mission:world | Partnerships

mission:BMA

god is all about partnerships

“I

thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now.”

The Apostle Paul in Philippians Chapter 1 understood the value of partnerships. He was grateful to his friends in Philippi for their partnership (fellowship) in the ministry God had called him to accomplish. He considered their support of his ministry to be just as favored by God as anything that He was doing on the field.

God is all about partnerships. As God’s ambassadors in this world we are actually partnering with Him to accomplish His kingdom work.

While it’s true that God doesn’t have to partner with people to advance His

BY: DONNY PARRISH | BMA AMERICA work, it is a blessing for us that He does…a blessing and an example.

The Great Commission is an overwhelming proposition for any one local church. There is no church in the world that has all the resources, talents and abilities to reach the world for Christ on its own; however, by partnering with other believers and other churches around the world, the Great Commission is a challenge that we can accept and accomplish.

The Baptist Missionary Association is a partnership plan created and put together by God Himself. We are individuals and churches partnering to reach our communities and the world for Jesus.

God never intended for any of us to be isolated in His service. His is a partnership ministry.

Because of your commitment to this BMA partnership, millions around the world are hearing the Good News of Jesus today. The BMA Family of Ministries (Missions, Lifeword, DiscipleGuide and Seminary) are all the Great Commission partners of your church. This edition of Mission:World features stories of BMA partnerships from around the globe. We hope it’s as much a blessing for you to read as it was for us to compile.

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.

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

mission:world (USPS 575-320) Volume 3 - Issue 2 March-April 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, AR 72034 Entered as Periodical Rate at Conway, Arkansas.

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

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SENDING AND RECEIVING The principle of churches planting churches applies to all people around the world

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

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PHILIPPINES 8,607 Miles of Heartstrings

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SILOAM SPRINGS The joy of planting as a local church

Lifeword.....................................................................8-11 DiscipleGuide............................................................12-14 Seminary...................................................................16-19 For contact info, websites, and more on the BMA family of ministries, visit BMALife.com

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SENDING AND RECEIVING A look at how the biblical principle of churches planting churches translates around the world

BY: PHIL KNOTT | MISSIONS

T

he volunteer student missionary asked a group of children in an impoverished area of Cambodia, “What are your dreams in life? What do you want to do when you grow up?” One boy replied, “I want to be like my brother; he goes through the piles of trash along the street and finds things to sell. He makes money to help our family.” Another replied, “My brother carries drugs, takes them across the border.” A girl spoke up, “My sister is a prostitute. I will be like her, we have no other choice.”

Tinh Hai, a thirty-year-old Vietnamese missionary from Ho Chi Minh City and the daughter of a pastor, chooses to work in Cambodia and not in her home country of Vietnam. Her unique calling and vision is for the hundreds of thousands of her countrymen, displaced by wars and politics, who dwell along the Mekong River in areas around Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She saw a

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people, living on the extreme margins of society, largely forgotten and abandoned. She saw children without a dream and more importantly, children without hope in Christ. Tinh Hai is connected with BMA Missions through our missionary endeavors in Southeast Asia. She is also one of an increasing number of Asians, Latin Americans and Africans that make up a large part of the world’s modern, Christian missionary force.

A new study reveals how the mission field continues to become increasingly global in some surprising ways. The Center for the Study of Global Christianity (CSGC) at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary spotlights research showing that Asian evangelicals are more likely than western evangelicals to say that Christ is the only path to eternal life. This obviously makes an impact on their zeal for missionary endeavors.

Officially, the People’s Republic of China is an atheist country that is changing fast as many of its 1.3 billion citizens seek meaning and spiritual comfort that neither communism nor capitalism seem to have supplied.

Christian congregations in particular have skyrocketed since churches began reopening when Chairman Mao’s death in 1976 signaled the end of the Cultural Revolution. Less than four decades later, some believe China is now poised to become not just the world’s number one economy but also its most numerous Christian nation. Mao thought he could eliminate religion. He thought he had accomplished this, but from what we see today he failed completely.

BMA America “Whenever and wherever there is a significant growth in the number of new disciples...churches are planting churches.”

In China, online searches for the words Christian Congregation and Jesus far outnumbered those for The Communist Party and Xi Jinping, China’s president.

Among China’s Christians are also many millions who worship at illegal underground “house churches,” which hold unsupervised services – often in people’s homes – in an attempt to evade the prying eyes of the Communist Party. Such churches are mostly behind China’s embryonic missionary movement–a reversal of roles after the country was for centuries the target of foreign missionaries. Now it is starting to send its own missionaries abroad, notably into North Korea, in search of souls. “We want to help and it is easier for us than for British, South Korean or American missionaries,” said one underground.

Within the world of BMA Missions, a church’s “sending capacity” is becoming the language of ministry, equally as important as its “seating” capacity. I have noticed this fact in countries

all around the world and could also document the proof: Whenever and whenever there is a significant growth in the number of new disciples, new leaders and new churches one factor is always present—churches are planting churches. In other words, churches become sending agencies. They are factories and not just warehouses. This crosses all languages and cultures, evidence that it must be an abiding, Biblical principle and not just a local or regional occurrence. Another thing we notice in this “sending” paradigm is that effective mobilization is always accompanied by adequate training and equipping. That is a two-sided coin.

On one hand, training those you mobilize helps ensure doctrinal clarity, solid organization and biblical practice and, of course, skills for the task.

On the other hand, mobilizing those you train and equip helps avoid frustration and potential leadership that sits idle.

Churches that have a capacity for sending have an attitude of mission and not just maintenance. They also tend to be more resourceful and less dependent on others to sustain their programs.

More than twenty years ago Susan Choi, a pastor’s widow from Korea, settled with her three daughters in the Caribbean nation of the Dominican Republic of all places, especially for a Korean lady who spoke no Spanish!

As strange as that may seem, her missionary vision helped launch a disciple-making and church-planting effort that has resulted in numerous Dominican churches, pastors and leaders. It also serves as an example of the pioneer missionary spirit that can capture a Korean’s heart as well as an

American’s or European’s. More recently, Filipinos from BMA churches in the Philippines are all over the world—Cambodia, China, Singapore, Australia, Vietnam, Russia, the Middle East and Canada just to name a few. Most are tent makers working on creative access platforms as teachers, nurses, etc.

There are others like JoJo Vallejera with full-time ministries in Hong Kong and China. Central and South Americans are crossing borders to share the Gospel and plant churches—a Costa Rican in Mozambique, Africa; a Bolivian in Paraguay, South America; Peruvians desiring to go to India.

Looking again at the numbers from the CSGC, the country that received the most missionaries in 2010? The United States, with 32,400 sent from other nations. That is a sobering thought and obviously draws attention to the immigrant population, currently the most vital sector for evangelical growth in America. We also learn that most missionaries continue mostly to nations

with a Christian majority. “The top nine receiving countries were home to only 3.5% of the world’s non-Christians but received more than 34% of all international missionaries,” notes the CSGC. “They were home to over 34% of the world’s Christians in 2010.”

Eli and Ana Semedo in Thailand; Prashant and Golda Prakash in India; and Sam and Sue Jordan in Jordan are just the most recent examples of BMA Global Missions coming full circle. All are foreignborn nationals and products of our missionary work in their respective countries who are now serving as BMA Missionaries. All are U.S. citizens and could be in America living the American dream. They have a greater dream, though, to be part of a global community of believers doing Christ’s kingdom work. Like the Apostle Paul, they embrace the missionary spirit. When he wrote to the Romans about his plans to see them, he was dreaming of lands far beyond (Romans 15:23-24).

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PARTNERING TO TELL THE STORY OF JESUS

I

n 2004, my wife Daura and I traveled to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to be trained in Evangelism Explosion. I recall a statement our trainers made about the story of Jesus that resonated with me, and I repeat it often: “The story of Jesus is the greatest story ever told, about the greatest man who ever lived,

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BY: STEVE CRAWLEY | LIFEWORD who offers the greatest gift one could ever receive.�

Lifeword Media Ministries partners with the churches of the Baptist Missionary Association (BMA) to share the great story of Jesus through various media venues. Partnerships are important in fulfilling the Great Commission, as

like-minded churches are stronger together than they could ever be individually. No single church has the ability alone to fulfill the biblical mandate of making disciples of all nations. There is also a scriptural precedent of New Testament churches working together to share the story of

Lifeword

the resurrected Christ. It is for that reason we are associational Baptists. By pooling resources, churches of the BMA are able to support missionaries, produce missionary broadcasts, provide discipleship resources, educate pastors and other personnel to lead churches, and offer other means to promote the overall work. Though each church is autonomous and independent in its polity and governance, cooperating congregations are interdependent in assisting each other to be more effective in achieving God’s ultimate mission.

Telling the story of Jesus effectively at the local, state, national, and international levels requires a unified effort.

Since the BMA is an association of partnering churches with various departments existing for the purpose of serving churches, it is important for personnel within the departments to hear from the churches, particularly from the pastors who serve as congregational leaders. The Proverbs are replete with the admonition that there is “safety in a multitude of counselors.”

Acknowledging this fact, departmental directors have tried to be more proactive in engaging pastors and other leaders through local Town Hall meetings held in various geographic locales and through Think Tank sessions held at the BMA Global Ministry Center. While we would like to see increased participation at

these events, we have received some excellent input from a number of pastors that will help serve as a guiding light as we embark on the final phase of the integration effort. This last phase of integration involves aligning the national departments in such a way that we develop a cohesive ministry plan with the ultimate goal of helping churches become more effective in making disciples.

As the missionary media arm of the BMA, the role of Lifeword is to assist local churches by proclaiming the story of Jesus nationally and internationally through radio, television, the Internet, social media, and our newest initiative—the Tell the Story video series. By engaging Lifeword as part of their Great Commission strategy, local BMA churches are telling the story of Jesus in over thirty languages around the world. Lifeword

USA maintains its offices at the BMA Global Ministry Center in Conway, Arkansas.

Lifeword Asia Pacific is based out of Bacolod City, Philippines.

Lifeword Africa maintains its offices in Ghana, West Africa.

Lifeword also maintains regional production centers in Honduras and Guatemala.

In the past, radio broadcasts have been the primary means Lifeword has used to tell the story of Jesus around the world.

By forging strategic partnerships with doctrinally sound ministries to reach the world for Christ, countless souls have come into the kingdom through the associated efforts of the BMA. Lifeword is one of seven Global Media Partners of Trans World Radio (TWR). (Other partners include In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley, Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef, and Turning Point with March - April 2015 | mission:world ::: 9

Lifeword

Dr. David Jeremiah.) Through Lifeword and other ministries’ partnerships with TWR, the story of Jesus is being proclaimed through media in more than 230 languages and dialects and in more than 160 countries around the globe.

While Lifeword will continue to utilize radio broadcasting to tell the story of Jesus, we are also partnering with churches to build a network of lowpower FM (LPFM) stations.

LPFM technology provides an inexpensive way for local churches to start a radio station virtually anywhere in the world.

The average cost of these lowpower stations is usually less than $1,500, including training and implementation. These stations, with an average range of three

to five miles, enable churches in remote areas to evangelize, disciple, and minister to people in and around their villages and towns through media.

Recent developments with the World Wide Web offer new alternatives for media as well.

Low flying satellites have been launched recently in Hawaii, the Western U.S., Peru, Brazil, Greece, Pakistan, and Australia.

These satellites provide highspeed Internet access to much of the world’s population. Gospel programming in the future will migrate more and more to this new platform, as it provides a lower cost alternative to conventional broadcasting and a larger coverage area.

In addition to producing national and international

broadcasts via radio and Internet, Lifeword also seeks to provide churches with media tools that may be used on a local level to tell the story of Jesus. As we seek to reach our culture with the gospel, it is imperative that churches be effective in communicating with people in society. Social media is not a fad but a tidal wave in our culture— one we cannot afford to ignore as church leaders. It has become an ever-increasing part of the lives of people we need to reach. To assist church leaders in their use of social media within a ministry context, Lifeword launched an initiative this year to provide tools to help with outreach efforts in their local communities. We are working to produce a library of instructional materials and

resources explaining how to utilize social media. This library will consist of videos, articles, and downloadable documents that you can use and share freely.

In addition to help with social media, there are also resources available for designing and developing a website for your church. If you would like to receive updates on availability of these resources, you may sign up at www.lifeword.org/social. If your church has specific needs in the areas of communications and social media, you can reach out by emailing social@lifeword.org, and we will be happy to discuss your concerns in more depth.

Lifeword’s newest endeavor is the Tell the Story series. This initiative involves the use of personal stories and testimonies of God’s faithfulness through various hardships people face.

For example, the beta version of the series involves the story of Hal and Glenda Sellers of Vilonia, Arkansas. This couple, who lost their home in a tornado last April, share how their faith provided strength in a very dark hour. Other stories will relate to the loss of children, spouses, and a series of other challenges. The underlying theme is to reveal how the grace of God sustains us now and how it will ultimately sustain us at the judgment if we place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. In other words, we plan to use personal stories to introduce people to the grand story of Jesus and His resurrection. These personal testimonies will be

posted on the World Wide Web but can also be used in a local context as churches begin to utilize social media in their communities.

Fannie Crosby wrote a hymn that sums up this article quite well.

“Tell me the story of Jesus, write on my heart every word, tell me

the story most precious, sweetest that ever was heard.” History is all about “His Story”! I pray God will bless our efforts as churches of the BMA partner to tell the greatest story ever told, the story of Jesus, to the billions who need the greatest gift they could ever receive, the gift of eternal life.

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DiscipleGuide

BLESSINGS IN PARTNERSHIPS DiscipleGuide is enjoying their partnerships of today while pursuing partnerships for the future.

BY: SCOTT ATTEBERRY | DISCIPLEGUIDE

PA R T NERING BY A S S OCI AT ION Several years ago, I set out to learn the history of the church I was pastoring. I began visiting in the homes of members with the longest tenure, several of whom could remember the church’s infancy. I loved listening to stories of the church’s challenges, growth, and leadership. I was particularly struck by the way the church partnered with other nearby churches over the years. Like many other churches, the congregation began by sharing a pastor with another congregation. The pastor would alternate preaching between the two congregations weekly.

The willingness of both churches to partner was the key to survival for both congregations.

At other times in the church’s history, several local churches would come together for special revival services. Their partnership allowed the churches to share costs and afford to pay an evangelist. More importantly, their partnership saw great fruit, including professions of faith and calls to the ministry.

Understanding the history of that church gave me a greater appreciation for the current ministries the church had been given. I realized then that one of the keys to a fruitful ministry was partnering with other churches. For that reason, it was no surprise that the church had a strong history of participation in our association.

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A S S OCI AT ED PA R T NER SHIP S Association: The word itself points toward partnership. In the case of Baptist Missionary Association America, we are a partnership of churches. But why do we partner? What is the advantage of association?

Our partnership rests on four basic understandings: 1. Christ gave the Great Commission to local churches.

2. Every local church has something to offer toward fulfilling the Great Commission.

3. No church can fulfill the Great Commission alone.

4. Churches can accomplish more when working together with other churches. We are better together.

That’s why BMAA churches pool their resources together as an association. This partnership places the local church at the center of all endeavors and sees the association and her departments as servants of the church. Additionally, just as the churches partner together in this association, so do the departments. DiscipleGuide has the privilege of partnering with BMA churches as well as BMA departments in making disciples of all nations.

DEPA R T MEN TA L PA R T NER SHIP S

should desire to multiply. Just as disciples reproduce disciples, churches should strive to reproduce churches. This is a Great Commission principle: As disciples are made, they should be baptized into the church. As disciples are made among all peoples, churches should be established for mutual edification and continued evangelism.

DiscipleGuide and BMA Missions are eager to help churches “activate” their ministries for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

DiscipleGuide is also pleased to have partnered recently with Lifeword to help churches learn to use social media more effectively. Lifeword’s social media consultant Brandon Cox was the featured guest of two DiscipleGuide Tuesday Talks video simulcasts.

Social media has become a highly influential means of communication. Chances are, the majority of BMAA church members already use social media. Even more important, the majority of lost people use social media also. During Tuesday Talks episodes, Brandon Cox shared biblical foundations for the use of social media to infiltrate online relationships with the gospel.

Another exciting partnership has been formed between DiscipleGuide and BMA Theological Seminary. For years, DiscipleGuide has produced trusted curriculum for BMAA churches featuring a wealth of gifted writers. In an effort to continue our legacy of doctrinally sound writing, we are thrilled that the seminary has agreed to perform a theological review of our curriculum. Each quarter, seminary faculty members read lessons and

Recently, DiscipleGuide has been privileged to partner with BMA Missions to help invest in churches facing stagnancy or decline. Activate is a hands-on, coach-driven ministry in which a trained representative helps congregations walk through their challenges and create strategies to revitalize their Great Commission work.

Activate has three focuses: church health, church mission, and church multiplication. The first priority is to help a church become healthy.

Whether the church has become apathetic, internally focused, ritualistic, or legalistic, the congregation must recognize its faults and resolve to conform to a more biblical state of being. Like a diseased tree, unhealthy churches will bear little to no fruit until changes are made.

The next priority of Activate is church mission. Every church has been given the Great Commission mandate to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). However, each church has a different context and opportunity in which to Brandon Cox spoke about Social Media strategies on DiscipleGuide’s Tuesday Talks make disciples. Activate helps a church to recognize her specific gifts, talents, resources, context, and culture and to put together a unique Great Commission strategy for the congregation.

The final priority of Activate is church multiplication. Healthy churches on mission

DiscipleGuide make suggestions for improving our theological accuracy. With the seminary’s help, we are able to produce literature that your church leaders and teachers can trust.

These partnerships are just the beginning of what can be accomplished as departments work together on behalf of BMAA churches. In fact, department leaders meet regularly to improve our partnerships and to find new ways to work together.

CHURCH PA R T NER SHIP S At the center of all departmental partnerships are local churches. BMA Missions partners with churches to mobilize missionaries around the world. Lifeword partners with churches to communicate the gospel around the world. BMA Theological Seminary partners with churches to train church leaders for ministry. DiscipleGuide partners to invest in the ministry of local churches.

For over sixty years, we have produced Bible studies, Sunday school lessons, and other curriculum aimed at making disciples. We are constantly trying to improve our resources to be most effective and relevant for your church’s needs. Our Compass series provides adult Sunday school classes with challenging studies. SOAR:lit helps students build Bible study skills while discussing the implications of what they learn in Scripture. DiscipleKids gives children foundational understandings of key principles from God’s Word.

DiscipleGuide also partners with churches through world-class conferences. Pastor’s Oasis provides church leaders and their wives with a restful getaway full of inspiration. National Senior Adult conference ministers to the unique needs of senior citizens. SOAR reaches thousands of students for Christ each summer. And the Great Escape equips youth and children’s leaders each winter.

Daniel Springs Baptist Camp is another way partners with churches by offering a top-notch camp atmosphere for children and students. Each summer, thousands of campers hear the Gospel proclaimed in the midst of a fun-filled week in Gary, Texas.

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MORE PA R T NER SHIP S ON T HE HORIZON DiscipleGuide’s new church investment partnerships being developed currently include the following: a pastor’s helpline, an intentional interim program, and a future minister’s program.

The pastor’s helpline will be a source of help for pastors when facing discouragement, challenges or problems. The confidential helpline will be answered by trained ministers who understand the rigors of pastoring.

The intentional interim program will be a great help to churches in need of a pastor. Beyond filling the pulpit, the program will help churches prepare for a pastoral search with a clear vision for the kind of candidates that will best fit their needs.

The future minister’s program will reach out to young people who have surrendered to the ministry and help them begin preparing for future work. The program will equip pastors and parents to assist their young people in training and preparation for ministry.

As we enjoy the blessings of partnerships today, we will continue to pursue more partnerships in the future. The days of half-time pastors being shared by multiple congregations may be over, but associational partnerships are always relevant. After all, the lesson of our history is that ministry opportunities tomorrow are the fruit of our association today.

VISIT DISCIPLEGUIDE ONLINE! DiscipleGuide offers many resoucres online to help you and your church grow. Be sure to visit DiscipleGuide online at www.discipleguide.org to view all the resouces that are available!

THE VALUE OF PARTNERSHIPS BY: PHILIP ATTEBERRY | SEMINARY

T

he purpose of Baptist Missionary Association Theological Seminary is to support the educational needs of the churches and agencies of the BMA and other groups sharing a similar commitment to the authority of Scripture. Although the seminary’s purpose includes additional elements, this one directs the seminary most toward its obligation to cooperate with BMA ministries in hopes of inspiring a mission vision and assisting local churches in carrying out the Great Commission.

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According to my old college dictionary, the term partners implies a relationship between individuals equal in status, independence, and formal obligation to each other. The same dictionary describes value as something of worth in usefulness or importance (The American Heritage Dictionary, 2nd Edition). BMA Seminary considers its purpose statement to be a declaration by administrators, faculty, staff and trustees that obligates its ministry to serve in useful partnership with others.

Seminary Valu able Par tner shi p wi th L oc a l C h u rc h e s BMA Seminary maintains solid accreditation with both the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). The seminary’s faculty members have devoted themselves to preparation both personally and professionally in order to show themselves approved unto God as unashamed and faithful workers. Such efforts allow BMA Seminary to offer wellcredentialed, higher-educational training that centers upon preaching Christ, genuine worship, and making disciple makers.

During the seminary’s most recent period of reaffirmation with SACSCOC and ATS, the value of partnership with churches became evident, particularly in the area of financial support. While most institutions of higher education depend upon state funding, private institutions such as BMA Seminary rely upon the faithful support of churches and individual donors to provide the financial foundation necessary to conduct such an enterprise. For example, seventy percent of the seminary’s annual budget comes from local churches and associations. Twenty-five percent comes from student tuition and five percent comes from endowment.

Of course, all giving comes from individuals. Some give directly to the seminary while others give indirectly through their churches. The seminary’s business manager Van Widger said, “I am always grateful regardless of the amount churches give. We’ve noticed that during the past year several individuals have set up automatic deposits through their banks. It’s always good to see that, because it’s automatic and it shows they’ve made a commitment to the seminary.”

Although churches and a theological seminary cannot maintain equality in every measure, they do hold an equal obligation to encourage obedience to the teachings of Scripture. By using the resources provided by donors, the seminary attempts to equip leaders and future leaders in knowledge, enthusiasm, and ministerial skills needed to obey and lead others into obedience of God’s Word. The seminary’s ability to offer such training depends upon its partnership with local churches.

Va lu ab le Par tner ship wi th D i s cip leG u ide In 2014, BMA Seminary began a partnership with DiscipleGuide Church Resources to provide theological editing for the content of Compass and Compass Teacher Sunday school literature.

The purpose of the partnership is to support writers with an additional layer of review and ensure theological and biblical accuracy for each lesson. Although writers for DiscipleGuide bring experience, knowledge, and expertise to the table when writing, review by another set of eyes can provide a valuable measure of checks and

balances. Hopefully, the partnership will increase the confidence of teachers and students who use Compass literature while enhancing the learning and application of important truths from God’s Word.

Valuable Partnership with Missions Since 1962, BMA Seminary has cooperated with BMA Missions in educating missionaries and national workers. BMA Missions directors have recommended that approximately two dozen nationals attend BMA Seminary in Texas and return home to continue in ministry. The seminary has worked to assist BMA national missionaries by providing them with scholarships able to cover tuition and living expenses. For example, Milan March - April 2015 | mission:world ::: 17

Seminary Bulak of the Czech Republic attended the seminary at the recommendation of Bro. Jerry Kidd.

According to Bulak, “the Seminary had great influence on my life for many reasons. I got [the] study discipline that I needed [and] a great education. I could meet lots of ministers and learn from many people around me . . . the seminary still has a great influence on me ‘til now. Know why?

Many people ask me where I got my education.

I have met many people from different fields of interest and they were surprised about my readiness and cultural knowledge. My preaching and teaching skills are also an outcome of my seminary training.”

For John Herring, missionary to Nixa, Missouri, “the opportunity provided by the seminary for me to continue my education has been a huge blessing for our family as well as the new church plant here in Nixa. It has already been an asset to the ministry! Thanks for the scholarship and continued support.”

BMA Seminary continues to partner with Ricky Williams, missionary to Mexico and adjunct professor for BMA Seminary, to provide increased training opportunities to Latin America through

Milan Bulak, national missionary in Czech Republic

Ricky Williams (left) serves as both a missionary to Mexico and BMA Seminary professor

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Seminary

video-conferencing technology during intensive week-long classes.

Williams recognizes that “Solomon knew what he was talking about when he said two are better than one. The falling and lifting fit perfectly to what happens when BMATS professors teach, share, counsel, and mentor students across BMA Latin America. The students are refreshed, lifted, and educated so that churches will be built and pulpits fortified. But I think the professors are also lifted up as they take part. I see them finish the week of studies with a perk in their walk and a renewed dedication having known they were part of an international partnership in theological education. That´s wisdom from on high from the lips of Solomon” Dr. John Adams, Moral Action, speaking at BMA Theological Seminary

Va lu ab le Par tner ship wi th M o r al Action The BMA Coordinating Council heard a report from Dr. John Adams, executive director of Moral Action, in 2014. One issue presented in the report drew the council’s attention and heightened a sense of urgency. At the council’s request, the seminary partnered with Moral Action to research how the BMA doctrinal statement could more directly address biblical teaching on the issue of marriage. After consultation with legal experts, Adams advised the seminary that addressing the issue properly necessitated maximizing the doctrinal statement.

Here is part of the seminary’s reply: “When the Pharisees asked Jesus a question about the right of a man to leave his marriage, the Lord responded by explaining the Creator’s original intent for marriage to be the inseparable and exclusive union between a man and a woman (Matthew 19:3-6; Mark 10:2-9). In spite of this, and the clarity of other biblical passages, some

have claimed the liberty to form same-sex unions.

The seminary and Moral Action agree that such unions violate teaching found in both the Old and New Testaments.”

Article III, Section C of BMA Doctrinal Statement rightfully declares the creation of man (i.e., humankind) as the crowning work of creation and that “every person is of dignity and worth and merits the respect of all other persons.” Christians should recognize such truth in their dealings with “all other persons.” The Apostle Paul also recognized the real cleansing, sanctification, and justification of previously unrighteous Corinthian believers, including those with sexually immoral pasts (1 Corinthians 6:911). Please pray that believers everywhere will embrace biblical doctrines related to marriage and morality while also embracing teachings of love for others and hope for sanctification.

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

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PARTNERING FOR JORDAN PARK PLACE BAPTIST CHURCH + SAM JORDAN

RESPONDING TO THE CHALLENGE TO BE A “SENDING CHURCH” BY: GARY LAMBRIGHT | PASTOR, PPBC Henry Martin once said, “The spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions. The nearer we get to Him, the more intensely missionary we become.” A little over a year ago, Park Place Baptist Church in Bryant, Arkansas, embraced the challenge given to us by BMA Missions and began helping provide salary support to five of our missionaries. After much prayer our people responded to the challenge which enables us to significantly help support the salaries of Michael Hight, Eli Semedo, Jesse Hales, Jared Kathcart, and Sam Jordan. We have truly come to love and appreciate these men.

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Each of them has personally shared with us his individual vision and enabled us to embrace what God has placed on his heart. We love receiving updates through emails, newsletters, etc. We have even been able to Facetime a couple of them during our morning worship service, which has been a true blessing to us. I have been amazed at how God has worked in the hearts of our people and given us, in financial commitments, more than we actually requested. Remember, “the spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions.”

We have been privileged to help Jared Kathcart and Jamie

Gary Lambright, pastor of Park Place Baptist Church, and his wife

Jordan Jones in Smithville, Missouri, with a couple of projects, as well as assisting Michael Hight in planting a Hispanic congregation in Saline County here in Arkansas.

Sam Jordan and his family attended Park Place for a few months before they left for the country of Jordan.

This relationship has been particularly interesting. The Muslim world has become of special interest to us all. After spending a few years here in the states, Sam and his family,

who are from the country of Jordan, began preparing to go back into this part of our world. His passionate desire to return to his native country was so evident. As he shared with us, on various occasions, his desire to plant churches, equip the believers who were already there, and encourage the Jordanian ministers, our hearts were touched and moved with much emotion.

Though we do not email or speak often, I think about and pray for Sam and his family

almost every day. We pray for his wife and daughters as they work and serve the Lord in Jordan. Recently, Sam was back in the states and shared with our church family what God was doing through their ministry. What a blessing it was to hear of the lives that God has touched and changed through the ministry of Bro. Sam. We feel a part of his ministry and look forward to hearing more success stories as the years go by.

WITHOUT PARTNERSHIPS, MISSIONARIES CANNOT SUCCEED BY: SAM JORDAN | JORDAN The biggest temptation after finishing seminary in the States was, especially in those days, to stay there and to leave our calling to go to Jordan and to reach out to people with Christ’s message.

When I was commissioned as a BMA missionary I was working as associate pastor at one of the Arabic-speaking churches. As a new missionary it would have been so difficult to start my deputation without a sending church, but God blessed us when we met Pastor Gary Lambright at the BMA America National Meeting. As we shared with him our vision to go to Jordan, immediately he showed us his heart for missions. I asked him if he and his church would be willing to become my sending

church, and without hesitation he answered yes.

At the first meeting with his staff I saw their heart for missions. I believe Pastor Gary taught them and trained them to have a big heart for missionaries and for missions around the world. When Pastor Gary introduced us to his church (Park Place Baptist Church in Bryant, Arkansas), they welcomed me, my wife and my kids in a great way and accepted us as part of the church family. Pastor Gary opened the door for me to speak and to share with the whole church.

The church began to generously support us. Their financial support helps cover a large part of our living expenses,

but their spiritual support helps us to continue working on our field. Many times I have received emails from Pastor Gary at just the time we are struggling with some issues. In his messages he always reminds us that we have a church family praying for us, which is truly a blessing.

In addition, last March some Park Place church members came to visit us in Jordan. They helped us at the clinic, but we also spent a good time of encouragement together.

Finally, I want to praise the Lord for Park Place Church who became our family, our partners and our supporters, because without people like them, missionaries cannot go and succeed.

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PARTNERING FOR THAILAND ANTIOCH BAPTIST CHURCH + ELIZIER SEMEDO

STANDING ALONGSIDE THOSE SERVING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD BY: JASON AULTMAN | PASTOR, ANTIOCH It was in 2007 when Eli and Ana Semedo came to Antioch Baptist Church in Conway, Arkansas.

They quickly endeared themselves to us and became a precious part of our church family, demonstrating a faithfulness and willingness to serve in any capacity. When they made known their plans to leave us for a place of service on another mission field we were disappointed at the thought of them leaving but excited about the possibilities before them. (We told them that they would have to leave Liana, their daughter that had been born during their time with us, but with that condition met they could go with our blessings.

Not surprisingly, they weren’t exactly agreeable to this condition!)

Eli and Ana made it known that they had identified Thailand as the field of service to which God was directing them. From a purely “human” standpoint this seemed a peculiar direction. Eli and Ana were already multi-lingual, but a move to Thailand would necessitate learning yet another language. Their reasoning was simple, however.

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the challenge of learning another language was one that they were happy to undertake.

When we learned how it would be possible for Antioch to partner with them by serving as their sending church, the answer to that opportunity was clear: “Absolutely!” I firmly believe that God presents an almost endless list of avenues through which His children can be involved in His kingdom’s work. For some that mission field might be the local school campus, for others the factory floor or business office might be the platform the Lord provides. For still others, that place might be Thailand. For most of the people that walk through the doors of Antioch each week, the closest they will come to Thailand will be standing in front of a map. In a very real way, however, we are able to stand alongside those serving on the other side of the world.

It is a powerful reminder of the truth that for any of us alone our impact may be minimal. But united together and used by God our impact can be profound and literally global. We count it a great privilege and blessing to stand with the Semedos in their goal of “Sharing His Story & Shining His Glory!”

Thailand

OUR ANTIOCH BY: ELI SEMEDO | THAILAND In the first few verses of Acts 13, we learn that “there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers…while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.” Although some may argue that this passage is merely descriptive, it is hard to miss that missions was taken seriously by the primitive church.

Also, one can see in this passage (and the ones following) that missions was very local-church centered. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Barnabas and Saul were commissioned, sent out and supported by their local church – Antioch (of Syria).

It is my understanding that our association has always believed and defended that the Great Commission was given to local churches. In the past few years, our leaders have challenged us to make some adjustments so that our practice can align even more so with Scripture. Needless to say, I was elated when our churches began to take a more active/direct role in missions. Now that I am on the field, I am even more convinced that missionaries ought to be sent by their “Antioch” and expand God’s kingdom through local churches.

In 2007 our family moved to Conway, Arkansas, and quickly made Antioch Baptist Church our home church. Not only were we welcomed into that family, but we were also challenged to grow and serve our local church. In time we found our places in the church band, choir, Sunday school class and small group. Throughout those years, our love for our pastor and church family grew tremendously. By the time we had completed our studies and understood God’s plan, it was only natural to ask our home church to be our sending church. Their “seal of approval” was another confirmation of what God had in store for us.

Eli Semedo and family, missionaries to Thailand

Although at times we felt we were navigating new waters, I am quite confident that we are all growing from this new experience. As I reflect back, I can see the benefits of following this missional model.

First, I believe we have a closer relationship with our sending church. Whenever possible, Ana and I join Antioch’s services online. On World Missions Sunday last February, we even had the opportunity to attend the morning service (via Skype) and address the congregation. We also try to stay in touch with our Sunday school classes, and they have been “spoiling us” with care packages and cards.

Second, I have a stronger sense of accountability towards my sending church. Although I don’t have to make ministerial decisions at this point, I consult my pastor from time to time.

Third, I totally feel the prayer support from our sending church. On a regular basis, I receive an email from our pastor letting us know that they are praying for us. If we share a prayer request, we hear back from all our partners and especially our sending church.

Last, my family and I are blessed by their financial investment. Since a good percentage of our support comes from our sending church, it took us less time to raise the remaining amount and allowed us to focus on being on the field. Their sacrifice allows us to focus on the important things – sharing His story and shining His glory! We look forward to the day we can share with our disciples in Thailand about our Antioch.

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PARTNERING FOR THE PHILIPPINES VARDAMAN STREET + DANNY BALLARD

8,607 MILES OF HEARTSTRINGS BY: EUGENE ANDERSON | PASTOR The partnership between the Ballard family and Vardaman Street Baptist Church came without question; it was unforced and organic. In fact, our relationship had been in the making for many years.

The Ballards made an immense life-long imprint on our church while Danny served as our youth pastor and missions director. At the same time, Rita blessed the congregation with her talents on the piano, and Katrina worked with children’s ministries.

Conversely, their service to our church made it easy for us to give back to them when they answered their call to the Philippines.

In response to the Ballards’ financial needs, church members have committed to being monthly support partners. Our church body helps with shortterm relief projects such as buying vaccinations and other medical supplies for Katrina’s needs as the college nurse. Our church members also enjoy sending cards and care packages for the holidays to spoil them with things they miss from home.

In reality, our service to them has blessed us. You see, partnership with the Ballards’ ministry has made foreign missions a reality for our church. We no longer see distant faces on the mission calendar.

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nothing is impossible with God, and He will open doors for us and give us the courage to walk through them.

Our church has also benefited by watching God provide time and time again. For example, there were a handful of us staying at a small hotel in Nicaragua when we saw Rita break down because of her fears of leaving the States and her family. Several months later we saw God calm the storm in Rita’s heart when He lead Katrina to serve with her and Danny in the Philippians. We watched as Katrina graduated with a 4.0 from Southern Mississippi yet could not find a nursing job anywhere. Ironically, she is now excelling as a nurse in the Philippians.

We also watched as God provided $10,000 overnight, literally. I remember talking to Danny on the phone and he said “we are $10,000 short and we have to have that money by tomorrow.” Sure enough, the next day someone pledged an amount of nothing less than ten grand. Then we helplessly watched at a distance as Rita battled stage-four cancer. By the time the cancer was discovered there was practically no hope for her and there was nothing we could do to help. However, we prayed and God worked through Rita’s sickness. As a result, her nurse accepted Jesus and the agnostic doctors then said it had to be God when Rita went in for a check up and was completely cancer free. Now Rita has her picture plastered on walls throughout the hospital and has started a ministry with the cancer patients in Manila.

Philippines Vardaman Street Church has witnessed many miracles in such a short amount of time. We would not trade our relationship with the Ballards for anything. They are an inspiration to many of us.

God’s amazing grace took a so-called average family

from a small town, saw the beauty of their hearts, and uses them daily to do His will. Sending a piece of our hearts 8,607 miles away with the Ballards to carry out the Great Commission forever changes and blesses our church daily.

THANKFUL FOR A CHURCH WITH A PASSION FOR MISSIONS In a well known prayer, The Prayer of Jabez in 1 Chronicles 4:10, Jabez prayed, “Oh that thou wouldst bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, and that thine hand might be with me, and thou wouldst keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me.” And God granted his prayer!

This prayer explains our lives as missionaries.

God has opened the windows of heaven and poured out such innumerable blessings upon us, and through these blessings, God has opened the door to new and exciting ministries for us in the Philippines.

One of my passions is discipleship, teaching others how Jesus made disciples and how we need to follow His example and continue making disciples today. I challenge disciple-makers to take what they have learned and share it with others.

They will continue to train disciples which will allow this ministry to grow in leaps and bounds!

The Lord has truly given me the desires of my heart in the area of discipleship here in the Philippines.

I am privileged to be Campus Pastor at the BMA Philippines Bible College in Talisay. God has surrounded me with students who are being taught the skills necessary to follow His calling on their lives and, at the same time, given opportunities to grow closer and more like Christ in their everyday walks. This is an amazing opportunity the Lord has placed before me!

Other ministries include working with Volunteer Student Missions (VSM) of the Philippines, becoming interim pastor at Redeemer’s Missionary Baptist Church, and recently looking to establish a work in Manila that will involve discipleship, training of church leaders, and beginning a care ministry for the families of those who are stricken with cancer or other lifethreatening diseases.

Rita is enjoying teaching piano at the BMAP Bible College in Talisay to students who plan on

BY: DANNY BALLARD | PHILIPPINES

using their talents to reach out to others through the avenue of music. The Lord has blessed Rita with an amazing testimony of how the Lord took care of her through her cancer and has used this testimony to reach out to numerous individuals with the gospel of Christ. One soul came to know the Lord and hundreds of seeds have been planted.

We are praying they will blossom and many others will be added to His kingdom.

St. Luke’s Hospital began a cancer support group on April 26, 2014 to allow other cancer patients and their caregivers to meet together and be encouraged, challenged, and filled with hope.

This is a Christ-centered group, and they have been blessed with speakers and pastors who have shared the plan of salvation; so far ten have come to know the Lord! Rita was elected by all the members of this group to serve as their president. She has been an inspiration to each member and is portraying a godly example to everyone she meets!

Our daughter Katrina continues to play a vital role as a nurse for students and faculty at the clinic located at the campus of the BMAP Bible College in Talisay. Katrina, along with Bro. Doug and Diane Lee, has begun a much-needed dental health project for students so they can be seen by a local dentist. This simple act of ministry makes such a difference in the lives of the students.

Vardaman Street Baptist Church has a passion for missions. Our church’s philosophy of missions is that it is a privilege and responsibility to raise up from within itself missionaries and send them out into the field, partnering with them in their ministries through prayer, financial resources and encouragement. This allows each member of the church to become a part of kingdom-building at home and to the uttermost parts of the world. We thank God for our church, Vardaman Street Baptist Church, and the way they have partnered with us in our calling to the Philippines.

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PARTNERING FOR THE DOMINCAN REPUBLIC FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH GALENA + JESSE HALES

A PARTNERSHIP THAT HAS CHANGED OUR CHURCH “I want you to plant a church.” Almost four years ago these words popped into my mind during one of my morning devotional times. I am sure that I heard God’s voice in my mind, but I didn’t quite understand why God wanted me to plant a church. At the time, I dismissed the thought, but again and again over the next few months the Holy Spirit kept saying to me, “I want you to plant a church.”

As best I can remember, I have never argued with God or tried to play Let’s Make A Deal with Him. But on this occasion, I did. I told the Lord that He couldn’t possibly want me to plant a church because I was too old and church planting is a young man’s game. I reminded the Lord (surely, He had forgotten) that I had been a part of four church plants in the United States, had served on several mission boards, and had even written materials to teach others how to plant churches. Surely, I had fulfilled my responsibility in planting churches!

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BY: JEFF SWART | PASTOR

Of course, the Lord in His infinite wisdom never responded to my attempt at justifying why I was right and He was wrong. Finally one day I told the Lord that whatever He wanted would be my heart’s desire as well.

It was when I came to that place in my own spiritual life that God more fully revealed His will to me. Over the course of the next few weeks, I realized that the Lord did not want me to personally plant a church but that He was asking me to lead our church to be a part of planting New Testament churches.

I began to share God’s leading in this area with the church I pastor, First Baptist Church of Galena, Kansas, a missions-minded church that had already planted multiple churches in Kansas and Missouri over the last forty years. There was no resistance to what I shared, and our church began to pray that God would send us a missionary.

In Luke’s Gospel, we find the following words of Jesus: “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that

Dominican he would send forth laborers into his harvest,” (Luke 10:2). One Sunday morning, I read these words to our people and challenged them to set the alarms on their smartphones to 10:02 a.m. I told them that every day when that alarm went off, it was to remind them to pray that God would send us a missionary. I chose the time 10:02 a.m. because that is the Bible reference of Jesus’ command for us to pray for laborers to be sent into the harvest.

It was only a couple of months later that I saw my friend Mike Jones, long-time engineer for Lifeword Media Ministries, at a national meeting. Mike told me that his daughter and son-in-law were moving to Joplin, Missouri, and wanted to know if I would go visit them. I agreed to do so, and he told me that he would send me their contact information. One Wednesday a couple of months later, I thought about Mike and wondered why he had not sent me the information about his daughter. I didn’t get around to calling right then, but his daughter and son-in-law actually visited our mid-week prayer and Bible study that very night, and never missed a service after that.

While serving at our church, God called Jesse and Rebecca Hales to be missionaries to the Dominican Republic where they are now effectively serving the churches of our association.

Through the process of applying to be missionaries, going through assessment and deputation, attending language school, and relocating to the Dominican Republic, our people were there for the Hales step-bystep. They prayed, encouraged, and communicated with them through social media. Jesse and Rebekah were “our” people going to the mission field to represent Jesus Christ and His church in Galena, Kansas. There is a bond between us that could have developed in no other way, and it is one that will last for eternity!

At this point I thought, “Okay, Lord, we’re sending a missionary and this church planting business is finished.” Actually, I never expected to hear from the Lord again. But a few months after Jesse and Rebekah announced that the Lord was calling them to the Dominican Republic, again I heard these words from the Lord again: “I want you to plant a church.” So once again, I challenged our church to set the alarms on their smartphones and to begin praying that God would send another laborer into the harvest.

This time, I knew that the Lord wanted a church planter in our area, so I took it upon myself to visit several communities in southwest Missouri. I came to the conclusion that Nixa, Missouri, would be a great place to start a new church. Less than two weeks later,

I met John Herring, and he told me that he was a member of the Oasis Church in Maumelle, Arkansas, and they were sending him out as a church planter to plant a New Testament church in Nixa. I was excited and John and I talked about church planting several times during that summer.

When an association that he was counting on to support his ministry changed its mind, John called me and we enlisted the support of our local and state associations to help fund John’s church plant in Nixa.

I am thrilled to report that John is on the field in Nixa and doing a great job. Also, God has called Adam and Angella Owen and their sons, one of our best church families, to work with John in Nixa!

Surely, I had now done my part in church planting; however, about three months ago, I heard that familiar voice again saying, “Jeff, I want you to plant a church.” So for the third time in five years, I stood before my people and told them to set the alarms on their smartphones again and began praying for another missionary. I believe God has revealed the location of the next New Testament church plant and now we are waiting on the “Lord of the Harvest” to provide the man.

When the Lord told me to plant a church, my focus was solely upon finding a missionary, a location to plant a new church, and what the new church plant would spiritually do for the community it served. I never considered what the new church plant might do for our church. Now as I reflect, I see several very important by-products that occurred in First Baptist Church Galena as the result of our church planting focus.

First, it created a new excitement in our church. Our people seemed more excited than normal, which was refreshing to this pastor, I assure you!

Secondly, when we sent out a family, others stepped up to fill the vacated roles in the ministry of our church, which in fact strengthened the overall ministries of our church.

Thirdly, many of our people are personally giving to the financial needs of the mission works over and above what they normally give to our church. One might think that this would hurt our offerings, but it has not in the least! Fourthly, our people now want to take a mission trip to help the Hales—people who have never been on a mission trip before. So next summer, off we will go to the Dominican Republic on the adventure of a lifetime.

Finally, our people became more excited about missions in general, because they considered Jesse and Rebekah “our missionaries.” Simply put, the members and attenders of FBC Galena took personal ownership

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Dominican of the Great Commission—something every pastor wants his congregation to do but doesn’t always know how to do it.

Several years ago, Larry Barker challenged the churches of BMA America to reproduce themselves and plant other churches. Our church could never have planted a church on our own, but when we cooperated with other churches, other local and state associations, and BMA Missions, we were able to plant churches. And the good news is that you can too. Some of you are large enough and strong enough to do it all by yourselves, but most of us are not. That’s why we are associational Baptists; we understand that churches working together can do what none of us could ever do alone.

I encourage you to get out your smartphones and set the alarm to 10:02 a.m. and every morning when the alarm rings, pray to “…the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest.” If I have learned anything over the course of the last five years, it is that when we get serious about church planting, the Lord will too.

I think that we all realize time is short and that Jesus is coming soon. To reach the largest possible number of souls in the shortest possible time, we must plant churches! According to Southern Baptist

missiologist Ed Stetzer, “Among evangelical churches, those under 3 years old will win 10 people to Christ per year for every 100 church members; 3 to 15 years old will win 5 people per year. After age 15, the number drops to three per year.” On average, a new church will win ten people to Christ per year and an established church of a similar size will win only three people to Christ per year. It doesn’t take a PhD in math to figure out which is the better method of reaching people for Christ. If we are ever going to plant churches, we must do it today!

You and I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ today because someone was willing to obey the Lord, to step out in faith, and in one way or another share the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with us. Now, it’s our turn. Our neighborhoods and communities are depending on us to tell them the good news that Jesus saves. The best way to reach people with the gospel is to plant new churches. If we will pray, God will open the door. And when God opens the door, we must by faith walk through it. There is no greater joy than to know that you are obeying the Lord by planting churches for the Lord Jesus Christ, seeing souls saved, and seeing lives changed! I encourage you to try church planting because I know that when you do, you too will be blessed!

A PARTNERSHIP THAT MAKES US FEEL LIKE PART OF A FAMILY

BY: JESSE HALES | DOMINICAN

As a new missionary fresh out of language school and recently moved to the mission field, I am proud to say that First Baptist Church of Galena, Kansas, is our sending church. The reason? They believe that the word “sending” is a verb that implies ongoing action, not a onetime event with food involved. It has been a true blessing to be a part of a local church who has signed up for this journey with us, and they have been with us from the beginning.

I’ll never forget the call I made to Bro. Jeff Swart that made us stop and think about going to the mission field through BMA America. We had a weekend appointment to meet with a mission agency about working with them, but since we were a part of the bus ministry at FBC, I called Bro. Jeff and told him we were 30 ::: March - April 2015 | mission:world

not going to be able to be there that Sunday because of the appointment. With hesitation in his voice he said, “Okay, Jesse, but I would really like to see you go to the field with the BMA.” That one comment led us to meet with Bro. John David Smith, which led to other meetings that eventually led to our work here in the Dominican Republic.

Our church was there for us during the whole planning, praying and preparation time. Before we really knew many of the details at all about this ministry, the church asked us to share with them what little we did know, and they began to pray with us as God started to put the pieces together. When our vision for the ministry began to really take shape, they asked us to share it with them again, and they

continued to pray. When it came time to start raising support, church members jumped on board with every penny they could pull out of their budgets while continuing to support the other ministries they always had. From that day to this one, FBC has been one of our biggest financial supporters.

Now, let me stop here and make a point I think is an important one for other churches to realize. FBC is a good and growing church, but their budget is like most other church budgets—there is just not enough room in it to pledge a missionary’s full support or even a good chunk of it. That didn’t stop them from sending us and doing everything they could for us. One of the things Jesse Hales and family, missionaires to the Dominican Republic they did in this regard was help promote our ministry and our needs to other churches in the area and to the children who were using their AWANA teachers’ local and state associations. As I look at our monthly accounts to send us a list of questions about mission fund reports, I can see that nearly half of our regular work. After a day of beating our heads against the wall support comes from the churches, individuals, and with all the different verb conjugations they could local associations that make up BMA Kansas and throw at us in language school, it was nice to be able Western Missouri that FBC is a part of. I am convinced to sit down and reclaim the day by getting to share our that the size or financial situation of a church does not heart for missions with children. determine its ability to be a sending church. I believe it After we finished language school, we returned has more to do with the spiritual health of the church to the States to get our visas to come here to the and its willingness to be involved.

Dominican Republic. During that time we were able Beyond that, FBC has been the kind of church that’s to take some time to give an update to the church and willing to be involved in more ways than just planning have a meeting with the pastors. We laid out plans to and finances. When we started traveling to speak be able to continue to communicate even better with at other churches and raise the rest of our financial regular phone calls using the Internet. We talked about support, they posted a calendar in their bulletin them sending care packages and even started planning each week showing church members our speaking their first trip to come and help us here on the field. engagements for the month. Whether I shared our In other words, our sending church has been and vision in Colorado, Texas, South Carolina or Michigan, continues to be a major part of our ministry.

I had peace because I knew in the back of my mind How does all of this make a missionary feel? Well, it that every time I got up to speak, my church had been makes him feel like part of the family. Now, I’ve been praying specifically for us at that meeting. Finally, when the funds were raised and it was time to go to wrong a time or two in my life, but I think the Bible language school, it was our church that ordained me to makes it pretty clear that this is the way it should be. the ministry, and it was our church family that sent us A local church can grow and grow some more but it off with tears in their eyes. cannot reproduce itself unless it sends! I believe it’s During language school we maintained contact biblical and when it’s biblical it becomes a blessing to through email and some good, lengthy phone everybody involved, to both the missionary and the conversations. One of my favorite things was church. This is one situation where there doesn’t really how our church enabled us to continuing our seem to be a loser. I know that from our standpoint, involvement in the children’s ministry in Galena. we are certainly blessed as the missionaries being sent.

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PARTNERING FOR PAPUA NEW GUINEA FIRST BAPTIST MAGNOLIA + JEREMY HAMBRICE

OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S CALLING TO PARTNER BY: BRENT SUMMERHILL | PASTOR Why does First Baptist Church Magnolia partner with Jeremy and Mandy Hambrice in Papua New Guinea? For that matter, why do we partner with BMA Missions in sending missionaries around the world? At FBC it is our heart’s desire to see God glorified around the globe through the gospel of Jesus Christ that many might be saved. From densely populated urban centers to mountainous tribal villages there are many who have not heard the gospel and it is to them that we must take it.

Our partnership with the Hambrice family was most simply obedience to God’s calling on our lives and theirs. For the church, arriving at that place of obedience was the result of a journey. It involved years of pastoral ministry combined with a love for missions on the part of former pastor David Watkins. It involved a passion for missions and missionaries in the life of missions pastor Stan Scroggins. It involved a church whose gospel 32 ::: March - April 2015 | mission:world

vision was growing globally through the Word of God, guest missionaries and involvement in BMA Missions. And in the end it involved a church willing to surrender all to the Holy Spirit’s call.

The Hambrice family was a part of the First Baptist Church family, so when the call of God became evident upon their lives, God had His missionary family and His mission-minded church ready for one another. Having pastored missionary families for two decades, I have found that the most successful partnerships are always forged by God, not forced by men (Acts 13:1-3).

As a result, Jeremy, Mandy, Paisley and Myli are not merely our missionary family... they are family.

We see them in their video updates on the big screen during worship. We read about them, pray for them, care for them. When a request went out for items to be shipped to Papua New Guinea for Christmas, the response filled a table and spilled across the floor.

PNG Caring for the Hambrice family isn’t just about sending things to them; it is also about going to them. Plans are in place for a team to travel across the Pacific to help Jeremy and Mandy get their tribal home finished in early spring of 2015. Helping finish the house is a part of caring for our family. It would appear that the greater benefactor in a church-missionary partnership is the missionary. And while it is true that the focus is on getting the missionary family to the field and providing for their needs on the field, the benefits to the church are immeasurable.

Actively partnering with a missionary family has not only expanded our church’s ministry beyond our local reach, it has changed the dynamics of our local ministry. Praying for lost tribal people half a world away makes us more aware of lost neighbors, friends and coworkers here at home. Caring for a missionary family and those to whom they minister around the globe enlarges our hearts for one another and for our community. Giving generously and gladly for the sake of global missions creates cheerful givers in our local church. As we have watched a family sacrificially leave all they have known to embrace an unknown people in an unknown place for the sake of the gospel, we have been inspired to greater faith in and obedience to the gospel.

When I arrived at First Baptist, I inherited the church’s missionary family. As I learned more about Jeremy and Mandy and the people of and the place where they were being sent and as I began praying regularly for them, I adopted the Hambrice family as my missionary family. There is a difference.

Unless the missionary family becomes personal for the pastor, the mission will not be a priority for the pastor. Our partnership with BMA Missions, as essential as it is, must never become an excuse for me to quit caring for my people.

So it is with great excitement that I anticipate finally meeting Jeremy, Mandy, Paisley and Myli face to face in 2015. There is no substitute for standing with a missionary on his land and among his people. If physically possible, every pastor in a church-missionary partnership must go and experience the missionary’s life on the field, seeing what he sees, feeling what he feels and even smelling what he smells. As a pastor I will never fully grasp all that a cross-cultural missionary experiences and endures. But being there gives me a sense of what life and ministry are like for him enabling me to better pray for him, his family and

the people to whom he ministers the gospel. If I can go, yet don’t go, it will be as if I don’t care. A missionary family deserves better than that.

Pastoring Jeremy’s mom and dad is a great privilege and benefit. Ronny and Cammie sit weekly in our congregation and participate faithfully in church life at First Baptist. Though I’ve yet to embrace Jeremy and Mandy and the girls, by embracing their family I have come to know them.

Seeing Ronnie and Cammie in their place each week is a reminder that this missionary business is real. A family is separated for the sake of the gospel.

Not every pastor in a church-missionary partnership gets to pastor the missionary’s relatives.

But if possible, we should get to know them. The family at home needs our prayers and our care as they experience their own fears and anxieties.

Reaching out to the missionary’s family assures the missionary that we are fully committed to caring for his family in his absence.

As the pastor, being involved with a missionary family helps keep me grounded. When my wife and I were praying about moving to the small town of Magnolia, we wondered about such things as how far we would be from family, where there would be places to eat, what kind of shopping would be available and what kind of housing we could find. Following Jeremy and Mandy’s journey to their South Pacific mountain tribe helps me keep things in perspective. What matters eternally isn’t temporal convenience but Christ’s gospel.

First Baptist Magnolia’s relationship with the Hambrice family is special to us, but it is not unique to us. Every church has the potential to be a missionary partnering church, even seeing God raise up a missionary from their midst. It’s not about the size of the church or the affluence of the church; it’s about the heart of the church. Any church with a heart for the global glory of God through the gospel of Jesus Christ desiring that many might be saved will be used of God through His power, by His means, and to His glory.

I am grateful to pastor Jeremy’s home church and to partner with him, Mandy, Paisley and Myli in reaching the Wantakian people of Papua New Guinea with the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am grateful for our partnership with other missionminded churches through BMA Missions. May God continue to raise up from among us churches and missionaries to partner together in taking the gospel to the ends of the earth!

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PNG

A FIRST TIME PARTNERSHIP TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD

BY: JEREMY HAMBRICE | PNG

This is the story about how God used a body of believers in Magnolia, Arkansas, to send us, a family of four, to the uttermost parts of the earth. It has been said that churches ought to be measured not by how many people they bring in, but by how many people they send out. Praise God that for years First Baptist Church in Magnolia has been adding to their numbers, but they were about to enter into a new era. For the first time in church history, they were getting the opportunity to send a family of their very own as fulltime, cross-cultural missionaries.

We knew this would be a growth process for both the church as senders and us as the missionaries. FBC was probably not quite sure what it looked like to be a sending church, and at the time, we had no clue what it would take to be effective ministers of the gospel. There is one thing that we did know for sure: God was setting something in motion that would change many lives – our lives, people’s lives at FBC Magnolia, and one day the lives of the Wantakians of Papua New Guinea.

The Wantakians number more than 6,000 and live isolated in the mountainous jungles of Papua New Guinea – no modern conveniences, no Bible, no gospel, and no hope. They have been asking for missionaries to come and tell them “God’s Talk” (the way it is expressed here in PNG) for more than twenty years. As we dug through the long list of language groups in PNG who are still unreached (about 400 or so), we could not get past this group who had been eagerly waiting for so long. Before even coming to PNG, we prayed that God would send us to a group of people whose hearts He had prepared for Him, and through a series of events, He made it clear to us that the Wantakians were those people.

Literally while you are reading this, we are moving into one of the ten Wantakian villages. We will be spending the next several years learning their language and culture, creating an alphabet for their unwritten language, teaching them to read and write, translating the Bible, teaching them the Bible, and equipping them to one day continue the work without us. By God’s grace, these people will experience a huge transformation from spirit manipulators to God worshipers. We know this will take time and we are committed for the long haul. This is not a short-term mission, and the fruit from our ministry will likely take years to mature. We are trusting God not just for a few believers, but for a multiplication of churches 34 ::: March - April 2015 | mission:world

that reaches every single Wantakian village and bursts outside its borders as well.

So how did we get to the other side of the world?

It did not happen over night. I grew up at FBC Magnolia, Arkansas, and it became my and Mandy’s home church after our marriage. There, David Watkins, Stan Scroggins, Roger Dunlap, and Dustin Wisely, along with many others, poured their lives into ours, laid foundations in our hearts from God’s Word, and showed us how to live God’s mission in our own context.

It was a very natural thing that God would call us to be missionaries out of this environment. God’s Word is about His mission, and we were hearing His Word taught regularly and were surrounded by many mission-minded people seeking to obey Christ’s command to make disciples of all nations. It was no surprise to our church leaders or our church body when we started communicating to them that God was leading us to become full-time missionaries. They were heavily invested in our lives and could sense the way God was leading.

From the beginning of this whole process, we knew there was no way we could do this without FBC Magnolia, nor did we want to. We were certain that if God was calling us, then He must have been calling our entire church body as well. If this was going to work, we could not just be missionaries that our church merely supported. FBC Magnolia was going to have to see planting churches among the nations as their call and responsibility and send us as their servants to go and do it. As our sending church, it would be their job to lead and shepherd us and to help us get to the field and stay there. As their missionaries, it would be our job to humbly submit to them and stay in close communication at all times.

As we prayed about what God would have us do, He began to give us the same desire that He gave to the Apostle Paul to “name Christ where He had never been named” (Romans 15:20). We had a desire to go where the gospel had never been and to a people group whose language had no Bible translation. When we looked to our church leadership for direction, they sent us to BMA Missions to talk with Dr. John David Smith and the other Missions directors. They were excited to hear about how God was leading FBC Magnolia and were ready to help us continue to move forward. Although the BMA has been successfully

sending missionaries for years, they were going to have to cross new waters too.

Dr. John David has developed a great training program for BMA missionaries heading to the field, but he was honest in his assessment that if we were going to serve among a people where we would need the skills to learn an unwritten language, create an alphabet for it, teach people to read and write, and translate the Scriptures, then we were going to need more thorough training.

Because of Dr. John David’s extensive research on missionary training during his doctoral studies, He knew exactly where to send us.

Our church, BMA Missions, and our family all agreed that the best road for us to take would be to enter New Tribes Mission’s extensive cross-cultural training program. For more than 75 years, NTM has been partnering with local churches to help equip missionaries for this very specific kind of ministry.

FBC Magnolia had been faithful to bring us toward maturity in our Christian walks and confirm our calling to serve God as cross-cultural missionaries.

Now they were going to make it their responsibility to see that we got the best training possible.

Not only did they help point us in the right direction, but they also helped us financially to make sure we would have the resources to complete our training. During our four-year training with NTM, FBC provided an opportunity for me to intern at the church during summer breaks where I got to sit under the staff and was given opportunities to teach and preach in order to continue to grow as a proclaimer of the gospel. When the time came to pick a field of service, we studied the world together and prayerfully asked God to make it clear where FBC Magnolia should send us.

After training, it was time to prepare to head to the field. One major step was for us to raise the funds that were needed for our ministry. Not only did FBC Magnolia commit to supporting us financially, but Stan Scroggins, FBC’s music and missions pastor, helped us plan a speaking schedule among other BMA churches where we would trust God to meet the rest of our financial needs. Beyond finances, we had many other needs. Many people in the church came to our aid by providing me with gear for trekking around in the jungles of PNG and tools for building our family’s bush house.

God provided for every need we had, and the time came for us to head to the field. I will never forget the day we were officially sent out by FBC Magnolia.

That afternoon I was ordained by the church leaders and charged by an emotional message from Bro. Stan Scroggins. That night I was given the opportunity to preach, praise God for meeting all of our needs and

Jeremy Hambrice and family, missionaries to Papua New Guinea

thank FBC Magnolia for being the ones God used to meet many of them. After the service we were thrown a “going away” party where words were said by church members that still encourage us to this day.

Getting us to the field was a big deal, but making sure we stay here is even bigger. We have not been in PNG long and have already seen missionaries leave the field discouraged without any intentions of returning.

The reasons vary, but I’m certain that had these families had sending churches keeping the pulse of their missionaries, the outcome would probably have been different. During our time in PNG, not a single week has gone by when we have not heard from a member at FBC, and at least once a month, if not more, we hear from a pastor.

Now that we are here, FBC’s responsibility has become even greater. Not only are they responsible for keeping us here, but also to make sure Wantakians hear, understand and mature in the gospel. One step they are taking is sending a team to help us build our house in March 2015. We are excited that they will finally get to see the Wantakians face to face. This will undoubtedly increase their commitment to them and put flesh to their prayers for them.

To say that FBC Magnolia is invested in their missionaries would be an understatement. Through this whole process, they have been the sending church that every sending church should be. As we have rubbed shoulders with many missionaries, whether in the training or on the field, we have found out that a sending church like FBC Magnolia is a rare thing.

It is our prayer that God would raise up hundreds more missionaries from within the BMA with sending churches just like ours.

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PARTNERING FOR THAILAND NEW HOPE BAPTIST CHURCH + BRANDON LINGLE

BLESSINGS OF PARTNERSHIPS IN MISSIONS New Hope Baptist Church in Streetman, Texas, has been involved in mission partnerships for several years but became more deeply involved through the ministry of Brandon and Brittney Lingle. God brought Brandon to New Hope via Baptist Missionary Association Theological Seminary in Jacksonville, Texas. At the beginning of one semester, Brandon came from Henderson, Texas, for an evening class. As the class progressed, I discovered that he had musical talent and mentioned that to Dennis Morris, our youth pastor at New Hope. He recruited Brandon to help lead music for our youth. It wasn’t long after 36 ::: March - April 2015 | mission:world

BY: ELTON McCANN | PASTOR, NEW HOPE

that, that Dennis accepted a pastorate elsewhere, and Brandon became the primary youth minister.

From the beginning of his ministry at New Hope, Brandon had made it known that he had a burden for missions among Asian people. And then Brandon introduced Brittney to New Hope.

Even before they were married, she became an important part of the ministry. She, like Brandon, indicated that she had a burden to be a missionary among Asian people as well.

After a couple of years at New Hope, Brandon and Brittney began searching for the specific area where God would have them serve. They came to

Thailand agree that God was calling them to Thailand. When they applied for missionary status, they discovered they would be responsible for raising sixty percent of their financial support. New Hope saw that need as an opportunity to have a part in their ministry.

The church, as well as individuals, began to step forward pledging to partner with them in the work to which God had called them. Some individuals even beyond our church joined in their support.

The Lingles have been in Thailand now for a year, and they have been blessed in language studies, in growth as a family, and in relationships with people in Thailand. The people of New Hope are blessed by the thrilling reports about the work God is doing through them.

This partnership with the Lingles has resulted in the largest missions budget in New Hope’s history.

More than a third of total offerings go to missions and other ministries beyond the local field. The people rejoice in knowing that much of what they give at New Hope is being used in ministries in the Asia Pacific area, Thailand, Iraq, India, Russia, Czech Republic, and Arabic and Spanish ministries in America as well as other people groups around the world through BMA Missions.

Locally, the children of New Hope are blessed by hearing of mission work by people they have known.

It is our hope that because of their exposure to mission work, some of them will be used of God in various ministries throughout the world.

A PARTNERSHIP STORY WORTH BEING TOLD BY: BRANDON LINGLE | THAILAND God has truly blessed us by sending us to Thailand through the efforts and prayers of New Hope Baptist Church, our sending church. They are a blessing not only to the community of Streetman, Texas, but also to those who have and will hear the gospel here in Bangkok, Thailand. I think the story of our partnership with New Hope in sending the gospel to an unreached people is worth being told, so here is the short version of the reason New Hope is our sending church.

In 2009 I started seminary at BMA Theological Seminary in Jacksonville, Texas. There I met a student named Dennis Morris and a professor named Dr. Elton McCann who were also staff members at New Hope. One day I was invited to come and help lead worship with the youth group.

As time went on my friend Dennis was called to pastor at another church, and I became the youth pastor at New Hope. My wife and I served there throughout the rest of our seminary education.

We had no idea how much God would teach us through the ministry and leadership at New Hope during those next three years.

Before we started working there we told the church that we would be leaving to serve in Thailand once we finished our studies. The church still accepted us and took us in as family. We had no idea they would be our sending church, but God knew what He was doing. Now, looking back we know exactly why God brought us to New Hope. Not only was it a joy serving and worshiping with them then, but now, even though we are far apart, we continue to work together to make Christ known.

Our relationship with the church quickly grew to be strong and sweet even in the short time we got to know them. Leaving them and especially the youth was like leaving family. We still hear from the pastors, church members and youth.

The church has been good to us in many ways, and the Lord has used their support, prayers, and encouragement to help sustain us here in Thailand. It always gives us great joy when we hear from the pastors and church members! They are very thoughtful towards us. We cannot thank them enough.

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PARTNERING FOR MEXICO DAVIS STREET BAPTIST CHURCH + TOMMY ROSE

A CHANGE IN OUR CHURCH! BY: ANDY COMER | PASTOR, DAVIS STREET

A few years ago, I felt a burden from the Lord that our church should be more involved in missions. At the time, we were giving faithfully to mission work, but there was a disconnect between our church members and the missionaries. I remember pouring out my heart to our deacons, but, truthfully, we had more questions than answers.

Who would we support? Where would they go?

How would we fund them? When do we start?

Just a few weeks later I received a call from a long time friend who told me that God was leading his family to the mission field. I immediately knew we needed to be a part of it! It wasn’t long before Tommy Rose moved his family to Sulphur Springs, Texas, where they joined Davis Street Baptist

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Church. For almost a year, our church got to know this great family. They became one of us.

In August of 2013, the Rose family said “Good-bye” to our church family, and we sent them to the mission field.

Let me share with you the impact this relationship has had on our church:

Andy Comer and family

MEXICO 1. Our church family views Tommy and Sara as our missionaries. We see them as an extension of our church. We receive updates and get to celebrate with the Roses what God is doing through them.

2. Our church family gives more financially to missions. Because of the personal relationship, our congregation is willing to go above and beyond to make sure the Roses have what they need for ministry.

3. Our church family is willing to go. We are planning to take a group to Mexico to be hands on with the Roses for a few days. I was nervous that not many would want to make the trip, but we had an overwhelming response!

I’m so thankful for the vision of BMA Missions.

This new partnership is not only changing lives on the mission field, but also changing lives in our local church!

EXTENDING THE REACH OF OUR SENDING CHURCH BY: TOMMY ROSE | MEXICO It was really only a dream, a thought that perhaps God might want me to plant churches in a foreign country. Today I am in a small town in the Huasteca region of Hidalgo, Mexico, training local pastors in a discipleship tool they can take back to their churches and implement.

I never thought that God would lead and bless our family in such an extraordinary way.

In the past year and a half we have moved four times and lived in three different countries.

We have been in Pachuca, Mexico for about a year now working alongside El Alba Baptist Church and her missions. It is an honor for us to meet extraordinary people, sit in their homes and see their faces light up as they hear the gospel and learn how to study their Bibles. We are extremely excited to see the future unfolding before us, and as we look back at what led us to this point, we marvel at God’s leading.

It was fifteen years ago that I met one of my lifelong friends in a southeast Texas church. We attended the same church for years, and we were fortunate to go to the same college together after high school. After our first two years of college, however, our paths separated, we both got married and we moved on to begin our ministries. We continued to stay in touch but the everyday encounters were no longer possible.

We both found ourselves pastoring churches, and I found myself calling him often to ask questions and to bounce ideas off of him. In May

Tommy Rose and family, missionaries to Mexcio

of 2012 I called and shared that I felt God telling us it was time to leave for the mission field to plant churches. He told me that their church was convinced they needed to be a church that sent people to plant other churches. With that, our paths were united once again and a partnership began.

Davis Street Baptist Church would be our home for the next eight months and our sending church as we moved to Mexico with a vision to plant churches. Davis Street is the first church we visit when we drive up to the States. It was a blessing to live and minister with all our friends, and it is an honor to know that we are planting churches as an extension of Davis Street.

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PARTNERING FOR SILOAM SPRINGS GRACE HILLS CHURCH + MICHAEL SMITH

THE JOY OF PLANTING AS A LOCAL CHURCH BY: BRANDON COX | PASTOR, GRACE HILLS Your church will never be large enough to plant another church. There will never be a time when you feel you have the people, the resources, and the bandwidth to support someone planting another church in a nearby community. So you may as well do it now before you’re ready!

When Angie and I started Grace Hills Church, my prayer was, “God, help us to be born pregnant.”

We decided from day one that Grace Hills would be a sort of “teaching hospital” where future planters could be immersed in the world of planting and ministry leadership. We would offer on-the-job training and give up leaders and resources as early as possible to plant another church.

Within a few months of relocating to northwest Arkansas to plant, I had coffee with Michael Smith.

He had been leading in youth ministry for most of his adult life but God had been calling him to plant a church in our community. We continued having coffee for two years and Michael finally joined our staff as what we called a “Church Planting Leader in Residence” for a year with plans to launch out and plant another church nearby.

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Brandon Cox, Pastor of Grace Hills Church, and family

During his year on our staff, Michael led teams, started a small group, attended staff meetings, and made disciples. And when his year concluded recently, we released him with the promise of full support in his planting of Journey Church in Siloam Springs, Arkansas.

Arkansas We’ve committed to them financially, and our givers know that their tithe is going even further.

We’ve also given Michael an open fishing license of sorts to draw people from Grace Hills to help. One of our small groups has helped them with some local outreach, and our people pray for them all the time.

Our church has continued to grow, to understand missions and multiplication, and to have a bolder vision for our region. With the blessings of supporting Journey Church that we’ve enjoyed, we want to do it all again as soon as possible!

PARTNERSHIPS LEAD TO SHARING KINGDOM VICTORIES

BY: MICHAEL SMITH | SILOAM SPRINGS

Our journey to start a church began several years ago when God placed a burden on our hearts that simply would not go away. We began to pray that God would give us a heart for the area where he would have us start a church. We also began to pray that God would surround us with people that would encourage, support and teach us to plant a church.

I first met Brandon Cox, pastor of Grace Hills Church, three years ago. His family had just moved back to Rogers, Arkansas, to launch Grace Hills and I reached out to him to ask if we could talk about church planting. It was true then, as it is now, that Brandon loves to encourage others. We continued to meet and talk life, ministry and church planting.

Grace Hills was planted with the intention of planting more churches. The leadership team was ready to do whatever it would take to help plant another church. At that time my wife and I were ready to take the next steps but were not sure where. At the same time, the BMA wanted to partner with churches to start a church-planting residency. After a time of prayer and multiple conversations, it was clear that God was leading us to partner with Grace Hills and become BMA missionaries.

I spent a year on staff at Grace Hills, and it was one of the best years of ministry I have ever had. The amount of knowledge and wisdom I was able to gain from the staff was incredible; however, the biggest impact was the encouragement that I received.

I believe that all churches should be investing in missionaries. We should regularly pray for missionaries and financially support them. But do not underestimate the power of encouragement. I am more confident in my calling and ability to plant Journey Church Siloam Springs because Grace Hills has invested in me. I am more confident as a leader because Pastor Brandon believes in me.

The time, resources, and encouragement they have shown us have been tremendous blessings.

I would encourage churches to prayerfully consider stepping out in faith and partnering with a missionary. When we partner, support and encourage one another, we all share in kingdom victories!

Michael Smith, church planter to Siloam Springs, and his family

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A review and preview of missionary news from around the world of us as we earnestly desire to serve Him in whatever capacity He calls us to minister. We have had the opportunity to see souls come to know Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. This is our ultimate goal as we serve Him in the Philippines.

Missouri:Matt Barker

Philippines: Danny Ballard

Since we have been in the Philippines (two years), our family has experienced the ultimate blessings from our Lord and Savior.

We are in awe at His power and grace. He has allowed me to reach out to many Filipinos through VSM trips with local Filipinos. He opened the door for me to teach the fundamentals of true discipleship with students at our BMA College here in the Philippines. I am blessed to have been asked to be the Campus Pastor at this college. I am serving in the capacity as interim pastor for our church, Redeemer’s Missionary Baptist Church. He is opening doors for me to begin a new ministry of discipleship with patients at St. Luke’s Hospital in Manila. Through Rita’s cancer she has begun several new ministries at the St. Luke’s Hospital in Manila. Our daughter, Katrina, has been serving as the school nurse at our BMA Bible College here in the Philippines and touching the lives of the students through helping them with their physical needs as well as their spiritual needs. God has blessed my family, and is daily continuing to pour out His blessings upon each

God has called me and my wife, Allison, along with our son, Calix, to be missionaries in Nixa, Missouri. We have joined John and Alisha Herring as Associate Planter at Refuge Church. We moved to Nixa in early October and are adjusting well to our new home.

We are currently raising financial support for our family. Financial support is our largest need at this point. We have many goals for 2015 that include: Launching weekly services, locating a permanent place of worship, spiritual and numerical growth, continued success in building relationships, and becoming fully supported financially.

Michigan:John Bielein

The Vision Statement at Master’s Hands Deaf Church says, “Helping people find their way back to God by connecting, growing, and serving.”

We are God exalting, Christcentered, and Deaf focused. We seek to impact the Deaf community with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our focus continues to be involved with the Deaf community locally by having Worship and teaching in Sign Language for the Deaf and with voice interpreters for the non-Deaf.

We continue to build relationships

by Deaf-led outreach ministries

involving Women’s Ministry; Grief and Loss Counseling; Interpreter Ministry; and others. God continues to bless His work through Master’s Hands. We are thankful to each of our financial supporters. We are equally thankful to our faithful prayer partners. Prayer is the fuel that drives each one of us to go and make disciples who can then make disciples in the Deaf Community.

We would love to share what we do with you. Please contact John Bienlein, Pastor at 810-394-0094 or at johnb1090@comcast.net. God bless you!

France:Mike Cross Things here in France are moving along. We are continuing to pray that God will open the hearts and minds of those people with whom we have developed relationships.

Please join us in praying for them. I was recently reminded that mission work is a marathon not a sprint.

Pray that we will continue to be faithful, one day at a time, to the calling and mission that God has given to us here in central France.

mission:news

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Grace and Peace to you all.

Latin America: David Dickson

As of this writing, Shelley and I are in Puerto Rico again, this time I am serving as interim pastor for the Church Without Walls in Guayama.

We are definitely in good hands here, our Puerto Rican congregation is composed of some of the most loving people I´ve ever known. Pray for the congregation as they seek a permanent pastor, and for my health issues.

we’ll keep planting the seed of God’s Word and loving people right where they are, we will see the fruits of repentance and salvation that only God can bring. Washington State is the second most un-churched state in the nation and in desperate need of the gospel. Please continue to pray that God would open up more doors for us to share this great news to this state.

Church is not about a building but let me give you a quick update regarding our meeting location.

Over these past 5 years we have met in schools, hotels, restaurants, health gyms, and the list goes on. We are so grateful to be on the verge of having our very own building to have our church services in. As stated earlier, church is not about a building but it’s sure gonna be nice to have a place we can call our church home and are excited about the possibilities to reach more with having a facility.

We would like to thank all of our prayer support team as well as our financial partners. We couldn’t do this without you! If you would like to join our prayer team or become one of our financial partners you can write, call or email us. We’d love to hear from you!

Washington:Brad Faulk

Blessings from the Faulk Family!

We are just a few months away from finishing our 5th year here in the State of Washington. During this time we have experienced the highs and lows of church planting and can honestly say that God has been faithful the entire journey.

We still have a lot to learn on how to effectively reach the people here in this area. One thing we are convinced of, however, is that if

un-churched within the community.

We are very excited to be in preparation for our first baptismal candidate. Praise God! Please continue to pray for us

Dominican:Jesse Hales

We want to say thank you for your many prayers and of course your support. God has been blessing us here in the Dominican Republic.

We have been observing and learning for a while and are now getting in to the teaching side of our ministry a little more. There is a lot of need here for effective children’s ministry. Please pray that we are able to not only train teachers in methods that work well here but that we are able to see a fresh burden for child evangelism spread among the churches here, not just the children’s workers. Please pray that God will give us wisdom and guidance in this ministry. We praise Him for the help and opportunities He has given to us.

Missouri:John Herring

California:Jesse Garrido We are very grateful to God for His provision and care as we continue to serve on the mission field as we reach out to the

We are excited that God is opening up many new doors for us to make a difference for eternity. As we have continued to become more and more a part of the community, we are seeing that God is using Refuge Church to meet tangible needs in many ways. We are excited that God has moved us to the next stage of growth in our plant and March - April 2015 | mission:world ::: 43

look forward to seeing where He continues to lead us. Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support. Would you continue to pray for those who are far from Christ in Nixa, that we would be able to introduce them to the life changing love and truth of the gospel? Thanks again!

Meeting in Missouri. If you would like for us to visit your church while we are in the States, please contact us at 601-427-0128. We would love to visit with you and share our ministry.

Philippines:Fil Kakilala

Hispanic Missions: Michael Hight We can’t help but praise God for what He has done through Hispanic missions in the United States. There have been new works started and souls have been saved. Now we look forward to 2015. We have several goals for the work in general. We have started a special fund that our Hispanic works are contributing to in order to send out a Hispanic missionary. It is designated as the pro-fundo misionero. We are also working on ways to work together in the various states to build on our fellowship, training, and a concerted missions effort through all of the works here. In May we will continue with the Hombre a Hombre conference that Buddy Johnson initiated. This is always a blessed time for the men in our work. Thank you for your prayers and support.

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Dual citizenship! For now, I am a citizen of Heaven and a citizen of the U.S.A. I never thought that I would be pursuing another dual citizenship until I needed legal permission to reside in the Philippines for mission purposes. God gave me peace to obtain a Fiipino citizenship while retaining my U.S. passport as a dual citizen. This will give me freer access to mission opportunities not only in the Philippines but also in Asia-Pacific. My thirteen-year-old daughter Justine found out she can be a dual citizen too. Having been reluctant to move to the Philippine Islands, now she is excited to have a legitimate reason to relocate.

However, my wife Lisa is not eligible yet for dual citizenship, and her requirements for an immigration visa are multiple. Please pray for our application and preparations.

Philippines:Doug Lee The 2014-15 school year has finished its final chapter with graduates in Theology, Religious Education, and Church Music. God has blessed us to build relationships with them that will last for eternity.

Our love and prayers go with each of these graduates as they start a new journey.

We will be home in April and May for annual medical check-ups and to attend the National BMA

Colorado:Jacob Norman

Greetings from beautiful Colorado!

I am excited to tell you about what is going on with our new plant in Falcon, and other planting activities in Colorado. Right now my family and I have relocated to Falcon with hopes on planting another church in Colorado.

We have begun meeting families and plan on starting a Bible Study soon (by the time you are reading this we will have been meeting for two months prayerfully). We are excited to be a part of two other new plants that are seeking to reach people in Thornton and Pueblo West. Right now we have three plants and planting families at various stages in the process and I am excited to see what God is going to do. I ask for your prayers for my family as we are in an area that has been very hard soil for

years, and we are praying that through the power of the Holy Spirit the soil will be softened and prepared to receive the seed of the Gospel.

New Mexico: Anthony Pennington

Jorge stopped by to see his friend Sujey on Sunday morning. He helped her replace the broken lock on her front door and fix a flat tire, then she and her three children headed off to church. On Monday evening he came by to check on her and her family. Each Monday she hosts a Bible study in her home and even though he understood very little English, he listened as he ate in the kitchen.

We shared the story of the Ethiopian eunuch’s conversion and baptism. We talked about how excited Philip was to share Jesus and the way of salvation.

I asked Sujey to ask Jorge if he was interested in knowing about how to have a relationship with God. He said he did not know anything about God but he wanted to know about Him. Sujey and her son Jesus translated the gospel from English into Spanish for Jorge. The Holy Spirit began to convict him of his sins and that Jesus was the only one who could save him.

Jorge repented and asked Jesus to come into his life. The Neighborhood Mercy Church is now blessed with some Christian translators for this predominately Spanish-speaking neighborhood. Praise the Lord and thank you all for your prayers!

Canada:Michael Poirier

The work in Quebec, Canada, is doing well. We have new visitors who come to church in Levis from time to time. The work is slow but steady. In Haiti the work is demanding but it’s worth it because it involves souls. We deal with people that are poor in the Lord and in food supplies. Many are sick because of the dirty water they drink and therefore need medical attention because of the bacteria, etc.

We need to install a well for them and the sooner the better. In Quebec people have social services to help them but in Haiti they are on their own. The people of Haiti rely on other sources… the Lord, church people and whoever can help, but they are all poor. Please pray for the French of Quebec and Haiti.

Mexico:Tommy Rose Pachuca, Mexico, really is a beautiful place, it has grown on us rather fast and we love it. We wake up to a mountain range that surrounds

us and protects us from turbulent weather (most of the time). We have accustomed ourselves to the landscape and the light and agreeable weather here in Pachuca. However, I could not have imagined how burdened the people of this beautiful city have become with religiousness. It seems to be everywhere, on every mind, in every conversation. We hear of the religious ideas of others that have been before us and have seen how it hurts, separates and destroys. We are glad though that some have heard the freeing message of Jesus and are now growing in that freedom. Please continue to pray for us as we serve La Iglesia Bautista El Alba and her missions here in Pachuca.

Texas:Ashraf Sara

From the Bible we observe that persecution causes believers to move and the gospel to spread in pockets. In Acts 8, “At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria…

Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.” Because of the severe persecution in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East, refugees in crisis are making their way to this country of opportunity. As Christians, it is important that we take advantage of this window to reach Arabic people who are coming to America

in droves. There are over 9 million Arabic-speaking people in the United States today. Without a doubt, people in crisis are most open to the message of hope that comes from knowing Jesus. Therefore the need is for multiplication of Arabic speaking congregations in America.

The Lord is working in a mighty way among the Arabs in America.

From the first Arabic church we planted in Dallas, Texas, to growing to have several small groups meet in the Dallas Fort Worth metropolitan area, to continuing to grow and expand to reach Arabic communities in the neighboring states of Oklahoma and Louisiana.

Our mission is to make disciples who make disciples. Consider this thought… if we are not going to share the Word here in America, then where? And if not now, then what are we waiting for? And if it is not us, then who else will go? Jesus commanded the church to “Go and

teach all nations...” If someone from another country or culture moves into your community perhaps that is God’s way of helping you fulfill the Great Commission without leaving home. Your mission starts at home and God has brought the world to your doorstep!

Mexico:Ricky Williams Seven men from the Tecolotitla area outside of Huejutla, Hidalgo, Mexico, were trained in DiscipleWay. It was a good week of

training, fellowship and preaching each night. Trainers Andrés Pacheco, Miguel Martínez, Tommy Rose, Brother Rodolfo and I participated.

In witnessing training, 9 professions of faith were made.

The Bible Institute continues to host online classes and I am surprised at how many people are making use of these classes. The Bible Institute in southern Mexico is using three subjects from last year in their classes. Just today one brother from El Salvador, Rigoberto, commented how much he enjoyed watching Genaro Acosta´s class on Romans. Three sets of DVDs of our classes on Hermeneutics and Homiletics are headed to Chiapas this week to be used by three pastors. Continue to pray that the Lord will guide in this endeavor.

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

MARCH CALENDAR

1. Rick and Tina Cummins**, Missions Office - Conway, AR Elijah Poulin*, Peru David Dickson*, Latin America (Magnolia, AR) 2. Sara Rose*, Mexico 3. Datha Parrish*, Conway, AR Heidi Faulk*, Pasco, WA 4. Jill Sanders*, Papau New Guinea 5. Ronald Murillo*, Panama 6. Linda Thompson*, Missions Office – Conway, AR 7. Church Multiplication 8. Joao Regueiras*, Portugal Abigail Faulk*, Pasco, WA 9. Missionary Children 10. Lebanese Nationals 11. Ashraf Sara*, Garland, TX Paige West*, Missions Office – Conway, AR 12. Lifeword Staff 13. Neil Greenhaw*, Bentonville, AR Myah Huson*, Ecuador 14. Boris & Vera Lebedev**, Ft. Walton Beach, FL Jeremy Hambrice*, Papau New Guinea Donny Parrish*, BMA America – Conway, AR 15. Mike Cross*, France 16. Alicia Ramshur *, Philippines 17. Joanna Prakash*, India John & Alisha Herring**, Nixa, MO 18. Lalhmuthangi Bochung* Myanmar 19. BMA Executive Directors 20. Graham Sanders*, Papau New Guinea Silas Rose* Mexico 21. Bolivian Nationals 22. Moral Action Committee 23. Lauren Greenhaw*, Bentonville, AR London Grace Greenhaw*, Bentonville, AR 24. Mexican Nationals 25. LaJuana Knott*, Bryant, AR Grady & Denise Johnson**, Mexico Rozami Bochung*, Myanmar Raneem Jordan* 26. Justin Burdick*, Southhaven, MS 27. Sadie Faulk*, Pasco, WA 28. Missionary Wives 29. North American Church Planters 30. Jared and Ashton Eakin**, Alexander, AR 31. Brazilian Nationals

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Missions Office Staff Missionary Outreach in Angola Cape Verde Nationals Isaac Jones*, Smithville, MO Sam Jordan*, Jordan Doyle Moore*, Philippines Indian Nationals Filipino Nationals DiscipleGuide Staff Ministers Resource Services John & Louela Page**, Cambodia BMA Churches Sam Cox*, Bentonville, AR Chuck Williams*, Pasco, WA Olivia Sanders*, Papau New Guinea Creative Access Nations Dale & Celia Broom**, Ghana BMA Missions Directors Missionaries in Language School Todd & Tina Cox**, Terrell, TX Penny Gathright*, Honduras Japanese Nationals North American Missions Coaches Sean Richards*, Papau New Guinea BMA America Staff Macey Herring*, Nixa, MO BMMI Teams Those that God is calling to the mission field I am a Woman Ministries in Lebanon International Missionaries Hispanic Missionaries National Missionaries

* Birthday ** Anniversary

March - April 2015 | mission:world ::: 47