The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-01/27/2015 DISCLAIMER: Baptist Press should be credited for any reprinted stories that originate with BP. Suggested credit line: Reprinted from Baptist Press (www.baptistpress.com), news service of the Southern Baptist Convention. Please note that Baptist Press periodically carries stories from other sources by permission. Individuals interested in reprinting non-BP stories should contact the entity where the story originated to seek reprint permission. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Film places biblical creation in college setting by Diana Chandler Date: January 27, 2015 - Tuesday LAKE FOREST, Calif. (BP) -- Biblical creation gets a college-themed airing as the origin of humanity in a film scheduled to open on select dates through March. Longtime Christian filmmaker Rich Christiano directs "A Matter of Faith," which features a fictional debate between the Christian father of a college freshman daughter and her professor who teaches evolution. "The main purpose of this movie is to present the Gospel in a unique and touching manner, but the film revolves around the subject of evolution versus creation," Christiano told Baptist Press. "As many know, the idea of evolution is basically taught in our schools and universities across this great land of ours as a matter of fact. Yet nobody can prove evolution, because nobody was there at the beginning; just as no person can prove creation, since nobody was there at the beginning. "Both of these teachings then become a matter of faith, not fact," he said. "The crux of the evolution/creation debate comes down to a simple question: 'Who are you putting your faith in -- what Darwin and others like him say or what God says in the Bible'?" The film's cast includes Harry Anderson of the TV series "Night Court" and "Dave's World" and Clarence Gilyard of "Matlock" and "Walker Texas Ranger." Among A Matter of Faith's endorsers are Ken Ham, founder of Answers in Genesis (AIG) and the Creation Museum among various Christian leaders and pastors. "A Matter of Faith has a message that is highly relevant and desperately needed for America today," Ham is quoted as saying on the movie's website, AMatterofFaithMovie.com. "AIG doesn't endorse many movies, even those that are supposedly 'Christian' based. We are fully behind A Matter of Faith as it defends the authority of the Bible beginning in Genesis." Phil Newberry, a campus pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church of Memphis, Tenn., encourages Christians and "seekers" alike to see the film. "Every believer needs to see A Matter of Faith to challenge us in our faith and our boldness to not be ashamed of the Gospel and to be prepared to give the Hope of what we have," he said. "Every seeker needs to see this movie as it answers the questions we might have about the truth of the Gospel. In fact everyone, churched or unchurched, should see this movie as it touches so many areas of one's life and faith." The film has already been previewed numerous times, but opens in 60 locations as early as Feb. 6. Communities can bring the film to their local theaters by purchasing 1,000 tickets in advance of opening night, the movie's website explains at AMatterofFaithMovie.com, which also encourages individuals to submit forms expressing a desire for the movie to be shown in their vicinity. "We have received excellent response from this film from viewers of all ages, having played the film in over 40 cities so far in theaters," Christiano said. "We have a unique revenue sharing marketing plan where we are partnering with local Christians around the country to help bring the film to their community as outreach." Christiano said he hopes the film "will cause a stir about the issue of evolution and creation, to bring this to the forefront so that Christians can dialogue with other people about this, and use the subject as a witnessing tool." "The battle for the truth about creation is critical to Christian doctrine and fundamental to the faith," Christiano said. "Many have bought into the evolution teaching, especially at a young age, because this is what they hear in their schools." Christiano has directed a number of successful Christian movies, including the award-winning "Time Changer" with Gavin MacLeod and Jennifer O'Neill and "The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry" with MacLeod and Robert Guillaume. Christiano and his brother Dave Christiano have been writing, directing and producing Christian films since 1985. "We aim to make films that first please the Lord; second inspire, motivate and challenge believers; and third, share the Gospel so that non-believers will consider receiving the Lord," Rich Christiano said. "Movies are a powerful tool that the enemy has used to tear down our society and we believe the Lord can use films that glorify Him and His truths to help build people back up." -------------------------------------------------------------------- Missionary kids experience a 3rd-culture world by Elaine Gaston Date: January 27, 2015 - Tuesday EDITOR'S NOTE: Ivory Coast is the country of focus for the current International Mission Study by WMU. Find resources to support the study at wmu.com/IMS and imb.org/ims. See additional story (below) on child labor and exploitation challenges facing Ivory Coast. ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (BP) -- Mike McAfee took his daughter Karis to work with him on a Tuesday morning in the Ivory Coast capital of Abidjan. His work that day happened to be visiting a Muslim friend, Seidou, to talk more about Jesus. Karis, 11 at the time, was going to play with Seidou's niece Sadia. Her hopes were dashed, however, when they arrived and Sadia wasn't there. Her uncle told Karis that she was now an apprentice in a tailor's shop. Even though Karis, now 12, and her brothers -- Caleb, 14, and Benjamin, 4 -- live in the same city as their friends, sometimes the lives of those friends, though the same ages, are decidedly different. It's part of being MKs, missionary kids. Most of the time, the differences fade away when it comes to mutual interests such as playing soccer for the boys or braiding hair for the girls. During long church services at the Baptist church in Abobo, with no Sunday School classes to involve the children, the girls play in front of the church building under a shady tree. Karis patiently sits as girls cluster around her, stroking her silky hair with a texture so different from their own. Caleb, meanwhile, sits in the back of the dirt-floor sanctuary with a friend, making seats out of large overturned plastic buckets. During songs, as others clap their hands, the boys join in, hands beating on the buckets, keeping time with the drums at the front of the church. 'Third-culture kids' Caleb, Karis and Benjamin are MKs, but they are also TCKs, "third-culture kids." By leaving their "passport" country to grow up in a foreign country for an extended time, they develop a cultural identity from their home country and their host country -- a sort of third, unique culture of their own. The foreign country they live in, however, isn't "foreign" to them. As Caleb points out, he's lived more than half his life in Ivory Coast, giving him a different perspective than an outsider would have. For instance, a decade of violence in Ivory Coast left its mark in various places throughout Abidjan. Caleb matter-of-factly tells of finding a bullet hole in the side of his family's roof. "It went into the roof, hit something metal, came back down through the roof sideways and hit our metal pole," Caleb said. It punctured the hollow pole and fell to the bottom. "So I took a sledgehammer and busted out the bottom and got the bullet," he said. The McAfee children, like most MKs, assist their parents in ministry. When volunteers fly into Abidjan, Karis likes to go to the airport with her father to meet them. As volunteers visit a local artisan's market, she acts as a translator to help them bargain in French for keepsake items. Karis is homeschooled by her mother, Heather, and sometimes her father when Heather's work commitments take her from home. Caleb does his schoolwork through an Internet-based homeschool curriculum. Karis and Caleb put up with plenty of interruptions during the school day as visitors pass through their home. Here & there So how is living in Abidjan different from living in the North Carolina town that the McAfees moved from? For one thing, there's no spring, summer, fall or winter in Abidjan. "The rainy season is just like three months," Caleb said, "and the hot season is nine months or so. "In the hot season, the dry season, there's this thing that's called harmattan" -- the hot, dry trade wind that blows from the western Sahara, carrying large amounts of dust through Ivory Coast and out over the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. "I actually got really sick from the harmattan one time," Caleb said. In contrast, downpours during the rainy season can turn the city into a flood zone. Though the rain brings welcome cooling to the oppressive West African heat, local streets flood and people have to wade through the water to get some places. The rain fills their yard with water as well, Caleb said. "It got up to our doorstep last rainy season. All the cockroaches and bugs got up onto the walls. We went to town with the bug spray!" An awkward question Perhaps the most awkward question MKs hear when they visit the U.S. is "What is it like to live in ... [insert country name]?" It's a difficult question; growing up in their host country is normal to them. The McAfee children live on a mission compound that includes their family's house, offices, guesthouse rooms and other apartments. The children are fortunate to have a yard in which to play where mango trees and flowering hibiscus grow. Outside the compound's gate, Caleb knows the vendors who set up their businesses along the road. "There's the tailor and the guy who sells attiéké [a side dish made from cassava]," he said. There's "the brochette guy," who grills meats over a charcoal fire, garnished with onions and tomatoes and served in a sliced baguette. For fruit, the family doesn't go to a grocery store. "We get our fruit and vegetables from the fruit guy that walks by, and he'll have it on his head in this box. He has apples and oranges and grapes and sometimes he has bananas," Caleb said. "But then we have a different person that comes by and sells bananas. He'll come and knock on our door, and we'll buy by the kilo. We buy our stuff by the kilo." Karis added, "There are lots of fruits here. Most of them are good. My favorite is called papaya. It's small ... and it's got lots of seeds in it so you take all the seeds out and you just eat the meat in there. I like to put some lemon juice on it." Another difference between the U.S. and "over there" is the way the family worships. "The music is really lively," Caleb said. And sometimes, "when they sing, everyone gets up and does a conga line around the [church] in a circle in the space between the pews and the pulpit. They really like to dance in church." And there's no passing the plate. "They'll usually play music while they do the offering; then [row by row] they'll go up to put their offering in the basket." Southern Baptists make it possible for families like the McAfees to follow their call to reach the people of the Ivory Coast, supported by the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions as well as Southern Baptists' Cooperative Program. And from Caleb's perspective as a 14-year-old, that's great. "Being an MK is cool because I get to live in another country, and I can speak another language and meet new friends." ********** Child labor cuts Ivorian childhood short By Elaine Gaston Keywords: Child labor, Ivory Coast Twitter: Child labor and exploitation remain key concerns for Ivory Coast RSS: Children in Ivory Coast rarely have the opportunity to stay in school, without having to at least come and go into the workforce to help their families make ends meet. ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (BP) -- Missionary kids Caleb McAfee, 14, his sister Karis, 12, and even 4-year-old brother Benjamin often are among children in the Ivory Coast who face a vastly different life. A 2013 UNESCO report showed that 39.8 percent of children in the 5- to 14-year-old age range work. Only 58.6 percent of children complete a primary education. And about a quarter of children age 7-14 combine work and school. A compulsory education law does not yet exist in the country, and many children are taken out of school to work at a young age. Some jobs are worse than others. In 2012, the government adopted a "national action plan" targeting child labor, exploitation and trafficking, and updated a list of "hazardous activities" prohibited to children. The "worst forms" of child labor include hazardous work in agriculture, particularly in the production of cocoa. (Ivory Coast is the world's largest cocoa exporter.) In a study on child labor in the cocoa sector, Tulane University reported 819,921 children working in cocoa-related activities in Ivory Coast. Half of those, age 5-17, reported injuries related to using machetes or pesticides or carrying heavy loads. Other child labor issues include girls working as domestic servants, sometimes starting as young as age 9 and working 12-14 hours a day. Some of the girls are subject to mistreatment, beatings and sexual abuse. A U.S. Department of Labor report on Ivory Coast says some boys, in return for food and education in Quranic schools, are forced to beg on the streets up to 10 hours per day. The report says before the 2010-11 civil unrest from a volatile national election, "thousands of children worked on the street in urban centers, especially in Abidjan." Families separated during the violence, and the report says now even more children are sleeping on urban streets. Trafficking of children within the country is a problem as well, as boys are trafficked for agricultural labor and the service sector. Children from neighboring countries also are trafficked into Ivory Coast: boys for agricultural labor, mining and construction, and girls for domestic labor, street vending and commercial sexual exploitation. Few effective programs exist at this time to help children found in what are termed the "worst forms" of child labor. -------------------------------------------------------------------- NAMB, IMB to partner on Send North America Conf. by Joe Conway Date: January 27, 2015 - Tuesday ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) -- The Send North America Conference has gained a major partner for the Aug. 3-4 sessions at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. North American Mission Board President Kevin Ezell has announced that the International Mission Board is partnering with NAMB to make the Send North America Conference fully comprehensive in missions scope. At its core, the heart of the two-day Send North America Conference is a gathering of the church in North America to see a movement of people living out the mission of God in their everyday lives. It aims to bring mission leaders at every level from across the continent together for encouragement, vision and action. The conference holds promise to be one of the largest missions gatherings in North American history. Paid registration has already surpassed 7,300. "Working together on this conference means churches and individuals will truly be able to come away with a complete vision and plan for their church's mission activity in North America and around the globe," Ezell said. "This kind of opportunity is unprecedented in Southern Baptist life and I am very excited about the potential." In addition to providing a comprehensive vision and plan, missions mobilization is a natural partnership for NAMB and IMB. David Platt, IMB president, recounted, "When I first agreed to be a part of the Send North America Tour, culminating in this event in August, I had no idea that I would soon be serving alongside NAMB as president of IMB. I am exhilarated when I think about all the possibilities we have to mobilize Christians and equip churches for mission in North America and the nations together, and this conference is a reflection of that reality. I am eagerly looking forward to NAMB and IMB together hosting thousands of people in one place for God-glorifying, Gospel-saturated worship all aimed at sending those people out from local churches on mission all over the world." The conference will provide many opportunities for networking between its main sessions, worship times and breakout sessions. An abbreviated list of speakers includes Platt, Matt Carter, Louie Giglio, Al Mohler and Eric Mason, among others. Worship sessions will be led by Passion Band, Casting Crowns, David Crowder and Shane and Shane. With the Send North America Conference's focus on mobilization and next steps, participants will have the opportunity to respond on-site to several missions avenues, from exploration to support to church planting and unreached people group engagement. Organizers hope churches and individuals will be encouraged to live life on mission as a result of participating in the conference. That may mean beginning the conversation about what life on mission looks like, exploring where to plug in with NAMB and IMB, increasing support for missions or becoming personally involved as a church planter or other type of missionary. The cost of the conference is $129. The event's website -- sendconference.com -- provides information on registration, lodging and other important details. Leading up to this year's conference, dozens of Southern Baptist churches in about 30 cities throughout North America will have hosted tour stops for NAMB-sponsored Send North America Experiences. This will be NAMB's third Send North America Conference to encourage, equip and mobilize leaders in local congregations to penetrate lostness in North America. Nearly 2,000 people attended the 2012 Send North America Conference at First Baptist Church Woodstock, Ga. The attendance more than doubled in 2013 at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas. -------------------------------------------------------------------- WORLDVIEW: The rough edges of globalization by Erich Bridges Date: January 27, 2015 - Tuesday RICHMOND, Va. (BP) -- Hannan* is hanging on, unsure what tomorrow will bring. A doctoral student from the Middle East, she studies at a university in a major European city. Her potential is unlimited, but her resources are razor-thin. She and her husband, also a student, had lived off a tiny stipend from their home country's government. But now with political unrest there, no money has arrived for months. Hannan's husband is completing his degree but has no immediate prospect of a job -- either back home where things are falling apart or in Europe. The couple are using up what they managed to save last year. A local church has befriended the Muslim couple, making sure they have enough food during the lean months. Moved by the love of Christians, Hannan and her husband have begun comparing the teachings of Jesus with their own beliefs. Their church friends hope they will accept a New Testament to learn more about the Gospel. There are millions of Hannans out there. They live on the periphery of a better life, but it often lies just out of reach. They are students, immigrants and their children, refugees, migrant and contract workers. They're looking for prosperity or at least basic economic security. They're also looking for purpose and hope. But unlike Hannan, most of them have no one to tell them about Jesus, even if they currently live in free societies. To echo a common phrase among economic and sociopolitical analysts, they live on the "rough edges of globalization." More than 200 million people are part of this global migration, John Brady, IMB vice president for global strategy, reports. Some of them quickly find opportunities in the places they come to. But many "are being left behind," Brady says. "When I look at the unevenness of the benefits of globalization, I see a lot of the rough edges. And sometimes those rough edges are in pockets that are just a few feet away from the very smooth edges. We've got to find ways to get into those pockets just outside the wealthy core of the industrial world and the information world." These migrating millions want decent jobs. "But particularly in the populations that have vast numbers of young people, we see not only underemployment but just the sheer inability to be employed, so there's a wasting away of human potential," Brady explains. "They don't have jobs; they don't have hope; they don't have education. They feel useless." Left on the edge of prosperity looking in, some turn to crime. Others turn to extremism if they fall under the influence of militant ideologies. Most struggle quietly with hopelessness and despair. That's true for people who live close to opportunity but can't quite grasp it -- and for the masses who still live far from it. "Pressure is building in many places over the world where there's just this booming number of young people, and we've got to find a way to get to them with the Gospel," Brady stresses. "It's not easy, but it's essential. Utopia is not going to just appear out of the economic progress of the world. It's not going to be an economic solution, though economics is important. It's not going to be a political solution, though politics is important. It is going to be a Kingdom of God solution." The practical ways to apply God's solution globally are countless. But they always involve people reaching across barriers and differences in the love of Christ to make disciples. "I see the nations, and I see His love for them," Brady says. "I see His desire for those people in the highways and the byways and the hedgerows, all those people who are hidden away -- the neglected, the least of these, the ones who are the most unlikely folks. "He wants us to be obedient in passing what we've got to someone else," Brady says. "When the blessing goes to that person and through that person to the next person, it becomes unstoppable." *Name changed. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Ministers' tax guide released by GuideStone by Roy Hayhurst Date: January 27, 2015 - Tuesday DALLAS (BP) -- GuideStone Financial Resources has released its Ministers' Tax Guide for 2014 Returns. The annual handbook provides step-by-step instructions for both active and retired ministers, sample forms and detailed help in understanding the latest tax laws. Additionally, church treasurers and other church leaders will find a valuable resource in the guide's special section about important federal requirements for churches. GuideStone participants can receive the free guide by visiting www.GuideStone.org/TaxGuide or can request a free printed copy by calling 1-888-98-GUIDE (1-888-984-8433). The guide was written again this year by Richard Hammar, a noted CPA, attorney and widely published author who specializes in legal and tax issues for ministers. Additionally, the material is edited by GuideStone's compliance staff to ensure that it addresses tax issues in detail directly affecting Southern Baptist pastors. "Each year, federal tax law can change, and ministers have come to trust in the Ministers' Tax Guide as they prepare their taxes or work with their preparer," GuideStone President O.S. Hawkins said. "It is a joy to hear from so many pastors who tell us how thankful they are for this guide and how much it helps them navigate the unique ministerial tax laws. We are blessed to be able to help them with the important task of ensuring that their income tax returns are correct." -------------------------------------------------------------------- N.Y. mayor defends ban of churches in schools by Emily Belz/WORLD News Service Date: January 27, 2015 - Tuesday NEW YORK (BP) -- Although New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio had said repeatedly he opposes a Bloomberg-era policy forbidding churches from renting public school spaces for worship services, his administration's lawyers have filed a brief at the U.S. Supreme Court arguing for the policy. De Blasio's administration argues that the Bronx church at the center of the case has no standing to challenge the NYC Department of Education rule. "The department's decision to make public schools available to religious organizations for a wide range of activities, but not for worship services or as a house of worship, is constitutional," the city's Jan. 12 brief argued. "The policy does not prohibit, limit, or burden any religious practice; does not entangle the government in matters of religion; and does not impair petitioners' ability to speak freely." The policy was "motivated by reasonable Establishment Clause concerns rather than animus, treated all permit applicants identically, and imposed no burden on any religious practice," the brief claimed. In urging the Supreme Court to deny Bronx Household of Faith's petition, the city argued there was no circuit split on the issue, typically a precondition for the court's consideration. The city also argued schools are a "limited public forum," which means government can set rules for who participates in that forum. De Blasio's deputy press secretary, Wiley Norvell, parsed the conflict between the brief and the mayor's position. "The administration's position is that religious organizations should be able to use space in city schools on the same terms provided to other groups," he said. "The city's recent filing seeks to preserve its prerogative to issue rules governing the use of public school facilities after hours by various groups, including faith-based organizations." Jordan Lorence, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom who has been handling the church's case, said, "All their legal arguments are wrong," particularly their claim that government can deny equal access to churches in "forums that are open to anyone else." "What they're trying to do is eviscerate the Supreme Court's equal access doctrine," Lorence said. The de Blasio administration could change the policy at any time executively but has not. Currently, churches can rent public schools for worship services thanks to a court-ordered stay on the city policy. But that order could end anytime, depending on the Supreme Court's actions. Last year, the Bronx Household of Faith lost its case at the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals but appealed to the Supreme Court. The appeal automatically placed a stay on the Second Circuit's ruling, meaning a district court's ruling blocking the city policy remained in place. The church has appealed to the Supreme Court unsuccessfully before but on different constitutional grounds. This is the first time the city has filed court documents on the policy since de Blasio's 2013 election to succeed Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who defended the policy in court for years. In its brief, the de Blasio administration argued that because Bronx Household of Faith has built its own church building, which it began using for services this past summer, the church doesn't have standing to challenge the policy. The church, based in a low-income neighborhood, built the building after years of back-and-forth with the city over whether it could hold services at a local public school. The church has continued to rent space periodically at the school for worship services because its new building is too small for some gatherings. It is planning to rent space at the school for its Easter service in April. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Winter storm underscores disaster preparedness by Meredith Yackel Date: January 27, 2015 - Tuesday ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) -- Winter storm Juno hit areas of the Northeast Monday and Tuesday (Jan. 26-27) and continues to bring moderate to heavy snow in some areas. Although its impact is less than originally predicted, by noon Tuesday Juno had left parts of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island with one to two or more feet of snow. Wind gusts reached 30 mph Tuesday night in Boston and topped 70 mph in eastern Massachusetts. Coastal flooding has forced roads in some areas to close completely, and several states either closed roads or imposed a limited travel ban. An estimated 36,000 customers are without power in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Moderate coastal flooding is expected to continue today (Jan. 27). Fritz Wilson, executive director for Southern Baptist Disaster Relief with the North American Mission Board, warned that "it is easy to take an attitude of complacency and not take preparedness with seriousness" since New York and other areas weren't hit as hard as initially feared. While trained SBDR volunteers could be deployed for such a natural disaster if needed, Wilson said blizzards are an example of the kind of event individuals and churches can prepare for in advance. "Our Ready Church initiative is about being prepared for all disasters. The reason for churches and Christians to be prepared is that when we are prepared, we can better cope with the situation and minister to our neighbors," Wilson said. Churches can connect with a local SBDR director to learn more about how to be prepared when a storm, or any kind of disaster, hits close to home. SBDR leaders want to enable churches to prepare, connect and respond within their local context while, through the disaster relief network nationally and internationally, Southern Baptists are able to respond with full support to crises of all sizes. Ready Church empowers people to best connect with their community in these times of need to spread the Gospel. Those wishing to donate to SBDR relief can contact the Baptist convention in their state or visit https://donations.namb.net/dr-donations. For phone donations, call 1-866-407-NAMB (6262) or mail checks to NAMB, P.O. Box 116543, Atlanta, GA 30368-6543. Designate checks for "Disaster Relief." NAMB coordinates and manages Southern Baptist responses to major disasters through partnerships with 42 state Baptist conventions, most of which have their own state disaster relief ministries. Southern Baptists have 65,000 trained volunteers -- including chaplains -- and 1,550 mobile units for feeding, chainsaw, mud-out, command, communication, child care, shower, laundry, water purification, repair/rebuild and power generation. SBDR is one of the three largest mobilizers of trained disaster relief volunteers in the United States, along with the American Red Cross and The Salvation Army. -------------------------------------------------------------------- FROM THE STATES: Ala., La., Fla. evangelism/missions news; RAs/GAs experience 'Ethiopian village' by Staff Date: January 27, 2015 - Tuesday Today's From the States features items from: The Alabama Baptist Baptist Message (Louisiana) Florida Baptist Witness Ala. church creates Ethiopian village for RA/GA campout By Anna Keller ENTERPRISE, Ala. (The Alabama Baptist) -- Hillcrest Baptist Church in Enterprise, Ala., is a missions-focused congregation that sends several members on international trips each year. They go to places like Costa Rica, Belize and Ethiopia to minister, share God's love, offer medical assistance and more. Those who participate in these trips come back invigorated to do missions work and are more aware of how much Americans have in comparison to people in other countries, church leaders explained. A group that recently traveled to Ethiopia started brainstorming some unconventional ways to share their trip with the younger members of their church family. Understanding Ethiopian life Annette Whitton, director of children's ministries at Hillcrest Baptist, has been to Ethiopia several times and always comes home changed. "We've done talks and slide presentations and it's all been good, but we started wondering if there was something else we could do to make them understand what life is like there and how blessed we are in America," Whitton said. "We started thinking that maybe we could build a village right there at our church." A Royal Ambassador (RA) teacher who went on the Ethiopia trip also is an accomplished craftsman, and he offered to build the actual village structure. The idea was that the team would keep this endeavor a secret and only reveal it to the kids when they arrived to the church for a special event. The church always hosts a campout event for their Girls in Action (GAs) and RAs, and so this melded nicely into that annual tradition. Though initially the event was going to take place in September or October, there were some conflicts that pushed it back to November and the event actually occurred Nov. 14–15. Despite it being extremely cold that night, requiring the group to sleep indoors because temperatures were below freezing, GA director Jennifer Amlong said the timing worked out really well. "It's kind of better because it was just before Thanksgiving so we were able to remind the kids how blessed we are," she said. "We could remind them that there are people in the world who don't have the things we take for granted." The children showed up to the church — overnight bags in hand — not knowing what to expect. They were led into a side courtyard area of the church where the village had been set up. The church's "village" consisted of four huts, a campfire, a trash area and an outhouse. For those who had actually traveled to Ethiopia, everything felt very familiar and authentic. They separated the kids into four "families" and each family had a hut. Because about 23 first- to sixth-graders were at the event the huts became cozy quickly and the leaders explained that in Ethiopia families had to share these small spaces. When it came time for dinner the children were served a meal much like one people in Ethiopia would eat including a version of "injera" (a bread-like food Ethiopians use in place of flatware while eating) and meat flavored with an Ethiopian spice called "berbere." Digging through trash Whitton said, "Some kids complained about not having enough at dinner, so we told those kids that in Ethiopia when people want extra food, they go through the trash to find some. We'd hidden hot dogs in plastic bags in our 'dump' area of the village, and so the children had to dig through the trash to find hot dogs to grill if they wanted extra food." After dinner the leaders took some time to talk to the children about Ethiopia and about missions work in general. Amlong said, "It really made them think. In GAs we talk about missions every Wednesday night, but this way they got to experience it. You can talk about a child having to go to a dump to find food but when they experience that on their own it really sticks." Hillcrest has left its Ethiopian village intact and plans to offer it as a resource to other churches that want to come by and see it and learn more about the lives of people in that country. --30-- This article appeared in The Alabama Baptist (thealabamabaptist.org), newsjournal of the Alabama Baptist Convention. Anna Keller is a correspondent for The Alabama Baptist. ********** La. church obtains publishing rights to Experiencing God in Bulgaria By Brian Blackwell WEST MONROE, La. (Baptist Message) -- A Louisiana Baptist church has obtained the exclusive publishing rights to the Experiencing God book in the nation of Bulgaria. And by doing so, Cedar Crest Baptist Church in West Monroe hopes this is just the beginning of many changed lives in this East European country. Cedar Crest has been working in partnership with the Baptist Union of Bulgaria and the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention since 2009. The church has taken teams to Bulgaria to conduct pastor training and leadership development, VBS style events for children and sports camps for all ages. The idea to translate Experiencing God into Bulgarian began in 2010 when Cedar Crest hosted a Fresh Encounter conference on spiritual awakening. The conference was led by Henry Blackaby, co-author of Experiencing God, and his son Richard, now President of Blackaby Ministries International. At the conference, Richard Blackaby discussed with church leadership the possibility of obtaining the publishing rights, although BMI does not handle the actual distribution of those rights. "Experiencing God has had such a significant impact on our church here that when we began working with pastors and leaders in Bulgaria, it was just a natural thought to incorporate this material into the process," said Greg Clark, senior pastor of Cedar Crest. The church immediately began attempts through Lifeway Publishing to obtain the rights, only to find out that those rights had been purchased by another organization. Attempts over the next year and a half to contact this organization proved unsuccessful. In early 2012, Lynn Wilson, Cedar Crest's administrative pastor, once again contacted Lifeway about the Experiencing God material. Only this time, he was informed that the publishing rights formerly held by the other organization had expired and were in fact available for purchase. "I told them as of right now those rights are no longer available to anyone else because we want them," Wilson recalled. By that summer, Cedar Crest began to have discussions with a Bulgarian translator, Vlady Raichinov, about the possibility of having the book translated into their language. The process of translation took almost an entire year to accomplish and when completed was 330 pages in length. Wilson said that since most Bulgarians they have encountered do not use the workbook style material commonly used in the United States, the actual book was used in the translation. In the meantime, Cedar Crest had begun discussions with the Baptist Union of Bulgaria in hopes of sponsoring a national Baptist pastors conference in the capital city of Sofia. David Moreland, missions pastor at Cedar Crest, added that developing good relationships with the pastors and leaders in Bulgaria was key in getting the Bulgarian leadership to the point where they would be comfortable in accepting the gift of Experiencing God in their native language. "During the first three years of the work there, we were able to establish a good working relationship with the BBU," Moreland said. "They don't just open their arms and welcome people in, so it was quite a moment for us when we realized that they accepted us. "We have tried to be very prayerful in seeing what God would have us to do there and He's been very faithful in doing just that," he continued. "As God opens doors, we have tried to be faithful and obey." Ultimately, the BBU agreed to work with Cedar Crest in holding a national conference for Baptist pastors. It seemed to be a natural fit to use the Experiencing God material as the theme for the conference. Cedar Crest contacted Blackaby Ministries and soon had both Richard Blackaby and his brother Tom Blackaby committed to leading the teaching sessions for the conference. All the praying and planning finally came to fruition, when in October of 2013, 127 pastors and leaders from all across the country of Bulgaria came together for a 3 day period of teaching, worshipping and fellowship. At the conclusion of the conference, approximately 300 copies of the Experiencing God book were distributed free of charge to Bulgarian pastors and leaders. "Because of economic reasons they cannot come together as a group, so to see the pastors and leaders together in fellowship was an incredible experience for us to be a part of," Wilson said. "It also has now provided some legitimacy for Cedar Crest and what God is leading us to do over there." Moreland added that the exciting thing is that until now the church mission teams have been primarily going to the northwest region of Bulgaria but now God has opened the opportunity for them to go other places in the country. "We have been getting invitations from other churches to do the same kinds of things in their regions," he said. "What began as a small work in one particular location has now blossomed out so that we now have the ability to go throughout the whole country and minister." Clark stated the whole process of working in Bulgaria is a slow one, so one must get accustomed to that slow process. "We felt like God had opened this door for us and it didn't matter how long it took or what the process was, we were just going to hang in there until something happened," he said. A team from Cedar Crest traveled back in Bulgaria at the end of March, conducting more teaching with pastors and encouraging congregations in this very difficult environment. Discussions are currently on-going for the next national conference that will be held in April 2015. The effort by Cedar Crest to reach the Bulgarian people reflects a larger mission to fulfill Acts 1:8 and is a part of the church's Global Mission Strategy. Its local missions efforts include a Cowboy Church that meets every Tuesday in the church's fellowship hall, participation in a ministry to the homeless in Ouachita Parish, support of a local church plant and weekly mentoring of at-risk children at a local elementary school. Statewide, Cedar Crest has partnered with a church plant, One Life Baptist Church in Port Vincent and with Chad Thibodeaux of Vatican Baptist Church and will begin working with Ryan Melson, a church planter in New Orleans beginning in January of 2015. Nationally, the church has just concluded a 3-year partnership with Connect Church in Atlanta, Ga, conducting summer sports camps for children in inner city Atlanta. Cedar Crest will begin a new church plant partnership with Passion Church in mid-town Atlanta sometime early in 2015. --30-- This article appeared in the Baptsit Message (baptistmessage.com), newsjournal of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. Brian Blackwell is a staff writer for the Baptist Message. ********** House of Hope strives to be 'His hands and feet' By Barbara Denman MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. (Florida Baptist Witness) -- In the pre-dawn hours before the sun rises over the Atlantic Ocean, hundreds of needy people stand in line at the House of Hope waiting for groceries, coffee and donuts, clothes and a little hope to help them make it through the week. They are greeted by volunteers with big smiles on their faces, warm welcomes in their voices and hearts steeped in prayer. The volunteers are God's hands and feet, many having arrived at 4:30 a.m. to prepare for the day. Within four hours, 1,000 "clients," will have walked through the doors of the former post office building to receive a box of groceries filled with canned food, baked goods, fresh meat, vegetables and fruits. They have been able to visit with chaplains to share specific needs, sign up for food stamps, ask VFW representatives about benefits, take a shower if needed, and pick out five articles of clothing. And when they have completed their walk through, volunteers— affectionately called "mules" -- with wheel barrows will carry the client's box of food to their cars; or give them a ride in a golf cart to the city bus stop. By the morning's end after their clients have left, the workers will prepare to do it all again on the next Monday. House of Hope is a ministry of First Baptist Church of Merritt Island, and is operated strictly by volunteers, mostly church members, as well as representatives from other churches and the community. No one, not even director Steve Young, who has led the ministry for the past ten years, receives a salary. "You couldn't pay us to do this," Young said simply. Instead, he added, "it's about transformation." "We believe transformation comes from Jesus Christ and we are working for that," Young said. One of the biggest issues "with the poor and homeless is drugs and alcoholism," explained Young. "It's a huge problem. Many are chemically dependent." Each week, between 10 and 15 House of Hope's clients pray to receive Christ as their Savior, right on the parking lot, resulting in more than 1,000 professions of faiths made each year. Men who express a desire for permanent life change can apply to live in the transitional housing located on the property, a blessing that enables them to transition from homeless to the workforce. Others who demonstrate a deeper commitment to being clean and sober can be sent to an out-of-state rehab facility for chemical dependency. Four of the men who have gone through this process are now serving in ministry. That is the transformation driving Young. Having worked with the needy in Merritt Island for more than 15 years, the staff at House of Hope runs like a well-oiled machine and has initiated ministries to meet specific needs. Because bicycles are the primary mode of transportation for the poor, Young explained, the ministry has a bicycle shop where volunteers repair used bikes for the needy. More than 600 bikes received as contributions to the ministry are made travel worthy each year and distributed to those in need. Even in tropical Florida, temperatures drop below 40 degrees. House of Hope offers shelter on these nights with hot meals, Bible studies and showers. The ministry also provides weekly Bible study, job assistance with Job Link and basic wellness checks by medical staff. Each year, House of Hope hosts the Florida Baptist Convention mobile dental unit and enlists volunteer dentists from the community to provide dental care to clients with immediate needs, including fillings and extractions. Chaplains, trained through the Florida Baptist Convention's volunteer chaplaincy program, mingle throughout the crowds standing in line to discover needs, provide resources and guide conversations into spiritual directions. While Mondays are the organization's prime food distribution days, volunteers work throughout the week to collect food from grocery stores, restaurants, Second Harvest and other sources. Two refrigerated food trucks are used in the food collections. Perishables which cannot be used immediately are given to other ministries, including First Baptist which uses the food to feed the homeless a hot meal on Wednesday night. Throughout the process the food is inspected and deemed worthy for distribution, explained Chaplain Betty Hubert. "Everything is quality because we represent Jesus Christ." Those coming to the House of Hope reflect all walks of life and backgrounds—young, old, people with special needs, some with small children tagging along, others with walkers, and still some dragging suitcases filled with their only worldly possessions. According to House of Hope statistics, about five percent of their clients are homeless; 20 percent are single parents; and 25 percent are senior adults. Veterans and the disabled each comprise five percent. Overall the majority of those in line -- 40 percent -- are unemployed, many affected when NASA's shuttle program ended and 8,000 workers lost their jobs. Young said for every one NASA job lost, two or three jobs in the Space Coast community also ended. At age 65, Cassions, who asked not to use his full name, is one of those who lost his job and has gone back to school to retool his skills. He comes each week to House of Hope with two retired neighbors to get the food that will help them make it through the week with their limited income. "We love this place," he said. "It's like a little community. They give us all we need and the people are so nice. It's a place of joy." And for our 1,000 persons each week, it's a place of hope -- and grace. --30-- This article appeared in the Florida Baptist Witness (gofbw.com), newsjournal of the Florida Baptist Convention. Barbara Denman is director of communications for the Florida Baptist Convention. ********** EDITOR'S NOTE: From the States, published each Tuesday by Baptist Press, relays news and feature stories from state Baptist papers and other publications on initiatives by Baptist churches, associations and state conventions in evangelism, church planting and Great Commission outreach, including partnership missions. Reports about churches, associations and state conventions responding to the International Mission Board's call to embrace the world's 3,800 unengaged, unreached people groups also are included in From the States, along with reports about church, associational and state convention initiatives in conjunction with the North American Mission Board's call to Southern Baptist churches to broaden their efforts in starting new churches and satellite campuses. The items appear in Baptist Press as originally published.