G E N E R A L B A P T I S T

October/ November 2010 1

Capsule

! Recently on a rainy night I was sitting in the back of the chapel at Faith Home in Honduras. The rain was dinging off the metal roof; and the lights flicker a few times, reminding us that electricity is still a luxury. This night the music service was under the leadership of several of the older teenagers. In typical Honduran fashion, the speakers where turned up just past the point of clarity, and a little distortion could be heard.

! The children were praising God with smiles on their faces; the electric guitars were being played really well; and the tambourines

were being shaken by the little kids who were obviously still trying to determine what the word rhythm meant. It was great! What a blessing to experience worship in another culture, in another language, with precious people with whom we will spend eternity.

! Feeling the fullness of this moment, I walked outside to the porch. The rain was still softly falling through the thick humidity, and I looked over slightly to my left (the chapel was behind me) into the darkness of the trees and mountainside. Let me say again, it was very dark. Then I noticed one by one, then by the tens, then hundreds, and more... lightning bugs. I wish I could fully describe the spiritual metaphor being played out before my eyes.

! If our lives are but a vapor, then the lives of those children at Faith Home can be compared to lightning bugs. We are loving them, equipping them, and releasing them to go and be

a brief light in a dark world. Honduras, or the world for that matter, isn't changed in one quick program, outreach, or love gift. It is changed by diligently investing into the lives of those who are the most needy, most neglected, and most under-loved. We are planting the Church in Honduras, one life at a time; and we need to take the long view in doing so.

Sean Warren

"We can reach our world, if we will. The greatest lack today is not people or funds. The greatest need is prayer." -Wesley Duewel

Operation WorldOperation World is unrivaled as the definitive prayer guide for every nation. This book provides you with key information on every nation as well as a simple and straight-forward way to pray for each of them. The much anticipated new edition of Operation World will be released in late October.

www.USCWM.comThe U.S. Center for World Mission website is designed to be a hub of missions resources for church leaders, missionaries, students, and others to help them mobilize, train, and develop strategy for missions. It’s a great way to find resources that will broaden your perspective on missions.

Missions FrontiersThis free magazine is published bi-monthly, and is dedicated to fostering an indigenous, self-reproducing church-planting movement among all of the 10,000 unreached people groups.

MVP TripsThe best thing you can do to open your mind to missions is personally invest yourself in it. We have several MVP trips to cities in the U.S. and countries abroad in 2011 that would provide you with a life-changing experience. Whether it’s with our program or not; please take the initiative to begin planning for a mission trip.

6 Must Have Resources for Understanding Missions October/ November 2010

“You are the light of the world... let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise

your Father in heaven.” -Jesus

LIGHT IN THE DARK

Let the Nations Be GladWritten by John Piper, this book is a clear call for Christians to fulfill the Great Commission and proclaim the gospel to every person on earth.

www.JoshuaProject.netJoshua Project is a research initiative seeking to highlight the ethnic people groups of the world with the least followers of Christ. From the U.S. to Australia you can find amazing statistics on what people groups are yet to have their lives transformed by the love and grace of the great God we serve.

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Bite-Size News

Thank You We would like to thank all who have given and all those who are yet to give to the Ed Stevens World Missions Offering! We know some of you will choose to designate your end-of-the-year gift to this offering; however, to date we have received $32,174.71 of the $75,543.21 goal.

Jamaica The Jamaican churches would like to thank Antioch General Baptist Church for its donation of eight Thompson Chain Reference Bibles for Jamaican pastors and 75 other Bibles to be given to new converts. Pastor Roy Clark of Antioch Church expressed it is important that GB churches should be sure to give every student, convert, and pastor in our mission fields a “name engraved” copy of the Word of God.

Facebook Facebook has become one of the most effective ways of communicating with people around the world. That being said, GB Missions has formed a Facebook group dedicated to communicating all great things God is doing through General Baptist Missions. Join the group, “The Source: General Baptist Mission News” today.

MVP Handbook The 2011 MVP handbook will be posted on the General Baptist website by November 1. Be sure to check out the new updates, and remember that now is the perfect time to sign up for a 2011 MVP trip!

Anita Ford Former missionary to Honduras, Anita Ford, died August 19, 2010. A memorial service was held in Evansville, IN, led by Rev. David Kelle, former superintendent of Faith Home. During her years of service in Honduras Anita greatly impacted the lives of many Hondurans with her compassionate heart and love for Christ. Saul Mejia remarked, “Her lasting legacy in Honduras is the love and hope she brought to Hondurans and the blessings she brought to the pastors and General Baptist churches in Honduras.”

Missionary Resignation After 3 years of service in Honduras, David Willis resigned from Faith Home and he and Tania returned stateside on October the 1st. Their contributions to FH and the lives of the children to whom they ministered will be deeply missed.

The Adobe Church One of the newest General Baptist churches in Honduras is the Immanuel Church led by Pastor Tito and his wife, Lisa, near Los Perlos. This small group of people obtained land and built a small church building out of adobe blocks made

out of clay from a nearby hillside. The church has no door or windows, a dirt floor, only a few chairs, three small pews that seat only a part of the 60 people who usually worship there. They did all of this out of their own initiative and resources with encouragement from church planting leader Saul Mejia and Pastor Diaz of the church.

ELIC Partnership The missions department is very pleased to announce a partnership with English Language Institute China, known as ELIC. This partnership has opened up opportunities for General Baptists to teach English in China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. ELIC provides structure, organization, and accountability to our teachers, by teachers, who understand the dynamics of cross-cultural living. Amber Lakey, a member of The Journey GB church in Springfield, MO was the first student to experience the opportunities of ELIC by participating in a summer program. She recently stated that is was an incredible experience that taught her much about life, living, and God. For more information about ELIC visit its website at www.elic.org.

Interns Last year, as an experiment, the mission had two interns working during the summer at Faith Home. After a round of meetings with the missionaries, we have decided to keep the program and develop it further. We are excited about it and how it will help in the development of future missionaries. Two interns have been selected for next year, and we will announce their names in the coming months.

Language School Language school is tough! Anyone who has been humbled by learning another language knows this first hand! Despite that, Amy and Andy Smith are pushing through down in Guatemala in their Spanish language learning. Please pray for them as they conjugate verbs, learn vocabulary, and continue to venture out into the community to practice what they have learned.

Revolution ChurchRevolution Church officially launched in White House, TN, September 12 with 302 in attendance. To help instill global missions in the DNA of the church Pastor Kris Freeman decided beforehand to send a percentage of the church’s first offering directly to missions. Revolution Church sent $500 to Pastor Rudy in Jamaica. Kris is excited that Revolution has seen salvations and baptized eight people this year already. Pray for Kris and Revolution Church as God continues to use them to change lives in the White House area.

Prayer Needs*Greg and Sandy Dickerman as they are on stateside assignment to build their shares. They will return to Saipan November 3. *That the continued violence in Juarez, Mexico will cease and our churches will flourish. *A delegation of four people from the missions office will go to the Philippines in late October. *Revolution Church (White House, TN) & Relevant Church (Locust Grove, GA), which both launched this fall, need your prayers as they spread the gospel in new fields.

5 Ways to Give to missions1. Be a financial supporter of a child at Faith Home in Honduras.

2. Give of yourself by fasting and praying once a month for one of our recent church plants.

3. Be a financial supporter for a student at the Matigsalug Bible Institute or the General Baptist Bible College in the Philippines.

4. Commit to supporting a missionary by becoming a shareholder in their ministry.

5. Donate to help train national workers abroad to do life-changing ministry.

"The Christian is not obedient unless he is doing all in his power to send the Gospel to the heathen world." -A.B. Simpson

General Baptist Missions 100 Stinson Drive

Poplar Bluff, MO 63901 573-785-7746 (office) 573-785-0564 (fax)

www.generalbaptist.com

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MVP-worldwide! My first day as MVP Coordinator found me on a plane bound for Honduras for our spring Field Council meeting as I traveled with Sean Warren and Sam Ramdial. I had met with these guys before, but there is something about traveling together that creates strong bonds. I found it comforting to see the similarities in our experiences from Jamaica, China, France, and Honduras as the missionaries shared with us.! Later, while on the island of Saipan, Sean and I were blessed to meet a Korean man who attends Saipan Community Church. Every Sunday this gentleman takes copious notes in order to translate the message into Korean so other Korean brothers and sisters - who do not speak English -- can study the Word during their weekly Bible study and be of one mind in that faith community.! In Hong Kong we were able to sit in while Becky Coomer tutored graduate students from mainland China. Tears streamed down the face of one young lady as we could physically see her wrestle with the truth of God’s Word and what she had been taught her entire life.! Voice of the Martyrs lists India among the most hostile nations toward Christianity. In the midst of the desolate grey backdrop of persecution grows a General Baptist work. If you had the opportunity to meet Dr. Prakash and his wife, Jemima, during the Summit, you wouldn’t have been able to miss their zeal for the Lord. As I write this, a group of GB ladies are on an MVP trip to India.! In early September I was serving with the fall medical team to Honduras. During the week more than 1,200 people came to the clinics to have various physical ailments taken care of. Praise God that 61 of those people were also spiritually healed as they accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.! No matter where I have gone or who I have met, two things have stuck out in my mind. General Baptists love the Lord, and they love people. Not just certain people. All people. The messy, grimy, godless, broken people whom God has put in their paths and called them to serve.! It has become quite clear to me that this isn’t who we have become or a marked change in a trend of who we are becoming. It’s who we’ve always been. It’s who we will continue to be.! During a trip to Honduras in June, we were handing out beans and rice in a village when I was approached by a widow from the village. The translator said the woman was

asking about Anita Ford and wanted to know how she was doing. Years after Anita had left the field, the love Anita shared with a widow in a shack-laced village in Central America continued to grow. That’s who we are as General Baptists.! Looking ahead, we have new MVP opportunities in both new and familiar places in 2011. We have a team bound for Saipan in April that is still forming. We are also gathering team members for a medical team to the Philippines. If you are interested in being a part of or leading an MVP team next year please contact us at the office or shoot an e-mail to johnny.jourdan@generalbaptist.com.

Johnny Jourdan

MVP-STateside! The potential of MVP Stateside is unbelievable. In July a team from First GB Church in Rector, AR drove to White House, TN to serve the community which in two short months would see the launch of Revolution Church. Pastor Kris Freeman did an amazing job finding ways for this group to make an impact on the community. They handed out door hangers, paid for and pumped gas on a busy Saturday, and cleaned locker rooms and pulled weeds at the local school. Kris went on and on about the buzz this team started in the community as they teamed up with Revolution Church which launched September 12. ! More great stories of lives changed will be birthed out of MVP Stateside this year. We are currently planning teams to St. Louis, MO, Flint, MI, Nashville, TN, and Los Angeles, CA to team up with local churches to serve and impact their communities for Christ. MVP Stateside will also continue to partner with our recent church plants to help them maintain a strong presence in their communities as they grow as bodies of believers. ! If you are interested in being a part of or leading a MVP Stateside team next year please contact us at the office or shoot an e-mail to jeff.roth@generalbaptist.com.

Relevant Church! If you haven’t experienced being at the launch of a church firsthand, then you need to stop reading this right now, get a pen, and put it on your bucket list. Then come back to finish the article. There is something electric about the launch of a new church, and I felt it October 10 at the launch of Relevant Church in Locust Grove, GA. ! ! You could begin to sense the excitement on Saturday as the core group of the new church as well as a team of 20 students and leaders from Freedom Church led by Dustin Thompson set up the worship center, welcome area, and children’s rooms for the first official worship service that would take place the next day. (The team from Freedom Church spent four days in Georgia prior to the launch doing servant evangelism in the community for Relevant Church.) Ironically, the tiring task of setting up seemed invigorating for them. They knew that every step they completed brought them closer to seeing people file in the doors the next day to worship. ! And file in they did. Relevant Church launched with 318 (185 first time visitors) in attendance to see the birth of this new church. As the worship center filled with expectant adults, the children’s rooms got louder with energetic kids. The building seemed to be stocked with excitement. The worship service began, but people were still walking in searching for seats as additional rows of chairs were added. The band led the crowd in a great worship experience, and Pastor Carl Nichols delivered a exceptional message about being a church that existed to rescue the broken and lost in their community by sharing the love of Jesus Christ. As the worship service concluded I witnessed 15 indicate they wanted to begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. ! ! That, my friends, is what it’s all about. That is why witnessing the birth of a new church should be on your bucket list. It is a unique thrill to observe the beginning of a church dedicated to reaching its community by preaching the gospel and teaching people to live a Christlike life. Because when a church dedicates itself to this purpose, the lost are found and lives are changed for eternity. ! ! Please keep Pastor Carl and Relevant Church in your prayers as they embark on a journey to change lives for Jesus Christ.

Jeff Roth

"Lost people matter to God,

and so they must matter to us." -Keith Wright

Pictured Right: Relevant Church pastor Carl Nichols on launch day surrounded by (left to right) Jeff Roth, Sean Warren, Christian Farris, and Brian Brown.

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MVP

General Baptist Missions

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In Radical, author David Platt invites you to encounter what Jesus actually said about being his disciple, and then obey what you have heard. The subtitle for the book is, “taking back your faith from the American Dream.” Radical is a great book that will stretch your mind and challenge you to live the gospel in ways that are true, filled with promise, and ultimately world changing. For more information log on to radicalthebook.com.

“the most glorious reason you exist

is for the proclamation of the glory of God to the ends of the earth.” -David Platt

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