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Many years ago Billy Graham told the story of a man ready to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge. A policeman intervened and asked “Why do you want to jump?” He replied, “Because life isn’t worth living.” The policeman then struck up a deal that he would let the man tell him for five minutes why life wasn’t worth living, if the policeman were allowed to tell him for five minutes why life was worth living. So they talked for ten minutes and both jumped. How do you spell h-o-p-e? In the ancient world outside Israel, no one talked much about hope, for few had hope. If anything, hope was sneered at as a kind of insanity. The Jews were a people of stubborn hope, however, for they had faith in the inevitability of the Kingdom of God. Chris-tian faith turned this stubborn hope into a joyous hope, for to Christians the Kingdom had come in Christ and now nothing was left except the final drama. Yet hope is not the prevailing temper of our times because faith is weak. We seem to have lost confidence in ourselves and our institutions. Our trust is broken. Thus, trust and hope are correlated; we must have one to have the other. Specific Christian hope rooted in specific Christian faith. We do not simply believe that a genial Providence will work out everything for everyone. Faith has hope, but it is not simple optimism. Without Christian faith, there can be no Christian hope. John Knox (1513-1572) was the father of the Protes-tant Reformation in Scotland. He served as a pastor and as a chaplain to the King of England. He later incurred the hostility of the Queen of England. Knox was a vigorous pulpiteer, easily making enemies for his bold, outspoken, and sometimes narrow viewpoints. Yet he was also ad-mired for his fearlessness and straightforwardness. Knox wielded an enormous influence. As he lay dying in 1572, he was asked, “Do you have any hope?” Knox said noth-ing, but simply raised his finger and pointed upward. Then he died. Even at the final hour, Knox had both faith and hope, and he had hope precisely because he had faith. Hope delivers us from discouragement, sustains us when we feel abandoned, and delivers us from the des-peration that drives us into self-destructive behaviors. The true anguish is not to have our hopes dashed, but to cease to have hope at all.

In 1487 an explorer named Bartolomeu Dias sailed along the west coast of Africa. He had gone farther south than any sailor before him. Finally he came upon a great promontory. He named it “The Cape of Storms.” He saw the wind and the waves, and little he had hoped for found fulfillment. But when he reported his experience to King John II of Portugal, the monarch saw another significance to what the explorer had discovered. He saw the possibil-ity of a sea route to India, so he called the promontory “The Cape of Good Hope.” But it was not until ten years later that this hope had a basis in reality. Vasco de Gama sailed around the cape and finally arrived at Calicut, India. For Bartolomeu Dias, the cape meant only the storms. For the monarch and de Gama, it was the promise of a new route to the Orient. They had faith that around the cape of storms there was hope. Yet Christian hope is not what it is because we have faith in faith or hope in hope. Ultimately, Christian hope is rooted in God as God. Hope in the Christian sense of the term is not possible unless the One in whom we have hope is trustworthy. God is the author of hope, the ground of hope, and the goal of hope. For hope to remain hope, patience is needed. Inter-estingly enough “hope” and “wait” are the same words in biblical Hebrew! This is why over and over the Bible calls upon us to “wait on the Lord.” We find such waiting hard to do. Why is God so slow? Why do the heavens seem impenetrable? Where is God when I hurt? We ask ques-tions like this over and over, and often the answer remains “wait.” Thus, sometimes hope is this: holding on, praying earnestly. That is one good way to spell h-o-p-e. This much is true: we can live a few weeks without food, a few days without water, a few minutes without air, but we can hardly live one second without hope. Jesus is our hope. Hold on, and pray earnestly.

Dr. James MurrayExecutive Director of the General Association of General Baptists

Table of Contents

Feature Section Go Where God Sends – Ed Stetzer ........................ 7 The 10/13 Window – Alan Nelson ......................... 10 But for the Love of a Neighbor – Sharon Jaynes ... 12 Resources by our Keynoters ................................. 14 Summit Special Features ...................................... 16

Additional Features How Do You Spell Hope? ........................................ 4 Quotes ................................................................... 21 Book Reviews ........................................................ 22 Learn a New Word ................................................. 42 Why Can’t We Help Each Other? .......................... 43

Departmental Features

Congregational Ministries

8 Unintentional Barriers to New Visitors ................ 23 Research Statistics ................................................ 24 12 Common Myths About Outreach ...................... 25

Pastoral Ministries

An Enemy of Grace ............................................... 39 Elder Leadership in Congregational Governed Churches ................. 40

International Missions

New Missionaries Ready for the Field The Warrens .......................................................... 26 The Bowers ........................................................... 27 Christina Massey ................................................... 28 A. J. Ford ............................................................... 29 Connecting Your Church to the Mission Field ........ 20 A Parable of China General Baptist Bible College Ground Breaking ... 34

National Missions

MVP Stateside ....................................................... 35 Three Church Plants Celebrate Birthdays ............. 36 Think Like a Missionary ......................................... 38

Women’s Ministries

How a Post-it Can Change Your Marriage ............. 18 Inside Out – The Women’s Event .......................... 44 Women’s Ministries MVP Team ............................. 45

The General Baptist Messenger is published quarterly by General Baptist Ministries (General Baptist Council of Associations, Inc), 100 Stinson Drive, Poplar Bluff, MO 63901 under the direction of an editorial team composed of the denominational leadership team, James W. Murray, executive director.

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o here is the challenge. You are not sent to the people where Greg Surratt ministers in South Carolina. I’ve preached there and it’s an amazing church. But you are not sent to those people in that neighborhood. Don’t be guilty of community lust or demographic envy--thinking, “If I could just have a people like Tim Keller is trying to reach.” Most are going to lead churches in areas that just don’t seem that great, but they should be great to you. Most will plant or lead churches in areas where famous church leaders do not go, but God sent you there. We should cry out like John Knox did of Scotland when he prayed, “Give me Scotland or I die.” Whether it is the blue-collar, middle-class bowlers or downtown indie rockers, will you reach them with the good news of Jesus Christ? It is essential for us to go on mission where God has sent us because we are called to a people not a methodology. To be effective we must be passionately in love with the unique people to whom we are called.

Ephesians 3:6-11helpfully reminds us that God makes known the mystery of His eternal purpose through the church. Also, in Romans 10:14-15 Paul wrote, “How can they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe without hearing about Him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent?” So if you are going to be a missional believer or pastor, if you are going to have a missional church, it has to be tied up in the sent-ness of individual believers and the church collectively. One of the wonderful things that came out of the great missiological discussion of the 1950s and the 1960s was the idea that doing missions was not all about the church. God is working outside of the church. “How?” and “Why?” are the real questions. Acts 16 helps inform us. Paul had a vision of a certain Macedonian man requesting help. Yet there was no church in Macedonia. Paul responded to the calling. He went to a place by the river where women

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normally assembled to pray and found Lydia, a business woman. There was still no church. But God was already at work in Macedonia. The story continues to include the planting of a church and the stories of life change. Paul did not introduce God in Philippi. Paul joined God on His mission in Philippi. We learn an important lesson here. The church is not the center of God’s plan--Jesus is--but the church is central to God’s plan. The church is central to God’s mission to proclaim the story of Jesus to every man, woman, and child. What churches do is central to what God is doing in the world because God is working through His church. We find that in the church the invisible kingdom is made visible, but not completed. Evangelicals have gone to great lengths to distance themselves from some of the theological errors that took place in recent history of “mission” thinking. Specifically, when many mainline Protestants deemphasized the proclamation of the gospel, one missiologist said they abandoned two billion people--the lost two billion. When they lost the gospel, evangelicals said they did so because they cared for everything except the gospel. So evangelicals decided to care exclusively for the gospel, but sometimes they forgot the agency through which God is working--the church. Jesus said that He came to proclaim

good news to the poor, but this is the same Jesus who said He came to seek and save those who are lost. God, who so loved the world, does not limit Himself to working through the church; but He uses the church for His mission and for His agenda. The agenda is bigger than just our local church but is inclusive of it. Thus, it is critical that as members of local churches, we understand what God is seeking to accomplish in declaring the gospel and caring for the hurting. The mission is not the goal of the mission. It involves joining Jesus on His mission, working for the Kingdom, and proclaiming the gospel. Many important things are involved--and the Bible speaks to their importance. In I Corinthians 15, Paul provides a succinct explanation of the gospel, “Now brothers, I want to clarify for you the gospel I proclaimed to you; you received it and have taken your stand on it. You are also saved by it if you hold to the message I proclaimed to you--unless you believed to no purpose. For I have passed on to you as the most important what I also received” (1 Corinthians 15:1-3a). Paul led by

making sure they understood the gospel first. He indicated it was of first importance. He continued: “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (v. 3b). So here Paul laid out the fullness of what the gospel is, what is of first importance, and why it matters. In Luke 24:46 Jesus said, “The Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead the third day.” This is fundamental to the gospel. Both in Luke 24 and 1 Corinthians 15 the gospel is about a bloody cross and an empty tomb. So if we are going to be tied into the mission of God and think in missional ways, then the mission of God has to include the proclamation of the gospel--a bloody cross and an empty tomb. But Jesus does not stop there. After referring to His death and resurrection, Jesus says, “repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all nations beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things” (Luke 24:47-48). Jesus explains that the very nature of the gospel connects to the propagation of the gospel. Paul echoes Jesus words that the gospel is about a bloody cross and an empty tomb. But why does Jesus indicates that spreading the gospel is fundamental to the nature of the gospel? He indicates this because mission is not the goal of the mission. The gospel is the goal of the mission. This is so because the gospel is the only way to

connect people to the Christ, which is the ultimate goal of the mission. So, what is that gospel?

The gospel is the good news that God, who is more holy than we can imagine, looked upon with compassion, people, who are more sinful than we would possibly admit, and sent Jesus into history to establish His Kingdom and reconcile people and the world to himself. Jesus, whose love is more extravagant than we can measure, came to sacrificially die for us so that, by His death and resurrection, we might gain through His death and resurrection and by his grace what the Bible defines as new and eternal life.

God’s mission is more than the Great Commission but it must include the Great Commission because God’s mission is not complete without proclamation of the gospel and making of disciples. Missional churches should focus on kingdom endeavors like mercy ministries, they should be a sign of the kingdom in how they live as ambassadors, and they should show grace-filled hearts to their neighbors, but not at the expense, through neglect or ambivalence, of the Great Commission. The churches that have embraced the goal of God’s mission have decided to live out the values of the Kingdom sometimes even against their personal preferences so that the gospel become understandable to the culture in which they reside.

ometimes I tell people that I could beat the world’s fastest runner in a race. They look at me and curiously wonder what I’m getting at, as they quietly stare at my middle-aged physique. I say, “I could beat the fastest person in the world—as long as I had a big enough head start.”

Imagine if we gave all kids—our future pastors, entrepreneurs, teachers, doctors, stay-at-home moms and dads—a 15- to 25-year head start by training them how to be effective, ethical leaders as preteens. The future of the church and society depends on encouraging all kids to develop ethical leadership skills while they’re still pliable.

After 25 years of pastoral ministry, including over 15 years of training leaders and writing books and articles on the topic, I’ve come to a conclusion about leadership: The best hope for developing ethical, effective leaders is to train them during their preteen years.

I didn’t always believe this. I, like many, believed that leadership is a role reserved for adults. You hear it in comments to kids: “Someday you’re going to be quite a leader!” You see it in how we develop influencers: Most formal leadership training doesn’t begin until ages 25 to 35, when corporations provide staff with assessments, coaching, and training. You notice it in the research on leadership: Nearly all of it has to do with adults.

Over the last few years, though, I’ve focused on learning about kids in regard to leadership. And I’ve discovered that preteens have an incredible ability to grasp leadership concepts and demonstrate their leadership skills. In fact, this is the most neglected area of leadership potential in the church today. Despite many misconceptions, kids really are capable of true leadership. Focusing on youth, specifically preteens, is the most effective way to raise ethical leaders—so what better place to start than in your children’s ministry?

by Alan Nelson

Capture the Moment There are four fertile years when kids are exceptionally teachable and moldable as leaders: ages 10 to 13. I call this the 10/13 Window, and I believe these are the most critical years for influencing our future leaders. That’s because this period is when kids’ cognitive and moral development is growing and being shaped.

• Cognitive Development—Kids’ cognitive development is becoming increasingly complex during the 10/13 Window. Their ability to understand abstract concepts and reason abstractly is in high gear. Leadership involves organizing people toward a common goal to accomplish something together that they couldn’t achieve as individuals. This ability requires a relatively sophisticated capacity to understand and manage a variety of factors. By age 10, most kids are developmentally ready to handle this complex thinking and problem-solving, and they have the emotional intelligence required to read others and know how to effectively relate to them.

• Moral Development—By age 14, our moral development tapers off significantly; in other words, our “hard-wired” ethics are fairly well-established. Kids with strong character grounding in their formative years are far more likely to make good ethical choices into adulthood. These years are the prime time to instill the Christian values you want your young leaders to have. The 10/13 window is a unique period when a child’s cognition is sufficiently developed to learn sophisticated social skills such as leading and his or her character is still pliable enough to be shaped. The goal in this window is to teach character in the context of leadership—in other words, to teach leadership that’s ethical and Christ-centered.

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Develop Kids’ Leadership Skills Here are step-by-step guidelines you can use to develop faith-focused leadership skills in your kids.

• Look for the leader in all kids. If you want to intentionally grow leaders in your ministry, start with kids who naturally exude social influence behaviors. Social influencers are typically the most motivated and quickest to pick up leadership skills because in reality, they’re already leading. But these kids aren’t always who you think they are. Social influencers aren’t always the “good” kids or the most committed. Sometimes they’re the challenging kids who seem to rope the rest of your class into misbehavior. Sometimes they’re the nonconforming fringe kids others emulate and look up to. These kids by their very nature will encourage other kids to try their hand at leadership opportunities when they arise. (Check out the “LeaderLike” sidebar for more signs of social influencers.)

• Use experiential learning. Preteens learn leadership skills best by experiencing leadership situations. In your ministry’s programming, experiences, and lessons, create mock projects where teams strive to accomplish goals, and let individuals take turns leading their groups. Think “mini-Apprentice,” where kids accomplish mental, micro, or macro skill challenges under limitations. Debrief these experiences in positive and constructive ways so everyone benefits and all kids are encouraged to use their leadership abilities.

• Introduce kids to leaders. Have your kids meet leaders in your church and community. Recruit adults in your church who lead at work or elsewhere and who like kids. Most leaders are honored to be interviewed or asked to come in and talk to kids about what they do—and how they keep Jesus at the center of their decisions and sensibilities. You may even arrange for a field trip to a leader’s workplace to let kids experience how leaders think, talk, and act.

• Create leadership opportunities in your ministry and church. Find places where your kids can truly lead. Give kids tasks that require solving problems with others. Allow them freedom—within reason— to figure out how they can accomplish the task on their own. Then provide constructive feedback. Allow them to fail, to a degree, because people often learn best from failure. Put kids in charge of planning an event, coordinating the greeter team, or supervising the various roles in children’s church.

• Develop community leadership projects.Challenge your kids to take on projects that go beyond the walls of your church. For example, one group of kids got together to plan a simple community service project.

They decided to sell food and drinks in a city park, with proceeds going to a child advocacy agency. They coordinated the marketing, supplies, sales, and even the adults needed for transportation. As a result, they presented a $75 check to the directors of the agency. Projects like this communicate to adults that kids have the capacity to lead and succeed. They also get kids beyond the walls of your church, modeling ministry to others—and in the end, growing the leaders for today’s and tomorrow’s church.

Alan Nelson is the founder of KidLead (kidlead.com) andlives near Monterey, California.

Leaderlike

Seek out the social influencers in your ministry andhelp these kids hone their leadership skills.Here are 10 sure signs of a social influencer.

1. Other kids seek out the child’s opinion; they ask what the child wants to do—and then do it.

2. Peers listen when the child talks.

3. The child initiates projects, has goals and ambitions, and challenges the status quo.

4. The child has been accused of being bossy, strong-willed, or opinionated.

5. The child is selected as class monitor, team captain, or group leader by adults.

6 The child has been disciplined for being a distraction in class or on a team.

7. The child negotiates well with peers and other adults.

8. The child is good at organizing younger children in activities or play.

9. The child isn’t prone to peer pressure but rather stands up for his or her values.

10. The child is well-liked by others.

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I grew up in a beautiful neighborhood in eastern North Carolina. Towering pine trees formed a shady canopy over our ranch home, and a bouquet of pastel azaleas surrounded the perimeter in the spring. With two kids and a dog named Lassie, we looked like a typical American family. But there was an ugly secret behind the beautiful door of our home. My father was a businessman who spent little time at home. When he was home, he drank heavily, and my parents fought verbally and physically with terrified children watching. I remember many nights going to bed, pulling the covers up over my head, and praying that I could hurry and go to sleep to shut out the noises of my parents fighting in the next room. I often woke to broken furniture, black eyes, and cries from a dad promising it would never happen again. It did. But God… Don’t you just love those words? But God didn’t leave me that way. When I was 12 years old, I started spending a lot of time at a neighbor’s home. Mrs. Henderson was the mother of my friend, Wanda, and she took me under her wing. She knew what was going on in my home, and she knew about my broken heart. Mr. and

But for the Love of a NeighborSharon Jaynes

Mrs. Henderson had a great marriage. They hugged and kissed each other in front of us and had little pet names for each other. For the first time I saw what a relationship between husband and wife could be. While I didn’t understand all the reasons their home was so full of love and so strikingly different from my own, I knew it had something to do with Jesus. Mrs. Henderson loved Jesus and quite honestly, I thought it was odd that she talked to and about Jesus like she knew him personally! See, my family, as bad as we were with the alcohol, the fighting and a host of other vices that littered our home, went to church on Sunday. We’d walk into the doors of that pristine building and people would ask, “How are you today?” and we would answer “Fine, just fine.” However, we were anything but fine. When I was thirteen, Mrs. Henderson started a Bible study for teens in our neighborhood and I drank in every word she had to say about a Heavenly Father who loved me and a Savior who gave His life for me. When I was fourteen, Mrs. Henderson asked, “Sharon, are you ready to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior?” I finally understood that being a Christian was not about being good enough. We all come into this world as sinners separated from God. I finally understood that Jesus was God’s gift, and He was good enough for me. He died in my place, gave His life as a sacrifice, so that I could be reconciled to God and have eternal life. That

night, I said “Yes!” to God and gave my life to Christ. After that wonderful night I still had to live in the environment that caused so much pain. My group of Christian friends prayed that God would intervene and save my family. There is such an irresistible power and passion behind the prayers of teenagers on fire for the Lord! I still get excited today just thinking about those early years. We prayed. Three years later I had a summer opportunity to go to Europe to study French. I wondered, If I go, who will take care of my parents? Who will break up the fights? However, I felt God leading me to go. I told my mother, “If anything happens while I’m gone, I will not be here to help you. You need to go to Mrs. Henderson’s house.” The very first night I was gone, my dad came home drunk and enraged. As the arguing escalated, my mother remembered what I had said, and ran to

Mrs. Henderson’s house two blocks away. After hours of talking and praying, my mother gave her life to Jesus. Returning home to my father she told him what had happened. She told him that she loved him and was choosing to forgive him. My father was so stunned, he never drank again. Even though my dad never drank again, he felt that he had crossed the line too many times to be forgiven by God. But God… Three years after my mother’s salvation experience, my father had a business deal that fell apart. He was on the

verge of a nervous breakdown, and drove to Pennsylvania to search for my mother who was at a business meeting. Unable to find her, he drove to a church and asked for help. The pastor was not there, so the secretary drew a little map and sent him to a pastor she knew who was building a church out in the country. With map in hand, dad drove to where he found a man with a hammer in his hand and Jesus in his heart. “Please help me,” my father cried as he approached this stranger. “Sit down and tell me what’s on your heart,” the pastor encouraged. Sitting on a log in rural Pennsylvania, my dad told this man everything he had ever done. When he finished, the pastor put his arm around him and said, “Now Allen, let me tell you what I’ve done.” The way my dad explained it when he came home was, “Sharon, I told this man everything I had ever done and then he told me that he had done many of the very same things. I finally knew that if God could forgive him, and he could become a preacher, then He could forgive me too.” My dad gave his life to Jesus that day and became one of the sweetest men I have ever known. In six short years, God answered my prayers and gave me the family I had always longed for. And where did it all begin? It began with one woman in my neighborhood. So here is my question for you: To whom will you be a Mrs. Henderson today? Who will you reach out to today? A neighbor? A co-worker? A total stranger? A hurting teenager? God used one woman’s contagious love for Jesus and willingness to step into a messy life to show me how to experience eternal life in heaven and abundant life

here on earth. And the ripple effect of that one night when a troubled fourteen-year-old girl made a decision to follow Christ continues today. So let me ask you again…to whom will you be a Mrs. Henderson today?

Sharon Jaynes is an international conference speaker, author of 17 books and popular guest on radio and television programs such as Revive our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Family Life Today with Dennis Rainey, and Focus on the Family. To learn more about Sharon ministry and resources, visit www.sharonjaynes.com.

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When you can’t be a go-er, be a sender. Give a scholarship to an event or WM mission trip. Someone will be extremely blessed!

Forms and Information from Women’s Ministries:

Web: www.generalbaptist.com/welcome/womens-ministriesEmail: [email protected] Facebook: General Baptist Women’s MinistriesCall: 573-785-7746

Stetzer’s book publications include:Transformational Church: Creating a New Scorecard for Congregations (with Thom S. Rainer, B&H Publishing Group, 2010) MissionShift: Global Mission Issues in the Third Millennium (with David Hesselgrave; B&H Publishing Group, 2010) Viral Churches: Helping Church Planters Become Movement Makers (with Warren Bird; Jossey-Bass, 2010) Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches that Reach Them (with Richie Stanley and Jason Hayes; B&H Publishers, 2009) 11 Innovations in the Local Church (with Elmer Towns and Warren Bird; Regal Publishing, 2007)

Books by Sharon JaynesBecoming a Woman Who Listens to God, Harvest House, 2012Trusting God: A Girlfriends in God Faith Adventure, Multnomah Books, 2011Listening to God Day by Day: A 15-minute Devotional, Harvest House, 2011The 5 Dreams of Every Woman, Harvest House, 2011Seven Life Principles for Every Woman: Refreshing Ways to Prioritize Your Life, 2001What God Really Thinks About Women: Finding Your Significance Through the Women Jesus Encountered, Harvest House, 2010Becoming Spiritually Beautiful: Seeing Yourself from God’s Perspective, Harvest House, 2010“I’m Not Good Enough”…and Other Lies

Books by Alan NelsonCoached by Jesus (Howard Books, Simon & Schuster, 2010)Spiritual Intelligence: Discover Your SQ, Deepen Your Faith (Baker Books, 2010)How to Change Your Church Without Killing It (Word/Thomas Nelson, 2008)Me to We (Group Publishing, 2007)Creating Messages That Connect (Group, 2004)

Compelled by Love: The Most Excellent Way to Missional Living (with Philip Nation; New Hope Publishers, 2008) Comeback Churches (with Mike Dodson; B&H Publishing Group, 2007) Breaking the Missional Code (with David Putman; B&H Publishers, 2006) Planting Missional Churches (B&H Publishers, 2006) Perimeters of Light: Biblical Boundaries for the Emerging Church (with Elmer Towns, Moody Publishing, 2004)Planting New Churches in a Postmodern Age (B&H Publishing Group, 2003)

Women Tell Themselves, Harvest House, 2009Extraordinary Moments with God: Daily Reflections for Every Woman, Harvest House, 2008Experience the Ultimate Makeover: Discovering God’s Transforming Power, Harvest House, 2007The Power of a Woman’s Words, Harvest House, 2007Your Scars Are Beautiful to God: Finding Peace and Purpose in the Hurts of Your Past, Harvest House, 2006Building an Effective Women’s Ministry, Harvest House, 2005A Woman’s Secret to a Balanced Life: Finding God’s Refreshing Priorities, Harvest House, 2004Being a Great Mom, Raising Great Kids, Moody Press, 2004

LeadingIdeas (Group, 2002)Spirituality & Leadership (NavPress, 2002)Embracing Brokenness (NavPress, 2002)Five Secrets to Becoming a Leader (Regal, 2002)My Own Worst Enemy (Revell, 2001)The Five Star Church (Regal, 1999)Leading Your Ministry (Abingdon, 1996)

Special meal functions at this year’s Mission & Ministry Summit include two luncheon options and one very special dinner option. On Monday of The Summit our Women’s Ministries Department will host the annual Wayside Witness Luncheon in The Atrium of the University Plaza. Tickets for this event are available from Women’s Ministries. Also on Monday we will host a Leadership Luncheon featuring Summit Keynoter Ed Stetzer as he presents some very special material from his research and his insights into ministry in the 21st century. This Leadership Luncheon will be hosted in the John Q Room of the University Plaza Hotel and will extend from Noon to 2:00 p.m. with opportunity for individual follow-up and discussion with Ed prior to the second workshop session of the afternoon. This ticketed event will have limited seating with advance tickets available for $10.00 per person. Advance tickets are available from General Baptist Ministries 573-785-7746. On Tuesday evening a special dinner for pastors and their spouses will be hosted at the University Plaza. Invitations have been mailed to all of the pastors on our current roster. If yours has not been received please call General Baptist Ministries at 573-785-7746

Every year The Summit provides an opportunity for each participant to engage in seven different workshop settings. The scope and variety in this year’s workshop list rivals that of previous years with emphasis on personal development, practical how-tos, along with a new perspective on missions and missionaries. Many of these workshops will be facilitated by special guests and keynoters. Others will be hosted by our own ministry leaders and local church practitioners as they profile what works in their setting. A complete list of workshops including topic descriptions, room assignments and time schedule will be found on our website _________________ Some of the general topics for a few of our workshops include:

• Kids ministry on a dime• Fishing for men• Finding personal peace• The husband project• Raising mission minded kids• Youth ministry in the local church• Discipleship options in the local church• General Baptist History• Bible Study Software

Let’s Do Lunch! Or Dinner!

Workshops! Workshops!

For those folks who aren’t ready to end the day when the evening ses-sions conclude, two late night options will be available at The Summit this year. Monday: Late night with Kathy Lipp will feature a unique view of re-lationships between men and women from the perspective of a Christian comic. Kathi Lipp is a national speaker and author who inspires women to take beneficial action steps in their

Late Night Optionspersonal, martial, and spiritual lives. Her wit and wisdom will give you new ways to:• Avoid settling for less than God’s loving plan for your life.

• Develop new levels of warmth and tenderness with your spouse.

• Return fun and flirting to your mar-riage.

• Boost your confidence to follow God-given dreams and goals.

• Create an environment of encour-agement in your friendships.

Tuesday: The well-known Chris-tian music group The Lesters will provide a late night concert. Often called “St. Louis’ First Family of Gospel Music,” The Lesters, from St. Louis, MO, have been sharing the Word through song for four gen-erations. With more than an 80 year history and numerous albums behind them, the group proudly brings the third & fourth generation to the stage for a sound that is 100% “PURE LES-TER.”

The Lipp Family The Lesters

Dr. Stan A. Toler now serves as a general superintendent for the Church of the Nazarene after serving for 40 years as a pastor in Ohio, Florida, Tennessee, and Oklahoma.

Dr. Toler has been a guest in many General Baptist settings. On Tuesday of the Summit he will provide the keynote address in the 7 p.m. session.

Stan Toler has written over 80 books, including his best-sellers, God Has Never Failed Me, But He’s Sure Scared Me to Death a Few Times; The Buzzards Are Circling, But God’s Not Finished With Me Yet; God’s Never Late, He’s Seldom Early, He’s Always Right on Time; The Secret Blend; Richest Person in the World; Practical Guide to Pastoral Ministry; The Inspirational Speaker’s Resource, ReThink Your Life, his popular Minute Motivator series, If Only I Could Relate To The People I’m Related To and his newest book, God Can Do Anything But Fail: So Try Parasailing In A Windstorm.

Toler for many years served as Vice-President and taught seminars for John C. Maxwell’s INJOY Leadership Institute training church and corporate leaders to make a difference in the world. Recently, he was honored with a Doctor of Divinity degree by Southern Nazarene University.

He and his wife, Linda, an educator, have two married sons, Seth (Marcy) and Adam (Amanda), and two grandsons Rhett and Davis.

DR. STAN A. TOLERTuesday Keynoter

he called me with desperation in her voice, “I have a Post-it Note emergency.”

Um… I don’t think there is such a thing as a Post-it Note emergency…

Let me give you a little background. In my book, The Husband Project – 21 Days of Loving Your Man, On Purpose, and With a Plan I ask women to commit to doing one nice thing for their husbands, every day, for three weeks. One of the “Projects” is to write something cute or flirty, and put it somewhere that he will find it. But apparently, that project was going wrong for my friend.

She continued, “I put that stupid Post-it up on his bathroom mirror that said, “You are the best husband, and I love you so much.” OK, so far, so good.

Then her voice raised, “He never said anything about the note, and it’s been up there for two weeks. I need to clean the bathroom mirror. Can I just take it down?”

I thought for a second and then said, “I wouldn’t take it down.

What if he sees it missing and thinks, ‘What did I do to get her

so mad?’ Nope, I would just leave it up. At some point it will lose its

stickiness, or he’ll take it down.”

She didn’t seem entirely satisfied with the answer, but she agreed. The Post-it

Note would stay where it was.

But then, two weeks later, I got another frantic phone call. I could barely keep my ear next to the phone as she screamed, “You’ll never guess what I found in the bathroom today…”

Apparently, she walked into the bathroom that morning and the Post-it Note was exactly where it had been for all those weeks. But now, there were two little pieces of Scotch Tape on both of the top corners.

A man went into another room and got Scotch Tape.

How much do our guys need to be reminded that they are doing a good job in the husband department?

Kathi Lipp Kathi Lipp helps women renovate their lives, their relationships, and their connection to God. She is a national speaker and author who inspires thousands each year to take beneficial action steps in their personal, marital, and spiritual lives. Her wit and wisdom give hope to men and women across the US and Canada to not settle for less than God’s loving plan for their lives. Kathi is the author of six books with Harvest House Publishers and Revel Publish-ers including The Husband Project and Praying God’s Word for Your Husband (re-leasing Summer of 2012). She’s the author of dozens of magazine articles for such orga-nizations as Focus on the Family, Crosswalk.com MOPS.org, and Nickelodeon TV’s Parent Connect as well as being a columnist for MOPS MomsNext Magazine. Kathi is a frequent guest on radio and television programs and was named “Best of Broadcasts” by Focus on the Family. Find out more about Kathi at KathiLipp.com.

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General Baptist Foundation provides a permanent fund to continue the Lord’s work beyond our years on earth through endowment giving to the causes identified by the gift. Every year thousands of dollars of endowment earnings are distributed in keeping with the provisions of the original gift.

Q/A Why should I contribute?The ministries established by General Baptist benefit from a permanent financial base. You have the joy of knowing in your lifetime that you are making a permanent endowment for the Lord’s work through a gift that keeps on giving.

Q/A Are gifts tax deductible?Yes. As a 501c3 entity all gifts to General Baptist Foundation are tax deductible subject to maximum tax deductions allowed by the IRS.

Q/A May I give stocks or real estate?Yes. Stocks and real estate may be given to the General Baptist Foundation. Contact us for more details.

100 Stinson Drive • Poplar Bluff, MO 63901 • 573-785-7746

If you do not wish a man to do a thing, you had better get him to talk about it; for the more men talk, the more likely they are to do nothing else. -Thomas Carlyle

Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and

work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will not die, but long after we are gone be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistence. -Daniel Hudson Burnham

Aerodynamically, the bum-ble bee shouldn’t be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn’t know it so it goes on flying anyway. -Mary Kay Ash

Motivation is the art of get-ting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it. -Dwight D Eisenhower

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. -I Timothy 6:12

Make sure you visualize what you really want, not what someone else wants for you. -Jerry Gillies

All right, they’re on our left, they’re on our right, they’re in front of us, they’re behind us... they can’t get away this time. When Surrounded By 8 Enemy Divisions During WW2 -Chesty Puller

You make the world a better place by making yourself a better person. -Scott Sorrel

When you come to the end of all the light you know, and it’s time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of

two things shall happen: Either you will be given something solid to stand on or you will be taught to fly. -Edward Teller

Hear and you forget; see and you remember; do and you understand. -Anonymous In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on. -Robert Frost

How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these. -George Washington

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. -Albert Einstein

Where I was born and where and how I have lived is unimportant. It is what I have done with where I have been that should be of interest. -D.L. Moody

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it. Life is beauty, admire it. Life is a dream, realize it. Life is a challenge, meet it. Life is a duty, complete it. Life is a game, play it. Life is a promise, fulfill it. Life is sorrow, overcome it. Life is a song, sing it. Life is a struggle, accept it. Life is a tragedy, confront it. Life is an adventure, dare it. Life is luck, make it. Life is too precious, do not destroy it. Life is life, fight for it. -Mother Teresa

If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there. -Lewis Carroll

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. -Anne Frank

Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, ‘It might have been.” -John Greenleaf Whittier

Life’s hard. It’s even harder when you’re stupid. -John Wayne

The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make, Hans Finzel, David C. Cook, 2007.

Top flight leaders aren’t born. They learn by bad example. Poor leadership habits either produce new generations of poor leaders or they create enough discomfort that the leader figures out how to do it right. In this leadership classic, revised in 2007, the author describes such mistakes as the top-down attitude, dirty delegation, putting pa-perwork before peoplework, communication chaos, the absence of affirmation, missing the culture clues, no room for mavericks, success without successors, dictatorship in decision-making and failure to focus on the future.

Nearing Home: Life, Faith, and Finishing Well, Billy Graham, Thomas Nelson, 2011.

“Growing old has been the greatest surprise of my life,” says Billy Graham. “I would never have guessed what God had in store for me, and I know that as I am nearing home, He will not forsake me the last mile of the way.”

Written in classic,clear Graham style and punctuated with Scripture, this man of faith, now in his nineties, explores the challenges of aging while gleaning foundational truths from Scripture. He shares the challenges of fading strength while still standing strong in his commitment to finishing life well. His openness and optimism tempered with a strong dose of reality provides valuable insights for all ages.

How to WOW Your Church Guests: 101 Ways to Make a Meaningful First Impression, Mark L. Waltz, Group, 2011.

More than just a marketing tool, this little book provides practical insight into effective practices that encourage people to walk into a church for the first time and to return. Each of these 101 benchmarks for quality challenge the reader to consider how the culture of a local church is perceived by guests and strangers. Not only are there simple and practical ideas for effective ministry, there are also short ‘thumbs-down’ worst prac-tices scattered throughout the book. Any church’s hospitality team could benefit greatly just by avoiding those worst practices.

What They Didn’t Teach You In Seminary, James Emery White, Baker Books, 2011.

Written by a former seminary president this volume of practical ministry suggestions goes beyond the academic world of the classroom and deals with 25 practical realities of day-to-day ministry in a local church. Addressing different topics means that the reader can scan the table of contents and zero in on areas of interest and need. The 10-10-80 rule in Chapter 15 provides some of the most practical advice about relationships one will find anywhere.

uest experience pitfalls: It’s about the details. As a “secret shopper” in churches nationwide, I report specific reasons why I wouldn’t return for a second visit and why, most likely, their guests aren’t coming back. Whether it’s a church plant of 60 people or a megachurch of 15,000, some details are universal and quickly determine the first impression your church makes.

1. The Front Door. Before guests ever step foot inside your church, they’ve probably checked out your website. Make sure the home page clearly features a section or button for first-time guests that takes them to a page addressing FAQs; service times; directions; parking instructions (Is there a side of the building that’s better to park on if you have kids?); what to expect (upbeat music and relevant, biblical preaching); what to wear (Are jeans and shorts OK?); and encouragement to stop by Guest Central or your church’s information booth to pick up a first-time guest packet.

2. What Stinks? Don’t underestimate the olfactory senses—the strongest out of all five senses for long-term memories. Every church has the potential for posi-tive (coffee, citrus) or negative (mold, bleach) smells. Try evaluating the guest experience with a fresh nose, taking note of good and bad smells, especially in entrances, restrooms and child care facilities.

3. Parking Nightmares. The parking lot experience can dictate whether or not guests will even make it to the service. Appoint someone to oversee parking, ensuring that newcomers have a parking space close by—a kind gesture in an already intimidating and nerve-wracking encounter.

4. Child Care Chaos. A confusing or long process for registering kids and putting them in the right classroom is one sure way to forfeit return visits. Regular attendees may know the drill, but guests need a clearly marked, manned station. Train volunteers to escort families to the

By Greg Atkinson

class and explain pickup procedures. “Guest Check-In” signs should start where guests enter and continue to specific stations. Don’t assume people know where to go after they enter the building.

5. Safety Worries. Is your child care checkout process secure? Every church, regardless of size or location, should have a secure system and well-trained volunteers who know to ask for a parent’s sticker or number. Child safety on the front end goes a long way in making a first impression.

6. The Invisible Pastor. Accessibility of the senior pastor makes another subtle and powerful statement. Whether the pastor is stationed at Guest Central, is part of a meet and greet, walks around the campus shaking hands or stands at the altar after the service, being present is key to guest impressions. Especially at a large church, visibility helps counter the rock star or unavailable stigma that many guests have come to expect in a church.

7. Stingy Spirit. Would first- and second-time guests de-scribe your church as generous? Generosity is a subtle but powerful force. Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, Ala., designates an area in the coffee shop where people can get free coffee. The church also gives away message CDs and even surprises people with free ice cream after a service on a hot summer day.

8. No Closer. Are your parking attendants and greeters as intentional with their goodbyes as they are with their hellos and welcomes? Station them at their posts after the service to say “Goodbye” or “Have a nice week.” Wrap up the entire guest experience with a lasting, positive impression. Greg Atkinson is the owner of social media marketing and consulting company GTK Solutions. He travels the country consulting with churches, teaching at conferences and writ-ing about innovation, technology, worship, leadership and compassion.

Copyright © 2010 by Outreach, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission. OutreachMagazine.com

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In 2006 and again in 2011 Dr. Ed Stetzer organized research using the same series of questions. In just five short years significant cultural changes were detected as these responses were categorized.

In both cases, the “daily” number has shifted though the “never” number is similar. Does this mean that people are thinking less about spiritual things on a daily basis? Maybe.

So what does this mean for us as it relates to evangelism and proclaiming the gospel? Many of us think that the unchurched do not think about spiritual matters like previous generations did. That may be true (and I think it is). Explaining what the gospel says in response to these new questions is what will readily demonstrate just how the gospel is the answer to life’s questions. As 1 Peter 3:15 reminds us, we need to be “ready to give an answer.” This helps us know the questions.

Yet, we do need to see that some of the numbers have shifted, particularly the daily numbers.

As I’ve said before, presenting the gospel is about telling good news--and that news includes that Christ gives both “meaning and purpose” to life now-- and “heaven” for eternity. People are asking about eternity-- witness all the books on heaven. They are asking about purpose and meaning as well. Both of these (and other questions) matter, but evangelism starts as we present the gospel at a person’s point of need-- and our efforts should reflect that.

It would appear that people are asking different questions, and we should love them enough to answer their questions and not just give our presentations. Presentations are tools (as most ministries that train in such presentations will tell you)-- and can be good tools-- but clear gospel communication is the goal. Knowing people’s questions and the gospel answer is a key part of clear evangelistic communication

By Alan Nelson

My name is Jason Warren and I, along with my wife, Annie, and our daughter, Emilia, will be serving on the island of Saipan in the Pacific. We will be serving as missionaries at the Saipan Community Church and helping in the ministry of its Christian school.

Because of this multicultural ministry, we have been blessed with an opportunity to fulfill the words of Jesus in Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (NIV).

What makes the Saipan mission work so unique is the diversity of the ethnic structure found in the people who attend the church, as well as the students being taught in the school. These students, along with their parents, literally come from all over the world; and our mission is to lead them to Jesus and to disciple them in preparation for their return to their communities.

It is our share partners who provide us with a salary, a home, medical coverage, food, and our travel expenses. It is by faith that Annie, Emilia, and I will serve on the mission field of Saipan. We trust that God will speak to the hearts of others to aid us in bringing the gospel to a lost and dying world.

I have a dear friend named Eddie who spent a great portion of his life, nearly 30 years, ministering in Africa. He once said to me, “Sean, sometimes God stops and taps you on the shoulder and says... “I am going this way, you can go along if you want” This is a powerful word picture to me. I believe God is still tapping people on the shoulders today, to go and fulfill the Great Commission. In the following pages you will find God’s latest recruits, and we already have more in the pipeline! God is so good, better than we deserve. Please read about these missionaries, pray for them, have them in your church, and support them!

Sean Warren Director of GBIM

Shortly after Keith and I started dating, we went on a weeklong mission trip to Honduras. I remember Keith asking me one day while we were there if I could ever see myself doing mission work full-time. I told him that I always thought I would enjoy being a missionary. Although, eight years later, when Keith came home and told me he was being called to become a missionary, my first reaction was anything but excitement. But after a few days, I was convicted and knew I was being called as well. When we were told about the missionary needs in the Philippines, a peace came over me; and I knew that was where God wanted us to go.

-Carrie Bowers

As a teenager, I remember my dad bringing home souvenirs from his mission trips. This sparked my interest in international missions. Since then I have had the privilege to work beside my dad on weeklong mission trips. Now at the age of 35, I have an opportunity to share mission work with my family. Only this time it’s not for a week. We will be moving to the Philippines to teach in the General Baptist Bible College, help plant churches, and partner with locals who wish to work in international missions. Carrie and I are both excited about what God is doing in the Philippines, and we are privileged to be a part of it.

-Keith Bowers

I grew up in a Christian home and was saved at a young age. However, it wasn’t until I was an adult that I learned who God is and what having a relationship with Him means. Since that discovery, I have felt an urgency for the rest of the world to have a relationship with God. I don’t want to see people just get “saved”; I want them to know Jesus and dis-cover how they can be part of His plan.

I have been a member of the Hitts Chapel General Baptist Church of Piggott, AR for 12 years. My primary role of creative develop-ment, administration, and technical support has allowed me the privilege to serve with the children’s ministry, youth ministry, and graphic design ministry. I enjoy being a part of helping people to know, love and follow God.

God has spoken to me very clearly over the past few years about being a missionary to Honduras. He is giving me an opportunity to be part of His work in the country I have come to love through MVP mission trips over the past 10 years. I believe someday we will see the children of Faith Home preaching, teaching and leading worship in churches across Honduras. They will be the hands, feet and heart of God to their country. I look forward to being part of their development and the churches they will lead.

Please pray that God will work through me to help fulfill His plan for the country of Honduras.

“Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.”

-Proverbs 16:3 NIV

From a very young age I knew I was to do the Lord’s work. Many prayers and long nights later I wanted the Lord to use me on the mission field to help expand His kingdom. The passion that I have for the mission field is great, but my vision for it is way more than I could have ever imagined. I am hopeful and certain that He has a plan for my ministry that will produce stories and memories of people being saved and growing the mission to reach the Honduran people. I am from Graham in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, where my entire life I have attended Duvall’s Chapel General Baptist Church. I graduated from Oakland City University in 2011, where God prepared me more for ministry. I have a strong passion for marketing, and I am excited to use this talent to help grow the mission. I love working with the Honduran people and feel blessed to be given this opportunity to serve on the mission field. I am ready to go where He sends me and watch as He uses me in a role in His best-selling book known as the history of man and the expectation of Christ’s return.

“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:14, 15). Having a missionary come to your church will not only inspire and challenge your congregation, but also encourage and help the missionary get to the field. • The missionary visit inspires. Your missionary will

share how your prayers and financial support have enabled them to reach the lost with the Gospel.

• The missionary visit informs. Your missionary will inform and raise mission awareness.

• The missionary visit enlists. Your missionary visit will challenge and enlist others to missions service.

• The missionary visit connects. Your missionary visit will help connect your congregation to global outreach.

• The missionary visit challenges. Your missionary’s visit will challenge your church to commitment to the Great Commission.

Invitation and Preparation • Call the International Missions office for information

of available missionaries.

CONNECTING YOUR CHURCH TO THE MISSION FIELD

by Dr. Sam Ramdial

• When a missionary candidate contacts the pastor, please respond in a timely manner because it will help the missionary in setting up his itinerary.

• Make the most of the missionary’s visit by scheduling the missionary preferably for the Sunday morning service for maximum impact on most of your people. However, some others ways to involve the missionary are Sunday evening, Wednesday evening, Sunday School classes, small groups, ladies’ groups, men’s groups, youth groups, breakfast meetings and lunch meetings.

• Communicate with the missionary about the times of the service, how much time you are allotting, and schedule a time to meet prior to the service to get acquainted and for planning.

• Make arrangements for accommodations for the missionary and his family and give clear directions to the hotel. In case of a home, meet the missionary family and take them to the home and introduce them to their host family.

• Publicize the visit of the missionary and invite other churches or groups to attend this special event.

Hosting the Missionary’s Visit Having a missionary at your church is a special

event that can inspire your people and be a great encouragement to the missionary; plan several ways to give a warm welcome to him or her at your church. Schedule a time to meet with the missionary to get acquainted. Find details about their field of ministry, about their family, their vision, their financial need, and discuss their participation in the service and what equipment they might need. • Following the presentation, give the people an

opportunity to respond with a generous offering and with commitments for share support. A share is $10 each and we encourage a commitment for at least one year which will amount to $120. Before the missionary leaves, give the missionary the check for the offerings and all share commit cards. Some have found it helpful for the pastor to conduct a brief interview after the presentation to ask the missionary about his or her financial needs. This makes it easier for some missionaries to share their financial needs in response to a question.

• Some churches have found it helpful to set minimum cash offering to cover the missionary’s travel costs and to help with his or her deputation funds to enable him or her to get to the field.

Following the Service • Provide some help for the missionary to get his

equipment and materials to his vehicle. • Ask several to join you as you host the missionary and

his family for a meal or for dessert and follow up get-acquainted time.

• Give the missionary a check for the offerings and signed monthly share commitment cards before he leaves. This will be a real encouragement to the missionary because it will speed up their departure to the mission field.

Help Us Get These Six New Missionaries to the Field Contact GBIM at (573) 785-7746 or [email protected] to schedule a visit by one of these missionaries to your church or group.

en years ago a young man was sent out with a task: go to an uncharted land and see how General Baptist’s can serve them. He returned with the vision to build a place that would serve them. Builders volunteered for the task and flew to this unknown land to help fulfill the call. As this team of eager young builders took off, they saw foundations poured, walls built, and doors falling into place, but for some reason though the blue print had a skyscraper it seemed the structure never grew larger than a duplex. The team stepped back and assessed what was taking place. • Do we have the correct vision?

Yes. Though the duplex was built with love, it simply was

not large enough to house the need.

• Do we have the labor to build a skyscraper? No.

• Do we have the tools to build a skyscraper? No.

• Do we understanding the building codes? No.

• Do we have the connections to get needed permits? No.

If we have the correct vision, but do not have the means to build how does God expect us to construct this facility? “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27). Partnership! Where we lack, God has made other parts of the body strong.

God called us to China to build something bigger than our means, but that does not change our call. We entered China hoping to serve China by teaching. We arrived not having the relationships China requires to build such a teaching network. In the eight years General Baptists independently taught in China, we sent fourteen teachers. In the thirty years of having government partnerships in China and now Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Mongolia, English Language Institute China (ELIC) has openly sent over 12,000 Christian’s to teach English in Asia. English Language Institute China has been passionately placing committed people in teaching roles

by Becky Coomer

A Parable of

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across Asia since 1981, where they primarily serve through the medium of English instruction. ELIC accomplishes this through recruiting, training and sending men and women from the USA, Canada and other countries, to meet the ever-growing demand for quality English education in Asia. I was blessed to attend ELIC’s Annual conference in Thailand this year and hear reports of the teachers investing in lives throughout Asia. “Amazing!” does not fully describe the stories I heard. Students’ lives are being transformed as their English teachers invest to share the hope they have and to develop them into leaders. ELIC offers: • accountabity to our teachers

on the ground, • member care through

mentoring, counseling,and lesson plans,

• 30 years of government relationship, • established partnerships with

universities across Asia, • knowledge of the ins and outs of Asian

legal systems.

After one year as ELIC’s parnter, we have sent two General Baptist university students to the ELIC summer camp program with six more OCU students considering going this summer. We have three professional teachers inquiring about serving with the summer teacher’s program, and are preparing to send a full time teacher in fall 2012. If you are a professional teacher interested in training teachers in China this summer or a native English speaker with a 4 year university degree interested in teaching English in Asia, please contact General Baptist International at 573-785-7746 or [email protected]

March 1, as the sun was shining on this part of the world, at 10:30 a.m., the students, faculty and staff gathered on the site, where the new GBBC library will be constructed, for the ground breaking service to celebrate the visible beginning of a new era here at General Baptist Bible College. Joining us were some members of the Board of Trustees, representatives from the mission office here, the engineer and the workers.

This new facility has been designed and shall be built on behalf of our students. Students are why we are here today and every day. Students, their families and our communities need and deserve facilities that are state of the art. The General Baptist Bible College has been a vital community resource for over 45 years and, building upon that strength, together we have developed the plan, defined the needs, budgeted the costs, created the design for a new library ...and today marks the day that we go forward with the construction to make all of the plans a reality.

We thank our sponsors and donors abroad and our supporters locally in our different churches and the various individuals and groups who took part and contributed to make this a reality. We thank the General

Baptist International missions, through its director, Rev. Sean Warren, the entire GBIM staff and board members, all the churches, groups, and individuals in the US who gave sacrificially for this project and those who have given through the 2011 Ed Steven’s World Missions offering.

We thank our local General Baptist churches who gave and responded to our fund raising efforts here. We acknowledge all the students, staff, the alumni, and the members of the Board of Trustees for all your contributions.

And now finally, we have reached our goal to start this project which brings us to today’s ceremony. We are all part of an amazing history of this institution that trains and equips generations for Christian service. Each of us has had a special role in getting this institution to today’s ceremony. There is a lot of construction to do and funds to be raised

to reach our capital campaign goals. I look forward to standing again on that same area upon the successful completion of this project and cutting the ribbon in a few months from now!

Again, thank you very much to all of you and as God’s work progresses here at GBBC, we will continue to fill you in of the developments and we will continue to pray that the Lord will constantly bless all our efforts for His glory and honor! TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

by Joyce Porcadilla, President

MVP Stateside is a program with National Missions that is designed to connect churches with each other. In this program, smaller churches receive a helping hand from another church in the form of ministry in the following areas:VBS – A one day VBS or a backyard VBSFacelift – an MVP Stateside team can come to your church to help out with painting, cleaning, etc.Community Outreach – a team can come to your church to help with outreach projects.Construction – some teams can handle light construction projects.Revival – a church team can come to your church and help with a revival.

Each MVP Stateside team is responsible for raising the project money, providing transportation, securing lodging and working closely with the church they are ministering to. The National Missions office serves to connect these churches and facilitate arraignments.

We presently have three MVP Stateside teams that are looking for a place to minister. If your church or church plant needs help and would welcome a helping hand, please contact the National Missions office at (573) 785-7746 or Director Donald Key at (573) 714-7700 or you can email me at [email protected]

Lead Pastor Jeff Smith planted this church just three years ago in the town of West Plains in Missouri. This congregation has grown to over seven hundred each weekend and has plans to extend its ministry to other campuses in the area.

Happy Birthday Genesis Church, born January 25, 2009!

Genesis Church TimelineChurch Launched January 25, 2009203 Attendance

Average Attendance February 2012760 Weekend Attendance Genesis Missions Giving$50,830 given to Mission One: Unified Giving in 3 years.$47,665 given to National Missions in 3 years to support Revolution Church, Real Life-Flippin, Real Life-Mountain Home, Generation and other church planting projects.

On March 3, 2012, Freedom Church in Gallatin TN celebrated its ten year anniversary. Pastor Terrell (Shanda) Somerville have led this growing congregation from a few people to over 600 in worship attendance each week end.

Happy Birthday Freedom Church, born March 2, 2002

Combined worship with the Freedom Praise Team and Kids Ministry

Freedom Praise Team

A portion of the sleep-ing bags donated to the Nashville home-less over Christmas

2011

After months of preparation, prayer, developing a core team and selecting a place to meet Generation Church launched on March 4, 2012 in Portland Tennessee. Attendance at this first service was 480! The teens returned Sunday evening for a Youth Service and between the two services 53 people responded to the invitation to become followers of Jesus Christ!

Happy Birthday! Generation Church

born March 4, 2012

oin me on a mental and spiritual journey. Forget all that you know about church and open your heart to look at church from the standpoint of Jesus, His mission, His method and His passion. Jesus had a mission. Jesus stated that He came not to do His will but the will of His heavenly Father (John 6:38). His mission was to do the will of the one who sent Him. He submitted His life to someone else’s will and purpose. Jesus also had a target audience. He said that He was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, his own people. He came to seek and save the lost. Jesus had a plan. In John 3 the Bible tells us that as Jesus left Judea and departed to Galilee He needed to go through Samaria. In Samaria He met the woman at the well and her life was changed. Many other lives were also changed. Jesus had a plan and Samaria was part of His plan. Jesus had a method. He talked to the people in parables. He did not speak to the people without a parable (Matthew 13:34). Why use parables? Because it was something the people would understand. He spoke to them in a language that was familiar and He used stories of things and people that were familiar to them. Jesus had a passion. He was determined to finish strong. When the time came for Him to be crucified, He set His face toward Jerusalem. He had a destiny and He was determined to meet it and to finish strong for the Father. He was a missionary, sent from God to a people foreign and strange. And He finished what He started. If we are to think like Jesus we must begin to see ourselves as missionaries in our country. We live in a nation that is both post-Christian and post-modern. In many respects it is anti-Christian. Jesus said in John 20:21, “As the Father has sent me, so send I you.” We understand that Jesus was sent and so are we. We are the “sent ones,” called of God to go into the entire world. Our mission is to go in response to the urgent command of Christ. Our thinking must change from asking people to come church, to instead go to them with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

If we are to think like missionaries, we must understand we are concerned with Christ wants for the church and not what we want. We must understand that He is in charge. We must submit to the authority of Christ over the church; after all, He is the Head we are members of His body. He is the vine, we are

branches. He is the Lord and we are His subjects. If we are to think like missionaries, we must consider those whom we are trying to reach. For a long time this author resisted the idea of a

target audience. However, Jesus had a target audience. It didn’t mean that He did not care for the Gentiles; later they would be grafted in to his work. It simply meant He focused on a particular group. Our nation is multi-ethnic and multi-generational. Lost is a broad term. We must be specific in our outreach and allow God to add to the church as He sees fit. If we are to think like missionaries, we need to communicate the gospel in a way that is understood by our target audience. Sure the Holy Spirit does the convicting and draws people to Christ, however, we can make His job easier by communicating the good news of Jesus in a language easily understood. We must consider ourselves missionaries sent into a foreign land; a land that no longer holds Christian values and that is often hostile to the church. We should seek to understand those to whom we are sent and develop a method or means whereby we can communicate the gospel in a meaningful way. Finally, we must be committed to finishing strong. We must be committed to finishing our course, keeping the faith and finding our destiny in Christ. History is replete with stories of folks who started out strong, but fell by the wayside when the journey became too difficult or too prolonged. Let us be determined to finish our walk with Christ, not just settling in, but giving that extra kick at the end in order to finish strong for God.

JThink Like a Missionary

by Donald Key, Director of Nantional Missions

Dr. John O. Sloan has announced his March 31, 2012 retirement from the position of Pastoral Ministries Director. In a letter to Executive Di-rector Dr. James Murray, he stated, “I am grateful for the opportunity to serve General Baptists in this posi-tion.” Dr. Sloan served more than 42 years as a pastor in Illinois, Ken-tucky and Indiana where he most recently served the Westwood General Baptist Church from 1977 to 2007. A graduate of Oakland City University, he was recognized by his alma mater with a Doctor of Divinity degree in 2006. Looking back he remarked, “The support received while serving General Baptist pastors and the GB constituency for the past five years is deeply appreciated.” John and his wife Gladys plan to return to Evansville, Indiana near their children and grandchildren.

There are many conflicts that require a lot of time and effort to resolve. But there are far more that can be resolved simply by overlooking minor offenses or relinquishing rights for the sake of God’s kingdom. Therefore, before focusing on your rights, take a careful look at your responsibilities. Before you go to remove the speck from your brother’s eye, ask yourself, “Is this really worth fighting over?” (The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict, Ken Sande, Grand Rapids, Baker Books, 2003, p. 98).

Food for Thought:

Reflect on this last week and notice the times when a spirit of entitlement rose up in your heart. What is it you really thought you deserved?

There was once a conference leader speaking to a group of pastors. He was sharing how important it was for a church to have a spirit of grace throughout all it does. He posed this question: “What do you think is the most significant threat to that spirit of grace?” Several answers were given, all of them valid. Then someone asked him, “What do you think?” He answered, “A spirit of entitlement.”

A lot of conflicts can be resolved by relinquishing rights for the sake of God’s kingdom; in other words, setting the spirit of entitlement aside. Ken’s right: before focusing on your rights, take a careful look at your responsibilities.

From Peace Meal Food for Thought on Biblical Peacemaking, 2-1-12, a weekly e-publication of Peacemakers Ministries, Copyright 2012. Reprinted with permission. To sign up for this free weekly email publication, go to the Peacemaker Ministries website at www.Peacemaker.net/epubs

Resolving Everyday Conflict:A Concise Guide to Biblical Peacemaking

Resolving Everyday Conflict is a quick, practical read with the biblical guidance needed to bring peace to relationships.

With the proven advice found in this book, authors Ken Sande and Kevin Johnson show you how to achieve not only a cease-fire but also unity and harmony. Their biblical guidance will take you beyond resolving conflicts to true, life-changing reconciliation with family, co-workers, and fellow believers.

Get the Resolving Everyday Conflict book for $8.95 by calling our Resource Center at 800-711-7118.

An Enemy of Grace

Resources for Transforming Your Relationshipswith the Power of the Gospel

hat does the name “elder” mean in church leadership? What role did they have in the New Testament church? How does their function fit in congregational governed churches? Throughout the Old and New Testaments there are many references to elders. Though some references are to secular leaders, the role of elders was prominent in the Hebrew/Jewish and the New Testament church life. When Moses complained to the Lord about the burden of leading Israel, the Lord instructed him to gather 70 men from among the elders of Israel to share in caring for His people. (Numbers 11:16-17, 24-25). This article presents a brief overview of eldership in the local church as found in the New Testament. To understand the role of church leaders, three principles of the New Testament church need to be mentioned. One is the biblical understanding of the priesthood of believers. Through the redemptive work of Christ, all believers function as a “holy priesthood” (I Peter 2:5; Hebrews 10:19-22). There is no reference to priests in the New Testament church. The community of believers serves as priesthood. Second, every believer is given a gift or gifts from God’s grace for involvement in the ministry of His church (I Peter 4:10-11). Every member of the body of Christ has part in the ministry. Church leaders have

Elder Leadershipin Congregational

Governed ChurchesBy John Sloan, Director of Pastoral Ministries

the responsibility to train, encourage, and empower church members to exercise their gifts. Third, and important to note for this article, the Lord places members in church ministry as He determines and He calls certain ones as leaders (elders) in the church (I Corinthians 12:18, 28; Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5-9). The New Testament mentions two ministry positions in the church. This does not mean there are no other positions, but these can be understood as basic foundation positions in a local church. Though a local body of believers can be a church without these positions, they are vital for deeper spiritual growth and a more fruitful ministry. One position is that of deacons. Although the term is not mentioned in Acts 6:1-7, it is widely accepted that this was the beginning of the office of deacon. The word used in these passages, “serve” tables, is the same word used for deacon elsewhere in the New Testament. The New Testament has two direct references to deacons. From these passages it is understood that this position is a high calling of serving. Far more scripture references are made to the other position, elders. A study leads to understanding that deacons are for certain assigned serving roles in the church and elders function as servant leaders in the areas of teaching/governing.

W

There are three words used in the New Testament that refer to the one position of eldership in the local church. All these are found in I Peter 5:1-4. Each one gives insight to the elder ministry. The word “elder” basically refers to spiritual leadership. There is the word “bishop/overseer” that expresses supervision or management. Then the word “shepherd/pastor” means to care for, tend to, provide. In “The ‘Elder’ in the Old and New Testament,” a brief overview of New Testament elders is stated as “. . . the plurality of the eldership, the responsibility of the elders for the well-being of the people; the authority of the elders within the community, the desired moral qualities of the elders, and the elders’ responsibility to communicate and take care of the Scriptures” (Vital Church Issues, Edited by Roy B. Zuck, p. 81).

All Scripture is infallible and inspired by God, but interpretations of Scripture cannot be claimed as being inspired. Considering the Scripture on eldership, I conclude that the local church is to be led by elders whom

it confirms as those called of God to serve in that role. Rather than solo pastor led or staff led, it is my thinking that a church is served better by the pastor and men from the congregation chosen to serve as elders. There are teaching elders and administrative elders. It is my understanding that the most important roles of eldership are teaching the word, guarding the church against false doctrine, caring for the spiritual health of the congregation, and correcting erring members.

I know most General Baptist Churches are led by pastors and deacons with variations as to the roles of each. More important than the titles of leaders is the spiritual character and function of church leaders. It is my observation that even in the pastor/deacon leadership structure, there is eldership functioning. And among the deacons, some of them are fulfilling more of the role as an elder in working with the pastor. It is of foremost importance that the congregation confirm and empower those who measure up to the biblical qualifications of elder leadership found in the Scriptures.

Vital Church Issues, Roy B. Zuck, General Editor

Biblical Eldership, An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership, Alexander Strauch

Biblical Eldership: Restoring the Eldership to Its Rightful Place in Churchby Alexander Strauch

The Questions of Elders, Part I “What is the name for our church leaders”?; Part II “How many leaders does a church need”?; “What is the nature of leadership”? By Earl D. Radmacher, found on website: Helpmewithbiblestudy.org.

Recommended books for the Study of Biblical Eldership

Word: Atonement Though the term “atonement” is not in the General Baptist Statements of Faith, few terms are more important to our historical identity. The “general” in General Baptist is derived from our position on atonement. The term can be under-stood in multiple ways, all of them with reference to the work of salvation. Atonement can mean the compensation, the restitution paid, or expiation given by God through Jesus Christ for our sin. Atonement can reference the actions of Jesus to secure our salvation, and thus the redemptive work of Jesus can be described as the atonement. Atonement can also be used as an all-inclusive word to reference the whole of salvation—atonement is the good news itself. Many Protestants disagree over whether atonement is general (i.e., for all) or particular (i.e., only for those who are “elect”). General Baptists argue that the atonement was for all, but the benefits of the atonement “can be received only through repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Statement of Faith IV). Contemporary theology has discussed atonement under terms such as soteriology or the doctrine of salvation. Vari-ous models for how atonement is accomplished are often identified including penal substitution, governmental, ransom, Christus victor, recapitulation, redemption, regeneration, or satisfaction. Though not all points addressed can be endorsed these works will provide contemporary discussions on atonement: McKnight, Scot. A Community Called Atonement. Nashville, TN: Abindgon Press, 2007. Beilby, James and Paul R. Eddy, eds. The Nature of the Atonement: Four Views. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2006.

Learning A New Word

Shepherding offers insight to the kind of leadership qualities established by God. There are many books and resources relating to modern day leaders. However, the shepherd metaphor on leadership presented in the scriptures is relevant in any age. Several of the men raised up by God came from a shepherd lifestyle. Jesus identified Himself as the good shep-herd (John 10:11) and is addressed as “the great Shepherd of the sheep” (Hebrews 13:20) and “the Chief Shepherd” (I Peter 5:4). One of the best books to be found on the shepherd metaphor for leadership is While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks by Dr. Timothy Laniak. He teaches leadership through three areas of shepherding: Provision, Protecting, and Guidance. The book is for leaders in any capacity. “Although this book has obvious and direct relevance for pastors and elders, I often use the terms leader and community to avoid restricting the implications to congregational life. Be-lievers who serve in positions of responsibility in any setting should find the content relevant.

Because organized or unorganized, large or small, every group is a community. And every community has leaders. And all leaders are shepherds. Pastors and politicians. Corporate executives and stay-at-home parents. Chaplains and coaches. Teachers and hospice workers. Construction supervisors and county commissioners. Virtually all of us are shepherds, responsible to God for the way we lead those in our care. Pastors should be thinking of their congregations not only as sheep (and goats!), but also as shepherds working among their own flocks” (While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks, Dr. Timothy Laniak, p. 17-18). The book is designed for spending 40 days of reflection on biblical leadership. The author draws from a wealth of personal knowledge and experience. He is a professor at Gordon-Cornwell Theological Seminary and has served as an Annual Professor of the Albright Institute for Archaeological Research. The life application in each daily study is drawn from his year of field research in the Middle East on shepherding. Dr. Laniak will be at the 2012 Summit on Monday, July 16, to present three workshops on the shepherd metaphor for biblical leadership.

While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks Timothy Laniak, ShepherdLeader Publications, 2007

he life of Joseph told in the Old Testament book of Genesis is a story of terrific highs and discouraging lows. He was the favored son of his father Jacob, but His jealous brothers threw him into a pit and sold him to Midianite merchantmen. They in turn sold Joseph into slavery in Egypt where he was purchased by an Egyptian officer and captain of the guard named Potiphar. He was falsely accused of sexual assault against Potiphar’s wife and unjustly thrown into prison. Joseph remained an inmate in prison until he did for Pharaoh what Pharaoh could not do for himself. He interpreted a dream. Joseph moved from prisoner to prime minister in Egypt because he did for Pharaoh what the leader could not do for himself. His insight and divinely inspired abilities made him indispensable. God has gifted each of us with gifts and

abilities to do for others what they cannot do for themselves. Why are we so hesitant to help others if we

have the ability and means to do so? Frequently we fail to step up to the plate and help others because We Are Afraid We’ll Fail. I was watching the World Series game when Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols hit 3 homers in one game. He tied the record with Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson. Then he broke the record with 14 RBI’s in post-season play. Yea! Go Cards! Do you think Pujols was afraid he’d strike out? You bet. He’s struck out many times. He’s been intentionally walked many times. However, if you never step up to the plate, you’ll never get

on base. If you never swing the bat, you’ll never hit the ball. Pujols’ focus was not on striking out and failing, it was on the ball. Too many times we are hesitant in helping others because we’re afraid we’ll fail so we do nothing. Another reason we are hesitant to help others is in The Area Of Our Time. We keep score. Joseph allowed himself to be used of God for Pharaoh’s benefit without asking for payment or recognition. Too many of us will help others, but with strings attached. We keep score and the moment we sense we are being used more than we desire, we stop. We’re busy people. We just don’t have the time to be too generous with others. I believe this attitude limits God’s ability to be extravagant in and through us because our focus is on what we’re giving up not on what we’re gaining. Joseph allowed himself to be used without a thought of asking for payment. In return, he was surprised by being named prime minister of Egypt. We are sometimes hesitant to help others because We Don’t See How Our Actions Can Make Any Difference. Joseph had remarkable depth perception because he was able to see God’s hand at work in Pharaoh’s dream. He was not hesitant in allowing God to use him before Pharaoh. What does it matter if I get involved or not? It matters a great deal to your character! Yes, it’s true that God has other ways to accomplish His objectives. He has other people He can use. He isn’t frustrated or restrained even if you and I are indifferent. However, when that happens, we are the losers. When we have been called “for such a time as this,” how tragic it is if we don’t stand up in that hour. Not until you believe one person can make a difference will you be willing to take a risk. Stop worrying about what others will think. You don’t answer to them. You answer to Him. He will help. He will give you wisdom and courage. You may be only one, but you are one. So, take a risk!

by Bill McMillen

T

Sitting on her bed in a tiny trailer, Tammie Head wondered what to do with her messed-up life. Growing up with every conceivable dysfunction, her heart started fraying as early as she can remember. Sin-filled exposure led to sin-filled living until fear, insecurity, and rebellious living became the only road she knew. In the darkest of hours, Tammie began to hear God calling her to Himself. Rescued from the trash can of life, Tammie lives to tell of her wonderful Jesus who can redeem any life. Her utmost passion is for others to find the One who has captivated her own soul. Tammie Head loves opening the Scriptures with women of all ages. Women are drawn to Tammie’s openness, honesty,

passion, and grace. Most of all, they respond to her love for the Lord. Tammie is the author of Duty or Delight? Knowing Where You Stand with God and is the founder of Totally Captivated Ministries. You can find more information on Tammie and her ministry at www.totallycaptivatedministries.org Tammie led the morning devotion for “Deeper Still” held at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. She has been closely mentored and encouraged by Beth Moore, and teaches an adult Bible study class in the same Houston, Texas Church.

Is the Holy Spirit whispering? Does your heart pound when you just THINK about joining the WM MVP team this summer? Come with us and lavish God’s love on Faith Home house moms, women in the surrounding communities, and Honduran GB pastors’ wives. You will never regret one suitcase lugged, one dollar raised, one vacation day used, or one minute of preparation. Take it from Team 2010.

“India was my first mission trip and it changed my life forever. If God is pulling at your heart to go ‘then go’ you will never be the same. I went to minister and I was ministered to much more than I could ever imagine.” Pam Hodge - Rockford, Illinois

October, 2010, six women from four states and two countries teamed up for a life-changing 10 days of service to ministries in Andhra Pradesh, India. Together, they received more than they gave, learned a new dance, and did things they never thought possible.

I was excited all that Sunday and couldn’t wait until time to start. A group of 45 people ranging in age from five to adult participated in our “Jesus Freaks” experience. I was concerned that the atmosphere might be too intense for the younger children, but they did fine. Everyone seemed to “enjoy” the experience, and they hopefully gained a greater understanding of what it means to be “all for Christ.”

Lacie Bailey spoke with conviction about her mission work in the Dominican Republic. Lacie is a soft spoken girl and didn’t use a microphone. I was completely impressed with the group of listening students and adults. Everyone was quiet while Lacie spoke; you could have heard a pin drop. I found that to be amazing!!

All in all, it was a great evening. I am thankful for having been able to experience the “Jesus Freaks” stories during the Uth N Missions at Summit last summer, the inspiration for our event. We were able to recreate the experience here and share it with more people.

The evening was complete with a “who but God?” story from one of our teens. Apparently the program went right along with the teaching of this young lady’s regular church service. The 14-year-old girl realized the connection and stated to her family, “Wow, is God trying to tell this family something or what”?

Never try and tell me that our young people don’t “hear.”

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the messenger - spring 2012

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