Aug 2011 - Ohio Baptist Messenger

By Michael Foust

PHOENIX (BP)—Southern Baptist Convention messengers meeting in Phoenix June 14-15 adopted an historic report en-couraging ethnic diversity, wit-nessed dozens of leaders stand-ing together in support of a landmark unity pledge, and saw hundreds of pas-tors and laypeople volunteer to lead their churches to embrace one of the world’s 3,800 unengaged peo-ple groups. It was the lowest-attended annual meeting in 67 years, with just over 4,800 in attendance, but the substance of the meeting led plenty who at-tended to argue it shouldn’t be judged on numbers. “I do believe it could prove to be the most spiritually sig-nificant convention over the last 50 years,” Southern Baptist Convention President Bryant Wright, who was re-elected to another one-year term, told Baptist Press after the Phoenix gathering. Wright pointed to the sluggish economy and to the travel time from most SBC churches as possible reasons for the low attendance. From beginning to end, messengers heard biblical pleas for Southern Baptists to join the church planting movement in North America and to adopt an unengaged people group around the world. And mes-sengers responded. More than 1,000 pastors and their wives

packed a North American Mis-sion Board luncheon to learn about the entity’s new Send North America church plant-ing strategy. On the final night of the convention, hundreds of messengers flooded the front of the convention hall at the end of the International Mission Board report, having signed

cards pledging to lead their church to embrace an unengaged peo-ple group. An IMB representa-tive will contact them later. Each mission board report also featured a commission-ing service, with

Southern Baptists meeting their newest missionaries. “Coming back to the au-thority of Scripture was a cor-recting point that had to take place, but the mission is to fulfill the Great Commission,” Wright said. “I think this was the most unified convention around the Great Commission that I have experienced. People came here with anticipation of that unity.” Wright practiced that unity during his press confer-ence, inviting the presidents of NAMB, Kevin Ezell, IMB, Tom Elliff, and the Executive Committee, Frank Page, to sit on the platform with him and participate. It was the first convention as president for all four men, and each one had a unique emphasis during his re-spective report to messengers. Ezell highlighted church plant-

ing and Elliff emphasized the unengaged, while Page intro-duced an “Affirmation of Unity and Cooperation” pledge that was signed by entity leaders, state executives and ethnic fel-lowship leaders. The document had five core points, with the heart of it a pledge to “walk in unity as brothers and sisters in Christ.” During the Executive Committee report, the leaders stood on stage together. “Our convention is frac-turing into various groups, some theological, most meth-odological,” Page told messen-gers. “Sometimes there is an honest difference of opinion, but often there is self-centered-ness that frequently mirrors our own culture. “Christ-like selflessness is our only hope,” Page said. Page also urged Southern Baptists to take the “1 Percent

OhiO Baptist MessengerPUBlICATION OF THE STATE CONvENTION OF BAPTISTS IN OHIO

August 2011 | Volume 59 No. 4

INSIDE: Sunday School Focal Point . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 2Men’s Summit 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 4‘loving Muslims’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 6Beautiful Feet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 9 Press Toward The Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 12

VBS Follow-up Page 7

New paStor/StaFF

orieNtatioN Page 3

WRAP-UP ~ con’t. on page 5

WRAP-UP: SBC spotlights ethnicity, unity, unengaged

“I think this was the most unified

convention around the Great Commission that

I have experienced. People came here

with anticipation of that unity.”

~ Pres. Bryant Wright

Newly elected officers of the Southern Baptist Convention are: Bryant Wright, president and pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta Ga.; Fred Luter, first vice president and pas-tor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, La.; Eric Thomas, second vice president and pastor of First Baptist Norfolk in Norfolk, Va.; John Yeats, recording secretary and communica-tions director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. Not pictured is James H. Wells, registration secretary and director of missions for the Tri-County Baptist Association in Nixa, Mo.

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2011 Southern Baptist Convention

Praying, EquiPPing, Sowing, HarvESting Page 10

Page 2 | Ohio Baptist Messenger | August 2011

The caption on the sign states that from where my wife (Jackie) and I were standing,

we were 40 miles away from the high-est point in North America. That place is the snow capped mountain in the background, Mt. McKinley, Alaska. I wanted to show you this pic-ture to illustrate how easy it is to miss the mountain in the background all together. Here is a picture of Mt.

McKinley close up. On this day we were able to see the top of the moun-tain. Jackie and I were told that only 30% of the people that come to visit are able to see this view. Why do I mention this — be-cause many of us do not see the full picture when we look at our Sunday school classes. We miss things that we should have caught, or we overlook things that need attention. Just like in

the picture above, our attention could be drawn to the sign, the trees, or the couple in the middle. Sunday school remains vital to the health of the church. It has been said “Sunday school is the church or-ganized for mission!” The question is, “Is it?” The answer is, “It could be…it should be…it needs to be!” Some wonder if Adult Sunday school has served its purpose. Is it an antiquated system that simply needs to be put to rest? I say NO! I believe that Sunday school still has the abil-ity to take a church well into the fu-ture. The facts reveal that individuals who are a part of Sunday school (or some type of small group) are 77% more likely to be more active in their church than those that are not. Our Sunday schools are not perfect. There are issues to be addressed, but its suc-cess starts with YOU - the Pastor, Sunday school Director, Teacher, class member.

I challenge you to focus your at-tention on your Sunday school classes for one year. I am confident that you will see your classes grow (maybe even multiply). You will see develop-mental results in your teachers and leaders, your worship attendance will increase, there will be more baptisms and more consistent converts. Who doesn’t want to see that happen in their church? It starts now, and again it starts with YOU! We can help you develop teachers and leaders by providing quality train-ing. The State Convention of Baptists in Ohio is conducting two State Sun-day school Worker Training events in August.

August 6, 2011First Baptist Church of vandalia

August 20, 2011 Chestnut Ridge Baptist Church, Elyria OH

Invest in your teachers, leaders, workers, helpers, and the future of your church! I want to see you at one of these events. look me up, I’m the guy in the picture. let’s get focused!

In His Service,Dwayne LeeAssociate Team Leader to the Bible Teaching / Leadership resource Group

The Ohio Baptist Messenger (ISSN 0472-7096) is published every other month by the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio; 9000 Antares Avenue; Columbus, Ohio 43240-2011. Periodicals Postage Paid at Columbus, Ohio. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Ohio Baptist Messenger; 9000 Antares Avenue; Columbus, Ohio 43240-2011.

Jack Kwok, Ohio State Convention Executive Director-Treasurer, Editor; Linnett Snodgrass, Administrative Assistant; Spangler Production & Design, Publication Layout. Published every other month for members of Southern Baptist churches in Ohio. Subscriptions provided out of each church’s Cooperative Program gifts. Member of Baptist Press, news service of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Sunday School Focal Point

To register go to www.scbo.org

Mt. McKinley

Jackie and Dwayne Lee

August 2011 | Ohio Baptist Messenger | Page 3

Transformational Church TourBy Steve Hopkins

“There is no template for ministry that will eliminate our absolute dependence on the Father and our need to talk to Him daily,” said Mike Harland. Bruce Raley added, “Ev-ery church today must decide who we are, and what does God want our church to do.” We no longer live in the ‘five star church’ era of the 50’s and 60’s, and we are growing out of the ‘what’s hot now’ era of the 80’s and 90’s. In this ‘customized church era,’ leaders must be strategists, there is no ‘plug and play’ app for today’s church. Just as our relationship with the Father is foundational, re-lationships with others must be a high value for today’s church. Jeff Pratt notes, ‘young adults know very quickly whether you are treating them as a project or a person.’ Discipleship takes place best in relationships, and we must be intentional in creating a system for connecting both inside the church and with those we have been called to reach. Over 180 pastors and church leaders attended the Ohio Transformational Church Tour May 31-June 2. The three loca-tions – Toledo, Columbus, and Cincinnati – provided an op-portunity to learn more about the new tool. Bruce Raley, Mike Harland and Jeff Pratt from lifeWay led breakout sessions for pastors, church leaders, worship leaders and student leaders. According to Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer, authors of Trans-formational Church, “Too often we’ve highlighted the negative realities of the declining American church but missed the oppor-tunity to magnify the God of hope and transformation.” Based on the most comprehensive study of its kind, includ-ing a survey of over 7,000 churches and hundreds of on-site in-terviews with pastors, Transformational Church takes us to the thriving congregations where truly changing lives is the norm. Churches where:• MorepeoplearefollowingChrist• Morebelieversaregrowingintheirfaith• Morechurchesaremakinganimpactontheircommunities Based on the research findings, the Transformational Church Assessment Tool (TCAT) gives you a snapshot of the perceived present reality based on seven elements: missionary mentality, vi-brant leadership, relational intentionality, prayerful dependence, worship, community and mission. This powerful online tool can help you quickly assess where your church is strong now and the areas that need development. The assessment is now available through the SCBO website (www.lifeway.com/tc/ohio/). We have 15 trained consultants in Ohio ready to partner with you to develop strategy recommen-dations for your church. Contact Steve Hopkins ([email protected] or 614-827-1820) or Dwayne lee ([email protected] or 614-827-1824) for information on how you can enlist a Transfor-mational Church consultant. A ministry of the Cooperative Program giving of Southern Baptist churches in Ohio.

(L-r) Bruce raley, Mike Harland and Jeff Pratt from LifeWay conduct session.

NEW PASTOR/ STAFF ORIENTATION

September 15th, 2011 • 9:30 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. An orientation for new pastors and new staff in Ohio churches is September 15th, 2011. Orientation will begin at 9:30 a.m. and conclude around 3:00 p.m. The orientation pro-vides opportunity for meeting state staff and learning of Cooperative Program resources available to the local church through the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio. Spouses are invited to attend. There is no fee, but advanced registration is required. Contact Lin-nett Snodgrass ([email protected] or 614-827-1776) to register.


Men’s Summit 8by Mark Daubenmire

Urbancrest Baptist Church in lebanon has been honored to host the annual Men’s Sum-mit conference. The first Sum-mit was introduced as an inter-denominational event to reach a few hundred men in the local area. After seven years, it has grown to exceed 900 in atten-dance. In addition to our local guests, men travel from as far away as Kentucky and Indiana.The Men’s Summit is illustrat-ed by the theme “Where God Sharpens Man”. This principle establishes the intent of Sum-mit leaders to resolutely ex-pose biblical manhood as it is to be lived out in today’s world. The Summit challenges men to strive for excellence in three areas of their personal lives. By seeking God’s will without wavering, men can achieve the objectives of commitment to their wives, consistent involve-ment in the lives of their chil-dren, and a deepened desire to

follow hard after Jesus Christ. Many men seek answers to the growing cultural prob-lems in our nation. Divorce, fatherless homes, abortion, juvenile disrespect, and other issues progressively erode fam-ily structure. Traditional gov-ernmental assistance, intended to alleviate these problems, is insufficient to deal with the complexities of a burdened legal system, radical changes in culture, financial instabil-ity, and increasing lawless-ness. The odds of providing safety and comfort for fami-lies are increasingly difficult. What makes it even worse is that many churches have com-promised their message and no longer serve as a refuge or guide for families. So, what is the answer? The Men’s Summit teaches this: If you want to change a child . . . change the father. If you want to change a marriage . . . change the husband. If you want to change the world . . .

change the man. The Men’s Summit seeks to empower men to regain the integrity of what has been lost. Our world needs men with trained minds, Godly biblical character, and a multi-generational vision. To-day, more than ever, we need men with the spirit of a war-rior who will choose to live as Christ taught. We invite you to join us for the Men’s Summit on Septem-ber 9-10, 2011 at Urbancrest Baptist Church, 2634 Drake Road, lebanon, Ohio. This is a FREE event and open to youth and men of all ages. Registra-tion and information on guest speakers, event times, and lodging is on the website at www.mens-summit.org. You can see what others are say-ing about the Men’s Summit on the ‘Testimonies’ page. For additional information contact Mark Daubenmire at 513-932-4405 or [email protected].

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5.875ʺ

WWW.MENS-SUMMIT.ORG

513.932.4405OR CALL

SEPTEMBER 9-10, 2011at URBANCREST BAPTIST CHURCH

DEADLINE TO REGISTER: SEPTEMBER 6, 2011

Urbancrest Baptist Church - Men’s Summit Print Ad: The MessengerMay 5, 2011

...to teach and portray biblical manhood and how it is to be lived out in today’s world.

The Bible Teaching and leadership Resource Group has done some summer cleaning and has developed a collection of out-dated materials from the Resource lending library that we would like to give away. We are inviting anyone who is interested to come and take materials that would be useful to you or your church. The giveaway is based on a first come, first serve basis. If you would like to come and view our materials just give us a call or email to set up a time. A list of the materials is also available upon email request.For more information please contact:

Ashley Stickel [email protected] Teaching and leadership Resource Group

Bible Study and Discipleship Resource Giveaway

In appreciation for his faithful service to Grace Baptist Church, located at 142 Olive Road, Dayton, OH 45417, Pastor Clyde Bowen was designated Pastor Emeri-tus in December of 2010. Pastor Bowen began his service at Grace in the 1960’s and continued as Senior Pastor until 1971. From 1971 – 1980 he served as an Administrator in Seneca lake and returned to Grace Baptist Church in 1992, 1994 and again in 2009-2010 as Interim Pastor. To the con-gregation he will always be the Pastor of this great fellow-ship. We will be forever grateful for his love, service and dedication as Pastor, friend and mentor. In addition, we recognize his wife Juanita who has been a faithful helpmate, servant and prayer warrior serving faithfully with him by his side all these years.

Service Honored

Need to submit Church News?

Send all church news and information to Linnett Snodgrass at [email protected]


Challenge” — leading their church to increase gifts to the Cooperative Program by 1 percent-of-budget point. Do-ing so would lead to $100 mil-lion more for Southern Baptist ministries and worldwide mis-sions, including funding for 380 more IMB missionaries, Page said. The Executive Committee’s landmark report on ethnic di-versity was the focus of nation-al media attention, as was the election of New Orleans pastor Fred luter to first vice presi-dent. He is the first African American to hold that post. The report’s language en-courages the SBC president, when he makes his various appointments, to “give special attention to appointing indi-viduals who represent the di-versity within the Convention, and particularly ethnic diversi-ty.” It also encourages the com-mittee in charge of the annual meeting to reflect the ethnic diversity of the convention in the meeting program. A mo-tion that would have struck the ethnic diversity language was defeated by a margin of 3-to-1. The Executive Committee report, delivered after a two-year study, cites the “need to be proactive and intentional in the inclusion of individuals from all ethnical and racial identities within Southern Baptist life.” During a press conference, messenger Paul Kim, who made the 2009 motion that led to the report, urged ethnic Southern Baptists to get more involved in the convention in this “history-making moment,” saying, “This is the time.” Ethnic diversity, Wright told BP, is “vitally important to the future of the church in America.” “We have not reflected what is happening in Ameri-ca in both the makeup of our churches but especially in the leadership in our convention,” Wright said. The convention’s resolu-tions — which express the sentiment on often hot-button theological and cultural issues — once again made news. In a surprising move in the con-vention’s final session, messen-gers overruled the Resolutions

Committee by at least a 2-to-1 margin and voted to consider a resolution -- promoted by mes-senger Tim Overton -- highly critical of the NIv 2011 Bible translation. The resolution passed nearly unanimously. The resolution’s text says that because of “inaccurate gender language,” messengers “can-not commend the 2011 NIv to Southern Baptists or the larger Christian community.” It “respectfully request that life-Way” not sell the new NIv in its retail chain. Messengers also passed resolutions:• supporting the Defense of

Marriage Act.•affirmingthehistorical,bibli-

cal concept of hell in a resolu-tion that mentions Rob Bell’s “love Wins” book.

• condemning the actions ofthose who protest funerals, burn the Koran, and pray for the deaths of public officials.

But a resolution on immi-gration and the Gospel, com-ing at a convention partially focused on ethnic issues, had the most floor debate. By a 4-to-1 margin, messengers adopted the resolution, which includes key language asking “our governing authorities to implement, with the borders secured, a just and compas-sionate path to legal status, with appropriate restitutionary measures, for those undocu-mented immigrants already living in our country.” That sentence was nearly struck but survived on a ballot vote, 51-48 percent. The resolution gained more support when the Reso-lutions Committee proposed adding a sentence that says the resolution “is not to be con-strued as support for amnesty for any undocumented immi-grant.” Mostly overlooked in the controversy was the rest of the 22-paragraph resolution, which calls on churches to take the Gospel to all people, “re-gardless of country of origin or immigration status.” The main focus of the con-vention was on fulfilling the Great Commission — both in North America and around the world. “With less than 4 percent of our churches directly engaged

in church planting, we’ve got to do better,” Ezell said at the NAMB luncheon. “We must do better. We are going to do bet-ter.” Churches—and not NAMB — plant churches, Ezell empha-sized, adding that over the next couple of years, NAMB will de-velop church-planting coalitions in 25 urban areas around North America. He said the coalitions will be made up of local pastors, church planters, representatives of local state conventions and associations, along with partner-ing pastors and state convention leaders from elsewhere. The co-alitions will develop local strate-gies for planting new churches in their area. “It’s a new day,” Ezell said. “It really is. Pastor, we’re not going to make it harder for you. Associations and states, we’re not . We’re going to make it easier. We’re going to make it easier for you to engage in mis-sions and to pray and partner. We can do this together.” Birmingham, Al, pastor David Platt preached the con-vention sermon, quoting statis-tics on the world’s unreached and telling messengers, “This is not a problem for the In-ternational Mission Board to address. This is a problem for every pastor and every local church to address.” Other con-vention speakers — includ-ing several during the Pastors’ Conference and Wright him-self during his sermon — made a similar point. Elliff, in his report, spot-lighted the need to embrace unengaged people groups, but said, “This convention has been one long sermon… There is not one thing I could say” that messengers have not al-ready heard. A lost world, Elliff said, needs churches who con-sider it unacceptable that there are people groups “who do not have somebody deliberately trying to engage them with the Gospel.” “Really, all there’s left for me to do is to give the invita-tion,” Elliff said, moments be-fore hundreds of messengers came forward holding cards that said, “I will lead my church to embrace an unengaged, un-reached people group.”

The Affirmation of Unity and Cooperation pledge — signed at the Executive Com-mittee meeting June 13 and presented to messengers the next day — includes five key “pledges.” In summary, they are:• “Wepledgetomaintainare-

lationship of mutual trust …• We pledge to attribute the

highest motives to those en-gaged in local church minis-tries and those engaged in de-nominational service in any level of Convention life …

• Wepledgetoaffirmthevalueof cooperative ministry as the most effective and effi-cient means of reaching a lost world.

• We pledge to embrace ourbrothers and sisters of every ethnicity, race, and language as equal partners in our col-lective ministries to engage all people groups with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

• We pledge to continue tohonor and affirm propor-tional giving through the Cooperative Program as the most effective means of mo-bilizing our churches and extending our outreach as Southern Baptists…”

In other matters:• More than 1,100 Arizonans

made professions for Christ during the pre-convention Crossover 2011 evangelistic effort.

• Paul Thompson, one of the10 Baptists held in a Haiti jail in 2010, appeared before messengers during the Ex-ecutive Committee report, telling them, “I have never been so proud to be a South-ern Baptist as I was in the 19 days in a lonely but yet God-filled prison cell in Haiti.”

• Ezell promised that, underhis watch, future financial stewardship at NAMB will demand “accuracy, trans-parency, effectiveness and efficiency — not smoke and mirrors.” He then clarified and put into perspective some oft-quoted NAMB sta-tistics — for instance, that Southern Baptists planted 769 new churches in 2010, not the 1,400 to 1,500 a year usually reported in the past. “When the old NAMB count-

ed church plants, they didn’t ask for church names or ad-dresses or planter names. The new NAMB is asking and only counting churches for which those details can be obtained.” Ezell generated laughs and applause when he said, “If Walmart can track how much toilet paper it sells every hour, we should be able to track how many churches are planted each year.”

• Wright, pastor of theAtlan-ta-area Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, was re-elected presi-dent over Wiley Drake, pas-tor of First Southern Baptist Church in Buena Park, Calif., who nominated himself. The vote was 2,274 (95 percent) to 102 (4 percent). luter, se-nior pastor of Franklin Av-enue Baptist Church in New Orleans, was elected first vice president over Rick Ong, a member of First Chinese Baptist Church in Phoenix. luter received 1,558 (77 per-cent) votes to Ong’s 441 (22 percent). In three elections without opposition: Eric Thomas, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Nor-folk, va., was elected second vice president; John Yeats, director of communications for the louisiana Baptist Convention, was re-elected recording secretary; and Jim Wells, director of missions for the Tri-County Baptist Association in Nixa, Mo., was re-elected registration secretary.

•Therewerenonightsessions.

Next year’s meeting will be June 19-20 in New Orleans.

Michael Foust is associate editor of Baptist Press. With reporting by Mickey Noah, Barbara Den-man and Mark Kelly.

Copyright (c) 2011 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press901 Commerce StreetNashville, TN 37203Tel: 615.244.2355 Fax: 615.782.8736 email: [email protected]

WRAP-UP ~ Continued from Page 1


NOTE NEW FORMAT Begins with fellowship reception Thursday 7:30 pm – Concludes at 4:30 pm Friday

Cost $129.00 per couple Includes lodging Thursday, breakfast & lunch Friday Limited Scholarships available

Men are like Waffles, Women are like SpaghettiUnderstanding and Delighting in Your Differences!

Bill and Pam Farrel – relationships experts and authors of over 30 books, including Men are Like Waffles, Women are like Spaghetti, 10 Best Decisions a Couple Can Make, The Marriage Code and red Hot Monogamy. Their practical wisdom, personal style and humorous presentation will encourage and enrich your marriage as you make the differences work FOr you. (www.love-wise.com) Bill has served in numerous ministry roles and has experi-ence as a senior pastor and youth pastor, and most recently, he helped revitalize the small group ministry at Shadow Mountain Community Church under the leadership of David Jeremiah. Pam has served as director of women’s ministry, a pastor’s wife, and a mentor. She is also the founder and president of Seasoned Sisters, a ministry to women 40-65 (www.SeasonedSisters.com).

Please register at www.scbo.org For more informa-tion contact Ashley Stickel at [email protected], 614-827-1822, or toll free 877-SCBO-ORG (722-6674).

Registration deadline is August 26 – $65 due with registrationScholarship applicants must pay registration in full.

LOCATION:Crowne Plaza Hotel Columbus - Dublin 600 Metro Place North Dublin, OH 43017 614-764-2200www.crowneplaza.com/dublinoh

Thursday, September 22Hotel check-in, each couple dinner on their own7:30 pm - 8:30 pm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Fellowship Reception

Friday, September 23 7:30 am - 8:30 am . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Breakfast 9:00 am - 10:30 am . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Session 1 10:30 am - 10:45 am . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Break 10:45 am - 12:15 pm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Session 2 12:15 pm - 1:15 pm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lunch and hotel check out 1:15 pm - 2:45 pm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Session 3 2:45 pm - 3:00 pm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Break 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Session 4

Couples have the option of booking their room for Friday night, at their expense.

Aug. 15 – 20, 2011Loraine Baptist Church 3640 Palm Ave. , Loraine, Oh 44055 Demo 2800 sq. ft. RoofReplace Trusses & Shingle

Sept.12 – 16, 2011FBC of Marysville 645 Chestnut St. , Marysville, Oh 43040Install Trusses & Shingles Over Flat Roof Building

These projects have committed to a build as of 3/8/11 and will provide meals & lodging as needed.

For additional information contact: Raymond E. MorrisState CoordinatorBuckeye Baptist [email protected]

By Ava Thomas

RICHMOND, va. — Cade Rutledge* used to wave his American flags and get really fired up about “getting those terrorists.” From most people’s viewpoint, he had a right to feel that way. His brother was working in the Twin Towers nearly 10 years ago on Sept. 11, 2001. He made it out alive, but the attack was still way too close to home physically and emotionally for Rutledge to consider the idea of loving terrorists, or loving any Muslims for that matter. Until Jesus showed him a different way. “I asked myself, ‘How can we possibly love the lost — the Muslim terrorists — who attacked my city?’ Our answer should always be yes be-cause our Jesus-centered faith demands it. Our Christian response must never resemble the world’s,” Rutledge said. A heart of love for Muslims is something the International Mission Board hopes to culti-vate through the new loving Muslims resources, which are being released in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington D.C.

The resources include free study guides for small groups to use for one session the week be-fore Sept. 11, 2011 and one on the anniversary itself, as well as an eight-day prayer guide for use the week in between. The first session focuses on loving Mus-lims, and the second on reaching Muslims with the Gospel. The prayer guide leads believers through praying for their Muslim neighbors and ways they can show hospitality to their Muslim neighbors. The website, lovingmuslims.com, also in-cludes feature videos, stories, photos and other resources for learning more about Islam, Mus-lim culture and ways to reach out to Muslims and share Jesus Christ with them. For more information and free download-able resources, visit http://lovingmuslims.com. The site opens Aug. 1.

*Name has been changed

Ava Thomas is an IMB writer/editor based in Europe.

New IMB resources point believers toward ‘Loving Muslims’

Buckeye Baptist Builders News2011 Builders Request

Pastor/Staff and Spouse Retreat September 22-23, 2011


By Dwayne Lee

By the time many of you read this a number of you will have completed your vacation Bible School week. Which makes this article very timely! One of the biggest challenges to vacation Bible School is an effective follow-up plan. This article is designed to help you in this area. For more information please contact the Bible Teaching/ leadership Resource Group at 614-827-1824.

The ABC&D of VBS Follow-up? Determining the target follow-up groups starts at VBS Registration. You can do so by including a question regarding whether the registrant attends church, and if so, where? Additional questions can be asked on the vBS Registration card relating to a desire for follow-up. Why not include a place for them to request more information on the church’s ministries and/or a visit or call from the Pastor. Target VBS follow-up groups for Door-step Visits. This would include: 1. unchurched children/families; 2. families requesting contact by the pastor; 3. those desiring more information about the

church; 4. children who made salvation decisions; 5. and families where a ministry need was

discovered during vBS. For Door-step Visits, Gift Bags provide an easy stated purpose for each visit. Gift bags can include inexpensive vBS-themed items such as bookmarks, pencils, ABC cards, & Parent/Family vBS Devotionals, plus church brochures/info & a food item (microwave popcorn or homemade cookies). For children who made salvation decisions, in addition to the Gift Bag, a vBS New Testament can be delivered along with a “new Christian” booklet: I’m a Christian Now or Survival Kit for Children. Encourage parents to assist the child in working through the booklet.

Get more people involved in making follow-up contacts: by letter, phone call, and more. Follow-up can also include letters to all guests and/or all vBS participants, including those from your own church. Phone calls to all guests are another, even more personal, option. These two follow-up options allow for more participation in vBS follow-up. Additional follow-up strategies include Children Music Series, vBS Family Night events (Open House, Meal/vBS Program, Sunday vBS Musical, Concert in the Park & more), and “Follow-up in Just One Hour” approaches to visits/Phone Calls/letters (see lifeway vBS Follow-up Brochure). Additionally, “ABC&D” offers strategies for Discipleship follow-up. After sharing the ABC’s (admit, believe, and confess) of the Gospel during vBS, Discipleship can be encouraged for parents and children. Consider these actions:1. connect them with Sunday School for

ongoing care and discipleship;2. offer I’m a Christian Now Class for Kids;3. offer a Parenting Workshop for Parents

(ideally simultaneously with #2);4. plan summer events for Parents/Children

(interaction w/families of your church); and5. invite them to your Children’s Discipleship

Ministry (children’s choirs, children’s missions, AWANA, TeamKid, Family Ministry Summits, etc.).

The ABC&D of VBS Follow-up

The Evangelism Response Center (ERC) of the North American Mission Board pro-vides a network of believers in North America trained to communicate the message of our lord Jesus Christ to people through the telephone and the internet 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. These Telephone Encouragers (TEs) and Inter-net Encouragers (IEs) make up a new and exciting category of Southern Baptist Mission vol-unteers. The photograph above de-picts an ERC billboard that was

strategically placed at the en-trance of Cedar Point Amuse-ment Park in Sandusky, Ohio. For more information about how your church or associa-

tion can place an evangelistic billboard in your community, please contact Jack Helton at 614.827.1781 or [email protected].

Ohio Evangelism Response Center

Go to www.SCBO.ORG and search Homegoing for more information.

Homegoings

Charles Abney


Women’s Missions & Ministries

BLOG www.scbo.org/wmm Join Us On Facebook! OWN-Ohio Women’s Network

Date Event Location

August 1-5 Kids Kamp 3 Seneca Lake Baptist Assembly

August 12-13 Living Proof Beth Moore Columbus, Ohio

September 16-17 Women’s Fall Retreat Seneca Lake Baptist Assembly

October 14-15 Mother Daughter Retreat Seneca Lake Baptist Assembly

November 3 Pastor’s Wives Luncheon West Central Baptist Association

For more information on these events visit www.scbo.org/wmm

The 2011 Seneca lake Camp Season has had an amazing start with two weeks of Kids Kamp and one week of Girls for Missions Camp. Kids Kamp week one had 274 in attendance with 31 deci-sions. Kids Kamp week two had 172 in attendance with 22 deci-sions. The Columbus Zoo paid a visit to Kids Kamp on Monday night! Julie Hannah and a variety of animals from the Education Center entertained the campers. Girls for Missions Camp had 94 in attendence with 3 deci-sions. The girls enjoyed their Missions Cruise through Asia. Can’t wait to see you next year! Kids Kamp week 1 will be June 11-15, 2012. Kids Kamp week 2 will be June 18-22, 2012. Kids Kamp week 3 will be July 30-August 3, 2012. Girls for Mis-sions Camp will be August 6-10, 2012.

Kids Kamp and Girls for Missions Camp 2011

Upcoming Events


Pastor Eric McDunnell, Wapakoneta Baptist Church thanks Ohio Baptists: “Wapakoneta Baptist Church participated in the Beautiful Feet outreach for the first time this year. Half of our congregation was involved in the experience. It was a rousing success. We had a booth at the annual Moon Festival and with a little face paint, a few balloons, and 1,000 bottles of water; we shared the love of Jesus with our community. We gave 15 Bibles, countless tracts, and verbally shared the truth that Jesus saves with numerous of our neighbors. Through this one day effort our VBS enrollment has increased and our people are energized. It is my hope to use the Moon Festival to give a cup of cold water in the name of Jesus every year.”

July 16 impact west Central Baptist associationMy soul, praise the LORD, and do not forget all His benefits. - Psalm 103:2

Pastor Greg Haisley, Hillcrest Baptist Church shares: “As I reflect on this verse (above) and what ‘all His benefits’ means to me as a Believer, I am overwhelmed by His grace and transformation. I also consider the benefits of being in the Southern Baptist Convention and the Cooperative Program. As we cooperate together as a Convention supporting missionaries, we are also cooperating in state missions together. Beautiful Feet came to Bellefontaine on July 16 along with fellow Christians from all over the state of Ohio. There was a great turnout from a large church and there were great turnouts from smaller churches. This reinforced the Cooperative Program principle to me that we’re not all the same size, but we all can give proportionately for the mission God has given each of us. Please consider how you, in partnership with the Holy Spirit, may join the cooperative spirit that is Beautiful Feet and beyond!”

Hillcrest Baptist Church

Potential Church Plant in Ft. Loramie

Gas Buy-Down

Wapakoneta Baptist Church

22 churches from 8 associations sent

volunteers

Wapakoneta Annual Moon

Festival

20 Salvations


PRAYING EQUIPPING SOWING HARVESTING ASSIMILATING Pray and Prayer Witness training “Hope. Find it Here” Community-Reaching Five week Walking Invitation Distribution Event follow-up plan www.Findithere.com Promotion Personal Testimony Sharing the Gospel Get Ready Training

IF you have serious questions about being a Church Planter;IF you have casual questions about Church Planting; IF you want to know more about the process, qualifica-tions, and opportunities to plant a church in Ohio;IF you are a pastor and want to dialogue with state lead-ers about being a sponsor church to a new church plant;IF you want to know where the opportunities are to spon-sor a new church plant in Ohio;

THEN , this potential church planters and potential spon-sor church Q & A Day is just what you are looking for! Join us in an informal setting where you can find out more about planting or sponsoring a new church in Ohio. You will be able to meet the Church Planting Resource Group leaders, church planters, and church starter catalysts who will be able to answer your questions and give church planting information. Lunch will be provided.

Join us on October 13, 2011 at the State Convention of-fices at 9000 Antares Avenue, Columbus, Ohio from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

For more information or to make a reservation, contact Charlotte Barbo at [email protected] or 614-827-1804 or Gary Odom at [email protected] or 614-309-9743.

Registration Deadline is October 3, 2011.

Urban Churches

Rural Churches

Contemporary

Churches

Language Churches

Traditional Churches

AfricanAmerican Churches

Church Planting Q & A Day

Any Christian leader knows the challenges involved in mobilizing individuals to share their faith. But we believe there has never been a time when more tools are available to equip and inspire believers to simply share with others what Christ has done for them. GPS breaks the process down into four distinct bib-lical markers that can help you coordinate efforts in your church with others across the continent. The four biblical markers are:

Contact Jack Helton at 614.827.1781 or [email protected] or visit GPS2020.NET

Every Believer Sharing, Every Person Hearing by 2020Reaching Across North America | 2012

Just imagine the impact of 50,000 Southern Bap-tist Churches in the Spring of 2012 doing com-munity reaching coordinated evangelistic events! Participation is easy! Across North America is four simple steps:• Aneight-weekmediasaturationcampaign

during March and April, 2012 • Participatingchurcheshosting,planning,and

implementing a community-reaching event sometime during March or April, 2012

• Participatingchurchesprayerwalkinganddistributing invitations* to the event one to two weeks beforehand

• Afterward, participating churches doing fol-low-up with those who attended the event

**Caution: Be sure to follow all local rules, regulations, and laws in placing promotional materials (i.e., home owners associations, pri-vate property, and mailboxes)

Timeline


By: Duane Floro

On Sunday July 11th at the First Baptist Church of Gah-anna, the church family com-missioned Sandy Wanner to serve with the Christian Job Corp. Pictured ( left to right) Dr. Rich Halcombe, Metro Co-lumbus Baptist Associational

Missionary; v.J. Sanchez, Met-ro Columbus Christian Job Corps; Jean Wanner Priddy (daughter and provided special music); Sandy Wanner; Pastor Tom Dove, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Gahanna; and Duane Floro, Ministry Evangelism Strategist, SCBO.

Sandy Wanner Commissioned

By Sue Cordell, Neal Avenue Baptist Church

Added to “Remember the Alamo,” “Remember Pearl Har-bor,” and “Remember the Maine,” we now add an additional date that will remain in our memories in infamy. This year is the 10th anniversary of the most devastating at-tack ever perpetrated on American soil. On 9-11-2001, 19 ter-rorists hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners. The hi-jackers intentionally crashed two airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, killing everyone on board and most of those working in the buildings. The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon. The fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania after heroic attempts by passen-gers and flight crew to retake control of the plane, which the hi-jackers had redirected toward Washington, DC, targeting either the Capitol Building or the White House. There were no survi-vors from any of the flights. Nearly 3,000 victims and the 19 hijackers died in the attacks. A total of 836 responders, including firefighters and police per-sonnel, died. Among the 2,752 victims who died in the attacks on the World Trade Center were 343 firefighters and 60 police officers from New York City and the Port Authority. Another 184 people were killed in the attack on the Pentagon. The over-whelming majority of casualties were civilians, including nation-als of over 70 countries. The 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001 provides an op-portunity to honor the memory of those who were murdered by the terrorists on American soil. Many churches are utilizing vari-ous formats to observe the 10th anniversary of 9-11. Against the backdrop of such devastation and destruction stands the message of the Gospel: eternal life is in Jesus Christ. The cost of this eternal life is the death of Jesus which paid the debt of sin. Yet, death could not hold Him. He arose from the grave. The terrorists gave their lives to kill others. Jesus gave His life to save others. The terrorists gave their lives to destroy. Jesus gave His life to deliver us from death and damnation. let us remember this as well as September 11.

Remember 9-11!!

Recently I had the oppor-tunity to spend four hours with forty of our Ohio church plant-ers, asking the question “What do you want from a sponsor-ing church?” They were in four groups, and each group did not know the responses of the oth-ers. The consistency was sur-prising, as was the number one response. Each group echoed ‘It’s not about the money.’ Not that they do not need financial resources, but the most important thing they want from a sponsoring church is relationship. One planter shared how a sponsor-ing church pastor’s wife came about every six weeks to take his wife to lunch and the huge impact that had on his fam-ily and ministry. Another told how his sponsoring church would provide childcare and money for a date night for him and his wife. Planters spoke of the im-portance of the mentoring/coaching relationship with the sponsoring pastor, the one-on-one time to share, and the opportunity to bounce ideas off someone with more expe-rience. ‘I need someone I can call, it gets lonely planting a church,’ one planter comment-ed. Others commented how much they appreciated a call at least once a month, perhaps as often as once a week, just to ask, ‘How’s it going.’ Prayer support was an-other huge request. When the sponsoring church enlists prayer warriors and encourag-es the church to pray with and for the church plant, everyone shares in the victories and the Father gets the glory. Again, more important than money, the church plant needs people, the right people. volunteers who come should understand what church plant-

ing is about, and come pre-pared to work, not just fill a seat. In the beginning years children’s ministries are often a way to reach the community, and those who can come, stay long enough to train workers to continue the work, are price-less. Short-term mission trips are also valuable to the new work. A sponsoring church pas-tor can be a great help telling the story of the mission and helping to recruit others. He can facilitate building a net-work of support, connections, and bridges to others who can come alongside the work. When available, the sponsor-ing church staff can be a great assistance, sharing input on worship resources, provid-ing administrative support, even the use of office equip-ment. Sometimes the ‘stuff ’ the sponsoring church has stored – chairs, tables, sound equip-ment, lights – can be just what the new work needs. When it comes to finan-cial support, consistency is the key. Deliver what you promise, and when you promised it. We preach sacrificial giving, and we can illustrate that in the way the church gives to see the kingdom expanded. I then asked the question: ‘From your perspective, what have you seen as benefits to the sponsoring church?’ These planters have watched the Fa-ther honor the sacrifices made by the sponsoring churches. People grow spiritually as they see the answer to prayer. Sponsoring churches shift their mindset and begin to think more missionally. As they see the church plant reaching peo-ple they renew their commit-ment to evangelism. When people go to serve, they come back different, ready

to work at the home church. Many of them have been wait-ing for an opportunity to get involved; mission projects of-ten discover new leaders. They see their Cooperative Program dollars at work, and are ready to give more. Sponsoring churches see the kingdom opportunities, not just their backyard. They think ‘Judea and Samaria,’ and the church looks more like the New Testament pattern. There is a sense of community, work-ing together for the gospel, which creates joy and excite-ment. There is an investment beyond themselves, a desire to leave a heritage, a legacy for the next generation. The enthusiasm of birth-ing something new is conta-gious. Often it opens the door for the church to reach a new people group, perhaps another language group in their com-munity. The sponsoring church often learns from the church plant. New ways to do things, innovative ideas, new technol-ogy can be shared learning for the sponsor and plant. The North American Mis-sion Board reports that na-tionally, 4% of SBC churches are sponsoring churches. If we compare Ohio, currently 8% of SCBO churches are sig-nificantly involved in church planting. Sounds good, but if we are going to have one mil-lion believers in 2020 Congre-gations by the end of 2020, we must have many more spon-soring churches. If you would like more information about becoming a sponsoring church there are many ready to help. Contact your associational missionary, Steve Hopkins or Gary Odom. ([email protected], [email protected])

What’s it take be a sponsoring church?

For more information contact Kent Spann at

[email protected] or go to

www.strategicrenewal.com


Mission Ohio is the cooperative effort of Southern Baptists to reach at least 1,000,000 be-lievers in 2,020 con-gregations by the end of 2020 in Ohio. The State Conven-tion of Baptists in Ohio is the mission-ary organization of Southern Baptists in Ohio to assist Ohio Southern Baptist churches and associa-tions to obey the Great Com-mission of our lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Since the formation of the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio missionary organization, Southern Baptists from out-side of Ohio have contributed greatly to helping start church-es to reach people for Christ. Southern Baptist lay people came to Ohio and started churches. They called South-ern Baptist pastors to Ohio. As Southern Baptist churches multiplied, the Home Mis-sion Board and later the North American Mission Board, the Kentucky Baptist Convention and other state conventions, and hundreds of Southern Baptist churches across the convention have contributed people and money to assist Mission Ohio. Ohio Southern Baptists are very grateful. Since the inception of the North American Mission Board, NAMB has partnered with Mission Ohio to start churches to reach people for Christ. At the end of 2010, Mission Ohio has 202 new congregations through this partnership. These aren’t fake church-es, nor are they toilet paper. (See SBC Wrap-Up starting on page 1 and continuing on page 5.) SCBO Associational Missionaries report all church starts with the name of the planter, name of the church, and street location. Mission Ohio publishes the name of

church planters, name of church, and location on the SCBO website. The mailing address is omitted to deter ad-ditional junk mail for church planters. Accuracy, transpar-ency, clarity, and honesty have been values of Mission Ohio before the ex-

istence of the old NAMB or the new NAMB. NAMB vice-President Steve Davis (who is a great friend to Mission Ohio) in-formed Mission Ohio that the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio leads the Midwest Region of state conventions in net gain of churches for the last 10 years. The NAMB-SCBO partnership has produced much fruit in Ohio. Due to reduced funding, NAMB has reduced its con-tribution to Mission Ohio by $206,794 for 2012. The bulk of this reduction is in church planting. While the president of NAMB announced at the Southern Baptist Convention that NAMB wants more mis-sionaries, NAMB has com-municated that they desire less missionaries in Ohio. Obviously, these are chal-lenging days for the North American Mission Board and the State Convention of Bap-tists in Ohio. The State Con-vention of Baptists in Ohio values the partnership with NAMB. Mission Ohio will continue to cooperate with NAMB. Ohio is a mission field. Millions of lost people live here. It is our mission field. Ohio Southern Baptists must continue to cooperate to start and strengthen churches to reach the lost in our state. Southern Baptists outside of Ohio want to cooperate with us in Mission Ohio. let’s press toward that mark.

PRESS TOwARD ThE MARk

Jack Kwok, Ph.D.Executive Director-TreasurerState Convention of Baptists in Ohio

For information about the State Convention of Baptists

in Ohio and more Baptist Press news, go to our

website www.scbo.org.

If you are not a Christian, have never surrendered your will to the lord Jesus, let me share briefly how you can make this life changing decision. GOD WANTS YOU SAVED.

First, you must believe that God loves you and wants you to have peace in your heart and an everlasting life (John 3:16).

Second, you must recognize that you are a sinner, that you have done things which have displeased God and that you have separated yourself from Him (Romans 3:23; 6:23).

Third, you must believe that Jesus came to this earth, was actually God in the flesh, lived a perfect life, and yet went to a cruel cross, dying for your sins, paying once and for all the

penalty of sin (I Peter 2:24). However, it’s not enough just to know these three things. Many of us knew them for years before we ever gave Jesus our lives.

Fourth, you must personally ask Jesus to come into your life and forgive you of your sins (Revelation 3:20).

You can pray this prayer now and if you mean it with all of your heart, Jesus will come in just as He said. He cannot lie.

Dear Lord Jesus, I admit to you that I am a sinner. I believe that you died for sin, was buried, and arose from the grave. I am turning from my sin and trusting you to save me. Please save me and give me eternal life. Thank you for saving me. Amen.

How to become a Christian

Documents

Aug 2011 - Ohio Baptist Messenger