodes can be viewed online at

any time. Each episode features a BMA pastor or ministry leader sharing insights God has given him. It’s a platform in which DiscipleGuide is connecting pastors and resources among our churches.

In cooperation with BMA Missions, DiscipleGuide is also launching the Activate Network, which provides on-site, customized consultation services for churches. We pray that God will use the investment of our

time, resources, and people in order to bring about a revival that will sweep our nation.

Right now, won’t you pray that God will move in our churches? Will you take a moment to plead for a revival of Gospel-centered, disciplemaking, mission-driven churches that will reach our nation for Christ?

That is our American Dream.

"W

e saw one of your videos on Facebook and we just had to come check things out!” That’s something I heard last week at our church, and it’s something we’ve heard many times over in the last three years. Welcome to the digital culture!

When we began the work of planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas, we didn’t have a ton of money for advertising and promotion and we wanted to connect with new people relationally rather than en masse, so we started with Facebook. We’ve spent the last three

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years making friends, posting good content, joining and starting conversations, and spending all of our advertising and promotional budget on online ads only.

Even though we’re a smaller, newer church, we are always in the first few search results when someone uses Google to find a church in our area.

This is intentional. And approximately 75% of our first-time guests indicate that they first heard about us online with most of those learning of us via Facebook. The Internet is the new phone book,

BY: BRANDON COX | LIFEWORD

and we base buying and shopping decisions on the recommendations of friends on social networks far more than we do on traditional advertising. Social media is opening doors to an unreached portion of our society.

As I write this, I’m engaged in conversation with a couple whose first contact with us resulted from Facebook. This Mom and Dad had lost a nineteen-year-old son just a few months prior to that first contact. Mom hadn’t been to church in a decade, and Dad wanted nothing to do with

organized religion. His Facebook page boasts of his recreational drug use and includes some expletivefilled rants about the evils of religion, but one Sunday, they showed up. Now we’re talking about who Jesus really is and how God can help them get through the incredible pain of their losses by His grace. These kinds of conversations usually don’t start in a church lobby, but in a coffee shop, a workplace, or on a social networking platform.

In 1962, a missionary with a pioneering spirit named Harold Morris made the daring assertion

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Lifeword that new mission fields were more than just geographical areas, off limits because of oceans and national borders, but instead were reachable through a new and innovative methodology – radio! His broadcast, The Harvest Gleaner Hour, which started in St. Louis, blossomed over five decades to be the missionary force it is today, broadcasting the gospel across geographical and political barriers in 34 languages.

Our association, while holding tightly to the historic Baptist faith, has also embraced opportunities over the years to enter new mission fields and to communicate the timeless truth of the Gospel in innovative ways. Today, Lifeword is taking a bold step to help churches carry on Bro. Morris’ vision by crossing new digital barriers to get the Gospel to a very secularized culture using the language of our emerging mission field – social media. We want to equip every BMA church to use the web and social media to spread the story of Jesus and the story of their church to their surrounding community and the rest of the world.

Our goal is to see every member of every church become a social media missionary. Here’s how we plan on helping...

We want to provide a solid theological basis for engaging with social media. Those who resist using social media for the Gospel’s sake often fail to understand why social media has arisen as a dominant means of communication in our

culture. These technologies are emerging because God relates His truth to people through people.

He’s a relational God who has sovereignly guided the church up to this current era, and we must engage and take advantage of the technologies and platforms afforded to us.

It is precisely because of our strong view of the Bible’s infallibility, the literal nature of heaven and hell, and the exclusivity of Jesus Christ for salvation that drives us to evangelize using any means we can. So from radio to tape ministries and television to the Internet, the church fills each space with the truth and glory of God. We want to provide accessible resources to help churches get online and become effective in their communication. Everything a church does is communications, from the way we greet and what we put on the church sign to how we preach and do evangelism in the community during the week.

Lifeword is working to create a dynamic, evergrowing library of video-based tutorials to show church leaders and volunteers how to engage the world with the Gospel in the online space.

In cooperation with DiscipleGuide, we hosted two Tuesday Talks on the subject of effectively using social media to share the Gospel. We are adding to the archive of those talks a series of web-based videos that will cover topics such as the following: how any church can launch a website with little technical knowledge and a small budget, how to start and maintain an effective church Facebook page, and how to empower a congregation to share their faith via social networking.

We want to walk with churches through the process of establishing an online presence.

While we can’t possibly develop a website and social profiles for every church in the BMA, we can definitely act as guides through the process. When a church reaches out with questions, we want to assess their current knowledge and plug them into a

“The church has been revitalized as it finds itself on mission in this unique way.

We are grateful for the opportunity God has given us to serve Him in this way.” well-defined process for developing a presence on the web. Our desire is certainly to connect with pastors and church leaders, but we also want to empower lay people to see how social media fits into our lives as disciple-makers.

We know that every church has different resources and ministers in a unique context, but we also know that there are workable and transferrable principles that can apply in any ministry field. Just email me at social@lifeword. org and let me know how your church needs help.

We want to help believers tell the story of how the Gospel has impacted their lives. Donny Parrish and the production team have been working diligently to create the first of many testimonial videos from people whose lives have been forever changed by the Gospel. When someone in your church has a story to tell, we’d like to coach you in how to tell it and possibly even produce a video highlighting his or her testimony for others to share.

And we want to provide these impactful videos for churches to use in their arsenal of evangelistic tools.

Our desire is to artistically represent the power and the effect of the Gospel on the lives of its adherents. Additionally, we want to take Lifeword’s existing library of content and begin to recycle and redistribute it in fresh, new ways.

We want to communicate with churches on a regular basis through a free email newsletter.

You can sign up at lifeword.org/ social and receive a monthly newsletter that will include tips and tricks, the latest video

resource, and links from around the web that make social media missions more simple to understand and engage in.

It is essential that we see the very positive effect of social media on the current state of evangelism in the church.

While we may lament the increasing difficulty of evangelizing door-to-door and in other confrontational ways, we can also celebrate that social media is providing a new avenue through which more people are sharing their faith, talking about their churches, and engaging in conversations around spiritual truth than ever before. Rather than diminishing the importance of social media, we want to maximize its benefits for God’s glory.

As with any other missions’ initiative within our association, we ultimately depend on the local church to move the mission forward. Lifeword stands ready to help, and we’re proactively taking steps to make helpful tools and resources available to our churches and their leaders. Please let us know how to help. And join us in prayer that God would continue to set before us an open door to use social technologies to communicate the truth and grace of God to each new generation.

BY: SCOTT ATTEBERRY | DISCIPLEGUIDE

D

iscipleGuide believes in your church.

Why? Because your church has been bought with the blood of Christ, called to the work of Christ, and placed under the rule of Christ.

That’s why our ministry is focused on investing in churches. Our heart for the church is based upon four core beliefs:

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1. The Great Commission is given exclusively to the Church.

2. Every church has a role to play in Great Commission work.

3. No church can fulfill the Great Commission alone.

4. Every church has something to contribute towards fulfilling the Great Commission.

1. Pastor’s Helpline Few people understand the pastor’s workload, stress, pressure, and demands.

• In need of prayer? Call your pastor.

• Facing the loss of a loved one? Call your pastor.

• Been betrayed? Call your pastor.

Church members take home their own worries, but the pastor takes home everyone’s worries.

He wears their burdens and feels their pains.

He laughs when they laugh, cries when they cry, and mourns when they mourn. Most of the time, nobody else sees what is going on inside of his heart. Carrying the weight of an entire congregation’s burdens is a difficult task, and only the pastor knows the full gravity of the position.

So at the end of a long day of pastoring the congregation, who will pastor the pastor?

For most pastors, the answer is, “Nobody.”

DiscipleGuide wants to change that. By the end of 2015, we aim to provide all BMA pastors with a free Pastor’s Helpline where they may speak confidentially to an experienced minister who understands.

Pastors need a safe place to discuss the criticisms they endure, the conflicts they are navigating, the stress they are managing, the loneliness they sense, and the burnout they are fighting. They need the wisdom of men who have experienced the depression, walked through financial difficulties, and felt the pain of family conflicts. In other words, pastors need pastors.

Consider the following statistics from the Fuller Institute, George Barna, and Pastoral Care, Inc.

At DiscipleGuide, we pour our energy into helping local churches which in turn work together to impact the world for Christ. Our desire, then, is to be known as your church’s best friend.

Here are three ways we are currently working hard to be a blessing to your church:

• 40% of pastors report a conflict with a church member at least once a month.

• 85% of pastors said their greatest stressor is dealing with disgruntled members.

• 40% of pastors say they have considered leaving their churches in the last three months.

• 70% of pastors do not have someone they consider a close friend.

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DiscipleGuide Do you see the need? Can you imagine how many pastors might stick it out and refuse to quit if only they had someone to talk to? Can you envision the churches that would be spared the agony of losing yet another pastor and, as a result, feeling like they can never get out of “rebuilding” mode?

Something as simple as a phone call could be God’s tool to change the life of a church and the souls of many.

2) Activation Network Have you ever spent so much time adjusting the radio, air conditioner, and GPS in your automobile that you forgot to keep an eye on the road? There are so many wonderful tools built into vehicles today that can become dangerous distractions. It’s a lot like the work of the church.

Ministry never stops. Churches can easily be overwhelmed with the nonstop needs of the congregation. Volunteers give tirelessly in teaching and visitation. Deacons spend long hours caring for homebound and hospitalized members. Pastors, many times bi-vocational ones, stay up late studying for Sunday’s sermons.

Church life can become very busy with good things. However, the busyness can cause churches to lose focus of the overall ministry direction.

And if they aren’t careful, churches can end up spinning off the proverbial road.

Unfortunately, we see it happen all of the time.

Good churches full of good people seem to lose their directions. Many times, members look back and say, “What happened?”

DiscipleGuide wants to help churches keep their eyes on the road. We believe that every church, regardless of size, location, age, or history, has an important role in God’s global mission. However, because the church is composed of human beings, challenges will arise. Every church struggles from time to time to maintain a clear focus on the unique opportunities God has given them to advance His Kingdom.

DiscipleGuide’s Activate process is designed to help churches assess their current ministry, refine 14 ::: January - February 2015 | mission:world

their focus, and move forward to reach their communities and the world.

Activate is an 18-36 month coach-driven process that works with pastors, church leaders, and congregations through three phases: 1. Health 2. Mission 3. Multiplication Activate takes place on site as trained facilitators meet regularly with pastors, leaders, teachers, and congregations to help each church reach its God-given potential. This isn’t a cookiecutter approach. We recognize that every church is different. The Activate process appreciates the culture, location, personality, and preferences of every congregation. Our desire is to help all churches bloom where they are planted and to use the resources and unique gifts God has blessed them with to advance the Gospel in their communities and the world.

3) Tuesday Talks Most pastors and church leaders don’t have time to attend another conference or workshop. After the travel, lodging, and meals (not to mention time), it simply requires more resources than the church can afford.

That is why DiscipleGuide is bringing relevant training to the church via Tuesday Talks. These monthly online video training sessions take place on the second Tuesday of every month and feature ministers from around the BMA who share insights and information from their areas of expertise.

Tuesday Talks are live streaming events which allow participants to ask questions and make comments through interactive chat.

Previous episodes of Tuesday Talks have focused on how to minister through social media, how to lead an effective student ministry, and church mobilization.

Tuesday Talks is available for free by visiting bmalife.com/tv at 10 a.m. on the second Tuesday of each month. If you miss the live sessions, an archive of past segments is available.

SOARING for 25 Years!

"H

ey, Donny…I’ve got this idea!”

That’s how the conversation with Bobby Tucker began. God had given him more than an idea. I believe that it was Holy Spirit inspired vision.

Bobby’s idea of contextualizing the Gospel to make it understandable to a student culture wasn’t a new one, but putting together a conference where BMA students could find a unifying voice and allowing a new generation to express their worship to God that was uniquely theirs…that was very new. And it has proven to be revolutionary to the work of the BMA. Thousands and thousands of students have attended SOAR in the last 24 years.

Through the Word preached by God’s men, the Word preached through music and the arts, and through meaningful conversations that have occurred in youth groups gathered in hallways of hotels and ballroom floors, God has saved hundreds of kids. Hundreds of others have accepted God’s call to preach. Others have accepted God’s call to take the message of Jesus to four corners of the globe. SOAR has indeed been revolutionary for the work of the BMA. The largest yearly gathering of BMA Baptists in the world!

On July 1-3, 2015, thousands of students will gather at the Omni Hotel in downtown Dallas, Texas where it all began 25 years ago. The theme of SOAR 2015? Worship! It could be no other!

We will spend three days looking into the face of Jesus and making much of His name. We will challenge students to make Him Savior and Lord. We will urge them to lay down their lives for His cause. We will worship the King!

We will SOAR!

BY: DONNY PARRISH | CONFERENCES

Daniel Springs Connects People BY: JASON PREWITT | CAMPS Have you ever felt like getting away from the busyness? Over the past 49 years Daniel Springs Baptist Camp has been a get-out-of-town place. Recently, I have heard countless personal testimonies of how God has used Daniel Springs as a place to make clear and undistracted connections with people.

Bro. James and Mrs. Barbara Speer tell funny stories about the adult sponsors who were checking in groups attending camp this summer and how they acted when they came as kids. What a blessing to hear adults testify of the exact location on the campground where they accepted Christ as their personal Savior, surrendered the call to go into ministry, or had their hearts pulled toward missions. Many stories were about volunteers who took off weeks of work to come to camp because of their love for students.

We are awestruck by the hundreds of thousands who have traveled to the camp over the past 49 years and how they have had an amazing touch from the Lord. We are excited to see how God will continue to use the camp as a means to reach, call, and renew!

BY: DR. CHARLEY HOLMES | SEMINARY

I

t’s not easy to be in ministry.

The demands are endless, the pressure is constant, and the needs are real. It’s a hard job, one that requires both a genuine calling from God and significant spiritual preparation.

BMA Seminary doesn’t exist to call individuals into ministry.

Only God can do that. It does

exist to prepare men and women for ministry. It might seem that the work of the seminary is primarily academic, that it’s all about books, papers, and obscure ideas. Nothing could be further from the truth. The work of BMA Seminary is primarily a spiritual task. The seminary equips pastors and church leaders with the

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knowledge and skills necessary to lead churches, disciple believers, and reach their communities for Christ.

BMA Seminary regularly contacts graduates, particularly those now serving as pastors, to find out how they think the seminary prepared them for ministry. The administration and

BMA Seminary

faculty are constantly trying to improve the seminary, to better prepare individuals for ministry in the twenty-first century. The input of those currently working in ministry provides invaluable insight into the ways the spiritual preparation done at the seminary is transforming local churches.

Chris Proctor attended the

seminary twice, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Religion in 2008 and then a Master of Arts in Church Ministries in 2014.

When describing his seminary experience, Chris spoke candidly about his ministry before coming to seminary, “Prior to attending the BMA Seminary I worked in ministry for about five years. During this time I was learning as I went.

I had never really had a spiritual father in the faith like Timothy had with Paul. I never had any real training. I served God to the best of my knowledge and ability; after all, that’s all I had.”

After several years, Chris stepped away from ministry. He described his feelings of frustration at the time.

“I felt like I was done with trying to serve God in a leadership capacity.

I could not understand why God would call me to ministry and leave me feeling like a failure. Looking back I am not sure that I had any lasting effects on any of the people to whom I ministered. I was doing lots of work but I was not getting the results I was looking to achieve.

I truly had no knowledge of where to begin or what to begin with.”

In the midst of that struggle, God provided a way for Chris to attend BMA Seminary. He applied himself diligently to his studies, and he and his family made some difficult sacrifices so that he could stay in seminary. It wasn’t easy,

but Chris doggedly pursued a seminary education. He had found the preparation he needed—the foundation for ministry he once lacked. As he explains it, “Having gone to seminary and completed two degrees, I am much more equipped to handle the task I once found so daunting. I still have questions and I am still learning, but I have been taught how to evangelize with confidence, how to disciple those who are saved with assurance, and how to teach and build up future leaders within the church.”

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BMA Seminary

God eventually opened doors for Chris to return to serving in a ministry position. Two years ago he became the pastor of New Salem Baptist Church near Henderson, Texas, which benefits from his seminary education.

Chris says, “During the past two years I have had the great opportunity to put into practice the very techniques and concepts that I learned while attending BMA Seminary. Our church currently has a discipleship program with five trained discipleship teachers. I have seen a lady in our church receive the gift of salvation, start discipleship, and now she is being trained in how to teach a children’s Sunday school class by a more seasoned believer.”

“I have also had the privilege of seeing another man and woman in our church develop into our men’s and women’s Sunday school teachers. Others that had told me they would never want to teach have become more involved teaching Sunday school classes.

I have even had the privilege of teaching several of our Sunday school teachers how to prepare lessons without depending on a quarterly. This information has proved invaluable to them and to me. I truly believe these results are attributed to the training I received at BMA Seminary. I served in ministry prior to attending the seminary and never saw results like I am seeing now. God truly rewards

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our faithfulness, and I believe He rewarded my faithfulness of staying in seminary even when I was tired of going.”

Although many seminary graduates can relate to Chris’s story of working in ministry before and after seminary, many others come to seminary shortly after they are called to ministry.

One such graduate is Jake Vandenberg. He was fortunate to have Godly men who mentored and discipled him as a young man. After being called into ministry, he also had people who encouraged him to attend BMA Seminary and prepare for pastoral ministry. Jake started working on a Master of Divinity shortly after graduating from

college. While still working on his degree, God opened the door for Jake to become the pastor of Walnut Road Baptist Church in Springhill, Louisiana. Jake eventually received his degree in 2007 and has now pastored Walnut Road for nine years. He recently described the benefits of his seminary education. “The seminary held before me those things that are non-negotiable, among which are Christ-centered expository preaching, personal evangelism, and intentional disciple-making that follows Jesus’ model. The tools I was given in order to excel in those disciplines are priceless and continue to be employed on a weekly basis in my ministry. For that I am grateful. As to the ‘other things’ of importance, my education at BMATS more than equipped me to find the information needed to aid me in being successful as a pastor.”

Another graduate who came to seminary shortly after being called to ministry is Dennis Morris. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Religion in 2011. Dennis was still a relatively new Christian when he arrived at the seminary. One of his first classes made a big impact on him.

“Taking Christian Doctrine in my first semester was life changing for me,” he says, “It truly made me fall in love with the doctrines of the Bible. It gave me a hunger and thirst for truth that continues still to this day.”

Not long afterwards Dennis had the opportunity to be personally

“...my education at BMATS more than equipped me to find the information needed to aid me in being successful as a pastor.” mentored and discipled by one of the professors. Many professors at BMA Seminary serve as pastors, and they often take the opportunity to mentor students by having them serve on the staff at the professor’s church. Dennis was privileged to spend more than three years working with Dr. Elton McCann at New Hope Baptist Church in Streetman, Texas. Dennis learned a lot, not only by studying in the classroom, but also by seeing important knowledge and skills applied every week in a local church.

God eventually moved Dennis to Grand Saline, Texas, where he now pastors Sand Flat Baptist Church. As Dennis began his pulpit ministry and pastoral work, he quickly discovered how valuable his seminary education was. “Seminary helped me to learn how to preach expository sermons and dig into the text

through languages. Seminary is a tool belt and the classes are the tools in the belt. Seminary has helped enhance my critical thinking, my Biblical knowledge, my perseverance, my library, and my spiritual life. I believe that seminary could benefit most, if not all, Christians desiring to grow in the Lord. Jesus said, “Sanctify them by truth, thy word is truth.” Even though Dennis has already graduated from BMA Seminary and is now serving as a pastor, he decided to return to seminary for more preparation.

He is now close to finishing a Master of Arts in Religion.

Each of these three men exemplifies the purpose of the seminary: Training and equipping individuals with the knowledge and skills they need to serve churches effectively and advance the kingdom of God.

THE UNITED STATES

BY: DR. JOHN ADAMS | MORAL ACTION

AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD

1

Peter 2:9-10: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which

had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”

To be a Christian in this postmodern world is a challenge.

The influence of the Christian faith upon the morality and ethics of the world is almost a thing of the past. The ethical standards of the world in

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which we live are increasingly dominating.

It is urgent in this day that Christians do some clear thinking about our relationships to the “holy nation” and our relationships to our “nation.” The focus on patriotism is a good time to review the Christian

Moral Action

understanding of this dual relationship that we have as the people of God. We hear the word of the Lord in the Old Testament that it is a blessed thing to be a part of a nation that has the Lord as its God. We hear the word of the Lord in the New Testament that declares that because we are in Christ we are citizens in a “holy nation.” Beginning with Augustine, the Christians spoke of the “city of God” and “the city of man.” They were speaking of the same reality that we address when we use the word “nation.”

CHRISTIANS HOLD DUAL CITIZENSHIPS

When you become a child of God you become a citizen in a heavenly kingdom. We are assured in Scripture that our citizenship is in heaven. But at the same time we are still the citizens of the nations of this world. In our case we are citizens in one of the greatest nations that human history has ever known.

The first important point to note is that we enter both of these citizenships by birth. At least this is true for most of us. Since both of my parents were natural born citizens of the United States when I was born, I automatically became a citizen of the United States. It came to me as a gift.

When I experienced the new birth at the age of nineteen, I became a citizen of the “holy nation.” It came to me as a part of the heritage that is mine in Jesus Christ. I didn’t ask for the citizenship but it came to me anyway.

Second, our citizenship in the United States was a gift we did not choose. We did not attend the

class, pass a test, pledge allegiance, or do anything to become a citizen of the United States of America. It came to us simply on the basis of the parents to whom we were born. Being born to natural born citizens of this country automatically made me a citizen of this country.

Since I have become acquainted with the history of this country, I count it as a special privilege to be a citizen of the United States of America. I can sing joyfully that I am proud to be an American. I remember reading about Alexander Graham Bell, one of the great inventors in this country. When Mr. Bell died he had this epitaph put on his tombstone. “Alexander Graham Bell,” and then under that, “Inventor – Teacher,” then he had it inscribed “Born in Edinburg – March 3, 1847,” and then, “Died a citizen of the United States – 1922.” This great inventor

considered his becoming a citizen of the United States as the supreme achievement of his life.

He wanted to be remembered as someone who gained citizenship in this country.

Finally, our citizenship is in the holy nation by choice. The Psalmist reminds us that it is first of all by God’s choice. By the gracious work of his Holy Spirit through the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, God extended to you and me the invitation to be a citizen of the holy nation. But then you and I had to respond to His choice.

There was a moment when we knowingly and willfully said to God’s invitation, “I will.” We chose to submit ourselves to the rule of Jesus Christ and to make loyalty and allegiance to Him the first thing in our lives. In that moment our names were written in Heaven, and we became citizens in God’s holy nation.

January - February 2014 | mission:world ::: 21

Arkansas

Missionaries all around

HOPE

BY: CLIF JOHNSON | HOPE, AR

W

e are all prone to it—the mindset that says missionaries are people uniquely called and gifted of God to leave their homes in order to preach the Gospel in some other place. We must correct that mindset.

All followers of Christ are people called and gifted of God to live and proclaim the Gospel no matter the location. But sometimes one of the hardest places to be a missionary is in our own hometowns. We can overlook the desperation of the city because we drive through it every day. We can easily grow numb to the pain in people’s eyes, or the quiver of heartbreak in their voices when it is coming from the same co-worker day after day. We can grow blind to the poverty, neglect, and abuse suffered by children. The busyness of going to work, being on time for ball practice, making it to the grocery store, and squeezing in a workout at the gym can sometimes leave us wondering how being a missionary in our own hometowns works.

We wrestle with that at Garrett Memorial Baptist Church (GMBC) as much as any other church. We are striving to be a people of global vision when it comes to spreading the Gospel, but we do not want to overlook the city God has entrusted to us. One passage that helps us with this is Acts 17:26 where Paul declares that God has determined the times and dwelling places of all mankind. In other words, we are living in the exact place, at the exact moment in history that God has designed for us. This includes those who live in Hope. God gave the people of Garrett Memorial the responsibility of extending the Gospel to the entire world, specifically Hope, Arkansas. This is being done in the lives of everyday people who live as missionaries here in Hope.

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C.A.S.A.

Working with a group of kids has never been high on Laurie Pinner’s “to do” list. She says, “I’m not the one to work with children.

Groups of children and I have never worked well together. It’s hard for me to be patient with children! But when you surrender your life to the Lord, part of that surrendering is trusting that He knows exactly what He is doing, even when it seems he got the paperwork on your gift set confused with someone else’s.

God is always looking for ways to deepen our faith and joy in Him. When you know it is something Laurie Pinner serves as a C.A.S.A. in Hempstead County you could never do on your own, and then you do it, that is definitely God. It When asked how she has seen the Lord work has become easy (most of the time) to show love through her in being a CASA advocate, Laurie says, to an orphan.”

“Several times I have caught myself being busy and not Laurie Pinner is a wife, a mother, and a financial making a visit on a night I had planned to check on my consultant at Mustard Seed Financial in Hope. But her kids. Then the Lord will convict me about this. I will heart was recently drawn to the voiceless children in go, and it will be a night where there are recent bruises foster care. She now serves as a court appointed child that I would have missed if I had put it off. Or the water advocate (C.A.S.A) in Hempstead County. will be cut off and the kids aren’t getting their baths or “The Lord has reminded me on several occasions meals like they are supposed to. All because the Lord of some memories of my childhood and how insecure reminded me that I needed to be there that particular and shy I was at school. I cannot imagine having the night! He reminds me that He is there and I have to personality I had and then having to walk into school trust Him when He’s telling me what to do. Touching every day coming off a night like some of these kids just one life, which may seem like not nearly enough, have been through. Being afraid to fall asleep, being could make a difference for generations to come. I know afraid of who will end up in their rooms in the middle He expects me to share my joy and love for Him by of the night, wondering if they will be fed, walking pouring them into other homes.” on eggshells not to upset their parents. Many of these children are wondering if anyone cares, if there is any hope out there, and what is the cure for loneliness?

Bruce Garrett is a retired firefighter who now spends After more than a year of praying, the Lord changed his days working on his farm. The last place you might some things in my schedule and made it possible for me expect to find him is on the basketball court, but that to become an advocate for CASA.” is exactly where he can be found every Monday night.

As a CASA advocate, Laurie gets to be the one He shows up at the campus of GMBC in the evening constant in these children’s lives. She says her foster around 6:00, grabs the keys to the church van and children “understand that there’s this one lady that heads out to pick up about fifteen teenage boys. They will come see me even after I’ve been through different arrive back at the church thirty minutes later to enjoy foster homes, different lawyers, different case workers, a home-cooked meal prepared by a caring team of different schools. They understand when one person has Garrett faithfuls. After eating, the boys break into three been there from the beginning, on their side wanting to groups. Two groups play basketball for about thirty know what is in their best interest.”

Boys to Men

January - February 2014 | mission:world ::: 25

Arkansas

Bruce Garrett (left) tutors teenage boys at GMBC

minutes while the third group receives tutoring from another group of Garrett faithfuls, and then the boys rotate stations. The tutors are a group of blue collar “missionaries” from Garrett: a forester, a jeweler, a highway department director, and a professor.

This ministry was born out of the heart of “Mr. Bruce,” as the boys affectionately call him. And at the end of the night, all the boys grab a seat and listen to Mr. Bruce tell them about his hero, Jesus.

How does a farmer cross paths with inner-city kids?

The simple answer is that the Lord opened Mr. Bruce’s eyes and heart to the needs in these young boys’ lives.

Many of them have no positive male figure in their lives and no encouragement. But every one of them knows that when Mr. Bruce rolls down the street in that van, they will get love, encouragement, and wisdom. They may not get much basketball coaching, but they get Jesus.

First Choice Pregnancy Resource Center of Hope

Grace Kirkpatrick is a nutritionist for the health department of Hempstead County, but her passion is ministering to young mothers. This passion was ignited while working for the health department and seeing so many pregnant girls at such a young age. “Many have very little support at home; the father is not involved or even interested. They are lost, and the advice they are getting – from home, from friends, and from our own government - is to solve the problem quickly through abortion. No one seems to tell them, however, the scars that this decision will leave on their souls. I have had a burden for these women for several years, and I had been praying that the Lord would provide an opportunity to show them His love, and empower them to make the right choices in life.”

Through prayer and lots of work, Grace was able to get the Pregnancy Resource Center established. At the Resource Center a woman can receive free pregnancy tests, spiritual counseling, free ultrasounds and mommy classes, prenatal

Arkansas care, baby safety, and newborn care.

If a lady is pregnant and chooses to come to the mommy classes, she earns “mommy bucks” to use in the “mommy store.” In the “mommy store” she can purchase diapers, strollers, wipes, baby monitors, baby clothes, lotion, etc. They also provide Daddy Boot Camp classes for expectant fathers.

When asked how she has seen the Lord work through the Resource Center, Grace says, “The Lord has opened so many doors and removed so many obstacles that we were able to organize and open in a year. The Lord continues to grow our numbers of women coming to the center. Not sometimes, but EVERY TIME we come to a hurdle or an obstacle, He opens another door. He has blessed our ministry with a dedicated, serious group of volunteers who are becoming strong witnesses and super prayer warriors. Our strength is definitely in Him! Many of our girls have heard about Jesus for the first time and His love for them through these ministry volunteers.

We get to walk with these girls through their pregnancies, and they are even coming back to us after the baby is born. We are able to continually show God’s love to them and how He loves all of us unconditionally.”

Twila Pilkinton teaching at GMCS

Garrett Memorial Christian School

Every weekday morning around 11:00 Danny Lauterbach can usually be found walking into the front doors of Garrett Memorial to bring his wife Carolyn lunch and to see what is happening at Garrett Memorial Christian School.

GMCS started around sixteen years ago after much prayer by four members of GMBC: Danny, Becky Butler, Ronnie Miller, and Barbara Childress.

Kristi Johnson (left) talk to ladies at the Pregnancy Resource Center of Hope

Starting with just two grades and a few students, today the school ministers to over 200 students (K412 grade) and employs over twenty faculty and staff members. The desire from the beginning was to provide a God-centered education for children in the community of Hope. Commenting on the influence of the school, Danny says, “When you impact the family, you impact the community. The devil had that figured out a long time ago. It’s about time we figured it out as well.”

It’s not surprising to walk down the halls to find teachers writing prayer requests on the white board, hearing a teacher explain how chemistry and God intersect, or even having a teacher walk into the office saying, “Johnny just placed his faith in Jesus!”

Garrett Memorial Baptist is made up of regular folks with regular lives who serve a missionary God. We are understanding more and more the implications of Jesus’ words, “As the Father has sent me, so send I you.”

January - February 2014 | mission:world ::: 27

BY: LARRY BARKER | MISSIONS

G

od is moving in Colorado as three churches move forward in obedience to the Great Commission and the implementation of the P5 Multiplication vision. Every church can get involved through prayer, preparation, partnering, parenting, and planting.

The three BMA churches in Colorado have accepted God’s challenge to multiply and are in the process of planting three new congregations.

Their methods and approach to planting may look a little different from each other, but the heart that they have to share the Gospel and see lives transformed is the same. All three leaders are bi-vocational with two men working secular jobs while being church planters

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and the other, Jacob Norman, continues to work with the church he planted, Fusion in Fountain, while moving to Falcon to plant there.

All three churches are investing prayer, time, and finances into this God-sized multiplication effort.

They have helped to assess, train, and coach these men in church planting. They are walking alongside these men to provide the fellowship and encouragement they need. They see the wisdom of planting with a “cluster” approach instead of a parachute drop where a church planter goes in not knowing anyone.

The “cluster” approach enables their pastors, coaches, and others to meet with them face to face on

Colorado

a regular basis. Any contact (a phone call, an email, a card) is a wonderful encouragement when discouragement and disappointment comes, but meeting together in person is even better.

Allow me to refer back to an article written by me in March of 2012: “We have cast the vision for a North American church multiplication movement which is God sized. Dave Olson, the author of The American Church in Crisis, recently said that over 600,000 churches there will need to be planted by the year 2050 just to keep up with population growth and to replace the 3,000 – 4,000 churches that are closing their doors every year.

Paul Becker, the President of Dynamic Church Planting International, coined the phrase that God placed on his heart, ‘700K in the USA.’ We have shared with you the state (present reality) of the BMAA (November/December 2011 edition), the Road Blocks to Church Planting (January/February 2012), and the Path to Multiplication (March/April 2012). We can cast the vision nationally, but we need to implement it locally.”

Listen to what these men said when they began the P5 Multiplication Process: “Our churches are beginning to come together with the vision to see our state reached for the Gospel through church planting. Through Churches Planting Churches and the P5 Multiplication process, we are beginning to see the possibility and power of what our churches could do through cooperation. We are excited about what God can do in Colorado as a result” Pastor Jacob Norman, Fusion Church, Fountain, CO (established in 2007).

“Thank The Lord for renewed vision! The weekend was an incredible work of God as three BMA churches came together in Colorado to consider mission work in the state. I believe everyone left the meeting closer to the Lord, each other and ready to see how the Lord will use us.” Pastor John Smith, Majestic View, Kiowa, CO (Started in 1997) “Pastors from several Colorado churches began praying about the possibility of planting a new church

in our area. We agreed that the Churches Planting Churches training was vital. As a pastor with no church planting experience, this training enabled me to see, for the first time, the many necessary components of a successful church plant… my former vision of the process of planting a church has been revolutionized. I am excited to see how the Lord uses this training as He grows His church here” Pastor Paul Medved, River of Grace, Pueblo West, CO (established in 2002 by Richard Payne).

Now the vision is becoming a reality!

Church Planting in Colorado BY: JOHN S. SMITH | COLORADO

O

ver eighteen years ago Paul Becker from DCPI taught me that to be a church planting church you have to make it a part of your church plant’s DNA. He was so right!

God has blessed us in so many ways at Majestic View Church. We have seen our church grow and be involved in church planting in almost every way.

The most recent “way” has been to participate in a new plant with our own daughter churches. Sitting down with the pastors of these churches has been humbling, exciting, and convicting. It is a whole lot like sitting down with your grown children as they go out, then come home and begin to share their burdens, convictions, and passions for the work the Lord has given them! Church planting is part of our DNA!

January - February 2014 | mission:world ::: 29

Colorado

Majestic View’s role in this newest church plant with Brian Cleary in Thornton, Colorado, has primarily been to be a prayer and financial partner with Brother Cleary. It has been exciting to watch our daughter churches take the lead!

My personal role has been very rewarding, as I have been allowed the opportunity to become Brian’s coach.

Brian and I try to meet twice a month physically and discuss what is going on in the plant and in Brian’s personal life. Early on I took him through some DCPI principles that were important as we planted here in Kiowa. In the past few months it has been more of a role of listening to his heart, challenging him to make and follow “the plan,” helping him to keep his focus on

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his family, hearing the “victories,” crying a little over the “setbacks,” and in the last few days mourning over the loss of his younger brother to cancer. I have grown to love this man and his heart!

The work in Thornton is different from the work in Kiowa, and it has not been as easy to see progress.

The hearts of people in Thornton are “distracted” if not “hardened” and perhaps they are both. This makes planting a church very challenging and taking care of a church planter’s heart even more important.

I thank the Lord Jesus for this opportunity and ask you to regularly join us in praying for a movement of the Holy Spirit in Thornton, Colorado. As always I thank the Lord for letting us join Him in His work!

MULTIPLYING IN COLORADO I

BY: JACOB NORMAN | COLORADO

n John 12 Jesus tells a parable relating to His coming death that I think I relate to church planting in a lot of ways. In Colorado we only have a few BMA churches, and all of them are less than 25 years old.

Some might look at our situation and think about holding our own, strengthening what we already have, and focusing on ideas to simply maintain what we have. Jesus tells this parable and says that in order for something to multiply it has to die. For me this is a

very personal challenge as a follower of Jesus, a pastor, and a church planter.

Our church has made a decision to send my family to a neighboring community to start a new second plant, despite being less than seven years old, despite averaging less than 100 people in our worship services, despite struggling to meet our current budget, and despite not even having our own building yet. I imagine some might read that list of objections and come to the conclusion that we should not be concerned with planting other churches.

I believe Jesus’ parable speaks to this. If we truly believe church planting is Biblical, then I believe we must be willing to die to our own agendas, our own prestige, our own kingdoms, if you will, in order to see a true church multiplication movement happen.

I am excited about what I see happening among our churches in Colorado: our young church sharing its pastor to plant, River of Grace in Pueblo West supporting a planter with plans to plant in Pueblo West, and Pastor John Smith at Majestic View in Kiowa giving his time as a pastor to coach other planters. What have been the results, you ask? We have completed our first ever trainings and planter assessments in Colorado. We have two new plants underway and a third coming soon. We are excited about these three new plants and see others on the horizon. I believe that when we are willing to die to our own agendas and kingdoms, we will see God do great and amazing things.

“If we truly believe church planting is Biblical, then I believe we must be willing to die to our own agendas, our own prestige, our own kingdoms, if you will, in order to see a true church mulitplication movement.�

January - February 2014 | mission:world ::: 31

BY: BRYAN ATWOOD | PASTOR

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Mississippi

T

he story begins with two individuals with a desire to create a campground where children could learn about nature, experience the comradery of others, and ultimately hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. One of those individuals was a prominent business man in the community who had resources to begin making the dream a reality. His name was Clarence Johnson. The other was a well known and loved church pastor, Bro Harry Tapp.

Together they began working on a piece of property preparing it for the purpose of establishing a campground. The planting of the mission church quickly followed the establishing of the campground which found its residence on the same site. The church and the camp have coexisted almost from the beginning.

Originally the campground was on a large tract of land in south Mississippi with the Biloxi River running right through the middle of it. Excavation machines were brought in to shape the land and create a swimming area, a bridge that crossed the river, a ball field and space for several buildings.

These buildings included a place for worship, bunk houses, a kitchen and dining area, a mini petting zoo, a home for the caretaker, and an outdoor pavilion.

With these provisions in place, both the camp and the church began to function and affect the community.

In the spring of 1995, nineteen inches of rain fell in six hours flooding the entire property and leaving the campground devastated and unusable. The church was cleaned and used for a short time

but the congregants knew that it was time to move to higher ground. In the fall of 1996 the church met for the first time at its new location where a new building had been constructed for worship.

The new location proved to be the perfect place for the church to continue to grow, but the dream of the camp ministry seemed to have been rolled away by the flood waters. In fact the camp ministry ceased to exist until the summer of 2006.

It was in 2006 that he Lord reignited the desire to once again establish a campground that would fulfill the original dream. At this point there were no camp facilities.

There was only a sanctuary for worship, a fellowship hall for dining, and education space available to use for camp. The church went to work planning for camp in 2006 despite the facility challenges. The existing facilities were temporarily transformed into camp facilities and the dream of

January - February 2014 | mission:world ::: 33

Mississippi hosting summer camp was once again a reality for Campground Baptist Church.

One of the goals for the camp established in 2006 was that it would be a ministry completely staffed by church volunteers.

Not only would the camp be a blessing to campers, but it would be a blessing for church members participating in personal service.

Now, one of the great joys of the camp season is to see the church come alive as we work and serve together to make an eternal investment in the lives of children for the glory of Christ. The motto

“The church has been revitalized as it finds itself on mission in this unique way.

We are grateful for the opportunity God has given us to serve Him in this way.” of Campground is “a working church for a working people.”

This goal is fulfilled as we serve together in this fruitful ministry.

Another goal of this ministry is to make it possible for any child to attend camp regardless of financial ability. It is the church’s desire to provide every child with the opportunity to attend camp. There is a fee of $25 for each camper.

This fee pays for meals, lodging, t-shirts and ministry while they are on campus. This has allowed the church to minister to many children in the community who would otherwise not have the opportunity to attend camp and hear the message of Jesus.

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Since 2006, God has continued to bless this ministry by adding six bunk houses, two fully functional shower houses, access to a private lake, additional worship and kitchen space, and, thankfully, many more volunteers to make camp possible. God provided all these resources, and there is no debt on any of the facilities used for camp ministry. It has been truly amazing to see how God responds each time to faith exercised by His people.

The summer of 2014 was a continuation of what the Lord is allowing us to be part of at Campground. The last week of June we were given the privilege

of hosting the Hobolochitta Association youth camp for the third consecutive year. There were 160 campers present for a week full of activities, worship, and fellowship as planned by several pastors from the association. It was our joy to provide meals, housing, and hospitality for what turned out to be a great week. Several young people came to know Jesus as Savior during this week and all involved were encouraged in the Lord.

The month of July was mission time for Campground as we reached into the community and opened the doors for camp. The first camp was a weekend for kids who would be in grades one through six in the coming school year. These students arrived full of energy and excitement ready to enjoy the camp experience. The campground staff met the students enthusiastically and ministered to them faithfully throughout the weekend. We like to say that having so many young children for this length of time is organized chaos (it’s like herding cats). These children are from the church congregation, from other churches, and many of them from no church affiliation at all. Six of these children accepted Jesus as Savior as a result of the weekend.

The following week it was time for the teenagers to arrive. The campground was filled with students from seventh grade through college. These students were a diverse group with an assortment of

backgrounds and family situations.

Some of the students were part of the Campground family, some were from neighboring churches, but many were just from the neighborhood. Once again the Campground staff provided meals, lodging, ministry and lots of love as they poured into the lives of students. Fifteen of the students came to know Jesus as Savior. Two accepted a call to the ministry.

All were challenged to live life “Upside Down.� This was the theme for camp, and it focused on the ministry of the apostles who turned the world in which they ministered upside down for the glory of Christ.

The 2014 camp season was blessed to have over 400 students total attending camp. Twentyseven of them accepted Jesus as Savior. Two announced a call to ministry. The church was ignited in service, and God was glorified.

This ministry has given the church an opportunity to share the Gospel with thousands of children over the past eight years.

There have been hundreds who have received Jesus as their Savior.

There have been many families in our community reached because their kids wanted to come to camp.

The church has been revitalized as it finds itself on mission in this unique way. We are grateful for the opportunity God has given us to serve Him in this way. To God be the glory, great things He has done.

Perhaps your church or association would like to conduct a camp or plan a retreat. We would love to open our doors and allow you to use what God has blessed us with. If you would like further information please visit the church website (campgroundbaptist.com).

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BY: DAVID NORVELL | BMA CHAPLAINCY

Chaplaincy

T

he Chaplaincy is a good example of “missionaries all around us” because we are a ministry of the local churches, which specializes in specific areas of need.

Military chaplaincy in the National Guard and Reserve could expand your ministry. I spent over 23 years as an Army chaplain because I wanted to expand the outreach of the local church I was pastoring.

After pastoring in the Baton Rouge area for four years I wanted to do something to have an influence on people outside the normal church circles. It was in the military where I felt God’s calling and where I had surrendered to full-time Christian ministry and preaching. So, at age 38, I checked into the requirements and qualifications and applied for the Army Reserve Chaplaincy. I thought by associating with a local reserve unit I could help serve God and country while I served the church and increase the outreach of the church.

Even though I went on into the active Army, the Guard and Reserve are great mission opportunities in your community. Carter Pearce and Jeremy Miller have fruitful ministries in

the Arkansas National Guard while working as local pastors, church staff members and community leaders.

Another local uniformed organization that needs chaplain services is the Civil Air Patrol. Several pastors and BMA leaders have served in this capacity.

Civilian chaplaincy is also a way to get involved in your community, reach people with the Gospel and fulfill God’s calling on your life. Over the years, the BMA has endorsed (written a letter of recommendation saying the pastor/person is in good standing with the local church and represents the beliefs and goals of the BMA) several individuals to specific institutions or organizations.

This includes part-time or full-time chaplaincy work in hospitals, prisons, police departments, corporations and hospice organizations. For example, Phil Misenheimer has worked as a chaplain in a medical center in northwest Arkansas for many years.

Bruce Cotton and Larry Hendren have worked as full-time hospice chaplains in Texas and Arkansas.

Floyd Simpson has worked for many years at the Rusk Texas State

Hospital as Chaplain Director. Jay Pollan, director of music at Unity Baptist, Hope, Arkansas, has worked faithfully as a chaplain for the Hope Police Department. Others have ministered to corporation employees as chaplains. Carter Pearce works fulltime for Tyson Foods as a chaplain.

In the military we talk about a “ministry of presence” referring to a chaplain who spent time with soldiers, who was present with them in times of training, stress, celebrations and conflict. As Christians, we all have a ministry of presence. I challenge you to think about YOUR ministry of presence in your community. Jesus was present with His disciples, and after His ascension He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. He said He was one with the Father and one with us as believers. His presence is in you and me; thus, when we are present in the world He is present through us.

When you are in your community and present with a person, He is present with them. Your presence is a witness to His presence. You have a ministry of presence. In that sense, there are missionaries all around us.

Continue to pray for active duty military chaplains as they serve God and Country •

Army Colonel Scott Carson, Huntsville, AL

•

Army Captain Dough Inman, Fort Lee, VA

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Army Major Kevin Guthrie, Chief of Chaplains in the DC/Virgina area

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Army Captain Anthony Risner, Ft. Lewis, WA

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Navy Commander David Kline, Great Lakes Naval Training Center

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Army Captain Tim Gresham, Ft. Carson, CO

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Army Captain Chris Grizzle, Fort Bliss, TX

How do you pursue the military (Guard, Reserve, Active) ministry?

1. Talk to God 2. Talk to your Family 3. Talk to your endorser, David Norvell, 601.213.6657

4. Talk to a chaplain recruiter (not a regular, local recruiter) for application and processing 5. Talk to your church

Texas

WORSHIP UNDER THE BRIDGE S

o what is Worship Under the Bridge all about? To sum it up in a few words it is “Kingdom Building.� Our focus is not comfort or how many attend but to reach the lost and unchurched. We take more of a proactive approach rather than a reactive approach. We go where the people are and minister to them rather than waiting for them to come to us. Jesus tells us to go, not wait.

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BY: DONALD HAMMOCK Meeting their needs and building relationships gives us an opportunity to tell them about Christ.

One Sunday we had a gentleman walk up to our service. After the service he came up to me and said he felt comfortable worshipping with us. He said in the past he had gone to other churches and did not feel welcome because he did not dress like them or look like them.

“WUB is unique in so many ways. There is no paid staff, we have no building note, and we don’t have to worry about if we need to build additional space.”

We started to minister to him by giving him food and a fan. About three weeks after we first met, he called me and said we saved his life. Before he came to Worship Under the Bridge (WUB), he had been drinking heavily and had made up his mind to commit suicide. After worshiping with us he put the bottle down and started seeking God again. Each week God sends someone new and each one comes with different needs.

WUB is more than just a worship service under a bridge. In order to go, you cannot stay in one location.

That is why God made us a mobile ministry. We have no walls! There are several things that we do to fulfill the going. One way of reaching out is we have movie night in parks. Not just in the nice parks either. We had one movie night in the roughest part of town. Several years ago as I was patrolling, I had people throw bottles at my patrol unit. A lot of criminal activity has taken place in this park. So this was stepping out of our comfort zone even more than worshipping under the Bridge. As we arrived at the park and started to set up, a couple of patrol units came by because they had received a call of shots fired in our area. We kept on getting ready and continued to pray for God to send the people He wanted. At first it did not seem like many were going to show. Then people just started walking up. We had about 60 that night. Many seeds were planted, and it was also another conformation that God was in control.

In many cases Christ met the physical needs of the people and then met their spiritual needs. This is the reason we have a supply of food with us in our trailer to be able to give to those in need. Also this summer we

kept box fans in the trailer to give out to people who may not have air conditioning. This has enabled us to build relationships with people where we can share the Gospel. In addition to that we have tailgate parties at sporting events. This is just another way for us to reach people who may be lost and unchurched.

WUB is unique in so many ways. There is no paid staff, we have no building note, and we do not have to worry about if we need to build additional space. We do not take up an offering or ask for money. We sit a can at the back and if someone is led to give then they give.

God has always provided in every way.

When we first started out we had a little eight-foot trailer that we were borrowing. We needed a bigger trailer to haul all of our chairs, supplies, and ministry equipment. One day I was just looking at the price of enclosed trailers. A person had a 25-foot custom trailer that he had bought but never used. I called about it, and he wanted $8,000 for the trailer. I told him what we were doing and asked if he could come any lower.

He said no. In reality we did not even have $500. Later he called and said he felt the Lord leading him to sell it to us for $5,500. I told him we still did not have the money, but we would pray about it and if God wanted us to have it He would provide. Two days later we received a check out of the blue for $5,000. Then another for $500 came in the mail. I called him up and said God provided, so when can we come and get God’s trailer.

If you want to follow us, look us up on Facebook at Worship Under the Bridge, Jacksonville,TX. January - February 2014 | mission:world ::: 39

BY: JOHN BIENLEIN | PASTOR

Michigan

M

“Deaf do not belong in a special needs Sunday school class, nor should they be hidden in the back of the sanctuary during worship.”

any have asked me why there should be deaf ministries or even deaf churches. I have heard, “Many times we don’t even know they are deaf.” Deaf is a “culture” just like any “culture.” It is language, it is heritage, and it is a way of life. Being deaf is not a handicap to be “fixed.”

The deaf members of Master’s Hands Deaf Church have developed a vision and mission to show God’s plan for us with the deaf community. Our vision is to help “people re-connect with God by connecting, growing and serving.” Our mission is, “Led by the Holy Spirit, we commit to: connect with God, one another, and the world through Jesus Christ; grow as we surrender to Jesus and embrace His teaching; and serve humbly with the love and example shown by Jesus Christ.”

There is a belief among the non-deaf that the deaf are incapable in many ways. Even in 2014 there are those who believe deaf cannot do anything simply because they cannot hear. I tell you otherwise. A famous slogan among deaf in the 70s and 80s was and still is, “I can do anything but hear.” Deaf do not belong in a special needs Sunday school class, nor should they be hidden in the back of the sanctuary during worship.

At Master’s Hands Deaf Church, our prayer is that deaf around the world know Jesus Christ as Savior and

then go and teach other deaf to know Jesus Christ.

For so long deaf have been told what to believe, what to do, and where to go. Master’s Hands is teaching deaf that they have a valuable place of service in God’s kingdom spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Master’s Hands is Christ-centered, deaf-focused and community-minded. We are involved with the Big Brother/Big Sister program at Michigan School for the Deaf. We have deaf Bible studies, deaf women’s ministry, deaf grief and counseling ministry and a clothing ministry. There are future plans for deaf programming on local Christian television and for a statewide network of deaf-led churches and ministries.

We are also working closely with local colleges and schools to give interpreting students a safe place to learn “church” interpreting as well as fellowship with other deaf sign language interpreters. Students need a place to apply their sign language and voice interpreting skills, so we offer them a place to do just that. This is also an opportunity for the students to hear and see the Gospel presented clearly to them. We feel that a person who wants to be a church interpreter needs to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, which will help them clearly interpret what the Pastor is preaching to the entire congregation.

It is our prayer that deaf across the vast reaches of the BMA come to personally know Jesus Christ as their Savior and to share that with others who will also tell others. It is our prayer as well that the deaf get involved in the BMA so they can see how many lives can be touched with the Gospel.

January - February 2014 | mission:world ::: 41

A review and preview of missionary news from around the world Thailand:Eli Happy New Year (Sawadee Bi Mai)! Can you believe it? We are in our second year of language school!

Despite the challenges of learning an Asian language, we are moving at a decent pace. God willing, we will be “officially” done with language school this summer. Naturally, we will need to continue our studies (on our own) towards our goal – fluency in Thai language.

We are glad to inform you that we are virtually settled on where to base our ministry. Once we finish language school and work some details, we should start moving to the South. Needless to say, we are very excited and looking forward to the things God has in store for us this year.

Please know that we truly appreciate your prayers and support.

Thank you for helping us share His story and shine His glory!!

at least a dozen kids from each of those neighborhoods, in addition to the regular Grace Hills kids, made it out for the lessons about Jesus, the crafts, the music and everything else that happens at VBS. We’ve baptized a dozen people so far this year and continue to start new conversations with nonbelievers in northwest Arkansas on a weekly basis. We’re asking God to provide wisdom about our next steps as a new church plant and can’t wait to see who meets Jesus next!

Dominican:Jesse Hales

Arkansas:Brandon Cox As I write this, we’ve just concluded a weeklong event called Rock the Block - a Vacation Bible School that took place in five different neighborhoods. Each day,

We are excited to be here in the Dominican Republic and we’re getting settled in more and more. God has answered a lot of prayers to get us to this point and we praise Him for that.

Thank you for praying for us.

We have a lot of things happening in the next few months that we would like for you to pray for as well. Please pray that Elisha will come into the world without any complications with him or Rebecca. Pray for safe travels as Grandparents come to visit. Pray for the BMMI team that will be here around the first of February and for the short-term mission team that will be here in the middle of March. Thank you again and God bless!

John Herring:Missouri

We continue to see God move in the lives of people here in Nixa, MO. Over the past few months, we have been able to baptize 3 people and have seen others grow in their relationship with God. Our desire is to make disciples who would also make disciples. We are seeing this happen and give God all the glory.

It’s such an encouragement to see new believers grasp a truth in the Bible and then turn around and, not only apply it to their lives, but also teach it to others. Be praying that He would continue to give the increase and we would see a harvest take place as we continue to labor here in Nixa.

Eric Johnson:Mexico

We thank you for your continued prayers and support for the work in Mexico. The past few months Kelly has been dealing with some health issues which have caused us to be in the U.S., off and on, for her treatment. During this time God’s grace has been evident in more ways than I could list. Since the month of May Tommy and Sara Rose have been with us in Pachuca as they prepare to move to the place

mission:news

42 ::: January - February 2015 | mission:world

where they will plant a church. Their presence and service has been a great blessing to our family and the church. My older brother Grady and his wife Denise have been assisting with the church in Pachuca. We are so grateful for his availability and willingness to go the extra mile during this time. Keep Mexico in your prayers. God Bless you.

Church. Bro. William Flores was ordained as Na Koa’s new pastor, and Bro. Rey Ramirez was ordained as deacon of Alii Baptist Church.

Mahalo to Bro. Larry Barker for his help in these successful events.

for us and our Buddhist friends, Jack, Pare, and Gai. Thank you for your prayers, love, and support!

Dough Lee:Philippines

Fil Kakilala:Philippines

We ask for your prayers as we continue our furlough through early 2015. If you are interested in having us come to your church, please contact me at (808) 2248905. I am working on getting my dual citizenship and acquiring a Philippine passport and permanent residency visas for my wife Lisa and daughter Justine to live in the Philippines.

Rejoice with us in the successful organization of the second church plant in Hawaii, Na Koa Baptist

What a tremendous blessing to start the New Year, 2015, here in the Philippines. God has enlarged our territory and we are now teaching extension classes from the Bible College in Hong Kong. Skype classes started in October and we will travel to Hong Kong in February to teach a one-week seminar and workshop.

Please pray that God will bless this time as we work with Refuge Baptist Church and their pastor and family.

If you can help with funds for the travel expenses and material for this music seminar, please send funds to BMA Missions and designate them for “Doug Lee Work FundsHong Kong trip.” We are grateful for God using His people to supply the needs.

Brandon Lingle

God is helping us learn the Thai language and we want to praise Him for that. This has given us opportunities to share Jesus with our friends here in Bangkok, Thailand.

We soon come to our limit of what we can say in Thai about our Lord, but it is our prayer that our joy and love helps fill in the gaps. Please pray

Don Newsom:Philippines

It is beginning to look like Angie and I are finally going to get to come to the States for furlough. We are supposed to get her Passport, (finally), on September 19. Then, we will make an appointment to apply for her American Visa. I don’t even remember the last time I was in the States for Christmas. But, it has been four years since my last furlough.

Much too long!

We are seeing renewed interest in the Gospel message among the people in the two small islands where we have Churches, about a two-hour boat trip from the tip of our island. This is true especially among the young people. The biggest obstacle in ministering to them is that both islands are just on the edge of the open sea. Much

January - February 2014 | mission:world ::: 43

of the time the seas are very rough making it very dangerous to visit them. These two islands were both devastated by the Super Typhoon Yolanda. One of the reasons for the increased interest in the Gospel is because of the very generous response from many of you in the States. They have seen and have been impressed with your Christian love for them. Thank you for being so kind.

Dorcas House continues to be one of our most rewarding ministries of Here’s Hope. With your help, we have been able to be a part of helping to place many abandoned children with loving parents and families they can call their own.

We have also had the privilege of providing love and security to other children who, through no fault of their own, have had to live in an abusive environment. Thank you for being our partners in this tremendously important work.

Anthony Pennington: New Mexico

I promised in the last mission:world to give an update on the summer activities. It was a great summer with over 40 professions of faith. The Neighborhood Mercy Church also celebrated her first baptismal services. Thank you all so very much for your faithful prayers and support!

Our vision is “Helping Neighbors Experience A Better Life In Christ.” Sometimes a neighbor may live next door or they may be someone you have just met. Such is the case with Carlos. I met him back in June when one of our summer mission teams was pulling weeds for a servant evangelism project. He asked if his son Carlito could help us. Carlito was attending our Kids Club. I said sure and visited with him for a while. Sometime later I received a call from the manager of the park asking if I had heard about Carlos. He was in jail as a result of driving drunk and having an accident in which his wife and other son an infant were killed. She asked for me to pray for him, which I did and then went to see him. It took three attempts before I was able to see him. As I looked through the little screen and talked to him through the phone, I saw a broken man full of guilt and despair for his sins. I shared with him the good news of the gospel that Jesus came to save us sinners from our sins and give us new life. He was like the publican in the gospels he would not lift up his head. He prayed with me asking for forgiveness from the One who died to pay for his sins on the cross.

I continue to visit Carlos and disciple him in God’s Word. Pray for him and other family members that need Christ. Pray for little Carlito as he heals. Pray for his deceased wife’s family to come to the Lord and began to heal. Yes, a neighbor might be living next door or they might be in a jail cell but love them all the same!

Sean Richards:PNG

We are landing in Papua New Guinea the last week of January.

For the first 5-6 months we will be learning the trade language,

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tok pisin, and the national culture.

Towards the end of that time, we will be spending a few weeks in a tribe for our “bush orientation”.

Upon completion of our national culture and language acquisition training, we will then be forming our team and deciding on which specific tribe we will be moving into in order to learn their tribal language and culture, develop a written form for their unwritten language, form a literacy program, translate the Bible, and begin chronological teaching and eventually Church planting. Please be praying for us as we go through many cultural transitions with our two little boys over the next several months.

Tommy Rose:Mexico

It has begun to feel much more like home since bringing some of our furniture here from the states

and getting Micah enrolled in 1st grade. Now we are all getting back in the swing of the school schedule. Our schedule also includes our home Bible studies and mission points, there are many opportunities to expand our reach as a church and to develop disciples and raise up leaders.

At the same time we are in the process of visiting different cities here in Mexico with the hope God will show us where we will start our church plant. We have visited a city called Querétaro in central Mexico that is growing rapidly and could possibly be a good location to begin a new church plant. Please continue praying for clarification in our search, we believe it is important we are where God wants

us. God is truly blessing the work here and we are glad to be a part.

church planting for many years to come. Wantakia is a tribe of 5,000 people, situated at about 6,000 feet elevation in the Central Mountain Range of Papua New Guinea. It’s no wonder they are still among the unreached, this tribe is very remote, the mountains are extremely rugged, and the language is very difficult. As soon as our church planting team has our 3 houses built, we will begin learning language, which will be our job for the next few years.

BJ Sanders:PNG

These are exciting days for the Sanders! We are currently building our house in the tribe of “Wantakia,” where we will be

Find more Missionaries and learn how you can be praying for them at bmamissions.org/missionaries

JANUARY CALENDAR

FEBRUARY CALENDAR

1. Jo Yaebeang*, Thailand Mr. & Mrs. Jared (Nikki) Kathcart**, Smithville, MO 2. Nationals serving the Lord in Peru 3. John Ladd*, Tyler, TX Danny Ballard*, Philippines Sue Jordan*, Zarka, Jordan 4. Victoria Poirier*, Quebec, Canada 5. Diane Ward*, Lifeword, Conway, AR 6. Nationals serving the Lord in India 7. Mr. & Mrs. Brad (Penny) Gathright**, Honduras 8. Buddy Johnson Partnership, Waxahachie, TX 9. Mary Beth Rice*, Conway, AR Noor Jordan*, Zarka, Jordan 10. Phillip Lebedev*, Ft. Walton Beach, FL 11. Children of our missionaries 12. Glenda Sellers*, Lifeword, Conway, AR 13. Nationals serving the Lord in Bolivia 14. Sarah Hebert Hamilton*, Conway, AR 15. Jesse Garrido working with Hispanics in California 16. Mike Poirier Partnership, Quebec, Canada 17. Mrs. John David (Kim) Smith*, Conway, AR Trevor Dodson*, Memphis, TN 18. Ali Chambers*, Memphis, TN 19. Nationals serving the Lord in Belize 20. Mrs. Eric (Kelly) Johnson*, Pachuca, Mexico Jesse Hales*, Dominican Republic 21. Missions Office staff 22. Charles Attebery*, Lifeword, Conway, AR 23. Mrs. Ely (Ana) Brito-Semedo**, Thailand Dalton Herring*, Nixa, MO Mr. & Mrs. Chris (Holly) Huson**, Costa Rica in Language School 24. Violetta Kravchuk*, Orlando, FL 25. Pastors of BMA churches 26. Brad Gathright*, Honduras 27. Mrs. Prashant (Golda) Prakash*, India 28. National serving in Costa Rica 29. Missionaries serving in Creative Access Nations (CAN) 30. Nationals serving the Lord in Myanmar 31. Nationals serving the Lord in Colombia

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Mason Huson* son of Chris & Holly Huson CIS Nationals Alan Johnson*, son of Grady & Denise Johnson Mrs. Matthew (Amy) Prather*, Celina, TX Nationals serving the Lord in Argentina Brad Faulk Partnership, Pasco, WA Nationals serving the Lord in Guatemala Nationals serving the Lord in Burkina Faso Dale Broom*, Ghana, West Africa Nationals serving the Lord in Taiwan Jesse Garrido*, Bell Gardens, CA Nationals serving the Lord in Dominican Republic Logan Williams*, son of Chuck and Logan Williams Nationals serving the Lord in Costa Rica Nationals serving the Lord in Dominican Republic VSM students Nationals serving the Lord in Mexico Nationals serving the Lord in Belize Mrs. John (Louela) Page*, Cambodia Mr. & Mrs. Danny (Rita) Ballard** Philippines Mrs. Michael (Josie) Barton*, Canada Nationals serving the Lord in Philippines World Missions Sunday Nationals serving the Lord in El Salvador Nationals serving the Lord in Chile Nationals serving the Lord in Honduras BJ Sanders*, Papua New Guinea BMAA Department Directors Abram Johnson*, Pachuca, Mexico

* Birthday ** Anniversary