The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-07/26/2016 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. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Pokémon Go party draws 6 gamers to Christ by Alex Sibley Date: July 26, 2016 - Tuesday FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) -- When viewed through the otherworldly lens of "Pokémon Go," Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is home to three "gyms," or virtual meeting places, and nearly three dozen "Pokéstops," or landmarks. Thus, numerous Pokémon "trainers," or participants -- enthusiasts who wouldn't otherwise trek to a seminary campus -- have made their way to Southwestern as they play the game. Realizing the unique opportunity for outreach, seminary students and faculty hosted a "lure party" at the Fort Worth, Texas, campus July 19. Southwestern set off 80 Pokémon "lures" over a two-hour period, drawing roughly 200 people from the community, reflecting Jesus' declaration in Matthew 4:19 that His followers be "fishers of men." Southwesterners engaged the lost with the Gospel and, as a result, six Pokémon players professed faith in Christ. "Unlike any other time that we have done outreach in either the community or any type of mission trip, this was the rare opportunity where we didn't have to go find people, but they were coming to us," said Joshua Clayton, a master of divinity student who organized the event "to seize the moment and strategically utilize the game for evangelism." Jonathan Baldwin, Southwestern's housing coordinator, was among the evangelists, and he personally saw two high school students turn to Jesus as their Lord and Savior. "The conversation started about the game, then transitioned into school and future college plans," Baldwin recounted. "I took this time to share how God had saved me during my senior year of college, and I boasted in the Lord at how amazing this new life with Him is." For Baldwin, "It is always exciting to see God save people and always refreshing to retell His story." A Gospel tract produced specifically for the event by Southwestern stated, "Hello, Pokémon trainers! You think hunting for Pokémon is exciting? What if you were to find out that you may have just stumbled upon the greatest treasure ever known?" With water stations placed at key locations around campus, servers offered passersby not just physical water but "living water" akin to Jesus' words in John 4. M.Div. student Joy Arulogun had a fruitful discussion with a group of young students at one of the stations that resulted in two professions of faith and one rededication. At a water station on the opposite side of campus, master's degree students Heather Mentz in music and Mark Becker in biblical counseling and Ph.D. student Jessica Wan spoke with three young men, Angel, Fransisco and Kevin. Upon hearing the Gospel message, Angel prayed to receive the Lord. Though Fransisco did not respond to the invitation, he nevertheless heard the Gospel while Kevin, who is already a professing Christian, was encouraged by the evangelists to continue in his faith and find a church home. The Pokémon tract served as a foundational element in Angel's salvation. When Mentz learned that Angel and his two friends had already received and read the Gospel tract, she discerned a perfect time to engage them in spiritual conversation. Alongside Angel's responsiveness, Fransisco listened to everything while "his other friend Kevin [who was already a Christian] was excited to hear someone give a Gospel presentation," Mentz recounted. "He said he had tried before with Angel but always gotten stuck. "So not only did one person come to know the Lord [Angel], but another was encouraged to continue in his faith and find a church home [Kevin] and another heard a Gospel presentation and experienced the joy and excitement we all had [Fransisco]." Mentz then enlisted the aid of Becker, since he keeps Bibles in his car to give away. When Becker met up with the group, he brought several Bibles, "which was perfect," Mentz said, "because it meant that Fransisco and Kevin could have Bibles as well." Becker proceeded to begin the early stages of discipleship with Angel as Fransisco and Kevin listened. Becker told them about the parable of the treasure in the field from Matthew 13:44 in which a man sold all he had in order to buy a field containing buried treasure, "because what he was getting was so much better." Becker compared it to trading an entire Pokémon deck for a Magikarp -- a rare Pokémon -- to show that what is lost is nothing compared to what is gained, Mentz said. "He told them that [the apostle] Paul said everything was rubbish compared to knowing Christ, and I think they could tell by our excitement and expressions when talking that we meant everything we were saying." Evangelism instructor Brandon Kiesling, who coordinated Southwestern's evangelism teams, noted, "When there are so many people involved with something like [Pokémon], you can't miss the opportunity to use it for good in some way especially when the people come to us. Why wouldn't you [seize that opportunity]?" Watch a video recap of Southwestern's Pokémon outreach: -------------------------------------------------------------------- LGBT history lessons planned for Calif. students by Molly Hulsey/WORLD News Service Date: July 26, 2016 - Tuesday CALIFORNIA (BP) -- California revamped its social-science education guidelines in July to incorporate lessons on historic lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender individuals and social movements in the approved curriculum. The decision garnered almost unanimous support at a public meeting and across the state, but some Californians are concerned about its long-term impact on their children. Approved lesson guidelines -- including half of the material from proposed plans -- educate second-graders on "LGBT families in the context of understanding family diversity as a contemporary and historical reality" and fourth-graders on pioneer gender relations and crossdressers in the Old West, said supporter Judy Appel, the executive director of the advocacy group Our Family Coalition. LGBT movement politician Harvey Milk will also make an appearance in fourth grade lesson plans, while upper-level courses will be steeped in recent LGBT events like last year's Supreme Court decision to legalize gay marriage or this year's transgender bathroom debate. Other historic LGBT figures will be in the spotlight too. If this year's LGBT History Month icon list is any indication, figures could include the likes of President James Buchanan, entrepreneur Malcolm Forbes, rock star David Bowie, and celebrity drag performer RuPaul. "We've heard a lot of our teachers who want to teach this material, but didn't have the resources," Appel said. "History is very personal for people, and this is how we are telling our story." Critics, however, fear the new curriculum is oversexualized for young children and could replace more crucial historical events and figures. "There is no mention of Manifest Destiny or Native Americans," 11th grade teacher Brianna Leemkuil told CBS Sacramento about one of her class' units. "You want us to talk about a tiny LGBT community and ignore the killing of an entire people group?" California Department of Education's communications director, Bill Ainsworth, said the new guidelines are not enforced by the state, but suggest a list of textbooks and materials from which districts can select. He said neither private nor public schools have to adhere to the guidelines, but the resources will provide "lots of info on LGBT individuals and their communities that more accurately reflect their role in history." According to Appel, these textbooks will be released in 2017. The overhaul implements a 2012 law called the Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, & Respectful Education Act (FAIR). The act requires state textbooks for kindergarten to eighth grade students to feature LGBT and disabled Americans and prohibits educational resources that portray LGBT individuals in a negative light. "A lot of parents certainly want to have more control over how their younger kids are introduced to these adult concepts," Matthew McReynolds, a senior staff attorney at the Pacific Justice Institute, said. His legal defense organization has tried to get the FAIR act repealed over the years. Like Leemkuil, McReynolds is also concerned the guidelines will oust more consequential highlights from textbooks. He said LGBT history month's noteworthy figure lists have included a few notable individuals in the past, but, more often than not, obscure athletes, current pop musicians like Lady Gaga, and homoerotic writers fill up its ranks. "Most people think it is the most prominent gay activists being featured," he said, adding that most teachers and parents don't realize the scope of celebrated LGBT figures is larger -- and yet, not quite as historic as they had imagined. -------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST-PERSON: The next great generation? by Erich Bridges Date: July 26, 2016 - Tuesday RICHMOND, Va. (BP) -- Remember the "Greatest Generation" that won World War II and turned America into a global powerhouse? Well, their spoiled grandchildren are the "Lousiest Generation," says Johnny Oleksinski, a 26-year-old New York Post reporter. "Like a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, I must admit that I'm powerless to [change] my biological age," Oleksinski lamented in a recent column. "Nonetheless, I fight back every day against the traits that have come to define Gen Y: entitlement, dependency, nonstop complaining, laziness, Kardashians." They're more interested in snapping selfies than developing actual selves. They invent elaborate personalities on social media but can't hold an actual face-to-face conversation. They have no loyalty to anything that doesn't build their own personal "brand." After rehashing all the stereotypes about Millennials (at least the upscale Millennials he encounters in trendy Brooklyn neighborhoods), Oleksinski tells today's 20-somethings: Stop blaming everybody else for your own lack of accomplishment. Stop waiting around for something big to happen. Get a life and start living it. Every time I read one of these anti-Millennial screeds, I'm tempted to join in the jeering. I'm a Baby Boomer, after all, so it's my duty to complain about these young upstarts who dare to out-"me" the original Me Generation. Problem is, the stereotypes don't fit many of the Millennials I know. Consider the Sunday School class I co-teach for young adults (ages 18-25). We average eight to 10 people a week. On two recent Sundays, only one or two showed up. Were the others chilling at the beach or out playing Pokemon Go? Hardly. Three of our young women were in South Asia, making friends and sharing the love of Christ with Hindus, Muslims and anyone else they met in one of the world's great megacities. Two of our young men were in Uganda, boating to isolated islands on Lake Victoria to deliver the Gospel to fishermen and their families. So I'll gladly give them a pass for missing Sunday School. Another member of our class has contended with a major disability since birth. Yet she is one of the strongest followers of Christ I know. She finished college last year and has begun writing a book to encourage others who struggle with disabilities and various challenges. Her main message: Trust God and never give up. Still another class member just began graduate study in social work. She wants to use her training to serve others -- especially the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized. A young woman from our church joined a mission group straight out of high school. She's already spent time in the Middle East helping Syrian refugees. More recently, she led a 10-person team to Israel and the West Bank to build relationships with Jews and Palestinians. Half of the people on her team were older than she is. I could go on. True, the Millennials in our church are much too tiny a demographic sample to be representative of their generation. True, many Millennials have dropped out of churches or never become a part of one in the first place. And I've encountered plenty of Millennials who seem aimless or content to fritter away their lives on pointless pursuits. But I've met hundreds of other 20-somethings around the country who are just as committed, just as inspiring, just as determined to serve God and others as the young adults in my church. And they represent millions more. Oleksinski and others who push the media stereotypes of Millennials may not be aware of this cohort of young Christ-followers. But they are there -- and we should celebrate them. They need our encouragement, our mentoring and our prayers. Too often, we allow the world to frame how we view the people who live right next to us, even our younger brothers and sisters in the faith. Let's stop bashing Millennials and start building them up. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Until He comes': Police, clergy pledge 24/7 prayer by Diana Chandler Date: July 26, 2016 - Tuesday HOUSTON (BP) -- Months before related shootings in three states resulted in the deaths of eight policemen and two black civilian men in July, the Houston Police Officers Union began recruiting clergy and intercessors to make Houston a city of prayer. The result is a prayer room established at police union headquarters in downtown Houston, where continuous prayers are planned around the clock for the city beginning in August, Union Baptist Association church consultant Rickie Bradshaw told Baptist Press. "Our prayer request is for the Son of Man to come," Bradshaw said, referencing the Lord's Prayer. "So we're going to pray day and night about His kingdom coming and His will being done on the earth, and all of this was taking place way before we've had this plight in America. There are a group of police officers in our city that want ... Houston known as a city ... covered by prayer." The prayer initiative is the result of work that began cooperatively in April among at least four Houston prayer networks, the police officers' union, the Union Baptist Association of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, and the nationwide Prayer Boot Camp initiative of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Prayer organizers believe the only answer to police-related, racially charged violence is a revival generated by the Holy Spirit, Bradshaw said, referencing the biblical parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18:1-8. "These officers and these intercessors are now feeling like they have no other option as that widow did, who went to the judge day and night. She had no other option but to cry out to God to come," Bradshaw said. "How long will it be? It will be until He comes and makes Houston the praise of the earth (Isaiah 62:7)." Isaiah 62:7, which encourages Jerusalem to pray day and night, is also motivating the initiative. "The Lord says you who are watchmen on the wall, for the sake of Zion, take no rest for yourselves and give Him no rest until He makes Jerusalem -- London, Houston, whatever -- the praise of the earth," Bradshaw said. "How do we know when Houston becomes the praise of the earth? [When] revival and spiritual awakening [come]." A total of 24 prayer captains, including six law enforcement officers and eight pastors, signed a covenant at a July 23rd Prayer Boot Camp at union headquarters, committing to ensure that intercessors are praying in the prayer room around the clock, Bradshaw told BP. "What's really exciting about this is these are men and women who have a relationship with Jesus Christ, recognizing that they have a responsibility to intercede on behalf of the city before the Lord Jesus Christ," Bradshaw said. "We made a declaration that we would keep the fire burning until He comes. This says something that is at the very heart of 24/7; you don't start and stop." The July 23 Prayer Boot Camp was designed by Claude King, discipleship and church health specialist with LifeWay Adults, who developed the prayer camp in December, 2015, as a model to teach Christian disciples how to pray. King developed the camps after the 2015 release of the "War Room" movie by brothers Stephen and Alex Kendrick, and based the content on the movie-related resource "The Battle Plan for Prayer." "What Claude King has taught us is prayer is discipleship," Bradshaw said. "Jesus said go out in twos, because we don't want the fire to go out. Those men and women who have signed up to become captains, we are saying to them, we want you to sign a covenant to disciple others." LifeWay Prayer Boot Camp King offered the camp at the July Black Church Leadership and Family Conference at Ridgecrest, N.C., July 11-15, among more than 10 other camps he has offered in Georgia, Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky, and in Texas prisons. "What we believe is that God's going to take the body of Christ, the larger body of Christ and help us to love one another, and show compassion, and to feel the pain, and to pray differently," King said. "How do we pray in light of the circumstances of today?" he asked African American leaders and laypersons gathered at Ridgecrest. "We need to ask God to give us a heart of compassion like His for those He has created," King teaches. "We need to pray together. But not against each other; for each other. We need to pray blessing and not cursing. We need to pray for understanding and empathy." Former North American Mission Board regional vice president Gary Frost, currently national facilitator of prayer and compassion initiatives of the Mission America Coalition, joined King in leading the Ridgecrest prayer camp. "Do you sense that, not only are a lot of things happening, they're happening fast. It seems like there's an acceleration of stuff going on. Fifty people are killed in Orlando, and then this happens over here and that happens over there," Frost said. "It seems as if our civilization as we know it is actually disintegrating. There's a breaking down going on." Frost pointed participants to the Lord's Sermon on the Mount and the beatitudes in responding to violence. "We have an opportunity in this current dark environment for the world to see Christ," Frost said. "When you pray you're talking to somebody who knows what you're talking about, because Christ was tempted in every point just like you are, yet He never sinned. So the ultimate reconciliation can only occur in Christ who is the bridge, who connects us all together in oneness. We have to come together in unity, and that can only happen in Christ." King is leading three camps this week in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, with a flexible curriculum that can be tailored to multiple timeframes including weekly prayer meetings and one-time events from two hours to one day long, King said. Resources are available at http://blog.lifeway.com/growingdisciples/prayer-boot-camp/. "During the Prayer Boot Camp, groups learn how to pray and how to pray specifically and strategically. More importantly they spend significant amounts of time praying together," King told BP. "I've led Prayer Boot Camps primarily to train trainers so they in turn can lead Prayer Boot Camps in their churches and in other areas, associations and state conventions." King noted, "When people who are rightly related to God pray, God works in circumstances and in the lives of others in answer to our prayers and in accordance with His will. Prayer doesn't change things, but God changes things in answer to prayer." -------------------------------------------------------------------- Black pastors attend prayer & listening session by Keith Collier/Southern Baptist TEXAN Date: July 26, 2016 - Tuesday GRAPEVINE, Texas (BP) -- Nearly two dozen black pastors met with Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Executive Director Jim Richards and convention staff for a prayer and listening session on racial reconciliation amid national tensions stemming from black men being killed by police in Baton Rouge, La., and St. Paul, Minn., as well as gunmen killing police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge. Richards invited the SBTC pastors to discuss ways the convention can assist churches of all ethnicities in working together for racial reconciliation in their communities. "Whether it's racial justice, whether it's law and order, whatever the perspective is from [our] churches, we need to help them see what your concerns are, what your heart is, and how we can help our churches minister in the current environment," Richards said. Dante Wright, SBTC vice president and pastor of Sweet Home Baptist Church in Round Rock, opened the session by sharing his views on the Black Lives Matter movement, comparing and contrasting it with the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Wright explained that he does not see Black Lives Matter at its core as a group that hates cops or promotes violence but one that seeks to replicate aspects of the Civil Rights movement and voices legitimate concerns about police brutality and inequality in the criminal justice system. At the same time, Wright said, one of the major differences between the Civil Rights movement and Black Lives Matter is that the latter "has eliminated religious leaders, they have eliminated biblical principles." Terry Turner, pastor of Mesquite Friendship Baptist Church and former SBTC president, agreed, noting that Black Lives Matter has a variety of voices, some positive and some negative. "Society doesn't know what to believe; everybody's caught up in whether it's good or it's bad.... [Black pastors] have to have the voice that overshadows the negative voices," Turner said. Prior to leading one of several prayer times throughout the July 19 meeting, Turner thanked the pastors in attendance, noting God's sovereignty in the midst of chaos. "We're caught up in the midst of turmoil and trauma in our society, but it has not caught God unaware," Turner said, noting that the tragic events and racial tensions have been used by God to provide a forum for discussing solutions. "It allows us to deal with some of the racial issues that have been swept under the carpet for over 100 years in our society," Turner said. Pastors expressed their frustrations and concerns related to racial injustice and inequality that still pervade American culture in sometimes subtle as well as sometimes volatile ways. At the same time, they discussed ways their churches are seeking to engage in racial reconciliation within their communities. Jack Crane, pastor of Truevine Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Worth, shared how his church held a prayer meeting following the police shootings in Dallas and invited local police officers so they could pray for them. "If we're on the same team, then it should be the norm in the church for all of us to come together and say we stand for one cause," Crane said. Donald Burgs, pastor of Alief Baptist Church in Katy, said solutions too often are sought reactively instead of proactively. His church has pledged to be a community partner with the Katy police department. "When you meet with the police chief and mayor in your community, you are not asking for anything; you are sharing what your church membership is going to be as a community partner." For Alief Baptist, this has included dialogue with the police department on the value of body cameras and de-escalation training for officers as well as compliance procedures for citizens. Additionally, men in the church have offered to be "boots on the ground," mentoring young black men who are repeat offenders. Tony Mathews, pastor of North Garland Baptist Fellowship and president of the SBTC African-American Fellowship, challenged pastors to be intentional about creating a multicultural church with staff and leadership of varying ethnicities. Recognizing it's "easier said than done," he said this approach ultimately "builds relationships in the congregation" and allows the pastor to de-escalate tensions in the congregation during difficult times. "It takes a long time to build relationships cross-culturally, and it's hard work," Mathews said. "You have to know people and build relationships with people before you get to some of these volatile areas or you'll end up building barriers instead of bridges." Bryant Pearson, founder of Bowtie Boys Mentoring Program in Garland, said churches must get involved in the educational and economic systems because much of racism stems from economic disparity. He said he seeks to get police involved in the lives of young children so mutual respect is built between them. Wright agreed with Pearson about the cyclical nature of poverty and the criminal justice system, which is why the church he leads has opened up a barber shop, beauty shop and daycare center to provide jobs to those with criminal records. E.W. McCall, a longtime pastor in California and currently a specialist in African American ministry with SBTC, encouraged fellow pastors to be "system savvy" by using their influence for God's glory and speaking out against government laws and policies that contribute to inequality and racial tensions. He also challenged pastors to preach the Gospel unashamedly as the only hope for reconciliation. McCall reminded the pastors of the need for them to "show up" at convention meetings and "pay up" through their church's participation in the cooperative program. "We are the convention," he said. "It's the theology of presence -- I need to see you guys that's here today at these statewide meetings." Other solutions discussed during the meeting included black pastors building friendships with pastors of other ethnicities in their communities and looking for multiethnic worship opportunities such as swapping pulpits with another pastor. The pastors also asked for the state convention to provide future opportunities for pastors of all ethnicities to dialogue with one another in small-group settings to find solutions for racial reconciliation. Richards concluded the meeting by promising to fulfill this final request of black and white pastor discussion forums "sooner rather than later." He issued a challenge for the black pastors present to build relationships with white pastors in their communities and bring them to the meetings. -------------------------------------------------------------------- FROM THE STATES: Md., Ga., Ala. evangelism/missions news; 'God ensured that I returned with my heart full' by Staff Date: July 26, 2016 - Tuesday Today's From the States features items from: BaptistLIFE (Maryland) The Christian Index (Georgia) The Alabama Baptist ********** Md. churches deliver water – and hope -- to residents in Flint By Shannon Baker TEMPLE HILLS, Md. (BaptistLIFE) -- When Taye Hailu saw the news of the water situation in Flint, Mich., he was burdened. With over 100,000 residents, the city has faced a critical crisis in its infrastructure. The city's water supply, used for drinking, cooking and bathing, is contaminated by lead, creating a serious public health danger. This past January, the state's governor declared a state of emergency, followed shortly after by President Barack Obama's own declaration as a federal state of emergency for the city, Michigan's seventh largest, northwest of Detroit. Now mostly out of the news cycle, Hailu, pastor of New Direction Church in Temple Hills, Md., felt the people of Flint were lost and forgotten. He knew an old classmate, George Anderson, who was delivering bottled water to residents and asked to join in the effort. He urged members from his church and his partner church, El Bethel Baptist Church in Ft. Washington, Md., to donate bottled water, baby wipes and hand sanitizer for his friend's next delivery. "It wasn't just a water drive; it was an opportunity to share the love of God -- with every race, not just African Americans, but also Hispanics and Caucasians," he said. Hailu cast vision at the two churches' services and through social media, with the goal of securing 300-350 cases of water. To his great surprise, donations surpassed over 1,000 cases "based upon the extravagant generosity of over 70 people donors, some I haven't even personally met," Hailu said. Because of weight restrictions on Penske's rental trucks, Hailu rented three large delivery trucks, to be driven by volunteers with CDL licenses. Volunteers who would distribute the water followed behind in vans. On the day they traveled, Hailu's van got caught in traffic, causing his late arrival. When he finally made it to Flint, he learned the other vans already delivered their supplies of water to pre-established distribution centers, which were, to Hailu's surprise, in the nicest neighborhoods. His burden deepening, he instructed his van driver to deliver the water instead to the housing developments, where the city's poorest residents lived. He was advised against it, as others described the crime-ridden area to him. But he couldn't resolve in his mind how single moms could make it to the distribution centers. And more than that, how could they carry the heavy water packs miles back to their homes? It just wouldn't work, so he and other team members drove straight to the poorer areas, where they were met often by people who tearfully proclaimed, "I thought you forgot about us!" Over and over, Hailu personally visited door-to-door distributing the supplies. He saw families whose children, forced to bathe in the contaminated water, had blisters and sores marring their skin. He saw the unhealthiness of residents who were living off of sodas and other sugar-laden drinks they had to purchase in the absence of clean water. It devastated him. But it also gave him the opportunity to proclaim the goodness of God, whom he credited for sending him all the way from Maryland to this hurting inner city. He shared about Christ often, praying openly at the residents' doors. He heard over and over how thankful the people were to receive the hope contained in the plastic water bottles. The whole experience rejuvenated Hailu's faith. He knew this was just the beginning of caring for the city that one no longer sees in the news. "It has been an amazing experience to see strangers, see the need, and respond in support by way of wipes, water or sanitizers. I thought I was going to give the residents of Flint something, but actually they gave me something as well ... love!" Hailu said. "Though we returned with our energy, trucks and hands empty, God ensured that I returned with my heart full." Hailu said he was reminded of Matthew 25:40, when Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me." Presently, the two churches are collecting donations again, with plans to have delivered them to Flint on July 23. If you are interested in donating supplies and even offering financial assistance to offset the cost of the rental trucks, contact Hailu at 310-357-4621. --30-- This article appeared in BaptistLIFE, newsmagazine of the Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network, formerly known as the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware, Shannon Baker is director of communications for the Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network. ********** Ga. camp immerses youth in missions education By Joe Westbury CLAYTON, Ga. (The Christian Index) -- God sometimes calls individuals to leave friends and family and move to another location as a missionary. And sometimes He calls an individual to be a missionary right where they live. Indigenous missionaries, as they are called, remain in their home community or state and serve where they best understand the culture. They have natural insight that provides them with eyes to see the needs that someone moving into the culture may take months to recognize. That indigenous ministry was the focus of Culture Camp at Camp Pinnacle for a recent week as campers learned firsthand about the ministry of Bryan and Lisa Catherman in Utah. "It's hard being a missionary where you are from because you see the brokenness and lostness more clearly than an outsider. You know many of the people on a personal level so the pain is deeper as you struggle to lead them to Christ," Bryan Catherman told the girls in one of his sessions. The couple are different from other missionaries because they were not always Christians where they serve. When they first met, Lisa was struggling with doubts of her Mormon faith and Bryan was not a believer. After they were married they felt they needed a spiritual foundation that was not tied to the state's dominant faith. Within two years of visiting an independent church Lisa accepted Christ and Bryan followed. Before long he felt called not to church planting specifically, but "to make disciples and gather them into a church," Catherman explains. He makes the distinction because he feels many church planters are focused on starting a church first and then growing the congregation. His approach, though very similar, focuses on winning people to Christ, starting a home Bible study as others are reached, and then gathering the group into a new church plant. Laying the foundation "I joined the staff of Holladay Baptist Church, a small congregation in Salt Lake City, where I served for five years helping them launch a new congregation. I had already completed my master of divinity degree from Liberty University and was working on my doctorate from Golden Gate (now Gateway Seminary). Eventually Holladay Baptist -- and our sponsors throughout the nation -- sent Lisa and I out to find the lost, share the Good News, and gather them into a new church," he adds. And that's the story the missionary couple shared with the young girls at Pinnacle. They told stories of hard work, of being lonely even while serving at home due to the lostness of Utah. "It's very lonely work because of the spiritual darkness we encounter every day. We serve where there are fewer Christians than in some locations in the world; 97 out of every 100 people we meet are lost without a relationship with Christ. "What makes it even harder is that so many of those are members of an established religion (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as Mormons) so they feel that they have already found Jesus." Volunteers key to their ministry That hasn't slowed down the couple, though. Using volunteers from around the nation they and their small church have placed more than 20,000 door hangers on front doors, each one with a Gospel message. They have also distributed 10,000 tracts and 400 Bibles "while praying for every home in the entire west side of Salt Lake City. We literally have stood in the front of each home and prayed for the individuals living there," Catherman says. Growth, as expected, has been slow in such an environment. But still, 13 baptisms have been recorded since the new congregation -- Redeeming Life Church -- began at Easter 2015. The church averages 60 members with more than 60% of those being new believers. First century church starting "We live as close to a first century church starting model as possible," Bryan notes. One way the couple brought the difficulty of finding the unchurched in the midst of a perceived churched state is through a creative exercise with the campers. First, Catherman enlists just three or four girls from the group to be open to the Gospel if they were approached by a missionary. That left about 20 girls who would not be responsive to a witness. Then he chose one volunteer and gave her a tract, challenging her to see how long it took her to find those who might be seeking God … all the while the group is walking around the room. The exercise brought the struggle home to the girls in just 10 minutes. Following that experience the group visited a coffee shop similar to one where Bryan and his wife meet new prospects. Then the girls were asked to write personal notes or Scripture verses on door hangers which the couple could use as they continue their door-to-door witnessing. "We literally pray Luke 10:2 every single day in Salt Lake City, asking the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into the field because it is so hard and we are so few," Catherman states. "We trust that someday some of these girls, or a group from their church, will come to Utah to labor alongside us." Pinnacle offers a distinctive missions education perspective That's what sets Camp Pinnacle apart from other summer camps. While many include Bible studies and Scripture memorization, Pinnacle offers a distinctive Southern Baptist missions experience. Missionaries from the North American Mission Board and International Mission Board regularly share their experiences from the field and offer one-on-one mentoring. And that's why Pinnacle remains a spiritual place for unknown numbers of girls who first surrendered to mission service through experiences like the one this year's campers are experiencing. Camp Pinnacle is a ministry of Georgia Baptist Women's Missionary Union and Women's Enrichment Ministries. For more information on Camp Pinnacle or WMU ministries, call 1-800-746-4422, ext. 324, or email emu-wem@gabaptist.org. Registration for 2017's camping and missions education season will open in September of this year. Contact WMU/WEM for the schedule and affordable cost structure. --30-- This article appeared in The Christian Index (christianindex.org), newsjournal of the Georgia Baptist Convention. Joe Westbury is managing editor of The Christian Index. ********** ESL provides Ala. Baptists way to reach internationals By Grace Thornton MONTGOMERY, Ala. (The Alabama Baptist) -- Kristy Kennedy said she doesn't have a number. She doesn't even have a ballpark figure. "I just kind of hear about it as I travel around visiting churches," she said. But what she hears, she loves. "What I've really enjoyed seeing is that some of our smaller churches and small towns are really catching the vision for ESL (English as a Second Language) ministry," said Kennedy, a state missionary who leads ESL ministry efforts for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions. "Internationals are all over the state right now. It isn't just a big-city opportunity." As a result churches from all corners of the state are calling and asking about how to start ESL ministries, she said. "Word is getting out that it's a great way to reach and share and just meet needs," Kennedy said. "They have so many other needs with learning English, like helping children in school -- it's a never-ending list." In areas like Greenville with several companies that make car parts, populations of immigrants have swelled to significant numbers over the years. And the opportunity is great, said Mary Bertha Zorn, a member of First Baptist Church, Greenville. "Our ESL ministry originally started when we had two Spanish speakers come to the church to get some help," she said. "Between the pastor and I and the little bit of Spanish we had together, we managed to get them what they needed. But that was as far as we could go that day." So Zorn decided they needed a more organized effort. "It's probably been 10 years since that first language class, and it's waxed and waned over the years," she said. The Korean population in the area greatly increased, and they also picked up students from Mexico, Guatemala and other places. "I don't know how the word got out, but slowly it did," she said. Their classes always stayed small but over time they became more friends than teachers and students. Over time their English got better. And eventually Zorn began to see them understand the Gospel too. "We see the growth. We see the questions," she said. "They need me to be their friend first, then it's easier for them to accept my faith and my beliefs. It's a beautiful thing to watch them understand it and come to see it for themselves." It's something that's happening all over the state, Kennedy said. First Baptist Church, Montgomery, is still running a strong ESL outreach, including ministry to the Mixteco people (see story, this page). And Mobile is a refugee city with a lot of opportunity, Kennedy said. But the truth is that immigrants are in every corner of Alabama, and Kennedy said she's glad to see that ESL ministry is "spreading like wildfire." "You can see internationals everywhere," she said. "I hear them talking and I know they need help with their English. To me English is the most effective way to reach internationals in the U.S. with the Gospel." It's an instant need they have when they show up in Alabama, Kennedy said. "And helping them learn can open doors to make friends we might not otherwise be able to make." --30-- This article appeared in The Alabama Baptist (thealabamabaptist.org), newsjournal of the Alabama Baptist Convention. Grace Thornton is assistant editor of The Alabama Baptist. ********** 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. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Felony charges dropped over baby body parts videos by Diana Chandler Date: July 26, 2016 - Tuesday HOUSTON (BP) -- All criminal charges have been dismissed against two investigators who posed as procurers of aborted baby body parts in undercover videos of interactions with Planned Parenthood executives. The Harris County District Attorney's office in Houston dropped charges today (July 26) against Center for Medical Progress founder David Daleiden and his CMP coworker Sandra Merritt, who had sought to show in secretly recorded videos that Planned Parenthood illegally profits from the sale of aborted baby tissue. Daleiden and Merritt had been charged with tampering with a governmental record by using false identifications to enter Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, based in Houston, and faced up to 20 years in prison for the felony. But prosecutors dropped the charges in advance of a 9 a.m. hearing when attorneys for Daleiden and Merritt had planned to submit a motion to dismiss the accusations. CMP said on its website today: "The dismissal of the bogus, politically motivated charges ... is a resounding vindication of the First Amendment rights of all citizen journalists, and also a clear warning to any of Planned Parenthood's political cronies who would attack whistleblowers to protect Planned Parenthood from scrutiny." Planned Parenthood "tried to collude with public officials to manipulate the legal process to their own benefit, and they failed," CMP said. Separate misdemeanor charges of attempting to purchase human organs were dismissed June 14. Daleiden and CMP continue to face federal racketeering lawsuits filed by the National Abortion Federation (NAF) and Planned Parenthood under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The Harris County charges were filed in January, months after CMP released videos garnered from a 30-month investigation into Planned Parenthood's fetal tissue donation program. The release of the videos resulted in a national outcry and congressional hearings regarding Planned Parenthood's handling of aborted babies. Federal law prohibits the sale of aborted fetal issue for profit, allowing compensation only for the cost of transporting such tissue to research facilities, according to news reports. Attorneys for 27-year-old Daleiden and Merritt, 62, said the indictments against the pair were bogus. Peter Breen, a Thomas More Society attorney who represented Daleiden, told Life Site News that the "meritless and retaliatory prosecution should never have been brought. Planned Parenthood did wrong here, not David Daleiden." Liberty Counsel chairman Mat Staver, Merritt's attorney, said in a press release, "We celebrate this victory for Sandra Merritt as she did nothing wrong. She exposed the sale of baby body parts by Planned Parenthood and today she has been vindicated." The indictment "was politically-motivated and should never have been filed in the first place." CMP stands by its undercover videos as proof of Planned Parenthood wrongdoing. "A year after the release of the undercover videos, the ongoing nationwide investigation of Planned Parenthood by the House Select Investigative Panel makes clear that Planned Parenthood is the guilty party in the harvesting and trafficking of baby body parts for profit," CMP said. A Harris County grand jury's investigation led to indictments against Daleiden and Merritt, but Planned Parenthood has not been charged with a crime. Instead, official investigations conducted in more than 10 states, including Texas, Indiana, Georgia, Kansas, Massachusetts, South Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Missouri and Michigan, resulted in no criminal findings against the abortion provider, National Public Radio has reported. -------------------------------------------------------------------- DNC abortion stance provokes pro-life Democrats by David Roach Date: July 26, 2016 - Tuesday PHILADELPHIA (BP) -- Despite the Democratic Party's adoption yesterday (July 25) of a platform calling, for the first time ever, for direct taxpayer funding of abortion, a pro-life group within in the party is laboring at the Democratic National Convention to shift Democrats' stance on sanctity of life issues. In related news, Russell Moore, president of Southern Baptists' Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, wrote in a USA Today op-ed coauthored with a former aide to President Obama, that the Democratic platform's unprecedented pro-choice stance is "a foreboding sign for American civic life." With delegates gathered in Philadelphia amid tension between supporters of presumed Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and her chief rival Bernie Sanders over leaked emails showing DNC staff attempted to undermine Sanders' campaign, a group called Democrats for Life of America wants to focus convention-goers on abortion-related issues. This week, the group is manning an exhibit and hosting a reception honoring John Bel Edwards, Louisiana's pro-life Democratic governor. Kristen Day, executive director of Democrats for Life, told Baptist Press pro-abortion stances and rhetoric are "hurting the party." "If we unite, we can take the party back," Day said. "We can reduce support for abortion. We can support pregnant women. We really need those [pro-life] Democrats to start coming out and having their voices heard and stop hiding." Democrats for Life also is sponsoring a billboard along Interstate 95 near the convention site that reads, "One in three Democrats is pro-life. Open the big tent." Based on the party platform, however, the tent appears decidedly small when it comes to social issues. Among its planks, the platform: -- calls for appointing judges who "will protect a woman's right to safe and legal abortion." -- proposes overturning the Hyde Amendment, federal legislation that has prohibited federal funds from being used to directly pay for abortions since 1977. -- supports repeal of the "global gag rule" -- which prevents non-governmental organizations that receive federal funding from promoting elective abortion in foreign countries -- and the Helms Amendment -- which stipulates that foreign assistance funds may not be used to perform or promote elective abortion. -- Opposes efforts to withdraw federal funding from Planned Parenthood, America's largest abortion provider. Day noted that Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, was seated next to potential first gentleman and former President Bill Clinton Monday night. Abortion activists like Richards have used their considerable influence to convince party leaders of the erroneous notion that being pro-choice earns votes, Day said. Richards "has quite a lot of influence, and she's killing the party," Day said. "Her mission" of promoting abortion on demand "is hurting the party. It might take some more devastating loses for us to realize it." In a July 26 Los Angeles Times op-ed coauthored with Fordham University ethics professor Charles Camosy, Day argued that "radical support for abortion rights has been proven to drive away voters" in presidential swing states like Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida. Abortion advocacy, she told BP, is a major reason Democrats have lost control in 66 of 99 state legislative chambers, including all legislative bodies in the South. According to a survey this month by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, 51 percent of Americans self-identify as pro-choice, but a full 78 percent "support substantial restrictions on abortion and would limit it to, at most, the first three months of pregnancy," LifeNews.com reported. Sixty-two percent of Americans and 44 percent of Democrats oppose using taxpayer funding for abortions. By Day's count, 60 percent more Democrats are pro-life than voted for Sanders in all of the nation's presidential primaries combined. "There's a lot of frustration among Democrats" regarding "how far the party has taken this issue," Day said of abortion rights. "I did not expect people embracing and welcoming [Democrats for Life] this much" at the DNC, "given the way the platform went." Moore's July 24 USA Today op-ed argued that repealing the Hyde Amendment isn't "good for Democrats, or for Democracy." "For the past 25 years," Moore and coauthor Michael Wear wrote, "the Democratic Party, at least rhetorically, acknowledged that compelling taxpayers to fund abortions was a step too far in the culture wars. If the call to repeal the Hyde Amendment remains in the Democratic platform, that era is officially over. A party that calls for government funding of abortion does not merely disagree with pro-life Americans, but wants to implicate them through their government of supporting what they believe is a moral evil." Among its non-abortion-related planks, the Democratic platform: -- applauds "last year's decision by the Supreme Court that recognized that LGBT people -- like other Americans -- have the right to marry the person they love." -- vows to "oppose all state efforts to discriminate against LGBT individuals, including legislation that restricts the right to access public spaces." It adds, "We support a progressive vision of religious freedom that respects pluralism and rejects the misuse of religion to discriminate." -- states that Democrats "are horrified by ISIS' genocide and sexual enslavement of Christians and Yezidis and crimes against humanity against Muslims and others in the Middle East." The platform vows to "do everything we can to protect religious minorities and the fundamental right of freedom of religion." -- supports "removing the Confederate battle flag from public properties, recognizing that it is a symbol of our nation's racist past that has no place in our present or our future. We will push for a societal transformation to make it clear that black lives matter and that there is no place for racism in our country." Washington post columnist Katrina vanden Heuvel explained that "candidates are not bound to the party platform. Yet the platform is important as a measure of where the party assembled stands. For citizen movements, the platform can provide an important measure to challenge Democratic Party candidates and state and local officials."