mission:world | New Frontiers

bma america

A

BY: STEVE CRAWLEY LIFEWORD

s Christians living in the West, it is sometimes difficult to imagine the white fields Jesus spoke of in John Chapter 4 applying to us. The demise of Christianity in the United States and Western Europe over the past half-century has been rapid; however, while the influence of secularism and Islam has continued to grow, white fields abound in other places around the world. Our churches must work with a sense of urgency guided by a united, Great Commission strategy. We must send laborers and air broadcasts into these white fields to reap lost souls ready for harvest.

This issue of mission:world will reveal some new fields God has opened for BMA Missions and Lifeword. The upcoming World Missions Sunday is an opportune time for churches to pray for and receive special offerings

to help fund the BMA’s international mission efforts in some of these areas.

Here in the United States, the fields are not so white. In this issue, you will also learn how changes in American culture require changes in how we cultivate the fields of North America. You will see how DiscipleGuide is striving to prepare the next generation of soul winners through their camp and conference ministries. You will also learn how BMA Seminary is building confidence in their students to do evangelism and discipleship by following Christ’s exemplary training ministry through experiential learning.

God is a missionary God; may he bless our efforts to be on mission with him, reaping where the fields are white and cultivating where they are not.

Family of Ministries To help fulfill the Great Commission, the people of the BMA have created a family of ministries. Each has a unique directive, but all have the same Great Commission purpose.

BMA Missions seeks to facilitate churches in fulfilling the Great Commission through assessment, training, coaching, and missionary care.

Lifeword Media Ministries assists in taking the Gospel throughout the world through radio, television, the internet, and mobile devices.

DiscipleGuide Church Resources partners with BMA Churches by providing church resources, workshops, camps, and conferences.

BMA Seminary equips students to become pastors, missionaries, and church leaders.

Moral Action makes sure that the views of BMA Baptist are heard in the halls of Washington D.C. Minister’s Resources Services helps meet the financial planning needs of BMA pastors and staffs.

The BMA Foundation is the endowment instrument for all of the ministries of the Baptist Missionary Association.

2 ::: January - February 2016 | mission:world

Contents

mission:world (USPS 575-320)

Volume 4 - Issue 1 January - February 2016 www.bmaamerica.org Editor Donny Parrish Managing Editor Phillip Rice Design & Layout Jared Eakin Published bimonthly by the Baptist Missionary Association of America, 611 Locust Street Conway, AR 72034 Entered as Periodical Rate at Conway, Arkansas.

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

22

BEAUTIFUL FEET

Reaching the jungle tribes in Papua New Guinea

POSTMASTER Send address changes to: Mission:World P.O. Box 1188 Conway, Arkansas 72033 501.329.6891 Email missionworld@bmaamerica.org Website www.bmaamerica.org Subscription rate is $7.50 per year 65 and older, $1.00 per year Church Plan, 50 cents per month per family

8

Reaching the Leemah

Partnering to take the Gospel to a new people group

4

a changing world

Strategies for delivering the Gospel in a changing world

Lifeword.....................................................................8-11 DiscipleGuide............................................................12-15

Seminary...................................................................16-19 For contact info, websites, and more on the BMA family of ministries, visit BMALife.com

mission:news...........................................................44-47 January - February 2016 | mission:world ::: 3

S E I G E T A R T S G N D I L G R N O W CHA G N I G N A H C A FOR

TT IL KNO S BY: PH N IO MISS

MISSIONS We gathered with the Ratanakiri Baptist Church congregation, along with Doyle Moore, Phil Knott, friends and family to ordain Joseph Soum as pastor of our first BMA church in Cambodia. What a joy to see the four years of discipleship come to fruition!

We have also begun living with Kachok Tribe, one of the smallest people groups in Cambodia. The primary religion is an ethnic, animistic religion. It is deeply rooted in the people’s identity. We praise God for open doors that led us to live with these humble and sweet people. It started as a BMMI medical outreach about 10 years ago and it has been a slow process of building trust and friendship. In time God has opened their hearts to receive the Gospel. At the present time there are 18 baptized believers. We see new faces in our Bible study and from 30 to 40 in our children’s church. Please continue to pray for our team.

John and Louela Page, BMA Missionaries

M

any mission strategies will rise and fall with people’s interests, technological changes, crises, and other transient issues. But, stepping back and observing the world of missions as a whole, we can see fairly clearly that there are few things more important than making disciples that in turn make disciples. In the statement above from John Page, those “four years of discipleship” resulted in a new pastor, an effective leader and someone who is reproducing himself in others.

And the work that he mentions among the Kachok tribe is also a story of discipleship and training.

Young men and women from the villages, are brought to a training center, given an education and the gift of literacy. Better yet, they are given the gift of hope in Christ. They learned to speak Khmer, the national language, and some do well with English. Trained and equipped with practical skills for life and for ministry, these disciples are now returning to the villages to teach others. They can work in languages like Brao, Lao, Krung and Kachok; language skills it would take missionaries years to master. There is an important lesson here; “Disciple a few and you can reach many.”

January - February 2016 | mission:world ::: 5

MISSIONS That is built into our vision statement for BMA Missions: The vision of BMA Missions is to facilitate a discipleship-based multiplication of disciples, leaders and churches. Missionary efforts should reflect this common philosophy by implementing a well-defined vision and plan of work, establishing ministries that are reproducible and sustainable, and pursue clear entrance and exit strategies.

As with this news from John and Louela, the stories and articles in Mission:World magazine highlight important shifts in our strategy for reaching the world.

These changes are an acknowledgement of the changing realities of our world and form the basis for our future strategy of reaching the lost. Here are a few:

SERVING FROM ANYWHERE

One of the things making a huge impact on missions is the shifting geographic center of Christianity, if, indeed, Christianity can even be said to have a geographic center anymore. There are more people who call themselves evangelical Christians in Latin America and Africa than in North America and Western Europe.

Christianity has experienced phenomenal growth in Asia over the past few decades. Because of this, we find that missionaries now come from almost anywhere and go almost anywhere. Did you know that about 22% of our current American missionary staff is made up of foreign-born missionaries? Now, I don’t mean they are foreign nationals working in their home countries.

These are missionaries sent from America. They come from places like Jordan, Lebanon, Cape Verde, Thailand, Japan and the Philippines among others, immigrated to the United States and have returned to their home countries or to other nations. At the same time, receiving nations (where we send missionaries) are also now sending nations. Mexicans are going to Venezuela, Nicaraguans to Cuba, Costa Ricans to Peru, and Bolivians crossing the border into Paraguay.

Filipinos are among our pioneer missionaries in China, Vietnam and Laos, doing cross-cultural work, and bi-vocational Filipinos are ministering to Filipinios in Australia, Toronto, Bahrain, Singapore, and Moscow just to name a few.

BMA Missions and its representatives is now more culturally diverse than ever before, so we must come to terms with a great deal more diversity than ever before.

SERVING IN CITIES

Another trend affecting missions is the urbanization of the world. Since 2008, for the first time in history,

6 ::: January - February 2016 | mission:world

more than half of the world’s population resides in and around cities. That shift creates a different set of needs and requires a different kind of response. People in cities live differently than those in rural areas. Life is less attached to clan and family and more attached to neighborhoods and employment. Poverty takes on a different character in cities. People movements have different motivations. Social networks in cities have a different way of operating than in tribal cultures.

At one time the image of a missionary was a man in khaki shorts and a pith helmet trying to convert cannibals while trying to stay out of the cooking pot himself. Now, the missionary is more likely a city dweller, working with ethnically diverse populations, putting up with public transportation and traffic jams, and trying hard to influence those who can influence others in local neighborhoods and networks. All of these trends will continue with even more intensity and all of them must be taken into account as we make plans to reach the world for Christ.

I recently spent a month working in Southeast Asia with missionaries Doyle Moore and Jo Jo Vallejera in Hong Kong; Danny Ballard and Vincent Ferrer in Manila; and Siripong Yabaeng and Eli Semedo in Bangkok, Thailand. These are some of the world’s great cities and also home to BMA Mission work. As a matter of fact, about 80% of current BMA International missionaries work in or near a major city.

The Joshua Project identifies three levels of evangelization among language or people groups. ◉ RED: Unreached - 6,564 (40.2%) Level 1.1 - Very few, if any, known Evangelicals.

5% or less Professing Christians Level 1.2 - Evangelicals between 0.01% and 2%.

5% or less Professing Christians ◉ YELLOW: Nominal to Formative - 2,777 (17.0%) Level 2.1 - Very few, if any, known Evangelicals.

More than 5% Professing Christians Level 2.2 - Evangelicals between 0.01% and 2%.

More than 5% Professing Christians ◉ GREEN: Significant to Established - 6,974 (42.7%) Level 3.1 - Evangelicals between 2% and 5%.

More than 5% Professing Christians Level 3.2 - Evangelicals greater than 5%. More than 5% Professing Christians

www.joshuaproject.net

The great majority of the unreached and nominally reached live in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.

The great majority live in urban areas. You are more likely to find the unreached by crossing the street than by crossing the river. So, how will BMA Missions respond? What strategies will make the greatest impact for the kingdom? It is, of course, impossible to predict all the details. God’s call is personal but called and sent missionaries can be amazingly creative when they see a need. In villages or cities, the unreached should be our heart and our cry to God. The Challenge of the Unreached. It is estimated that 86% of the world’s Hindu, Muslims and Buddhists do not personally know a Christian.

SEEING WHAT GOD IS DOING

The directions we set for our missionary efforts today have an impact on how our missionaries will operate in the future. God continues to set new opportunities before us. The key is to remain aware enough of what he is already doing in the world that we can join in and fulfill our roles as emissaries of his kingdom.

January - February 2016 | mission:world ::: 7

LIFEWORD REACHING THE LEEMAH BY: RICK RUSSELL LIFEWORD

C

omplex designs often make the most beautiful tapestries. Likewise, what might seem to be complicated histories and partnerships can make for beautiful efforts in mission work. It would seem that God is weaving some beautiful partnerships in one of Lifeword’s latest projects — reaching the Leemeh people.

Earlier this year, Galcom, a sister ministry that makes and distributes the solar-powered radios Lifeword distributes, asked Lifeword for help in reaching this completely

Muslim, African people group through well-drilling, medical missions and radio broadcasts.

In the past, Galcom has given more than $20,000 worth of radios for Lifeword to distribute in Cambodia and Laos.

Needless to say, the relationship between the organizations is strong. (For more history on Galcom and the Leemeh, see the September 2015 issue of Inside Report .) Admittedly, the term Leemeh is not a real-world label but an alias Lifeword created

8 ::: January - February 2016 | mission:world

for the safety of Galcom’s “tent-making” missionary who is currently integrating with the Leemeh community and learning the language.

Coordinating with a well-drilling ministry and organizing a medical missions team is a complicated but fairly straightforward affair.

But reaching the Leemeh with radio broadcasts presents challenges that won’t allow for the tried-and-true method of installing a Low Power FM

January - February 2016 | mission:world ::: 9

“...the Leemeh language isn’t widely spoken, and it will be rare for the people to hear a broadcast in their native tongue.”

(LPFM) station in the village. In a predominantly Muslim community, such a station and those who run it could be easily identified and targeted — assuming outsiders would even be able to install the station in the first place. It is obvious that any signal broadcasting a biblical message will have to reach the Leemeh people from a safe distance.

Fortunately, Trans World Radio (TWR), a Christian organization that broadcasts around the world in over 230 languages, already has a high-power station that broadcasts over Leemeh territory. The station could reach the Leemeh broadcasts in Swahili, but TWR has agreed to sell

Lifeword some airtime to broadcast programs in the Leemeh’s language. While Lifeword doesn’t have a Leemeh-speaking missionary, another sister organization (which, for safety’s sake must not be named) already has created a series of about seventy Bible storytelling programs in the Leemeh language. The stories are from the Old Testament, which is respected by Muslims, but they build upon each other in a way that point toward the coming Christ. An overtly Christian program would likely be ignored or out-and-out shunned. In order to draw attention, Lifeword is planning on creating a special program that

LIFEWORD deals with cultural issues relevant to the Leemeh (current events, health advice, etc.) to air as a lead-in to the Bible stories.

Unfortunately, the TWR station at hand broadcasts an AM frequency. The Leemeh who do have radios own low-quality FM-only receivers.

In addition to getting a biblical message into a Muslim area safely, this AM/FM conundrum presents major challenge number two.

Re-enter Galcom and some out-of-the-box thinking.

During a recent brainstorming conference call, the Lifeword and Galcom team composed an unorthodox if not somewhat convoluted but beautifully creative solution that goes as follows: Galcom is going to manufacture special FM radios that can receive an AM frequency and then rebroadcast it as an FM frequency without the owner of the radio needing any special knowledge of the device or even knowing that the conversion and transmission is taking place.

The radios can be locked in to receiving the TWR broadcasts on the AM dial and then transmit that station on an FM frequency to other nearby FM radios. The transmission of the TWR broadcast can occur even if the receiver/transmitter radio is set to receive and play a different FM station.

That solution eliminates potential LPFM targets and makes the TWR station available to the community.

The radios will be distributed during well drilling and medical missions trips, and the community will be encouraged to tune in to the Lifeword shows. This should be quite effective as the Leemeh language isn’t widely spoken, and it will be rare for the people to hear a broadcast in their native tongue.

Please pray for the Leemeh people as well as Lifeword and partners as they go forward with their plans. Lifeword hopes to send a well-drilling team to start the process by the end of the year.

January - February 2016 | mission:world ::: 11

BY: DONNY PARRISH BMA AMERICA

DISCIPLEGUIDE

H

ow then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?

And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?

And how shall they hear without a preacher?

All three of these questions that Paul asked in Romans 10 are still valid today. They are missional questions. They are questions that DiscipleGuide endeavors to answer every day.

Culture plays a huge role when it comes to reaching people for Christ. When it comes to reaching American junior high and high school students, understanding the land they live in and the culture that they face every day is essential in helping them understand the love of Jesus.

For the past twenty-five years the BMA has been blessed with a conference that comes alongside pastors, student pastors and volunteer student ministers in their efforts to reach students. SOAR has ministered to thousands of kids, seen hundreds give their lives to Christ and has been an encouragement to hundreds more. It has become an annual rite of passage for BMA students. For many it is the highlight of their year.

SOAR began as a vision of Bobby Tucker over a quarter century ago. As director of BMA Youth Department and later BMA Department of Church Ministries, Bobby had a dream of providing an opportunity for all students of the BMA to gather in one place to hear the Word of God spoken in a language that they could understand and in a way that would relate to the culture that they lived in. Twenty-five years later that same vision is still intact. And the results have been amazing.

SOAR has grown from just a dream and a very small conference to a major event that takes well over 100 team members to produce. From making hotel accommodations for up to 3,000 people, to providing adequate parking, to security, to food vendors, to stage lighting and sound, to booking artists and speakers and caring for hundreds of other details, SOAR takes tremendous effort from a dedicated team, both paid and volunteer. It has become the largest gathering of BMA Baptists in one place anywhere in the world.

Each SOAR session is crafted to weave together a central theme. Every person who communicates on the stage, from the emcee to the musicians and preachers, understand the message of the week. Every session is choreographed to point each attendee toward a central truth from God’s Word and then to challenge him or her to act upon that truth. SOAR is fun, no doubt. Fun is a language that students understand. But the goal of SOAR goes far beyond having fun. The ultimate goal of SOAR is for students to encounter and respond to the work of God in their lives.

SOAR is closely tied to the ministries of all the departments of the BMA. In fact, BMA Missions, Lifeword, BMA Seminary, Central Baptist College (CBC) and Jacksonville Baptist College (JBC) send representatives to SOAR each year. BMA Volunteer Student Missions (VSM) is a major focus of SOAR. Each year there is a midnight meeting for students who are interested in spending their summer on a BMA mission field. Hundreds of kids hear about VSM for the first time at SOAR and respond by going on a mission trip. There are BMA missionaries serving on fields across the world whose first encounter with missions was through a Volunteer Student Ministry trip that they were introduced to at SOAR. In addition, CBC and JBC give away thousands of dollars worth of scholarships to BMA students each year at SOAR. The conference has become their most appealing recruiting field.

The highlight for each SOAR conference is worship. It is amazing to watch thousands of students passionately worship God through music each year.

They sing, they weep, they pray and they seek God. And then the Word of God is presented in all its power and without compromise. Do the worship times look like the worship in most BMA churches? Probably not. The music, the lighting and even the style of the preaching are different. SOAR seeks to speak in the language of the American teenager. But the message is uncompromised. It is the same message preached in thousands of BMA churches each week. SOAR preaches the message of Jesus in a way that students understand and to a culture that is desperate for answers.

January - February 2016 | mission:world ::: 13

DITCHING THE DISTRACTIONS C

hurches from all over the continental United States have been making the trek to Daniel Springs Baptist Camp in Gary, Texas, for fifty years to bring students of all ages to church camp. Some would ask “Why?” Why would sponsors and parents take a week away from family? Why east Texas? Why would they leave the comforts of home? Why would they take a week vacation when they could use that with their own family? Why would they come with a group of adults or students they do not know very well? What makes this so important?

14 ::: January - February 2016 | mission:world

BY: JASON PREWITT DANIEL SPRINGS

That is simple: God’s gospel message works in so many ways.

Something amazing happens when we take the opportunity to allow God to speak to us, but with so many distractions in our lives, the words are hard to hear. Over the years the parts of camp that we remember are important, like the friendships that were made, recreation games played, the ping pong tables, the swimming pool, and changes to camp, but the most amazing thing to reminisce about is how God did something that only he could have done.

DA N I E L S P R I N G S We can only begin to imagine the number of people that surrendered to God’s salvation call, surrendered to some kind of ministry, prayed to recommit their lives, reconciled relationships, broke the chains of sin, healed family relationships or broken hearts, and the list goes on and on. If all those people with camp testimonies about God’s work in their lives came to Daniel Springs, there would not be enough room on the campground.

Yes, the games have changed, the music has changed, the faces have changed, but the saving message of Jesus Christ has always been the same and will always be the main purpose at Daniel Springs.

How exciting is it that we get to be a part of God’s plan to make an eternal difference in people that he brings into our lives? We are always looking for an opportunity to be used by God, and it is so exciting to see those volunteers and parents load up a group and spend their week investing.

Last summer one of the huge blessings we got to see was the twenty summer staff members that spent their summer at Daniel Springs investing in people’s lives. They led Bible study groups and recreation and helped in many areas around the camp, but their main focus was to share the gospel message. It was so exciting to see the summer staff light up when they shared about the life-changing experience of sharing the gospel with a student who accepted Christ’s call.

They can’t even put it into words!

An even bigger blessing is to hear how these summer workers have gone back to school where others see a difference in their lives. The gospel changes us all in different ways. We start off accepting Christ, but then he grows and matures us. Last summer it was moving to see those accept Christ and it was also thrilling to see maturity when young adults lead students not much younger than they are through the gospel presentation.

In the eight weeks of scheduled camp dates, over 150 churches brought more than 2,100 people to camp. God spoke to over 120 campers who answered the gospel call and accepted Christ as their personal Savior. We serve a great God who takes willing workers, forty-four acres in Gary, Texas, hot summer days, and adult sponsors and parents selflessly giving their time and uses all of these components to spread the gospel. How amazing he is and how blessed we are to be a part of his plan. Exciting days are ahead for all of us. We have to keep our eyes open for the God moments and opportunities that he orchestrates for us to share our faith in Him. That could be at a coffee shop, the grocery store, at church or with a group that you bring to Daniel Springs in 2016.

January - February 2016 | mission:world ::: 15

S E M I NA RY

CONFIDENCE IN EVANGELISM BY: DR. DAVID HELLWIG & DR. PHILIP ATTEBERY BMA SEMINARY

16 ::: January - February 2016 | mission:world

C

onfidence is a game changer. Remember when you removed the training wheels from your bike for the first time? It was a scary proposition. I remember my older sister helping me learn to ride a bike by running behind me holding the back of my bicycle seat.

One day I looked back and she was no longer holding on. When I realized I was riding by myself it was a joyful moment, but more importantly, I had confidence.to say, “I can do this!”

The apostle Paul attempted to instill confidence in his young disciple Timothy. In his last known letter to Timothy, Paul wrote, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of

love and of a sound mind.” What was Paul doing?

He was trying to instill confidence in his son in the faith. Where does the believer’s confidence come from? Unlike riding a bike where you psych yourself up to succeed, the believer’s confidence comes from the Lord.

Before ascending back to the Father, Jesus instructed his disciples, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Notice carefully the order of what would happen: power first and then a witness. God not only tells his people what he wants them to do, but he first provides the power and ability to accomplish his task.

As one reads through the Gospels, it becomes apparent that Jesus truly empowered his disciples to do the work he wanted them to accomplish.

His very first command to them was, “Follow Me” (Mark 1:8). The disciples did follow Jesus, observing and learning from the Master. Matthew 9:35 tells the reader what Jesus was modeling for them.

“Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.” In verse 38, he then made a strong appeal by stating, “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers

into His harvest.” The word in the original language translated beseech literally means “to beg or to plead.” The same word is used in Luke 5:12 of the leper who begged for Jesus to make him clean. So Jesus was not simply making a polite request, but directing his disciples to plead for workers to be sent to labor in the harvest of souls.

Notice that Jesus did not ask his disciples to plead to God that he would simply save lost souls, but specifically that God would send workers to lead these souls to Christ. The emphasis was on people who could go and do the work of evangelism; that is, people who are equipped and trained. After training his disciples, Jesus then sent out the Twelve to do the same work. Jesus empowered his disciples first

“The emphasis was on people who could go and do the work of evangelism; that is, people who are equipped and trained.”

January - February 2016 | mission:world ::: 17

S E M I NA RY through demonstration, and then sent them out with authority doing the very things he modeled.

Compare Matthew 9:35 (what Jesus modeled) with Matthew 10:1, 7, 8 (what Jesus sent them out to do).

The Bible says “Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.” He commanded them, “preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.” The implication of Jesus’ request for them to plead with the Father to send workers into his field was that these disciples themselves would feel compelled to go.

Possibly one of the scariest things for believers to do is share their faith with another person.

Sometimes it is fear of rejection or simply fear of not knowing exactly what to say and how to begin such a conversation. At BMA Seminary we have the distinct privilege of helping students overcome the fear of witnessing by giving them confidence in this endeavor. We accomplish this by moving them out of the classroom into a real world environment

18 ::: January - February 2016 | mission:world

where they will engage people with the gospel.

We do not send them out by themselves, but the professors and trained student-leaders go with them to model how to witness to others using the Evangelism Explosion (EE) outline. Once they observe how this is done, we begin to incorporate them into the witnessing encounter little by little and then eventually take off the training wheels and let them take over the presentation as we pray for God to infuse them with confidence.

Are we being successful in helping students overcome their fear and lack of confidence in witnessing? Don’t take our word for it, but listen to the testimony of our students. Stuart Priest, who took DiscipleWay last summer, wrote a reflection paper commenting on the evangelism component.

He explained, “I’m so thankful for the EE training I have received. With this training, not only did I learn a simple method of evangelism, I am now able to reproduce this in other people that I disciple.

The EE training I received has given me a bolder demeanor now. I have a proven method of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.” He further stated, “It is easy to get the idea that to evangelize properly

that you have to be a well-educated theological student. That is simply not the case. Not only can I grasp the concepts of EE easily, I can easily pass this on to other disciples.” Stuart is just one example of our many students who followed and observed a trainer and now feels confident to train others.

In an interview with Jimmy Hendricks, a bachelor-level student, he said, “Prior to Evangelism Explosion I knew I had the responsibility to share the Gospel; however, I never had confidence until I took DiscipleWay and Evangelism Explosion. I gained a lot of confidence.

It really encouraged me to fulfill the Great Commission. It gave me ability and understanding. God used it to change me and embolden me to share his Word. In the past, there’s been an invisible barrier in my thinking between ‘I can’t’ to ‘I can.’ Evangelism Explosion has given me something to build on. Also, I’ve helped students and seen them grow to say, ‘I can do this.’ It is encouraging to see others coming behind me and develop that confidence in witnessing.”

Another bachelor-level student, Robert Simpson, said that the method learned helped bring “reassurance that it is not up to us. It is the power of the Word of God. The structure makes it much easier to introduce faith.” Contrasting before and after his learning experience at the seminary, he said, “Before learning DiscipleWay and Evangelism Explosion it was kind of like having a blank canvas and being asked to create a masterpiece without tools, guidance, or instruction. It placed all the pressure on me to do something I’m incapable of doing. It sounds elementary, but now that I’ve been trained it’s like painting by numbers. I know how, have a strategy.

It’s not up to me to create but to do what’s already there. I’ve been given tools and instructions. The one thing that created most anxiety before was thinking ‘How do I do evangelism?’ but Evangelism Explosion relieved that. I am glad for the emphasis on creating disciples and not just the evangelism part of it.”

Clearly, students at BMA Seminary are gaining confidence not only in personal evangelism, but in making disciples as well. Making disciples is at the heart of the Great Commission given by Christ to his church. Since incorporating DiscipleWay into the curriculum at BMATS, many students have been given a tool whereby they can confidently fulfill the Great Commission in their personal ministries.

Just as God wanted workers for his field in the first century, workers are still wanted in the twenty-first century. It is imperative that we continue to train others so that they may possess the confidence in the Lord to share their faith and disciple others.

Remember, Jesus said, “Freely you received, freely give.” Let us not bottle up what we have learned, but let’s pass it on to others for the glory of the advancement of God’s kingdom.

January - February 2016 | mission:world ::: 19

PNG

BEAUTIFUL FEET A

fter passport difficulties, thirty hours of travel, six airplanes and hours of layovers, we had finally reached the climax of our travels – the helicopter ride into Pinji Village, Papua New Guinea (PNG).

Our four team members squeezed into the overloaded helicopter that would carry us to our destination. The village we had traveled across the globe to visit was only thirty minutes away. Our excitement grew more and more as the ground below began to get smaller and smaller. The beauty of the mountainous country of Papua New Guinea left us all at a loss for words.

22 ::: January - February 2016 | mission:world

BY: JORDAN BOWEN & SARAH HAMMONTREE

Some mountains were blanketed with trees while others were like velvet. Scattered miles across the array of mountains, little columns of smoke would appear, marking the existence of a small village down below.

The helicopter carried us around the side of one mountain where down below a village came into view.

As we began to get closer we could make out what seemed to be ants running down the mountain to the

Jordan Bowen and Sarah Hammontree (middle) during a recent trip to Papua New Guinea

“Among the crowd, thirteen faces stood out. The faces of three families that had left everything and everyone behind to come introduce the Wantakian people to ‘God’s Talk’.”

place we would land. As the chopper prepared to land, a wall of dust covered everything surrounding us.

When the dust settled we could see that all the people in the village (Wantakians) had left their homes and were running to come greet us. Their unprotected feet where covered in dirt, but because of their eagerness to make us feel welcome, they were oblivious to it.

Among the crowd, thirteen faces stood out. The faces of three families that had left everything and everyone behind to come introduce the Wantakian people to “God’s Talk.”

Jeremy and Mandy Hambrice with their daughters Paisley and Miley; BJ and Jill Sanders with their kids Sophie, Olivia, and Graham; and Jack and Lael Crabtree with their daughters Nora and Rynn, are the families that courageously answered God’s call to move as missionaries to PNG. Our team wanted to visit these January - February 2016 | mission:world ::: 23

couples to learn about their ministry and what led them to bring their seven kids (all under the age of five) to this village.

Three small structures of plywood and beams have become homes to the families. To accustom themselves to the way of living, they spend as much time as possible with the natives to learn their culture. One evening we were invited to join a native couple in their small, round hut for a traditional dinner. Eight of us squeezed into the tiny structure and sat knee to knee around the fire, which was the center of the hut.

The men sat facing the door, as the women were to sit closer to the front of the round home. Despite where we were sitting, the thick smoke from the fire filled our eyes and stuck to our clothes. Our hosts, Nick and Melon, made sure we were comfortable and were eager to hear our stories and tell their own. As Nick kept conversation with us, Melon was busy preparing our food.

Our first food to try was a long stock of sugar cane. We learned how to use our teeth to take off the hard outside to reveal the sugary liquid inside. After our sugar cane, we received vegetables that Melon had warmed in the ashes of the fire along with plain ramen noodles (a treasure to the people) mixed with boiled greens.

The sun was gone and the only light was the small glow of the fire. We used our hands as utensils as we listened to Nick’s story of meeting his wife and his role in the village. This was an experience we would never forget but one that led us to want to learn all the more about the work these missionary families were here to do.

24 ::: January - February 2016 | mission:world

These missionaries felt the Lord leading them to reach an unreached people group and by pairing with New Tribes Missions, they received the training needed to bring the gospel to a people with no written language. In the week that our team would spend with them, they would walk us through their mission strategy.

CULTURE AND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

The first stage of their mission strategy is Culture and Language Acquisition (CLA). To learn an unwritten language, these missionaries sit through “culture events,” which help them understand the way of living in this village. Culture events can include cooking, cutting firewood, gardening, etc. While we were there, we got to learn the art of making and shooting a bow and arrow.

All of us sat in a circle in the small round home of a man named Ekenna. He had laid out the five parts used to construct an arrow. It was our goal to learn the names of each part. Ekenna would point to an object and say its name in his language then move to the next object. As he repeated this process each one of us carefully listened to every word he said and learned which object went with which word.

Then came the test. One at a time we crawled to the back of the hut to display what we had learned. He would say a word and we would point to the object that we thought paired with that name. During this time one of the missionaries took pictures of each object. Then he had Ekenna say the name of the words into a phone.

PNG This way, the missionaries could make flash cards to study later at home.

The missionaries will continue to participate in cultural events and study hours in their homes to learn the language. The entire process will take about five years for them to learn the language fluently.

TEACH LITERACY

Once the language is learned, the missionaries will develop an alphabet and begin to teach the Wantakian people how to read and write. The Wantakian people have never been in a school setting, so teaching them literacy every day will be a challenge.

Some may ask why the missionaries will spend so many years learning the language and then teaching it to them. When the gospel is presented in the Wantakians’ mother tongue, it will be more effective. When people hear the Word in their heart language, they are able to connect with it and understand it on a level they would not have otherwise.

CHRONOLOGICAL BIBLE TEACHING

This step (CBT) is teaching “God’s Talk” from Genesis to Revelation through a series of eighty lessons. We wondered the reason for starting with Genesis to present the gospel instead of starting with Jesus on the cross. We learned that the importance of starting at the beginning was to show the Wantakians the redemptive story line of the Bible.

By starting at the beginning of God’s Word, the Wantakians will hear God’s truth in its entirety. If the missionaries start with Jesus dying on a cross, the village would not fully grasp the need for a Savior.

They would not fully grasp the need for a Savior without understanding sin. They would not understand sin without knowledge of the law. They would not understand the law without knowing the holy God who gave it.

The point of starting with the beginning of the Bible and working all the way through is to show the Wantakians the whole truth and avoiding any distortion or mixture with any of their current beliefs.

DISCIPLESHIP, CHURCH PLANTING, AND GROWTH

Through CBT and the work of the Holy Spirit, prayerfully, Wantakians will accept Christ, which will be the beginnings of the first church in this village.

This church will be the platform from which the

missionaries will train and launch disciples to do the Lord’s work.

The missionaries will begin to disciple the Wantakians and help them dig into the Bible that will now be written in their language. With these tools, the missionaries will lead the Wantakians so that they will become the leaders, so that they will pastor the churches, so that they will begin to disciple their families, so that they will go spread “God’s Talk,” and so that they will plant churches in the surrounding villages.

Before leaving, we sat down with the missionaries to talk about all the things we had experienced. Mandy Hambrice shared Isaiah 52:7, “How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news…”

To us, their feet are lovely because of the sacrifices they have made to leave their homes and live on the other side of the world to share Christ. But Mandy explained it differently: “Our desire is that the only feet that would be seen as beautiful are the feet of the Wantakians as they one day carry God’s talk along the mountains.”

What a wonderful thought, that one day the very people whose feet are unprotected, filthy, and cut up will have the most beautiful of feet as they carry the good news of “God’s Talk.”

January - February 2016 | mission:world ::: 25

PLANTING WITH A “KINGDOM MIND”

BY: ANDY COMER & DR. JASON AULTMAN ANTIOCH, CONWAY

TEXAS

DO WE HAVE TO TELL PEOPLE ABOUT JESUS?

A

fter Erin and I decided that we would follow God’s leading to plant a church, we sat down with our oldest daughter to try to explain the big transition that was coming our way. We told her how we sensed God leading us in a new direction, and how we would have to move from our current home, city, and friends. We shared with her how our motivation was to tell people about Jesus. For a six year old, she took it well; in fact, extremely well! At least so we thought.

A few weeks later, after our stuff was packed and the house was emptied, nothing was left but the echo of our voices. That’s when she broke down. My wife and I looked at our daughter and calmly asked, “What’s wrong?” She replied, “Do we have to tell people about Jesus?” All Erin and I could do was grin.

As I have thought about that innocent question, I have realized that the honest answer is “No.” We do not have to tell people about Jesus. No one is twisting our arms or threatening us to do so. Yet there remains this strong desire to go and tell.

Her question really has its root in another question: Why plant a church? I was pastoring a growing, healthy church where I had invested years of my life developing friendships, trust, and security. It’s crazy to think about giving up all of that to start from scratch in an area where there are no friends, no trust, and no security.

Are we crazy? Perhaps. However, I’m of the firm belief that we would be crazy NOT to go. It would be crazy to run from the will of God. Who am I to tell the Creator, “No, I like my life just the way it is. Find someone else please.” I was at the point in my life where I could not sing “I surrender all,” while living “I surrender some.”

I am extremely excited about this opportunity, and it truly has been a step of faith. Over the last several months, I have seen God do some pretty incredible things to bring us to where we are today. I’m so thankful

BY: ANDY COMER ANTIOCH, CONWAY

that God opened the door to plant through Antioch Baptist Church in Conway, Arkansas. Sure, I could have ventured out on my own or contacted some churchplanting network, but the truth is that churches plant churches. When Pastor Jason Aultman first shared with me the vision he had for planting a church, I was all in.

There were four things specifically about his approach that excited me the most.

1. THE VISION TO SERVE ON STAFF For approximately a year or so, I have the opportunity to serve alongside the staff at Antioch. Like an apprenticeship, I will be able to spend time learning the culture of Antioch, training for church planting, and developing an action plan for once I get on the field.

By serving on staff here, the church will be personally connected with their church planter.

Andy Comer, church planter to Texas, and family

January - February 2016 | mission:world ::: 27

2. THE VISION TO SEND A TEAM One of my main objectives while here in Conway is to develop a launch team that will be a part of the new church plant. People with a kingdom mindset who will pack up their families and relocate. Statistically, so many church planters fail because they go at it alone. Having a team gives the church plant a solid start and is also a tremendous help to the planter.

3. THE VISION TO STAY IN CONTACT The day we move to start the new church will not be the end of our contact with Antioch. Pastor Jason and the church will remain in contact and be a part of the new church moving forward. Beyond financial assistance, they will be our biggest prayer warriors and will send missions

teams to serve in various ways. Antioch will not be a mother church in name only. They will be directly involved in many aspects of the new church.

4. THE VISION IS KINGDOM MINDED Nearly every time I share with someone that a church in Conway, Arkansas, wants to plant a church in the Austin, Texas, area, the response is always puzzling. “Why would a church in Arkansas want to plant a church in Texas?”

My response has always been, “Because they are kingdomminded.” Why does a church in Colorado plant a church in Mexico? Why do churches in Australia plant churches in the United States? The answer is always the same. They are kingdom-minded churches who seek to make an impact on the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

REACHING GEORGETOWN

I

wasn’t around in 1925 when Antioch Baptist Church began. I imagine when discussing what to call the church the conversation went to Acts.

It’s there that we learn something about another place called “Antioch.” Acts 11 says, “the disciples

28 ::: January - February 2016 | mission:world

BY: DR. JASON AULTMAN ANTIOCH, CONWAY

were called Christians first at Antioch.” I wonder if some of those charter members discussed how they wanted to be a church that not only wore the label of “Christian” but really demonstrated what it meant to be a follower of Christ, like the believers in Acts.

TEXAS Another piece of the conversation I imagine took place is the fact that Antioch in the Bible was a sending group. Acts 13 tells us they sent out a couple of guys named Saul (Paul) and Barnabas.

That sending became a catalyst that God used to bring about profound, eternal results, including the launching of many churches.

I began to wonder several years ago if the things that were said of Antioch in the Bible could be said of Antioch in Conway. Were we being strategic and passionate about contributing to the spread of the gospel? The idea of becoming a church that was intentional about planting churches began to simmer. That simmer has now reached a boil, and we are excited to be entering a new churchplanting venture.

The goal in planting wasn’t to put another church ten minutes down the road for the convenience of our members. We wanted to plant something beyond the reach of our geographic limits.

We thought it made sense to identify a place that bore some similarity to our current location.

We haven’t done everything right where we are, but where we are is what we know best. Trying to take what works in a farming town and make it work in New York City (or vice versa) probably wouldn’t be a great idea. We felt there would be wisdom in targeting a place that reflected some commonality to our community. (Things such as population, projected growth, demographic make-up, etc.) All of this was run through the filter of God’s leading.

We didn’t want to pick a place and presume God was obligated to bless our plans. Neither did we want to put a map on the wall, throw a dart at it and assume God would guide the dart to the right location. We sought to follow God’s guidance, while exercising the diligence to use the tools he has put at our disposal.

One other factor that played into the identification of a location was a look at the Baptist Missionary Association (BMA) as a whole. We didn’t want to get so far removed from fellow churches that the planter felt isolated, but we did want to help stretch our associational boundaries by targeting an area that didn’t have a cluster of healthy BMA churches. In order to visualize this, we mapped all the churches in the BMA of America so

we could literally see “where we are.” Through this process the area of Georgetown, Texas, (a suburb of Austin) began to come into view.

Another obvious question was “Who will lead this effort?” This has been a multiple-year process, praying for God to bring the right person. Our intention has been to one day bring this person on board with us for an extended time to help prepare, get a running start, assemble a team, and prepare to launch. We are excited to be at that point in the process. Andy Comer has joined our staff and we couldn’t be more excited. His humble heart, giftedness, and the faithfulness he has demonstrated exemplify the kind of person we have been trusting God to provide.

If I were to start a new church today I’m not sure I would call it “Antioch.” Not that I don’t love our name…it’s just not a name that people are familiar with. If they don’t know the book of Acts, they probably don’t know what an “Antioch” is. I sure do love what Antioch in Acts was about, though. And I hope that in a hundred or so years if anyone thinks back to the Antioch in Arkansas in 2015, he or she will say, “Those folks really demonstrated what it meant to be followers of Christ, and they sure were a sending group.” I hope that can be said of all of us – regardless of the name.

CULTURE IS ALWAYS CHANGING BY: LARRY BARKER MISSIONS

C

ulture always trumps strategy. What does that mean? Paul said it well in 1 Corinthians 9:22, “To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” Others have expressed the same idea since Paul, but in different ways. Dr. Ed Stetzer says that we can remain “biblically sound and culturally relevant.”

Russell Moore has recently written Onward, which addresses “engaging the culture without losing the gospel.”

Russell says, “The days ahead will be different than ever before. We may be seen as strange in American culture. We will be forced to articulate things we once could assume. That is nothing to wring our hands over. That is no call to retreat or to surrender, and it’s also no call to keep doing it the way we’ve been doing it, except at a louder volume.” American culture is changing constantly and at a faster rate than ever before. So how does that relate to church planting and reaching people in North America?

David Hesselgrave and Ed Rommen define contextualization as “the attempt to communicate the message of the person, works, Word, and will of God in a way that is faithful to God’s revelation,

30 ::: January - February 2016 | mission:world

especially as put forth in the teaching of Holy Scripture, and that is meaningful to respondents in their respective cultural and existential contexts.” What do we need to change and what should we not change? What is non-negotiable and what is negotiable? How can we communicate the gospel more clearly and why would we not want to do that?

Let’s again take a look at the apostle Paul. When God blinded him on the road to Damascus, he says this to Ananias, “Go! For this man is My chosen instrument to take My name to Gentiles, kings, and the Israelites. I

will show him how much he must suffer for My name!”

Think of this man that God chose. He was Jewish by birth and a Pharisee of the Pharisees. He was raised in a Greek world and fluent in the common language of that day. He also had Roman citizenship. He was a man who could thrive very well in all three cultures.

The final phrase of the definition (Hesselgrave and Rommen’s) infers “effectiveness--that communicating the gospel grows out of an understanding of our respondents in their particular context and out of the active ministry of the Holy Spirit in us and in them.” Hesselgrave

and Rommen assert that authentic contextualization must be measured by its “faithfulness to the meanings of the Scripture and its effectiveness or relevance in communicating Christ within the recipient culture.”

They go on to say, “The New Testament has given us the pattern for cultural adaptation. The incarnation itself is a form of contextualization. The Son of God condescended to pitch his tent among us to make it possible for us to be redeemed (John 1:14).” This reality is why we must change our strategies and methodologies in order to better convey the gospel in a way that those

January - February 2016 | mission:world ::: 31

hearing it can better understand and respond!

It is kind of funny that the Bible says that we are supposed to be changing all the time but it seems that many Christians do not like to even hear the word change. Like it or not, things change, people change, styles change, and the culture changes. Yes, followers of Christ must use great discernment in what areas they should or should not change. Some say we should never strive to contextualize the gospel, but is that not what Paul did in Acts 17 at Mars Hill?

It is strange how we decide what is acceptable and not acceptable in the area of culture and contextualization when the Bible does not address it. For example, many believe that preaching without wearing a suit is a sin, but quite honestly, the suit is a contextual manifestation of a particular culture, like it or not. Would it not be OK to wisely and prayerfully choose to change in some areas if it would advance the gospel of Jesus Christ and his Kingdom?

Sometimes the only alternative to change is to pick a rut and make it deeper. The truth is that many churches need to change, and if they do not, they will suffer a slow but sure death of their ministries. Rather than being on mission with Jesus Christ, some have opted to just fellowship with those they are comfortable with and seem content to go around in circles. We are bound to the Great Commission and must move beyond only being concerned for those already in God’s family.

Recently a good friend of mine shared this convicting definition with me; “Failure is succeeding at doing the wrong thing.” Have churches “succeeded”

32 ::: January - February 2016 | mission:world

at becoming gathering centers more than being sending centers on mission for God? Unfortunately, it is far too easy to fall into old and ineffective behavior patterns that are completely unproductive. We are continually drawn to be inwardly focused on ourselves instead of remaining outwardly focused on others.

Albert Einstein defined insanity as, “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Another way to say this is, “If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always gotten.” Jethro told Moses to change the way he was overseeing the Hebrew children. Samuel was told to change the way he was looking for a King. Jonah was told to change the way he looked at his enemies. The Pharisees were told to change the way they worshipped, and six of the seven churches of Asia were told to change or else.

There are some things that definitely need to be changed (Maybe I should have said transformed, because that seems a little easier for some to swallow.) in our lives and in our churches. While my list certainly is not exhaustive, nor is it necessarily prioritized, allow me to suggest a few things: • We need to change the focus from only bringing people to church to being the church to them.

• We need to change our focus from developing more programs to discipling and developing more people.

• We need to change from how many we can gather around us to how many can we can send out from us.

• We need to change from institutional maintenance to i ncarnational influence.

• We need to change from talking about making a difference and start making a difference.

• We need to change from talking about Jesus to acting more like him.

• We need to change from knowing what’s wrong with our communities and doing something to transform them.

There should always be room for change in a follower of Christ. That change needs to happen in our hearts, in our actions, and in our focus. We have spent a lot of time and effort trying to do church better when what really needs to change is for all of us to start acting like the body of Christ. Why is the necessary change to become a Great Commission church often met with anger and resistance? Why is culture seen as the enemy instead of an opportunity for believers to become salt and light?

Reggie McNeal describes the problem well: “Many congregations have become sociologically cocooned, evidencing little interest in reaching beyond their family or tribe, however defined.”

January - February 2016 | mission:world ::: 33

I

BACK TO GEORGIA BY: TODD COX GEORGIA

34 ::: January - February 2016 | mission:world

f you had told me back in 1997 when I got out of the Coast Guard that I would surrender to the ministry and then that God would move us to Texas (away from friends and family), to then introduce our family into the churches of the Baptist Missionary Association (BMA) of America and then get licensed, ordained, elected as a missionary and church planter, start a church in Texas and then God to call me back to Georgia to plant a church north of Atlanta…well, you guessed it…I would’ve said you are crazy!

God certainly is amazing and his ways are so much higher than our ways and it’s probably one of the reasons he doesn’t show us the complete picture all the time; we just couldn’t comprehend what He has in store for us. God had a plan when he called our family to Texas in 2003 and I believe that a big part of that plan was to bring us into the BMA of America so we could serve him in Texas and be sent back out into the mission field of Georgia. It is still hard for me to grasp it all myself.

When I was young, if you asked me what a missionary was or where they went, I would’ve said they are special

GEORGIA

people called by God to bring the gospel to areas of the world that haven’t heard of Jesus, like Africa and the jungles of South America. I never thought I would be used for God in that capacity. Today, that definition is pretty much true except for the fact that now we understand that we are all called to the mission field wherever we go, everywhere we go. We also understand that more than ever, the United States is a mission field and a ripe one for the harvest.

When I grew up in Georgia, Stone Mountain to be exact (just east of Atlanta), everyone I knew went to church somewhere. I graduated High School in 1989 and left to join the Coast Guard, fast forward 25 years and much has remained the same at first glance, and then upon a deeper look I realize much has changed.

Atlanta is a thriving city with a rich heritage, booming city life, activities for all ages, professional sports teams for whatever you follow, and a city that has people from all over the globe living side by side. Atlanta has also become one of the technology capitals of the United States and abroad. You might bump into someone from New England, a Georgia native, a Canadian, and then someone from India in the same Wal-Mart. The South has changed and it’s all good.

The area God began to make clear to our family to plant in is the Forsyth County area. It’s a fast growing county (in fact, one of the fastest growing in the United States for the past ten years) northeast of Atlanta with about 200,000 people and the city of Cumming as the county seat. As I researched the area I found some statistics that showed the number of churches in the area and the number of churched and un-churched people. The numbers were staggering to me. If you

Todd Cox, church planter to Georgia, and family

had asked me to guess the percentage of people that go to church in the area, I would’ve guessed seventy to eighty percent. I was way off. The numbers almost flipped. Fifty-eight percent of the county is un-churched leaving forty-two percent who claim they go to church.

I know that the numbers are even lower though for the churched because research shows that the number of people who claim they go to church is far more than those who actually attend regularly.

The need in the area is great. The harvest is plentiful but the BMA churches are few, in fact, zero in Georgia until this year. God has big plans for Georgia and the BMA is a part of that! Already this year, He has called 3 of us to reach three different people groups in the Metro Atlanta area.

Whether in India, Africa, South America, Asia or the United States, the mission is the same: Share the gospel of Jesus and make disciples. In Georgia, just like a foreign field, we must integrate into and exegete the culture and meet people where they are. We hope to reach people who have been away from church due to a hurt, habit, or hang-up and help break the misconceptions and false perceptions people have of the church. The hurdles are different and the culture is different but the mission remains the same.

Please partner with us in prayer and financially to help bring the gospel to Georgia.

January - February 2016 | mission:world ::: 35

36 ::: January - February 2016 | mission:world

ESTONIA

NEW FIELD - SAME MISSION

E

stonia is a country that many people do not know about, especially its location or its rich history.

Located in the Baltic region of Europe, Estonia lies just south of Finland and just west of Russia. Being a small country of roughly only 17,000 square miles and a population of 1.3 million people, Estonia has been conquered by many different nations over the past 750 years.

During that time period, the country has only enjoyed two periods of freedom.

The first came as a result of World War I with Estonia gaining its independence in 1918. They remained a distinct and free nation until 1940 until they were forcibly brought into the Soviet Union. There it remained until the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, earning Estonia its second period of independence. They remain free to this day and have solidified their position as a European nation through joining the European Union and NATO. The back and forth of nation after nation coming and going over the years culminating with the Soviet occupation has developed the hearts and minds of Estonians as being skeptical of outsiders and any form of institution. Many Estonians see visitors as wanting something from them and will think, “Who are you? What do you want? When are you leaving?” Due to this mindset, going to Estonia as an

BY: JUSTIN OWENS ESTONIA

American to share the gospel and plant new churches is a difficult task. Many Estonians have a very high mental wall that is very difficult to get over; however, once you do, they are very friendly, hospitable, and trustworthy.

It takes a long time to get to know the average Estonian, but when you do, they will be friends for life.

Estonians are very proud of their language. The Estonian language is very rich and only spoken by about one million people worldwide. Because not many people speak it, especially outsiders and foreigners, being able to learn and communicate in Estonian first before any English is spoken tends to melt that high mental wall.

Learning their language shows a great respect and love for the people and many of them open up and are very interested in why an American would choose to come and live in a place like Estonia. This presents us with a great opportunity to share the gospel and develop relationships.

Estonia is less than two percent Christian. This categorizes it as an “unreached people group.” This means that they have or have had little exposure to the gospel. Being under former communist control, the people are mainly atheistic. However, this atheistic worldview is not the intellectual style atheism that you read about or see in movies. It is a lack-ofexposure atheism. They have not heard the most basic truths of the gospel. The majority of Estonians never attend church, and those who do only do so on special occasions such as Christmas as an expression of their

cultural identity. (The Estonian cultural and political reawakening of the nineteenth century was led primarily

by Christians, and coincided with a religious awakening.) There are, however, Estonian Christians and churches that are actively spreading the gospel and working to expand the kingdom of God. Our goal as missionaries to Estonia is to see a church planting movement begun and spread over the entire country. The mission of Jesus has not changed and we are called and commanded to help Estonians find their way to Jesus. To do this, God has given us a vision to PLANT. To see Estonia turned upside down for Jesus through: • Partnering with Estonian nationals • Leading people to faith in Christ • Assembling new small discipleship groups • Networking the groups into simple churches • Training leaders to multiply the ministry This mission and vision will allow us to make disciples through an Estonian church planting team using a small group format. Through partnering with Estonian nationals, we will be perceived by Estonians as not just an American-led endeavor, but an Estonian one. This factor will allow us to have a greater impact on the country and see God do amazing things in this nation in need of him.

January - February 2016 | mission:world ::: 37

A New Field in the Philippines

BY: FIL KAKILALA PHILIPPINES

I

t has been said that the Philippines is so saturated with missionaries from just about every evangelical denomination, that there is now little room for new mission fields in this southeast Asian nation. That is, until our fellow Baptist Missionary Association (BMA) believers in Hawaii wondered why in the province of their birth, Scriptural churches are few and rare. They curiously asked why our BMA outreach has come short in reaching the northern tip of the Philippines from where they originated.

38 ::: January - February 2016 | mission:world

So with a list of their relatives’ names and addresses, my wife Lisa, youngest daughter Justine, and I traveled to Ilocos Norte to reach out to the Ilocano people.

That was about two years ago. Amazingly, the Lord has blessed that mission outreach to grow into two thriving congregations. One is in the capital city of Laoag, and the other is in its twin city across the Padsan River, San Nicolas.

One of the goals of church multiplication is to raise national leaders to carry on with the work. Equally

PHILIPPINES amazing is how God called Bro. Armand Corpuz to lead in this new field. I would like to think that I have a part in this godly man’s ministry, but it is all God’s doing. For over two decades, I must say, I have observed Bro. Corpuz’s growth very closely. For one thing, I officiated his wedding to my younger sister Agnes. They now have two talented young sons who are big helpers in the ministry.

Remember I mentioned Lisa, Justine, and I traveled from Hawaii to Ilocos Norte for mission outreach?

Guess who we found there? We saw the Corpuz family laden with suitcases. They shared a testimony that the Lord had called them to move to Ilocos Norte to serve as missionaries. Our hearts beating in the same rhythm for the Ilocano people, we have partnered together in this new field. With a prominent Ilocano last name, Corpuz, the Lord is using this family in leading, baptizing, and discipling new believers in northern Philippines.

From Hawaii to the Philippines, the gospel torch has been passed for church multiplication. Na Koa Baptist Church in Waipahu, Hawaii, is the sending church for the Laoag mission. The Ilocano ministry

is multi-faceted. Known locally as Level Up Ministry, young families are drawn as they reach out to schools, community leaders, and police departments for values training using the Bible as the curriculum.

Level Up has garnered the attention of both the local and national government as the ministry is making a difference in the lives of people.

Please pray and contribute to the Ilocano ministry. Ilocano is the third largest ethno linguistic group in the Philippines. The people are the most migrant among the Filipinos. God can use the Ilocanos around the world. But first we must reach them with the gospel.

January - February 2016 | mission:world ::: 39

M I S S I O NA RY C A R E

BROKENNESS, THE GOSPEL, AND MISSIONARY CARE Y

ou do not have to look far to recognize the state of the world. It is messy and it is broken. Why? Because of Genesis 3 and the entrance of sin. We all know the story.

It involves a tree, a snake, a woman, a man, and a piece of fruit. Brokenness has been here since that moment and will remain until the return of Christ when he will bring with him full and complete restoration of all creation.

But because we are, at this present day, between those two points in time, we are living in the realities of that brokenness day in and day out. Need some examples?

Selfishness, pride, cancer, broken families, sex trafficking, hundreds of abortions daily, orphans, riots, wars, earthquakes, famine. The list could be endless.

As believers, we have hope in the middle of all the brokenness. We have the gospel story that allows us to live with expectant joy that one day all will be made right again. The pain and heartache experience will not last forever. We have a Savior who came and died to bring about restoration and in whom we are already experiencing the healing of our hearts. But this life we live is hard. It is difficult to remember to live in the Light of what is to come. It is hard at times to live like we have a Savior who has conquered the grave on our behalf. It is tough to remember to cling to Christ when we feel like the breath has been knocked out of us.

And yes, I will say it: It is hard even for missionaries.

(Gasp!) This is where brokenness, the gospel and Missionary Care collide.

People are always interested in knowing about Missionary Care and what exactly it entails. The short answer is the ongoing preparation, equipping and ministering to missionary personnel so that they may be fruitful in life and ministry.

BY: SARAH HAMILTON MISSIONS

The long answer?

It is shining the Light of the gospel by helping missionaries get to the field better prepared for what to expect. What does it look like to say goodbye to family and friends and board a plane? What conversations are necessary to have with those that are being left behind?

What do we need to take to the field? How are we going to raise funds to live on while we are there? How do I help provide spiritually for my family and myself when the church service is in another language that we do not understand yet?

It is shining the Light of the gospel by helping missionaries become even more equipped while they are on the field. This is done by beginning to think proactively instead of reactively to potential problems and areas of need. Equipping also includes acquiring resources such as books, webinars, articles, or trainings we feel would be beneficial for our missionaries.

It is shining the Light of the gospel by ministering to the missionary families themselves. A major focus for us the past few years has been field conferences. These conferences have been held in Europe and Asia, and they will soon be in South America, where we gather our missionary families together for a week of worship, renewal, and relaxation. We are able to focus on face-toface interaction of encouragement, prayer, and just being together; whereas, we do not normally get this privilege.

We must remember that while the missionaries have gone to preach and declare the glories of Christ to the nations, they also need someone to preach and declare the glories of Christ to their own hearts.

January - February 2016 | mission:world ::: 41

I pray that out of the collision of brokenness, the gospel and Missionary Care comes: A way to deal with leaving a sick and aging mother or father to move to the other side of the world and tell lost souls about the hope we have in Jesus.

A way to help handle the news about a major illness while being a thousand miles away from major support systems.

A way to find peace in the midst of again going back into a country where there are rumors of war.

An email promising prayers for marital struggles.

A listening ear to parents who are watching their children swirl around in the great big world, unsure of how to reach out or what to do.

42 ::: January - February 2016 | mission:world

JANUARY CALENDAR

FEBRUARY CALENDAR

1. Jo Yaebeang* - Thailand Jared & Nikki Kathcart** - Missiouri 2. LPFM Radio Stations (helps spread the gospel) 3. Sue Jordan* - Jordan Danny Ballard* - Philippines John Ladd* - BMMI 4. Scott Attebery* - DiscipleGuide Victoria Poirier* - Canada 5. Diane Ward* - LifeWord 6. Creative Access Nations 7. Brad & Panny Gathright** - Honduras 8. Portuguese Nationals 9. Mary Beth Rice* - Conway, AR Noor Jordan* - Jordan 10. Phillip Lebedev* - Georgia Marcia Okada* - Japan 11. Todd & Paige West** - DiscipleGuide & Missions 12. Glenda Sellers* - BMA America 13. Hispanic Coordinators 14. Sarah Hamilton* - Missionary Care 15. New Church Plants 16. BMMI 17. Kim Smith* - Conway, AR Trevor Dodson* - Tennessee 18. Ali Chambers* - Tennessee 19. Noah Johnson* - CAN 20. Jesse Hales* - Dominican Republic Kelly Johnson* - Mexico 21. DiscipleGuide /Church Solutions 22. Charles Attebery* - BMA Foundation Elisha Hales* - Dominican Republic 23. Ana Brito-Semedo* - Thailand Dalton Herring* - Missouri 24. Violetta Kravchuk* - Florida Chris & Holly Huson** - Peru 25. Missionary Children 26. Brad Grathright* - Honduras 27. Golda Prakash* - India 28. Cambodian Nationals 29. Costa Rican Nationals 30. Indian Nationals 31. Bolivian Nationals

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

Mason Huson* - Peru North American Churches Alan Johnson* - Mexico Amy Prather* - Texas Chuck & Logan Williams** - Washington Addison & Riley West* - Little Rock, AR Missions Office Staff African Nationals Dale Broom* - West Africa Filipino Nationals Jesse Garrido* - California Missionaries in Papua New Guinea Logan Williams* - Washington Ministers Resource Services Michael & Jennifer Hight** - Hispanic Coordinator Church Multiplication Burkinabes Nationals Cape Verdian Nationals Louela Page* - Cambodia Josie Barton* - Canada Missionary in Japan Colby Hight – Benton, AR Malian Nationals Ukrainian Nationals Danny & Rita Ballard** - Philippines BJ Sanders* - Papua New Guinea Pray for World Missions Day tomorrow Abram Johnson* - Mexico World Missions Day 29. BMA Pastors * Birthday ** Anniversary

A review and preview of missionary news from around the world

California:Jesse Garrido

God continues to use us here in Ceres, California, as we continue to minister to the needs of the families that come together weekly for church services, Sunday school and mid-week Bible study. Maria and I are very grateful for your faithfulness of prayer and financial support of this ministry because without your help this would not be possible. Please continue to pray for Maria’s health as she continues to be under doctor’s care and for new opportunities to minister to the unsaved.

share groups a man remarked how his life has changed dramatically because of Celebrate Recovery. He had been a Church member for several years but had never really addressed the issues and struggles in his life. Now he is enjoying the freedom he has found in Christ and is looking forward to sharing his testimony publicly soon.

I am excited about what the future holds for the work here in Honduras. We are currently transitioning the works in Tornabe and San Juan to the complete control of the local church. Our role is gradually shrinking as we turn more and more over to these churches. They are doing an excellent job continuing to reach people and are looking for ways to reach more.

We have also begun to work with some churches in the San Pedro Sula area. We are excited to see the work grow and advance.

Looking forward to more lives changed this year. Pray for us to have wisdom as we continue to work with more churches. We have interest from other Central American countries, so please pray for resources and wisdom to help spread the life-changing message of Jesus Christ.

Dominican:Jesse Hales

Honduras:Brad Gathright

I love hearing people tell me how God has changed their lives.

Last night in one of our open

Thank you so much for praying for our family and the ministry here in the Dominican Republic.

God has been blessing us in many ways and we are excited about the opportunities this new year gives us to see even more of those blessings. Please keep praying

for the trainings that we do with the teachers that they would be effective. Pray for the teachers themselves and also pray that God would call more leaders and especially pastors to step up in the churches. As I am writing this 3 of the 6 BMA churches here are without pastors and this affects every aspect of the ministry of the church. Thank you!

Missouri:John Herring

There are seasons of sowing seeds and seasons of harvest as we move forward in each phase of this new work here in Nixa, MO. Through each season, I am reminded of the greatness of God and the fact that we are in total reliance on Him to move and provide the resources, strength,

mission:news

boldness and even the increase.

With each passing season, our family has seen our faith grow and stretch more than we could have imagined. We know that God is at work to bring glory to His name. We also know that we couldn’t accomplish what we have without your faithfulness to pray and support the work here. Thank you for not only your support but also for remembering us in your prayers continually. They do matter and impact us greatly. God is giving the increase and disciples are being made.

BMMI:John Ladd The Good Samaritan Clinic in Mexico recently had a ‘day of specialists’; six different specialists gave of their time and expertise to see over 240 patients. Special thanks to these physicians from Cd. Victoria as well as the clinic staff for their untiring efforts in directing this effort and providing for the visitors.

It has been a real joy to share physical and spiritual care in the Middle East. Although the situation is completely different from our Latin American customs, the Lord is working and bringing people to Himself independent of the religious backgrounds. Jesus is the answer!

Pray for the neighborhoods we are now serving and sharing the gospel in, Sandstone Trials; Tierra West; Longview; Vista Del Sol and Central & Coors.

Philippines:Doug Lee

God is continuing to pour out His blessings on the BMA Philippines Bible College (BMAPBC) and us. After a full week of classes and studying, the BMAPBC students leave on Friday afternoon to travel to their assigned churches. We have 61 students majoring in Theology, Music, and Religious Education. Every weekend they go out to apply what they have learned and what they are being trained to do. On Saturday and Sunday they conduct Bible studies, youth activities, music evangelism, children’s ministry, choir, visitation, and door-todoor witnessing. As a result they are averaging approximately 65 professions of faith each week.

To God be the Glory! YOUR MISSIONS DOLLARS AT WORK in the Philippines! John 4:35

New Mexico: Anthony Pennington

Thank you prayer partners for supporting us in 2015. God blessed with many praying to receive Christ as Savior! The Neighborhood Mercy Church continues to pray and work to see a multiplication of disciples that make disciples. We are praying to accomplish this by developing a network of house churches.

46 ::: January - February 2016 | mission:world

Mexico:Tommy Rose

We often get caught up in the day-to-day routine, but every once in a while God pays us a visit and corrects our perspective. I had just completed a conference on DiscípuloSoy in Veracruz, Mexico and was heading back home to Pachuca. This particular trip would take me 14 hours to arrive back at my house. It gets interesting about 30 minutes from my house, my jeep begins to stutter and I am unable to get up the mountain. I think to myself, “If only I can get to the top, home is just on the other side”. I didn’t make it home in my jeep that night, returning down the mountain to our mission in Huasca I caught a taxi. At this point in the journey I honestly just

wanted to get home to my family, but it quickly became apparent that God just might have orchestrated this whole deal. The week before a group from Davis Street Baptist Church had helped with a VBS, over 40 kids showed up. Now the driver, a neighbor to our family there in the mission, is curious about the VBS, God and the purpose of the church. Could it be possible that for 2 weeks God was planning out every detail of our lives (and of my jeep) so JosĂŠ could hear the gospel? That is what I believe and know; as we arrived at my house he prayed to receive the gift of eternal life. Thank you God for Your Perspective. Thank you BMA for your prayers that impact the nations.

Keep track with the latest updates from missionaries and BMA departments @ www.bmalife.com

Find more Missi onaries and learn how you can be praying for them at www. bmamissi ons.org January - February 2016 | mission:world ::: 47