See blog by Chairman of the Nominating Committee, Dr. Ted Traylor

NAMB press release:

Ezell’s heart beats for church planting, adoption

By Mike Ebert

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — When Kevin Ezell invited Buff and Cissy McNickle on stage at the 2010 SBC Pastor’s Conference in Orlando with newborn son Jedidiah, it became an emotional highlight of the two-day event.

Ezell led the conference to establish a fund for pastors who wanted to adopt, and Buff, a Florida pastor, was the first to benefit from the fund. But the couple still had $10,000 in outstanding costs associated with the adoption of Jedidiah and his twin brother, Judah.
“They don’t know this,” Ezell said to the audience with his arm around the tearful couple, “but the generous sponsors that we have for the pastor’s conference are going to pay your adoption off in full.”

Ezell’s family has been greatly impacted by adoption. He and his wife, Lynette, have adopted three children, each from different nations.

“It has made a huge impact on our biological children because it has made them more missions-minded,” he says. “And I tell people our family always has someone to cheer for when we watch the Olympics.”

On Sep. 14, trustees of the North American Mission Board will hold a special meeting in Atlanta to consider making Ezell the new president of the entity. The 48-year-old currently pastors Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky.

Ezell first sensed God’s call to ministry when he was a high school sophomore.

“My parents and pastor didn’t really push me into it at the time,” he recalls. “They believed that if it was a true calling of God, I would pursue it on my own.”

That call was confirmed and solidified during his time as a student on a tennis scholarship at Union University in Jackson, Tenn.

“I thought at the time that I would go into student ministry,” Ezell says. He had served in student ministry at First Baptist Church, Paducah, Ky. The church’s pastor at the time, J. Robert White, serves today as executive director of the Georgia Baptist Convention.
With financial help from First Baptist, Ezell attended seminary at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Nearing completion of seminary, God began turning Ezell toward senior pastor roles, although he says his first attempt at preaching was not exactly a success.

“It was a miserable experience,” he now recalls, laughing. “My wife called her mother and said she was praying about what kind of work she could do to support us.”

But soon after that came a call from Hilltop Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, and Ezell became pastor of the congregation of seven. He specifically reached out to the growing Hispanic community near the church and by the time he left in late 1988, half of the church’s 50 members were Hispanic.

Ezell pastored First Baptist Church, Hartsville, Tenn., from early 1989 to 1991. He led First Baptist Church, Marion, Ill., from 1991-1996.  

When Ezell came to Highview in 1996 the church met on a single campus and averaged 1,200 on Sunday mornings. Today, Highview consists of seven campuses, one that meets across the Ohio River in southern Indiana. Two of the campuses consist of Hispanic congregations. One meets on campus at the University of Louisville. The church now averages more than 3,000 in worship attendance.

“We realized we were not going to reach Louisville from where we were located,” Ezell remembers. “So we were faced with staying where we were or relocating. We decided to do both.”

Highview’s separate campuses each have their own teaching pastors, but weekly staff meetings and accountability from Ezell keep the Highview culture and standards present on each campus.

“What has happened at Highview is that I have surrounded myself with great people,” Ezell says. “I don’t mind being the dumbest guy in the room.”

Highview’s 2010 missions giving goal is $1.4 million with $582,000 being spent locally, $150,000 nationally and $700,000 internationally. The church web site includes a calendar with more than two-dozen mission events and trips scheduled for 2010. Last year more than 500 of Highview’s members participated in a mission trip.

Ezell has led Highview to start several new churches since becoming pastor. The church is currently funding eight church plants in Atlanta; Boise, Idaho; Clarksville, Ind. (a Louisville suburb); Cleveland; Indianapolis (two churches); New York City; and Philadelphia.

“All of our church plants are in major cities,” Ezell says. “For too long Southern Baptists have put their churches in the same places while the Northeast, the West and Canada are underserved. When people have been in the same place too long, they can get stale. There is something invigorating in doing something new.”

Ezell believes church planting success is more about finding high quality planters and focusing on quality churches rather than quantity.

“I like to invest in young leaders and church planters. I like to find the right people more than invest in a particular city. We’ve focused a lot on quantity and I’m not sure Southern Baptists are buying that as the best way to measure it.”

Ezell says his heart is in finding pastors and churches who want to plant churches and finding ways to get resources to them.

“The greatest unused resource we have are the pastors and the people of the Southern Baptist Convention. We need to get them invigorated to start churches. What we should focus on is developing sending churches and finding passionate pastors and allow them to plant churches,” he says. “There are people out there who are passionate about seeing people come to know Christ and passionate about starting churches. It’s not about being a funnel but being an amplifier for those who are doing it anyway.”

Ezell says his excitement about NAMB’s new potential grew after passage of the Great Commission Resurgence recommendations at this year’s Southern Baptist Convention in June.

“The messengers really sent a message that they want NAMB to be focused on church planting. That really excited me—to look at North America and get as many people engaged in this as possible and give it our best shot.”

Mike Ebert is communications team leader for the North American Mission Board.

 

Fox News Channel Interviews New Hope Authors
By Ashley Stephens

(BIRMINGHAM, Ala.)—August 23, 2010—New Hope Publishers authors Charles Powell and Dillon Burroughs were interviewed by Kelly Wright of the Fox News Channel on August 16 regarding their work with the Mercy Movement.

The Mercy Movement is an anti-human trafficking organization founded by Powell. Not in My Town: Exposing and Ending Human Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery (978-1-59669-301-2, $19.99) will be released May 1, 2011. It will include an educational DVD. A separate documentary is set to release in spring 2011.

Burroughs and Powell were in Atlanta August 15–17 shedding light on human trafficking there. Their focus was on Asian spas and massage parlors, places where human trafficking often occurs.

Researchers estimate more than 27 million slaves exist worldwide. More than 17,000 people are trafficked into the United States each year, according to the Polaris Project. Sexual exploitation, forced labor, and agricultural slavery continue as the norm in many places in the United States.

Burroughs and Powell will be on several different programs of the Fox News Network within the next week.

About the Authors

Dillon Burroughs (readdB.com) is a best-selling writer of more than 26 books. He is best known for his collaborative works with faith-based leaders, authors, and athletes, though he has also earned a growing reputation within the social justice movement.

Charles Powell is a social justice activist, film producer, conference speaker, and founder of The Mercy Movement, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to abolish human trafficking and modern slavery. Over the past three decades Charles has trained in counter-terrorism, worked as a bodyguard for royalty, and lived undercover in the war on drugs.

About New Hope Publishers

Representing more than 50 authors and more than 100 individual works, the mission of New Hope Publishers is to provide books that challenge readers to understand and be radically involved in the mission of God. New Hope Publishers is the general trade publishing imprint for WMU, a missions auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention. New Hope Publishers is a member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA).

For more information about Charles Powell, Dillon Burroughs, or New Hope Publishers, visit www.newhopepublishers.com. Copies of books may be purchased online or by calling 1-800-968-7301.

Fresh Ideas by Diana Davis

Coming to Your Church Monday Morning…

He cleans the church’s carpet regularly, but he’s never been invited to worship there. She delivers the church mail; but she doesn’t know Jesus. The family spent hours there during Aunt Tip’s funeral, but none of them go to church.

Yes, guests attend your church for worship services, but additional dozens—even hundreds—walk in on weekdays each year! They come in for directions, weddings, benevolence or after-game fellowships. They attend scouts, daycare, support groups. There’s the exterminator, repairman, roofer, delivery person…and God brings them inside your building. Will they meet Jesus there?

Need fresh ideas to intentionally impact each person who walks in your church doors?

Let your walls talk. Stroll through your church entryways and offices, carefully observing as if it’s your first time there. What can a stranger learn about your church and your God? Consider ways to entice them to want to come back on Sunday. Can someone walking through your church foyer actually sign up for a class or an event? Print business cards with the church meeting times and website. Play Christian music. Use every piece of art and every wall hanging to point to the One you worship.  Attractively display current newsletters, brochures, witnessing tracts, magazines and invitations for visitors to take. Replace negative or outdated signage. Carefully read each poster to assure outsiders can understand it.

Salute! Warmly welcome each person who walks in the door. Learn their names. If they need directions, mark a map. When offering benevolence, give it joyfully. Give the postal carrier an icy soda on a hot day. Invite every individual to come for Sunday worship. Promise to pray for them. Use small gift bags to prepare welcome packets with a church brochure, newsletter, CD, upcoming events and a few candies. Then watch for opportunities to share them. Consider purchasing inexpensive Bibles and offer them to guests, such as a policeman or a roofer. If you’re the church receptionist, why not begin a prayer journal, listing the name of each person who walks in the door? After you invite them to your church, use the journal and pray for them faithfully.

Assign timely ambassadors. Friendly church members can assist with expected guests, such as those who come for weddings or community meetings. Church members can set a positive atmosphere, help with directions or needs and show God’s love. Serve lunch to construction workers. If the town festival is outside the church doors, serve cold lemonade and welcome people to use restroom facilities.

When a local organization borrowed our church for classrooms, ladies in our church showed up for their break with homemade snacks. Several of those visitors came for worship that Sunday. When our church publicized and opened its doors for National Day of Prayer, church members greeted each pray-er and gave them a personal invitation to come back on Sunday.

The church’s purpose is to share God with the lost world. Since God is sending all these people into the church building, seize the opportunity to share His love with them.  So here’s your test: If a toilet overflows in your church next Monday, will the plumber receive more than just a check for his services?
--
“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders, making the most of every opportunity.” Colossians 4:5

©2010 Diana Davis is author of Fresh Ideas, Deacon Wives, and Fresh Ideas for Women’s Ministry (B&H Publishing). Her husband is Indiana Baptist Convention’s executive director. www.keeponshining.com

From the Executive Director
Dr. Stephen P. Davis

1.    Indiana Baptists needs to know…that the approval of the Great Commission Resurgence (GCR) Task Force Report at the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Orlando will forever change the future complexion of the Indiana Baptist staff and ministries. We are not sure what all that means. The full ramifications for Indiana will be revealed after a new president for the North American Mission Board (NAMB) is selected and begins to give leadership.

2.    Indiana Baptists need to know…that the cooperative funding agreement between Indiana Baptists and NAMB will be radically changed. What is the cooperative funding agreement? For many years Indiana has had a 70/30 cooperative funding agreement with NAMB. Each year we have worked out a Strategic Mission Plan in consultation with NAMB representatives. It spells out our cooperative strategy to impact Indiana with evangelism, missions, church planting and missionary personnel, with NAMB supplying 70 cents and Indiana providing 30 cents for each dollar invested. NAMB’s participation in our budget is approximately 1.2 million dollars. The GCR report calls for NAMB to end the funding agreements over a seven year period. New cooperative agreements will be established, but we do not yet know any details.

3.    Indiana Baptists need to know…that our total state budget is about 4.5 million, with close to 3 million provided through the Cooperative Program gifts from our churches. That means we will have some significant challenges making the adjustments over the next few years. Hopefully our Cooperative Program receipts will increase to compensate for the loss. We are already making plans to be pro-active in addressing the new financial realities for the future. Our Executive Board will meet in August to approve a plan for an exit strategy with NAMB. We have some hard decisions to make and need your prayers for wisdom and godly insight.

4.    Indiana Baptists need to know…that our state mission offering now becomes more important than ever to our missions and evangelism strategy.  Last year we made the decision to share the State Missions Offering equally with our associations. Half of the offering is returned to that association for mission causes. For receipts from September 2009 to June 2010 the portion re-invested in the associations is $37,954.99. Bottom line: with the reduction of NAMB resources for our state, Indiana will need to see the State Missions Offering rise to new heights. So please be in prayer about your gifts this year. We are praying that 100 percent of our churches will sacrificially participate in the August State Missions Offering.  

5.    Indiana Baptists need to know…that no one cares more about reaching Hoosiers for Christ than Indiana Southern Baptist churches. So we will pray, give, witness, plant churches, strengthen churches and assist with leadership development for our pastors and church staff, because Indiana still needs to know…about Jesus!

PUPILS, PENCILS AND PRAYERS

A new school year begins soon. What an opportune time for a church to encourage students and teachers. Need fresh ideas?

Pray for students and teachers. An adult Bible class can adopt a youth class to pray for them by name. During worship, a pastor could invite students to kneel at the altar as he or the youth minister prays for them. Or he could invite teachers and school staff (elementary, secondary, college, home school) to stand, then pray and challenge the entire church to pray for them faithfully. After taking children to school the first day, moms can gather for coffee, fellowship and prayer for the kids and teachers.  

Make it easy for kids to invite friends to church.  Print a bookmark-size schedule of weekly and special fall events for kids at your church. Order book covers, notebooks, t-shirts or pencils with Scripture, youth motto, website, church name. Our church teens redecorate their Sunday School classrooms annually, painting murals and Scripture art. Plan a back-to-school party or Christian concert. After school the first day, serve homemade pizza at the church. Work hard to provide relevant, top-quality Bible classes and activities for students.

Adopt a school. Your church or adult Bible class could intentionally help a nearby school. Visit the principal to offer assistance, such as mentoring, office help, reading, crossing guards, scholarship application aid or providing shoes, haircut or school supplies for a child in need. Send encouraging prayer notes to the principal. Deliver a huge basket of snacks for the teacher’s break room with a note from your church. An Indiana church painted the playground and developed a great relationship with the school. Be flexible and joyfully show God’s love as you respond to requests.

Prepare for guests. In Sunday’s bulletin, print names of children’s and youth Bible teachers, choir leaders, missions teachers, and so on. Church members can pray for them, and guests will see your commitment to disciple kids. Since families often relocate during summer, purchase a newcomer list for your town, and mail or deliver church invitations before school begins. You could advertise in the local paper to invite all teachers and school faculty in town to worship on Sunday before school begins. Recognize them, pray for them and give a gift (coffee cup, pen) with a Scripture and promise of prayer.

As our children, youth and teachers return to school as ambassadors for Christ, will you assure them of your church’s love and prayers?
---
“I pray for you constantly.” Ephesians 1:16b

For the week of June 14-19, 240 students and their leaders served the Lord in Indianapolis. Students spent their days roofing, painting, and doing other construction projects in the Indianapolis community. Their evenings were spent at Crispus Attucks Medical Magnet High School, where they participated in worship, Bible study and team-building. On Wednesday night, the students served in seven community events: two block parties, feeding more than 200 homeless people at the Baptist Center, various VBS events and handing out VBS flyers for area churches. Ten people accepted Christ during the week and many recommitments took place. World Changers will be back in Indianapolis June 13-18, 2011.

Click to read personal story and view pictures.

 

***** original *****

255 TEENAGERS ARE COMING TO INDIANAPOLIS, JUNE 14-19, 2010 AND THEY WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

NATIONWIDE, May 2010 – This summer more than 23,000 students have made a decision to pay money out of their own pockets in order to help improve living conditions for people across the United States and Canada.

255 students from across the nation will be in Indianapolis the week of June 14-19 working on a variety of assignments that range from painting houses to putting new roofs on homes. The students come with their church youth groups, and on average pay $250 to take part in the week. This summer, 97 World Changers projects will take place in more than 85 cities from Alaska to Florida, New York to California, and many places in between. World Changers is in its 20th summer of operation and is an initiative of the North American Mission Board (Southern Baptist Convention).

Following a six-session “how-to” study that participants complete prior to coming, students serving Indianapolis will hit the ground running. The major work begins Tuesday of the project. The students will be staying at Crispus Attucks Medical Magnet for the week. This initiative is in partnership with Indianapolis, Crossroads Baptist Association, as well as local agencies and businesses.

NOTE: There will be a designated Media Relations specialist on site in your city the week of the project that will be able to coordinate interviews with students and residents as well as provide worksite location information for video and photos.


###

If you would like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Jonathan Wilson, please call 770-410-6475 or email Jonathan at jowilson@namb.net.

www.world-changers.net/mediaroom

 

175 STUDENTS ARE COMING TO INDIANAPOLIS , JUNE 7-12, 2010 TO LEARN ABOUT AND PARTICIPATE IN CHURCH PLANTING!

NATIONWIDE, May 2010 – This summer more than 2,300 students will participate in PowerPlant where they will learn about and participate in church planting.

175 students from across the nation will be in Indianapolis the week of June 7-12, 2010 working on a variety of assignments that range from sports camps to Vacation Bible School. The students come with their church youth groups, and on average pay $260 to take part in the week. This summer, 19 PowerPlant projects will take place in cities from California to Pennsylvania, Georgia to Washington, and many places in between. PowerPlant is in it’s 8th summer of operation and is an initiative of the North American Mission Board (Southern Baptist Convention).

Following a six-session “how-to” study that participants complete prior to coming, students serving Indianapolis will hit the ground running. The major work begins Tuesday of the project. The students will be staying at Fall Creek Baptist Church for the week. This initiative is in partnership with the City of Indianapolis and local businesses.

Jonathan Wilson
Cell Phone: 404-395-7174
Office Phone: 770-410-6475
Email: jowilson@namb.net
www.power-plant.net

Executive Director Reports on Great Commission Resurgence Task Force Preliminary Report
by Dr. Stephen P. Davis, Executive Director

Dr. Ronnie Floyd, chairman of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force (GCR) gave the preliminary report to the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention on February 22, 2010, with the final report to be released on May 3rd. In his comments, he called on Southern Baptists to be gripped anew with the lostness of the world. Citing Joel 2:12-17, he stated we must repent of our self-centeredness and focus local churches on taking the Gospel to those who have yet to hear – the un-reached and under-served in North America.

Floyd said. “We need a fresh and compelling vision that will only come when we are right with Him.” He urged that Southern Baptists need to understand the “staggering” lostness of North America -- where 258 million of 340 million residents are estimated to be lost -- and
the entire world -- where 4 billion of 6.8 billion people have little to no access to the Gospel. Penetrating such massive lostness requires each of the 50,000-plus Southern Baptist churches to become their own “missional strategy center,” Floyd added.

At the SBC annual meeting in Orlando this June, Floyd said, the task force will ask the convention “to accept this vision, endorse this vision and champion this vision.” There were six key “components” of a vision the task force believes Southern Baptists will rally around and experience renewed passion for the Great Commission. They are as follows: (Go to www.pray4gcr.com to listen to the presentation or read the full report)

1. Calling Southern Baptists “to rally towards a clear and compelling missional vision and begin to conduct ourselves with core values that will create a new and healthy culture within the Southern Baptist Convention.”

2. Recommending the North American Mission Board “prioritize efforts to plant churches in North America and to reach our nation’s cities and clarify its role to lead and accomplish efforts to reach North America with the Gospel.”

3. Requesting Southern Baptists “entrust to the International Mission Board the ministry to reach the unreached and under-served people groups without regard to any geographic limitations.”

4. Moving the primary responsibility for Cooperative Program promotion and stewardship education ministry assignments from the Executive Committee to the state conventions.

5. Reaffirming the Cooperative Program “as our central means of supporting Great Commission ministries” and establishing a broader category of “Great Commission Giving” to celebrate all the financial support – CP giving and designated giving -- local congregations
provide for Southern Baptist missions.

6. Raising the percentage of Cooperative Program funds allocatedto the International  Mission Board in the 2011-2012 budget year to 51 percent and funding the increase in part with monies previously allocated to the SBC Executive Committee for Cooperative Program
promotion and stewardship education.

The Orlando meeting “can become a watershed moment for the reaching of the nations,” Floyd concluded. “May June 15-16, 2010, be the moment that will define the future for generations to come and show that Southern Baptists are a unified people, Bible-based,
Gospel-centered and set on fire by the Holy Spirit, believing we must join together like never before in presenting the Gospel of Jesus Christ to every person in the world and to make disciples of all the nations.”

The implications of the task force report for new work states like Indiana are still being processed. I would encourage us to do the following in response: Continue to pray. We are still gathering as much information and clarification about the report as we can as we
are in dialogue with Dr. Floyd and other state convention executive directors. We will also be meeting with our executive board to review the report and begin to formulate our strategies for Indiana if the Task Force report is approved by the messengers at the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Orlando. We would also express our deepest
appreciation to the members of the task force for the hours they have given as a labor of love for the Southern Baptist Convention as they have prayed and worked to put together marching orders for greater progress in fulfilling the Great Commission. Indiana wants to do its part to cooperate in achieving that great task. We will report further as we have more details.

By Diana Davis

“So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges
and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full.’” Luke 14:23 NLT

Every year children meet Jesus for the first time at Vacation Bible School (VBS.) Imagine what could happen if every member invited an un-churched child to VBS. Need fresh ideas?  

Form a creative publicity team to strategize and disseminate assignments to help every individual and church group impact VBS attendance.

Single adults coordinate an outdoor registration event for the community. The church softball team delivers door hangers to homes within a mile of the church. Senior adults and homebound members pre-register members’ children by phone.

Middle schoolers prepare a VBS puppet show, performing in the local mall and the church foyer. Young adult classes decorate hallways a week ahead of VBS to create anticipation. The praise team and choir hang posters strategically around town.

Teens plan a Celly Party, recruiting dozens of adults to join them for a sixty minute phone blitz. Callers use their own cell phone, a script and simple registration form to invite and register kids who visited church last year—church guests, sports participants, fall festival attendees, daycare children or AWANA kids. Include inactive members in the calling list. When a child is registered, the caller rings a bell and adds the name to a whiteboard. After a fast-paced hour, they pray for the children, enjoy snacks and celebrate.  

Individuals help. A member with graphic design skills creates an outdoor banner invitation. Garage salers share invitations as they shop. An inviting story in the local paper shows a photo of VBS prep. Sunday School teachers wear bandanas to show VBS enthusiasm They connect with VBS workers as prayer partners and for follow-up visits. The women’s ministry rents an air dancing guy or a huge advertising balloon, like a cowboy for a western themed VBS. A theatrical member wears a VBS mascot costume, such as eBay’s cowboy horse inflatable suit, to visit Sunday School classes or church and community events.

Simplify participation. Provide yard sign invitations for their lawn. Give everyone postcard invitations to share. Create e-invitations they can email friends. A week before VBS, deacons give every worshipper a helium balloon invitation to deliver to a neighbor.

Vacation Bible School only opens doors to reach children who come. Cast a large vision for every church member to invite children to VBS.

©Diana Davis, author of Deacon Wives (B&H Publishing) and wife of Indiana Baptists’ executive director. www.keeponshining.com

by Dr. Stephen P. Davis

Some of you may still be thinking, “Now what is G.P.S.?” Global Positioning System? Go Play Soccer? Guys Prefer Salads? Well, I will not assume that every person knows what we mean when we mention G.P.S. in our churches, or you see it in print in the Indiana Baptist Magazine. So, here it is: God’s Plan for Sharing.  It is the national evangelism initiative launching a cooperative effort of Southern Baptists to share the gospel with every person in North America by the year 2020.

The potential of this evangelistic initiative over the next ten years is unbelievable. Only God knows what is getting ready to happen. You can go to www.scbi.org/gps for more information. This is going to be exciting. So, get ready! Each believer is a critical person in the journey to share Jesus with every person in America by 2020.

You may be asking, “How in the world can this happen, where every person hears the gospel by 2020?” It won’t happen if we don’t pray, equip people to share their faith, sow the gospel and reap the harvest.  It won’t happen if we are depending on mass media only. It won’t happen if we only have pastors and church staff persons sharing the gospel faithfully. It will only happen if every believer takes his or her responsibility to share Jesus seriously. So how can you do your part?

Start with your own testimony. Have you ever taken the time to write out your own testimony? This is your best witnessing tool. For years I have trained people to share their faith by learning to share their testimonies using a simple guide. It’s just a matter of completing these three sentences.

1) Before I received Jesus, my life was_________________.
2) I came to realize I needed Jesus when_______________.
3) I received Jesus into my life by___________.

If you learn to share that much, you can always expand on your story. Think through it carefully. Don’t use terms that a lost person would not understand. Use words as if you’re talking to someone who has never been in church or heard the name of Jesus. Study Paul’s testimony in the book of Acts. See how in different contexts with different people he adapted his testimony to fit his audience. It will help you. After sharing your testimony with someone, all you need to ask is, “Has anything like this ever happened to you?” If the person says, “No,” then simply say, “May I take a few minutes and tell you more about my life?” And you’re on your way! Remember, “If you can’t tell it, you ain’t got it!”

Be vocal and visible in the outreach ministry of your church. Your pastor needs to know that you are in there pulling the wagon with him. He needs to know that the gospel message is important to you and that you are using your influence to encourage other church members to be involved in the exciting journey of being a positive, faithful witness for our Lord. Pastors always remember and appreciate those in the trenches with them in ministry. Be vocal by encouraging people in your Bible study class or small group about investing their lives in reaching out to lost people. Let people see your personal faithfulness to go.  Someone once told me, “Whatever you’ve got is contagious!” If you are energetic about your witness, then others will “catch it.”

Take someone with you. The best way to equip someone else to share Jesus is to simply take that person with you when you go to make a visit. Plug into the equipping part of your pastor’s ministry by helping people learn to share their faith. One of the greatest rewards in sharing your faith is being used of God to influence someone else to receive Jesus. An even greater sense of fulfillment is being there when someone you trained and invested your life in is used by the Holy Spirit to lead someone to faith in Jesus. I have loved playing sports and teaching my boys to play. Even as competitive as I am, my greatest fulfillment is always in seeing them excel and go beyond what I could have ever done. Even though we have some competitive golf rounds, no one is prouder when they hit the golf ball much farther than I ever could. No one is prouder than I am when they score better. It’s the same in the spiritual realm. As my evangelism professor, Dr. Roy Fish, once said, “It’s important to have spiritual children, but how many spiritual grandchildren do you have?”

Addition or multiplication? If you remember in the book of Acts, it begins with numerous statements about how the Lord added to the church.  In chapter six, it begins to talk about how the disciples were multiplying. That’s what we pray for in Indiana and North America, that making disciples will not be just business as usual by addition, but by explosion through multiplication.  

Our March 1 “Tip-Off Rallies” in every association helped us launch our commitment to G.P.S. All over our state on the same night, at the same time, thousands of us were on our knees praying for the lost of our state. We have been prayerwalking our streets. Homes of entire cities and counties in Indiana have received prayer visits from our pastors and people. Many of them will be in our churches on Easter Sunday. Now the hard part begins: following up and continuing our commitment for the next ten years until every person in Indiana hears the gospel and has the opportunity to respond. Don’t give up. Don’t become slack. Don’t be distracted or detoured by Satan with petty squabbles in our churches or sin in our lives that gives a lost person one more reason not to come to Jesus. Let’s stay the course until every person hears or Jesus comes. That’s God’s plan for sharing.

March 4, 2010

GuideStone offers free wellness tools for ministries

 

By Jennifer Wesley

Dallas, TX – Spurred by a desire to help ministry employers and employees control healthcare costs and to have a positive effect on participants’ health, GuideStone has launched a new wellness website at www.GuideStone.org/Wellness.

Studies show that wellness programs and support can help control medical costs now and in the future.  But GuideStone’s commitment goes beyond controlling costs.  “The health of our participants is an issue we take seriously,” says GuideStone President O. S. Hawkins. “Stress, lack of exercise and poor eating habits affect more than their personal health. It impacts their ability to do the work God has called them to do.”

Supporting total wellness is a priority for GuideStone.  Recently, the American Heart Association awarded GuideStone “gold-level” recognition for on-site wellness efforts.  GuideStone’s approach provides physical activity support, increases healthy eating options and promotes a general culture of wellness.

The new wellness website aims to share some of these resources with Southern Baptist churches and ministry organizations and their employees.  Built to equip, inspire and educate, the site includes quarterly challenges based on GuideStone’s internal initiatives, inspirational participant success stories, wellness tools, healthy living articles, employer resources and much more.

The first quarterly challenge, “Go for 10 in ’10,” urges participants to set specific, tangible goals for 2010.  A University of Scranton study showed that people who make specific, concrete New Year’s resolutions/goals are ten times more likely to achieve those goals than those who make non-specific goals.

The challenge focuses on physical, mental, spiritual or financial goals and includes tips on setting goals and creating an action plan to achieve them.

“In 1 Corinthians, Paul tells us that our bodies are the ‘temple of the Holy Spirit.’  We must be good stewards of our health,” says Hawkins.  “This wellness website is just one more way for GuideStone to help support our participants and employers in their efforts to practice good stewardship.”

For support materials and more information about how to improve overall wellness for 2010, visit www.GuideStone.org/wellness.

See also SCBI's Disaster Relief webpage

BUCKETS OF HOPE
One of the best things that Southern Baptists do is to cooperate to achieve a goal that will minister to both human and spiritual needs. We have all seen the heart-wrenching scenes broadcast by the news media from Haiti—homes and businesses falling on top of innocent people as a result of a devastating earthquake near the capital city of Port-au-Prince. Many surviving people say that they have lost all hope. Indiana Baptists want to provide renewed hope by providing food and a message of eternal hope in the Haitians’ native language through the Buckets of Hope project. Buckets of Hope is a joint project of the North American Mission Board, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, and state conventions, led by the Florida Baptist Convention. Florida Baptists are the lead agency in the Haiti relief effort. Begin collecting the items listed, pack them, and then prepare them for shipment to Haiti. Details for collection points for these Buckets of Hope will be given later. (Feb. 5, 2010)
Find out about feeding the people of Haiti one family at a time

 

From SCBI's Executive Director:

As you know the devastation in Haiti is unbelievable, and Southern Baptists are working with the Florida Baptist Convention to coordinate disaster relief. Right now what is needed are donations. The Florida Baptist Disaster Team along with the North American Mission Board (NAMB) are trying to get into the country to assess needs and prepare the disaster relief efforts. Dr. Sullivan, executive director for Florida, sent a letter describing their needs and plans. The letter is attached (click here). If you would like to take up a special offering to help, you can direct your offering for Haiti Disaster Relief through our office, send it to the Florida Baptist Convention or to NAMB. All monies sent to our office will be directed to the Florida Baptist Convention, 100% of which will be used to help the people in Haiti. Thanks for your prayers and for your financial generosity to help.

In Christ, Steve Davis  

 

Updates on Haiti

Give online through the Florida Baptist Convention

 

 

10 steps for implementing GPS
By: Chip Arnhart & Jerry Pipes

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)--As Southern Baptists prepare to implement "God's Plan for Sharing: Across North America" in the coming months, the North American Mission Board offers 10 steps toward reaching the goal.

1. Pray. Mobilize your church to pray for all lost people in your community and your church's efforts to reach them.

2. Determine your territory. Determine which homes your church will touch through prayer and the "Find It Here" Gospel distribution. Check with your association to identify other participating churches so as not to overlap efforts.

3. Order "Across North America" materials. The first item you'll need is the Pastor/Church Preparation Guide. You can download this at www.scbi.org/gps or order a copy for a small fee by calling 866-407-6262.

Orders for plastic bags and Find It Here Gospel drop-in pieces have already been placed with the state convention. These can be picked up at your association's March 1 "Crossing Indiana" Tip-off Rally. (Click for details locations.)

4. Update your church's profile. Visit sbc.net and view your church's listing, and if necessary, correct your church's information. Churches can make changes to their online information anytime using their 7-digit SBC ID# (the same number used for the Annual Church Profile) by going to churchsearch.net.  Be sure the address listed is your physical address and not a P.O. Box. Those looking for church homes during this campaign will be sent to this website to find churches in their area.

5. Become an ERC Covenant Church. The information from individuals contacting the Evangelism Response Center is sent to Covenant Churches for follow-up. If your church is equipped and registered as a Covenant Church, then the contact information of people accepting Christ in your area will come to you. For more information about Covenant Churches call 770-410-6383 or e-mail erc@namb.net.

6. Provide your congregation with evangelism training. The Across North America campaign is an opportunity to equip your congregation to share the Gospel. Visit gps2020.net for ideas and materials to help you equip your church in evangelism. [NOTE: In Indiana training will be available in each association at the simultaneous March 1 "Crossing Indiana" Tip-off Rallies.

7. Prepare your church for company. Easter Sunday will be a day when many people come and visit for the first time. Remember, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Be sure this isn't their last time visiting by preparing to welcome and incorporate visitors into your activities and services.

8. Keep it simple. Adding extra steps to this tested process only weakens the campaign. Across North America consists of four simple steps:

a. A three-week targeted media saturation taking place March 20 through April 11 (TV, radio, billboards, newspapers, etc.).

b. Participating churches prayerwalking their communities on the weekend of March 20.

c. Participating churches on March 27 distributing clear bags containing a "Find It Here" Gospel drop-in piece and an invitation to your Easter services to each home in your territory.

d. Participating churches conducting a five-week follow-up process after Easter.

9. Make Easter Sunday, April 4, special. Because of your prayers and hands-on work to distribute the Gospel, many lost people will be at your Easter Sunday services. Take full advantage of this time by clearly presenting the Gospel and providing an opportunity for people to respond.

10. Celebrate what God has done. Host a baptism celebration, reflect with thanksgiving on the changed lives, praise God for the number of believers trained and rejoice about the revival experienced in your community. Let God continue this transformation in your heart, your church and your community.
--30--
Chip Arnhart is resource coordinator for the North American Mission Board's spiritual awakening team, and Jerry Pipes is the team's leader.
Copyright (c) 2009 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press. Visit www.bpnews.net. BP News -- witness the difference! Covering the critical issues that shape your life, work and ministry. BP News is a ministry of Baptist Press, the daily news service of Southern Baptists.

The 2010 SBC Church Compensation Survey, provided through the joint efforts of Baptist state conventions, LifeWay Christian Resources and GuideStone Financial Resources, launched again in January. The survey - available by visiting www.LifeWay.com/compensationsurvey - studies the pay and benefits of ministers and employees of Southern Baptist churches. All Southern Baptist church employees are encouraged to participate.

Through the survey, church administrators, personnel and finance committees and minister search teams have access to an accurate baseline by which they can compare their own church's salary and benefits with similar churches across the country.

Answers to the online survey are kept confidential and are not reported individually. The survey takes, on average, less than 10 minutes to complete. In addition to salary and benefit information, participants in the survey will need to have their church's average weekly worship or Bible study attendance, resident membership and annual budget.

LifeWay and GuideStone are pooling resources to provide the online survey, compile the data and offer an online reporting tool for users to access results. The survey is available through April 30 and results will be released in June.

Call to Urgent Prayer for SBC
(Pass the word to your church, friends and family.)
Who: Southern Baptists – corporately and individually
When: January 31, 2010 (an all-through-the-day observance)
What: Day of Fasting, Prayer and Repentance
Why: We have forgotten our first love (Revelation 2:4) and need revival in SBC. There are many decisions being made including: the GCRT, GPS, Across North America, search committees for three SBC agencies, etc. We need God’s direction.
Objective: The goal is for all of us to “Be still and know that God is God,” as a sign of our humility and desire to wholeheartedly return to Him. By our being still before Him (see Psalm 46:10), we exalt our God and position ourselves to obey the Great Commission our Lord commanded in Matthew 28:18-20.
How:
•    Distribute personal preparation guides for cleansing and restoration and instruct every church member on how to use it through the day.
•    Plan a Solemn Assembly or a Concert of Prayer for whole congregation or the entire association.
•    Hold prayer gatherings by Sunday school classes or Bible study groups.
•    Encourage families to have a focused prayer time acknowledging God alone is God. For example, an extended prayer before the evening meal, or a prayer walk through the home asking for cleansing and God’s presence.
•    Challenge every Sunday school class or Bible study group to tithe time to contrite prayer for spiritual awakening.
•    Extend the pastoral prayer and invite several to read scriptural prayers and.
•    Preach a sermon on prayer, stopping at each point to lead the congregation in application praying.
•    On Sunday, January 24th, ask your members to pray daily for tens of thousands of SBC congregations to participate in the January 31st urgent call to prayer for the Southern Baptist Convention.
Resources: Information to support the above ideas and more are being added daily. Click here to access the resource list. You may also access the resource list from the GPS website, www.GPS2020.net.
For more information click here for the Baptist Press article.

Excerpt from Baptist Press article:

SBC President, Johnny Hunt, and the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force, along with the Executive Committee, the International Mission Board and the North American Mission Board, are asking pastors to not only incorporate a season of prayer for our denomination into your regular worship services on Sunday, Jan. 31, but to make provision and give direction for a full day of prayer focus. The prayer leaders are prepared to provide free downloadable resources to assist in a meaningful day of seeking God on His terms. Some of the suggested things to pray for include:

-- A spirit of repentance to fall on our churches corporately and personally for individuals, and for genuine revival of first love for Jesus. (See Matt. 4:17; Rev. 2:4.)

-- A great spiritual awakening across our land so that the lost will be drawn to a personal relationship with Jesus. (See John 6:44; Rom. 1:19; 2 Cor. 2:14.)

-- A sweet spirit of reconciliation among any Southern Baptists who are at odds with each other, or other works of God. Love for one another in the body of Christ to grow and blossom. (See Prov. 28:13; 1 Cor. 13:25-27; John 13:34-35.)

-- Wisdom for the members of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force as they prepare their report in February. (See Jer. 33:3; James 1:5.)

-- Guidance for the search committees for presidents of the Executive Committee, the International Mission Board, and the North American Mission Board. (See Prov. 3:5-6, 13, 15:22, 27:17; Acts 1:21-26.)

 

Draw up a chair around the fireplace and let’s have a chat. Recently the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Great Commission Resurgence Task Force, appointed by SBC President, Dr. Johnny Hunt, met with state executive directors from around the country for dialogue. Because our Indiana State Convention annual meeting was at the same time, I was unable to attend. I have personally signed up as a prayer supporter for the task force because they are charged with challenging Southern Baptists to a “Great Commission Resurgence.” In the minds of some, whatever recommendations they bring will not go far enough. To others, it will be too radical. So I pray for God to give them wisdom.

What is the goal of the Task Force? They are looking at the structures of the SBC to evaluate how to get more resources to the mission field. It is always good to evaluate strategies and structures to insure the agencies and entities of the SBC are being the best stewards possible with the resources God provides to impact a lost world. That’s what we have been doing on a regular basis in Indiana for the past six years.

As you know, we have made significant changes in our state to see more resources flow to the mission field at home and abroad. We have significantly reduced state convention staff, have reorganized our state with regional strategists serving 11 of our 14 associations, revised our budgeting processes, revamped our church planting policies, set new records in our gifts through the special mission offerings, and crafted a plan to systematically increase annually our percentage flowing from Indiana to the SBC until we reach the 50/50 level.

Some questions I wrestle with are: “What are some additional ways that Indiana could see more resources flowing to the mission field?” “Are there further adjustments we can make so that Indiana carries more of her own weight when it comes to our state ministries and staff, particularly if it means releasing more resources to reach a lost world?”

We have been the recipient of significant funds from the North American Mission Board (NAMB) for over 50 years. They have assisted with missions and evangelism staff, resources and church planting. Is it time for us to begin reducing our dependence on NAMB? Can we do it without negatively impacting church planting, staffing, and services to our churches? Even though we have been regularly increasing our percentage that we forward to the SBC, are there ways to accelerate that plan? Pray for God’s wisdom for the SBC Task Force and for our state convention as we work together to address the challenges of reaching a lost world.

The messengers to our annual meeting approved a record Cooperative Program budget. According to our budgeting policy, our 2010 budget was based on the actual Cooperative Program receipts from 2008. Also, according to policy, we will increase what we forward to the Southern Baptist Convention by another 1%, which will bring us to 36.5% of our Cooperative Program receipts going to the SBC next year. Even though our receipts for 2009 (as of October 31) are running 4% behind 2008, we moved forward with our budget and the percentage increase to the SBC. We will closely monitor our 2010 receipts and make adjustments as necessary. One thing I know: God will provide for our needs. Our commitment to Indiana Baptists is to live with what God provides and end each year in the black. So please pray for wisdom as we seek to be good stewards of the resources God supplies through our churches for our convention ministries this next year.

Pray for one million dollars from Indiana for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for international missions and one half million for the Annie Armstrong Offering for North American missions. Indiana has made history by surpassing the half-million dollar mark for our Lottie Moon offerings two years in a row. Now let’s pray that we will celebrate the day when one million dollars is given through our churches for the International Mission Board annual offering. What a great day that will be! And we can do it. It could happen even this year. If we pray and sacrifice, it can be done. Think about it. We have 416 Southern Baptist churches in Indiana. If we averaged $2,404 per church, we would give one million dollars. Some churches could do much more than that; others may not be able to do that much, but what I’m trying to help you see is that it is doable. Wouldn’t you love to see it happen? It takes both the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Offering to train, send and sustain missionaries on the field.  

Indiana has been increasing what we send for North American missions through the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering, but we have never reached the half million dollar mark. Using a similar formula above, you can see that it is a reachable goal.

In a day when the economy of Indiana has been drastically affected, wouldn’t it be a huge testimony to say about us as they did the churches of Macedonia, “Out of their poverty they gave liberally, because they first gave themselves to the Lord.”? That’s the key. Let’s give ourselves to the Lord and we’ll see what only God can do through our state. And to be sure, He will get the glory!

Thank you, Indiana Baptists, for your heart and commitment to reaching a lost world.

Check out these Fresh Ideas from Diana Davis:

Stop Traffic with a Live Nativity Scene

Picture this: a simple, well-lit stable stands visibly on your church lawn. A lighted sign says “Turn here for free live nativity.” Music is playing and costumed nativity characters create a captivating Christmas-card-like setting. People stop to observe and church members welcome them with steaming cups of cocoa. The atmosphere is worshipful yet joyfully celebrative...

The Ultimate Christmas Party

For a memorable Christmas party for your Bible class or other church group, plan a Christmas Explosion!  Singles, couples, youth or kids will enjoy fellowship as their Christmas celebration “explodes” to touch others...

A Nativity-a-Day

Looking for a way to keep Christ in your Christmas celebration this season?  Try this Christian version of The Twelve Days of Christmas...
 

John Martens served as pastor of Friendship Baptist Church in Crawfordsville, Indiana, until the Lord moved him and his family to start a church in Vancouver in 2004.

Read the following Baptist Press story to see some of the ways God is using his church to reach not only their community, but the world.

Baptist Press: Small Canadian church of 50 makes film

Link to The Connection (church) website

Link to  find out more about the movie and see a trailer.

 

Find out more about the Task Force assigned to report back to the Southern Baptist Convention in June, 2010. What led to the united desire for many across the convention for a Great Commission Resurgence? Who is on the task force? How can we best pray for God's clear leadership? Register your commitment to pray and more... click here.

We are in the preliminary stage of organizing teams for the state of Georgia due to their recent floods. Our involvement will depend on the response of our faithful volunteers. The immediate need is for as many of us as possible to form teams between now and the next 3 weeks. We have a team led by John Guernsey committed to leaving Oct 6 and staying approximately a week. If anyone is able to go at an earlier date please respond as soon as possible so we can organize a second team. More details will be shared when arranged.

Thank you all for your faithfulness and let's join together in praying for those in need and our opportunity to help.
Only through Him,
Karol ksj46147@yahoo.com
Indiana Disaster Relief

Ben Beck, BCM Director received an encouraging facebook message from a guy he met last spring break on the Beach Reach Mission Trip.   When JB's path crossed with Ben last March he had just been kicked out of a bar for causing trouble with the DJ. JB was hungry so he headed to Taco Bell where Ben's street team was hanging out sharing Christ. Ben had a very long conversation with JB about God but JB was not quite ready to change his ways. They exchanged information and have stayed in contact via facebook. Ben prayed that God would send someone into JB's life to continue to share in person about Christ. Below is the facebook message Ben received. God has answered Ben's prayer.

Hey Ben! You'll never guess who's going to start going to church again.. me! I met this friend of mine Doug from work who is around my age and is really passionate about Jesus and I've been talking to him alot lately. It's kind of weird because the way he describes the church he goes to it sounds perfect for me. He also has the same perspective on things when it comes to politics, values etc. Also, I just finished the book Blue Like Jazz and it really put alot of things in perspective for me. It was actually kind of weird how I found it. This past weeknd I was riding in a friends car who was borrowing it from her dad, I happened to reach in the back seat and pull the book out. After thinking about the chances of that happening, meeting my friend Doug at work, and thinking about how we ran into each other in Panama, I feel like God is trying to have a personal relationship with me and I haven't been trying very hard to form a relationship with him. The book also talked about alot on what you were trying to tell me in Panama about God's grace and how we are sinful creatures, but the thing is we should understand that Jesus Christ died on the Cross so we can be saved from our sins. And that Christianity is a struggle with one's faith and we will mess up at times, but it is in our sinful nature to. It talks about how easy it is to follow the dark, and stray away from God. I guess what I'm trying to say is Thank you Ben for talking to me that night at Taco Bell. Not only have I came to Peace with myself, I've been able to share some things with my little brother and now he's starting to read the book Blue Like Jazz and hopefully he will start going to church with me also. I hope all is well and you'll be in my prayers!
JB

 
Purdue Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM)
507 Waldron St., est Lafayette, IN 47906
www.purduebcm.org
"The BCM is a body of students striving together to glorify God and spread His love through relationships and service."

Read the following from Baptist Press:

FIRST-PERSON: How God taught me to care about poverty

World hunger 'thank you' video, other resources available

Learn more at World Hunger Fund

It’s almost time for our annual meeting of the State Convention of Baptists in Indiana. It begins
Monday afternoon, October 26, and concludes at noon the next day. Why should you attend?
Six reasons:

1. Participation: The state convention annual meeting is all about how our 424 Indiana
Southern Baptist churches work together to take Christ to our communities, state, nation and
world. Will your church be represented at the annual meeting? Each church is allowed at least two official messengers, and additional attendees are welcome. The meeting is
only as effective as your participation, so bring your full complement of messengers. Online registration is available at www.scbi.org.

2. Place: The state convention will be held in Merrillville’s convention center and the Northwest Association of churches is excited about hosting us. This area is the second fastest-growing area of our state and, though it will be a bit of travel for those in southern Indiana, I hope you
will come and encourage our churches there.

3. Presentations: Want to hear about great things God is doing in Indiana and around the Southern Baptist Convention? You’ll enjoy reports from our North American Mission Board, International Mission Board, LifeWay, GuideStone, Southern Seminary, and our Florida Baptist
Convention partnership. You’ll hear about church health and church planting in Indiana, such as our hugely successful Minister of Education project and our tremendous success rate for church planting. You’ll also enjoy visual exhibits about dozens more of our combined mission efforts.

4. Power: Our president, Alan Scott, pastor of Oakhill Baptist in Evansville, has themed the convention “Fuel for the Journey.” The annual meeting is more than just a series of reports. It is also a time of challenge, inspiration and spiritual renewal—almost like a revival meeting! You’ll
be encouraged by the messages from dynamic pastors like Dr. Mac Brunson from Florida and Dr. Kevin Ezell from Kentucky.

5. Previews: You’ll enjoy previews of exciting, upcoming plans, such as our new Urban Strategy, new church plants, training events, missions opportunities and a national evangelistic media blitz with the North American Mission Board called “Find it Here.”

6. Premiums: It’s a great time to connect with new and old friends and to share ministry ideas. Our inspirational Pastors’ Conference meets Tuesday afternoon and evening. On Tuesday a special luncheon is planned for wives of Indiana pastors and church ministry staff. Missions
Celebration takes place Sunday evening and Monday morning. The Indiana WMU celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The exhibit hall is filled with informational booths about Indiana ministries. You’ll meet church planters and missionaries and denominational staff. You’ll
fellowship. You’ll learn. You’ll be challenged.

So come prepared to be blessed and encouraged. Most of all, come prepared to be challenged at the point of your own spiritual commitment and surrender. The annual meeting this year will be like never before. We’ll exalt the glory of God and the potential of seeing His glory transform
the lives of people and ultimately the spiritual landscape of our state. We’ll confront our sins of lethargy and indifference to a lost world. We’ll recommit our efforts to reach the 80% of Hoosiers—over five million— who are not in any Christian church on any given Sunday. So come expectantly as we lay our lives and ministries before the searchlight of God’s Spirit so that we can truly be “fueled for the journey.”

I hope to see you in Merrillville, October 25, 26 and 27.
Steve

A three-foot-tall Spider-Man and his parents are driving past your church looking for a safe and fun Halloween alternative. Need fresh ideas for a community outreach event?

Free Family Foto. Create a beautiful, lighted outdoor photo site on your church
lawn with pumpkins, mums, hay bales and autumn leaves. Advertise well. Enlist amateur photographers to quickly pose and photograph families who stop by. On Sunday, display photos in the church foyer for pick-up, or mail them to families as a postcard with a personal note on the back.

A Community-Wide Costume Parade can be staged in your church parking lot with an emcee, spotlights, Christian music and free hot chocolate. Prepare a gift and church invitation for onlookers. Chalk the parade route, designate a staging area for the children, and decorate a golf
cart for your parade marshal – the pastor!

A “Trunk or Treat” Event can attract hundreds to your church parking lot. Joyful, costumed church members circle their cars in the parking lot, open their decorated trunks, and pass out candies, tracts and invitations to church. Oakhill Baptist in Evansville themes its event each year.

Fall Festival. Some churches plan a free festival with carnival games, tractor rides, box mazes, pumpkin carving or cupcake walks. Others rent bouncy games, feature a Christian band or do a Noah’s Ark party.

Hallway Parade. Ask children from your church to meet at a local nursing home for a pre-arranged costume parade down the halls. Distribute large-print tracts and pre-approved
treats for residents.

Reverse Trick-or-Treating. Teens or families deliver homemade cookies to neighbors, along with a packet of information about your church.

Make a goal that each guest for any event will receive two verbal invitations to church along with a tract (such as found at atsTracts.org) and a printed invitation to worship.

Leave the Light On. If church members stay at home that evening, challenge them to give out big candy bars or treats along with a tract and church invitation.

Paul challenged Christians to “make the most of every opportunity.” There’s a little guy in a Spider-Man costume in your town who needs Jesus.

Do you want to reach more of Indiana and the world with the Gospel of Jesus?
Maybe it’s time to add a new weapon to your arsenal: your computer.

Facebook, a social networking website, has more than 250 million active users across the globe who spend an average of 8.3 million hours using Facebook on any given day. That means that if Facebook were its own country, it would be the fourth largest in the world, right between the United States and Brazil. If you think that’s crazy, think about the fact that every month there are 31 billion searches on Google, an internet search engine.

We’ve come to a day when people who are seeking for answers aren’t walking through the doors of a church. Instead, they head for the Internet, seeking their meaning in artificial reflections of life because it’s all they know. As Christians, our goal is to know God and make Him known, and making God known means meeting people where they are.

Whether or not we like it, the place you’ll find people today is online: on their desktops, laptops, netbooks, Blackberries and iPhones.

What do we do about this?
• 80% of people say that they will look at the website of a church before they ever see the church building. Get a teenager in your church to build your church website.
• Only 25% of people say they read the newspaper, yet 63% say they watch TV. Invest in a projector for worship lyrics and sermon notes.
• The number of text messages sent and received on cell phones today will total about seven billion, exceeding the total population of the earth. Send text messages and emails inviting people to special events.

Technology can be a hindrance in your church or it can be a help, it’s your choice.

Look in the next Indiana Baptist Magazine for more Tech Talk.

Pastor Roger Kinion of Calvary Baptist Church, one of the four churches participating in the walk, answered questions by e-mail about the event.

Question: What exactly is a prayer walk?

Answer: Prayer walking is basically a proactive way of praying for your community where you actually walk through a neighborhood while praying for it. As you walk, you make observations and ask God to make you sensitive to the needs of the community. Then you continue to pray according to the needs God reveals to you.

Our prayer walk is called One Prayer to signify the unity of spirit and purpose the four churches have that are coming together, asking God to bless our community.

Q: What will participants in this walk do?

A: Teams from the four churches will be assigned specific streets throughout the city of Greenfield to prayer-walk. The goal is that every street in Greenfield will be covered in prayer at the same time. Following the unified prayer walk, the prayer teams from all four churches will come back to Brandywine Community Church for a time of celebration and worship.

Q: What churches are participating?

A: The four churches are Brandywine Community Church, Park Chapel Christian Church, Realife Church and Calvary Baptist Church.

Q: Can anyone participate?

A: Participation is encouraged to be routed through one of the four host churches.

Q: Where did the idea originate for this event?

A: Prayer walking has been a part of Calvary for about two years. It is a great way to become sensitive to community needs. The idea for One Prayer was birthed out of a conference attended by Matt Wickham, the pastor at Brandywine, and Dean Nester, the pastor at Park Chapel. When they returned home, they sought out interest from Adam Detamore, the pastor at Realife, and myself.

With all four churches being in agreement that prayer is the starting point for God making a difference in our community, the planning began. During a time of prayer, the title and focus "One Prayer" came to life.

Q: What's the ultimate objective?

A: The ultimate objective is to see God glorified by prayer -- walking every street in Greenfield at one time, praying in unison for our community, and allowing our congregations to work together to accomplish this goal.

Q: Do you see value in different churches joining together like this to collaborate in activities?

A: Absolutely! We are each different in some ways and alike in others. It is a great learning experience to join together and to realize we have so much in common and we are not alone in our faith and our desire to see our community reached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

-Bill McCleery, Indy Star

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009908290333

The Cooperative Program from Three Angles

by Dr. Stephen Davis, SCBI Executive Director

It’s not unique to my experience, but I thought I would share my personal story about the Cooperative Program. My prayer is that my story will be one of encouragement and hope for Indiana Baptists at a time when the economy continues to be a major issue.  I hope you’ll gain a new appreciation for how we as Southern Baptists cooperate together for the sake of the gospel.

The journey for me began when I first felt called to the ministry as a high school senior. I grew up in Richmond, Indiana, and spent my senior year of high school in Garden Grove, California. Through an unusual set of circumstances I ended up in Texas to go to college. I didn’t know anyone in Texas. I had no relatives or friends in the state. God just placed me there. I wasn’t sure how I was going to finance my education, but trusted God and His call on my life.  Mark Tullos, the music and youth minister in our church, told me, “If it’s God’s will, God will make a way.” And He did. How did God provide? One way was through a work program on campus picking up garbage. That’s one of the reasons I appreciate any job. My economics teacher at Richmond High School taught that “All work, no matter how menial, has dignity.” I had a second job as a part-time youth minister at First Baptist Church, Mt. Pleasant, Texas. Another part of my education was provided through the Southern Baptist Convention’s Cooperative Program. Because I was licensed to the ministry by my home church and was attending Dallas Baptist University as a student preparing for ministry, the State Convention provided a tuition reduction for me. As a result, when I finished my bachelor’s degree, I owed very little and paid it off quickly.

How was I going to afford a seminary education to further my preparations for ministry? Again, I received a small scholarship, worked a part-time job on campus in lawn service, worked as a youth minister at Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, and my wife worked full-time to help with expenses. An enormous debt would still have amassed, but once again the Cooperative Program came to the rescue. I discovered that Southern Baptists, through the Cooperative Program, not only provided resources for International and North American missions, but also helped subsidize seminary education to prepare students from our churches for the ministry. So when I enrolled at Southwestern Seminary, the Cooperative Program provided for most of my tuition. As a result, I was able to finish my master’s degree, and owed nothing when I graduated. Some friends went to a non-Southern Baptist seminary and paid a much higher price, accumulating great debt. Others were not able to finish. I shudder to think “what might have been” for me had it not been for the generosity of Southern Baptists believing in a cooperative way of supporting missionaries and providing for students preparing for ministry. Cooperation works. Cooperation has worked in the past and will continue to work to provide for the best opportunities in preparing the next generation of leaders to guide our churches in reaching a lost world.

As a church planter, I discovered that the Cooperative Program wasn’t through with me yet! Again resources became available to help us plant a new church in San Antonio - University Baptist. Through the support of the state convention, the North American Mission Board, LifeWay and Women’s Missionary Union, there were resources to help us in the initial phases of that new church plant. In only eighteen months our new church had grown enough that we were totally self-supporting and constituted as a church. (University Baptist, San Antonio, is a vibrant, effective church to this day.) As a pastor of a church-planting church, those same resources partnered to help us plant numerous other churches over the years.

In my journey as a minister, I’ve been on the receiving end of the Cooperative Program at all of those angles. It was a humbling experience as a student to receive help, which was crucial to my life in ministry. That is why as a pastor for over thirty years, and now as an executive director for Indiana Baptists, I have always been a cheerleader for the Cooperative Program of the Southern Baptist Convention. There were times as a pastor when I would be asked, “When will we get back some of the money we send through the Cooperative Program?” My answer was always, “We don’t give so it comes back to us. We give to cooperate with other Southern Baptist churches to fulfill the Acts 1:8 challenge in reaching North America and the ends of the earth with the gospel, and helping seminary students from our churches prepare to carry the torch in the next generation.” The Cooperative Program helps us maintain a “Kingdom” mindset.

Now that you know a little of my story, let me bring all of this down to today’s situation. In a time when we are more concerned than ever about how far our dollars will go, it’s good to remember that the best investments we make are for eternity. And the best place for our pastors and churches to impact eternity is to place their investments for missionaries, mission causes and seminary education through the Cooperative Program. Think about it: the smallest church in our state convention is a part of helping support over 10,000 Southern Baptist missionaries at home and overseas. Through the Cooperative Program, that same church is helping send record numbers of new missionaries to the field each year. We are helping to educate thousands of future ministers through our six Southern Baptist seminaries, with the largest enrollment of men and women preparing for ministry in the world! They not only need our continued and increased support, they are worthy of our support, especially at a time when education costs are skyrocketing.

So you do the math. When planning your church budget and its mission investments, give prayerful consideration to how you can make your mission dollars go the farthest. Think about how your Cooperative Program dollars support over 10,000, well qualified, trained, effective missionaries, thousands of ministerial students in our seminaries and thousands of new church plants each year across North America and around the world. What a tremendous investment!  

The Cooperative Program. I’ve experienced it from three different angles, and any way I look at it, it all adds up to carrying out the Acts 1:8 challenge  with a plan that is proven, can be trusted and ultimately is the best investment of your mission resources. Thank you, Indiana Southern Baptists, for believing in how we cooperate together to reach the lost at home and to the ends of the earth!

‘Back to Church’ Campaign to Woo ‘De-churched’ and ‘Un-churched’
www.backtochurch.com
Congregations to Invite Friends, Family, Former Members to ‘Rethink Church’

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – As millions of Americans head back to school, organizers of a new faith-based outreach campaign hope that millions more will come back to church as well.

The “Back to Church Sunday” campaign from San Diego-based Outreach Inc. makes it easy for church members to invite their friends and family by creating a worship service specifically geared toward visitors.

The program kicks off with national “Back to Church Sunday” on Sept.13 aimed at reaching the “un-churched” and “de-churched”— people who used to go to church, but don’t any more.

The campaign is based on a simple idea. If you ask un-churched people to come with you to church—mostly likely they’ll say yes.

LifeWay Research, an arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, found that 82 percent of un-churched people surveyed said that they’d be open to visit a church, if a friend or family member invited them.

Unfortunately, said Thom Rainer, president of LifeWay, few church members invite their friends and neighbors. “Only two percent of church members invite an un-churched person to church,” he says. “Ninety-eight percent of churchgoers never extend an invitation in a given year.”

While most Americans say they believe in God, and many tell pollsters that they attend church regularly, only about 20 percent of Americans actually show up in church on Sunday, according to the “The American Church in Crisis,” a recent study of church attendance.

Organizers say most people who drop out of church haven’t lost their faith in God. Instead, they fell out of the habit of churchgoing. Some moved or had another change in life circumstances, or had a falling out with their former church and simply drifted away. Most often, life simply became too busy.

That means they are open to returning to church.

“Many de-churched people are a simple re-invitation away,” says Mark Batterson, of the National Community Church in Washington, D.C.

Inviting newcomers is only part of the campaign. The other part is getting the church ready for them to show up. Outreach has put together several tools to help churches prepare for visitors.

A free downloadable planning guide offers advice on everything from sermon planning to instructions for greeters. Churches are asked to plan for the program and to make sure their buildings are visitor friendly. They’re also encouraged to pay attention to small details—like clear signage and clean bathrooms–that are important to visitors.

“When people come to church for the first time, or come back after a long absence, they notice everything,” says Nelson Searcy, lead pastor of The Journey in New York City. “In fact, most of them form innate judgments about the environment within seven seconds of walking through the door.”

Organizers point out that returning to church is a process. “Rebuilding trust with this group is essential, and building trust requires authenticity and consistency,” says the campaign-organizing guide. “Otherwise, your returning guests may feel that you have tried a ‘bait and switch.’”

Along with the campaign planning guide and an interactive Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/backtochurch), Outreach has put together a “Rethink Church” booklet, addressing the 10 top reasons why people drop out of church, along with videos, articles and other resources. The booklet addresses common objections such as, “I don’t believe in organized religion,” “Church is boring,” and “Christians are judgmental and hypocritical.”

“Back to Church Sunday has the potential to be a day that changes the future course of someone’s life,” says Chad McCallum, lead pastor of Compass Church in Byron Center, Mich. “In a world where so many people fall into the definition of ‘de-churched,’ this is a doable effort for any church that wants to reach more people for Christ.”

Outreach, Inc. (www.outreach.com) is the largest provider of outreach products and services in North America, including “Outreach” magazine, the most-read pastor’s magazine in the world. The company was launched with the mission of empowering Christian churches to reach their communities for Jesus Christ. Outreach, Inc. endeavors to create a network of churches and ministries working together to invite and connect every person in America to a Bible-believing church and ultimately into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

CIMARRON, NM–Friends and members of the Association of Baptists for Scouting (ABS) met for a week at the Philmont Training Center (PTC) at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. The purpose of this week of training was to learn how to use Scouting more effectively as a ministry in Baptist churches for reaching lost youth and their families for Christ. Attendees also talked about ways to increase the number of Baptist Scouting units in the U. S. and how to increase the membership of ABS and the number of Good Shepherd Awards given out each year to adults who work with youth. Three leaders who were present were presented with Good Shepherd Awards. In other business new officers were elected and the bylaws were amended.
    Founded in 1954, the ABS exists “to bring youth to Christ through a Scouting ministry.” Baptist churches with Scout units use material from Programs of Religious Activities with Youth call P.R.A.Y. that is age appropriate to teach children and youth about God’s love, the family, the church, and the Christian life. Developed by church leaders, including Baptists, this material serves as the basis for Scouts to earn their Religious Emblems Awards at various stages of their Scouting experience, beginning with the first grade. The material contains a well-crafted presentation of the Gospel and is designed for use by both parent and child together. Leaders of the ABS believe in the mission and potential for Baptist churches to reach youth through Scouting. A recent survey done by Glenmary Research out of Nashville showed that Baptists dominate the influence in more counties in the U. S. than any other single faith group.
    Key aspects of a successful Scouting ministry include:

• Church ownership of the Scout unit. The church must be more than merely a host. Top tier leaders of the Scout unit should be active members of the church selected by the church leader and possess a demonstrated concern for reaching youth        
• Boy Scouts of America’s Religious Emblems program should be encouraged for advancement in rank. For Scouts who are unaffiliated with any religion, or who come from Christian homes, the church should provide the P.R.A.Y program taught by church staff or other members appointed by the church leaders        
• Every Scout unit should have a chaplain who is a member of the church staff or appointed by the senior pastor to promote the Religious Emblems Program and see that prayer and devotionals are a routine part of the unit’s events        
• Every Scout unit should be expected to have a devotional service on Sunday mornings at camp sites, and attendance at the devotional services should be encouraged of all Scouts and Scout leaders        
• All Scout events should begin with prayer        
• Scouts should be actively involved in planning and leading the Scout Sunday Service        
• Church Staff should be encouraged to be present at major Scouting events such as pack meetings and courts of honor
• Scouts should be included as part of the overall ministry of the church        

    Leaders of ABS are committed to the task of reaching youth for Christ through Scouting. An example of this commitment is Olen Jackson. Jackson, who is 98, plans to return to Louisiana and help launch a new Scout unit in his church. In 2008 Jackson was a recipient of the Silver Good Shepherd Award at the ABS Conference at Shocco Springs Baptist Encampment, in Alabama.
    In an effort to increase awareness and participation by Baptist churches in Scouting ministry, the ABS is

• planning to utilize technology, including the internet and facebook, to connect Baptist Scouters     
  
• working to increase membership in the ABS and increase endowed gifts (information about membership or giving gifts is available from http://www.baptistscouters.org)    

    In other business the ABS approved extensive amendments to its bylaws and elected new officers. Outgoing President Chip Turner has taken a position as Chairman of Religious Relationships of Boy Scouts of America.
    Among new officers elected were:

• !Jeff Thompson (GA), President        
• !A. J. Smith (AL), Exec. Vice-President        
• !Merri Addison (AL), Secretary     
• Sam Houston (TX), Chaplain
• Bobby Boykin (MS), Membership Vice-President    
  

Story by A. J. Smith with Jeff Thompson and Chip Turner.

NAMB Great Commission re-focus task force named
By: Mickey Noah

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)--Twenty-four Southern Baptists from a broad cross-section of the denomination -- theologians, missiologists, practitioners, denominational leaders and pastors of churches of varying sizes and ethnicities -- comprise the new North American Great Commission Task Force set to meet for the first time on Tuesday, June 23, prior to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Louisville, Ky.

Commissioned by North American Mission Board President Geoff Hammond, the task force is designed to dovetail with the Great Commission Resurgence declaration issued by Southern Baptist Convention President Johnny Hunt, who will be kept apprised of the group’s progress. To date, more than 3,700 Baptists have signed Hunt's call for a return to the Great Commission.

"The North American Mission Board joins with our SBC president in this focus and takes this call seriously," Hammond said. "NAMB is called and is in the unique position to mobilize this convention in a Great Commission resurgence."

The task force will meet for the first time in an open-to-the-public "meet and greet" session from 5-6 p.m. Tuesday in Room B110 in the Kentucky Exposition Center's south wing. Hunt and Hammond are slated to attend.

Hammond has appointed one of his senior associates at NAMB, Steve Reid in Alpharetta, Ga., and Ed Stetzer, director of LifeWay Research in Nashville, to convene and co-facilitate the task force. The initial "working" meeting of the task force will take place in late July in Atlanta, according to Reid.

Following six scheduled meetings during 2009-10 -- both face-to-face and via the Internet --- the task force has been charged by Hammond with drafting a final report of its findings which Hammond will unveil at the 2010 annual SBC meeting in Orlando, Fla.

Read complete story

By Diana Davis, author of Deacon Wives (B&H Publishing)

      She may look just like any other church member, but God has placed a special call on her life.  When a deacon is ordained to serve a church, the wife’s qualifications are carefully considered. 1 Timothy 3:11 states, “Wives, too, must be worthy of respect, not slanderers, self-controlled, faithful in everything.” Her words and actions can enhance or impair her husband’s effective service. She is highly respected, and helps set the pace for other women in faithfulness, soul-winning, dignity, harmony and ministry.
      My dad was a deacon, so I saw from a young age how deacons and their wives impact a church. As a pastor’s wife in a new church plant with two deacons, a church with twenty deacons, and a church with a hundred deacons, I saw how deacons’ wives influenced our churches’ harmony, ministry and growth. As a state leader’s wife, I’ve seen hundreds more! A few examples:  
-    Sarah writes personal encouragement notes to Sunday School teachers, nursery workers, committee members and so on.  
-    Heidi helps with the church website, photography, music and women’s ministry.
-    Linda intentionally sits by hurting and lonely people, widows and guests in church.  
-    Betty helps equip women to share their faith.
-    Ruby organizes deacon wives to host new member receptions at the pastor’s home.
-    Cheryl prepares and delivers “bereavement bags” of paper products to church members’ homes immediately after a death in the family.
-    Donna warmly greets every church guest and introduces them to others.
-    Dawn makes hospital visits with her husband. Pat visits nursing homes. Susan visits homebound members.
-    Ruth lovingly helps with the Pastor’s preschoolers when needed.
-    Vela invites first-time guests to her home for lunch after Sunday worship. Cyndi hosts youth fellowships. Bess prepares a “prophet’s” room in her home for visiting speakers at the church.

Each of these uses her unique gifts and personality to joyfully and sacrificially serve God in the church and to enhance her deacon/husband’s effectiveness. Many help their husbands organize, visit, and serve. Some deacon wives meet for prayer during deacon meetings. Others plan ministry projects as a group. We could fill this publication with examples!
Her ministry may be highly visible or quietly behind the scenes, but her value is palpable. The deacon’s wife--it’s a worthy life. Will you thank a deacon’s wife this Sunday?

©Diana’s newest book, Deacon Wives (B&H Publishing), releases June 1st. She and her husband, Steve, write a regular column, “He Said/She Said,” for LifeWay’s Deacon Magazine.  www.keeponshining.com

Think Carefully About Your Ways 

Could it be satanic opposition? That is an important question we as believers should ask in the midst of the current economic situation in our nation.  Think about it. All of our state conventions have joined together with the North American Mission Board in the national evangelism initiative: “Every believer sharing, so that every person may hear the Gospel by 2020.” This is no small vision or challenge. And just at the time when we are working together to plan for “Across America” in 2010 and 2011, companies are closing their doors, people are losing jobs, banks are failing, church offerings are dropping, and people are scared. Even some of our churches have entered a building phase which the economic crisis could potentially affect. It means that we must be on our knees even more fervently, because a lot more is at stake than just economic problems. It is time for spiritual warfare at its highest level of intensity. The Devil would love nothing more than see the collapse of an all-out effort to saturate our nation with “sowing down the gospel.”  So don’t be surprised at what’s going on. Don’t take your prayer life for granted. Don’t let the Devil neutralize your courage and detour you with doubt. Satanic opposition? For certain.

God is trying to tell us something, too. It is always wise to interpret our world events and situations theologically, especially in times like these. The Old Testament prophet, Haggai, experienced it, and taught us to think theologically. If you haven’t studied Haggai in a while, it might be worth some time to take another look. He dealt with four obstacles: putting ourselves before God; looking back instead of looking forward; unconfessed sin; and unbelief.  Haggai describes a condition that is as up-to-date as today’s headlines: “You expected much but then it amounted to little. When you brought the harvest to your house, I ruined it” (1:9 HCSB). The people had expected a bountiful harvest of income, but it wasn’t even close to meeting their needs. They felt they didn’t have enough to live on.

What were the conditions? According to Haggai, grain was down 50% and wine was down 60%. He is telling God’s people that financial struggles should cause them to ask some serious questions. When crops fail, businesses close, inflation soars, shares tumble and the dollar weakens, God is saying something. What was God saying to them? It’s clear: “Why?”... “Because My house still lies in ruins, while each of you is busy with his own house.”  It was not a coincidence they were suffering financially, and neither is it for us. 

What were the causes? Selfish luxury and selective laziness. Space doesn’t allow me to elaborate further, so I encourage you to do your own study, but we have been too selfish and have not given God the priority He deserves in our lives.

What was the cure? God told them to “think carefully” about their ways. It seems that whenever financial difficulties come, we tend to look somewhere else for the blame instead of ourselves. God didn’t tell them to evaluate their economic indicators, but to look inward for a resolution to their financial struggles. The problem in Haggai’s day was not financial but spiritual. Is it the same for us? Financial problems are often the result of spiritual problems. 

We must tend to spiritual matters first. The answer is not to inherit a fortune or win the lottery. The answer is to give God the first priority in our financial lives, and He will help us with our financial needs. Is our current economic crisis the result of too many of God’s people who do not practice Biblical stewardship? It is a common statistic that 20% of the people support 80% of any church’s budget. Could it be that the reduction in baptisms convention-wide is the result of our misplaced priorities when it comes to God’s kingdom work? If we truly get back to personal responsibility in Biblical stewardship, give our fullest attention to prayer-walking every street and road of Indiana, share the gospel with every home in Indiana, perhaps we would see God opening the windows of heaven in revival to pour out His blessings.

What is Indiana’s state convention doing to adjust to the economic situation? We are not filling positions that are currently vacant. We are going to reduce our publication of the Indiana Baptist to six issues a year instead of eleven. We are asking all ministerial staff to reduce their travel budget spending by 20%. We are finding every possible way to reduce spending without cutting back on our services to our churches. We continue our commitment to Indiana Baptists to live within the resources that God provides through our churches.

A word of appreciation for the North American Mission Board. I received a letter from Dr. Hammond, the president of the North American Mission Board (NAMB). He told us that they were going to operate at 90% of budget, but the funding committed to the state conventions would not be reduced. That is a very important partnership for Indiana, because NAMB helps us to fund numerous evangelism and mission positions, church planting support, and other evangelism/mission support for God’s work in our state. If it were not for that partnership, we would be drastically reducing personnel and ministries. So when you pray tonight, voice a prayer of thanksgiving for the North American Mission Board, Dr. Hammond and his staff. Also, pray for a great outpouring of prayer and sacrificial giving for the Annie Armstrong Offering for North American Missions, which helps Indiana as well as all other states.

Finally, thank you, Indiana Baptists. You are much like the Thessalonians who, “during a severe testing by affliction, their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed into the wealth of their generosity” (2 Corinthians 8:2). As we pray and give thanks for our pastors and churches, our pledge is to be good stewards of all the resources you so graciously send through the Cooperative Program and special mission offerings for state and world missions. Thank you for the blessing and privilege of serving as your executive director for the past six years.

I would like to make you aware of two opportunities for service through Disaster relief:

• Our first opportunity is in southern Illinois for chain saw crews after their recent storms. We are in the process of organizing a team to leave Monday (May 18) afternoon and working through Thursday (May 21) evening. If you can help on this call-out please let me know ASAP. I realize this is a short notice but was just informed of the call-out myself.

• Also we are organizing as many teams as possible for "mud-outs" in Kentucky after recent floods. The assessments are in the process of being completed  and teams are being organized to leave in the next few weeks. If you will be able to help for any amount of time, contact me again ASAP. These are all the details I have at the present but will pass on any new information I receive.

Thank you and we'll see you soon,

Only through Him,

Karol Jones for John Guernsey

 

It’s a tradition that we began when our children were small. Every spring, we stop by the garden store and select a few packets of zinnia seeds. We plant them in the yard, wait in amazement as colorful blooms appear, and watch for opportunities to use them in ministry. Just as another flower appears, a need seems to arise--a troubled neighbor, a single mom who needs encouragement, a friend in the hospital.

It’s remarkable how a simple flower can provide a tangible reminder of God’s love. Why not use God’s lovely creation of flowers to minister in His name?  Need fresh ideas?

• If your church displays Easter lilies, assign deacons or members to deliver one to each homebound member or nursing home resident on Easter afternoon. 
• A church member with a flower garden may bring flowers for the foyer or ladies’ restroom counter.
• For a youth-sponsored garden party, members purchase and bring flats of flowers to church during the first week of spring, and teens plant colorful flower gardens. 
• A choir can plant bulbs at a nursing home and then lead a hymn-sing there when they bloom. 
• Bring wildflowers, garden flowers and vines from your yard to enhance a church buffet dinner. 
• Offer to plant flowers for elderly members or church neighbors.
• Present a bouquet of her favorite flower to the minister’s wife or church secretary on her church anniversary. 
• Recycle altar flower arrangements by delivering them to nursing home members or dividing them into bouquets for hospital visits.
• A friend of mine creates potpourri from funeral flowers for the bereaved family.  
• Each year when her gardenias bloom, a member at our church brings a tray full of blossoms, lovingly pinning one on every woman. 
• For a long-term illness, deliver a vase with a few flowers, and assign different church members to bring additional flowers for the bouquet every few days.    

Will you use flowers for ministry this spring? I once ordered rubber thumbs from a magician supply store and spray painted them green to use as a handout for a class on Christian growth. A green thumb is not required, however, to use flowers in ministry. Even a brown-thumbed gardener like me can grow zinnias. And if all else fails, the local florist is nearby.

©These Fresh Ideas are from Diana Davis’ book, Fresh Ideas for Women’s Ministry (B&H Publishing ’08). www.keeponshining.com

See information about Diana's new book Deacon Wives, to be released June 1, 2009.

 

 

SCBI Disaster Relief will be offering the following classes at Family Life Community Church, 518 N. Pendleton Ave., Pendleton, Indiana on Saturday, May 16, 2009:
 

• Intro to Dsiaster Relief
• Basic mud-out
• Basic and advanced chain saw

 
Please try to get your Red Cross CPR and First Aid classes completed prior to this date.
 
Registration will begin at 8:30am EDT and classes will begin at 9:00am. You must pre-register, by calling Bill Crane at 812-483-6762 or by e-mail at evv3032@yahoo.com, no later than 10:00pm Sunday May 10.
 
 
Bill Crane
SCBI DR Associate White Hat

“Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.” Luke 14:23b ESV

There’s an invisible sign on your church door. Does it read “Stay Out!” or “Please Come In”?  The date and time for worship services are clearly posted, but a church must constantly watch for other ways to invite the lost inside the doors. Need some fresh ideas?

• Capitalize on building location. A downtown church invites firefighters and police to exercise in their gym. One rural church hosts a welcome celebration for migrant workers. A church adjacent to a school serves breakfast to kids and a church near a prison helps released inmates transition. An urban church plans inspirational businessmen’s lunches. A church in a residential area hosts neighborhood coffees and a mom’s day out program.

• Study census demographics to become knowledgeable about people and needs in your area. If one-third of your population is single, provide a singles’ Bible study. Is there a need for a GED or English as Second Language class? Would senior adults enjoy a low-impact exercise class?

• Intentionally plan ways to draw people into God’s building. Host a mom’s tea on the first day of school. Open the chapel doors for National Day of Prayer. Provide a Christian concert or art show simultaneously with the town festival. Offer a First Place weight class or aerobics with Christian music. Plan a citywide end-of-school celebration for fifth graders, a family event, or an after-game fellowship.

• Seize opportunities to welcome outsiders by allowing use of the building for weddings, funerals, community meetings, school teacher training, school banquets, etc. Create legal, hospitable parameters for building use. To ascertain that guests visually learn about your church and your God, attractively display current church brochures, witness tracts, missions facts, event information and worship service invitations.

If God has blessed your church family with a church building, why not open its doors and invite the lost inside? Then, when they walk through those doors, welcome them warmly, and introduce them to Jesus. 

There’s an invisible sign on your church’s front door. Does it read “Stay Out” or “Please Come In”?

©Diana Davis is author of Fresh Ideas for Women’s Ministry (B&H Publishing, 2008). www.keeponshining.com

Not just a State Convention office or bureaucracy, but a missions agency!

When I came to be your state executive director almost six years ago, I shared with our Executive Board that my goal was for our State Convention to become (1) the provider of choice – one of the first places our pastors think to call when they have a need; (2) the employer of choice – having godly servants who are committed to God’s work in Indiana; and (3) the investment of choice – providing an assurance to God’s people that the portion of their tithe forwarded from their churches through the state convention office is wisely invested in God’s work through the Cooperative Program for state and world missions. 

Let me start with the latter: In 2008 some historical markers were crossed. First, we received from our churches over three million dollars in Cooperative Program giving for the first time in our convention’s history. This marked Indiana’s 19th year in a row of increased giving for state and worlds missions. What a way to celebrate ’08, our 50th anniversary year! 

Second, we also received more than $550,000 for the Lottie Moon Offering for International Missions for the second year in a row. That’s another milestone for our convention of churches. I am praying for the day in the near future when we celebrate that we gave a million dollars to the Lottie Moon Offering and half a million to the Annie Armstrong Offering for North American Missions.

Now let’s jump to the number one goal – making our state convention the “provider of choice.” We implemented some major re-alignments in 2008 which enabled us to be better providers of partnership resources for our associations. Churches in associations across our state are working together to impact their areas. Our regional strategists come alongside those associations to help strengthen and plant churches. Our state convention staff members are working to resource and coordinate state and national initiatives. Our staff members are regularly called upon to assist pastors and churches. We have developed the culture that the local church is headquarters in Baptist life. We honor and respect that principle and seek to be servants to our pastors and churches. Bottom line: your state convention is here for you, to serve and assist in every way possible to help you achieve the Acts 1:8 challenge.

How about the “employer of choice,” which is very crucial to our goal of being a missions agency, not a bureaucracy? Steve McNeil, who has been serving as our church health and communications team leader, has now been approved and appointed by the North American Mission Board as a team leader for state missions church enrichment. It was a natural move in our new structure which encompasses church planting regional missionaries and church enrichment regional missionaries. All of our ministry personnel, except the executive director and the business director, are now jointly-funded North American Mission Board missionaries. In my mind, that speaks volumes to our pastors and churches. We are taking seriously our commitment to the Indiana mission field, where on any given Sunday 80% of the people are not in church. 

In 2010 and 2011, we will emphasize “crossing Indiana” even more—challenging Indiana Baptists to prayerwalk every street and road with the intention of sharing the gospel with every person in our state. The times are urgent; the task is exciting. For “such a time as this,” God is raising up Southern Baptists of Indiana to make a Kingdom impact. We must be fueled by the indwelling Spirit of God and focused on our task from Indiana “to the ends of the earth.”
Congratulations, Indiana Baptists, on this historic three-million dollar mark in giving through our Cooperative Program for missions. Let’s pray that God will continue to use us together to impact Indiana and our world for Christ. 

April 23, 2009

We are gearing up for another busy year of disaster relief. Our desire is to continue to see the ministry efficiently meet the needs of others while not loosing sight of the ultimate goal,reaching them for Christ.

One way we have taken a step towards this goal was the recent training  attended by the "blue hats". We learned the new computer program designed for the initial command center "call out" and on site data entry.. I have a renewed respect for what goes on behind the scenes during a call out. Although I hope to use these skills soon while volunteering in the command center I personally would rather have my hands in the mud and saw dust....

Another recent development is our newly acquired shower trailer. We are so excited about this!  It will allow our teams to become more self sufficient and lead us one step closer to becoming first responders. It should be ready to go by hurricane season. Anyone wanting to help with the construction phase of the trailer contact me and I will give you the times for opportunities to do so. If you are interested in helping with this branch of the ministry on call outs contact Bill Crane for training schedule.

Lastly our spring training is Saturday May 16 at Family Life Church, Pendleton. More information on the Disaster Relief webpage.  R.S.V.P. by Sunday May 10 to  Bill Crane - click to email or 812-483-6762.
 
I hope to see many of you there and look forward to an exciting Christ filled year in disaster relief....
 
Only through Him,
Karol Jones for John Guernsey

The people of First Baptist Church Maryville and the Winters Family greatly appreciate our prayers and ask you to continue to pray for the congregation, Pastor Fred’s family, and the assailant and his family. However, we ask you to e-mail any condolences to contact@fbcmonline.com instead of posting them here. We would like for this site to be filled only with memories and stories of our beloved Pastor Fred. Other guests, please utilize the Prayer Request section of our site for passing along your prayers and well wishes.

A Plea for Prayer
Early this Lord's Day morning (March 8th), a beloved Illinois Baptist State Association pastor was shot to death while ministering in the pulpit of First Baptist Church Maryville, Illinois. Reverend Fred Winters was well known among Illinois Baptists for his visionary leadership and kind hearted attitude to everyone he spoke to or served alongside.

His reported last words spoken to the gunman: "Can I help you brother?"

Though our prayers will not turn back time and erase this spiritual attack on the Body of Christ, our prayers do have the potential of making Satan regret his participation in this senseless action.

The goal of this prayer bulletin:
• Hundreds of pray-ers
• Forwarding this Plea for Prayer
• To scores of faithful Christians
• Who, together with us, will boldly lift thousands of prayers to Heaven's Throne
 Fervently praying, with you, for a Romans 8:28 victory!

Phil Miglioratti
Illinois Baptist State Association Prayer Coordinator

Prayer Prompts
If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. - 1 Corinthians 12:26

Ask the Holy Spirit how he wants you to pray for:
• Fred's wife Cindy and their two girls
• The two injured church members and all who were horrified witnesses to this tragedy
• The entire First Baptist congregation, especially those in leadership who must make decisions in the coming days and months
• The gunman and those who know and love him
• An opportunity for the gospel to result from this shooting, especially in the Maryville community
• The Lord's kingdom to come and his will to be done both in and even because of this event, as it is in heaven
 
 

A Message from Nate Adams, IBSA Executive Director
Nate Adams, Illinois Baptist State Association executive director, said, "Our hearts and prayers go out to the Fred Winters family and the church family there at First Baptist, Maryville, during this time of great grief and loss.  Fred was a wonderful, gifted, leading pastor in Illinois, and a dear friend.  His ministry and mentorship will be missed sorely by many.

"Our great God is not surprised by this, or anything. That He allows evil and free will to have their way in tragedies like this is a mystery in many ways. But we know we can trust Him no matter what, and draw close to Him in any circumstances. Let's draw closer to Him and to one another during this terrible tragedy, and renew our faith and obedience to His purposes for however many days we have remaining to serve Him."

Winters, 45, is survived by his wife Cindy and their two daughters.  In 1987, he became pastor of First Baptist Church, which has grown from 32 members to over 1,200 through his leadership.  He was a past president of the Illinois Baptist State Association.
Continue to check this site for updates.
 
Check IBSA.org for future updates . . .

 

From the First Baptist Church Maryville Website
 
A Message About Today's Loss
On Sunday, March 8, 2009, a little after our 8:15 service began, a man entered First Baptist Church and fired several gunshots at our Senior Pastor, Dr. Fred Winters. Pastor Winters was taken to the hospital but died of his wounds.

Please pray for Dr. Winter's family, our two brave members who were injured when they stopped the assailant, for the assailant himself and his family, and for our church members as they deal with this tragic loss.

In this day, where uncertainty seems to abound creating an environment in which people are vulnerable in doing things they might not do otherwise, one thing is certain, we, as human beings need a foundation upon which we can live our lives. We at First Baptist Maryville, along with other Christian believers, share this conviction: that foundation is God's Word. In the pages of the Book we call the Bible, we find the pathway for peace, hope, and a quality of living life despite what circumstances we find ourselves in.

To those who believe in the power of prayer, we covet your prayers right now.

Media Information
News media contact can be made through the church switchboard 618-667-8221.

Prayer Service Information
A prayer service will be held Sunday evening at 6:00pm, March 8, 2009, at Metro Community Chuch in Edwardsville, IL.

For more location specific information, please visit Metro's web site . Please note the included information on construction and Google Maps reference.

Please continue to pray...

An Update on Tonight's Prayer Service
First Baptist Church Maryville asks your help in notifying the community that, due to the limited size of the auditorium at Metro Community Church, our prayer service this evening will be reserved for our members only. We would appreciate everyone continuing to pray for those injured in the attack this morning and their families and for our church as we deal with this tragic loss.

Due to excessive volume, our Church's website is suffering intermittent difficulties keeping up. We hope to have it back up soon.

News media contact can be made through the church switchboard 618-667-8221 or by contacting Marty King at 217-720-8118.

Pastor Mark Jones
Minister of Worship, FBC

 

Churches with WMU stronger SBC supporters

Southern Baptist churches that have Woman's Missionary Union (WMU) organizations support the denomination financially at significantly higher levels than congregations without WMU, according to an analysis of reported church giving.

The new breakdown of giving patterns suggests missions education by WMU continues to play an important role in inspiring local churches to give more money to the Cooperative Program (CP) and missions offerings.

A review of annual statistics collected by LifeWay Christian Resources found that churches that have age-level WMU organizations like Girls in Action and Women on Mission support the CP, the SBC's unified budget, and the two annual SBC-wide special missions offeings at higher per-capita levels than those without ongoing missions education.

The study, conducted jointly by WMU and SBC North American Mission Baord (NAMB), found that churches with missions-education programs gave $43.28 per member to CP, compared to $23.65 per capita by churches without such programs.

Giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions was $3.29 per capita from churches without missions education, compared to $9.05 from those with missions education. Per-member giving fo rthe Annie Armstong Easter Offering for North American Missions was $5.34 for churches with missions education, compared to $1.54 for those without.

WMU and NAMB further examined the giving levels among churches that reported having Baptist Men on Mission (formerly Brotherhood), Challengers and Royal Ambassador programs and those that do not.

Regardless of the size, the entities' findings show that per captia giving to CP and the missions offerings was greater across the board in churches that reported having ongoing missions education.

"Southern Baptists have a rich missions legacy, and the foundation of that has been mission education," said Jim Burton, NAMB's mission education team leader. "We believe missions learning is the foundation for missions sending, and this data supports that conviction.

"When Southern Baptist churches drift away from mission education, they directly put the future missions support from their church at risk," Burton continued. "Having no mission education, particularly in lieu of para-church options that will not reinforce our missions priorities, cuts short the shared vision of cooperative missions that has defined our denomination's missions efforts."

Wanda S. Lee, WMU executive director/treasurer, also underscored the value of missions education for everyone in the church, from preschoolers to adults.

"The heart of Southern Baptist missions efforts must be founded on our members' understanding of three basic concepts: everything I have belongs to God; I am responsible for using whatever I have to honor God; and a world is waiting to hear the good news and I am responsible for seeing that they hear.

"When these concepts are planted firmly in believers' lives as they are through ongoing missions educations, tithing and cooperative giving follow," Lee said.

Geoff Hammond, NAMB president, said these insights are particularly important in light of the increasingly challingeing mission field NAMB missionaries face.

"The urgent need to reach North America with the gospel is apparent every day, and Southern Baptists who have a missions education foundation are better equipped to meet the challenges of fulfilling the Great Commission," Hammond said. "The work of our mission education team and the Woman's Missioanry Union, along with other partners, is making a difference."

Over 120 years, WMU has helped raise more than $3 billion for interanational missions by promting the Lottie Moon offering and $1.1 billion of North American missions through the Annie Armstrong, according to Lee.

This year WMU produced nearly 4.2 million Christmas prayer guides in six languages, distributed by state WMU organization to churches in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Canada. About 174,000 Week of Prayer posters were sent to churches, and 4.8 million Lottie Moon Christmas Offering envelopes were placed in pews in Southern Baptist churches.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP)

Firefighters respond to an early morning, Saturday January 17, 2009, at Oak Creek Community Church, Darin Garton, pastor. The roof and attic in the sanctuary were affected, along with smoke and water damage. Fortunately the fire was contained. The church will be meeting in a temporary facility until the repairs can be made. Darin came to Indiana 15 years ago as the church planter for the church. He has been their only pastor, and serves on the state convention executive board. Pray for the church family during this time of re-building. Darin stated, "Even though the building was damaged, the church is in good shape, because the church is the people. No church member was injured as a result of the fire."

Pictures (pdf)

Local news station video

Notice sent 2/13/09: PULLERS AND CHAIN SAW OPERATORS ARE STILL NEEDED!!!!!
Many disaster relief volunteers have been working very hard and are continuing to do so as this email is being written. The response from Indiana to the needs in Ohio County Kentucky and has been uplifting and I want to say ''THANK YOU".
Indiana Disaster Relief is committed to supporting Ohio County, Ky. through Saturday Feb. 21.
So you might ask, what can I do about it?
Please allow me to make a couple of suggestions.
1. PRAY
2. PRAY SOME MORE
Now let's see what God wants Indiana Disaster Relief volunteers to do. Those of us on site here at East Hartford Baptist Church wait to see how God will lead you...
Bill Crane
SCBI DR Associate White Hat

 

Notice sent 2/5/09: SCBI Disaster Relief has been assigned to assist Ohio County Ky. with recovery efforts from the recent ice storm. Our assessment team has established a chain saw operations center at East Hartford Baptist Church, 1309 Clay St. Hartford, Ky. Local Southern Baptist Churches in Ohio County are contacting home owners to get chain saw requests signed. We began receiving signed job requests Wednesday afternoon and already have over 40 requests. This morning we have 1 chain saw crew working and have a need for at least 4 more. There is housing and feeding available for volunteers.
 
Bill Crane
SCBI DR Associate Coordinator 

 

Notice sent 2/3/09: Kentucky is not ready for Indiana chain saw crews yet. Therefore Indiana Disaster Relief will remain on standby until further notice. NAMB Disaster Operations Center and Kentucky Disaster Relief are working diligently to establish housing, feeding, and other necessities for the crews before activating them. 

 

Previous message (2/2/09): 

INDR Blue Hats,

 

We have a request from kentucky for chain saw crews. They are presently setting up a command center in Louisville, KY and are in the process of establishing places to house volunteers in other areas. Please notify your team members that we are on standby awaiting the all clear to travel from Coy Webb, Ky. DR State Director. Inform me by email or cell phone when you have a list of volunteers that can go.

 

Bill Crane

SCBI DR Assistant Coordinator

By Diana Davis

“It was in my heart to build a house for the name of the LORD my God.” 1 Chron. 22:7b

It’s exciting to watch many growing churches across Indiana who are beginning construction on buildings.  Need fresh ideas for those eventful construction days?

• Cross on Top. Builders often erect a tree on the roof during construction. Why not top your construction project with a large cross made of two-by-fours instead?
• Coming Soon. Invest in a professional sign to inform curious passersby about the project. A hand-delivered memo to residential and commercial neighbors can let them know what’s happening and invite them to worship.
• Plumbers’ Lunch Bell. Provide a hot lunch or box lunch for every different work crew, i.e. painters, electricians, landscapers. Include a note of thanks, a witness tract, and an invitation to worship. Challenge church members to personally invite workers.
• Rafter Writing. When framing is complete, invite church members for a special ceremony. Encircle the building for prayer; then distribute permanent marking pens. Play Christian music while everyone writes his or her name with a prayer or Scripture on studs or rafters.
• Steeple Setting Ceremony. If your building plans include a steeple or exterior cross, plan an informal steeple setting celebration for members at the time of its installation.
• Weekly Photo Update. Designate a volunteer photographer to capture building progress and action photos of each volunteer. Submit unique photos to local newspapers. Show weekly photos in pre-worship audiovisuals, website or newsletter, and create a photo journal for the building dedication.
• Grab a Hammer. Involve different groups in the church when possible. Examples: single adults paint, fathers and sons install doors, sweeping senior saints (“Triple S Club”) sweep the site each Friday, kids collect pennies for a piece of Christian art, teens plant trees, etc.

I sat by a little boy in the new church foyer after a church service recently. “See that door?” he pointed. “Me and my dad put up that door.” What a joy to work together to God’s glory! Grab a hammer.

©Fresh Ideas shared by Indiana Baptist’s Executive Director’s wife, author of Fresh Ideas (B&H ’07). www.keeponshining.com

DALLAS—During the last year, worldwide financial markets have experienced a season of volatility that the world has not seen in a generation. The extreme market volatility has caused many investors to re-evaluate their risk tolerance.

GuideStone Financial Resources President O. S. Hawkins provided perspective on how investors should respond during such difficult times, “GuideStone has always encouraged retirement investors to be well diversified and appropriately allocated. It is important for participants to evaluate their current asset allocation based on their long-term goals and objectives.”

GuideStone provides assistance via its Web site for investors who may want to consider another look at their risk tolerance. The Investor Profile may be accessed by clicking on the above link or by typing the following into your web browser:  www.GuideStone.org/InvestorProfile.

All investors are feeling the effects of the volatile financial markets we’ve witnessed over the past year.  Investing for the long term brings with it unavoidable ups and downs along the way. Through its manager of managers approach to building its investment funds, GuideStone is able to access the talents of world-class investment management firms and has avoided the pitfalls of hedge funds such as those reported in the recent Madoff scandal.

“GuideStone, like other Southern Baptist entities and churches, has evaluated its projected expenses in light of its budget and has made decisions to reduce its 2009 budgets by aggressively managing costs,” Hawkins said.

In a recent internal memo to employees, GuideStone announced reductions for the organization’s 2009 budget. Hawkins explained the reason for the reductions to the budget.

 “The downturn in the global economy and the subsequent reduced value of securities in our investment funds has impacted the fee revenue that funds our budget,” Hawkins said.

Unlike the mission boards and seminaries, GuideStone receives no Cooperative Program funds from the Southern Baptist Convention. It relies solely on the fee revenue from its proprietary investment funds to provide the resources to fund the majority of its operating expenses. Expenses related to its life and health products are funded through the premiums paid by organizations whose participants are in those plans.

Over a decade ago, and in recognition that financial markets are cyclical, GuideStone trustees established an operating reserve that would provide additional resources for times such as these. Hawkins said, “This reserve enables us to maintain our service levels to our participants in times when the markets are down. We must use it prudently in order to extend its ability to offset our anticipated revenue shortfall.”

During the budget preparations for 2009, trustees and staff carefully examined each cost center’s anticipated expenses. Important decisions were made to aggressively manage expenses and cut costs. Subsequent to the budget process and in response to the persistent tumultuous market conditions, GuideStone took further actions to reduce its 2009 budget by implementing a hiring freeze and a salary freeze for all employees. By not filling open positions and through anticipated attrition in 2009, GuideStone projects to reduce its workforce by approximately ten percent.

Many financial market experts believe that the recovery from the global recession will be slow.

“While we do not know if the recovery will be six months, a year or even longer, we must seek to be wise and plan accordingly,” Hawkins said.

Through a recent strategic planning session, additional potential areas of savings were explored and decisions were made to further reduce operating expenses. Most of these reductions related to delaying some purchases such as additional computer equipment, reducing travel, delaying some professional development and reducing the amount of printed materials by providing more materials on GuideStone’s Web site.

Hawkins explained that additional action may be required should the financial markets deteriorate further, “While we are hopeful about the future, further deterioration in the financial markets or a significantly prolonged recovery from the current recession may require other measures to further reduce future costs.”

“Continued monitoring of the budget and additional strategic planning is a priority as we move through 2009 and into 2010 with all of its financial uncertainties.”

“If the financial markets continue to decline, GuideStone has a strategic plan to add other budget cuts when and if they are needed.  If the markets stabilize, GuideStone will carefully monitor its expenses to operate within its modified budget. Even if the markets should begin to rebound, it will likely take an extended period of time to regain the losses experienced during this period of unprecedented market volatility.”

“We believe these reductions are absolutely necessary and we must all be diligent to maximize the resources that remain available to us. More than ever before, we are challenged to find ways to serve our participants in a manner that seeks to enhance their financial security,” Hawkins concluded.

During its nine decades, GuideStone has weathered a Depression, multiple recessions, world and regional wars, terrorism at home and abroad, a dot.com tech bubble and economic upheaval. Hawkins assured participants, “Know that GuideStone remains strong and is well-positioned to continue in its commitment to serving you through these challenging times and is keenly focused on the trust you have placed in us.”


-30-

You should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the funds before investing. For a copy of the prospectus with this and other information about the funds, call 1-888-98-GUIDE (1-888-984-8433) or visit www.GuideStoneFunds.org to view or download a prospectus. You should read the prospectus carefully before investing.

Shares of GuideStone Funds are distributed by PFPC Distributors, Inc., a registered broker-dealer and underwriter of the funds, 760 Moore Road, King of Prussia, PA 19406.



_______________________________



Curtis D. Sharp is executive officer for denominational and public relations services at GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.

_______________________________

Media Contact—Curtis D. Sharp, Executive Officer for Denominational and Public Relations, GuideStone Financial Resources, SBC. Contact Mr. Sharp via e-mail or telephone at 214-720-2127.

"A God Size Story"
I am continually amazed at how God continues to work through a handful of people that just give Him room to work.  Since I have been a part of Elston this time around (I grew up in this church), the steady growth has been somewhat of a miracle.  Our location, and the difficulty in accessing our facility goes against most "church growth stragegies" (a heavily traveled highway, populated mostly by commuters and delivery vehicles with a median preventing direct access to our church).  Our worship center is small and we have very little room to grow.  Yet God continues to bring them in!  We just started two services this fall and we already need to consider "what to do next" as more families keep coming.
 
Several years ago when we decided to reach out to the children, and build a program to teach them, we knew the families would come.  And they have.  Many of them with complex issues that we feel inept to handle.  But in spite of us, God is moving and bringing restoration to marriages and people.
 
Challenges?  You bet.  I'm just grateful that He's "more than able to do above and beyond what we imagine or dream."

Running Hard After Him!
Randy Skidmore
Senior Pastor
Elston Family Church

Dear Friends,

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Many of you may know I recently experienced a very difficult period with my health going through quadruple by-pass surgery, including the “Mays procedure” to improve the beating function of the heart. The surgery was October 10, 2008, at Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, by Dr. Dowling, one of the best cardiac surgeons in the region. After two more days in ICU and eight days in the Heart and Lung Center at Jewish Hospital, I went home to continue my recovery. November 17 I began Cardiac Rehab at the hospital in Scottsburg and am doing very well. I want to say a very grateful word of THANKS to each and every individual, church congregation and our state convention staff for your prayers and support.

But, as Paul Harvey would say, there is a "rest of the story.” God answered prayer that made the by-pass surgery possible. Two days before the surgery Dr. Dowling said he was not sure they would be able to do the surgery at all. One third of my heart muscle was dead, one third was dormant and not working, and I had a very bad arrhythmia problem. He ordered a viability study for the next 24 hours to see if surgery was possible. If not, the only option was a heart transplant.  I told him we would do what we do best and pray while he did the study. He told me he would be praying also. Many of you received the prayer request by phone, e-mail or other means. God heard you and answered in a very amazing way.

Almost exactly 24 hours later Dr. Dowling reported the following: four hours into the study my heart was the same as he had reported but at eight and 12 hours into the study there was no dead tissue in my heart. What was dormant was working and he was confident they could do the surgery. Please, do not miss this: dead heart tissue once dead does not come back on its own.  Something had to happen to make dormant tissue begin to beat again. Understand also the doctors did not put any medicine into the heart that would have caused this.

There is only One who can bring life where there is death; only One who can bring such healing to make surgery possible. I knew what was happening and so did the doctors. They were surprised and excited that they would be able to do the surgery. God is good and faithful and ALL THE GLORY AND HONOR goes to Him. God’s people prayed for me. I’ll never forget this and every chance I get, I’ll tell this story to His Honor.  God, help me to be worthy of what you have done and help whoever reads this to know You are able to touch their lives and bring eternal life where there has been nothing but death.

Again, thank you for praying and know that God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all we could ask or think.

Still In His Service,
Jim Downey

Economic Challenges Bring God’s Opportunities

Our business office informed me that in 2008 we reached our projected budget receipts for the year three weeks ahead of schedule. We praise God for His blessings on our Indiana churches. For the eighteenth year in a row, we have seen an increase in our giving through the Cooperative Program for state and world missions! Thank you for your sacrifices and commitment to the Acts 1:8 challenge – spreading the gospel to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. All this comes at a time when the economic news in the media continues to be a somber message. Reports of job losses in Indiana add to the concerns. What are churches to do during these uncertain times?

Most importantly, trust God. After all He “owns the cattle on a thousand hills.” Also, the Bible says, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God” (Psalms 20:7 KJV). Isaiah 12:2 states, “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation” (Isaiah 12:2 KJV). Often we say, “I will not fear. I will choose to trust in God.”  But the key is to trust God first, and then fear is handled. Having said that, let me offer a few suggestions for committees that feel budget cuts may be inevitable:
1. Pray – that must be the first knee-jerk reaction to a crisis for a Christian, not the last. If you don’t pray first, you will make decisions based on human impulses, secular influence and rationale, instead of having the “wisdom that comes from above.”
2. Seek your pastor’s input. He deals with the everyday operations of the church more closely than anyone. He may have some suggestions on where some decreases in the budget could be made.
3. Prioritize. Not everything is number one, and no one church can meet every need. Honestly evaluate what contributes to the growth and health of the church. Refuse to protect “sacred cows” that aren’t producing. Send them to market!
4. Look everywhere else before deciding to cut salaries and benefits. Too often committees think that the only place to cut is in the personnel budget, but that is not the case. Instead, take a look at how you can save on utilities, maintenance expenses, office supplies, etc.  If you have a position that has become vacant, consider delaying replacement until you get a better gauge on how the receipts for the year are coming in. Always evaluate a vacant position before replacing. Four years ago we did that on the state level and downsized from 16 positions to eight. Further reductions through restructuring with most of our associations last year has produced even greater savings for the associations in 2009, which should help their planning for any shortfalls.
5. Make a commitment to live within your means. It is not wise stewardship to say at the end of the year, “We received more than last year, but we didn’t reach our budget.” That’s where our convention was four years ago, but we made the decision to base our budget on the actual receipts from the previous completed year, which means for 2009, our budget was set based on the receipts from 2007. At the same time we made the commitment to increase our percentage sent to the Southern Baptist Convention by one percent a year until we reach the fifty-fifty level for state and world missions. We have been able to maintain that commitment. As a result, if we have to make some cuts in 2009, they won’t be as drastic. Confidence in stewardship grows when God’s leaders are fiscally responsible and end each year in the black.
6. Utilize more volunteers. One of the church’s most untapped resources is volunteers. Instead of having a mentality that the church must pay for everything, why not give people an opportunity to be involved? Volunteers can take care of landscaping, mowing, leaf and snow removal, cleaning facilities, making building repairs, and so on. People really do want to use their gifts, so let them. Ordinary problems during extraordinary times can be resolved by ordinary people that God uses, and that’s ordinarily the way He does it. So tap your natural resources!
7. Help your people. When church members lose their jobs, form a morning prayer group. Invite them to come to the church. There is encouragement in knowing that you are not the only one in this situation, and a lot of times helping them network with each other can stimulate ideas. We did this once with several of our church members who had lost their jobs. We met each Wednesday morning at six o’clock to pray and network. You cannot imagine how much it helped them as they connected with each other in prayer. Offer assistance from the church office in preparing resumes and making copies. Give them access to utilize a church computer for job searches.  
8. Find new resources.  This is really about the business of “Kingdom” work. These are times that can actually help us. Rather than complaining about what we do not have, give thanks for what we do have. It’s an opportunity to set priorities and recommit to core, “Kingdom” values. The greatest resources churches have are people resources - reached and un-reached. This will be an unprecedented opportunity to offer hope to hurting people. After all, on any given Sunday if eighty percent of the people in our state do not attend any Christian church, you can see that we have a large reservoir of un-tapped resources. This is the opportune time to do what we have committed to do – prayer walk every street and road in Indiana, knock on every door and offer prayer support, share your testimony and watch God work as He opens the door to leading thousands of Hoosiers to Jesus! Then when we come out on the other side, we’ll truly say, “God deserves all the praise and glory!”

For more help with cost-cutting measures for your church, contact Ray Barrett at the state convention business office.  

‘Sanctity of Human Life Sunday’ set for Jan. 18
By Mickey Noah

    ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)--“Sanctity of Human Life” Sunday will be observed throughout the Southern Baptist Convention on Jan. 18, marking the 36th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion on demand.
    While the anniversary is no cause for celebration, the work of 249 crisis pregnancy centers across the United States affiliated with the SBC’s North American Mission Board spared more than 4,300 babies from abortion during 2008. Additionally, some 3,100 women accepted Christ last year because pregnancy center staff members shared the Gospel with them.
    As of Dec. 1, more than 129,000 clients throughout the United States had received counseling and free services from the pregnancy centers during 2008; staff members shared the Gospel with nearly 36,000 young women and girls; and more than 1,000 Southern Baptist volunteers were trained to present the Gospel in the centers.
    One such center is the Pathway of Hope Pregnancy Resource Center in Greenville, Ky., where Diana Anderson has served as executive director since 2005. While she has help from 35 volunteers, Anderson is the only full-time paid staff member.
    Just because Greenville is a small town of 4,200 -– about 45 minutes from Owensboro -– that doesn’t diminish the community’s need for a Christ-centered, pro-life facility to provide counsel on the devastating effects of abortion.
    “As of Dec. 1, we’ve had 980 client visits to the center during 2008,” Anderson said. “They come from all walks of life. During 2008, there was only one client who we know chose abortion. In fact, since Pathway of Hope first opened in 2004, only three clients ultimately chose to abort their child.”

    Although Pathway of Hope receives much of its financial support from Southern Baptists, it’s actually ecumenical, also receiving funding from Muhlenberg County’s Missionary Baptist, Methodist, Catholic and nondenominational churches.
    “I’m scared, I’m pregnant and I need help,” is the typical mindset of the center’s walk-in clients, Anderson said. Some clients are pregnant girls as young as 13.
    “Our center, actually a house, has a very warm, homey atmosphere. It’s decorated like a home,” Anderson said. “We want the girls to know that Pathway is a safe place, a place where they’re safe to share their hearts, and then we want to love them to Christ. We want to share Christ with the mother because when the mother’s life is changed, there’s a ripple effect on that baby’s life and into their home and family.”
    Ten young women had accepted Christ after counseling and sharing at the center as of Dec. 1. The center also has several area pastors and Christian men on standby with training to counsel and encourage young fathers.
    As the economy has deteriorated over the past year, Anderson said the plight of pregnant young women has worsened as well, a trend likely to continue into 2009 as the recession and unemployment deepens.
    “We had one pregnant woman finally come in after she had lived in her car for five solid days,” Anderson said. “Many feel hopeless and are seeking ways to find hope, which we tell them only comes through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.”
    Anderson, a North American Mission Board Mission Service Corps missionary, not only is responsible for Pathway of Hope but also serves as NAMB’s trainer for other crisis pregnancy centers in Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia. She recently helped open a center in Huntington, W.Va., and will open one in Monticello, Ky., in 2009.
    Anderson is a Greenville native and a member of Second Baptist Church, one of the center’s key supporters among local SBC churches.
    “One of the most effective tools for combating the abortion clinics is the local crisis pregnancy center,” noted Elaine Ham, NAMB’s resources/church and community ministries consultant in Alpharetta, Ga.
    “Since 1973, more than 3,000 crisis pregnancy centers [SBC and non-SBC] have opened to provide alternatives to abortion and to meet the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of women and men whose lives have been touched by abortion,” Ham said.
    Most people don’t realize that the number of abortions remains alarmingly high, Ham said. In the United States, one out of five pregnancies ends in abortion. Under today’s laws, abortion is legal for the entire nine months of the pregnancy, Ham said.
    Within the United States, more than 45 million legal abortions occurred from 1973 through 2005, according to the pro-choice Alan Guttmacher Institute. At least half of American women will experience an unplanned pregnancy by age 45, and at current rates about one-third will have an abortion.
    “Regardless of the reasons, more than 95 percent of abortions are performed as a matter of convenience -- not because of rape, incest or to protect the life of the mother,” Ham said.
    “Can you imagine the difference we could make in these abortion statistics if Southern Baptist churches made it a priority to seek out ways to minister to women in unplanned pregnancies?” Ham said. “That is our priority on this year’s Sanctity of Human Life Sunday on Jan. 18.”
    For free downloadable sermon outlines and a DVD for use by churches on the upcoming Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, visit www.namb.net/pregnancy. For more information on how to start a pregnancy resource center, how to support an existing center or how to minister to women who have experienced abortion, visit www.namb.net/pregnancy or call 1-800-962-0851. For more about the Southern Baptist Convention’s position on abortion, visit www.erlc.com, the website for the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.
--30--
Mickey Noah is a writer for the North American Mission Board. This article first appeared in SBC LIFE, journal of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee.

***

Southern Baptists: protecting life
By Roger S. (Sing) Oldham

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--During the early days of the so-called "culture war" between proponents of life and promoters of death, those who argue for elective abortions accused those who defended the right to life of only caring for the infant in the womb. For centuries Baptists around the world have been caring for children of every age, and Southern Baptists are part of this caring tradition. What follows is a "Top Ten" list of ways Southern Baptists invest themselves in life.
    1) Since 1973, Southern Baptists have used the power of relentless influence to encourage elected officials to defend and promote life. Richard Land and the SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission have taken the initiative in keeping this topic ever before us. Though some have grown weary in defense of life, the ERLC has not wavered from its support of life from conception to natural death. It has not stood alone. Across the nation, millions of individual Baptists consistently vote their convictions and advocate for life in the congressional districts in which they live.
    2) The North American Mission Board provides ministry support for local churches that have pregnancy care centers as part of their ministries. Many other Southern Baptist churches are not financially strong enough to maintain their own centers, so they solicit support from likeminded believers from many denominations in thousands of cities and towns to provide centers of hope in their local communities. Given the decentralization of Baptist life, there is no way to quantify how many Southern Baptists serve as volunteers in these centers, but evidence points to a sizable army of women and men who give of their time, talents and financial resources each week to promote life.
    3) Many of our state conventions maintain children's homes for children who need a safe haven. While the age of the "orphanage" is largely a thing of the past, many children are "orphans" by divorce, dysfunction or despair. Baptists have stepped forward to provide ministries for children of every age, from preschoolers to college-bound young adults. These ministries offer residential care, promote adoption and work to place children in loving foster-care environments.
    4) In his 1991 volume “Acts of Compassion,” Princeton sociologist Robert Wuthnow chronicled the phenomenon of the millions of Americans who choose helping careers as a vocation. His subtitle is intriguing: “Caring for Others and Helping Ourselves.” His basic premise dovetails with a statement we frequently hear -- "when I helped that family, I received more of a blessing than I gave." Tens of thousands of Southern Baptists find tremendous fulfillment through their work in community-based programs that promote children's health such as WIC, Healthy Start and Head Start. Others work with the government through children's services or the juvenile justice system. Still others work with independent and faith-based adoption agencies.
    5) Another area where Southern Baptists directly impact and influence children is through public and private education in our nation's school systems. Our educators strive to radiate the joy of the Lord and the fruit of the Spirit on a daily basis in some of the most difficult surroundings imaginable. Given the strictures against actively testifying of the grace and goodness of the Lord Jesus Christ, these educators nevertheless daily demonstrate life-changing compassion.
    6) Hundreds of Southern Baptist churches provide church-based education services for families, including affordable day-care programs, mother's day out programs and Christian schools. Many of these employees work at great financial sacrifice, performing these acts of service as investments of love and worship as they actively seek to influence the next generation for Christ.
    7) One of the greatest evangelistic tools ever promoted by Southern Baptists is Vacation Bible School. VBS could not exist were it not for the willing volunteers who prepare lessons, teach crafts, provide refreshments, drive buses and vans, ferry neighbor's children, lead worship and organize recreational activities. To look at a VBS volunteer is to see what an individual who values the life of each child looks like.
    8) Nursery care in the church setting is perhaps the most unsung ministry a local church offers. Most churches would come to a screeching halt if nursery volunteers rose up and said, "I will no longer serve." One longtime pastor observed that many mothers and fathers take advantage of the nursery service as an entitlement. What they fail to realize is that when they choose not to volunteer, they take advantage of the goodwill of others who willingly give of themselves to watch over and care for children who are not their own.
    9) It has been said that the greatest gift a parent can give a child is to provide a stable home environment. It has never ceased to amaze me how some homes are "kids magnets." What a wonderful blessing to be the home where your children's friends want to congregate. Parents who intentionally create this kind of home environment demonstrate the love of Christ and their desire to protect children throughout life.
    10) Very few churches do not have an active age-graded ministry of some kind. In the small church, the youth and children's ministries may overlap and be led by volunteers. In larger churches, ministers with specialized training in preschool, childhood, middle school and high school ministries provide oversight and guidance. But, even here, the ministries would end overnight if thousands of volunteers did not make the ministries a priority of their time and commitment.
    I could go on. Simply put, Southern Baptists are involved in the lives of children throughout their childhood, adolescence and young adulthood. Churches, ministers and members alike care for children. They rejoice over the strong and successful. They receive the fallen, seeking to restore them with gentleness and love. The convention partners with states, associations and local churches to provide resources to protect the innocent from sexual molestation and abuse.
    On this 36th anniversary of the infamous Roe v. Wade decision by the Supreme Court, let us recommit ourselves to promote life, protect the innocent and unborn and provide ministries and services that will give each child the best possible opportunities to see Christ, hear Christ and receive Christ. The ethic of life is, ultimately, about more than mere biology. Jesus put it this way: “I am come to give them life; and to give it more abundantly.”
--30--
Roger S. (Sing) Oldham serves as the vice president for convention relations with the SBC Executive Committee. This article first appeared in the Executive Committee’s journal, SBC LIFE.

Indiana Baptists celebrated our 50th anniversary in grand style with the largest attendance ever at an annual meeting. Some churches bussed in their people to be a part of the special evening. Words could never begin to express my appreciation for our history committee, Chairman Bob Nall, and special advisor, George Jones. They have worked tirelessly for the past five years in preparation and it showed. Attention to every detail was evident. Thanks to all of you who came and participated.

Regional strategists are busy delivering 50th anniversary books to churches and pastors who were not able to be at the annual meeting. We ordered enough for every pastor and church to have a copy. Thanks to our churches that helped get us information for its publication. A special thanks to George Jones who helped with editing and Tammi Ledbetter who wrote a summary chapter of our fifty year history.

Speaking of regional strategists, we now have the full complement to help meet the needs of pastors and churches in the associations that voted to move toward a regional structure. The transition is working well. We have been bringing in specialists from the North American Mission Board and Florida, our partnership state, to help in providing additional training to assist them in their new assignments. The spirit is good and it is fun to watch the whole team working together and praying together for Indiana. Church planting strategists, Clarence Smith, Cary Hanks and Jim Downey are serving the northern, central and southern regions of our state. They are led by team leader, Dr. John Rogers. Led by team leader, Steve McNeil, church enrichment strategists, Joel Flowers, Garry Jones, Steve Blanchard, Bobby Cox and Mark Hafenbreidel are serving the northern, western, central, eastern and southern regions. The strategists have been hard at work, visiting our pastors and associational leadership teams, dialoguing with them about developing strategies for church planting and strengthening churches around our state.

Ladies, don’t miss the Women’s Enrichment & Renewal (WER) Retreats in February. Plan now to bring a group of ladies from your church to one of the two venues. Indianapolis and Columbus will be the sites for dual retreats this year with two excellent speakers. We are praying for an unprecedented attendance of 1,500 women who will share with one another and be challenged to reach women in Indiana for Jesus. Men, encourage your wives to go. Buy your wife a new set of pajamas just for the occasion. Tell her you’ll be more than excited to take care of the kids. Make sure she gets there!

Indiana will once again be the host for the North Central States Rally in January 2009. Somewhere between 700 and 1,000 associational leaders will attend from six state conventions – Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota-Wisconsin, Iowa and Indiana. It is a great time of challenge and refreshment, inspiring a new commitment to reach the North Central States with the gospel. Please be in prayer about that event.

As you can see, there is a lot happening in Indiana with more yet to come. Let’s keep prayer walking. I read in First Baptist Greentown’s newsletter that they have already prayer walked one fourth of their city. We were at Kingston Avenue in Anderson, and a postal worker in the church told me she has prayer walked about half of Anderson while delivering mail. It’s happening. God’s people are responding to the challenge to prayer walk Indiana. Let’s keep praying, sowing, engaging and harvesting until Jesus comes! 

By Diana Davis

“Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.” 2 Timothy 2:22b

It’s time for the annual Sunday School Christmas party, and you’re wondering—once again—how to make it enjoyable.  Need fresh ideas? 

• For a fun twist, ask attenders to wear Christmas hats— Christmas cap, antlers, Santa hat.  Provide extras for those who forget.
  
• Deliver a special invitation to members-in-service and prospects. Ascertain that each class member is invited personally and in writing.  
  
• Vary the format each year. Plan a casual dessert party, an early Sunday breakfast at church, or a formal banquet. 
    
• Use nametags to enhance fellowship.
    
• Take a group photo. Distribute prints at the end of the party or next Sunday.
    
• For a gift exchange, set a dollar amount or enforce a “no $” rule. You could exchange Christmas ornaments, pins, ties or hats. As an alternative, bring nice wrapped gifts and have an auction, with donations going to Lottie Moon Christmas offering, or bring gifts for a needy family, fruit for the nursing home, or books for the church library.    
    
• Divide into teams for games by giving each person a Christmas carol title on a slip of paper. On the count of three, everyone hums their song until they find teammates with the same carol.
    
• Play “Designer Santa.” Teams of 4-6 people have seven minutes to create a Christmas costume on a team member, such as a Santa, angel or tree. Supplies include masking tape, tissue paper (red, black, white, green), foil, cotton, construction paper and scissors. Vote and award prizes.
    
• Play “Caroliscious.” Each team of 5-7 people is assigned a Christmas carol to perform in a unique or humorous manner, i.e. mock-opera, choreographed, chipmunk-fashion.  After ten minutes of impromptu rehearsal, teams perform. Hilarious!
    
• For a progressive Christmas grazing party, travel to three class members’ homes serving heavy hors d’oeuvres. Decorate vehicles with battery-powered Christmas lights to add pizzazz, and stop en route to carol. If it’s snowing in Indiana, drive by the pastor’s home and let everyone make a snowball and quietly leave them on the porch with a signed note, “Our pastor is SNOW wonderful!”
    
• Conclude with a brief devotional about the meaning of Christmas, then gather around a piano or guitar and sing carols.

A Sunday School class’s Christmas party is often its best-attended fellowship of the year. Have fun with your Christian friends as you celebrate the Reason for the season.

©2008 Fresh ideas are shared by Diana Davis, Indiana Baptists’ executive director’s wife. www.keeponshining.com

Our disaster relief teams have been asked to help with the rebuilding of churches damaged by hurricane Ike in the Galveston and Port Arthur, Texas areas. Carpenters, roofers, drywall hangers/finishers, and general laborers are needed. We have set a target date of Monday morning December 1, for departure from Indiana. The tenative plan is to travel Monday and Tuesday, Dec 1 and 2, work Dec. 3,4,5 and 6. Take a day of rest on Sunday the 7th. then resume work from Monday Dec 8 thru Wed Dec 10 and travel back to Indiana on Thursday and Friday Dec 11 and 12.
 
This is a great opportunity,for those that have taken Disaster Relief classes,to get a first hand experience of an actual disaster relief operation.
 
WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!!
Please call  Bill Crane     812-483-6762   
or email   evv3032@yahoo.com

Still reeling, Texas churches need help

List of churches needing help

By: Mickey Noah

VIDOR, Texas (BP)--Dozens of Southern Baptist churches whose buildings were destroyed or damaged by Hurricane Ike in Texas will benefit from relief initiatives launched by both the Baptist General Convention of Texas and the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.

The SBTC has created an "Adopt-A-Church" ministry to connect Ike-impacted congregations with other churches, associations or individuals who want to "adopt" a church and provide assistance. The BGCT has launched its "Church2Church" initiative, designed to help with recovery and re-entry efforts for BGCT churches and members in the wake of Hurricane Ike.

Twenty BGCT member churches had buildings totally destroyed by Hurricane Ike, and more than 100 church buildings in the hurricane impact areas were damaged to some degree. Eleven SBTC church buildings sustained major damage and are unable to hold services due to flooding or structural damage; 12 churches recorded "medium" or "minimal" damage and 33 suffered only "minor" damage.

Terry Wright, pastor of First Baptist Church of Vidor, Texas, has taken on the role of coordinating the joint response to these devastated churches, many of which had no flood insurance and may never be able to open their doors again.

"We're feeding information from damaged Baptist churches to both Texas conventions and to NAMB," Wright said. "We're compiling a list of churches that have the greatest needs, because not all churches have the same level of need."

Twelve Galveston Baptist Association churches suffered major damage. Two were totally destroyed and all that's left of one is the slab. Wright said First Baptist Church in Galveston took on a lot of water and sewage. The church had some flood insurance but not enough, he said.

The following churches in the Galveston Baptist Association reported total loss or major damage:

-- San Leon Community Church (major damage to church, fellowship hall and parsonage).

-- First Baptist Church, Port Bolivar (church and parsonage a total loss)

-- Crystal Beach Community Church (pastor lost his home)

-- First Baptist Church, Galveston (major damage to church and pastor's home)

-- Immanuel Baptist Church, Galveston (loss of parsonage)

-- Island Community Church, Galveston (total loss of church and home)

-- Chinese Baptist Church, Galveston (major damage to church)

-- Seaside Baptist Church, Galveston (major damage to pastor's home)

-- University Baptist Church, Galveston (major damage to pastor's home)

-- West End Baptist Church, Galveston (total loss to church and pastor's home)

-- Primera Iglesia Bautista, Hitchcock (major damage to church)

--Faith Community at Bayou Vista, Hitchcock (major damage to church's first floor)

Wright said that in Golden Triangle Association -- comprised of Jefferson, Orange and part of Chambers counties -- 18 churches have been identified as having total or substantial hurricane damage.

Four more church buildings were flooded and heavily damaged in Bridge City. Wright said Bridge City's First Baptist Church will not get an insurance settlement despite the fact the church's property and parsonage were destroyed. The church's pastor and staff also lost everything.

Liberty Baptist in Bridge City was destroyed by floodwaters, and its 62-year-old pastor lost all his belongings, Wright said. Five feet of floodwater inundated Second Baptist Church. Other destroyed buildings in Bridge City include Fellowship Baptist and Circle Drive Baptist churches.

"Some churches can't meet so there are no weekly offerings. There's no money for payroll or to pay the mortgages they're carrying," said Wright. "They are in dire straits."

The following churches in the Trinity River Baptist Association also recorded substantial damage to churches, parsonages or to members' homes: Eminence Baptist Church, Liberty, Smith Point Community Church, High Island Baptist Church, Sweet Home Baptist Church of Hankamer, and Oak Island Baptist Church.

Trinity Baptist of Port Arthur, a congregation in the Southern Baptists of Southeast Texas Association, also reported significant wind damage.

In disaster relief activity related to Hurricanes Ike and Gustav, SBC disaster relief feeding kitchens have now prepared 4.8 million hot meals for hurricane victims and volunteers.

Three feeding units -- staffed by volunteers from Maryland/Delaware, Michigan and SBTC -- are still cooking 30,000 meals a day on Galveston Island. North Carolina feeding units are still operating in Baytown, and feeding continues in Orange. Volunteers from Ohio and Minnesota/Wisconsin will arrive in Galveston this weekend to take over the feeding operation there.

From Aug. 30 through Oct. 14, Southern Baptist disaster relief teams in Louisiana and Texas have chalked up 40,000 volunteer days; completed 3,800 mud-out, chainsaw, roofing and repair jobs; provided 41,000 showers and 13,000 laundry loads; and recorded some 19,000 ministry contacts, including 3,100 chaplaincy contacts, 845 Gospel presentations and 171 professions of faith.
--30--

Original article can be found here, http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?Id=29130.

Mickey Noah is a writer for the North American Mission Board. The SBTC "Adopt-A-Church" ministry website is located at www.sbtexas.com/minister_church_relations/AdoptaChurch.htm. The BGCT "Church2Church" initiative website is located at http://www.bgct.org/texasbaptists/Page.aspx?pid=4187.

Copyright (c) 2008 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press. Visit www.bpnews.net. BP News -- witness the difference! Covering the critical issues that shape your life, work and ministry. BP News is a ministry of Baptist Press, the daily news service of Southern Baptists.

Saturday Nov 1, 2008
Hi to all our partners in the ministry!
 
We had a very productive and fulfilling trip to Galveston, Texas. The need was great and it was obvious the help was appreciated. We found that although the people on this island had experienced a life changing disaster, their desire to survive it was strong. Our mission was originally to be chain saw work, but on arrival the realization was made the need for mud outs was greater, with the main emphasis on the widowed and elderly. We made some forever memories in sharing our love for God with these special people.
We again, as usual, had a great team that the Lord brought together and worked as one unit completing each job to the best of our ability. It was wonderful having some new people on our team and of course working with old friends! One of our southern team members was even able to join us which was an added pleasure for all!
The need in Galveston is still great!  Please continue to keep these dear people in your prayers. If the opportunity arises again to go and help in this area, know that you will be truly blessed and will not soon forget the impact you will have made on their lives.
 
Only through Him!
Karol

Friday, October 31, 2008
Indiana units have been placed on STAND-DOWN for NW Indiana mudout.

Bill Crane states, "Everyone is worn out and needing a rest from all of the activity this year in Disaster Relief, therefore I am cancelling the recent call out for the Munster area in NW Indiana.  Please notify everyone to stand down for this one. We will think about what we can do in the Galveston, Texas area later, after we have recuperated.  I will touch base with the NAMB Disaster Operations Center and see what the near future needs are in that area." ---Bill Crane
 
Message from Indiana Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief White Hats:
    Co-White Hats: 
            Field White Hat - Bill Crane
            State White Hat - Jim Downey

November is harvest month. Indiana corn. Indiana apples. There’s nothing better during the harvest season! As we enjoy the fruit of the literal harvest, let’s also be reminded of some important issues related to the spiritual harvest. You will be hearing a lot about GPS – God’s Plan for Sharing – over the next ten years as we cooperate with the North American Mission Board emphasis for every believer sharing; every person hearing by 2020. If we are to experience a harvest of souls in Indiana, here are some important things to keep in mind:

• We must be serious about prayer walking Indiana. Reaping a harvest begins on our knees, praying for each home, asking God to pull down strongholds and to remove blindfolds to the truth of Jesus. Will you commit to prayer walk your street or block?
• Each church needs a comprehensive outreach strategy. You’ve heard it said, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Jesus said to “go into all the world and make disciples.” He didn’t just suggest it. He commanded it. We must have a conviction that all people everywhere need Jesus. Any outreach strategy and commitment grows out of that basic conviction.
• Involve as many people as possible.  Pastors can’t do it all by themselves. It takes pastors, other ministers, deacons, Bible study leaders, and every person who is a member of the church. Everyone can do something to help with outreach. God’s people can be trained to share their faith, to do door-to-door surveys, to do telephone surveys, to make prospect visits, to call prospects and absentees, and to write cards or letters to prospects and absentees. Never forget how important it is to have folks in a prayer group, lifting up others who are making the outreach contacts. If someone just doesn’t feel he or she fits any of those categories, then sign them up to mow the grass and let the pastor hang a sign on you that says, “Jesus Saves.” Get the picture? Everyone can do something to be a part of reaching out to win the lost.
• Send me an email and ask for “Thirty Ideas for Establishing a Comprehensive Outreach Strategy.” I’ll be glad to share it with you and help you get started. They are tried and proven methods from our own pastoral experience. Email sdavis@scbi.org.
• Create an evangelistic climate in the church. Do the kind of things that cultivate a sense of expectancy when people come to worship. Baptize on Sunday morning. Share the testimonies of those being baptized. Celebrate the victories. Set a goal to see at least one person walk the aisle for baptism each week.
• Be strategic and intentional. Remember that there are two ten-week periods in the year – fall and spring – when you need a focused, concentrated all out effort in outreach. These are times when there are more guests coming to the church, so a church-wide effort to reach out is necessary.
• Take advantage of special times of the year when you have a unique opportunity to reach new people.  Christmas and Easter are two times specifically to get new people to come. When they do, make sure you get names and addresses for follow up.

 

One of my favorite outreach quotes is from a book entitled, The Ministry of Visitation, by Sizemore. He said, “We get a lot of people we never visit, but we visit a lot of people we never get; but we’d never get a lot of people we never visit if we didn’t visit a lot of people we never get.” In other words, God honors the going. According to the latest research there are 4,650,000 Hoosiers without a relationship to Jesus. So let’s take the Acts 1:8 challenge more seriously and take the cross to the crossroads!

“…give recognition to those who labor among you and lead you in the Lord.”
I Thessalonians 5:12-13

Each October, many churches designate a day to show appreciation to their pastor and church ministerial staff member.  Need fresh ideas?

One Fishing Lure
Determine one small item your pastor enjoys, such as M&Ms, fishing lures, popcorn, coffee, or golf balls. Ask each church member, including youth and children, to bring one of that item on Pastor Appreciation Sunday. For example, each family member will bring one bag, any size, of peanut M&Ms. Bring extras for guests and forgetful members. As your church thanks God for your pastor on Sunday, each member can walk to the front and place their token of love in a large basket. 

The Church Building & the Church
Present your pastor with a beautifully framed photo or painting of the church building. Use an extra wide matting and ask all church members to sign the mat before adding glass.

E-Pounding
Distribute your minister’s e-mail address to all church or class members, asking each one to send an e-mail note, describing something specific that they appreciate about their pastor. E-mails should be sent one specific day or week, creating an e-pounding of blessings!

Text-Pounding
Use the same basic idea, but ask each member to send a text-message to the pastor or staff member. 

Puzzle Gift
Order a jigsaw puzzle with a photo of your church family or church building.  Internet puzzle companies make 100 or 1000 piece puzzles from a photo.

Love Our Pastor
Take out a full-page ad in your local newspaper, featuring a photo of your pastor with each church member's signature around it.  Include a declaration of your church's love and appreciation for your pastor.

Lotsa Notes
Give each church member a stamped envelope that is pre-addressed to your minister's home. Ask them to send a very specific, personal note of appreciation this week.

Make It a Month
As a church, deacon body, ladies group, choir or youth group, make October a true month of appreciation for your pastor. Ask individual volunteers from the group to write their name on one day of an October calendar. On the assigned day, that person expresses appreciation to the pastor in a unique way. Each day will be different. The pastor might receive a letter or gift. It could be a meal, a shoeshine or a "thank you" balloon bouquet. After a whole month of pleasant surprises, won't your pastor feel appreciated? And won't God be honored by your acts of love for His servant?

While You Were Out
Hanover Baptist in Indiana surprised their pastor with a gorgeous new home office. With his wife's input, of course, they worked with a decorator and volunteers to turn a spare room into a home office while the pastor was out of town. They did paint, wallpaper, window coverings, shelves, desk, chair, computer, and decorator items.

Gift of Prayer
Give your pastor the gift of prayer. Create a chart, and allow members to choose a specific time that they will commit to pray weekly for the pastor this next year.  They do not need to come to a specific place—just pray on their way to work or pray each Tuesday at 2 PM. The project could be done by a deacon group, choir, class or the entire church. Present the prayer promise chart to the pastor as a gift. Then remember to pray!  

A Class Idea
All the Sunday School classes of the church could pool their resources to purchase a full set of Bible commentaries. Every individual class could sign inside one of the books, then present it as a gift from their class.

Gift from Deacons
Each deacon purchases a gift certificate to a restaurant, carwash, coffee shop, or book store. He writes a personal note on the back, then all coupons are placed inside a card for the pastor.

Gift from Kids
Wouldn’t it be fun for every child at church to create a signed bookmark for their pastor or children's pastor, using cardstock paper, crayons or markers?  Laminate the bookmarks, and then call all the children forward at the end of worship to put their bookmarks in a basket for the pastor.

Gift from Youth
Create huge poster board hearts and a giant love note for everyone to read. Place them on stakes in your pastor's front yard during pastor appreciation day. You could add balloons, but not toilet paper.

More Ideas for a Gift from the Church
Restaurant certificates, magazine subscription, tires, Bible software, a trip, a book, theatre or sports tickets, flowers for his wife, babysitting coupons, a new car, a grandfather clock, a suit for pastor and a dress for his wife, a new car, a new desk, home landscaping. 

Ideas for Individual Members to Honor the Pastor

Your church demonstrates appreciation, but how can you, as an individual church member, honor and encourage your ministers? A few fresh ideas:

Say It
Write your minister an encouraging note the first day of every month this year. Tell him how last Sunday’s sermon impacted your week. Take him to lunch and tell him how much you appreciate him as your pastor.

Stay Awake In Church
Sit near the front during worship every Sunday during Pastor Appreciation Month. Actively listen during the sermon. Make eye contact. Nod your head. Take notes. Say "amen" at an appropriate time.

May I Borrow Your Car?
As a special surprise during Minister Appreciation Week, borrow your pastor’s car and have it detailed, oiled and lubed, washed and gassed.

Brag about Him
Brag about your pastor every chance you get - and not just at church. Write a letter to the editor of a local newspaper during Minister Appreciation Month to compliment your minister. Introduce him to your friends and work associates.

“Pastor”
Show respect by calling him “pastor.”

Personalized T
During Minister Appreciation Week, present him a "Best Pastor in Madison" t-shirt, substituting your town's name.

Me First
Be the first church member to volunteer for something. Accompany your pastor on ministry visits. Show up early for church and help. Stay late and help. Faithfully and joyfully use your spiritual gifts within the church body.

Take Care
During Minister Appreciation Week, anonymously mow and edge your pastor’s lawn. Provide a generous book allowance for him in your church budget. Be sure that he's paid an appropriate salary. If he has houseguests coming again, deliver a great casserole. Exempt clergy from bringing dishes to pitch-in dinners.

Love His Family
Do something special for your pastor’s wife. Help pay for his teens to attend the church's youth retreat. Babysit his kids for free during a wedding or funeral. Include his family in your holiday celebration. Help his children apply for college scholarships. Deliver a Thanksgiving turkey to his house.

Quit Complaining.
Quit complaining. Quit complaining. Quit complaining. Quit complaining.

Excerpt from Fresh Ideas (B&H Publishing, 2007)

URGENT NEED FOR FEEDING VOLUNTEERS - has been met 10/15... THANK YOU!
Any interested volunteers should contact Bill Crane at 812-483-6762 / evv3032@yahoo.com or Jim Clark at 502-396-4566.

Email from NAMB Disaster Operations Center:
 
AT THE RISK OF BEING ACCUSED OF BROW BEATING, BEGGING, PLEADING  ETC AND ETC  I  PLEAD, BEG AND EVEN BROW BEAT YOU INTO  FINDING THOSE VOLUNTEERS THAT HAVE BEEN TRAINED AND  IMPRESS UPON THEM THE NEED THAT WE HAVE:
If we do not get enough feeding vol.  we will have to shut down the Galvaston Kitchens which simply means families  who can not care for themselves will go hungry, the recovery workers, power crews and safety officers will not get hot meals and thealready miserable conditions will be even more so.
We have over 80,000 trained volunteers   surely we can come up with teams even on such a short notice.
I do understand and appreciate that many of you are simply exhausted from your own disasters this year and many of you have faithfully served in Gustav and Ike and but I know in my heart that there are Southern Baptist Disaster people out there ready to serve if presented with the challenge.
SO, with deep love, respect and humbly being asked ….. GO present the challenge....
Feeding teams for Galvaston
NOW
Hope for  teams of 10 volunteers or more, but  will take one or two from a state and will build a team.

 

50th Anniversary: Celebrate ’08 - A Time to Evaluate

It was Socrates who said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Simply put, we should always be willing to place our lives and ministries in a position to be regularly evaluated, so we can continue to improve and make needed adjustments to stay effective.  It is especially true when we are dealing with matters of eternal consequence. With that in mind, may I offer the following suggestions for the State Convention of Baptists in Indiana?

It’s a good time to look back and be thankful for past blessings from God. Indiana has had God’s blessings for fifty years. We have been blessed by God with our previous executive directors and their leadership. They have loved our state, our pastors, staff members, and churches. Other state staff members have been a blessing as they have sacrificed and poured their lives into the ministries of our state. Pastors, missionaries, other state conventions and denominational partners have all played a major role in advancing God’s kingdom work in our state.  And most of all, dedicated lay people have witnessed, prayed, sacrificed generously and labored tirelessly to see Southern Baptist churches planted all over our state to God’s honor and glory.

It’s a good time to look up and be reminded that we are dependent on the Lord’s direction for the future as well, because “the vision is yet.”  We as Indiana Baptists, more than ever, need to look to God for His will and guidance for the next fifty years. 2 Chronicles 20:12 says, “We do not know what to do, but we look to you.” Only God can give us direction and insight on how we can continue to penetrate Indiana with new churches. Only God can show us how to help the many churches that are struggling and need to be revitalized with a renewed sense of mission and vision to fulfill the Acts 1:8 challenge.
 
It’s a good time to look outward with a new passion and understanding that Indiana is still a mission field that is “ripe for the harvest.” May every church member commit to prayer walk every Indiana street and road. We must find creative ways to take the gospel message to our fellow Hoosiers, as on any given Sunday 80% are not in attendance at any Christian church.

It’s a good time to look inward, and evaluate your personal commitment share Jesus with every home in Indiana. Have you claimed spiritual responsibility for your friends, neighbors, relatives and acquaintances?  Have you told your pastor that you are going to be faithful to help him reach out to your church field? Have you made it your priority to invest in the lives of lost people and invite them to church where they can hear the gospel taught and preached? Have you made your spiritual gift(s) available to your church, so that you are a crew member and not a passenger?

Yes, it’s time for Indiana Baptists to celebrate ’08, but it’s also a good time to evaluate our commitment to be used by God in the days ahead to penetrate Indiana with our testimonies of Jesus. Congratulations Indiana Baptists! Now, let’s make the next fifty years the best yet!

We have been in contact with those in leadership in the recovery mission for Texas.They have expressed to us a great need for chainsaw crews.They are currently making preparations for our us and have asked we wait another week before coming down. Therefore we are in the planning stage for a trip south.
 The tentative plans are this. We would like to organize 2 teams. The first would leave Tues , Oct 7 and stay for approximately a week. The second team would then arrive and stay for at least a week and possibly longer. You also have the option of staying both weeks. Because of the travel distance, we are considering an overnight stop for each group.
  Transportation will be provided for the planned travel. If you need to arrive or leave at any other time you will need to provide your own. I will contact you again as soon as I have a more definite schedule, but wanted to give you extra time for  planning and rearranging of schedules.
 John Guernsey will be the "blue hat " for both weeks.
 I know these plans seem sketchy but they are in the very beginning stage. Our need at this moment is to know how many we should be planning for.
  I would like those of you who are considering joining one or both of these trips to contact me as soon as possible. We can then plan transportation and lodging.
 I look forward to hearing from many of you as you prayerfully consider your part in this"call out".
 Remember people are hurting and we can offer the healing they need, through a relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
 I can't wait!
 
 Only through Him,
Karol Jones  /  John Guernsey

"In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’
 you should tell them…” Joshua 4:6b

What a celebration! A round-number church anniversary is worth planning well. It’s a great gathering of former and current church members and ministers, joyfully recalling God’s past blessings on your church. Need fresh ideas?

The biggest secret: Plan ahead! Send “save the date” notices to former staff and church members a full year in advance. Designate a detective team to locate them using a master list, internet and people resources. Request online RSVPs for banquet, history books, anniversary shirts, etc.   

Relate your church history with a brief video or live dramatic presentation. Commission a history book to be written and released at the event. Prepare scrapbooks by decade. Create a looped slideshow to play during registration, pre-service and meals.

Display “THE” membership list, a chronological listing of church members on a banner created from your church records. Ask guests to initial by their name at registration. Display a time-line of significant church history events beside it. 

Pre-print nametags, readable from six feet away. Designate charter members and pastors with unique stickers.

Provide anniversary souvenirs such as a personalized ornament, pen, paperweight, t-shirt, notebook, magnet, bookmark, or church cookbook. 

Add fashion and musical interest. Feature music from each church history era. Invite attendees to wear costumes to represent various decades, including today’s time period (for those who don’t care for costumes.) Award prizes.   

A 25-hour pre-event prayer chain allows members to pray in half-hour scheduled increments. The number of hours parallels anniversary year, i.e. 15 years/15 hours.    

• Stand Up. Make history-related recognitions during the celebration.
• Charter members, then church members by decade
• Former and current pastors and ministry staff
• All who were baptized in the church
• Former and current leaders, deacons, teachers, etc. 
• All who currently serve in vocational missions or ministry.
• Initiators of various ministries in the church, i.e. library, daycare, benevolence.
• Famous firsts, i.e. 1st youth minister, 1st ordained deacon, 1st baptized.

Establish a special fund for attenders to contribute toward a major item for the church, such as stained glass, steeple or adjacent acreage.      

When Steve and I attended the 25th anniversary of a church we helped to plant, it was like a foretaste of heaven! Celebrating God, recounting His blessings, and renewing Christian fellowship--now that’s a recipe for a great anniversary celebration.
---
Note: Hope to see you next month at our state’s 50th anniversary celebration for the State Convention of Baptists in Indiana. Make reservations at www.scbi.org.

An excerpt from Diana Davis’ book, Fresh Ideas-1000 Ways to Grow a Thriving & Energetic Church.
Diana is the wife of Indiana Baptist Convention’s Executive Director. See www.keeponshining.com

During our state convention’s 50th anniversary year, each month is dedicated to “Celebrate ’08.” This month our focus is on celebrating associations. All of our associations will have their annual meetings in September. Over the last two years, nine of our 14 associations have experienced the retirement or resignation of their associational missionaries. In anticipation of several retirements, representatives from all of our associations gathered to discuss the future of our work together in reaching Indiana and strengthening churches. The result was 11 of our associations voted last year to move to a regional concept for the state convention in delivering resources, training and assistance to our churches and associations around the state. Three associations decided to retain the Associational Missionary model.  Representatives from the 11 associations met to determine the placement and job responsibilities of regional missionary strategists. Beginning on page 6 of this issue of the Indiana Baptist is information on placement of the missionaries. State convention personnel were re-assigned and job descriptions changed to accommodate the new direction. The goal is to have a church planting missionary strategist and church enrichment missionary strategist available in every region of the state. We are currently in process with the North American Mission Board for approval for the last regional missionary strategist. All positions should be in place by our convention meeting in October.

All of our associations are still intact. No effort has ever been made to do away with our associations. Our pastors and leaders from around the state said that the associations should focus on doctrinal integrity, fellowship, evangelism and missions. To that end, moderators and other associational leadership are working together to take responsibility for coordinating the work of their association. Exciting things are beginning to develop as churches and pastors are working together to meet needs. The spirit is very positive, and we are praying for a surge in strengthening churches, planting churches and reaching Indiana with the gospel. The full impact is yet to be seen as we continue to work together to improve and refine the new relationships and delivery systems of support for church and associational missions, ministries, evangelism and church planting efforts.

What is the immediate benefit? Our associations now have resources that can be channeled toward helping their churches in their missions, evangelism, church strengthening and planting opportunities. Close to $400,000 state-wide has been freed up for our associations. That alone is no small benefit. The state convention has re-allocated its budget to provide for the regional strategist positions. I personally have appreciated the new efforts of cooperation with our associational leadership teams across the state in this great, new challenge to impact Indiana. Most of all I have appreciated the many prayers on behalf of God’s people and leaders in our churches as we work together to maximize the resources God has made available. The transitional team, consisting of representatives from each association involved in the new structure, has been very supportive and helpful in working through job descriptions and placement assignment of the regional strategists.

From the beginning, this effort has been a grassroots project. And I should also say that we have all felt the clear leadership of the Holy Spirit to move in this direction. My role has been to help facilitate the new vision and hard work of our pastors and others from around the state who have prayed and planned together to seek new ways to catch a fresh vision for reaching our state and beyond. In this day and time, change must take place if we are to set priorities and get more dollars into mission causes in Indiana and to the ends of the earth. May the Lord give us continued clear direction and a new passion for strengthening churches, revitalizing churches, planting churches and reaching the lost.

Time is running short to make your reservations for SCBI’s 50th anniversary meeting and celebration of our state convention, October 3-4, 2008. If you have not made your hotel and/or banquet reservations, please do so immediately. We are looking forward to a great celebration as we take time to remember what God has done, but also re-focus, because “the vision is yet!”

Disaster Relief Updates               

• July 16: Volunteer needs are minimal  - CALL before planning to come. 
• Rebuild mission to Worthington (IN) for July 14-18 All interested should meet at 8:00 AM Monday 7/14 at the grade school in Worthington on Main Street. The ministry opportunities include laying sub floors, putting in insulation, and hanging drywall. We have all the tools needed, but extra battery powered screw guns,staple guns,tape measures, chalk lines and utility knives are always a plus. Lodging and meals will be at the grade school. If you need more information, you can reach John Guernsey at 317-442-0558.
• July 6: mud-out & recovery stage complete! 
• July 2: John Guernsey would like to organize a team to go help next week (July 7-11) in Worthington. The ministry will be mainly 'rebuild'. Usually this is preparing the house for rebuild, hanging dry wall, laying sub floors and other projects.  We do have the tools needed, but extra tape measures, chalk lines and utility knives are always helpful.
  We will meet at the grade school in Worthington at 8:00 a.m. on Monday July 7
  This is where those that will be staying over will sleep, shower and eat. You can come for one day or the week, whichever works best.  If you need more info, you can reach John at 1-317-442-0558 or Karol Jones. 
• June 30, 2008: Please Come Help! Your help is needed in Worthington this week or next.  Our team today consists of 4 people.  There are still 10 clean-up jobs in Worthington, even though we are hoping to begin rebuilding homes this holiday weekend.  Highview Baptist Church, Louisville, KY will come July 4th for the weekend, but until then we need workers.  If you could come any day this week or next, please let me know. Allen Haynes 812-239-9335
• Thursday June 26 - answered prayer; more requests
• Sunday evening June 22
• Thursday evening June 19 - good news & request more volunteers
  Wednesday evening June 18 
• Wed 6/18 ...in need of nail pullers and some volunteers to help with mud outs n Worthington, even if someone can only go down there for one day.
• Tuesday evening June 17
• Thursday 10pm June 12

MORE INFORMATION for VOLUNTEERS

The Key Is Leadership! 

What does your pastor need more than anything?  As I have crisscrossed our state for the past five years I would say that one of my greatest concerns is that many of our pastors are over-worked and under-employed. They are over-worked in things that are not the priority of their calling. They are under-employed in the things that relate to their calling and make a difference in eternity. Many of them experience what Moses experienced in Exodus 18, when his father-in-law gave him wise counsel to recruit leadership help. Every pastor needs reinforcements to help with the demands of ministry. As we “celebrate leadership” in the month of August, let me offer a few observations.

Every church experiences tension among its leadership from time to time. Even Jesus had to deal with it. He had men like Simon the zealot – out to destroy Rome; Matthew the tax collector – who worked for Rome!; James and John, sons of thunder – who had short fuses; and Simon Peter, who was always opening his mouth and inserting his foot. You think that combination of leaders didn’t experience tension at times? Think again. But we must remember – God works and He uses people: with their faults, weaknesses, strengths and quirks – all working together to get God’s work done.

What kind of leaders do our churches need to complement the teamwork of ministry with their pastor?  Moses looked for the following qualities:
• “Able” – In other words, people who are capable of leadership. It isn’t the play that wins a game; it’s the execution. It needs to be understood that no amount of dedication can compensate for a lack of ability. That’s why it’s important to help people serve where they are gifted by the Spirit.
• “God-fearing” – Leaders need to be people who are committed in their walk with God, spend time with God in Bible study and prayer, and who seek the Lord, so they can make good spiritual decisions. Someone once said to Robert Murray McCheynne, “I became a Christian because of the beauty of holiness which I saw in your face.”  Leaders must live godly lives and handle issues in a godly manner.
•  “Trustworthy” – This means that leaders should be competent, people who realize that truth and love hold the church together.  The church needs leaders who love the Lord and God’s people, who earn the trust of God’s people through their sacrificial, Christ-like spirit and service.
• “Hating bribes” – Character is of the utmost importance for a leader. A leader cannot covet popularity, the approval of certain people, recognition, power or authority. A leader should also demonstrate personal stewardship and lead the way in sacrificial, generous giving to the church.

The testimony of godly leadership shows up in the following ways:
• In one’s commitment to prayer: Ex. 18:19 says, “…represent the people before God…”  Donald Barnhouse once said, “The one who is to thunder in the court of Pharoah with an imperious ‘Thus saith the Lord,’ must first stand barefoot before the burning bush.”
• In one’s commitment to train others in the faith: “Instruct them about the statutes and laws…” (v.20) The church mirrors her leadership. If the leaders are in harmony with the priorities and direction of their pastor, then the church will be focused in ministry and unified in spirit. 
• In one’s ability to practice what one preaches: “…teach them the way to live and what they must do.”  For leadership to be effective, people should see that what we teach matches what we live… that what we are in public is what we are in private in our relationship with the Lord.

 As we celebrate leadership in August, hopefully these reminders will encourage us to reflect on the privilege we have to influence others to follow Jesus by following how we live.  Take advantage of the leadership training opportunities offered through our state convention, such as the Crossroads Academy on August 23. Also, call our church health team leader, Steve McNeil, if you need some training for your individual church. He and his staff are always ready and excited to help our churches. Call a regional missionary strategist or your associational missionary, who can also help you get the training lined up that your church or association needs.  One of my favorite verses in Scripture is Judges 5:2:
 “When the leaders lead in Israel, when the people volunteer, praise the Lord.”

Do you want your church to thrive or just survive? No church rises above the level of her leadership. Churches need more leaders. Let’s pray for God to call out those who will accept the challenge for the sake of the Gospel, of the church and of our pastors’ longevity in ministry.

Be conscientious about yourself and your teaching. Persevere in these things. 1 Timothy 4:16a

Did you ever play a game called “follow-the-leader?” Imagine a leader wandering blindly through traffic or running into walls. Wouldn’t followers be frustrated? Suppose an archer is shooting arrows with no target in sight. How purposeless!

Leadership in God’s church is infinitely more important than a game. A key responsibility of any leader is to know where he’s leading.    

If you organize the praise team, you are a leader. Perhaps you direct a Sunday School department or the women’s ministry or youth group. You may chair a committee or serve as a deacon or a class fellowship leader. If you lead in any church ministry, commit to lead well. Need some fresh leadership ideas?    

Cast a great vision. Know your ministry’s potential. For example, if you direct 5th grade Sunday School, research school stats or census data (www.census.gov) to learn how many 5th graders are in your community. Obtain contact info for 5th grade visitors to your church during the past year, including VBS, fall festival, sports teams, etc.  Cast a vision to teachers in your department about its eternity-impacting potential.

Make spiritual goals. The ultimate goal of any church leader is the same: to worship God and make disciples. For example, the church bowling team leader can challenge teams to invite unsaved friends to participate. He begins games with prayer, shares a personal testimony with guests, encourages Christian fellowship, and schedules a Sunday for teams to sit together in worship. Trophies are good, but the primary goal is spiritual.    

Become an expert. Invest time and effort to become an authority on your leadership topic. Find other churches or leaders who do that ministry well and learn from them. Read books on the subject. Attend training opportunities. Stay informed. If you lead nearlyweds, attend a bridal fair. If you do the church website, take a class to improve skills. If you teach kids, visit a local kids’ ball game.

Love the ones you lead. Acknowledge their victories and challenges. Encourage. Invest. Mentor. Pray for them. For example, one minister of education begins every day by calling Sunday School teachers on their birthday. My granddad taught a boys’ Bible class and visited the home of each boy to know his family and share God’s plan of salvation.
 
Christian leader—if you aim at nothing, you’ll likely hit it. Will you lead with purpose? Eternity will be impacted.

©Fresh Ideas are shared by Diana Davis, wife of Indiana Baptist Convention’s executive director. www.keeponshining.com

A Time to Grow; A Place to Grow 

A little girl was memorizing the fruit of the Spirit for Sunday School. When she tried to quote it for her mom, she made a slight alteration: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and remote control.” Unfortunately, we live in a day and time when tools for quick accessibility, like TV remotes, have ruined our spiritual perspectives. There are no shortcuts to spiritual maturity. There is no “remote control” button that produces instant spirituality. In fact the Christian life is by nature a lifetime of spiritual growth. We are too much like the child who was planting a tree, and kept pulling it up by its roots once a week to see if it was growing. All that to simply say: when it comes to the disciplines of spiritual growth, some things never change. Spiritual maturity is the result of continuous prayer, Bible study, worship, fellowship, sharing our faith and service. 

We don’t get to Texas very often to visit Diana’s family members, but when we do, we notice how much our nephews have grown. When we commented on it one time, one of them said, “I’m glad when you guys come, because you’re the only ones who notice I’m growing.” When his mom and dad are around him every day, they don’t notice the growth taking place as much as we do. There are times when we may experience some spiritual growth spurts. It may come during a crisis, when God walks with us to teach us some important lessons. It may come as a result of a revival meeting, when new spiritual truths come to light, or we experience a fresh commitment to the Lord. Or, a spiritual growth time can come when you take the time to get away from the busyness of your everyday life and spend some quality time with God, such as on a retreat or at a camp.

One of Indiana Baptists’ treasures is Highland Lakes Baptist Camp. We are constantly working to improve the facilities and amenities. It’s a great place to join with other churches for one of our summer camps, or to take a smaller group for a weekend retreat. Some of our churches are large enough to have their own camp, and they should. Thank you to all of you who utilized our camp this past year. There were 180 professions of faith recorded last year at Highland Lakes, and numerous other life-changing decisions. It’s a great place to have fun and get serious with the Lord. It’s an outstanding place to experience a spiritual growth spurt.

Pray with us as we begin to find the God’s resources to build a new facility at Highland Lakes in honor of Dr. E. Harmon & Betsy Moore, our first executive director and his wife. The camp committee of our executive board has recommended a multi-use type facility that would house recreation and seat about 1,000 for worship. We are in the initial stages of getting our information together. As a close friend of mine used to say, “The Lord will provide.”

Thank you to all of you who helped us host the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in June.  You went above and beyond to show gracious Hoosier hospitality is the best! Thank you for the joy and privilege of serving Indiana Baptists for the past five years. Diana and I love you and appreciate your continued encouragement and support. Remember: “The vision is yet…” 

The people of Indiana have suffered great loss in the recent flooding. Our Southern Baptist (SBC) family has mobilized Disaster Relief teams to help. The SBC family met a challenge at this week's annual meeting in Indianapolis to contribute to the State Convention of Baptists in Indiana. You can participate by sending money to help Indiana residents. 100% of all funds received will go directly to provide for disaster victims' needs without any taken for administration.

Money donations can be sent to:
Indiana Disaster Relief
State Convention of Baptists in Indiana
900 N High School Road
Indianapolis, IN. 46214

Link to updates from Indiana's Disaster Relief team

Baptist Press:  

• 6/10 Indiana Baptists mobilize relief teams   
• 6/17 New Whiteland, IN:Crossover Collegians enter flood

To request help in Indiana from SBC Disaster Relief, contact Rhonda at 678-264-7800 or email dr_team40@namb.net.

Information from the governor's office: Ways for Hoosiers to get help

FEMA Application for assistance

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Thanks for the encouraging note. It's been a horrible day for us in Des Moines.  Flood waters took out the levee in the area of town just north of downtown and the river.  It surged in about 4 AM.  We lost a neighborhood and one of our five high schools in town.  About 300 homes destroyed.  We have flooding all over the state and we keep having tornadoes.  My exec. and I counted today and we have six or seven SBC disaster relief units from several states either here or on the way.  I think they are coming from Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, Alabama, Texas and possibly Arkansas.  NAMB is sending a team of 4 national disaster relief incident commanders to our offices on Monday to set up a state wide SBC dis. rel. command center.

If you could pray for the worst affected towns and cities, here's a list:
 
--Cedar Rapids - downtown totally flooded, 700 millinon estimated damage.  12,000 people evacuated from the city of 125,000.  Water system straining to stay up at 25%.
 
--Parkersburg - town of 2000 hit by a tornado three weeks ago.  8 killed, half of the town destroyed including high school, city hall, and town's only grocery store and gas station
 
-- Cedar Falls - flooding
 
-- Iowa City -- heavy flooding, several Univ. of Iowa buildings flooded including the performing arts arena and the university library
 
--Waterloo - flooding
 
--Mason City - water system down due to floods
 
-- Little Sioux - tornado on Wednesday destroyed a boy scout camp.  4 boys killed and 40 injured.
 
-- Davenport - flooding on the Mississippi RIver
 
-- Ottumwa - waiting for floodwaters to arrive from upstream in Des Moines. 
 
Well, we will get by, but we have a lot of damage statewide.  Appreciate your prayers.  I will be giving another interview to Baptist Press on Monday, so you may hear some more by then. 
 
If you could send this to Sandy Coehlo in New England I think she could send it around to all of our gang.  God bless.
 
Richard Nations
Baptist Convention of Iowa

World Changers come to Indianapolis

Teenagers from the states of Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Illinois and Indiana came to Indianapolis to work as part of the “World Changers” program the week of June 2-6, 2008. Some 105 teenage volunteers are in 8-10 different locations. The groups began working on Monday morning, June 2 to paint houses, put in new windows, tear out old sheet rock, throw away trash, and put on a new roof.

The groups represent young people from junior high through college age. The homes they are working on were recommended for this program through a partnership between the Crossroads Baptist Association (Indianapolis area) of the State Convention of Baptists in Indiana, and the United Northwest Area Development program of Indianapolis.

As most students spend their summer break soaking in rays at the beach or lounging around the house, 105 teenagers and their adult leaders, have been hard at work on this week-long refurbishment and construction project. Several of the homes were projects that would help current residence with some needed repairs. The other projects were clean-up projects that will the city to make the homes livable residence for low-income families.

Two of the students who are participating in this year’s group are James Cash from Dublin, Georgia, Dublin Bible Church and Hailey Snyder from Mt. Vernon, Illinois. This trip was James’ first time to participate in a World Changers event. He came because he wanted to do something to help people, to grow in his relationship with the Lord and to grow together with his youth group. Hailey is on her third trip with World Changers. She first learned about World Changers when her youth group attended Youth Encounter in Illinois. Her youth group came back from that event and began talking about how they could get involved in World Changers.

This summer more than 22,000 students nationwide will participate in World Changers. They will pay on average $260 to participate instead of staying home and earning money. They will participate in 95 construction and community projects from Alaska to Pennsylvania to South Carolina.

World Changers is a project of the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. The program began in 1990 with 137 volunteers who refurbished homes in Briceville, Tennessee. Since that first outing, 290,000 students have renovated more than 18,000 homes in 900 communities worldwide. This year 23,000 students will participate in 95 projects in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada and 20 international locations.

See local news coverage

by Dr. Stephen Davis

It’s right there in God’s Word, over and over again. We have multiple texts commissioning us to win souls. More importantly, we need a new commitment to the task – the Acts 1:8 challenge. Our President of the Southern Baptist Convention, Dr. Frank Page, called for a national evangelism strategy. The North American Mission Board under Dr. Geoff Hammond’s leadership has been hard at work to put the national evangelism initiative pieces together, which will be unveiled at the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Indianapolis in June. Dr. Page recently stated that our first piece of the strategy is prayer for the lost. We had already launched that phase for Indiana. We have accepted the challenge to prayer walk every street and road in our state, with the goal of sharing the gospel with every home over the next five years. With 14 associations, totaling 439 churches and missions, this is a task that is not only achievable, but must be done.

Dr. Baker James Cauthen once said, “If we have anything to say to the world, we need to say it now!” He had his finger on the pulse beat of urgency about sharing the gospel. The North American Mission Board’s emphasis this year has been on “Living with Urgency.” Vance Havner once said, “The situation is desperate, but the saints are not.” All that to say: it’s time to come to grips with the fact that we are living in a mission field in Indiana and America. There is a difference between panic and urgency. We don’t need to panic, but we do need to acquire a greater sense of urgency about our task.

What are the facts about Indiana? Our population is 6.3 million. Indianapolis fluctuates between being the 12th and 13th largest city in America. According to Ed Stetzer’s research, 80% of the people in our state do not attend any Christian church on any given Sunday. It is estimated that 75% of the people in our state are lost. Most recently our own study revealed that there are eleven counties in Indiana still without a Southern Baptist church. Between Crossover and our 50th anniversary in October, we have plans to partner with several churches to start nine new churches in the growing Indianapolis area.

On D Day, June 6, 1944, General Eisenhower was faced with a window of opportunity related to potential weather disruption. After gathering his facts he said, “The consequences of delay justify great risk. We’ll go!” It’s D Day again - a spiritual D Day. We have enemy territory to claim for Jesus. The consequences of delay justify great risk, sacrifice and commitment. Do you hear our Master saying, “We’ll Go!”?

A special invitation: if you currently live outside of Indiana, have served or helped in the work of Indiana churches, associations or the state convention, we want to invite you to attend our 50th anniversary celebration, October 3-4, 2008, here in Indianapolis at Fall Creek Baptist Church and the Marriot East.

 

by Diana Davis

It’s an untapped resource in many churches. A vibrant, upward-and-outward-focused women’s ministry can positively impact a church’s growth and health. Is your church ready to begin or improve a women’s ministry? Need some fresh ideas?

Your church is unique. Your women’s ministry must be tailor-made to fit your mission field. It may meet weekly or monthly, mornings or evenings. Whatever the method and whenever you meet, it’s permeated with missions, hands-on ministry, fellowship, growth and evangelism. It’s fast-paced, fun, and worth her time.

For example, we called our women’s ministry LIGHT, an acronym for Ladies Intentionally Going, Helping, Touching. The daytime program met for two hours each Thursday morning. The first hour offered a choice of quality classes, such as Bible study, Women on Mission, book reviews, support groups or crafts. After classes, all groups came together for a coffee fellowship, and then ladies left the church with their ministry team, infiltrating the community to share Jesus. Teams included benevolence, homebound, newcomers, hospitals, outreach, etc. Our Night-LIGHT met monthly with a condensed version of that schedule. We had special events and outreach-focused, quarterly luncheons, too.

Allow me to share five simple organizational secrets to get you started:

Secret #5: Plan a One-Year Calendar. An annual marathon planning meeting allows your leadership team to strategize dates and goals for an entire year. Annual planning dramatically enhances effectiveness.

Secret #4: Memorable Kickoff Event. Ladies gather en masse for the event of the year! Expend major effort to plan a fun, top-quality kickoff to create anticipation and set the stage for a successful, fruitful year of women’s ministry.

Secret #3: Broaden the Circle. The focus stays the same, but fresh additions are made each year—some new leaders emerge, new ministries, new Bible topics and teachers and participants, new events and projects. Got the picture? Stay fresh.

Secret #2: Begin with the Pastor. It’s not a para-church organization; it’s a ministry of your church. God will honor your women’s ministry as they follow the leadership of your pastor.

Secret #1: Focus Upward and Outward. A great women’s ministry incorporates spiritual growth, mentoring friendships, hands-on ministry opportunities, missions education and action, and evangelism. Instead of a “me” mentality, it produces a “go ye” mentality. Women’s ministry works. Literally.

A quality women’s ministry will impact your church, your community and your world for Christ. Women’s ministry must include ministry. Don’t leave M out of your WM.

The Foundation entered into a cooperative arrangement with the Baptist Foundation of Oklahoma in 2005. Since this arrangement began, The Foundation has made available millions of dollars in mortgage loans to Indiana churches. However, the loans closed this quarter were the largest in any quarter since inception.

During the quarter The Foundation closed loans with Oakhill Baptist Church in Evansville for building a new worship and family center, Old Town Hill Baptist Church in Muncie for a new family life center, and Oak Park Baptist Church in Mishawaka to refinance and consolidate two existing mortgages.

Currently, interest rates are the lowest ever, ranging from 5% on a year adjustable to 6.75% on a ten year adjustable. All loans are amortized over a 20-year period, unless the church requests a shorter period.