The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-08/01/2017 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. -------------------------------------------------------------------- First Indian Baptist aims for multi-tribal reach by Karen L. Willoughby Date: August 01, 2017 - Tuesday PHOENIX (BP) -- When pastor Shaun Whitey asked First Indian Baptist Church in Phoenix to write down their tribal affiliation, people from nearly all of Arizona's federally-recognized tribes were represented in the congregation that Sunday, 22 people groups in all, which Whitey described as typical. The church reaches a broad cross-section of tribal groups in its aim to carry the Gospel to all the state's reservations, Whitey said, yet faces an ongoing challenge of adequately preparing disciples who multiply other Christians. "There are several reasons why Native people come to the city: work, school or other opportunities," said Whitey, of Navajo/Seneca-Cayuga heritage. "But there's still the draw for folks to go back home: family, emergency conditions. That makes it difficult to get things like discipleship started. "For Native people, family is probably the greatest influence and highest value," Whitey told SBC LIFE, the journal of the SBC Executive Committee. "Second would be the love for their people, their tribe." Evangelicals interested in ministering among Native Americans across North America participated in a two-day conference, "Dimensions to Native Ministry," led by the Southern Baptist Fellowship of Native American Christians (FoNAC) and hosted by First Indian Baptist Church on the Saturday and Sunday prior the SBC annual meeting in Phoenix. The purpose of the conference, FoNAC's Executive Director Gary Hawkins said, was to "Discover people, places and partnerships; Develop networks, resources and ministry teams; and Deploy prayer warriors, volunteers and leaders." According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2010 estimate, 2.4 percent of the population in metro Phoenix -- or about 110,000 of the region's 4.6 million people -- is Native American. North Phoenix Baptist Church started First Indian in the 1960s as a mission to better reach them. North Phoenix's initiative was an early awareness of the need for Natives to reach Natives, Whitey said, a concept that in recent years has grown into a missional strategy. "We realize we have many Native churches that are small and struggling, for many years depending on lots of help from the outside," said Tommy Thomas, church planting catalyst for five associations in northern Arizona. "Over time, these have become inundated with western, Anglo culture," Thomas continued. "We want Native churches led by Native leaders. We want to respect the culture ... to have sound, solid biblical doctrine, preaching and teaching by indigenous leaders." FoNAC independently came to the same strategy when it was started in 2008. Ministry among Native people in North America has changed over the last few years from "going to" to "working with," Hawkins said. "We saw the need for a new paradigm" of "equipping instead of just meeting needs, telling the Gospel story through the heart language and calling out versus sending in," said Hawkins, a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation. "We encourage the support of non-Natives to partner with those utilizing this missional approach to ultimately establish healthy, reproducing indigenous churches." Whitey, as a Native American, and Josh Hodges, an Anglo, reflect the effectiveness of that missional strategy, Hawkins said. Whitey is mentoring Hodges, serving as a replanting pastor since last September of Indian Baptist Fellowship in Mesa, Ariz., which First Indian originally started in 1995. Hodges, in turn, is mentoring Troy Butler, a Navajo seen by Hodges as having the giftedness and calling of God to become a pastor. Hodges is one of several Anglo pastors and three returning International Mission Board missionaries in Arizona with a similar story: Each recently came to the state inexplicably and individually called to Native ministry. They are now immersing themselves in the culture of the tribe or tribes in which they're ministering. "We're so sparse with Native leadership that somebody's got to come and spend time with these [Native] guys on their terms, and that's what Josh and others are doing," Whitey said. "Josh is meeting with people in their homes, on their terms, on their reservations. Building a culture of trust takes time and consistency. This is one of the most challenging things to do in our fast-paced, results-based world." Time is an essential component to the spread of the Gospel among Natives, Whitey said. "Josh spends time with new believers in Christ by just going out there every week, and he is able to help them understand foundational truths of the Bible." He does so, Hodges said, by "trying to be their friends, to learn from them and not just tell them what we know. Our mission is to come alongside and equip and train and send people out, and not just do the work ourselves.... "The narrative of Christianity among Native people will only change when it comes through Native people," Hodges said. Foundational truth is another essential component of ministry to Natives, Whitey said, to counter the problem of a "Christianity-plus-Native-religion" syncretism, which is a divisive influence affecting many Native churches nationwide. "All the churches I've been involved with to some degree have a tribal undercurrent that must be reconciled with the Gospel," Whitey said. "There is always the tribal way and the Jesus way." Some cultural elements that might seem fascinating to a non-Native, such as eagle feathers and Native drums, have spiritual connotations that can confuse people, Whitey said. "You just have to be very careful and ask, 'What's the meaning behind this?' There are cultural elements that people can still be part of, but you must always discern the spiritual content," he said. An ongoing battle is the lasting effect of wounds caused by mistreatment of Native peoples in Native history. While the higher road is desired -- to forgive -- the lasting impact on Native people remains, so it is extremely difficult for them to forget, Whitey said. All this Hodges and the other Anglos ministering to Natives in Arizona are learning. For First Indian Baptist in Phoenix, with Whitey as an electrical engineer and bivocational pastor, growing and nurturing disciples is a challenge in a place where people are continually in transition between reservation and city, as well as the church's meeting place moving locations three times in the last 10 years. "Relationships are key," Whitey said. "You cannot speak into a Native person's life without a relationship. The relationship cannot be forced and is best when sustained over time." -------------------------------------------------------------------- Native American evangelism: past & present examined by David Roach Date: August 01, 2017 - Tuesday NASHVILLE (BP) -- Following a two-day evangelism training session in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Phoenix, the Fellowship of Native American Christians is setting its sights on what executive director Gary Hawkins calls "self-propagating, self-promoting, self-supporting" efforts to reach American Indians for Christ. "It is absolutely essential for the [Gospel] message to become owned by indigenous people," Hawkins told Baptist Press in written comments. FoNAC must achieve "a contextualized, culturally relevant ministry while maintaining doctrinal soundness." Today, Southern Baptists seek to reach the U.S.'s 5.2 million Native Americans and Alaska Natives through a ministry partnership involving FoNAC, the North American Mission Board and state Baptist conventions. The partnership, Hawkins said, is the product of lessons learned through centuries of Native American evangelism. Finding an effective method to win Native Americans to Christ has come about "slowly, since there has been a history of 400 years of attempts made to evangelize Native Americans," Hawkins said. Within the territory that today comprises the U.S., some of the earliest efforts to evangelize native people came in the early 1600s, when English settlers established the Jamestown colony in Virginia and made contact with local Algonquin tribes. By 1614, a chief's daughter named Pocahontas was among the most notable converts to Christianity. Farther north, the Pilgrims founded Plymouth Colony in 1620, and other English colonies began to emerge throughout New England. Notable New Englanders to preach Christ to American Indians included missionary David Brainerd and Jonathan Edwards, colonial America's most well-known theologian. Edwards served seven years as a missionary to Native Americans in Stockbridge, Mass., between his well-known pastorate in Northampton, Mass., and his service as president of the College of New Jersey, which later became Princeton University. Jimmy Anderson, a Southern Baptist missionary to Native Americans for 35 years, told BP American Indians formed Baptist churches in Virginia by the 1700s. Soon, Baptist work spread to Massachusetts and elsewhere. Cherokees who were forced from their land in the southeastern U.S. in the 1830s took three or four Baptist churches with them along the infamous Trail of Tears to Oklahoma, said Anderson, a Creek Indian who retired in 1998 from the Home Mission Board, now NAMB. Native American Baptist associations began in the mid-19th century. According to "Southern Baptists and the Indian/Native People," a 1994 HMB publication, at least 120 Cherokees were saved along the Trail of Tears in 1838 through the ministry of Cherokee Baptist evangelist Jesse Bushyhead. Southern Baptist Convention efforts to reach Native Americans date to at least 1855, when the American Indian Mission Association merged with the SBC's Domestic Mission Board, according to the 1855 SBC Annual. In 1880, Annie Armstrong -- who helped form the Woman's Missionary Union in 1888 -- led the Woman's Baptist Home Mission Society of Maryland to prioritize establishment of a Christian school among Native Americans, according to a chapter by Hawkins in the forthcoming book "The Many Faces of the Southern Baptist Convention." Federal government programs in the 1950s, Anderson said, encouraged Native Americans to relocate in metro areas. "They took the church with them or they helped to start churches in Los Angeles, Dallas" and elsewhere, he said. Today, "figures show that there are more Indians in the metropolitan areas than there are in the small cities." More than 100,000 Native Americans live in New York City and more than 50,000 in Los Angeles, according to 2010 U.S. Census data. Eight other cities have more than 20,000 American Indians each. That reality has made cities a focus of FoNAC evangelism efforts. One effective practice is to find urban places where Native Americans congregate and seek to minister and share the Gospel there, said Anderson, who travels across the U.S. and Canada assisting in such efforts. Hawkins noted that while more than 70 percent of the Native American population is in "the larger U.S. cities," less than 25 percent of American Indian churches are in those cities. He called for more sponsoring churches and Native American church planters in cities. While Hawkins and Anderson both said they need ministry partners from all ethnic groups, they believe the bulk of Native American church planting work needs to be led by American Indian believers. Reaching children and teenagers is another facet of FoNAC's strategy. Hawkins said "revival and Vacation Bible Schools have probably been the most effective means of evangelism for Native people." A large-scale effort to reach and strengthen families is the Falls Creek Baptist Indian Assembly in Oklahoma, an annual Christian conference for American Indians. This year's event July 30-Aug. 3 was expected to draw participants from 25-40 tribes and 250 churches, according to the conference website. Hawkins and Anderson agreed that reaching Native Americans can be slow and difficult work. Failure to present the Gospel in a way that makes sense to a native mindset is among the challenges, they said, as is overcoming opposition to Christianity fueled by mistreatment of native people by professing Christians. Still, Native American ministry leaders are optimistic about how God will continue to work among American Indians. "We really need to be reaching our own people," Anderson said. -------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST-PERSON: Coffee & God's creativity by Jason Thacker Date: August 01, 2017 - Tuesday NASHVILLE (BP) -- I remember being at my grandmother's house when I was 8 or 9 years old, sitting on a stool next to my grandfather and eating breakfast -- our morning routine after I stayed the night. My grandmother typically went a little overboard on the menu, and that day was no exception. We had bacon, eggs, biscuits and her famous white gravy. We always had our juice glasses filled to the brim with orange juice. But my grandparents always had another cup near their breakfast plates. I didn't know much about that drink other than they had it every morning, just like my parents did. That particular morning, I decided to ask for some. My grandmother told me I wouldn't like it, and she had never been more right. I thought it was so bad that I added a ton of Hershey's strawberry milk syrup. Many of us have some type of memory from when we first had this drink -- coffee. For me, it was a fond memory with my grandparents, both of whom I will never again get to enjoy breakfast with on this earth. I wouldn't really drink coffee again until my sophomore year of high school at Starbucks when I needed to write papers and prep for a test the next day. Over the next several years, I would drink more coffee than I ever thought possible. A work of art It wasn't until I moved to Louisville, Ky., that I learned there was an art to coffee. "The land where the coffee flows," read the bag of one high-end, third-wave coffee roaster. I was exposed to a slow-brewed pour over coffee using equipment like the Chemex or V60, along with burr grinders and different roasting levels between beans. I learned about fair trade coffee and competitions where people attempt to brew the perfect cup of joe. For these people, coffee was much more than just a pick-me-up drink. I think one thing is often overlooked when it comes to simple pleasures like a fine cup of coffee. Often, we forget the artistry that goes into the coffee itself -- from the farmer who knows just when and how to plant for the perfect harvest to the barista who shows off their latte art or their favorite brewing method. Coffee isn't just a commodity to be enjoyed. It's a work of art and creativity. And for the Christian, we see that it's another good gift from the Father. Our God created the soil and the beans. He created the people who picked them. He gave the creative talents needed for roasting and gifted the person who created each of the tools that I use to brew my own coffee. He created the owners of the small shops down the street with a passion to start small businesses and love their neighborhoods. This creativity and art isn't limited to coffee. Food, art, music, photography and design all have inherent value because it is through these that many people live out the image of God through creating art for the enjoyment of others. God created each of them with gifts and talents that were designed to be used in glorifying Him. Our creative faculties and art reflect our God. He is the ultimate creative and artist. As we appreciate a fine cup of coffee, a grand painting, a perfectly cooked steak or a beautiful melody, we can see the glory of God's creation and bask in that glory as we worship Him, since it's through Him that all of these things are even possible. Enjoying coffee to God's glory For me, coffee is much more than just a cup. Coffee brings back many fond memories. It's over that cup of coffee that I have had many hard, Gospel-centered conversations. It's over a cup of coffee that I often looked lovingly at my now wife as we studied and talked about the future together. It was with a cup of coffee in hand that I read some of the richest theology I had ever been exposed to while in school. It was next to that cup of coffee that I made lifelong friends. And it's also through that cup of coffee that I'm reminded of the glory of our God as I reflect on how He created us to make things to reflect His glory. We are often tempted to think that luxuries in life are superfluous. There's an element of truth in that statement. Do I need to have a slow brewed cup of coffee? Of course not, but I still enjoy it and can worship God as I drink it. The luxuries in life are just that -- they are luxuries. They're good gifts from our infinitely creative God who is glorified when we enjoy the things He has created. Our God is a God who reminds us that we are to take the earth and subdue it. We are to have dominion over it as creatures made in His image. And something as simple as a cup of coffee reminds me of the lavish grace from God that I've received through Jesus and of the many good gifts I've been given freely -- like my marriage, friendships and the coffee-stained Bible I carry that teaches me about my creative God. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 400 years: Pocahontas conversion discussed by David Roach Date: August 01, 2017 - Tuesday JAMESTOWN, Va. (BP) -- Four hundred years after the death of one of the most well-known Native Americans in history, scholars say Pocahontas' profession of faith in Christ is among the few facts known with certainty about the famed daughter of a Virginia Algonquin chief. Yet her conversion -- along with other key details of her life -- is absent from some contemporary portrayals of Pocahontas' life. "Most of what we think we know about her is legend," said Helen Rountree, author of multiple books and scholarly articles on Pocahontas. "We've actually got very few records that even mention her." Born around 1596 in what is today coastal Virginia, Pocahontas' given name was Amonute and her "secret, very personal name" Matoaka, according to Rountree's book "Pocahontas, Powhatan, Opechancanough." Pocahontas was a nickname denoting her playful personality. Her father Powhatan was an American Indian chief who had more than 100 wives by 1610, Rountree wrote. Pocahontas was his favorite daughter from his favorite wife. Powhatan's confederacy made contact with English settlers when they arrived at Jamestown in 1607 to establish the first English colony in the New World. Decades of alternating peace and conflict ensued. At approximately age 11, Pocahontas met Englishman John Smith in 1607 while he was a prisoner of the Powhatan Confederacy. The well-known account of Pocahontas' saving Smith from execution is false, Rountree told Baptist Press. The story is "a wonderful, wonderful yarn, but that's all it is." The rescue account is absent from Smith's 1608 and 1612 accounts of his time among the Powhatans, appearing only in his 1624 book "The Generall Historie of Virginia." John Wilsey, associate professor of church history at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, told BP "we can't be certain" of the rescue narrative. Other scholars have theorized Smith was part of a Native American ceremony he didn't understand, perceiving himself to have been rescued from execution though he was never in danger. The oft-told story that Pocahontas and Smith fell in love also seems to be false, Rountree and Wilsey said, especially since Pocahontas was a preadolescent and Smith 27 when they met. He left America two years later. Pocahontas was taken captive by the English in 1613 in an attempt to gain the release of Jamestown settlers held by the Powhatans. In captivity, she received Christian teaching from Church of England minister Alexander Whitaker. The following year she was baptized by sprinkling and professed faith in Christ. While a theory published on the National Park Service's website claims the genuineness of Pocahontas' conversion "is open to question," Wilsey said such doubts are "a recent interpretation" and that the conversion narrative has long been part of historians' consensus. Rountree, who said the conversion is well documented, theorized it may have been an instance of "Stockholm syndrome," a condition in which captives begin to align with the thinking of their captors. Whatever Pocahontas' motives, Whitaker wrote in April 1614 that she "had openly renounced her country idolatry, confessed the faith of Jesus Christ, and was baptized," according to Rountree's book. At her baptism, Pocahontas took the name Rebecka, perhaps a reference to Rebekah in the Bible, whose sons Esau and Jacob spawned two nations. Similarly, Pocahontas was seen as related to two nations. Also in 1614, Pocahontas married 28-year-old English widower John Rolfe, and the couple settled in the Jamestown area. "All the accounts agree," Rountree wrote, "that she and Rolfe fell in love with each other." Within two years, Pocahontas gave birth to a son named Thomas. Pocahontas' previous marriage to a Native American named Kocoum apparently was regarded by both the English and the Powhatans as dissolved, Rountree wrote. The Rolfes' marriage was approved by Pocahontas' father and played a role in securing a limited peace between the Native Americans and the English. In 1616, the Rolfes traveled to England. Though few records of the trip exist, Pocahontas' meeting with England's King James I is documented, as is a reunion with Smith that apparently involved some tension over Smith's ill treatment of her father following his release from captivity. The Rolfes were set to return to America in March 1617 with a grant from the Virginia Company of London to conduct Christian missions among the Native Americans, Rountree wrote. But Pocahontas died from unknown causes before their ship exited the River Thames and reached the Atlantic. She was approximately 21 years old. Pocahontas' conversion story was not widely disseminated or celebrated until the 1800s, Wilsey said. But following the Revolutionary War, it was used to champion American notions of cultural imperialism. "The conversion narrative only becomes important quite later on in the 1800s," Wilsey said. Pocahontas was seen as "a founding mother" of America because she "stepped away from her own cultural heritage. Not only was she marrying an Englishman ... her conversion was [viewed as] her final act of rejecting her culture" in favor of the emerging American culture that many saw as uniquely favored by God. Pocahontas became so prominent in the early lore of the U.S. that John Chapman's 1839 painting "The Baptism of Pocahontas" is one of seven portraits in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington D.C. Four centuries following Pocahontas' death, Wilsey said, it is important for Christians to reject the notion she left an "inferior" people to join "the authentic people of God" among settlers of European descent. Instead, believers should remember Pocahontas as "a real person created in the image of God" who "had human dignity," Wilsey said. "We can look back on her with sympathy," he said. "... She left her cultural heritage behind" and "was sort of like a person without a country," even with her new family and her Christian faith. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Jerry Vines enrolls in SWBTS Ph.D. program by Alex Sibley Date: August 01, 2017 - Tuesday FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) -- Following more than 60 years of preaching, Jerry Vines has enrolled in the Ph.D. program at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. The prolific preacher, former Southern Baptist Convention president, and frequent speaker at Southwestern's annual preaching conference will begin his studies at the seminary's School of Preaching this fall. "All of his life, Jerry Vines has been a student par excellence," said Southwestern President Paige Patterson. "For Vines, who already has a Th.D., now in retirement to seek a Ph.D. with our School of Preaching should inspire every preacher to keep studying and learning all of his life. I will be the most surprised man on earth if he does not write one of the finest dissertations ever." Vines, pastor emeritus of the First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Fla., started preaching at age 16 and pastored several churches before accepting the pastorate at FBC Jacksonville in 1982, where he served for the next 24 years. He earned his bachelor of arts degree at Mercer University, a bachelor of divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and a doctor of theology from Luther Rice Seminary. Through the years, Vines has been active in the Southern Baptist Convention, serving as president of the SBC Pastors' Conference from 1976-1977 and president of the SBC from 1988-1989. Vines' sermon "A Baptist and His Bible," delivered at the SBC annual meeting in 1987, was considered by some a turning point in the Conservative Resurgence. Adrian Rogers, SBC president that year, called the sermon "a wonderful example of scholarship, conviction, and truth presented from a heart on fire and a heart in love with Jesus and His Word." Regarding the sermon's significance, Rogers said, "My own heart was deeply stirred to have affirmed one more time that the rank and file of Southern Baptists are people of The Book. We may be diverse in many ways, but real Baptists are united in the Word of the Lord and the Lord of that Word." Vines retired from the pastorate in 2006. In the days following, he realized he needed to continue studying the Bible as he had for the past several decades, even though he would no longer fill the pulpit of a single church. In his most recent book, "Progress in the Pulpit," which he co-wrote with Jim Shaddix, Vines writes, "I am not content to coast to the finish line. I intend to keep making progress as a preacher until then." Vines said that, in the book, he and Shaddix "encourage preachers not to just stay where they are in their preaching. Rather, seek to make progress in your preaching as Paul encouraged young Timothy to do in 1 Timothy 4:15: 'so that your progress will be evident to all.'" "I thought I might better practice what I preach!" Vines said in regard to his decision to continue his formal education. "You never get too old to hone your preaching tools and be a better preacher." Vines is enrolled in Southwestern's flex access Ph.D., which will allow him to participate in seminars through live, real-time video web conferencing. Given his writing and traveling schedule, Vines said this is "perfect" for him at this time. "To say I am excited to begin this work is an understatement," he said. -------------------------------------------------------------------- BGR celebrates 10th anniversary by BGR Staff Date: August 01, 2017 - Tuesday NASHVILLE (BP) -- Baptist Global Response (BGR) is celebrating its 10-year anniversary in a big way -- with a campaign to raise $100,000 for people in need. Since 2007, the humanitarian aid organization has been partnering with Southern Baptist donors to fund disaster relief and community development projects around the world. And, BGR hopes to celebrate the milestone in August by raising $10,000 for each year of service, reaching a total of $100,000. While BGR is not an entity of the Southern Baptist Convention, it does heartily promote and endorse the SBC's giving channel, the Cooperative Program. BGR's partnership with Southern Baptists in meeting global human needs is fundamentally undergirded by those who give through their local churches to the Cooperative Program and to the Southern Baptist Global Hunger Relief fund. "It's hard to believe that it has already been 10 years since we started BGR," CEO Jeff Palmer said. "It only seems like yesterday. But when I think about the thousands of projects implemented worldwide and literally millions of lives impacted, I thank God for bringing about BGR and then letting us be a part of this amazing ministry." The "10 for 10 Campaign" will run through Aug. 31. Those who want to get involved can find resources and fundraising ideas at www.gobgr.org/10for10/. On the site, BGR offers suggestions for donors such as selecting 10 items from the organization's gift catalog and organizing a group of 10 friends to give $100 each. Palmer says generosity from donors has made BGR's work possible and will continue to do so in the coming years. "Whenever we've needed prayer coverage for the work, knees bowed," he said. "Whenever we've needed volunteers to go and help, hands and feet were willing. And when we've needed resources to place in the hands of our trusted partners for food, medicine or shelter materials, pockets were open." For more information about BGR or the 10 for 10 Campaign, visit www.gobgr.org. -------------------------------------------------------------------- FROM THE STATES: Okla., Ky. and Va. evangelism/missions news; 'That just confirmed for me what God wanted to happen' by Staff Date: August 01, 2017 - Tuesday Today's From the States features items from: Baptist Messenger (Oklahoma) Western Recorder (Kentucky) Proclaimer (Virginia) ********** Okla. church's ongoing revival includes dozens of baptisms By Chris Doyle MADILL, Okla. (Baptist Messenger) -- Located nine miles east of Madill's town square is Little City Baptist Church. The rural church sits on Highway 199, surrounded by a few blocks of houses and a whole lot of farmland. Cecil Mackey has been Little City's pastor for 16 months, and during this time, God has brought revival to this community. Since Mackey arrived, Little City has observed 32 baptisms. According to Gary Dempsey, director of missions in Johnston-Marshall Association, Little City has not reported 20 baptisms in a year in its history before this recent movement of the Lord. Little City also increased its Sunday School attendance average from 35 to 80. The church recently experienced high attendances of 117 in Sunday School and 172 in worship. With extra chairs and seating people in the choir loft, the small sanctuary had standing room only that morning. How has this happened? What led the Lord to abundantly bless this small church near Lake Texoma that currently has a pastor who surrendered to preach two years ago with no seminary training and has only been a supply preacher before accepting Little City's call to be its pastor? The story begins with looking at the church prior to Mackey's arrival, then how the Lord worked in Mackey's life, concluding with how God brought both church and pastor together. Refining Little City's focus Little City is not much different than other rural churches. It is a family-oriented, Bible-believing body of Christ. For years, Dempsey said, they have been calling similar pastors and following a common trend of church attendance. "Little City has been one of those churches in their history that has typically had a seminary student (as pastor)," Dempsey said. "It seems like they were on a roller coaster. They would get a pastor, and they would grow. Then the pastor would leave, and they would decline. It was just a roller coaster." The list of seminary students who pastored Little City includes Hance Dilbeck who is now senior pastor at Oklahoma City, Quail Springs. Little City still treasures the years Dilbeck served, and Dilbeck thanks the Lord for his time at Little City, saying it is the church that "taught me how to be a pastor." Recently, Little City had a pastor named Kenneth Stacy who had a little longer tenure than previous pastors. Dempsey said Stacy helped give Little City more purpose and direction on functioning as a church body. "(Stacy) instilled a mission statement in the church, and they bought into it," Dempsey said. "He eventually left, but they didn't decline as much after that. They weren't just dependent upon a pastor to lead them. They were more inclined to do the work of the church. They have been steadier with their membership, and when good leadership came, it has just taken (Little City) to the next level." The next level Dempsey describes is currently demonstrated at Little City, but the pastoral leadership they now possess came from a rural fire coordinator from Atoka, who admitted he was not answering the Lord's call on his life. But that soon changed. Putting Mackey on the path Mackey lived in Atoka his whole life. He had a secure job, working as a state liaison with 125 fire departments in 10 counties. He and his wife Tammy and their son Jeff and daughter Leslie were faithful members of Southside Baptist Church in Atoka. But God had other plans for Mackey. "I knew for at least five years God was dealing with me," Mackey said. "I didn't want to do it, but I finally submitted when we were having a revival in our church. Doug Miller was the evangelist, and during one service he said, 'I believe God is dealing with somebody here about ministry.'" That's all Mackey needed to hear. He answered God's call to ministry that night, and it did not take long for Mackey to fulfill the call. He started doing supply preaching at various churches. "For the next eight months, I probably went to my home church on Sunday mornings about five times," Mackey said. "I was preaching at different churches almost every Sunday." During this time, Little City needed someone to fill its pulpit. A call was made to Southside Baptist, as a Little City member heard about a young man who surrendered to youth ministry. The young man said he had an obligation but recommended they call Mackey. Bringing church and pastor together The next phone call was made to Mackey, and the caller and Mackey hit it right off. "You're country, ain't ya?" the caller asked Mackey. "You can tell on the phone I'm a redneck, can't ya?" Mackey replied, and they both laughed. "Don't wear a tie because if you do you'll be the only one wearing a tie," the Little City member advised Mackey who accepted the request to preach. For five Sundays Mackey preached at Little City. At one point, he was asked if he would be interested in being Little City's pastor, but Mackey said he thought he should just do supply preaching and still work his regular job. In his heart, though, Mackey struggled. "I lived in Atoka my whole life," he justified. "I lived in the same house I grew up in. I had a good job." After that fifth Sunday of preaching at Little City, Mackey walked back to his truck and was stopped by Mike Pickens, chairman of deacons, who told him this was the last Sunday Mackey would preach because the church was planning on calling a pastor. On that drive home, Mackey's heart sank. He told Tammy, "God's calling me to this church." "I know that," she replied. "I've just been waiting for you to figure it out." The next day, Mackey called Pickens, asking him if they could meet. They met for lunch, and Mackey noticed when Pickens arrived he was having a long phone conversation in the parking lot. Pickens eventually came in the restaurant, and as the two men talked, Mackey said, "You probably know why I want to meet with you." Pickens replied, "Well I hope I do, but let me tell you something." He explained to Mackey that Little City has a rule that the church confers with one pastoral candidate at a time in order to be fair with the candidate. Mackey started to get discouraged, but then Pickens said he was just on the phone with the candidate who said he withdrew his application. "He just felt Little City is not where God wanted him to be," Pickens told Mackey. Little City asked Mackey to come in view of a call on Easter Sunday in 2016. Pickens told Mackey beforehand the church's rule was the candidate needed 70 percent of the votes, but Mackey said he would not come unless he got 90 percent of the votes. The church voted 100 percent in favor of Mackey to be pastor. "That just confirmed for me what God wanted to happen," Mackey said. Blessings abound at Little City The Lord began to bless the work at Little City. Mackey said one reason for people coming to Little City and giving their lives to Christ is from hearing people share their stories. Mackey himself started, as he gave his testimony soon after he became pastor. In that service, four people came forward to make professions of faith. "Every Sunday night that we don't have business meeting we have one or two share their story," Mackey said. "It speaks to people. It's not academic. It's from the heart. The stories have varied widely from 'church kid stories' to the 'wrong road stories' that involve drugs and alcohol to the 'good person who never went to church stories.'" From there, Mackey said the Lord has led people from all over to come to Little City. Some live by the lake, he said; most are "just country folks around the county." But they come, and many give their lives to Christ. Of the 32 baptisms, many were regular members who were never baptized or knew when they actually surrendered their lives to Christ, they needed to follow up with believer's baptism. Still others were new converts who heard the Gospel for the first time. "If you come hear me preach, it's nothing I do," Mackey said, admitting he does not have a seminary degree but does attend Bible conferences. He plans to do online studies with Oklahoma Baptist University. "For me, what I preach most of the time is love. The Bible says God is love. If you don't have love then God is not in you. That's the way I go at it." Dempsey believes Mackey's humble demeanor bonds well with Little City members. "He fits the community," Dempsey said. "He has a like mind and a like heart. He connected very well." Dempsey also believes Little City was ready for God to work in this church. "The pump was primed, and they just took off," he said. "It's been exciting to hear the reports and about the good things happening." God continues to provide big blessings at Little City. --30-- Chris Doyle is managing editor of The Baptist Messenger (www.baptistmessenger.com), newsjournal of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. ********** Kentucky Raceway Ministry reaches NASCAR fans By Eric Harrough SPARTA, Ky. (Western Recorder) -- More than 200 volunteers representing Baptist churches across the commonwealth and the nation came to the Kentucky Speedway July 6-9 not to see a NASCAR race, but to help fuel the gospel. Assisting Kentucky Raceway Ministry, they gave out 6,000 Bibles to race fans from all 50 states and five countries over the three-day weekend. The raceway ministry that now reaches thousands of people was born about 17 years ago when JT Marsh and a friend started passing out water from the back of an El Camino. "We thought we would just hand out some water and tracts and go to the race, but God just started to laugh at us. He had a bigger plan," said Marsh. Since then, the Kentucky Raceway Ministry has branched into different areas of service. "We have the largest race outreach in the country now in terms of raceway ministries and NASCAR tracts," said Marsh. "We are one of the few ministries allowed to do trauma response in the grandstands. For an event this populated, it's a blessing to have that amount of saturation." Along with distributing Bibles, the ministry hands out approximately 30,000 driver's cards with gospel tracts on the back, said Marsh. While volunteer opportunities range from information booths to personal evangelism teams, KRM has the unique opportunity to reach race fans in the center of the speedway, noted Tom Ragland, a chaplain who has served with KRM for seven years. "The races are at night, so during the day and the mornings we get to feed military servicemen, policemen, firefighters, and all of the campers," he said. An important part of being in the center of the raceway is praying with anyone they can, Ragland said. "The most prevalent problems here are health issues," he explained. "When we ask how to pray for people, that opens up a whole new door to talk to about spiritual things," he said. "We try and meet people where they're at." Another area where volunteers serve is in the kids' camp, which provides an opportunity to reach children with the Gospel. "Everything here is free. That's a big draw," said Ray Henaky, the lead volunteer of the kids' camp. "Tomorrow (Saturday) is our biggest day, it will be shoulder to shoulder. "Now we have about 20 volunteers; tomorrow we will have close to 50," said Henaky. "There are people from all walks of life. It's amazing to see how different people come together to serve and make this a great experience." NASCAR reports that 100,000 people come to Sparta annually. With Sparta becoming the third largest city in the state of Kentucky for three days, it is crucial for the Kentucky Raceway Ministry to take advantage of every opportunity they have to reach people, Marsh said. "God promises that when His word is given out it won't return void, so there is nothing better that we can do," said Marsh. "Companies pay thousands of dollars to get their logo on a NASCAR racecar so that it is seen. We are blessed to get to do that for free, and we have a better product," said Marsh, referring to the Gospel. This article appeared in the Western Recorder (westernrecorder.org), newsjournal of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. Eric Harrough writers for the Western Recorder. ********** Partnership between Va. churches bonds students and community By Shawn Ames DANVILLE, Va. (Proclaimer) -- It was a February Friday night in Danville, Va. The air was electric with excitement, the gym was full of people, and only the PA system could cut through the ambient noise. Students were snaking their way through the crowd in their typical three- to-five-person groups looking for a spot to sit down in the bleachers, as the walls around the basketball court began to bear the weight of the overflow crowd. You'd be forgiven for thinking you were at a basketball game between archrivals -- but the basketball games were over, the victories had already been determined, and this crowd had come for something different. As chaperones spread around the perimeter of the gym turned-meeting hall, an energetic master of ceremonies came to the center of the room, welcomed the masses, and tried to bring order to the chaos. He introduced himself as Pez. I immediately imagined one of my favorite stocking stuffers from childhood. But this was no diminutive candy dispenser; this was Pez, The Instruction Giver. To many in the crowd, he was no stranger. While he spends most months of the year as a college student and athlete, he uses his summer months to minister in youth camps. It was at such a camp that the students at The Tabernacle in Danville became acquainted with him. His zany efforts soon gained traction, and the audience quickly became focused on his instructions. One might say -- and pardon the pun here -- he had them eating out of his hand. But Pez wasn't the point of this gathering. This event had been brought about by a group of youth pastors who wanted to do something big for their community. Three months earlier, Allen Payne, student pastor of The Tabernacle, approached me about his desire to connect with other SBC of Virginia youth pastors to do an area-wide youth outreach. I was able to connect Allen with two other youth pastors (Roger Jones of North Main Baptist Church and Ross Riley of Shermont Baptist Church), who had been working on a regional DiscipleNow (DNow) event for a couple of years. Together, we four SBCV next-generation ministers began to plan the event that was now unfolding before my eyes. In the beginning, we weren't sure how many churches would be willing to partner for this. Although Danville is a city full of churches, the churches don't always want to cooperate on events. Fortunately, there was a good bit of evidence that the time was ripe for an area-wide student outreach. The three Danville youth pastors began reaching out to other pastors and youth pastors. Planning meetings grew to over a dozen ministers, and many more said they were on board. The event would be called Fifth Quarter (not original with us, to be sure). It would take place on a Friday after area basketball games were over. We had selected a speaker and had made arrangements to fly Pez into town as our emcee. Various churches volunteered to buy door prizes to encourage youth to come, pizza had been ordered, parking lot attendants had been enlisted, and the night seemed to be all set. Initially, we thought the gym could easily hold 300. That number sounded like a longshot to me. I was going to be happy with 150. As the day approached, we began to get excited about the possibilities. A simple Facebook advertisement for the event was shared over 2,900 times. Needless to say, we began planning for an overflow crowd. Then came the night of the event. I was standing there looking at a crowd of 565 students representing 85 different churches. I walked around and asked youth pastors and chaperones their thoughts on what was happening. "I think it is great that [the community] sees a church that is packed on a Friday night … that different people from different churches can come together," shared Ross Riley. Casey Stowe from Bridgetown Church responded, "Unity ... I think it is so awesome that every church in the city of Danville and the surrounding area can come together." Tyler Morris, also of Bridgetown Church, quickly agreed. "... The amount of kids and the amount of different churches represented tonight is good for unity in the church as well as outreach outside the church." Wayne Porch, a parent and chaperone from The Tabernacle, was serving pizza to students as they entered the event. He said to me, "Kids in Danville are always complaining, 'we have nothing to do.' ... The youth in Danville have needed it for a long time.... We've always been kind of segregated into groups ... especially by schools and by cliques, and even by churches. And even though we know people in each church and each clique, until we get together in an outing like this, you know, we're not together." Kevin Begley brought his youth all the way from Grace Baptist Church in Virgilina. Standing before us was the evidence of what cooperation can bring about -- a room full of students from all over the region. "There is so much competition between churches, and that's got to stop," Kevin explained. "That's just got to stop!" As the games drew to a close, Pez introduced the speaker for the evening, Dr. David Wheeler, North American Mission Board missionary and Liberty University professor of evangelism. He spoke about the difference between toxic religion and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I estimate that over 60 students stood up in front of their peers, confessing to living a "toxic, religious" life. Then each picked a person sitting nearby and repented to that person and committed to going forward living for Jesus. Several others responded that they needed to be saved. Then they came forward to receive counsel and pray with an adult. What a night and what a demonstration of what God can do through leaders and churches who are willing to work together! It reminded me that the Church of Jesus is one team, and He works in mighty ways when we come together to serve Him. --30-- This article appeared in the Proclaimer (sbcv.org/proclaimer), newsjournal of the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia. Shawn Ames is the SBCV's student ministry strategist. ********** 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 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. Except for minor style, formatting and grammatical changes, the items appear in Baptist Press as originally published. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Survey weighs value of Bapt. associations by Roger Alford/Kentucky Today Date: August 01, 2017 - Tuesday PIKEVILLE, Ky. (BP) -- Most church leaders believe their financial contributions to local Baptist associations are "a good kingdom investment" while others are struggling to see their relevancy, according to findings from a national survey released Monday (July 31). "When asked to describe the most exciting aspect of their local Baptist association, the most popular answer among church leaders was 'nothing,'" said Jason Lowe, a Kentucky director of missions who led the study that looked into attitudes about the work of local Baptist associations. Lowe, who serves the Pike Association of Southern Baptists in eastern Kentucky, said the findings weren't all doom and gloom. "The most encouraging finding is that there is hope among church leaders that associations can be relevant once again," he said. Lowe said in a 208-page report that some church leaders are questioning whether local Baptist associations are still vital or even relevant. "I personally believe that Baptist associations can still be a relevant ministry partner to the local church," Lowe said. "However, I recognize that not everyone shares that opinion." The survey, which allowed respondents to remain anonymous, was conducted in April to gain a better understanding of how Southern Baptist church leaders view the effectiveness of the associations. The survey consisted of two sets of questions for church leaders and association leaders. Over the course of a two-week period, 448 responded to the survey. Of those, 159 were senior pastors and 116 were directors of missions. The remainder were largely church staff members, lay members, denominational or agency staff members, seminary students and church planters. Lowe said perhaps the most significant finding was the perceived lack of value in associations. "Only 65.6 percent of church leaders think that their local Baptist association is a strategic partner in helping their church to fulfill the Great Commission, meaning that nearly 1 out of every 3 church leaders do not think so," according to the report. "Only 58.5 percent of church leaders think that their church would be negatively affected if their local Baptist association ceased to exist." However, 73.8 percent of church leaders think that their local Baptist association is a good kingdom investment of their church's financial resources. Lowe said the churches that are most involved in the work of local Baptist associations and are most familiar with their mission and work are the most excited about their work. More than 90 percent of church leaders who are extremely involved in the work of the associations believed they were strategic partners in fulfilling the Great Commission. Ninety percent of church leaders extremely involved in the work of the local associations said they would be negatively affected if their local Baptist associations ceased to exist. And more than 90 percent of church leaders most involved in the work of local associations said they believed contributing financially was good kingdom investment. "The research showed that most church leaders do believe that associations can have a future," Lowe said. "That is if significant changes are made." Church leaders said they'd be motivated to increase their financial support for local Baptist associations if they could demonstrate their relevance with a clear vision, strategy. For more information on the survey, go to https://jasonalowe.com/2017/07/30/2017-baptist-associations-survey-results/.