Messenger Spring 2018

w w w. G e n e r a l B a p t i s t . c o m

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Messenger J erus ale m

J u d e a & Sa m a r ia

G en e ral B ap ti st

Sp r i n g 2 0 1 8

En d s o f th e Earth

Theological Connections

A home-grown religious movement had its beginnings in the 1820s in Evansville, Indiana. General Baptists came into existence because of the revival preaching of Elder Benoni Stinson. He boldly and frequently proclaimed the good news of the gospel that “Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, tasted death for everyman” with the result that “whosoever will may be saved”. This preaching from texts found in the New Testament books of Hebrews and Romans resulted in the planting of new churches, a networking with other like-minded groups, and the birthing of a national organization in 1870.

But why General Baptist? The name is actually a summary of the core theology of the movement reflecting belief in a general atonement that anyone who is willing to trust Jesus as Savior may be saved. This theological name stood in contrast to those groups of the 19th century who advocated a particular or limited atonement for in their theology only a few, not the many, could be saved.

Though the term “atonement” is not in the General Baptist Statements of Faith, few terms are more important to our historical identity. The “general” in General Baptist is derived from our position on atonement.

Atonement can mean the compensation, the restitution paid, or expiation given by God through Jesus Christ for our sin. Atonement can describe the actions of Jesus to secure our salvation, and thus the redemptive work of Jesus can be described as the atonement.

Many Protestants continue to disagree over whether atonement is general (i.e., for all) or particular (i.e., only for those who are “elect”).

General Baptists argue that the atonement is for all, but the benefits of the atonement “can be received only through repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Statement of Faith IV). Because we believe in a general atonement we are naturally evangelistic and intentionally missionary. How else will our world hear the Good News?

For more information visit: www.GeneralBaptist.com.

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For His Glory

by Clint Cook, Executive Director

Since I have been Executive Director I have been honored to visit many of our mission fields, visit many churches abroad, and get to know many of our national pastors. It is humbling to see firsthand how training institutes at the General Baptist Bible College and the Matigsalug Bible Institute in the Philippines are making such a difference in training our Filipino pastors and church leaders.

In India, Prakash and Jemima Pamu oversee the Dorcas Sewing Centers and assist local pastors in ministry on the eastern coast, and in the central region, Jesse and Brittany Vermula work with local pastors and oversee the Lydia Sewing Centers. Who would have ever imagined that a simple tool like a sewing machine could be used as a pathway to spread the gospel? The local pastors make sure these women are not just taught how to sew. The sewing lessons include the clear presentation of the gospel, and as a result, scores of Hindu and Muslim women have stepped over the line of faith and accepted Christ, changing the eternal course of precious families!

Our churches in Jamaica are on fire for Jesus! They are working diligently to gather funds to build an administration center and daycare so the gospel can be shared with families by caring for their children. In Honduras, Faith Home is thriving despite political tension, and the local pastors are excited because they are now receiving essential leadership and pastoral training from our California Hispanic coordinator, Rene Rodriguez.

As I saw these ministries in action and dreamed of the potential our fields hold, I was overwhelmed with joy, and then immediately burdened with the need to do more! Can you imagine the number of souls that could be won if each and every General Baptist church partnered financially with our international work?

There are so many opportunities for you and your church to get connected with our international work. Have you ever sponsored a student at GBBC or MBI? We have scores of young people in the Philippines that need to be sponsored so they can receive training in ministry to pastor, lead worship, teach and plant churches. They have the passion and call, but not the means.

Would you like to make sure that the children at Faith Home receive the best care and education possible? You can do so through child sponsorship!

Would you like to partner with our work in India and provide funds to buy more sewing machines and resources for the children and pastors there? Would your church contribute to the campaign in Jamaica to help a community hear the gospel through a daycare? There are ongoing needs in Mexico, Saipan, Guam, and Niger as well.

Please get involved today with International Ministries. Our Unified Giving provides general support for International Ministries. Special project support by your church, a Sunday School class, a small group, or a youth/children’s ministry could make an eternal investment in the Kingdom by sponsoring a child at Faith Home, a student at GBBC or MBI, or funding one of our other ministries throughout the world. We can do far more together than we could ever do alone.

When I stand before God one day I do not plan on standing there with my personal bank statement displaying a lot of zeros behind a dollar sign. I want to meet Him with a harvest of souls – many that I have never laid eyes on or met, but touched through my financial gifts. How will you and your church stand before Him one day? I pray it will be surrounded by souls.

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Messenger General Baptist

Spring 2018

Table of Contents 3 For His Glory 7 Reaching the World 8 Opening a New Missions Field 10 Niger, West Africa… A New Beginning 13 One Life 15 Saipan 70th Anniversary 16 Clinica Mision Bautista: Open and Active 18 Moving Forward : Church Planting Honduras 20 Launch Boot Camp

Niger West Africa...

A New Beginning

22 Be a Missionary Without Leaving Town 25 10 Things That Demonstrate The World You Grew Up In No Longer Exists 28 Recalibrate: 10 Steps Every Church Must Take This Year, Or Be Dead In A Decade 34 Hope in the Darkness 37 Making It On a Pastor’s Pay 40 Inside Out 41 Who Moved Our Lines?

44 Trending Now 46 National Missions Sunday

One Life

Moving Forward

10 13 18

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Messenger General Baptist

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The General Baptist Messenger is published by General Baptist Ministries (General Baptist Council of Associations, inc), 100 Stinson dr, Poplar Bluff, MO 63901

10 Things

That Demonstrate the World You Grew Up In No Longer Exists

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under the direction of an editorial team composed of the denominational leadership team, and Executive Director, Clint Cook

editorial team: Franklin Dumond Mark Powell Linda McDonough Patti Thornton

layout & design:

Hope In The Darkness

Stinson Press - Kenrick Nobles General Baptist Ministries

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Who Moved Our Lines?

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Unified GIVING ... . doing together what we cannot do alone

U N I T E D S TAT E S • H O N D U R A S • J A M A I C A • I N D I A • P H I L I P P I N E S • S A I PA N • M E X I C O

Since 1823, General Baptists have been growing our ministry here in the United States, continually trying to reach new people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Since 1911, we have been sending missionaries overseas, to go where many of us will never go, to reach people groups many of us will never meet.

This global ministry is only made possible through generous financial support from General Baptist churches and individuals. The Unified Giving Fund was created to organize this support and give where it was most needed. We can plant new churches because of Unified Giving. We can send missionaries to new countries because of Unified Giving. We can aid in relief efforts because of Unified Giving.

And people are being won to Christ because of YOUR gifts to Unified Giving.

General Baptist Ministries 100 Stinson Dr. | Poplar Bluff, MO 63901 573.785.7746 | www.GeneralBaptist.com

REACHING THE WORLD For His Glory

By Mark Powell, GBIM Director

General Baptist International is excited to be a major contributor to this issue of the General Baptist Messenger.

We believe 2018 will be a significant year for General Baptist in many ways including our international outreach.

In this issue of the Messenger you will find several articles related to our international fields. Kris Yeomans and Mark Powell have both made contributions related to our potential new work in Niger, West Africa. This exciting opportunity will expand our reach in the 10/40 window where most of the world’s unreached people live. We have been encouraging General Baptists to pray the THUMB (Tribal, Hindu, Unreached, Muslim, and Buddhist) for a couple of years now and Niger gives us a new opportunity to reach Muslims with the gospel.

Former missionary and Pastor Phil Warren recently visited India with Executive Director Clint Cook, GBIM Director Mark Powell and Pastor Steven Gray. While there Phil was moved by the story of a lady who accepted Christ and greatly improved the life of her family through the ministry of our Dorcas Sewing Centers. GBIM is touching many Hindu and Muslim people through our ministries in India including the Dorcas and Lydia Sewing Centers.

Saipan Community Church will celebrate its 70th Anniversary in 2018. This is an exciting milestone in General Baptist history since Saipan was the first field to be opened by General Baptists and is the first and oldest Protestant church on the island of Saipan. Current Pastor Josh Slater has contributed an article about this exciting event anniversary.

You will also find in these pages two updates about the ministry in Honduras. Dr. Rodney and Teresa Walls bring you up to date concerning the advancement of our health care ministry and clinic and the revival of the Honduras Bible Institute. We believe some of our best days of ministry are still ahead for both Honduras and Faith Home.

The special offerings for International Ministries in 2018 will be for the General Baptist Bible College and the opening of a new field in Niger, West Africa. The LAUNCH Give offering, which includes the Day of Poverty for youth groups and VBS offering will help the campus expansion program of the General Baptist Bible College in Davao City, Philippines. The Ed Stevens offering will provide us some much-needed funds for our new mission launch in Niger. Funds for housing, transportation, legal fees, immigration, and governmental fees will be fully or partly derived from this offering. Please help with these offerings in 2018, and thank you for your continued support.

The overall focus on the General Baptist movement is on developing leaders for our future. Dr. Jim Pratt has contributed an article about the role International Ministries will play as we also seek to develop future missionaries as well as leaders for our international church.

We believe that you will be blessed by reading how our great God continues to work through General Baptists around the globe. Please contact the mission office if you would like to become a partner with any of these great ministries.

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Opening a New

Mission Field N i g e r, W e s t A f r i c a

By Mark Powell, GBIM Director

Kris and Nicole Yeomans have long had a burden for Muslim evangelism and outreach. Kris spent some time in Niger, West Africa as an intern during his college days, and together he and wife Nicole had explored and prayed concerning God’s apparent call on their life to reach Muslim people. The answer they continued to receive from God was a call to reach people in the West African, French speaking country of Niger.

The Yeoman family approached General Baptist International Missions (GBIM) about this call after leading several Mission One teams to Niger and experiencing confirmation of God’s call on their life. But what does it look like to open any new field, especially one that is so predominately Muslim?

Part of the attraction to Niger is the fact that it is indeed a Muslim nation, yet has managed to maintain a secular government with freedom of religion. In other words, it is possible for a denominational mission agency like GBIM to legally register and do ministry in Niger without the typical use of “creative access” that Christian missions must use in other Muslim nations.

The process of legal recognition and legal status as a Christian mission is not always an easy one. It certainly implies finding the right contacts and lawyers who will represent us and our interest well.

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Fortunately, the oldest Christian mission in Niger is SIM International. SIM began as the Sudan Interior Mission with an original focus on mission work in the Sudan of Africa: “Sudan Interior Mission (SIM) began in 1893.

Canadians Walter Gowans, Roland Bingham, and American Thomas Kent had a vision to evangelise the 60 million least-reached communities of sub-Saharan Africa. Unable to interest established missions—most of which said reaching the Soudan was impossible—the three set out alone.

Illness overtook all three. Gowans and Kent died of complications in 1894, and Bingham returned to Canada. On his second attempt, Bingham caught malaria again and was forced to return home. Unable to return to Africa, Bingham sent out a third team.

They successfully established a base 800 kilometers inland at Patigi, Nigeria in 1902. From there, the work of SIM began in Africa.” 1 The fortunate part is that SIM has been willing to work with other Christian organizations who desire ministry in areas where they are active, including Niger. This means that the Yeomans will be able to go as missionaries with GBIM, sign a memorandum of understanding with SIM, and SIM will help both the Yeomans and GBIM wade through the muddy waters of registration with the government of Niger. The arrangement will provide many benefits for all involved: SIM will gain new volunteers who will help their ministry; GBIM will have a partner to guide us through the difficulties of the registration and immigration process; the Yeomans will benefit from making many great contacts in addition to their children attending the Sahel Academy (a missionary kid school) sponsored by SIM. But what does the future of GBIM look like in Niger?

That is a difficult and complicated question. Freedom of religion does not guarantee success or growth in any country. Protestant missions began in Niger in 1924. Fifty years later, in the late 1970’s, there were 12,000 Catholic and 3,000 Protestant converts. Current estimates place the number of Christians at about 56,000 with projected growth to about 85,000 by 2025. The Joshua Project puts the Evangelical growth rate at 3.7% with Evangelicals making up on 0.19% of the population.

We do not think for one moment that this is an easy task. Christian growth in this country that is 95% Muslim 1

https://www.sim.org/about

is slow at best. In 2015 Muslims protesting the depiction of the prophet of Islam in the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo destroyed 72 church buildings and killed at least 10 people in attacks that began in the city of Zinder on January 16 and hit the capital of Niamey the next day.

SIM has been in Niger since 1924 and today they are represented by three independent Christian organizations with 100 congregations, 65 pastors, and over 6,000 adherents.2 The struggle for Christian groups in Niger is very real. But the fact remains that Niger also has 15 people groups in which less than 20% of the population has any possible affiliation with a Christian church. That means the potential is as great as the call to preach the gospel to all people But God has not only called us to reach those who are easy to reach. Rather He has called us to go into all the world to preach the gospel. Niger will be the second ministry area for General Baptists in the 10/40 window, an area of the world between 10 and 40 degrees north of the equator where most unreached people live. We have been blessed to serve in India for several years now with two associations and nearly 100 churches in that 10/40 window country.

Our goals will be to facilitate a church planting movement with Nigerien Christian leaders through leadership development and outreach. The Yeomans already have several contacts in Niger and have worked hard to establish a base of relationships upon which we plan to build. As in all areas, discipleship and leadership development will be an essential to the success of our work in Niger.

But first we must have the Yeomans well established in Niger. That means immigration, housing, transportation, education for their children, language school, just to name a few essentials. We believe the Yeomans are up to the task. We also believe that General Baptists are up to the task, but it will take committed ministry partners to make it happen and an army of prayer warriors praying for spiritual victory in the individual lives of Nigeriens.

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http://www.simusa.org/about/where-we-work/africa/niger/

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Niger,West Africa…

A New Beginning

By Kris Yeomans

he thought it was safe. It had been quiet for a few days. No harassment. No mockery. No abuse. No threats.

Yes, it had been quiet for a few days. Peaceful. Farra decided it was time to travel out to a village to collect 5000 francs owed to her. She needed money to buy food for her four children that remained in her custody. They were down to the last bit of millet they owned, and she knew that after they gathered around 2:00 pm to have their one meal of the day, they would have no more food. So she got up from the ground where she had slept, and walked out of the hut into the bright morning sun.

Upon arriving in the village on the outskirts of town, she went to the home of her friend, the one who owed her the money. She reached the old wooden gate of the home where her friend lived. She greeted the three children working in the front yard, and called out to her friend who was still inside. “Annekke….Annekke!” Annekke came out of the house, and the women began to chat, first spending five minutes greeting one another and asking about family, etc.

After a few minutes of casual conversation, Farra asked Annekke if she had the 5,000 francs owed to her. “Yes, I have it. I will go inside and get the money,” Annekke replied. As she got up to walk inside, she noticed a large group of people a short distance away. Dust was all around, and the crowd was very noisy. Annekke called over to Farra and said, “Farra, what do you suppose is happening?” Before Farra could respond, she heard a voice that she had hoped she would never hear again. Over the noisy crowd, she heard the voice of her husband call her name loudly – “FARRA!!!!!” Her heart sank as her pulse increased. “OH NO,” she thought. “Someone has alerted my husband that I am here.” As Farra stood from the bench she was seated on, her husband quickly approached her, along with her own mother, and began to physically attack her. Her mother grabbed her by the throat and began choking her, and her husband grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her to the ground. “How could you, FARRA??!!,” her mother shouted. “How could you do this to our family?! You are a disgrace!” Her husband moved closer to her, as she sat on the ground, weeping. “If you choose to remain a follower of Jesus, you will never see your children again!” With that, he attempted to kick Farra. Thankfully, she got up from the ground quickly and avoided the foot that was aiming for her head. With tear-filled eyes, she looked at her husband and mother, as she was walking away, and said, “You can do whatever you like to me. You can kill me. I am now a follower of Jesus, and I will never turn back.”

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Welcome to the life of Nigerien believers. Stories like this are common in the desolate, hot, sandy nation of Niger, where a vast majority of the people are Ms*lm. While it is currently legal to convert to Christianity, it is anything but easy. Yet in spite of the persecutions, people are switching their allegiance to Christ. The Spirit of God is blowing thru the Sahel.

God is leading us to minister and serve among the people of Niger. Who are the people of Niger? They are some of the kindest and most generous people you will ever meet. They live in the harshest environment we have ever experienced, yet they always seem to have smiles on their faces. They have needs. Real needs. Needs that you and I cannot even begin to imagine, like how they are going to feed their children as they live in a country that is consistently ranked one of the lowest on the human development index, or get them an education so they can rise above the 29% literacy rate, or keep them out of the hands of the terrorists’ recruiters, or how to manipulate the spirits to keep them safe. In the midst of their sufferings, they need Jesus. They need the hope that only He can offer, not only in the life to come, but in this current life also.

Most people in Niger, 95% of the country’s population, claim to be adherents of Islam. Yet you will find that Folk Islam is more common, especially in the villages. They claim their allegiance to Allah and Muhammad, yet they wear amulets to ward off spirits. They desperately need to know the Jesus we serve who has power over all created things, including the dark forces they live their lives trying to manipulate. They need to know that Jesus is Good News to them.

As we look forward to ministering in Niger, our goal is to see national Christ followers discipled in sound, biblical theology who will be able to work out that theology to produce indigenous churches that honor and glorify God as a reflection of their culture. Soon after language study

is completed, we hope to begin an in-depth Bible study with national Christians. We envision this will start in our home or in the home of a pastor. As God leads, we hope that these Bible studies in a home will grow to become an indigenous Bible training center with mature, discipled

Christian leaders teaching Gospel living in a way that makes sense within their culture. Our prayer is that the hope of Jesus will go forward, transforming the culture of Niger into a Gospel-centered culture.

In addition to the Bible studies, we plan to work with national partners in village evangelism/discipleship and have a weekly children’s Bible study. In a country where approximately half of the people are under the age of 16, reaching a young generation can change it all. So, we will have a strategy to reach out to children and youth.

As we mentioned before, the people of Niger have many needs. We hope to host short-term teams from our General Baptist churches. Anyone and everyone can be used in a powerful way to communicate the Gospel on short term trips to Niger, from teaching and preaching, to electrical work, to sports, to agriculture-related work, and everything in between. We need you!

We are seeking missional churches and individuals to partner with us. We are so thankful for our partners.

We could not serve the people of Niger without all of our partners coming alongside us and serving with us.

The gratitude we feel toward all our partners cannot be expressed in words. We are thankful. As we study the book of Philippians, we are encouraged by the partnership between Paul and the missional church of Philippi. Paul’s letter truly gives us a glimpse of what a partnership between a missionary and their sending church should look like. We think of our home church, Leigh’s Chapel General Baptist Church in Greenville, KY. Without our family at Leigh’s Chapel, there is no way we would be able to fulfill God’s calling on our lives. They are a great example of what a missional church is. They love, support,

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pray, give and go, both locally and abroad, and we couldn’t ask for a more wonderful home church family. We are so thankful for our Leigh’s Chapel family. We also think of all the wonderful General Baptist churches that we have had the pleasure of visiting. Hands down, our favorite part of the preparation process for getting to the field was being able to meet and visit with so many of our General Baptist churches. We as a denomination are truly blessed with not only great churches, but great members that make up those churches. We are so very thankful for every one of you that pray for us, encourage us by sending cards, and support us financially.

Now, you may be thinking, “I didn’t know we (General Baptists) had a mission in Africa.” You would be correct in thinking that. We do not currently have an official work in Africa, so this will be a brand new ministry for us as a denomination. Your next thought may be, “Why start a new work when we already have so many exciting works going on around the world?” The answer to that is an easy one for us – this is not a choice we simply made, to start up a ministry in one of the harshest places on the globe, it is where God has CALLED us to go. For us, it is an act of obedience. We know that God is leading us to Niger, and we know that in doing that, He will provide a way for us to go and share about Him with the Nigerien people. These unreached people need to hear about Him. They need to know that He loves them and died for them. They need that opportunity, the same opportunity that we all have had, to hear about His mercy, grace and love. They need to hear that He can save them, just as He has saved us!

We are excited about where God is calling us, but that doesn’t mean we go without opposition. Satan is constantly trying to deter us from what God has called us to do, through worry, fear and doubt. We need your prayers. As we go to one of the hottest, poorest and most unreached places on earth, there are always questions that come up. Is it worth it? Can we do it? Should we go? We KNOW the answer to these questions is a resounding YES! We know God is calling us, commanding us, to go and tell about Him to the ends of the earth. Please pray for us to go in boldness. Pray for us to go in wisdom, dedication, determination and to faithfully serve as He leads.

These are exciting times for General Baptists! God is laying new opportunities right before us to minister among unreached people groups in West Africa, in some of the most remote places on earth.

God is building His Kingdom around the world. He commands us to go and make disciples, to the ends

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of the earth. Join us as we work to open a brand new international mission field for General Baptists. We need prayers. We need resources. We need YOU. Lost people need Jesus. Unreached people need Jesus.

Lost people have the opportunity to hear about Christ and His power to save. Unreached people do not have that opportunity. Help us give the Nigerien people an opportunity to hear about Jesus. Help us reach these unreached people for Christ.

For more information on the many ways you can be involved in this brand new ministry, contact GBIM at 573-785-7746 or Kris & Nicole Yeomans at kris@generalbaptist.com.

ONE Life

By Phil Warren

One never knows how a life can be changed with something that many of us may consider insignificant.

We arrived on our visit to India at the Dorcas Sewing Center; it was graduation day. The porch of the center was filled several hundred women. They wore brightly colored sarongs and most had scarves that covered their heads. The women were a mix of Hindu with the bright red dot on their forehead, Muslim, and Christian. They sat on the concrete floor and waited with anticipation.

Trucks and vans continued to bring more women and children. There was a buzz in the air.

Sitting on tables were 100 sewing machines; each one a means of hope. For six months the women had attended the thirteen different centers and learned how to sew. They first learned to hand sew and then they learned how to sew on the machine with a pedal like my grandmother had in her small upstairs room. Several times a week they were taught the Bible and discipled with the hope that they would give their lives to Christ.

One hundred machines…one hundred women…one hundred dreams.

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Each center was called forward and Each day she struggled to find enough their machines were handed over to to eat for her, her children, and her anxious hands. Humble smiles brightened mother-in-law who also was a widow and the faces of the women and they giggled lived with her. One day she was invited to and said “Dhan’yavādālu” or “thank you”. participate in the ministry of the sewing It was incredible to see this ministry after center. Soon she learned to sew and, in the hearing about it for many years. process, became a follower of Christ. Now Later we sat in a side room while she has her sewing machine in her small Pastor Prakash and his wife Jemima and humble home and she earns enough attentively presided over our afternoon to provide for her family. As Jemima meal. There were various vegetables, rice, finished the story it was evident that the and the strong smell of curry chicken. young widow’s life had turned around and Three women were graciously serving us her smile was the exclamation point. and tried hard to keep our plates filled.

I asked to take a picture of her hands.

Bhavani Jemima introduced one of the young These hands eagerly worked. These women, Bhavani, who had bright eyes and shy smile and hands comforted her children. These hands brought in an told us her story. income and sustained their lives. These hands were lifted At fourteen she became a wife in a prearranged in praise to her God for His supply. She was fulfilling the marriage, as is the custom. Soon she gave birth to a Scriptural admonition, “Whatever your hand finds to do, daughter and several years later to a son. By the age of do it with all your might” (Ecc. 9:10 NASB). thirty-one she was a widow. In the Indian society it is “Whoever saves one life saves the world entire.” In customary that a woman cannot remarry. This is a “social one of our churches someone gave $100 to buy a sewing death” and for many it becomes difficult to provide for machine. It may have been a sacrificial gift from an themselves and their children. The widows are often the elderly widow in a rural church or a gift from wealthy poorest of the poor. businessman. Who gave the gift or the size of the gift is immaterial, but the gift saved a life and changed the world for a young widow in Kakinada, India.

These hands eagerly worked.

These hands comforted her children.

These hands brought in an income and sustained their lives.

These hands were lifted in praise to her God for His supply.

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Saipan to celebrate

By Josh Slater

70 anniversary

Seventy years ago, the year 1948, marked an important milestone in the history of General Baptists. Just a few short years after the end of World War II, which had seen the almost total devastation of the small island of Saipan, Missionary Ed Stevens finished construction of a mission church and launched a mission congregation on this little island in the middle of the ocean. General Baptist missions had served Guam since 1911, but the work there was inherited from another denomination.

The work of Ed Stevens on Saipan effectively makes Saipan Community Church the first mission started

by General Baptists and the first and oldest Protestant Church on Saipan.

This was not an easy road for Rev. Stevens. He faced many trials to acquire the right property, obtain the right supplies and find the right help. The plan was to have the first service at the mission on Easter Sunday in 1948. However, the church building wasn’t finished, so on the 4th of April, 1948, Saipan Community Church officially launched. That first service was mostly attended by U.S. military personnel and their families.

This was also the week the first small group met and a man named Vincente Silencino, a Filipino contract worker, accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. Vince, as he was called, later accepted his call into ministry and eventually attended Oakland City College. After seminary Vince became the first General Baptist missionary to the Philippines. This part of the story reminds us how important Saipan can be for sharing

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the Gospel to the rest of the Asian world.

Seventy years later, the Saipan Community Church is still a strong and vibrant ministry. With over fourteen different small groups and four services including a morning service with a variety of nationalities, a Filipino vesper service, and two other worship services targeting residents from nearby Pacific Islands on Sunday, the church is still strong and spreading the gospel.

While the first service was primarily U.S. military families, currently at least 17 different people groups participate in the morning services. This demonstrates the awesome capacity this unique church possesses to reach out to all of Asia. It has also inspired the church’s motto of “reaching an island to reach the world”.

In 1988 the first missionary from the Philippines, Ben Porcadillia and family, arrived on the island to minister to Filipino residents. The Porcadillias were also instrumental in starting the Saipan Community School which is the first and oldest Protestant school on Saipan.

This spring Saipan Community Church will celebrate its 70th anniversary on Easter Sunday. We will also celebrate the 30th anniversary of both our Filipino worship service and our K-8 School. This will be a great year of celebration as we look to our past with joy and to our future with hope and excitement. The congregation is currently served by Pastor Josh and Rachael Slater and family.

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CLINICA MISION BAUTISTA

OPEN & Active

By Teresa Walls

After years of nonuse medically, the Mision Bautista Clinica opened this past summer. It took weeks of scrubbing and cleaning, but the clinic began functioning as a medical clinic this past summer with the arrival of Dr. Sharon Castro. Let me introduce you to a very sweet lady.

Dr. Sharon is the wife of Mr. Eder a long-term employee of Faith Home on the education side. Her compassionate spirit is comforting, and her skills as a physician have proved so helpful in these past few months. She has seen every Faith Home child, updated and completed charts for each, and organized the clinic’s pharmacy. She actively monitors the health of all the children, and especially those children who have chronic issues. She has often scheduled and taken children to San Pedro to see a specialist when needed. As with so many doctors, she puts in more time than we pay her for.

She is also leading the effort to get the clinic fully licensed with the government. With her assistance, an attorney was secured, and all the necessary documents have been filed. We are currently awaiting an inspection of our facility. Once the inspection is complete, we should then receive a license for the clinic. When licensed, Dr. Sharon will also see our pastors, their families and families within our General Baptist churches. What a blessing that will be!

These are the facts, but let me share a story that I think captures the character of Dr. Sharon. She is a woman of deep Christian faith and a strong belief in prayer. As many of you know, Rodney and I are the primary care givers for baby Lisel because of her many special needs.

A few weeks ago, she became very ill with an upper respiratory infection. Though a holiday, Dr. Sharon called and wanted to know how she was. When I asked her to come and see her, she and Mr. Eder quickly drove to Faith Home to check Lisel. She too was concerned and adjusted

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the medications in an attempt to keep baby Lisel out of the hospital. Before she and Mr. Eder left, she spoke about how much she and Eder believes in God’s healing touch, and that more than anything, she wanted to pray for Lisel.

I held Lisel as Dr. Sharon, Eder and Rodney gathered around and we prayed for this sick little girl. When the amen was said, Dr. Sharon hugged us both and said it was going to be okay! I too believe in prayer. I know that Dr. Sharon is an answer to our General Baptist prayers of getting the clinic open. Lives are being touched physically and spiritually because Dr. Sharon is a woman of great faith!

Oh, and on top of it all, God also worked out the details so that we have a physical therapist that comes to the clinic four days a week providing occupational and physical therapy for several of our children. For years, the clinic was a storehouse. In the span of several weeks, all that changed!

Another story…Lisel has hip dysplasia. In mid-July, we took Lisel to her pediatric orthopedic doctor. The Pavlik harness that she spent five months wearing had not worked. Her only chance to walk normally would be surgery, but because of her cerebral palsy, she would need lots of physical therapy first. She just wasn’t strong enough yet. He recommended that we start physical therapy immediately. The wonderful thing was that we already had. God had sent a physical therapist a few weeks earlier. God answered our prayer, even before we knew to pray it! God is so very good. It is exciting to be a part of what God is doing here!

– Teresa Walls PS Supplies needed: Nebulizer machines, Tubing and masks.

Band aids (all sizes), antibiotic ointment, hydrocortisone cream, antifungal cream, children’s Tylenol, children’s Advil, Robitussin children and adults, or donations for purchasing medications.

Church Planting Honduras

Moving Forward

By Dr. Rodney Walls

General Baptists are blessed with a good group of pastors here in Honduras who are faithful and hardworking, and it is a joy to serve Christ alongside of them! They have seen a lot of missionaries come and go over the years, and building a strong relationship with them continues to be a top priority. Relationship building takes time and the last year and a half have been fruitful in many ways.

The vision to start new works has been in place.

The challenge to our pastors has been for us as a group to prayerfully identify areas where we can start a new church.

Once God has given the location, the design is to have a pastor, along with a trained new leader, begin the work in that community. That way the new pastor can observe and learn from the experienced pastor. During the next six months, the lead pastor will gradually give more and more ministry responsibility to the new pastor. We (the mission and the pastors’ association) want to provide a bit of a safety net to our new pastors and leaders. The desire is to then bring M1 teams alongside the new works to provide a short-term ministry boost.

The church is the hope of the world because the church has been commissioned by Jesus to tell others about Him and to make disciples! The ability to reach people with the gospel, to start more churches in areas without churches and to see our existing churches thrive, depends on leadership development. However, as in many areas in the States, there is a leadership vacuum here. The question became, “How can we best train up leaders in our churches as well as identify and equip future pastors?”

Without development of potential pastors within our existing works, the potential for growth is extremely curbed, and the mission becomes dependent on people

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outside General Baptist ranks. Though there are many good people who can and hopefully will join our ranks.

Growing leaders from within is paramount to the mission.

Simply put, we need more pastors, because we need more churches!

In September 2017, we took a giant step forward.

Miguel Ramirez a long-term employee of the mission was brought on board. He and his wife have served as house parents for Faith Home for years. Miguel has always had a heart for our churches and has served as president of the pastors’ association. He is a powerful preacher and a gifted teacher. Miguel also graduated with a bible degree in Theology in 2013. Miguel and Eduarda continue to work some for Faith Home, but Miguel’s primary responsibility is to work with and train up prospective leaders in our churches, preparing them to better serve alongside their pastor and/or preparing them to be pastors in the future.

This is exciting news!

Miguel has always had a heart for our churches and has served as president of the pastors’ association. He is a powerful preacher and a gifted teacher.

For several years, Miguel has in his own time been working with some churches and leadership groups. In fact, Ezequiel the new pastor at Emanuel church, came out of Miguel’s classes. We believe Ezequiel is the first of many. We are putting together an effort to intentionally train young men and women to be servants in the church.

On top of that, Miguel will also be teaching classes to our pastors, better equipping them to be instruments in God’s hands. I told you this was exciting news.

The training will be localized not centralized. That will mean a lot of traveling for Miguel and myself. The Honduras Bible Institute has reformed, and we are working with Pastor Rene Rodriguez who leads the effort

He travels to a different church Monday through Friday, and 102 men and women from seven of our churches have signed up and are attending a class in homiletics.

to train pastors and leaders in California and Mexico.

Pastor Rene has provided materials and support to our efforts here. Thank you, Pastor Rene! Moving forward we want a unified effort among all our General Baptist Hispanic ministries! This is powerful stuff!

Miguel began his first class in October. He travels to a different church Monday through Friday, and 102 men and women from seven of our churches have signed up and are attending a class in homiletics. Yes, you read that correctly (102). I will admit it. That number is significantly higher than I had thought or hoped. And, (and this is exciting), 12 teenagers are taking the class as well (ranging from 14 years of age to 17). Tell me that is not exciting?

We have a basic curriculum in place and believe that God is going to use the Honduras Bible Institute to prepare pastors and leaders for our existing churches and to start new ones too. Soon the leadership vacuum will be no more, and there will be many new General Baptist churches here reaching people with the Good News that Christ tasted death for us all! If just 5% of this group are God called to be a pastor, then we can begin five new churches.

Moving forward…

We need your prayers and your support as we move forward following Jesus! The Church Planting ministry here is dormant no more. Things are busy and getting even more so!

Thanks to a couple of churches that are already helping to fund this effort by helping to underwrite Miguel’s salary. Your support is making an impact. I will also need support to purchase books and supplies as I have already used my resource for buying books. Don’t wait, join in what God is doing here. I will keep you posted as we move forward.

– Rodney Walls

General Baptist Messenger Spring 2018 | 19

Launch Bootcamp will be a weekend leadership retreat for students in grades 7-12 that will take place in January 2019. Students must be referred by a pastor or student pastor.

The bootcamp will be staffed by the Launch Internship director, the NYC coordinator, and key student pastors. NYC will serve a key role in bringing about an awareness of and recruitment of participants in the bootcamp There will be a junior high track and a high school track. The junior high track will focus on general leadership principles and the high school track will focus on specific leadership, personality, and spiritual gift traits. An assessment will be given to each of the high school participants.

As a result of the bootcamp, students will be challenged to become leaders in their schools, churches and communities. In addition, each participant will be assigned a mentor (pastor, student pastor, or other trained mentor).

The bootcamp will take place on an annual basis, and each student’s eligibility will extend to subsequent years. Students who have attended at least one bootcamp will be used to help lead future bootcamps.

High school juniors and seniors who participate in the bootcamp will be referred to the Launch internship program, the Lead Now program, and to formal education possibilities.

For more information, contact Jim Pratt at jim.pratt@generalbaptist.com

20 | General Baptist Messenger Spring 2018

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Be a Missionary W i t h o u t L e av i n g T o w n

By Brian Hart and Dennis Powell

More than 1 million international students from over 200 countries study at U.S. colleges and universities every year. Many of them have never heard the Good News about Jesus.

These students are excited to learn about American life and culture first hand and want to meet American friends. Some are curious about what we believe, like one international student, who said, “I feel a peace around the Christians that I feel nowhere else. I am naturally skeptical but I am looking at Christianity....I haven’t found faith yet - where do you get your faith?”

One estimate suggests 90% of international students never meet a witness-minded Christian during their entire stay in the U.S. When international students graduate, many become influential leaders in government, business, and academia around the world, like Jordan’s King Abdullah bin Al-Hussein II, former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Their good (or bad) experiences as students in America stays with them their entire lives.

Strategic Opportunity In Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus presented the missionary challenge we call The Great Commission There are still about 7,000 unreached people groups around the world, totaling more than 3 billion people. How can we reach all of these people with the Gospel? We need to send out more missionaries, especially to the most isolated groups.

China has the most unreached people of any country. India has more groups of unreached people than any other nation. It is illegal (and dangerous) for missionaries to share the Good News in Saudi Arabia.

Which countries send the most international students to

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the U.S.? China is number 1, India is number 2, and Saudi Arabia is number 3 or 4.

International students pay to study in the U.S., do the hard work of learning English, and make the long trip here. We can share the love of Jesus with them without spending years learning a foreign language or raising money for traveling and living overseas. We just meet them and become friends! Mark Powell, Director of General Baptist International, became excited about the possibilities for ministry with InterVarsity when his daughter pointed out how many international students were in the United States in areas where General Baptist churches are present.

We can equip those who arrive as Christians or become Christians to serve as world leaders, taking the Gospel back to share with their home cultures. For example, “Jira arrived in the U.S. for a 4-week language program as a staunch atheist. Within the first week, she was invited to the InterVarsity chapter’s large group gathering. As they prayed, she couldn’t help crying. She knew it was God. She came back the next week. There was a call for seekers to stand up. Jira stood up. A few nights later, her new friends asked if she knew the story of Jesus. She responded, ‘I don’t know anything about Jesus.’ So, that night, she heard the story of Jesus and his invitation to her. She began to weep. When they invited her to consider making Jesus the Lord of her life, she said ‘yes!’ Today, Jira is a leader in her church back in Thailand, a country which is less than 1% Christian.”

How can you help? You don’t need to start from scratch. Join in the work that a church or other Christian ministry is already doing among international students.

One organization doing this strategic work across the U.S. is InterVarsity.

Partnering with InterVarsity InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (intervarsity.org) is an evangelical ministry among students and faculty on more than 680 U.S. college and university campuses. In just the last year thousands of student leaders were trained and developed, and more than 4,500 students and faculty made first-time decisions to follow Jesus! InterVarsity has been partnering with churches in this ministry for more than 75 years. General Baptist International is seeking churches near campuses to develop ministry specifically to international students. Churches and volunteers can either partner with existing chapters or provide volunteers who would help plant new chapters on nearby campuses. Through this partnership, General Baptists will have the opportunity to impact the lives of thousands of students.

About 4,300 of the 38,000 students and faculty involved with InterVarsity groups/chapters are international students. The ministry includes small group Bible studies, sharing holiday traditions over meals, weekend conferences, discussions over tea and coffee, and lots of friendships. However, this work, combined with that of all other campus ministries and churches across the country, only reaches about 10% of international students in the U.S. Many more staff and volunteers are needed to reach the remaining 900,000 internationals.

Getting Started If an InterVarsity group has been established on a campus near you, contact them about helping with their ministry to internationals (intervarsity.org/chapters).

If an InterVarsity chapter is not on campus, search for the college’s list of student organizations for a Christian group reaching out to internationals. Ministries may need assistance with meals, transportation (to group events, ethnic grocery stores, Wal-Mart, etc.), furniture donations, conversation partners, and discipling/ mentoring students. Internationals miss their often large, extended families, so they appreciate being “adopted” by an American family, getting to know their children and meeting several generations of relatives.

The focus should be on building true, authentic friendships with international students. Friendships should happen before sharing any Gospel messages or even inviting them to church. Internationals don’t have the same cultural and religious background as Americans, so they can easily misinterpret a comment by a pastor or church member as being offensive. If you first have a friendship, then you can talk about any negative

experiences and help them interpret what they really mean. It can take a bit more effort than getting to know Americans, but internationals can become some of your closest friends.

Evangelism doesn’t need to be forced or difficult.

For example, internationals are often surprised when Americans help them but ask nothing in return. When they ask you why you are volunteering, you can respond with something simple like, “Jesus has blessed me (and my family) abundantly, and I am passing along his love to you.” Pique their curiosity about Jesus, and leave them wanting to know more.

As you develop friendships with internationals you’ll learn about their cultures and gain new perspectives on life in America. As your international friends graduate you may get to meet their families or be hosted by them when you visit their countries. Meeting internationals can be an around-the-world adventure without leaving home.

About the Author: Brian Hart has 22 years of experience in international student ministry with InterVarsity. He currently coordinates the national communications and the resource development and distribution work for InterVarsity’s International Student Ministry.

Contributor: Dennis Powell has been a General Baptist minister for more than 35 years serving as a church planter and pastor. Today he works in campus missions with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

Dennis has been married to Pamela for 31 years, and they have three grown children, one grandson, and a granddaughter due in May. For more information on InterVaristy contact him at dennis.powell@ intervarsity.org / (501) 206-6568.

General Baptist Messenger Spring 2018 | 23

10

THINGS

that demonstrate the world you grew up in no longer exists

By Carey Nieuwhof

You know things are changing, but the real question is how quickly and how deeply.

Well, the change is pretty fast and pretty deep. In fact, unless you’re under 25, the world into which you were born doesn’t really exist anymore.

You may have heard of the Beloit College Mindset list.

It comes out every year and often makes the news. The list is designed to get college faculty (and others) into the headspace of the entry class of mostly 18-year-olds.

Essentially, it’s a tutorial on how much the world has changed since the people who will be teaching that class were in college.

Here are a few random snippets from the Class of 2019 mindset list (the entering students are on average 18 years old): 1. The Lion King has always been on Broadway.

2. They have never licked a postage stamp.

3. Princess Diana, Notorious B.I.G., Jacques Cousteau and Mother Teresa have never been alive.

4. Hong Kong has always been under Chinese rule.

5. Hybrid automobiles have always been mass produced.

Clearly, the world has changed.

It’s changed for church leaders too—radically.

So what happens when church leaders move on unaware of what’s going on around them?

It’s simple. Church leaders who are out of touch never touch the culture.

Missing the change around you means you will: —Increasingly speak a language people younger than you won’t understand.

—Make assumptions that aren’t widely shared or are just erroneous.

—End up answering questions no one is asking.

So what changes do church leaders need to know?

I can think of at least 10.

1. CHURCH AT TENDANCE IS NOW A FRINGE ACTIVITY With the exception of a few U.S. communities (deep in the Bible Belt), nobody asks which church you attend anymore, because the assumption is you don’t go to church.

If respect for scripture is any indication of how people feel about Christianity, according to a recent Barna study, it’s pretty clear most cities in the United States are moving quickly away from some of the historic tenets of Christianity.

That doesn’t mean church attendance is impossible. It just means it’s not normal.

Take Las Vegas, Nevada. Only 14 percent of Las Vegans both read the Bible and believe it’s accurate in its principles. Yet Vegas has more than a few thriving churches, including Central Church with eight locations and upwards of 20,000 attenders. (You can hear Lead Pastor Jud Wilhite’s story on Episode 54 of my Leadership Podcast.)

Churches like Central don’t fill up because people in Vegas are looking for a church to attend. Almost no one in Vegas is looking for a church to attend on a Sunday.

Churches like Central fill up because Christians invite their friends. Increasingly, church attendance is a fringe activity.

2. “ALL WELCOME” MEANS NOTHING Almost every dying church has an “All Welcome” sign nobody takes seriously.

Think about it, if you didn’t go to church, would you take that as an invitation?

Next time you drive by a church building, ask yourself, “What would it take to convince me that I can walk in uninvited and participate in what they’re doing?”

Increasingly, I think unchurched people think about walking into a church the way you might think about

General Baptist Messenger Spring 2018 | 25

randomly walking into a wedding to which you weren’t invited or into a corporate retreat for a company for which you don’t work. It would just be weird.

In the future, about the only way non-Christians will keep showing up at Christian churches is via personal invitation. Regardless of what any sign might say, the real welcome comes from your members.

3. REGULAR CHURCH AT TENDANCE IS IRREGULAR The assumption used to be that if you were a committed Christian, you would go to church every week. In fact, even most growing churches still silently run on that assumption, even as the leaders admit that weekly church attendance is far from the norm.

Culture has changed so radically in the last decade or two that even committed Christians aren’t in church as regularly as they used to be. (Here are 10 reasons why. careynieuwhof.com/10-reasons-even-committed-churchattenders-attending-less-often) Honestly, this has got most church leaders still scrambling. Many church leaders are trying to figure out how to help people grow when they don’t go.

Innovators will have to figure out how to make sure that a step away from church attendance isn’t a step away from Christ, which, despite people’s best intentions, seems to be the case more often than not.

Before you start to rail on the organized church and argue that ‘nobody needs church,’ (See also, careynieuwhof.com/impending-death-rebirth-cool-church) 4. A BAND, LIGHTS AND HAZE ARE TRADITIONAL You might have cashed in a lot of chips to redo your church’s approach to music over the last decade or two.

And that’s wonderful. But increasingly, having a band and even lights and haze is pretty normal in many churches.

In fact, as Tony Morgan first noted a number of years ago, the way we do worship music in the ‘contemporary’ church is not that contemporary. In fact, the band, guitar, keyboard and lights is the new traditional ‘rock’ worship.

The culture has moved on to other music; hip hop, R&B, DJ, pop and so much more.

Many ‘contemporary’ churches sound like they’re programmed for 50-year-olds.

Culture sounds less like Coldplay or U2 and more like Bruno Mars, Drake or Chainsmokers.

I’m not saying we should mimic everything. I’m just saying don’t think you’re current when you’re not. If you find this irritating, trust me, it is. It’s just that selfawareness is the key to so much. So be aware.

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5. THE SHOW NO LONGER CAPTIVATES If you’re over 30, you remember the church of your childhood was probably trying to be ‘contemporary,’ they just weren’t very good at it. Church often provided a fairly low level of excellence in terms of singing, production and sometimes, speaking.

That has changed massively.

With the connection that’s happened online, many preachers and musicians have become so much better at their craft. Production levels have soared at local churches.

And it’s not enough.

I mean it’s good that we’re doing things well. But reaching people is about more than just doing what you do with excellence.

It used to be that great preaching and great music grew a church. Now it’s more like the cost of doing business.

Bad preaching and bad music can kill a church, but great preaching and great music don’t automatically generate church growth.

Something more fundamental is shifting. And it’s not all bad. In fact, it could be the rebirth of the church based on God’s movement and activity. Cool church is dying (careynieuwhof.com/impending-death-rebirth-coolchurch/) and something else is connecting with young adults in its place (/careynieuwhof.com/5-surprisingcharacteristics-of-churches-that-are-actually-reachingthe-next-generation/)

6. YOUR CHURCH MEMBERS FOLLOW A DOZEN MINISTRY LEADERS WHO ARE NOT YOU Go back to 40 years ago. Chances are the only pastor a church member knew was the pastor at their local church or their neighborhood church or someone they heard on TV or radio. Even in the ’90s and early 2000s, as culture changed, to ‘follow’ another preacher meant ordering their cassettes or CDs or tracking them in a very limited way in the early days of the Internet.

Contrast that to today, when many Christians actively listen to, read and follow more than a few other ministry leaders, subscribing to their podcast, reading their blogs and otherwise tracking with their church.

Insecure pastors might struggle with this. But if you can get over your insecurity, it’s not a bad thing. Secure leaders don’t compete with other church leaders, they complement them. Most of us may never preach like some of the top leaders out there. That’s OK. We need to be us.

They need to be them. When you realize it’s a complement, not a competition, everyone benefits.

7. GOD HAS BECOME GENERIC As the Barna Group’s research has shown, even though most Americans self-identify as Christian, almost 50 percent function as post-Christian in their practices and beliefs. In other words, what people define as Christian and what constitutes genuine Christianity may be two different things.

Communicators and leaders, take note. It changes how we use the term ‘God.’ Trying to lead people into a relationship with God can mean almost anything to post-Christians, including their own definition of whatever spirituality might look like or feel like.

Leading them into a relationship with Jesus is very different. In a post-Christian culture, God is generic. Jesus is specific, and personal.

...the way we do worship music in the ‘contemporary’ church is not that contemporary.

In fact, the band, guitar, keyboard and lights is the new traditional ‘rock’ worship.

8. PEOPLE DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY’RE CONVERTING TO It’s so easy to make assumptions that people who attend your church know what they’re stepping into.

After all, don’t most people know what it means to be a Christian? Well, no they don’t. This problem has become so widespread in our post-Christian Canadian culture that I recently devoted an entire series (called NonCommittal) to explaining what people are converting to when they convert to Christianity. Church leaders will have to become far more innovative in the language and metaphors we use to help people understand the basics of the Christian faith. It’s very difficult to become a Christian if you don’t even understand what that means.

9. BACKGROUND UNDERSTANDING IS OF TEN ZERO In the same way that people don’t understand what becoming a Christian means or why it matters, postChristian people have very little Christian background from which to draw. Again, that’s a communication challenge for church leaders. Gone is the era where any preacher can say “As we all know…” No, we don’t all know. We don’t know who Moses was, who David was, who Sarah was, or even really who Jesus was. But can you tell us? Can you explain it in a way we all understand? The big surprise, of course, is that if you do this well, many Christians will thank you too. Because they didn’t really understand it either.

10. NO CHURCH CAN BE BET TER THAN SOME CHURCH Our culture has gone through a few decades of people leaving the church. Often there are stories of heartbreak and disappointment there that really sting. Just read through the thousands of comments on this blog. You’ll see many. And it breaks my heart. But we’re moving in real time away from a generation of people who are done with church to a generation that doesn’t know church at all.

You would think that’s an obstacle, but perhaps it’s an opportunity. In a recent conversation I had with Ravi Zacharias, Ravi said the reception he’s receiving in nations where people never grew up in church is greater than in nations where people left church. They don’t have any hang ups to overcome. (That conversation is Episode 83 of my podcast.)

What Signs Do You See? Those are the signs I see that the world we were born into no longer exists.

Used by permission as first appeared in leadlikeneverbefore.com.

General Baptist Messenger Spring 2018 | 27

Recalibrate: 10 Steps Every Church Must take this Year, Or Be Dead In A Decade

Everything but jesus and the bible Must be on the table.

By Karl Vaters

The church is not dying. It’s in fine shape.

Jesus said he’d build it, and he is. Relentlessly and beautifully.

But individual congregations, denominations and ideologies? Now that’s another story.

While the church of Jesus around the world continues to move forward, chasing away the darkness with the light of Jesus, many local expressions of the church are watching their candles flicker in recent years.

RECALIBRATE CHURCH I believe the next decade or two will be critical for the western church. The culture around us is experiencing a once-in-a-millennium shift right now. A recalibration of the way we think about everything from our morality, to our sexuality, to our identity, and our theology.

It’s only just beginning. And the pace of it is being propelled into hyper-speed by new technology.

So what’s the local church to do? We must hold two seemingly competing ideals in our hands at the same time.

Ideal #1: Stand strong on the unchanging principles of God’s Word.

Ideal #2: Adapt our methods to a fast-changing world.

If we hope to do these two things well, local congregations must reinforce the following 10 principles.

And the sooner we get to work on them, the better.

1. REESTABLISH THE BIBLICAL ESSENTIALS According to a recent article in The Washington Post, churches that stand firm on the biblical essentials are more likely to be thriving, while those that compromise on them are more likely to be dying.

Any church that abandons biblical principles won’t just fail to survive, they don’t deserve to.

We shouldn’t need a newspaper article to tell us to stick to the essentials. While everything else can change, the essentials cannot. Any church that abandons biblical principles won’t just fail to survive, they don’t deserve to.

28 | General Baptist Messenger Spring 2018

2. EMPHASIZE DISCIPLESHIP AND LEADERSHIP TRAINING The days of hiring a team of pastors to do all the ministry of the church is dying. Finally.

Instead, churches that thrive are taking Ephesians 4:11-12 seriously by equipping the saints to do the work of ministry and raising up a team of ministers.

In the coming decades, the pastor’s main task must shift from preaching and caregiving, to training lay leaders to do the ministry of the church. That has always been our calling, anyway. Events on the ground are now forcing us to do it the biblical way.

For many, maybe most churches, this will be a longterm turnaround of attitudes and methods. Start now, or you may miss the boat.

3. REDUCE YOUR OVERHEAD By all accounts, giving trends are down and will continue to fall.

Churches with top-heavy staffing, excessive mortgages and high maintenance bills will find themselves buried under their increasing weight in the coming decades.

If local congregations, denominations and parachurch ministries hope to survive, they need to get to work on • Getting out of debt (including mortgage) • Reducing the percentage of paid staff • Training and empowering volunteers to lead and serve • Sharing expenses with other churches and ministries • Making bivocational ministry the new normal and anything else that can reduce the financial burden of church maintenance.

4. RETHINK YOUR BUILDING Until very recently, if someone wanted to start a business, the first thing they did was find or build a store, office, warehouse, or other physical structure.

Not anymore.

Today, the rule is to avoid the encumbrance of a physical building for as long as possible. Churches need to do the same.

If your church doesn’t have a building, don’t be in a hurry to buy one. Stay nimble as long as possible.

If you own a building – especially if you’re one of the growing number of churches that own a too-big building for your shrinking congregation – be relentless about finding creative ways to utilize the space as often as possible.

For many of our churches it’s Use It Or Lose It time. As in, use the building or lose the church; facility, people ... everything.

5. WORK WITH STRATEGIC PARTNERS In many places, smaller churches are banding together – even across denominational lines – to share resources, think strategically, mend old wounds, and minister to their shared community.

In addition, there is a small, but growing network of parachurch organizations that are increasingly willing to come alongside local churches for little or no money to share everything from outreach ideas, to administrative assistance, to graphic design and more.

Start by asking around on social media. You may be surprised what you’ll find. Or start a network yourself. It’s easier to do now than it’s ever been.

9. MAKE DISCIPLES, NOT JUST CONVERTS Converts join a club. Disciples start a movement.

Converts follow traditions. Disciples follow Jesus.

Converts change their minds. Disciples change their lives. And other people’s lives.

10. FIGURE OUT WHY YOUR CONGREGATION SHOULD SURVIVE If your church disappeared tomorrow, what would really be lost?

Yes, that’s hard question. It might even feel cruel and uncaring. But it’s not. It’s essential.

Any congregation that can’t readily answer why they should survive, won’t.

START TODAY It’s been said that the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago – the second best time is today.

The same goes for these principles. If you’ve been doing them, strengthen them. If not, get started now. Then be relentless at them. Not just this year, but every year.

The survival of your local church depends on it.

6. ENGAGE YOUR COMMUNITY Churches must stop being identified by the location of their building and start being recognized for the passion of their heart.

A church that’s known as “the people who love kids (or addicts, or single moms)” has a much higher likelihood of thriving and surviving than the church that’s known as “the old building on the corner of First and Main.”

7. EMPHASIZE JESUS OVER TRADITION (OR DENOMINATIONS, OR BUILDINGS, OR POLITICS, OR...)

Everything but Jesus and the Bible must be on the table.

Ask yourself this question. Would I be willing to give up (insert your preferred method or style here) if it meant doing a better job of reaching our community for Jesus?

If anything you’d put in that blank makes you pause (other than the biblical essentials), it’s an idol that must be abandoned.

8. RESTRUCTURE WHAT NEEDS TO BE RESTRUCTURED Quit fighting to keep your favorite ministry, method or tradition alive.

If it’s not part of the solution, it’s part of the problem.

General Baptist Messenger Spring 2018 | 29

FA?

Summit Registration F R E Q U E N T LY

ASKED

QUESTIONS

1. Who may register?

Summit events are open to all General Baptists.

For voting on General Association business, churches belonging to an association and churches that are direct affiliate members “shall select delegates to the General Association—two delegates for each 50 members or fraction thereof.” In addition, pastors and staff employed by the church are automatic delegates.

Mission & Ministry Summit 2018

5. How do I register as a Family Group?

We’ve capped the amount families have to pay for their total registration, be sure to complete the Family Registration Form • Early Family Registration — $55 — $200 max ­ — January 2 - June 30, 2018.

• Regular Family Registration — $65 — $240 max — July 1 - July 13, 2018

• On-Site Family Registration — $75 — $280 max

2. How do I register?

On-line registration is available at www.GBSummit.org.

You can also download the registration form and register by mail.

Send your completed form and payment to: 2018 Mission & Ministry Summit, Attn. Congregational Ministries, 100 Stinson Drive, Poplar Bluff, MO 63901.

You can also FAX your registration to: 573-785-0564.

6. Is my payment information secure? YES! All payment information is handled with the highest regard for security.

7. Must I register if I only attend one of the evening sessions?

We do not require registration for the evening sessions except for child care that will be hosted in the University Plaza Hotel, just across the street from the Expo Center.

3. Are there discounts for group registration?

Block Registration is available for churches that are sending several people to the Summit. The Block Registration fee of $400 per church allows the church to register as many adults as they can.

Block Registration does not include child registration. Families in a block registration will still need to register their children separately.

4. Are there discounts for pre-registration? Yes! Individual Registration • Early Registration — $55 January 2 - June 30, 2018.

• Regular Registration — $65 July 1 - July 13, 2018.

• On-Site Registration — $75

30 | General Baptist Messenger Spring 2018

8. How may I receive additional information?

Please contact Congregational Ministries, 573-785-7746 or cmofc@GeneralBaptist.com and we’ll be happy to answer your questions and provide all the information you need.

Mission & Ministry Summit July 16-18, 2018 University Plaza Hotel Springfield, Missouri

Meet our 2018 Summit Keynoters Carey Nieuwhof

Carey is teaching and the founding pastor of Connexus Church and has been serving in ministry since 1995. He is their primary communicator on Sunday mornings and is passionate about leading people into a relationship with Christ.

Carey served as Lead Pastor until 2015 when he transitioned to a teaching pastor role to focus more on communication and expanding Connexus’ broader ministry.

He is the author of several books, including his latest, Lasting Impact: 7 Powerful Conversations That Will Help Your Church Grow.

In his spare time, Carey speaks to church leaders around the world about leadership, change and personal growth. He writes one of today’s most widely read church leadership blogs at www.

CareyNieuwhof.com and hosts the top-rated Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast where he interviews some of today’s best leaders.

He and his wife, Toni, live north of Barrie, Ontario, Canada and have two grown sons.

Check out Carey’s personal blog at www.careynieuwhof.com

Karl Vaters

Karl Vaters is the author of the book, The Grasshopper Myth: Big Churches, Small Churches and the Small Thinking That Divides Us. On his blog Pivot, he writes about Innovative Leadership from a Small Church Perspective for ChristianityToday.com several times a week. He’s also the founder of NewSmallChurch.com, a ministry that encourages, connects and equips innovative Small Church pastors.

Karl’s passion is neither to help pastors grow churches bigger or to settle for less. He believes Small Churches are not a problem, a virtue or an excuse. They just are. And they can be pastored well.

His heart is to help pastors of Small Churches (about 90% of churches) find the resources to pastor their current church well, and to capitalize on the unique advantages that come with pastoring a Small Church – something virtually every pastor will spend at least some of their ministry years doing. He also believes that big and small churches can and should work together more often – to the benefit of each.

Karl has been in pastoral ministry for over 30 years and has been the lead pastor of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Fountain Valley, California for over 23 years.

General Baptist Messenger Spring 2018 | 31

“General Baptist Ministries exists to maximize Kingdom impact by starting, equipping and inspiring local churches to accomplish the Great Commission.”

Those old denominations

Three reasons for belonging: 1. Doing together what we cannot do alone.

No one church can accomplish individually what we accomplish collectively.

Can one church singlehandedly…

• Supervise the gathering of 42 churches in India?

• Undertake the management of an orphanage in Honduras?

• Plant a series of fast-growing, high-impact churches to reach thousands with the gospel?

• Guide the revitalization of hundreds of existing churches?

While no one church can undertake all these ministries singlehandedly, we do together what we cannot do alone!

2. We are not alone in the struggle. As part of a network of churches we are exposed to the help and encouragement needed to be more effective in our local ministries. Broad connections among and between General Baptists from different parts of the nation and different parts of the world provide a synergy of effort and a keen reassurance that we are not alone in the struggle.

3. A denomination offers services and programs.

• Conferences and events offered at very modest costs and in convenient locations.

• Consultation services customized to our denominational settings.

• Missionary presence to assist local ministries to more effectively reach the world.

• Church Planter connections to impact the course of our nation.

• Construction and expansion loans.

For more information visit: www.GeneralBaptist.com.

32 | General Baptist Messenger Spring 2018

I

have suffered from depression for years. It began when I was sexually abused by a school teacher when I was in my early teens. I have taken medication off and on for the last 20 years and have gone through a great deal of therapy with Christian counselors. I was excited to see the workshop entitled “10 Biblical Ways to Deal with Depression” by Brenda Poinsett at the Summit this past year. For years depression has been looked at with a stigma that causes most Christians suffering with it to remain silent and to hide it vigorously.

I attended the workshop expecting to be one of a few that did, but I was very surprised when the room began to fill up and ended up standing room only. Brenda and I visited before the session began and she actually asked if I would share a small portion of my story relating to some of her talking points, which I was more than happy to do.

The content of her workshop was extremely helpful to me on a personal level and she is a wonderful and amazing person, but the one thing that stuck out to me was the attendance. Apparently the stigma is gone and people are willing to admit that they don’t have it all together. The fact that the room was filled to capacity encouraged me that perhaps people in general were finally ready to be open about their depression.

It was during this workshop that God placed it on my heart to come back to Arkansas and offer the same hope to the people in my community. “Hope in the Darkness” was born at the Summit. It was an idea to offer those suffering from depression the hope we all have in Jesus Christ to

34 | General Baptist Messenger Spring 2018

Hope

overcome any obstacle in our lives.

So, for 4 months I met with a few family and friends, who have battled this enemy of the soul, to plan a one night event aimed at sharing the gospel of hope and victory. I also enlisted the help of a local licensed Christian counselor to co-host the event with me. Brenda was also a huge help. We emailed each other several times and she was more than happy to send me all the info I asked for. We advertised this free event with flyers, every door direct mailers and on Facebook.

Our goal for the event was two-fold. First we wanted to inform and educate people about depression. We explained the different types of depression, the symptoms of depression, the different types of treatment including medication, therapy and the biblical principles Brenda shared in her workshop. Second, we wanted to offer continuing help with either group sessions or one on one counseling. Our desire was to help the hurting find healing through the power of the Holy Spirit and to look at life with hope instead of despair.

So, on November 11, 2017 the team gathered to see what the attendance would be. We had about 20 pre-register for the event, but ended up with about 60 showing up. We had a panel that shared testimonies of their battle with depression and how these biblical principles helped them be victorious. I ended the night with a message of God’s love and desire to make us whole again. From this one event I now have about 15 individuals I’m seeing one on one to help in their battle with depression.

in the

Darkness

God began His plan at the Summit with a simple workshop held by a veteran of depression. Through that simple workshop He is now bringing healing to others hundreds of miles away and the work isn’t over yet. We are already planning another event after the first of the year on emotional wounds and getting to the root of our depression.

Isaiah 53:5 says, “But He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole.

He was whipped so we could be healed.”(NLT) Yes, Jesus suffered so we could be forgiven and have eternal life, but He also came to give us an abundant life. For those with depression the abundant life seems impossible. Isaiah says He was beaten to make us whole, to put back together the broken pieces of our fractured mind and emotions and that every lash of the whip was to heal our broken hearts so that we can have the abundant life here and now. God desires for us to enjoy the gift of life we have now. The promise of God is not just joy and peace when we get to Heaven, but true joy, peace and life now.

I’m so thankful for the executive team for thinking outside the box and making things like this available at the Summit instead of just focusing on church growth.

There is so much out there for us all to learn and grow from that we can take back to our own churches. I’m also very thankful for Brenda Poinsett and her willingness to share her struggles and victories with perfect strangers in such an authentic way. I wish we were all as open and honest as she is. Most importantly I thank God for His

By Jeff Thomas

leadership, guidance and power. He had a plan long before I decided to go to the Summit and He showed up. Then He showed out by changing lives forever. I am in awe of Him always and forever.

I encourage our denomination to keep offering things like this. I also encourage the members to realize that workshops like Brenda’s are a church growth workshop.

If your members aren’t healthy then the church won’t be either. So, take a chance next year and attend one. You never know what God may have planned.

General Baptist Messenger Spring 2018 | 35

Making it on a Pastor’s Pay

By Franklin R. Dumond, Director of Congregational Ministries

Four Attempts at Fairness

A prayer on behalf of a pastor was short and direct, “Lord you keep him humble; we’ll keep him poor.”

Even if this prayer was never prayed the result in the local church has often been the same. Sometimes the result was never intended but the method to determine fairness was itself the culprit. I have seen four attempts at fairness when it comes to pastor’s salaries. Some are more fair than others.

1. WHAT IS THE AVERAGE INCOME FOR THE CHURCH? On the surface this seems the most fair since it is based on incomes for the families in the church. Beneath the surface, however, the fairness may be lost if: a) the salary package does not properly account for benefits that are also given to wage earners in the congregation, b) the report from the congregation is incomplete, c) the congregation includes a large number of retirees who have a smaller, retirement income that is adequate to their status as mortgage-free home owners, d) the pastor is an entry level pastor but the average income is substantially above entry level income.

(Here the fairness to the church is lost since they would be paying more than necessary. In the other cases the fairness to the pastor is lost since he is being paid less that should be expected.)

2. WHAT DOES IT COST TO LIVE IN OUR COMMUNITY? What a church needs to do to make this method work is to find the value of a respectable middle-class home in their area, factor in the pastor’s student debt, loan on the minivan, etc. and then figure out what kind of salary he needs to make to qualify for the mortgage on that home.

[Author’s Note: While the advice included here is believed to be in compliance with IRS regulations, readers should consult professional advisors to insure all local plans meet IRS expectations.]

3. WHAT CAN WE AFFORD? While this may be the actual bottom line issue for most churches “What do we choose to afford?” may be the real question. Church budgets should generally allocate 40-65% of income to employee costs.

4. WHAT IS THE PROFESSIONAL EQUIVALENCY IN OUR COMMUNITY? The suggestion is that a church look at a secular profession that is most similar to pastoral work and pay accordingly.

Most of the time this will be the high school classroom teacher. Local school districts will have salary scales developed based on educational level and tenure. So when the church looks up the education level of its pastor along with his years of experience in full time ministry a community-based standard of pay will be in hand. If the pastor manages a number of staff, then pay him as a building principal using the school district salary schedule.

Of all the systems reviewed this one seems most fair to all concerned. All pastors (not just senior pastors) receive a decent middle-class salary that directly compares to salaries being paid in the community. All pastors are compensated in accord with their education and experience with proper benefit packages. Those pastors who pastor larger churches are compensated in line with their expanded responsibilities.

The New Testament calls for fairness in pastoral salaries by insisting that “The worker deserves his wages.”

(I Timothy 5:18 NIV) General Baptist Messenger Spring 2018 | 37

Four Factors in a Salary Package One of the major costs in a church’s budget is the cost of employees. Since most churches only have one employee the major costs in most church budgets will be the cost of the pastor’s salary package. As a rule of thumb 40-65% of a church budget should be spent on employees.

These percentages will seem entirely too high for many businessmen who keep employee costs to 10-20% of operations. These percentages will seem too low for many school administrators since education budgets often spend 80-90% of total budgets on employees.

At the heart of the matter is a basic question that, when answered, will guide the process to a fair conclusion. How do you compute a salary package?

through the work place. As a rule of thumb health insurance premiums are not taxable income if the church pays the insurance company directly. However, if the same premiums are paid directly to the pastor they are probably taxable income. d) PROFESSIONAL EXPENSES. What the church will and will not cover as professional expenses must be determined in advance and in writing to avoid misunderstanding, conflict and tax problems. e) RETIREMENT. The General Baptist Pension Program provides a strategy of employee contributions with employer contributions in a self-managed portfolio that is available to all General Baptist church employees.

1. IS THE PASTOR A SELF-EMPLOYED, INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR OR AN EMPLOYEE OF THE CHURCH? An interim pastor, a guest speaker or an evangelist function as self-employed contractors with limited oversight from the church and a great deal of flexibility about scheduling their limited services. A permanent pastor—whether bi-vocational or fully funded—is an employee of the church by all the standard descriptions of employees used by the IRS. Self-employed contractors receive a 1099 report of payments made to them which is then used on a Schedule C where it is reduced by the costs of doing ministry. Pastors as employees receive a W-2 with a detailed list of income, tax payments, retirement contributions and housing benefits. This is reported on the wages line of Form 1040.

3. WILL HOUSING BE PART OF THE PACKAGE? Many churches provide a parsonage. Others use a housing allowance. Each has its benefits and its pitfalls.

Housing in rural communities or small towns is often at a premium. In those cases a parsonage is advantageous. On the other hand, every year spent in a parsonage is one less year’s equity in a home!

2. WHAT BENEFITS WILL THE CHURCH PROVIDE? In the United States some benefits paid on behalf of employees, like the matching portions of Social Security/ Medicare, are legally required of the employer. Others have become cultural expectations. Still others have been developed to attract and hold quality employees.

A church would be wise to develop benefits for its employees that address: a) SELF-EMPLOYMENT TAX REIMBURSEMENT. This can be an added line item in the budget but remember it is not part of the pastor’s take-home pay! b) VACATION SCHEDULE. Should additional days of vacation be earned based on length of tenure? c) HEALTH INSURANCE. This is a very BIG issue in light of the affordable care act. Individual health insurance is increasingly expensive. Many pastoral spouses subsidize the church by providing family coverage

38 | General Baptist Messenger Spring 2018

4. WHAT ABOUT CONTINUING EDUCATION? Although it could be included in the benefit list above, Continuing Education merits a separate paragraph.

Currently General Baptist Ministries provides conference and event packages that provide quality continuing education through the Mission & Ministry Summit and the General Baptist Minister’s Conference. Youth Pastors can find specialized training opportunities and networking through the National Youth Conference.

The built-in difficulty for most oversight committees that develop church salary packages is that they have never seen the true cost of having an employee. The weekly pay stub received by most employees will have a list of tax deductions and other contributions but it will not include a behind-the-scenes look at what an employer contributes.

Unfortunately church budgets often look only at the bottom line of total cost for an employee to determine if that is a fair wage when in actual fact salary package is very different from take home pay.

The New Testament is pretty clear about salary packages for teaching pastors: The elders who do good work as leaders should be considered worthy of receiving double pay, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.

(1 Timothy 5:17 GNT)

Six Terms Everyone Needs to Learn Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. For the Scripture says, ‘You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,’ and, ‘The laborer is worthy of his wages.’ (I Timothy 5:17-18 NKJV) Every year thousands of committed believers serving on the finance teams and budget committees of Bible believing churches wrestle with plans for the next year’s budget. Salary for church personnel is a large factor in most of these discussions since the combined salary line items can easily account for 40%-65% of the total budget.

[Note: Lest this be considered excessive it should be noted that many public school systems spend 80-90% of operating budgets on personnel costs.]

LEARNING SOME VOCABULARY. 1. BASE SALARY. This would be similar to the regular income of an employee. In our society this is often computed on an hourly rate.

2. HOUSING. Currently, IRS regulations allow pastors to exclude housing costs from income that is subject to federal income tax. Housing may be a housing allowance or the rental value of a parsonage. However, housing is subject to self-employment tax. A ruling in Wisconsin in October 2017 alarmed many participants in housing allowance plans. Currently this ruling is under review and if it is upheld by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals it would apply only to Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin until review by the Supreme Court. It should also be noted that the ruling applies to housing allowance not to parsonages that are provided. (For more information see the October 2017 blog posted at www.churchlawandtax. com.)

3. SELF-EMPLOYMENT TAX. For Social Security purposes pastors are considered self-employed. This means that their income, including housing, is subject to self-employment tax at the rate of 15.3%. Self-employment tax is the equivalent of employer and employee combined Social Security/Medicare withholdings. Computed on a separate form as part of the 1040 income tax return, a small credit is allowed to offset some of the costs of selfemployment tax.

4. MATCHING CONTRIBUTION. Employers in the United States are required to contribute 7.65% of each employee’s salary to their individual Social Security and Medicare accounts. Employees are also required to contribute 7.65% of their salaries to their individual Social Security and Medicare accounts. Churches may

provide an extra salary line item to reimburse pastors for Self Employment Tax which is the equivalent of Social Security/Medicare contributions. When this is done, it increases the pastor’s taxable income since he is being reimbursed for a stated expense. A church may not withhold self-employment/social security taxes from the pastor but may, as a courtesy, withhold additional income taxes to offset the self-employment tax if requested by the pastor on his W-4 withholding form.

5. PROFESSIONAL EXPENSES. Pastors generally incur some costs to undertake their ministry. These would often include the cost of a cell phone plan, travel on behalf of the church, office expenses, professional dues and continuing education. Since full time pastors are employees of the church, not contract employees, these are actually costs of the church not personal costs of the pastor.

6. TAKE-HOME PAY. This is the amount left after deductions for federal, state and local income taxes, retirement and health care have been made. As most of us know take-home pay is much lower than total income!

Jesus reminded his hearers of the importance of careful planning. “Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn’t first sit down and figure the cost so you’ll know if you can complete it? If you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, you’re going to look pretty foolish. Everyone passing by will poke fun at you: ‘He started something he couldn’t finish.’ Or can you imagine a king going into battle against another king without first deciding whether it is possible with his ten thousand troops to face the twenty thousand troops of the other? And if he decides he can’t, won’t he send an emissary and work out a truce?” (Luke 14:28-32 The Message) Church budgets and pastor’s salaries demand the same care.

General Baptist Messenger Spring 2018 | 39

Inside Out

2018

October 26, 2018 Henryville, Indiana

B E STI L L. R e p e at.

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

2018 GUEST SPEAKER Karen McCracken

Loved-by-us worship group

Out of Ashes

is returning to Wooded Glen!

Karen McCracken is a national speaker and author known for her zany sense of humor and ability to get to the heart of her listeners and readers through meaningful bits of reality and a captivating personal testimony.

WOODED GLEN RETREAT CENTER • 2602 HEBRON CHURCH RD. • HENRYVILLE, IN 47162

Double occupancy in a beautiful lodge room with 5 incredible meals is just $310 including event registration! You can start making payments now, or save your spot for $100 deposit.

This year will sell out early because of limited space, so gather your girls and make plans!

By Patti Thornton, Executive Director General Baptist Women’s Ministries

In preparation for a women’s conference in Southern California, I was deep in study of the 16th chapter of Psalms. I don’t have a clear explanation of what led me to this brief song of David’s. I just know that the fifth and sixth verses in that passage jumped off the page of my study Bible and hit me like a stone flung from David’s childhood slingshot.

Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely, I have a delightful inheritance.

I write this article in the second week of January – just after our final 2017 Women’s Ministries financial reports hit my desk. Numbers don’t lie, and I am simply responding to the black and white spreadsheet laid out before me when I say that If there ever was a time for me to feel insecure in our lot, it is now.

While we have made strides in fundraising efforts outside of Love Gift, they have not proved sufficient. If you are new to Women’s Ministries, let me explain Love Gift. This fund consists of donations made to Women’s Ministries that are not designated to any specific project or mission field supported by the organization. Out of these funds come all operational expenses, unexpected project needs, etc. In former years, there was enough to give large gifts of the same wonderful, undesignated sort to our mission departments.

For several years, Love Gift funds have fallen while ministry opportunities and office expenses have risen. During its annual budget process, the board of directors plans responsibly and realistically. Each year the amount of funds needed to be raised in addition to donations has escalated dramatically. Simultaneously, every area of expense has been cut. This includes staff, salaries, communications, etc.

General Baptist Messenger Spring 2018 | 41

Out of curiosity, I embarked on a research project. I searched through years of financial reports, wondering when annual Love Gift receipts had last been as low as they are now. I made it back through the 80’s, and never saw a number lower than it is now. That. Is. Astounding.

You can see the dilemma. More needs to be done to save the ministry with fewer resources than ever. And God’s decree to take light to a dark world has not lessened.

In this Psalm, David, although he is probably on the run, seems to say that God has blessed him with security.

He recognizes that he has been placed within generous boundaries on earth as well as the boundaries of a prophetic inheritance.

So, who moved our boundaries?? Are we choking ourselves off from the work God has purposed for us, or is He the one who is re-drawing, re-forming, and

re-purposing? I think we must ask these questions as we move about in the territory we see as Women’s Ministries.

We have the inheritance reserved for princesses in the Kingdom of God, and it is He who draws the boundary lines of our work on earth as well as our place in His eternal kingdom. I believe He will unfold His boundary lines for us – women enthralled by Jesus, connected for strength, and COMPELLED outward.

My prayer is that He guides us clearly to recognize those lines; and that like the Israelites who could not immediately see the pleasantness of their new territories, we will know where to fight, for what to fight, and with whom to fight to accomplish His will.

After all, we are compelled to bring as many people inside the lines as possible, right?

J O Y BU B BLED OVER FOR SURE AT SK YL I NE C HU R C H I N O’ FA L LON, I L L A ST SE PT E M B E R.

D ON ’ T R EGR ET M ISSING A W EEK END OF R E L AT I ONSHI P, A B SOR PT I ON, SE E K I NG, A ND F I N DI N G .

COM E W ITH US OCTO B E R 2 6 , 2 01 8 T O HE NR YV I L L E , I N! 42 | General Baptist Messenger Spring 2018

Unified GIVING ... . doing together what we cannot do alone The early Church knew while not all were called to travel the known world preaching the Gospel, all were expected to financially and spiritually support the work of those who were, as well as give toward emergency relief.

Paul mentions on numerous occasions the help he receives from the established churches and the offerings he delivers to the poor. (Romans 15:23-24, Galatians 2:10, Philippians 4:16) People from all over would come together in support of a few, so that the Gospel could branch out to even more places.

Unified Giving allows us to follow the example of the first believers and gather our resources to send and support more missionaries than ever before to all corners of the world, and to provide relief to the poor, the widowed, the orphaned, and the disaster-stricken.

It enables us to do greater things together than what we can do alone.

General Baptist Ministries 100 Stinson Dr. | Poplar Bluff, MO 63901 573.785.7746 | www.GeneralBaptist.com

Trending Now 5 Things to watch for in 2018

Facts & Trends asked five religion researchers the cultural challenges that could affect pastors and congregations in 2018.

• Fewer Americans will have room for God in their lives.

In 2007, about 15 percent of Americans identified as “nones” (atheist, agnostic, or nothing in particular), according to Greg Smith, associate director of research at Pew Research Center. By 2017, that number had jumped to 26 percent.

Americans Identifying as Nones 2007 2017

• God might inspire church members to do something new.

A LifeWay Research study of small churches found ministry outside of church can help a congregation become more effective at evangelism. “God will call someone to go out from your church sharing the gospel in a new place or in a new way,” says Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research. “How will you prepare, support, and replace them?”

• The church will become more diverse.

Roughly 8 in 10 Americans (81 percent) identified as white and Christian in 1976, says Robert Jones, president of the Public Religion Research Institute. Today, that number is 43 percent.

• Regular church attendance means once or twice a month.

This means it’s harder for church members to build relationships with one another. “It’s doubtful anyone at church today, even highly involved volunteer leaders, could receive a perfect attendance pin for the year,” says Warren Bird, director of research for Leadership Network.

• Congregations may look older than they really are.

Older members are the most likely to show up in church, says Scott Thumma, director of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, while younger members, especially families with kids, will attend less often.

Reprinted with permission from Fact & Trends, Lifeway Christian Resources Facts & Trends | One LifeWay Plaza | Nashville, TN 37234-0192 | factsandtrends@lifeway.com

44 | General Baptist Messenger Spring 2018

2007 = 15% 201 7 = 26%

Ministry outside of Church can help congregation become more effective at evangelism

Americans Identifying as white & Christian 1976

81%

2018

43%

Attendance once a month/year Attendance Twice a Month/year

7 Disruptive Church Trends That Will Rule 2018 1. A Move Beyond Church In A Box In the church, we perpetuate a model that says “We have 1/2/3 services on Sunday. We do midweek X. And that’s how we help you come into a relationship with Christ.”

In 2018, if coming to Christ means coming to your church in a set location and a set hour, you need a new strategy.

2. The Digital Will Become Real So what does better engagement beyond a set time and place on a Sunday look like?

Church leaders, in 2018 asking whether people who watch church online ‘count’ is like Sears asking if Amazon counts. It’s like New York City cabs asking if Uber counts or Lyft counts.

3. Location Independence Will Rise In the same way more workers are increasingly location-independent thanks to technology, more churches will emerge as location independent.

4. Pop-Up Churches Will Become More Common Remember that the future will be more digital and analog. One will not kill the other. As technology increases so does the need for human connection.

In the same way you’ve seen the rise of pop-up restaurants or pop-up stores, you’ll see more pop-up churches that open in a new location for a night or a month or a season.

5. The Rise Of Preaching (More Than Teaching) Preachers facilitate an experience. Teachers convey information. The best pastors do both well.

Preaching without solid teaching can become emotionalism. Teaching without preaching can become intellectualism.

6. A Desire For Non-Downloadable Experiences I realize you could argue that all these trends compete with each other (and they do), but welcome to 2018.

If everything your church does in the future feels downloadable, probably all you’ll get is a lot of downloads, not a lot of gathered people.

7. The Team Is Eclipsing The Solo Leader The last few decades were characterized by leaders who owned a stage or a platform, preaching 52 times a year (or more with midweek). Team effort is eclipsing solo effort.

The leader who can do everything well is being eclipsed by the team that can do everything well.

Adapted from Carey Nieuwhof’s blog post of the same title.

Read the entire post careynieuwhof.com/7-disruptive-church-trends-that-will-rule-2018/

@generalbaptist #gbministries

Follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on the latest trends and research about the American religious beliefs.

General Baptist Messenger Spring 2018 | 45

M a rc h 18 , 2018

We will maximize Kingdom impact by starting, equipping and inspiring local churches to accomplish the Great Commission.

“We’ve never done it this way before!” observed Executive Director Clint Cook but in 2016 work began to establish a new church in Jacksonville, Florida. What’s so different?

The difference is that as a teenager Pastor Pete Lapaz was won to faith in Christ by Missionary Cecil Green in the Philippines! Now semi-retired Pastor Lapaz has been gathering a core group to establish a new General Baptist church in Jacksonville, Florida.

Church Planting has always been a primary mission for General Baptists. Our movement was organized by a church planter who established churches on the American frontier in the 1820s. Our denominational mission to plant churches is underwritten by the general budget but it is also made possible by special gifts such as those received on National Missions Sunday. Thanks to your gifts on National Missions Sunday new believers will be welcomed to All Nations General Baptist Churches in Jacksonville, Florida and eventually as many as five additional churches will be established in that city.

46 | General Baptist Messenger Spring 2018

UNITED For His G lory “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one.” John 17:22

Come join us for the annual Camp Meeting Days

BRANSON, MO on SEPTEMBER 4-6 BE CHALLENGED & STRENGTHENED as you hear the Word from Larry Rascoe.

BE UPLIFTED & INSPIRED as you worship and sing along with the Camp Meeting Days Band and Quartet.

Tickle your funny bone with a special Tuesday evening dinner and entertainment at the Radisson Hotel featuring Comedian and Musician, Tim Lovelace, and enjoy all the entertainment shopping and dining that Branson has to offer!

Radisson Hotel Branson, MO

Larry Rascoe

Tim Lovelace

Keynote Speaker

Keynote Speaker

Contact Congregational Ministries at cmofc@generalbaptist.com for more information.

Register by phone at 573.785.7746

general baptist m e s s e n g e r General Baptist Ministries 100 Stinson Drive Poplar Bluff, MO 63901

non - profit org

u . s . postage

pa i d p op l a r b l u ff , mo permit no 164

MAY 29 – 31 GENERAL BAPTIST MINISTER’S CONFERENCE

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KENTUCKY DAM VILLAGE RESORT STATE PARK On Beautiful Kentucky Lake outside Paducah, KY Special Guest Speaker Don Ross Early Registration Jan 2 — May 1 www.generalbaptist.com/events