Archive for Southern Baptist Missions
Making Christmas Memories: Giving
Posted by: | CommentsOne of my own childhood memories is that every Christmas our church celebrated the life and work of Lottie Moon, a southern Baptist missionary who served in China. Not only did she literally sacrifice her life so that others could hear about Jesus, but she was a voice to Southern Baptists about the need to support their workers in foreign lands. She died from starvation on Christmas Eve, and our churches honor her and other international missionaries each year by giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.
Our world seems much smaller now than it did 100 years ago. But, there are still more than 6,400 unreached people groups who still need to hear the message of Christ.
You can make a special memory for your children by helping them learn about the gift of giving this Christmas. Sure, there are a lot of organizations that help people around the world. But Southern Baptist missionaries are counting on you to give generously so they can continue the work God has called them to do. The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering provides more than 50% of the support needed to keep our missionaries on the field.
Will you do something significant and memorable this Christmas? Give.
Making Christmas Memories: Day Four
Posted by: | CommentsOrnament Ideas
My husband made the comment the other night, “I love our tree. I think it is my favorite.”
I have to chuckle a bit, because if you look at my tree, you will not find matching beautiful adornments. Instead, you’ll find quite the collection of homemade ornaments and memories scattered across the branches. Each year when the boxes come out of the attic, it is a family affair of placing our memories that span the 22 years of marriage we have enjoyed together. As each ornament appears, there is conversation about where we got the ornament or who made it.
One of our family’s favorite memories is the parties we enjoyed with the Kraig Kelsey family. They live in Georgia now, but each year they would invite 12 sets of families to their house (complete with a billion children I might add!) Every family had to contribute 12 ornaments that were homemade (this was a strict rule). While we enjoyed munching on treats and great conversation (amid watching the billion children), we gathered the families together and shared the ornaments. My children still love seeing the ornaments made by some of their dearest family friends and reminiscing about those parties. Here’s a picture displaying a couple of those ornaments.
My particular favorite ornaments are the ones with the photos of my children. Whether it’s just a piece of construction paper with stickers or glitter, they are undeniable treasures that no fancy ornament could replace.
Here’s a couple of ornaments Courtney made while she was still in preschool.
Some of my other favorites are the ones we’ve obtained on mission trips or ones that remind us to pray for the unreached people of the world. Whether it’s the one made by a missionary in Jordan or one we bought in the market of Armenia, these ornaments are a constant reminder that Christmas is a time to remember the nations who have not heard about the birth of Christ.
So today’s encouragement is to adorn your tree with memories. If your children don’t make an ornament at Mother’s Day Out or at church, take the time to have them make one at home–complete with a photo. I promise your tree will be the merrier because of it.
Are We There Yet?
Posted by: | CommentsAre We there Yet (Music Video) from imbConnecting on Vimeo.
Lots of times children get the reputation for being the ones who frequently wail, “Are We There Yet?”, on long car drives. But I have to admit–I’m just as guilty of wanting to get to our destination as soon as possible. This is especially true on long flights overseas. There are only so many times I can look at the flight magazine or try to take a nap.
Southern Baptist missionaries have journeyed around the world to share the Gospel of Christ for more than 100 years. But even though thousands have lives have been changed for eternity, there is still a haunting question that remains. “Are We There Yet?”
For 6,426 people groups, the answer is “no.” That means there is less than 2 percent of that people group who profess Christ. There is no evidence of a church planting strategy. There is no missionary assigned to reach them.
I experienced this first hand last March when I visited a city in East Asia. More than 3 million people live in this city, but yet there is still no one assigned to reach them. Three million!! As my team investigated the city, we prayed God would show up in a mighty way. We met young people in parks and universities. We saw families praying in a Buddhist temple and making offerings to an unknown god. We were “there”, but we weren’t “there yet” in terms of seeing a harvest of souls.
God’s call to reach the nations will not be accomplished by the more than 5,000 International Mission Board personnel. Yes, they are a vital and significant part of reaching the lost. But God’s call to reach the nations extends to every believer and every congregation.
Next Monday our office will have the opportunity to share what God is doing around the world during our annual Missions and Ministries Celebration. If you would like to see how you can make a difference in changing our world, we invite you to attend. Visit our website at http://www.bgco.org/women for more information.
Let’s journey together to reach those who haven’t heard. Let’s be found faithful when we have reached our life’s final destination and pray for the day when we can all exclaim, “We’re there!”
This One’s For the Girls
Posted by: | CommentsFour years ago I visited the country of Bangladesh. While I had been to several countries, it was my first encounter with South Asia. The sights, sounds and smells are something I can recall quickly. The crowds of people (Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries on earth), the trash on the streets, the rickshaws, CNG vehicles and pedestrians make it almost impossible to get across the streets of Dhaka. The call to prayer was a constant reminder that the god they served was not the one, true God.
But one of my favorite memories was standing in a poverty-stricken area of the city waiting on some of our team. As usual, children made their way to me–partly because I looked so different and partly because they hoped I would give them something. A sweet young girl around 8 years old got my attention. There was no interpreter around and we had no way of verbally communicating. Oh how I wanted to tell her Jesus loved her! So I did what came naturally. I started singing a simple song about Jesus. As she watched and listened, she started repeating the words back to me! She had no idea what she was singing, but I knew she was singing the precious name of Jesus over and over again.
To me, it was part of the girl effect. Because right now there are more than 50 million girls living in poverty around the world. Girls, who without the opportunity for education, will most likely continue in a cycle of poverty and be exposed to prostitution and disease.
While this one young girl faced life in poverty, there were also glimpses of hope in Dhaka. I visited a girl’s school where they were learning all kinds of things, including reading, cooking, sewing and childcare. The principal took me for a tour and I even brought home a vase that one of the students had made. These girls have the opportunity for a future. But even in the midst of this hope, many of them may never hear of Christ.
I’m thankful for workers in this country who are boldly proclaiming the Gospel. House churches continue to expand and people are coming to the Lord. Will you pray for this kind of girl effect to continue around the world?
Honoring a Legend
Posted by: | CommentsDuring my junior year at Oklahoma Baptist University, I was introduced to a fairly new discipleship series called MasterLife. I spent the better part of that year going through the weekly homework and meeting with a small group at 6:30 a.m. Throughout the study I memorized scripture, learned the principles of discipleship, learned how to share my faith, and most importantly, learned the value of community with a group of like-minded believers.
What I didn’t realize at the time was MasterLife was the introduction of a relationship with the author, Dr. Avery T. Willis. For a young college student in the 1980s, Christian writers and authors were heroes of mine from a distance. I admired Dr. Willis from afar and continued to not only learn from MasterLife, but to also lead several groups through the study into my 20s. When Dr. Willis visited my church in the late 80s, I jumped at the opportunity to join him for lunch (along with about 20 other people!) I can remember shyly introducing myself and trying to explain the difference his Bible Study had made in my life.
Fast forward. Throughout the years I’ve continued to admire Dr. Willis and was thrilled when I was asked to serve on the Advisory Board of the Avery T. Willis Global Outreach Center at Oklahoma Baptist University. How fitting that I would be in his company on the campus that gave me not only a Biblical worldview, but instilled in me a passion for making disciples. For the past four and a half years, Dr. Willis is no longer someone I admire from afar, but he has become a friend. While he is in his 70s, Dr. Willis continues to allow God to give him passion and vision for reaching the world. He is an outstanding leader in the area of orality and continues to challenge others in the Great Commission cause. He not only believes in a Great Commission Resurgence–he lives it.
Today Dr. Willis faces a new challenge. Not long ago, he was diagnosed with leukemia. He is undergoing treatments and the doctors have already said it looks like the disease is in remission. His condition has caused many to take notice that now is time to honor this hero.
The news of his illness has prompted Oklahoma Baptist University to honor Dr. Willis for his contributions to the university and for his vision in the area of missions. A special dinner will be held on Thursday, March 4, in the Geiger Center at OBU. Would you join me and other global missions and discipleship leaders as we honor this living hero of our faith? For more information and to purchase tickets online, vist www.okbu.edu/willis or call 405.878.2706.
Helping Haiti
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s hard to look at the scenes coming out of Haiti this week after a debilitating earthquake that has claimed the lives of thousands and destroyed so much of their infrastructure.
My brother-in-law is the Commander of the Coast Guard base in Miami, and I got word that many from his base were involved in some of the initial responses. Knowing the responsibility he has, makes me very proud of the men and women who serve our military.
For most of us, we will not be involved in the direct recovery efforts. But, in essence, as a Southern Baptist, you are directly involved in recovery efforts. There are Disaster Relief teams from Florida who are already being deployed. Disaster Relief teams prepare almost all of the food for the Red Cross during recovery efforts. You can make direct donations through the North American Mission Board or Baptist Global Response.
The needs will not go away quickly. Americans know how difficult the recovery has been after Katrina. But, continue to pray, give, send and go. It is not only because Christians have compassionate hearts for the hurting, but we put feet to the needs of those in suffering and we offer the hope of Jesus Christ.
Meeting Emanuel
Posted by: | CommentsDuring this season, we celebrate the coming of Immanuel–God with us–in the baby of Christ. Last night I got a glimpse of another Emanuel–Rebekah Emanuel.
We had gathered our brood of sophomore students for a Christmas party and had decided to begin the evening with some Christmas caroling. I had contacted our senior adult ministry at church to locate some homebound members who might enjoy a quick visit from our hyped-up, sugar-ingested 15 and 16-year-olds. Our first stop was Lackey Manor Nursing Home. We visited one of our members and sang carols up and down the halls to the residents who were willing to listen. Many of them stopped and told us they had been waiting for us to come all day.
As we made our way to a group of seniors playing dominos, we stopped and gave them a sampling of our off-key voices. As we were singing, I heard one of the sweetest voices singing along with us. As we finished, I bent down and said, “You have such a lovely voice. Thank you for singing with us.” She introduced herself–Rebekah Emanuel. She continued to tell us about herself. She was a former missionary who served in Japan for 35 years just following World War 2. Our students listened with great attention to her stories of how she and her husband planted churches in several cities.
Our students started asking the other residents to tell us their stories and this thought occurred to me: Mrs. Emanuel went to serve in Japan right after World War 2! Can you imagine? She went to the people who had bombed Pearl Harbor. She ministered to the people we bombed at the end of the war. She was an American living in a most likely hostile environment. And then I realized–her name was not just Emanuel. She was a representative of the incarnate Christ. She lived out Christmas every day of her life.
Today I’m more grateful than ever that I get to promote the cause of missions. But I’m even more grateful that I got to meet a hero–Mrs. Emanuel. It was the greatest Christmas gift this year.
Note: Mrs. Emanuel went home to be with Jesus on Monday, January 4, 2010. What a privilege I had to meet her while she was on this earth. Mrs. Emanuel is now with her beloved Immanuel face to face.
A Fresh New Look
Posted by: | CommentsFor the past couple of months, we’ve been working to update and freshen the look of our blog with the help of our good friend Cory Miller and his staff. As we approach our Annual Meeting next week, we are excited to “reveal” our new blog look. You’ll also see a similarity at our new booth, so we hope you’ll take the opportunity to come by First Baptist Moore November 9-10 and check it out.
We’d also like to invite you to attend our annual Missions and Ministries Celebration on Monday, November 9, from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. at Glorieta Baptist Church in Oklahoma City. Glorieta is just a short distance from FBC, Moore, and is the facility of the largest Native American congregation in the country. Our convention president, Dr. Emerson Falls, is the pastor of this great church. We’re meeting in this location because we have the privilege of hearing from the Native American Praise Choir during our celebration. They have been singing together for 10 years and you will be blessed to hear them sing in English as well as some of their Native languages.
In addition, you’ll get to hear from a couple of missionaries. Daniel Goombi, who serves as a North American Mission Board missionary and Dr. Charles Fielding, co-founder of Medical Missions Response, will both bring challenging messages in regards to reaching our country and some of the darkest places on earth. We will also have the privilege of hearing from Dr. Debbie Weber and our involvement with a new partnership in East Asia.
At 10:30, Baptist Nursing Fellowship is hosting a seminar with Dr. Fred Loper at Glorieta Baptist. At noon, our Missionary Parents Fellowship will be sharing lunch together at FBC, Moore and then at 5 p.m., we will honor current and emeritus IMB personnel at FBC, Moore. It’s a full day of celebrating what God is doing and we hope you will join us!
Does History Repeat Itself?
Posted by: | CommentsDr. Robert Haskins recently called my office inquiring information on Sue Howell, Oklahoma’s first WMU Corresponding Secretary. She has been considered as an inductee into Oklahoma Baptist’s Hall of Fame and Dr. Haskins was trying to find some historial research on this pioneer.
What began as a search for basic information regarding this woman’s life, turned into several weeks of a fascinating study on the history of the women’s work in Oklahoma. As I looked through the fragile pages of history dating back to the beginning of our convention, I was struck by the questions and issues women were asking 100 years ago. How can we gain the support of a younger generation? How can we keep the spirit of missions alive? How can we better support missions?
Interestingly, our churches are still asking these same questions today. We are dedicating more money and energy investigating our emerging generation. We continue to try to be relevent in our culture. And we must continue to ask the question, “How do we keep the spirit of missions alive?”
It saddens me that as Southern Baptists we have fallen short in reaching our goal for the annual Lottie Moon Christmas Offering that supports our international missionaries. While God continues to call out people to reach the nations, we have failed to sacrifice our own selfish materialism. And I’m not just talking about individuals (although it always comes down to the individual). Many churches continue to decline in their Cooperative Program giving (although Oklahoma is doing better than most). I recently heard a church staff member make the comment, “We’ve been saying we have 5,000 missionaries since I can remember. Why aren’t we sending more?”
While some are speculating that the convention structure needs to be re-appropriated, I contend that it’s not the structure of Southern Baptists. It’s our general commitment to supporting the structure. If every Southern Baptist tithed on a regular basis and every church committed 10 percent to the Cooperative Program, we could easily send twice as many international missionaries and our local churches would have enough to expand their own local missions and ministries.
May I also remind you that no other denomination has been as successful at international missions than Southern Baptists? For more than 100 years, because of the Cooperative Program and gifts to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, our missionaries are able to perform the task God has called them to do and not come home to raise their support.
Do we do everything right? Nope. We’re human and we all make mistakes. Is it time to re-evaluate? Possibly. Don’t we all need to re-evaluate our priorities and commitment regarding giving? May the Great Commission Resurgence begin in our hearts and also in our sacrifice.
I am the Women's Missions and Ministries Specialist for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. Our purpose is to encourage women to embrace and echo God's heart for the world.
