Messenger

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Jerusalem • Judea & Samaria • Ends of the Earth

General Bapt ist

Spr ing 2016

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What a privilege it is to have this issue of The Messenger focus on our General Baptist International Missions. The following pages will give you a first-hand view of how General Baptists are obeying the Great Commission. I clearly recall the first-hand view I received back in 1999 when I went on my first international mission trip to Honduras.

My first mission trip abroad was alongside one of my deacons, Ken Morris, in which I was to preach and he would lead worship on a medical/mission team. Our trip began at Faith Home where we visited with the children and workers and toured the grounds. We then traveled with the rest of our team several hours by bus over difficult terrain to the capital city of Tegucigalpa and then to a very remote village in the hills near Tegucigalpa. The country of Honduras had only recently survived the deadly and destructive hurricane named Mitch. Their political and economic infrastructure lay in shambles, their roads and other transportation system was nonexistent, and their citizens were in dire need of help. One of the most amazing things I remember about that trip is that despite all of these obstacles, the Honduran people were joyful, grateful for our help, and starving for the gospel! The depth of their struggles and loss paled in comparison to their desire to learn about a man named Jesus and their need for a Savior. While some were unable to change their current situation, they were determined to change their eternal destination. I cried day after day as I watched the altars fill with people asking Jesus into their hearts. I realized I was watching the carrying out of the Great Commission!

I have been honored to serve on many mission teams since that first life-changing trip in 1999, but on each trip I return home both proud and humbled. How proud I am to know that our General Baptist missionaries are committed to establishing new churches and encouraging existing churches. They are teaching and training current and future pastors and teachers to equip them to continue the work of the Great Commission in their own communities. They are immersing themselves and their families in unfamiliar cultures in order to build life-long relationships with their fellow General Baptist brothers and sisters and pass on their baton of faith.

I am also humbled to know that our international mission work would be impossible without your participation. Each year hundreds of people take time off work and away from their families to join an international mission team. Like me, their lives are forever changed as a result of these short-term trips. Each year General Baptist people give monetary gifts of all sizes to Unified Giving to make sure the Great Commission work of General Baptists continues. It is through your time and financial gifts that your belief in the vision and mission of General Baptists is proclaimed. Those same gifts of time and finances illuminate your burden for seeing the lost brought to Christ, and communicate your grasp of the urgency and time-sensitive nature of our Great Commission assignment!

I hope you will rejoice with me as we travel around the globe in this issue of The Messenger and thank the Lord for what He is doing through General Baptist International Missions!

Starting, Equipping, Inspiringby Clint Cook, Executive Director

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The ordination of 16 pastors in IndiaDuring a visit in September to the General Baptist mission work in Andhra Pradesh and

Telangana, we praised the Lord for the dedication and commitment of our GB pastors. These brethren are working in areas where they face overt opposition from the Hindu majority and struggle to provide the basic necessities for their families. We prayed and explored ways in which we can help with some basic financial support for these faithful pastors without creating a dependency and not denying them their self-respect.

Our India leaders and some pastors suggested providing a milk buffalo to some of our longer serving pastors who will care for this animal and derive milk from the buffalo for their families and to sell for income. In turn, when the buffalo gives birth to the first and second calves, they will be given to other pastors to help to support their families. We also discovered that free government veterinary service is available in the areas where our pastors live.

The price of a top condition milk-giving buffalo is $1,500. We are appealing to our GB friends and families to help us provide 15 buffalos to our longer serving pastors.

Please send your gift for “India Pastor Support” to:General Baptists International100 Stinson DrivePoplar Bluff MO 63901

Accepting Resumes

The Executive Director and Personnel Committee for General

Baptist Ministries are now accepting resumes for the position of

International Missions Director.

Resumes will be accepted from December 15, 2014, to January 31, 2015.

Please mail to:Rev. Clint Cook, Executive Director

100 Stinson Drive Poplar Bluff, MO 63901.

Resumes may also be submitted via e-mail at

clint.cook@generalbaptist.com.

MISSION UPDATEThe 2014 Vacation Bible School offering has reached $17,229.83.

These funds will be used toward the purchase of a van to be used in Honduras. This van will be shared by Faith Home, Church Planting, and Mission Volunteer Program teams.

The 2014 Ed Stevens Day Offering now stands at $40,538.66. These funds will be used to provide vehicles for Prakash and Jemima Pamu and for Jessey and Brittany Vemula. Our goal is $50,000. If we reach this

goal, the balance of funds would be applied to India ministry projects.We are pleased to report that the cafeteria/comedor at Faith Home

should be in use by mid-December. This much-needed building has been provided by both VBS and Ed Stevens Offerings from 2013.

Refurbishing at Willingham Bible Institute is nearly complete. This will provide a conference center to be rented to outside groups or provide extra housing for MVP teams.

Seasons GreetingsPlease pray for our GB missionaries

in Saipan, India, the Philippines, other Asian countries, and Honduras as we approach the holiday season.

The holidays are particularly difficult for these missionaries who are away from family and friends.

We encourage many of you to send an e-mail or greeting card to encourage our missionaries and to remind them that you are praying for and thinking of them particularly during the holiday season.

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

DECEMBER 2014 CAPSULE PAGE 1

DECEMBER 2014

“Christ tasted death for every man.” Hebrews 2:9

From Our HeartsJim & Sue Schremp

The world is rapidly changing. In the midst of all this change, it is important for us to understand that God is still at work. The redemption of this world is His chief concern. The central doctrine of the Bible is that “God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.

The Great Commission, Matthew 28:19-20, tells us what must be done if the purposes of God through Christ are to be carried out. There are more winnable people today than ever before, but the question is, do we realize our opportunities?

The challenge of the Great Commission is to “Go and make

disciples.” In other words, “Go, teaching the truths of the Good News.” We accomplish this by planting churches around the world. In these churches we place leaders who can teach and equip new Christians, thus making disciples and fulfilling the challenge Christ issued through the Great Commission.

This is our finest hour; this is our greatest opportunity; we dare not let it pass us by. The population of the world is 7.2 billion people, and only 2.07 billion are Christian. The Great Commission is for all of us. It is “still our mission,” given to us personally by Jesus. The final chapter of Matthew is still being written today, and we are a part of it.

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POPLAR BLUFF, MO

General Baptist International Ministries100 Stinson DrivePoplar Bluff, MO 63901

AN OPPORTUNITY TO INVEST IN THE MINISTRY OF GB PASTORS IN INDIA

MessengerGeneral Baptist

Spring 2016

3 Letter from the Editor6 Trending Now

10 Reaching the Unreached13 Because You Gave14 Global Impact18 Cost of Discipleship20 Learning to Walk in Love21 Go Beyond Borders for Christ24 The Yeomans

25 A Conversation with Shelly Summerfield28 The Triumph of Faith: Review30 Teaching English as a Second Language32 Turning Point Update33 California’s New Wave35 Church Planting36 Turnaround 20/2038 Endings and Beginnings40 Summit Info

Table of Contents

Reaching the Unreached

Cost of Discipleship

Global Impact

1814104

California’s New Wave33

A Conversation with Shelly

Summerfield25

21Go Beyond Borders for Christ

The General Baptist Messenger is published by General Baptist Ministries (General Baptist Council of Associations, inc),

100 Stinson dr, Poplar Bluff, MO 63901

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

editorial team: Franklin Dumond Mark Powell Linda McDonough Patti Thornton

layout & design: Stinson Press - Kenrick Nobles General Baptist Ministries

We Would Love to Hear from You!The Messenger100 Stinson dr. Poplar Bluff, MO 63901

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Trending Now

10/40 WindowEquator

Afghanistan • Algeria • Bahrain • Bangledesh • Benin • Bhutan • Burkina Faso • Cambodia • ChadChina • Cyprus • Djibouti • Egypt • Eritrea • Gambia • Greece • Guinea • Guinea-Bissau • India

Iran • Iraq • Israel • Japan • Jordan • Kuwait • Laos • Lebanon • Libya • Mali • Malta • MauritaniaMorocco • Myanmar • Nepal • Niger • North Korea • Oman • Pakistan • Philippines • PortugualQatar • Saudi Arabia • Senegal • South Sudan • Sudan • Syria • Taiwan • Tajikistan • ThailandTunisia • Turkey • Turkmenistan • United Arab Emirates • Vietnam • Western Sahara • Yemen

Nations in the 10/40 Window

The 10/40 Window is the rectuangular area of North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia approximately between 10 degrees north and 40 degrees north latitude. There are nearly 60 nations across northern Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia in the 10/40 Window. Over 4.83 billion people, including nearly 90 percent of the world’s poorest of the poor, live in the nations of the 10/40 Window. It is estimated that 2 billion of these people have never had the chance to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ - not even once! The seat of every major non-Christian religion - Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Animism, Atheism, and Sikhism - is headquartered in the 10/40 Window. – source: The Joshua Project

– source: The Joshua Project

– source: One World Missions

A Visualization of Unreached People Groups in the 10/40 Window

Contains 1/3 of the World’s Land Area

POPULATION7.28

BILLION

3.07 BILLION (42.2%)UNREACHED POPULATION

Contains 2/3 of the World’s Population

16,404PEOPLEGROUPS

6,648 UNREACHED GROUPS(40.5%)

Glo

bal

Sta

tist

ics

Over 4.83 Billion People Live within the Nations of the 10/40 WIndow

An Estimated 2 Billion have never had the opportunity to hear the gospel

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

@generalbaptist #gbministries

10/40 WindowEquator

Afghanistan • Algeria • Bahrain • Bangledesh • Benin • Bhutan • Burkina Faso • Cambodia • ChadChina • Cyprus • Djibouti • Egypt • Eritrea • Gambia • Greece • Guinea • Guinea-Bissau • India

Iran • Iraq • Israel • Japan • Jordan • Kuwait • Laos • Lebanon • Libya • Mali • Malta • MauritaniaMorocco • Myanmar • Nepal • Niger • North Korea • Oman • Pakistan • Philippines • PortugualQatar • Saudi Arabia • Senegal • South Sudan • Sudan • Syria • Taiwan • Tajikistan • ThailandTunisia • Turkey • Turkmenistan • United Arab Emirates • Vietnam • Western Sahara • Yemen

Nations in the 10/40 Window

The 10/40 Window is the rectuangular area of North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia approximately between 10 degrees north and 40 degrees north latitude. There are nearly 60 nations across northern Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia in the 10/40 Window. Over 4.83 billion people, including nearly 90 percent of the world’s poorest of the poor, live in the nations of the 10/40 Window. It is estimated that 2 billion of these people have never had the chance to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ - not even once! The seat of every major non-Christian religion - Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Animism, Atheism, and Sikhism - is headquartered in the 10/40 Window. – source: The Joshua Project

– source: The Joshua Project

– source: One World Missions

A Visualization of Unreached People Groups in the 10/40 Window

Contains 1/3 of the World’s Land Area

POPULATION7.28

BILLION

3.07 BILLION (42.2%)UNREACHED POPULATION

Contains 2/3 of the World’s Population

16,404PEOPLEGROUPS

6,648 UNREACHED GROUPS(40.5%)

Glo

bal

Sta

tist

ics

Over 4.83 Billion People Live within the Nations of the 10/40 WIndow

An Estimated 2 Billion have never had the opportunity to hear the gospel

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The early Church knew while not all were called to travel the known world preaching the Gospel, all were expected to financially and spiritually support the work of those who were, as well as give toward emergency relief.

Paul mentions on numerous occasions the help he receives from the established churches and the offerings he delivers

to the poor. (Romans 15:23-24, Galatians 2:10, Philippians

4:16) People from all over would come together in support of a few, so that the Gospel could branch out to even more places.

Unified Giving allows us to follow the example of the

first believers and gather our resources to send and support

more missionaries than ever before to all corners of the world, and to provide

relief to the poor, the widowed, the orphaned, and the disaster-stricken. It enables us to do greater things together than what we can do alone.

Unified Giving

UnifiedGiving

The 10/40 Window is the rectangular area of North Africa, the Middle East and Asia approximately between 10 degrees north and 40 degrees north latitude. The 10/40 Window is often called “The Resistant Belt” and includes the majority of the world’s Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists. - joshuaproject.net

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By: Mark Powell, International Missions Director

God has gifted General Baptists with varied and unique opportunities to preach the good news that “Jesus tasted death for every man.” Since the time of Benoni Stinson we have been faithful to the call of reaching every person with the gospel of Jesus Christ. The reality, however, is that in the world today there are still six thousand unreached people groups (Joshua Project). The call of the gospel and the command of the Great Commission, not to mention the echo of Benoni Stinson’s voice, is to “go into all the world and preach the gospel.” From Asia to Micronesia to Central America and the Caribbean we have faithfully proclaimed the good news that Jesus has indeed tasted death for everyone. The reality, however, is that there is much more to be done and much more we can do! The Joshua Project (joshuaproject.net) identifies 16,404 people groups in the world today. A people group is a group of people with a common identity that shares the same language and thinks in similar ways and has the same basic philosophy of life. The Grecians of Acts 7 would be an example of a people group. A people group is the largest group through which the gospel can flow “without encountering significant barriers of understanding or acceptance.” The Joshua Project explains it this way: “In many parts of the world lack of understandability serves as the main barrier and it is appropriate to define people groups primarily by language with the possibility of sub-divisions based on dialect or cultural variations. In other parts of the world, most notably in portions of South Asia, acceptance is a greater barrier than understandability. In these regions, caste, religious tradition, location and common histories, plus language may define the boundaries of each people group.” People groups are further divided into two categories:

the reached and unreached. Reached people groups have the chance to hear the Gospel. They have Bibles in their languages, churches in their communities and people to tell them about Christ. They may not have heard but, if they search, it should not be hard for them to find the Gospel. Unreached people groups have no Bibles in their languages, no churches in their communities and no one to tell them about Jesus Christ and what He has done for them. “The original Joshua Project… selected the criteria [of] less than or equal to 2% Evangelical Christian and less than or equal to 5% Professing Christians,” as a definition for unreached. The unreached can be categorized by five basic descriptors. Taken together the first letter of each category forms the word THUMB.

TRIBAL The first category is tribal people. They are found all over the world in little pockets of up to several thousand. Most tribal people live in the Amazon in South America, in Africa or in Southeast Asia rain forests. These people believe in spirits. They think everything in nature has either a good spirit or a bad spirit (animism). They worship the spirits and do all they can to please them. They believe bad things happen if they do not please the spirits. Tribal people need to find freedom from the fear of evil spirits. General Baptists have tremendous opportunity to reach tribal people currently in the Philippines, India and Mexico. The Matigsalug Bible Institute in the Philippines exists for the primary purpose of training tribal pastors in the Philippines. Our ministry in India focuses primarily on individuals who speak Telegu and surprisingly enough there are still opportunities for outreach even to tribal or indigenous groups within Mexico.

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THUMB

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HINDUS Although concentrated in India, Hindus are found around the world, and General Baptists have targeted outreach for Hindus there. Hindus have thousands of gods. These people believe they are caught in a cycle of rebirth called reincarnation. They try to please their gods by giving offerings of flowers, food, money, or animal sacrifices. General Baptist ministries currently focus on two states in India, Andhra Pradesh and Telegana, which combined contain populations that are 89.5% Hindu and 9.6% Muslim.

UN-RELIGIOUS (Unreached) We can identify these people as un-religious. General Baptists have these people all around them wherever they may be. These are the people who take part in no organized system of religious belief. They may be atheist, agnostics or simply irreligious or unreligious. As a prime example, it is often estimated that 64-80% of residents of Hong Kong do not believe in a personal God.

MUSLIMS One out of every five people in the world today is a Muslim. We think mainly of the Middle East and North Africa when we speak of Islam. These people believe that Jesus was a prophet like Mohammed but that Mohammed is more important. General Baptists have tremendous opportunity to impact Muslims with Christ in the Philippines (10% Muslim), India (which is 10% Muslim and possesses 11% of the total world Muslim population) and with Mission One teams reaching the West African nation of Niger (98% Muslim). In the Philippines we have tremendous potential to create a world Muslim outreach center focusing on the 10 nation ASEAN alliance and the many Filipino contract workers living in Muslim countries. Within the ASEAN alliance lies Indonesia (88% Muslim and 13% of world Muslim population), Brunei (52% Muslim), and Malaysia (62% Muslim). We must focus our efforts in the Philippines by assisting the General Baptist Church of the Philippines to reach Muslims, assist the General Baptist Bible College to develop a program of intercultural studies and create training programs for Filipino contract workers. We also have opportunity to reach Muslims through our various ministry partner organizations such as the English Language Institute of China.

BUDDHISTS The final category is Buddhism. Buddhists are found in Southeast Asia and neighboring countries. They are similar to Hindus. They believe in reincarnation. They

hope to end the cycle of rebirth by merging with the Buddha - like a drop of water going into the ocean. Buddhist concentrations may be found in such countries as Thailand (95% Buddhist), Myanmar (81% Buddhist), Laos (66% Buddhist), and Vietnam (17% Buddhist). Currently our best opportunity to reach Buddhists is through Filipinos of Japanese descent who currently reside in Japan as part of a guest worker program for Filipinos of Japanese descent.

The Prayer Challenge Missions education is more then, than teaching people about missions and it is more than training people to give to and pray for missionaries. It’s even more than teaching others about Christ. Missions education must include a challenge to pray for people who have no opportunity to hear the Gospel.

In your church prayer time teach people to pray for unreached people groups. In addition to your prayer ministry, ask God to impress on some of your congregation the need to go to unreached people. Ask God to open the eyes of the very ones they will someday reach for Him. Finally, pray that God will grant General Baptists opportunity to help finish the task of world evangelism. As you examine this issue of the Messenger you will see many opportunities with which God has gifted the people called General Baptist. We hope you will be both excited and burdened for what God can do through us!

When you pray look at your thumb, and remember the unreached people groups. Please pray that these people will:

• Learn who the one true God is.

• Find out what sin is and its punishment.

• Know who Jesus Christ is and what He has done for them.

• Receive Christ as their Savior.

Praying this way will also review the Gospel!

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San Jose

Because You GaveGeneral Baptists have always been a church planting denomination. When Benoni Stinson began our movement in the 1820s it was by planting a new church with a distinctive theology of a general atonement. For the last several years one area of focused church planting has been the state of California. General Baptists planted their first churches there in the 1920s and 1930s as General Baptists from the Midwest relocated to California. This type of church planting continued through the middle of the century. As time passed many of those churches became single generation churches and when their members retired they moved back ‘home’ to the Midwest. With a grant from Unified Giving and leadership by Bruce Conran and Rene Rodriguez many of these once Anglo churches have been replanted as ethnic Hispanic churches. Additionally other new churches have also been planted in both northern and southern California, Mexico and in other parts of the United States. Because you gave to our denominational mission through Unified Giving you have been part of a life-changing ministry of church planting among the ethnic groups of California. Thanks for doing your part!

For more information regarding support of our denominational mission through Unified Giving contact Rev. Clint Cook, Executive Director100 Stinson Drive | Poplar Bluff, MO 63901573-785-7746www.GeneralBaptist.com

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When God empowered the church with the coming of the Holy Spirit it had an intended purpose. God birthed the church so that it would have a global impact by extending the Kingdom of His Son to every corner of the globe. Before Christ’s birth it was prophesied by the angel, “And he will reign over Israel forever; His Kingdom will never end!” Acts 1:8 gives us this picture of an ever-widening impact from local to global. What began on the cross in Jerusalem will be extended across the world until He returns in glory and the earth as we know it will come to an end. The church is on mission with God to extend the Good News of salvation to all peoples. The mission always

begins locally but it was never intended to stay there. Every church is to do its part in this local to global impact by sending and supplying. However, it is imperative that we be strategic in our approach to make sure that we are good stewards of our God-given resources. If we are to invest these resources, where is the best place that will make the greatest impact? If we look at the world we must see that the greatest opportunities probably lie in what is called the 10/40 Window. The 10/40 Window is described by the Joshua Project as a “rectangular area consisting of North Africa, the Middle East and Asia and is approximately between 10 degrees north and 40 degrees north latitude”. The 10/40 Window

By: Rev. Phil Warren, Missionary to The Philippines

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includes the majority of the world’s Muslims (865 million), Hindus (550 million), and Buddhists (275 million). There are approximately 5 billion people in this region. It consists of over 8,000 different people groups and over 60% of these groups are considered unreached with the gospel. The population of these unreached groups is estimated to be almost three billion people. Three billion people waiting to hear and be invited into Christ’s ever-widening Kingdom. As we examine the impact of the Gospel in this region there are several important considerations. First, from a historical and biblical perspective this is the region where God called His people to begin the faith journey

with Him (there are approximately 17 million Jews in the 10/40 Window). Second, these are the least evangelized countries in the world. Third, the greatest numbers of unreached people groups and unreached cities are in the 10/40 Window. Fourth, the dominance of the three greatest non-Christian religions is in this bloc. Fifth, 90% of the world’s poorest of the poor live there. Last, there is a tremendous stronghold of Satan in the 10/40 Window and the horrors of evil are well documented. When you read these statistics the spiritual darkness and human suffering is staggering. Yet it is into that very darkness that Jesus sends us out as light (Matthew 5:14). We must understand that darkness never wins over light

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere — in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Acts 1:8 NLT

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unless the light never attempts to penetrate the darkness. If we truly want to make the greatest impact as General Baptist then we certainly must focus our resources on this part of the world. We already have missionaries in the Philippines that have a population of 103,000,000 and have 31 people groups still unreached. We have a missionary in Hong Kong, China where the population is over 7 million with only 12% as professing Christians. Now let’s focus a moment on India. India has a population of approximately 1.3 billion people and over 80% are Hindu and only 2% are evangelical Christians. It has 2,142 people groups and 1,929 are unreached. This means that over 1.2 billion people need to hear the Gospel message. We have one young missionary couple, Jessey and Brittany Vemula, who are working hard and we have the established work by Prakash & Jemima Pamu, but we need more missionaries to go and more churches to send and support their efforts. We have had long-term and short-term missionaries in Mainland China where the total population is over 1.4 billion people. Almost 20% of the world’s population lives in China and only about 8% are professing Christians. There are many roadblocks to sharing the message of Christ in this nation and the biggest is the Communist political leadership. However, it is estimated that 10,000 people a day are professing faith in Jesus Christ. Unfortunately we have no missionaries in the Middle East or Africa. Islam is making gigantic strides into Africa and Asia and the only hope is for the church to be strategic, bold and unafraid. The only hope for these nations is the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. As General Baptist the opportunities for us to impact our world for the glory of Christ is now. We must be embracing the mission as our life and ministry. We cannot rest on what we did yesterday. We need new missionaries units to be sent. We need churches that have the vision to see the world through God’s eyes and heart. We need you. The world needs you. The 10/40 Window needs you.

“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?”

Romans 10:14 NIV

Let me share a few other facts about the

10/40 Window: • It is estimated that 1.6 billion of these people have never had the chance to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ - not even once!

• The 10/40 Window constitutes 1/3 of the world’s land mass.

• In many of the 69 countries represented in the 10/40 Window, witnessing the Christian Gospel means death. Persecution of Christians is at the highest rate in this modern age (more than 100 million) and most of the persecution is in the 10/40 Window.

• 43 of the 50 worst countries in the world for persecution of Christians are here.

• The average annual income in this region is approximately $250 per family.

• 70,000,000 are on the threshold of starvation, every day and another 400,000,000 consume less than the “minimum critical diet.”

• The infant mortality rate is 14% in this poorest part of the world and half of the children of the absolute poor do not live to be 5.

• Illiteracy is widespread. 13% of these poor will learn to read as compared with 90% of our society.

• Terrorist organizations run rampant in many of these nations. Children under the age of five are trained to be Jihad soldiers.

• Horrific abuse of women and children remains unchecked. Prostitution and sex trafficking are commonplace.

• Only five pennies out of every $100 spent on missions goes to this desperately needy area of the world.

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GBIM VBS Missions Offering 2016 Playground Equipment “Kids Love to Play” Typhoon Soudelor robbed the island of Saipan of many things! Saipan Community Church/School avoided serious damage but typhoons have robbed the school of most of its playground equipment over the years. Your 2016 VBS Missions Offering can help Saipan and other GBIM partners get new playgrounds!www.gbimissions.com/vbs2016

VBS Offering 2016 Playground Equipment

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Sudhakar Bandoju was born in a Vadrangi Caste or the caste of carpenters. His ancestors before him were all carpenters. He is now 73 years old and has been a carpenter all his life. Each day, depending on work and orders, he used to make $5-$10. To make some extra money he also did Jyotish Shastra (astrology) and Vaastu Shastra (a traditional Hindu system of architecture). Sudhakar was a well-respected person in south Indian communities because he was considered a Guru (holy teacher). Many people in India depend on these gurus for guidance and teaching in all matters of life. In 2004, Sudhakar Bandoju gave his life to Jesus when he was 62 years old. Rev. Charles Vemula baptized him in the same year. Baptism in Hindu society is a sign that someone has become a full Christian and that the person is no longer a Hindu. After becoming a Christian, everything changed for him. As soon as the community became aware of his conversion, they felt betrayed and were shocked. The community was very furious and decided to ex-communicate him. Orders for his carpentry work stopped coming. People did not come to him for architecture or astrology anymore. He was even viewed personally as bad luck so people in the society avoided him. He told this to me one day, “People use to touch my feet for blessing or as a sign of gratitude and respect when I was a guru, but now it is the opposite. They will not even say “Namasthe” (Hello) to me.

I became an UNTOUCHABLE.” Sudhakar, before his conversion, used to make more than enough money for himself and his family. After he converted to Christianity, however, he went to bed sometimes with an empty stomach. Many people, including his family questioned him. He had no answer for them other than faith. Due to his conversion his wife left him and his son stopped speaking to him. He was separated from his wife and sons for two years. Eventually, he understood that he was all alone defending his faith in Christ, nevertheless, God used him to start sharing the gospel with others. Sudhakar won souls for Christ and started a church in his village of Machapur. He says, “I’m not angry at anyone for how they are treating me but my desire is to see my

Cost of Discipleship in INDIACost of Discipleship in INDIA

By: Jessey Vemula, Missionary in India

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people realize that there’s a true God and Savior out there, and His name is Jesus!” There are two goals that he has and they are to: • Win his family to Christ before he dies. • Win at least 10 people a year for Christ. Sudhakar was ordained as a General Baptist minister in 2014. Then in October 2015, he received 10 sheep as a part of the GBM cattle project with help from the General Baptist denomination. In return he is helping with all of the carpentry work at the new church building for free.

Sudhakar is just one of the millions of Indians who face persecution in various ways for being Christian. Many Christians are oppressed, looked down on, and even killed for just deciding to follow Christ. It does not matter what Caste you were born into,

once you become a Christian your Caste will go down to Backward Caste Christian (an UNTOUCHABLE). This untouchable status also has limitations on benefits such as scholarships and government jobs. When any Christian shares the good news of Jesus Christ there is always a risk of arrest or opposition because everyone knows what you are inviting them into. All of these fears of persecutions contribute to Hindus not converting very quickly. Indian Christians are not surprised by all of this because it typically happens in India all the time. News reports talk about people being beaten in churches in India and other places around the world. When it comes to persecutions we think of people being beaten or killed for their faith but in Hindu society it means a whole lot more. Most of us might say that we have not experienced persecution before. However, when we hear about anyone around the world being persecuted, that are Christians,

we begin to pray for them. At the same time though the question arises in our minds if we are going to face the same persecution someday. We are fortunate to live in a country that does not restrict our religious freedom. However, one day we will have to face some kind of persecution or oppression for Christ. There is a way to escape from the persecutions of this world. That is to find shelter in the arms of Christ. India is a country that needs more people to pray, share the gospel, and encourage those who are suffering. When a missionary from America comes to India, Indians are very encouraged by what he/she has to say. So know that you can be involved prayerfully, financially, or you can be on the front line sharing the gospel or encouraging a suffering Christian brother/sister on a mission trip. Persecution will be in this world until Christ comes. However, know that your prayers and support will help others come to know Christ or encourage them to take shelter in Him whether it is in India or anywhere else around the world.

“I BECAME AN UNTOUCHABLE”

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Daily I see all of these kinds of people in my neighborhood. Showing someone who is so far from understanding God’s love, grace, and redemption that He is a good father must come in tangible healing ways. As each of these members of their diaspora walk through the pains life has put on them, the goal is to help them find hope in Christ, hope in his church, and in turn hope for life. Rather than giving handouts to the asylum seekers with whom I work, they are given skills that can open doors when they are granted refugee status. Rather than giving finances to the ladies walking down the street (as if the lure of more money would always entice them to stay), I treat them as humans and not as property. I have conversations with them. I care for them. This is the first step in them coming to a place of having self-worth and realizing they deserve to be treated better than this profession is treating them. In both situations, I take every opportunity to sow seeds of biblical truth into the conversation. It has never been forced as God has opened the doors to conversations. Amian, whom I mentioned earlier, is an asylum seeker from the country that everyone in the world wants to keep out. She is a young lady full of ambition who wants to be loved. While she studies, she is clearly looking to understand the world, our differences and similarities. She wonders what truth is. I could place any university student’s name in that sentence and they would have similar desires. How we as Christians receive that curiosity is what sets her and others up for how they view Christianity in years to come. Walk in love my friends.

seekers find themselves waiting up to 15 years to obtain refugee status and the assurance that they will not be thrown back into the miserable situations they left. While asylum seekers and refugees are part of a diaspora, they are not the only ones in this category. Others included in a diaspora are migrant workers who move to another country in search of work so they can send funds home. China, Philippines, Indonesia, India are all sending laborers to cities around the world as people seek any way possible to feed their families. People come as musicians, housekeepers, construction workers, etc. They sacrifice seeing their families for the sake of providing finances for their families. A final and more traumatic type of diaspora includes those who go by force or out of desperation take inhumane jobs. This would include those who are victims of Labor Trafficking or Sex Trafficking or those who in desperation move to the city to prostitute themselves.

DEFINITIONS:

WHAT IS A DIASPORA? Any group migration or flight from a country or region; specifically, in this definition, those who leave because circumstance insists upon it.

WHO IS AN ASYLUM SEEKER? Asylum seekers are people who have left their country of origin, applied for recognition as a refugee in another country, and are awaiting a decision on their application.

WHO IS A REFUGEE? A refugee is a person outside his/her country of origin with a well-founded fear of persecution for any of the five following reasons: race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. They cannot return home without risk of extreme violations of their human rights, including torture or even death.

Learning to Walk in love

By: Fidelis, Worker in SE Asia

She walked into my class with a timid smile on her face and said, “Is this English class?” I said, “Yes, are you registered with the office?” “Umm, no my friend said I come.” “Ok, you can sit in here today, but afterward we will need to register you. What is your name?” “Amian” (name changed) She immediately took her seat with a large smile on her face that lasted the remainder of the class. “Welcome Amian. Where are you from?” “Syria. My older sister and I escaped several years ago and traveled to another country before coming here.” “Wonderful, I’m so glad you joined us. Please tell us more about your family? Is it just you and your sister who live here?” “Yes. I am 21 years old. My sister is 30. She went to school in the other country. I hope to go to school some day and get a degree in business. I just want to learn as much as I can while I can.” Amian represents a large population in the world today. She is part of a diaspora of asylum seekers hoping to obtain refugee status. If you do not know what those words mean, stick with me and see if understanding comes by the end of this article. In short: Asylum seekers (temporary) leave countries and apply to be refugees (permanent). The application process often takes years. In parts of the world, asylum

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The General Baptist Bible College, Inc. (GBBC) over the years has evolved from a small Bible school of 18 students to a multi-level educational institution. The dream to have a training school has been fulfilled. Through dedication, commitment and hard work this institution was built. We thank our leaders who have gone before us for their leadership, foresight, careful planning, and generosity. If not for their leadership and vision in the past, GBBC wouldn’t even be here today. Most of us were not around when GBBC started, but we all know that moving towards where GBBC is right now has been challenging as well as inspiring. The current reality is that in order for GBBC to be distinct in its offerings, we need to adapt to the fast changing landscape of basic education, theological education, and ministerial training. We need to be proactive in responding to the demands and needs of our stakeholders and the different fields of missions and ministries. Therefore, we need to maximize our physical, human and

financial resources and adopt new initiatives to achieve the vision of becoming a premier institution for leadership development in Christian ministries and missions in the Philippines and around the world. In May 2015, a seven member group from GBBC went to India on a short-term mission trip. This was our first all Filipino mission team. It was historic that for the very first time we crossed national borders to go international and work along side our brothers and sisters in India under the leadership of Jessey and Brittany Vemula. India is the second most populated country in the world with almost 1.3 billion people. India is predominantly a Hindu country with only 2.3% are Christians. India has more than 3 million gods and goddesses. It was in India where we saw how people worshipped a tree by putting their hands around it and worshipped and prayed before the tree. We saw how they worshipped a monkey god made of concrete that is as large as a building. It was so heartbreaking to see how they worshipped the creations and not the Creator.

GO BEYOND BORDERS FOR CHRISTBy: Joyce Porcadillia, President, General Baptist Bible College

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When I saw this, I knew in my heart that these people need to know the truth. As I reflected on this more deeply, I remembered what the Scriptures says in Romans 10:14-15 (New International Version):

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 anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

I asked myself, “But how can we send people if they are not trained? If they are not equipped?” That is what GBBC is exactly doing. GBBC exists to develop and equip leaders to be deeply rooted in the word of God and fully committed to make disciples not just here in the Philippines but around the world. Having just celebrated 50 years of ministry this past year, the General Baptist Bible College continues to move forward to face the challenges and opportunities of globalization and integration among neighboring countries. This intensifies efforts to produce graduates who are effective and efficient leaders and who are of Christ-like character. The Philippines, where GBBC is

of course located, has borderless opportunities to reach countries in Southeast Asia and most of these countries are within the 10/40 window. Because the Philippines has greater access to the 10/40 window countries where the most unreached people groups are situated, GBBC has an open window of opportunity to be able to share the Gospel and bring light and hope to this lost world. The Philippines with a little over 100 million people and at least 10% of them live abroad as overseas Filipino workers. This creates an open opportunity for cross cultural missions and ministry. Every day at least 4,500

Filipinos leave the country to work abroad and many of them work in countries where Christianity is not open. We can take advantage of this if we provide the right training through our institutions at General Baptist Bible College and at Matigsalug Bible Institute. The opportunities to train and equip our existing students for cross cultural ministries to reach the Filipinos living abroad are endless. Another opportunity is to provide short term training to existing overseas Filipino workers or those who are about ready to go abroad. We have a number of church members who are existing OFWs and all they need would be training for them to become intentional witnesses.

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In 1976 the Foreign Mission Board saw a similar opportunity on the island of Saipan because of the growing population of Filipino overseas workers. The Foreign Mission Board thought it would be wise to send a Filipino family to reach the Filipinos on the island. True enough, a GBBC graduate and his young family moved to Saipan. It was then that the Filipino congregation of Saipan Community Church started. The Filipino congregation remains to form a large part of Saipan Community Church. Since this was possible 40 years ago, there is no reason

that we can’t do it today. We have the human resources to do it. We just need to intensify our efforts and partnerships to make it happen. With the advancement of technology, it has become easier for us to move forward. GBBC and MBI therefore, commit themselves to equip and develop leaders deeply rooted in the word of God and fully committed to make disciples, not just within the Philippines but of all nations. GBBC and MBI are fully committed to instill Biblical truths in the hearts and minds of every single student, whether in the basic education department or in the college department, including our purpose and our calling. With this wider perspective and understanding of missions, no matter

what they will do and where they will go, they will always be wired and fired with the passion of Jesus Christ, this love of Christ that compels us. Maria, who grew up in a dysfunctional family, never knew who was hanging on the cross when she was 13 years old. She wondered who that man was until one day someone told her who that man was. Still not convinced of what and who that man was, she often wondered if there really was a God. It was only when someone really spent time with her that she fully understood and came to know Jesus. She then became a believer because someone shared

the truth. She then became a missionary to the Philippines and lived most of her life investing in the lives of those who need to know Jesus. She continues to serve now but in a different capacity of training leaders all over the world, specifically going around Southeast Asia, because she believes that the harvest is indeed plentiful but the workers are few. Yes, we need more Marias, but we need to train and equip them to become effective Marias. It will be through the beautiful feet of these students who commit themselves to training and who will go beyond borders for Christ that we have hope that the truth will be known and the Gospel be preached to the lost world. We can make a difference.

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The YEOMANSBy: Nicole Yeomans, Missionary to the Philippines

Romans 10:14 tells us “But how can they call on Him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about Him? I can still remember the exact moment that someone posed the question to me for the first time, “but what about those that have never heard the Gospel, will they go to heaven?” I stood looking at them like a deer in headlights and my life was forever changed. I spent the next 4 years at Welch College, studying the Bible, missions and Christian Education. It is there that I met my husband, Kris, who was also studying missions. God had placed a call to missions in both of our hearts. Romans 10:14-15 continues by saying, “And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent?” We believe very deeply that God has called us to make His name known among the unreached peoples of this Earth, to share Jesus with those who have never heard, to be intentional in our relationships with the purpose of sharing Jesus and to make disciples as we go where God leads us. What does that look like for our family in the very near future? Until now, our involvement with missions has been leading short term mission trips to some of the most unreached parts of the world, including Niger, West Africa. In 2016 we will move with our two daughters, Emily (10) and Eden (4), to the Philippines for a two year assignment for additional experience in Muslim outreach. We have been approved to share an amazing opportunity in the Philippines by assisting General Baptist International Ministries, the General Baptist Bible College, the General Baptist Church of the Philippines and the Matigsalug Bible Institute in developing programs of effective Muslim outreach within the Philippines and beyond its borders. Now, like never before in history, Muslims are turning to Jesus as their Savior! We as Christians have an opportunity to share Christ with our Muslim neighbors

like never before as God brings them to our doorsteps. We are able to reach them in ways that were never possible in their home countries. Also, General Baptists have a unique opportunity in the Philippines to partner with our Filipino brothers and sisters in Christ and to train them to not only share Christ with their Muslim neighbors, but also share Christ as they are going as Overseas Filipino Workers. Look at a map. Find the Philippines. Now look down just a little and maybe to the left and you will find Indonesia, which has the largest Muslim population in a single country. Filipino Christians have the opportunity to reach their Muslim neighbors in Indonesia, and in surrounding countries, all without the requirement of a travel visa. In 2013, there were 2.3 million Overseas Filipino Workers. The most preferred country of destination for OFW’s in 2013 was Saudi Arabia! Saudi Arabia: birthplace of Arabic, sometimes called the “home of Islam”, where the cities of Mecca and Medina are found, where Muhammad lived and died and millions of Muslims visit for Hajj and march around the Ka’aba, and a country where you and I can only dream of going into – this is the place that houses around 1.5 million overseas Filipino workers! What an amazing opportunity we have to train the OFWs to be intentional about sharing Christ as they are going! Our God is a God of strategy and He has been putting into place some amazing things for the advancement of the Gospel! From there, we plan to move to Niger, West Africa, to work with unreached people groups, as God continues to lead. Niger, located in the 10/40 window, is one of the poorest countries in the world and home to 19 million people and 37 different people groups. 94.3% claim to be Muslims, while only 0.14% claim to be Evangelical Christians. 98.2% of the population is considered unreached with the gospel. It is here, and places like Niger within the 10/40 window, that we as General Baptist must begin to focus our energies for the advancement of the gospel. Then we can be found obedient in the task of taking the gospel to the ends of the earth. We cannot wait to tell you more about how General Baptists have a chance to make Him known, specifically within the Muslim world and among unreached people groups!

We are accepting invitations to speak in your church and may be contacted at Kris (901) 585-5202 or Nicole (615) 495-6505. You may also contact Mark Powell or Jim Pratt at the International Ministries office at (573) 785-7746.

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A Conversation with Shelly Summerfield on what it was like to live and serve in China

Visit with Shelly Summerfield and discover the importance of your prayer and financial support of those among us who serve overseas.

Let’s begin with the big question: Why did you go to China?

Some people thought I was crazy for going to China but long story short—I was called and I went. I told people I wanted to experience something new—like a new culture, language, or yada yada but the real reason was I wanted to experience God in a new light—different from the typical “American Christian” way. And I did.

So, how was it?

My first year was the best year of my life. I was on a team of seven in a relatively small city. We taught together, prayed together, kept each other accountable and did life together. Students were drawn to us—they wanted to hear about Jesus. The second year, God did a number on me. I moved to a larger city, had a smaller team, had a hard time teaching, but I got what I asked Him for—an experience that would help me see Him better. In a new way, I realized my need for Him—His love, His identity. It was hard—but I would do it all over again.

What do you miss?

What don’t I miss?! I miss the amazing food (very different from the American—Chinese “buffet” we know here.) I miss the welcoming and hospitable people—caring for me and helping me navigate life in their country. And I miss the strategic relationships that were so obviously planned by the Father.

Like with Cindy. When I met Cindy, she was closed off to the Father. One day she saw my Bible, and said she wanted to read it with me. I still see her face as she responded to the Word and to our conversation and I ask regularly that the Father will capture her heart. Cindy reminds me how God really uses us even when we don’t realize it.

Sounds like God answered your prayer about experiencing Him in a new light.

Yes, I learned so much about myself living overseas. Like, I am sinful, flawed, and redeemed all at the same time. I learned He is passionate about His name being made known among the nations. I learned that serving Him isn’t about me—it’s about Him. About what He came to this earth to do. About what He did on the cross. About seeking Him first and keeping our eyes on Him daily. Those are lessons I’ll carry the rest of my life. I also learned the importance of prayer. He listens when we ask Him for a connection with a student, He listens when we ask Him to provide the thousands of dollars we are behind on support. He cares, and He answers. Having people pray for you is so critical. You can just tell. The enemy is strong, of course. The reality is that he is beneath our feet, but it sure doesn’t feel like it sometimes. He whispers “you shouldn’t be here.” He says, “God isn’t working through you” and “You’re not good enough to serve the King.” Those lies make it hard to serve. So now,

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UNITED STATES • HONDURAS • JAMAICA • INDIA • PHILIPPINES • HONG KONG • SAIPAN • MEXICO

Since 1823, General Baptists have been growing our ministry here in the United States, continually trying to

reach new people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Since 1911, we have been sending missionaries overseas, to go where many of us will never go, to reach people groups

many of us will never meet. And people are being won to Christ because of YOUR gifts to Unified Giving.

GENERAL BAPTIST MINISTRIES 573.785.7746 • WWW.GENERALBAPTIST.COM

when I pray for those serving overseas, I intercede for their personal walks with God. I pray that they would believe truth and believe that He is working in and through them. I am so grateful for the support of my church, Fellowship General Baptist. They were so wonderful to me—quick to stand beside me in whatever way possible. Diligent in asking for specific ways to lift me up and then they showed me they were praying! Like when my e-bike was stolen—a praying church member provided the finances for a new one. And when I served refugees in Lebanon after China—they stood with me all the way in that important work. I am forever thankful for their partnership.

So—what’s next for you?

The work with refugees in Lebanon has stolen my heart! I’m going back with the same organization this summer. They are a great organization—passionate about the Gospel and about making His name known among the nations. They regularly pray for and care about their workers. I would 1000% recommend them if you are considering or know someone praying about going overseas. If your heart is being stirred to go overseas, I would say GO! It’s a wonderful way to spend your life—not necessarily easy, but a way to experience God like you can’t even imagine. You will be refined and sanctified, and sometimes that hurts, but you will become more like Jesus. What’s better in this life?

If Shelly’s story has stirred your heart about serving overseas, then get in touch with the organization representative, Amanda, at 970-530-3840 and she’ll talk you through great short-term and long-term opportunities in Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Find out if this adventure is for you!

GENERAL BAPTISTINVESTMENT FUND, Inc.100 Stinson Drive • Poplar Bluff, MO 63901

573-785-7746Barbara Williams, TreasurerSteve Naff, President/CEO

Funds are Available

General Baptistinvestment fund

Your Church — New or Renovation

Your Parsonage • Church Transportation

Deposits accepted for demand certi�cate of deposit Paying 2.50% • No Penalty for withdrawl

The Triumph of FaithBy: Rodney Stark

You’ve read the headlines and seen the studies: people are abandoning religion, right? Wrong. In this important, myth-busting book, acclaimed author and scholar Rodney Stark reveals that the world is more religious than it’s ever been—and why everyone gets the story wrong. Everyone seems to take it for granted that the world

is getting more secular—that faith is doomed by modernity. Scientists, secularists, and atheists applaud the change; religious believers lament it. But here’s the thing: they’re all wrong—and the bestselling author and influential scholar of religion Rodney Stark has the numbers to prove it. The Triumph of Faith explodes the myth that people around the world are abandoning religion. Stark marshals an unprecedented body of data—surveys of more than a million people in 163 nations—to paint the full picture that both scholars and popular commentators have missed. And he explains why the astonishing growth of religion is happening and what it means for our future.

Stark’s bracing book is full of insights that defy the conventional wisdom. With vigorous prose he reveals: • Why claims about Millennials’ lack of religion are overblown and historically ignorant • Why Islam is NOT overtaking Christianity • How 4 out of 5 people worldwide now belong to an organized religion • How 50 percent have attended a worship service in the past week • Why much-ballyhooed studies from the Pew Research Center and others get the religious landscape wrong • Why atheists remain few, anywhere—despite all the talk of the “New Atheism”

As Stark shows, secularists have been predicting the imminent demise of religion for centuries. It is their unshakable faith in secularization that may be the most “irrational” of all beliefs. As the author of How the West Won, The Victory of Reason, and many other bestselling works, Rodney Stark has a richly deserved reputation for writing page-turning, myth-busting books. He is also a groundbreaking scholar who has so reshaped the social scientific study of religion that his work has become the basis of a “new paradigm.” Stark puts all those talents on full display in The Triumph of Faith. This book will change how you see both religion and the forces of secularization.

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A home-grown religious movement had its beginnings in the 1820s in Evansville, Indiana. General Baptists came into existence because of the revival preaching of Elder Benoni Stinson. He boldly and frequently proclaimed the good news of the gospel that “Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, tasted death for everyman” with the result that “whosoever will may be saved”. This preaching from texts found in the New Testament books of Hebrews and Romans resulted in the planting of new churches, a networking with other like-minded groups, and the birthing of a national organization in 1870. But why General Baptist? The name is actually a summary of the core theology of the movement reflecting belief in a general atonement that anyone who is willing to trust Jesus as Savior may be saved. This theological name stood in contrast to those groups of the 19th century who advocated a particular or limited atonement for in their theology only a few, not the many, could be saved. Though the term “atonement” is not in the General Baptist Statements of Faith, few terms are more important to our historical identity. The “general” in General Baptist is derived from our position on atonement. Atonement can mean the compensation, the restitution paid, or expiation given by God through Jesus Christ for our sin. Atonement can describe the actions of Jesus to secure our salvation, and thus the redemptive work of Jesus can be described as the atonement. Many Protestants continue to disagree over whether atonement is general (i.e., for all) or particular (i.e., only for those who are “elect”). General Baptists argue that the atonement is for all, but the benefits of the atonement “can be received only through repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Statement of Faith IV). Because we believe in a general atonement we are naturally evangelistic and intentionally missionary. How else will our world hear the Good News?

For more information visit: www.GeneralBaptist.com.

THEOLOGICAL CONNECTIONS

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By: Amanda Stead, Missionary to Mexico

GB Teach ing Eng l i sh as a Second Language in Juarez

You don’t have to drive very far into Juárez, Mexico to see that life there is hard. Driving there is hard, and it is incredibly hard on the vehicles. It is hard to stay warm in the winter and it is almost impossible to cool off in the summer. The average wage is somewhere between $50 and $75 US dollars per week, if you can get a factory job — oh so very hard. Most people have no hot water, and they continue to have issues with the city water being potable. I cannot think of anything in Juárez that isn’t hard except finding amazing food prepared by generous people who have little businesses sharing what little they have with American visitors. Yes, life in Juárez is hard. Loving the people, is not. Loving the people of Juárez is one of the easiest things our family has ever had the pleasure of doing. So, you’re in Juárez and the people hug and kiss you and shake your hand and say “Díos le bendiga!” (God bless

you!) and they mean it! They call you “hermano” (brother) and “amado” (loved one) and you wish with all of your heart that you might provide some opportunity to change lives. Yes, we bring the gospel message andthat is beautiful and good and provides eternal hope and joy and comfort. Without that hope, this job would be heartbreaking and would make us feel helpless. And, you pray for them. You pray for mercy in the scorching heat in the summer and divine warmth in the freezing winters knowing that in the cinderblock homes, there is no heat for the most part. You pray for rain, although there are few crops to benefit. We’re not talking tropical paradise here. We’re talking desert and all that that entails, rattlesnakes, scorpions and black widows included. So, what do we do? The one thing that is apparent for anyone who visits is that these people need opportunities. They need a break, some way to improve their lives in the smallest degree to

GB Teach ing Eng l i sh as a Second Language in JuarezBy: Amanda Stead, Missionary to Mexico

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help them do slightly better and, Lord willing, help them feed their families and break generations of poverty that grips the people. When the Lord put teaching English on our hearts and transferred us to Juárez, He read our minds. Shortly after arriving, the people in the churches found out that we homeschool and have the ability to teach. They immediately began asking us to teach them English. In Juárez, English means better jobs and better jobs means better pay. This is part of the opportunity that we so desire to add to their lives if anything at all. Knowing only two people in Mexico who speak any English at all, I asked one of them who taught them the English they know. He said another missionary taught him years ago. He said that she cared enough about people to give classes. In contrast, another person insisted that it is not “God’s work”. It is secular and not serving the Lord. Those comments raised questions in our hearts yet, the people asked and we had already been thinking and praying about teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) as an avenue for developing relationships and meeting obvious needs. More importantly it allows us to spread the gospel to people who wouldn’t be caught in a church on their worst day, but will show up for English classes. There are many opportunities available for teaching English here in Mexico. We are currently teaching children’s classes, and have a couple of new families attending who are very excited about the English classes provided for their kids. Studies show that attaining a 2nd language is easiest before the age of 13, so we are excited to take advantage of this opportunity to take these classes to young people. We are also offering classes after Wednesday night services and are considering hosting classes on Saturday mornings as well. We’re engaged in discussions with the students about areas where they would like to focus their language skills and what areas of vocabulary are of the greatest interest to them. With help, we hope to build a small library of simple readers in English to help build vocabulary and provide resources for independent learning. In time we’d like to build that library to include a variety of skill levels as they advance in learning. We currently have materials to begin study in the book of Matthew in English and are working toward building vocabulary so that the lessons are better understood.

In addition to easy readers, we’d love to have the ability to give each one of our students a Bible with both English and Spanish to read through and discuss together. One of our students would like to learn to understand what is being said when people sing or pray in English. Having bilingual Bibles would contribute substantially toward learning the vocabulary she will need to do that. We currently have no budget for any of the materials we use and are severely limited in what we can do because of that. Any assistance offered in that area would be greatly appreciated! Do we have other venues to explore for teaching English? Absolutely! People in business or wanting to go into business, all want to learn English in Mexico. Other avenues to explore include the University and technical institutes in Juárez where there is the potential for teaching and spreading the gospel to the up-and-coming world-changers in the country of Mexico. The possibilities are endless in this city of over a million people, most of whom would give just about anything for a chance at an opportunity to better their lives. We hope to provide friendships and comradery, and of course the knowledge of Jesus Christ as Savior to these beautiful people. Please consider coming down on a team to help out here, supporting the ministry or our family personally so that we can continue to do this work. Thank you for sending us, for supporting us, and for anything you may be willing to do or invest to help the beautiful people of Juárez .

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Turning Point Church in Bonita Springs, Florida launched in the fall of 2015. We asked Church Planter Steve Gill for an update of the early months of that fresh, new work.

What has been most rewarding?

Seeing new people come to Christ and come to the first church for the first time is pretty rewarding. We are even seeing people who walked away or have given up on the church walk back after being away from for months and even years.

What has been most challenging?

Someone I know once told me that in ministry, ‘all of it is hard work’. Whether you are planting a church, restarting a church or pastoring an established church, it’s all challenging. It’s hard because we are pushing against darkness and darkness always pushes back! But we all know that it’s worth it because we are pointing people to know Christ.

What kind of life change have you seen?

The life change is the most exciting part! We’ve seen people commit their lives to Christ and even 12 people go public in baptism. We’ve already seen families dedicate their kids to Christ! It’s also fun to see people serve together and begin to build relationships with one another. People are starting to talk about Turning Point not as A church in town but as THEIR church.

One church closed in Louisville because their community disappeared in an expansion of the airport authority. They entrusted Turning Point with a large gift. What’s it like to carry that legacy?

It’s a privilege and an honor! In fact, we are grateful not only to that community of believers for their investment, but for many other churches, families, and individuals who have invested their generosity in this work. To all off them, we are proud to not only be a part of a legacy but proud to be have them help us reach people far from God.

TURNING POINT

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California’s New WaveBy: Gene Koker, Pastor, Otter Creek Church in Boonville, IN

On December 19, 2015, the churches of Sheffield Association of General Baptists celebrated the nearly 20 year ministry of Bruce and Marilyn Conran in California. The retirement service held in Downey, attended by over 200 people, included several speakers, wonderful music and inspiring testimonies. A beautiful banquet was given in honor of the Conrans. Bruce and Marilyn had become the spiritual parents of the attendees, mostly new to General Baptists in the past two decades. Near the end of the service a prayer of blessing was given for the Conrans. The new mission director, Rene Rodriguez and his wife Emerita, were installed with prayer as well. Prior to his mission service, Bruce had been a deacon in the Hopewell General Baptist Church in Flint, Michigan. Following his retirement from General Motors, he went to work at Stinson Press, in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. In 1996, Bro. Bruce was appointed California mission director by General Baptist National Missions to expand our work, especially to the Spanish-speaking population there.

The future is bright for General Baptist work in California. Our new Ministry Coordinator for California is Rene Rodriguez. Rene, a native of El Salvador, has been working with Bruce for a number of years. He has helped plant a number of Spanish-speaking churches and has initiated and directed our General Baptist Bible Institute since 2004. Rene has a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the University of El Salvador and a doctorate from FLET University (a Spanish language school) in the U.S. The General Baptist Bible Institute in California has a current enrollment of 85 students, meeting in three locations, including Bellflower, San Rafael (San Francisco), and Lancaster, California. There are plans to expand to additional locations. The first graduating class was in 2007 with 8 students. The school has conferred 27 Associate Degrees and 7 Bachelor’s Degrees, with 7 more students expected to complete their Bachelors this July. Programs are offered in Theology, Church Planting, Christian Education and Christian Counseling. Graduates from the Bible Institute are encouraged to plant new churches. Some churches start in homes. Many rent buildings from other English-speaking churches. Some, like the churches in Lancaster and San Rafael, have an attendance of over 100. Our Guatemalan church in San Rafael is planning to start a new church in Richmond and is sending ministry leaders to Sacramento to reach out to Hispanics in partnership with the Gardena Park General

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Baptist Church, where a bilingual service is currently held. This past summer 18 folks from Sheffield Association attended the Mission & Ministry Summit in Collinsville, Illinois. They were blessed to see that they too were a meaningful part of the larger movement of General Baptists. These churches love being part of their local association and the General Baptist denomination. It is hard to overestimate the transformation that has taken place in California General Baptist work under the leadership and care of Bruce and Marilyn Conran. The number of churches in our southern California General Baptist association has tripled during the Conran’s tenure, to some 20 churches. Today the Sheffield Association includes a few English speaking churches, one Filipino church, and the remainder is Spanish-speaking. My wife Joyce and I were privileged in December to attend Bruce’s retirement service. We were also privileged to share in evangelistic services in Lancaster and San Rafael. In San Rafael I spoke to the Bible Institute on the topics of Leadership, and General Baptist History and Doctrine. The foundation is laid and the future is bright for reaching out to the 14 million Hispanics, as well as the other 25 million souls in California. Your prayers are desired for this worthy work.

Three reasons for belonging.

1. Doing together what we cannot do alone. No one church can accomplish individually what we accomplish collectively.

2. We are not alone in the struggle. As part of a network of churches we are exposed to the help and encouragement needed to be more effective in our local ministries.

3. A denomination offers services and programs. • Conferences and events offered at very

modest costs and in convenient locations. • Consultation services customized to our denominational settings. • Missionary presence to assist local ministries to more effectively reach the world. • Church Planter connections to impact

the course of our nation. • Construction and expansion loans.

THOSE OLD DENOMINATIONSFOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: WWW.GENERALBAPTIST.COM

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Church Planting 2017

Church Planting 2016California Church PlantsSheffield Association under the leadership of Rev. Rene Rodriguez has already recruited church planters for four new church plants in early 2016. Lake Forest, Fresno, Ontario and Palos Verdes have each been selected as sites for new church plants. Later in 2016 other church plants are likely.

Adam & Brandi ThackerIt was around 2010 that God really began wooing my heart back to Roanoke, Virginia. We are looking forward to planting there in 2017 and reaching Roanoke in the unique way God has set within us to do. In a city where there are many churches, we will bring an innovative, home-grown, local culture to the mix that will allow us to reach a broad market of people who are falling through the cracks of either the traditional church or transplant churches with foreign visions to the people of southwest Virginia. These people need Jesus like the rest of us. Until then, we sacrifice, we serve, we stretch, we prepare, we do battle, we build relationships, we pray, we partner, and most of all we point to Jesus. 2017 Church Planters Adam & Brandi Thacker are currently serving an internship with Relevant Church in preparation for their return to Roanoke.

Pete & Phoebe Lapaz“We’ve never done it this way before!” observed Executive Director Clint Cook but in 2016 work is being done to establish a new church in Jacksonville, Florida. What’s so different? It is not that our church planter is Filipino. The difference is that as a teenager Pastor Pete Lapaz was won to faith in Christ by Missionary Cecil Green in the Philippines! Now semi-retired Pastor Lapaz is gathering a core group to establish a new General Baptist church that may lead to the organization of a new group of churches in and around Jacksonville, Florida.

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Beginning in the summer of 2016 General Baptist Ministries will begin a five year initiative leading up to the year 2020. Turnaround 2020 intends to capture a renewed emphasis on evangelism and church growth so that every General Baptist church may reach its full redemptive potential. Because General Baptists believe in a general atonement—that Christ tasted death for all so that whosoever will may be saved—no General Baptist church reaches its full redemptive potential until everyone in its sphere of influence has heard, understood and responded to the gospel message. Our strategy will be to produce and distribute turnaround resources for all, to present coaching opportunities to those groups who commit to in-person and/or video venue sessions, and to facilitate mentoring for one-on-one intensive connections.

A Program and A Process Turnaround 2020 will provide programming content readily adaptable in a variety of local church settings. At the same time Turnaround 2020 will initiate a process that, over time, will assist participating churches in their turnaround.

Why Turnaround? Church growth experts continue to remind us that approximately 80% of local churches in the United States are either plateauing or declining in their attendance. A church plateaus when there is no change in the overall participation in its ministries. Plateau sometimes occurs when a group becomes closed to new members much like a private membership club that blackballs all new applicants. Plateau most often occurs when a church only reaches enough new members to replace those lost to death, drop-out or relocation. If plateau continues for any appreciable length of time, decline becomes inevitable. A declining church counts fewer participants in the current year than were present in the prior year.

Plateau and decline are sometimes rationalized as the result of strict faithfulness to the gospel that discourages half-hearted followers. In many churches plateau or decline have become the new normal. No one seems to remember anything else! Plateau and decline, however, most often results from the loss of connection to the community and the failure to communicate the Good News in understandable, meaningful ways.

Programming Overview Beginning in 2016 the annual Mission & Ministry Summit will provide a platform for the distribution of Turnaround 2020 materials. Annually a planning notebook will be released at the Summit for free download or for hard copy purchase.

This annual plan book will include: 1. Growth Strategies for a variety of settings such as small, medium and large churches along with rural, suburban and urban or revitalizing and refocusing churches. 2. Worship and small group resources patterned around a 40 Day Campaign will be prepared or identified. Every year at least one series of worship experiences and companion small group resources will be produced or identified. Worship resources will include preaching guides, creative elements, and music suggestions. 3. Jump Start Strategies to address one or more of the essential church systems will provide simple, practical suggestions to help the interested church leader begin the process of turnaround. 4. Leadership Examples. Woven throughout each plan book will be the stories and reports of turnaround as experienced in local General Baptist churches. These reports will not only identify successes but will also indicate what did not work in particular settings.

Will it take five years to turnaround? Organizational experts suggest that it may take 7-10 years to change the culture of an organization like a local church. Many churches, however, find that turnaround does not take nearly that long if there is a common commitment to the new vision of turnaround. The turnaround process benefits from the learning and experience of other churches that have achieved turnaround. Thus it is not unreasonable to expect that many churches will experience turnaround in 1-3 years. For more information and for early copies of the Turnaround 2020 plan book be sure to attend this year’s Mission & Ministry Summit in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

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WORSHIP BY THE PERRY CASE BAND

REGISTER BY MAY 1ST$225 - DOUBLE OCCUPANCY$325 - PR IVATE ROOM

ALL REGISTRAT ION FEES INCREASE BY $25 AFTER MAY 1 ST.

WHOLE HOG ROASTRECEPTION

ANNUALGOLF TOURNEMENT

FEATURING KEYNOTE SPEAKER ALEX HIMAYA

Women’s Ministries Director, Patti Thornton, lost her husband November 27, 2015. As Women’s Ministries accentuates the idea of courage in 2016, the Women’s Ministries Board of Directors thought it

seemed appropriate to share her first blog of the year as a testimony of her own personal courage. – Carol Lewis, WM Board President

Stories: Endings and BeginningsPosted by Patti Thornton, January 7, 2016 at www.gbwomen.org

I would not call myself an avid reader, but I do love books. Word filled pages bound between colorful front and back covers promise adventure, surprising tidbits of history, sage wisdom, mystery, and flowery romance. They lure me away from the mundane (if not distressing) goings on of real life to a pillow lined seat in a warmly lit corner. They are tickets to an escape route. When a story takes you away to another world, sometimes you just want to stay there. Have you ever found yourself not wanting to turn the page to see the final period – to read “the end” on an orphaned line half way down a page? When I was a child, I owned a series of “Happy Hollisters” books. I loved every story, but I always hated to reach the end of a familiar volume. I never knew if the next one would be as much to my liking. I thought about this as I was walking the other day. Rain and clouds had hovered over us for what seemed like months. At very least, I hadn’t noticed the sunshine since the day Wilbur’s heart stopped beating and mine didn’t. But on this day, sunshine and a gloriously blue sky brought with it a hint of hope that all the pain I was feeling would one day be manageable. A phrase that recently appeared on Facebook came to mind as I reached the one mile mark hill: You can’t start a new book if you keep re-reading the last one. As is more normal than not for me these days, I muffled a deep sob. I masked the air-sucking gasps for breath by quickening my gait. Thoughts, mixed with a rush of panic, filled the same mind I was trying to clear with fresh air. What if I’m not ready to start a new book? What if I’m happy going over and over my memories of neck kisses and slow dances and nature hikes? What if I never want to close my familiar book? That is when I felt The Comforter whisper to my frantically pounding heart:

You will always have the book. You can always look at its pages, even though you’ll read them differently because you already know the end and how the story progressed. Just keep it on the bookshelf and go ahead and start, however slowly, a new book. Reread the first page as many times as you need. Refer to the old book as often as you like because it tells the story of how I’ve blessed you. Notice that, eventually, you’ll have to start dusting that old book because it sat there, unused but remembered. As you open your new book, pay attention to the story unfolding on the crisp pages before you. Some characters will be new, places will be different, and purpose may shift. But it’s the story meant for you right now. Trust me.

I haven’t started reading that new story yet, but I’m getting closer. The panic attacks grow slightly further apart, nights are a wee bit shorter, and my laugh-to-cry ratio is slightly rising. I still feel like my fingers are frozen to the open back cover of the old book, though, and am ever so grateful for a patient Comforter.

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Just like Patti, Women’s Ministries is embarking on a courageous journey to be as effective as possible in its ministry endeavors. As an organization, the question must be asked, how do we reach the farthest? How do we dispel the most darkness? How do we most usefully put to task our rich resource of women who are “all in” to spread the Good News as far and wide as possible as God instructs? Just as He did for Patti as she searches for forward direction, the Holy Spirit comforts us with this same thought:

As you open your new book, pay attention to the story unfolding on the crisp pages before you. Some characters will be new, places will be different, and purpose may shift. But it’s the story meant for you right now. Trust me

Patti’s husband, Wilbur, May 2015

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Ted CunninghamTed Cunningham is the founding pastor of Woodland Hills Family Church in Branson, MO. He is the author of Fun Loving You, Trophy Child and Young and In Love and coauthor of four books with Dr. Gary Smalley: The Language of Sex; From Anger to Intimacy; Great Parents, Lousy Lovers and As Long as We Both Shall Live. He is a graduate of Liberty University and Dallas Theological Seminary. Ted and his wife, Amy, have been married for 17 years and live in Branson, MO with their two children, Corynn and Carson.

Gary McIntoshDr. Gary L. McIntosh, has over 27 years of experience in the field of church growth consultation, coaching of church leaders, and workshop presentations. As President of the McIntosh Church Growth Network, Gary has analyzed over 1,000 churches, representing some 87 denominations throughout the United States, Canada and Southeast Asia. His articles have appeared in Global Church Growth, New Results, the Win Arn Growth Report, Leadership, Church Growth America, Growing Churches, and numerous denominational publications. Gary is currently Professor of Christian Ministry and Leadership at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, where he teaches courses in the field of Pastoral Theology.

Phil Cooke An internationally known writer and speaker, Phil Cooke has actually produced media programming in nearly 50 countries around the world. During that time—through his company Cooke Pictures in Burbank, California—he’s helped some of the largest nonprofit organizations and leaders in the world use the media to tell their story in a changing, disrupted culture. Through his best-selling book Branding Faith: Why Some Churches and Non-Profits Make a Difference and Other's Don't, Phil helps churches and ministry leaders understand that they have to "tell a better stories.”

Clint Cook - Executive Director of General Baptist Ministries

Born in 1962, Clint was called into the ministry at the age of 16 and ordained as a minister at the age of 20. Graduating from St. Louis Christian College in 1986 Clint began his first pastorate at Real Life Church in Springfield, IL in September 1985. At that time the church was known as First General Baptist Church. In 2011, Clint was called by the General Baptist Council of Associations to act as the interim Executive Director following the resignation of Dr. James Murray. After less than a year serving as Interim, Clint was elected to fill the Executive Director position on a permanent basis. As Executive Director, Clint has continued his ministry as Lead Pastor at Real Life Church and continued and expanded the Next Level Coaching Network among General Baptist pastors and leaders.

MEET OUR 2016 SUMMIT KEYNOTERS

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Ted CunninghamTed Cunningham is the founding pastor of Woodland Hills Family Church in Branson, MO. He is the author of Fun Loving You, Trophy Child and Young and In Love and coauthor of four books with Dr. Gary Smalley: The Language of Sex; From Anger to Intimacy; Great Parents, Lousy Lovers and As Long as We Both Shall Live. He is a graduate of Liberty University and Dallas Theological Seminary. Ted and his wife, Amy, have been married for 17 years and live in Branson, MO with their two children, Corynn and Carson.

Gary McIntoshDr. Gary L. McIntosh, has over 27 years of experience in the field of church growth consultation, coaching of church leaders, and workshop presentations. As President of the McIntosh Church Growth Network, Gary has analyzed over 1,000 churches, representing some 87 denominations throughout the United States, Canada and Southeast Asia. His articles have appeared in Global Church Growth, New Results, the Win Arn Growth Report, Leadership, Church Growth America, Growing Churches, and numerous denominational publications. Gary is currently Professor of Christian Ministry and Leadership at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, where he teaches courses in the field of Pastoral Theology.

Phil Cooke An internationally known writer and speaker, Phil Cooke has actually produced media programming in nearly 50 countries around the world. During that time—through his company Cooke Pictures in Burbank, California—he’s helped some of the largest nonprofit organizations and leaders in the world use the media to tell their story in a changing, disrupted culture. Through his best-selling book Branding Faith: Why Some Churches and Non-Profits Make a Difference and Other's Don't, Phil helps churches and ministry leaders understand that they have to "tell a better stories.”

Clint Cook - Executive Director of General Baptist Ministries

Born in 1962, Clint was called into the ministry at the age of 16 and ordained as a minister at the age of 20. Graduating from St. Louis Christian College in 1986 Clint began his first pastorate at Real Life Church in Springfield, IL in September 1985. At that time the church was known as First General Baptist Church. In 2011, Clint was called by the General Baptist Council of Associations to act as the interim Executive Director following the resignation of Dr. James Murray. After less than a year serving as Interim, Clint was elected to fill the Executive Director position on a permanent basis. As Executive Director, Clint has continued his ministry as Lead Pastor at Real Life Church and continued and expanded the Next Level Coaching Network among General Baptist pastors and leaders.

MEET OUR 2016 SUMMIT KEYNOTERS

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Featuring:Charlotte Strickland from Conway, Arkansas – in a return engagement! Jacqueline Warren from Real Life Church, Springfield, IllinoisHope Valvero – 1st Baptist Church of Harvester in St. Charles, MissouriPatti Thornton – Women’s Ministries Director, Poplar Bluff, MissouriOut of Ashes from Princeton, KY – Guest Worship Performers.

Register early! Space is limited and the 2015 event sold out!Event fee is $100 | Lodging and 5 meals is $210 per person, double occupancy

For more details or to register:Call 573-785-7746Email wmofc@generalbaptist.comGo online at www.gbwomen.org

Experience it for yourself this September 23-25 at beautiful Wooded Glen Retreat Center in Henryville, Indiana (just north of Louisville, KY) where the company and food are memorable, the rooms are cozy, and there is room to roam while you pray.

Join us for inspired speakers, encouraging breakouts, and probable emotional outbursts.

out of ashes

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Our full descriptions and times for our Summit workshops may be found at www.GBSummit.org. Here’s a sneak peak of some of our workshops, presenters and tracks.

Workshop Sessions will be presented by our keynoters.

Other special guests and some of their topics include: • Dennis Bickers will present topics related to the Bi-Vocational Pastor and the Healthy Small Church. • Intentional Churches will offer sessions on The Great Commission Engine. • Bob Gillespie from The Creation Museum will share three sessions on Answers in Genesis. • Bob and Brenda Poinsett will provide sessions on personal enrichment and life development.

International Missions is organizing workshop tracks with anticipated guests from Honduras, Jamaica, Hong Kong, The Philippines, and India. Other important information will be included in this track with a heavy emphasis on the 10/40 Window.

Women’s Ministries plans to share a track to identify strategies for spiritual battles, strategies for taking prayer life from half-hearted to battle-ready along with an emphasis on creating involvement in the community.

Teens will enjoy an entire series of workshops that will connect with the themes and programming from June’s National Youth Conference.

Other sessions will be organized for executive pastors and children’s workers. Topics will be presented on gender issues, family ministries and volunteer recruitment. Many other important topics vital to effective ministry in our modern world will also be included in our 40 scheduled workshops.

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MAIL TO: 2016 Missions & Ministry Summit • Attn: Congregational Ministries • 100 Stinson Dr. • Poplar Bluff, MO 63901FAX TO: 573.785.0564 FOR ADDITIONAL INFO : 573.785.7746

Name: Address:

E-mail: State: Zip:City:

Name: Address:

E-mail: State: Zip:City:

Name: Address:

E-mail: State: Zip:City:

Name: Address:

E-mail: State: Zip:City:

Name: Address:

E-mail: State: Zip:City:

Name: Address:

E-mail: State: Zip:City:

Name: Address:

E-mail: State: Zip:City:

Name: Address:

E-mail: State: Zip:City:

Name: Address:

E-mail: State: Zip:City:

Name: Address:

E-mail: State: Zip:City:

Summit AttendeesPlease include name, address, and e-mail for each attendee. Complete registration is required for each attendee as name tags will be used for entrance to all sessions.Check if attendee is

a delegate to the GA

Summit Family Registration

Name: Delegate to GA: Yes

Position / Title with Church:

Home Address: State: Zip:City:

E-mail: Cell / Daytime Phone:

Church Name: Local Association:

MAIL TO: 2016 Missions & Ministry Summit • Attn: Congregational Ministries • 100 Stinson Dr. • Poplar Bluff, MO 63901FAX TO: 573.785.0564 FOR ADDITIONAL INFO : 573.785.7746

Summit events are open to all General Baptists. For voting on General Association business, churches belonging to an association and churches that are direct affiliate members “shall select delegates to the General Association – two delegates

for each 50 members or fraction thereof.” In addition, pastors and staff employed by the church are automatic delegates.

Please print legibly.

Spouse

No

Name: Delegate to GA: Yes

Position / Title with Church:

E-mail: Cell / Daytime Phone:

No

New Family Registration

Self:

Spouse:

# of Children: x(grades k-12 only)

Total:

$55 $65

$55 $65

$55

# of Children: x(new born - 5 years)

$0

$65

With more families attending the Summit, we have made families a priority.

• We’ve made registration easier for families to complete. Just one form to fill out.

• We’ve capped the amount families have to pay for their total registration.

• Early Registration – $55 January 4th - June 30th, 2016 – $200 Max

• Regular Registration – $65 July 1st - July 15th, 2016 – $240 Max

• On-site Registration – $75 – $280 Max

If you are attending with the whole family, yourregistration fees will not exceed the max. You pay one time for the whole family, kids and all!

Registration Fees

We’ve changed our registration process!Now, each family will fill out their own form for their family. You pay one time for the whole family, kids and all! We’ve also kept the Block Registration for churches that are sending several people to the Summit. The Block Registration fee is the same, $400 per church, but does not include child registration. Have a question or need some additional information? Give us a call at (573) 785-7746 or send us an email at info@gbsummit.org.

Individual/Family Registration • This is the form the vast majority of Summit attendees will use. • We’ve made registrations easier for families to complete.

Just one form to fill out. • We’ve capped the amount families have to pay for their total registration. • Early Registration — $55 January 4 - June 30, 2016. — $200 max • Regular Registration — $65 July 1 - July 15, 2016 — $240 max • On-Site Registration — $75 — $280 maxOne form per individual or family – not one per church!

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

Church Block Registration • Block registration allows a church to send an unlimited number of attendees. • To aid in group training within a church we’ve capped the registration fees. • Block Registration — $400 January 4 - June 30, 2016. • Child/Student registration is not included in Block Registrations.

Families in a block registration will need to register their children separately (see below).

One form per church – not per family!

A church block to allow an unlimited number of attendees from one church may be purchased for $400. For facility and program planning purposes, the names of the people attending as a church block need to be included on the registration form. Additions and substitutions are permitted.

Child/Student Registration Use this form ONLY if your church is using a BLOCK REGISTRATION. Child/Student registration is included on the Individual/Family Registration form. • Children ages birth to 5 years - no registration fees. • Students in grades K-12 - $55 registration.

Child registration is NOT included in the Church Block Registration. Families in a block registration need to register their children separately. Families not in a church block registration can register above on the Individual/Family Registration Form.

MAIL TO: 2016 Missions & Ministry Summit • Attn: Congregational Ministries • 100 Stinson Dr. • Poplar Bluff, MO 63901FAX TO: 573.785.0564 FOR ADDITIONAL INFO : 573.785.7746

Name: Age:

Grade Completed this Year:

Child & Student RegistrationAny extra info you wish to provide can be added on your child’s KidCheck Registration: www.kidcheck.com

KidCheck’s easy to use electronic check-in system improves child security & streamlines your check-in process providing peace of mind for parents & visitors. It’s easy! Just Create a free kidcheck account. Add your child’s name, photo, and important details such as

authorized and unauthorized guardians, and any allergy warnings. Parents sign in using their phone number creating parent and child labels with matching security codes. These unique codes ensure that a child is only released to a parent or authorized guardian.

Kidcheck also provides parent communication tools such as emergency text messaging.

We are using Kidcheck child registration software. If you have an account from last year or any other child care facility using KidCheck, you are already set! Just use your phone number to access your account.

If you have not used KidCheck before you can go to www.kidcheck.com and set up your free account and be ready for child registration at the Summit.

If you have your account already set up before coming to the Summit, your check-in will be smoother and quicker.

Name: Age:

Grade Completed this Year:

Name: Age:

Grade Completed this Year:

Name: Age:

Grade Completed this Year:

Name: Age:

Grade Completed this Year:

MAIL TO: 2016 Missions & Ministry Summit • Attn: Congregational Ministries • 100 Stinson Dr. • Poplar Bluff, MO 63901FAX TO: 573.785.0564 FOR ADDITIONAL INFO : 573.785.7746

Name: Age:

Grade Completed this Year:

Child & Student RegistrationAny extra info you wish to provide can be added on your child’s KidCheck Registration: www.kidcheck.com

KidCheck’s easy to use electronic check-in system improves child security & streamlines your check-in process providing peace of mind for parents & visitors. It’s easy! Just Create a free kidcheck account. Add your child’s name, photo, and important details such as

authorized and unauthorized guardians, and any allergy warnings. Parents sign in using their phone number creating parent and child labels with matching security codes. These unique codes ensure that a child is only released to a parent or authorized guardian.

Kidcheck also provides parent communication tools such as emergency text messaging.

We are using Kidcheck child registration software. If you have an account from last year or any other child care facility using KidCheck, you are already set! Just use your phone number to access your account.

If you have not used KidCheck before you can go to www.kidcheck.com and set up your free account and be ready for child registration at the Summit.

If you have your account already set up before coming to the Summit, your check-in will be smoother and quicker.

Name: Age:

Grade Completed this Year:

Name: Age:

Grade Completed this Year:

Name: Age:

Grade Completed this Year:

Name: Age:

Grade Completed this Year:

Summit Family Registration

Name: Delegate to GA: Yes

Position / Title with Church:

Home Address: State: Zip:City:

E-mail: Cell / Daytime Phone:

Church Name: Local Association:

MAIL TO: 2016 Missions & Ministry Summit • Attn: Congregational Ministries • 100 Stinson Dr. • Poplar Bluff, MO 63901FAX TO: 573.785.0564 FOR ADDITIONAL INFO : 573.785.7746

Summit events are open to all General Baptists. For voting on General Association business, churches belonging to an association and churches that are direct affiliate members “shall select delegates to the General Association – two delegates

for each 50 members or fraction thereof.” In addition, pastors and staff employed by the church are automatic delegates.

Please print legibly.

Spouse

No

Name: Delegate to GA: Yes

Position / Title with Church:

E-mail: Cell / Daytime Phone:

No

New Family Registration

Self:

Spouse:

# of Children: x(grades k-12 only)

Total:

$55 $65

$55 $65

$55

# of Children: x(new born - 5 years)

$0

$65

With more families attending the Summit, we have made families a priority.

• We’ve made registration easier for families to complete. Just one form to fill out.

• We’ve capped the amount families have to pay for their total registration.

• Early Registration – $55 January 4th - June 30th, 2016 – $200 Max

• Regular Registration – $65 July 1st - July 15th, 2016 – $240 Max

• On-site Registration – $75 – $280 Max

If you are attending with the whole family, yourregistration fees will not exceed the max. You pay one time for the whole family, kids and all!

Registration Fees

Church Block Registration

Church Name: # of Members:

Local Association:

Church Address: State: Zip:City:

Name: Address:

E-mail: State: Zip:City:

Cell / Daytime Phone:

Name: Address:

E-mail: State: Zip:City:

Name: Address:

E-mail: State: Zip:City:

Name: Address:

E-mail: State: Zip:City:

Name: Address:

E-mail: State: Zip:City:

MAIL TO: 2016 Missions & Ministry Summit • Attn: Congregational Ministries • 100 Stinson Dr. • Poplar Bluff, MO 63901FAX TO: 573.785.0564 FOR ADDITIONAL INFO : 573.785.7746

Please print legibly. One form per church.

Contact Delegate

Summit Attendees

Please include name, address, and e-mail for each attendee. Complete registration is required for each attendee as name tags will be used for entrance to all sessions.Check if attendee is

a delegate to the GA

MAIL TO: 2016 Missions & Ministry Summit • Attn: Congregational Ministries • 100 Stinson Dr. • Poplar Bluff, MO 63901FAX TO: 573.785.0564 FOR ADDITIONAL INFO : 573.785.7746

Registration Fee is $400 for Unlimited Attendees for one church or church campus. Block registration does not Include child or student registration fees. Children & students must register separately: 1.) Birth - 5 yrs: Free 2.) Grades K-12 $55/each

Summit events are open to all General Baptists. For voting on General Association business, churches belonging to an association and churches that are direct affiliate members “shall select delegates to the General Association – two delegates

for each 50 members or fraction thereof.” In addition, pastors and staff employed by the church are automatic delegates.

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Kids’ Ministry TrackKids’ ministry is one of the most important programs you can have in your church. In order to keep our churches alive, we must strive to reach children. This track is designed to help you implement a thriving kids’ program in your church. Whether you are a large church or a small church, this track has been designed for everyone. Join us as we explore the best practices of kid’s ministry; how to begin, how to expand, how to recruit volunteers, and how to lead with mission and vision. We encourage you to not miss a single session. Begin one of the most exciting adventures and Make a Splash so that you can Connect with the next generation.

Main Stage SessionTaking place on the main stage of the Summit, this session is a must, a non-negotiable, a connection with the next generation! We’ve scheduled a special time without any other breakouts so you can join Relevant Church and a team of their volunteers as they take you inside what a kids’ service would look like. You will experience games, live actors, music, and an illustration you will never forget! You will be inspired and learn how the key to growing your church begins with kids’ ministry. So make plans to be here, Make a Splash, and connect with the next generation!

Church Greater than 100If you want your church to grow, you must grow your Kid’s Ministry. Join our team as we take you on a journey through the phases of a child’s life and how we must create environments with this in mind. We will also explore key aspects of mission/vision, staff structure, service planning, recruiting volunteers, and plans for growth. You will also learn how ONE simple decision exploded our kids’ programs. Be a champion for kids and be here!

Church Less than 100Kids Ministry in a church less than 100 can be a challenge. However, if you want to reach the next generation, you have to accept the challenge. Join us as we reveal the ONE thing you must do to make a splash and connect with the next generation. It’s so simple yet it will blow your mind! You will learn key steps on how to begin where you are, how to recruit volunteers, and how to plan for growth. See you for the beginning phase of growing your kids’ ministry.

SafetyAlthough safety may not be the most exciting topic, it does however, have to be your number one priority and value in kids’ ministry. Discover how you can put a parent’s mind at ease and turn a crying child into a willing child by implementing safety policies and procedures throughout your Kids Ministry. We will explore some practical principles that will increase the retention rate of first time guests and keep your church from being on the nightly news!

Lead Pastor’s Role in Kids MinistryDid you ever think that Lead Pastors don’t have a role in kids’ ministry? Well, if you have, then think again! Learn how it is essential for the Lead Pastor to promote and embrace the mission and vision of your church’s kids’ program. Whether you are a Lead Pastor, Kids Director, or kids volunteer, come hang out as we discuss how a Lead Pastor just might be the key to a successful kids’ ministry.

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“...in all these things we are more than conquerors

through him who loved us.” - Romans 8:37

“...in all these things we are more than conquerors

through him who loved us.” - Romans 8:37

“...in all these things we are more than conquerors

through him who loved us.” - Romans 8:37

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength… Isaiah 40:31

Radisson HotelBranson, MO

Chris VaughtKeynote Speaker

ted cunninghamGuest Entertainer

Branson, MO on September 6-8

become Strengthened as you hear preaching from the Word of God.

renew your spirit as you worship with old friends & make new friends.

Relax & enjoy all of the entertainment, shopping, and dining

that has made Branson famous.

non-profit org

u.s. postage

p a i dpoplar bluff, mo

permit no 164General Baptist Ministries100 Stinson DrivePoplar Bluff, MO 63901

general baptist m e s s e n g e r