The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-11/04/2014 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. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Protestant churches show economic improvement by Jim Burton Date: November 04, 2014 - Tuesday NASHVILLE (BP) -- The nation's slow economic recovery from a deep recession is showing up in the offering plates of Protestant churches in the U.S., according to a recent survey by LifeWay Research. Although 56 percent of churches still report negative impact from the economy, 13 percent report a positive impact -- a jump of 4 percentage points from May 2012. When compared to the previous three years, churches are reporting less negative and more positive economic impact. "The most recent recession revealed poor habits among Americans in terms of spending and lending," Scott McConnell, LifeWay Research director, said. "Surely churches have had to learn some of these same lessons." Two-thirds of the churches surveyed report meeting or exceeding their 2014 budget. Nearly half (46 percent) are matching their budget, while 22 percent say receipts exceed their budget. Meanwhile, 29 percent of churches report receipts below budget. When compared to 2013 giving, 74 percent of Protestant churches report offerings are at or above 2013 while 21 percent say receipts are lower than 2013. The LifeWay survey also asked pastors about church size, region, pastor's age, educational level, ethnicity and evangelical/mainline affiliation. This information reveals where challenges still exist. Pastors of churches with up to 99 regular attendees are more likely to report the economy continues to have a very negative impact on their churches (9 percent). For churches with at least 100 attendees, that response drops to about 3 percent. Pastors in the Northeast report very negatively about the economy (10 percent), as do pastors nationwide who are 55 years or older (16 percent), and African-American pastors (12 percent). The pastor's education level also gave some indication of financial health. Pastors with a master's degree (5 percent) are less likely to select "very negatively" compared to pastors with no college degree (10 percent). "The current slow-growth economy does not allow individuals, businesses, or churches to slip into poor financial habits that may have been present seven or eight years ago," McConnell said. "Everyone must be innovative in how efficient and productive each of their activities is." The slow-growth economy continues to influence church hiring decisions. "For a couple decades, new and increased church activity could rely on additional staff and resource purchases financed by strong growth in giving," McConnell said. "Those decades are over." McConnell cites the following factors that ease economic pressure: -- Unemployment has improved five straight years; -- Social Security recipients have received cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) for three straight years; and -- Real disposable personal income has grown in 2014. "However, the employment cost index indicates that total compensation has been growing at about 2 percent a year for six years, but when adjusted for inflation total compensation is very similar to national levels five years ago," McConnell said. LifeWay Research has conducted this survey seven times since 2009. The most recent survey in 2012 indicated stabilized giving in many churches. Methodology: The telephone survey of Protestant pastors was conducted in September 11-18. The calling list was randomly drawn from a list of all Protestant churches in three size categories. Each interview was conducted with the senior pastor, minister or priest of the church called. Responses were weighted to reflect the size and geographic distribution of Protestant churches. The completed sample is 1,000 phone interviews. The sample provides 95 percent confidence that the sampling error does not exceed plus 3.1 percent. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Baptisms, outreach drive CP-giving church by Karen Willoughby Date: November 04, 2014 - Tuesday EULESS, Texas (BP) -- The 235 baptisms last year at First Baptist Church of Euless, Texas, totaled nearly 10 percent of the church's 2,534 average Sunday morning worship attendance. But pastor John Meador would like the number of baptisms to be much larger. That's one reason First Euless developed the "Can We Talk?" six-week training program in sharing the Gospel that has already equipped 472 members to share their faith. "Our goal is for 95 percent of our entire adult church membership to be sharing their faith on a regular basis," Meador said. "We are determined to reach every home in a five-square-mile radius of our church in the next two years." That same disciplined focus is the reason First Euless gives 10 percent of undesignated offerings for missions through the Cooperative Program, the method of supporting local, national and international missions and ministries of the Southern Baptist Convention. "I believe in the Cooperative Program and our church has always been strongly committed to it," Meador said. "The Gospel calls us all to advance the Kingdom, to plant churches and to be the salt and light in our society in America. We love to lead the way, and want to be an example for other churches. "It benefits us to give generously because what we all do is a Kingdom effort," Meador said. "Our total missions giving is around 28 percent, so we do much in the way of missions each year. We love how that impacts the world." The pastor has a strong heart for community outreach, fueled by his disability. Meador has been deaf since age 6, when he lost his hearing after an illness. The incumbent ridicule he suffered at the hands of peers in the classroom and on the athletic field only pushed him closer to the Lord. "I began to trust Him more to help me do what I couldn't do. That became a way of life," Meador said. "He gives me grace and strength. "I began to look around me and see people in worse shape than I was. I began to see that the comfort God gave me, the reliance on Him, enabled me to say to other people, 'God can help you through this. I know this because He has done it for me.'" First Baptist Euless reaches the community through "6Stones," a multi-faceted community enrichment and evangelistic ministry launched in 2009 that provides food, clothing, home repairs, and backpacks stuffed with school supplies. The ministry also operates a community garden, among other outreach efforts. "The ministries we have at First Euless are usually begun by a vision someone has of the ministry taking place," Meador said. "Normally they begin because of a specific, unmet need. 6Stones is a good example of that. We saw that our community had many needs that were not being met." The 6Stones outreach has provided food for some 15,000 people a year and has rebuilt at least 300 homes since 2009, Meador said. Building strong families is important to the congregation. At each level, there is an emphasis on investing in the next generation, building strong marriages and homes that honor God. Meador, himself the father of six, wants families to experience God's best in every aspect of their lives. "Strengthening families has never been more important," Meador said. "The enemy is in the middle of an all-out assault on the home, which is why we are continually working to find new ways to make families stronger. "We are actively attempting to build our ministries to be more family-friendly," Meador said. "With the family in such dire shape, it's important to do that, but we also recognize that having a ministry that kids love to come to is critical." "Preschool Productions" serves children from birth through age 4; "Kidopolis" reaches elementary-age children, "1st Students" ministers to junior and senior high students, and "1st University," reaches university students. The church reaches expectant parents through "Coming Attractions," and parents younger than 17 through its "Teen Parents" ministry. "Family-friendly ministry focuses on allowing each area to experience a life-changing and engaging time on the weekends," Meador said, "helping the family be committed to church involvement as a whole." Key to the success of its family ministries is ministry to men, Meador said. Meador leads ManUP Bible studies on Tuesdays that draw as many as 100 men. Others gather for various outreach ministries and affinity groups reaching motorcyclists and automobile aficionados. "We believe in building men up in the Word, and we believe that the man who is strong spiritually can better lead the family and church," Meador said. "We recently had a deacon trained in Can We Talk? who shared the Gospel at his father's funeral, with 168 people there. Those are the stories I love to tell." First Euless members trained in Can We Talk? this spring and made 1,000 home visits that resulted in 200 people making professions of faith, Meador said. Even as the remaining members are trained, Meadors has partnered with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention to take Can We Talk? statewide in 2015. First Euless has adopted an unreached, unengaged people group in southern India, and sends a team there at least twice a year. "We train pastors in Bible conferences, and we do construction work, children's work and sometimes medical work in the villages," Meador said. "Once someone has been on a mission trip with us, they are rarely the same. The passion to change the world begins to resonate within them." The church has traveled to Nicaragua, Cuba and Tanzania. In North America, First Euless has partnered with church plants in San Francisco, Boston and Baltimore, Meador said. "Here in Euless we continue to work on being relevant to a changing community," he said. "We must reach the next generation and we must reach the multi-ethnic culture around us. "It is also important that we continue to allow the church culture to transition to the most relevant and biblical way to minister to those in our area. It's invigorating to see the body of Christ operate as they do here." -------------------------------------------------------------------- Ebola 'utterly mysterious' to Darwinists by David Roach Date: November 04, 2014 - Tuesday NASHVILLE (BP) -- Secular scientists who tell Americans that Ebola is not likely to become airborne are unwittingly basing their conclusion on the lack of evidence for Darwinian evolution, even though many of them are proponents of Darwinism, a leading scientist in the Intelligent Design movement told Baptist Press. In addition to providing the only viable explanation of Ebola, a Christian worldview inspires more compassion for Ebola victims than a Darwinist perspective, commentators have noted. Viruses in general also provide evidence that the universe is the product of an intelligent designer rather than blind chance, they say. The Ebola virus "is kind of like a tiger pacing in a small cage," Michael Behe, professor of biochemistry at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., told BP. "It can go back and forth, fast and slow. The mutations are making it go back and forth rapidly, but it's not going very far from where it is." Ebola's apparent inability to become airborne "is in line with what we see in other organisms," said Behe, a senior fellow with the Discovery Institute, a Seattle-based think tank that plays a leading role in the Intelligent Design movement, which argues that the universe is the product of intelligence rather than chance. The microevolution (smaller changes within a species) represented by Ebola's rapid mutation "is easy to see," Behe said. "But macroevolution, or big changes in organisms" like those necessary to turn Ebola airborne, are "either non-existent -- which I think -- or extremely rare." Darwinian evolution asserts that humans are the product of macroevolution across millions of years. Behe is known for pioneering the theory of "irreducible complexity," which argues that certain biochemical systems cannot carry out their functions unless they are essentially complete, making those systems inexplicable within a Darwinian framework. The lack of observed macroevolution forms part of the basis for scientists' assertion that Ebola can only be transmitted through bodily fluids and not through the air, Behe said. Viruses in general are "utterly mysterious" to advocates of a "Darwinian process" because "there is no good theory at all for how any virus came about," Behe said, adding that the most reasonable explanation for viruses is an intelligent creator. Despite Ebola's deadly character, killing an average of 70-90 percent of those infected, Behe denied that it evidences a malevolent creator. Viruses originally had good purposes, but some have become harmful through genetic alterations over the course of history, he said. Among their beneficial properties, viruses make some plants drought-resistant or heat-tolerant, protect humans from harmful bacteria and play a role in the development of mammal placentas. Ebola's existence doesn't suggest an evil creator "any more than an automobile shows malevolent intent," Behe said. "Automobiles can be used and sometimes they cause problems, crashing and killing their drivers or running into people. But the machine itself is good." Writers with Answers in Genesis, an organization which teaches that God created the world by His direct action thousands rather than millions of years ago, also argue that Ebola does not provide evidence of Darwinian evolution. The existence of deadly viruses aligns with the Bible's teaching that mankind's sin brought ill effects to God's good creation, they say. "We know that the original viruses -- like the original kinds of bacteria and all other microorganisms -- must have been harmless and served useful purposes," Georgia Purdom, Elizabeth Mitchell and Tommy Mitchell wrote in an article posted on the Answers in Genesis website Oct. 20. "Over the past 6,000 years many disease-causing variations have developed in viruses and indeed in all classes of microbes. However, the more science learns about this hard-to-see part of our world, the more hints we see that these things were designed as a vital part of our world." A separate Answers in Genesis article argues that in addition to providing the only viable explanation of viruses, the Christian worldview leads to compassionate care of Ebola patients. "Ultimately, unlike those with a biblical worldview, secular humanists have no clear moral basis to put themselves at risk to help the downtrodden, sick, and infirm," Andrew Fabich, a microbiologist at Liberty University, wrote. "If we are just the product of random chance processes over time, as Darwinian evolution asserts, then why not let the sick die off so the strong will survive? However, since we are not the byproducts of random chance processes, we should conduct ourselves altogether differently." Fabich urged Christians with medical training to pray about travelling to Ebola-stricken areas to provide care and said all followers of Jesus should pray for the sick. "Those that contract this deadly virus will most likely meet their Maker soon," Fabich wrote. "We should pray for the missionaries ... on the ground, meeting needs, to give them boldness to share the gospel under such dire consequences. What a wonderful opportunity to share with these sick and dying people that they do not have to spend eternity separated from a loving God." In related news, Kerry and Chris Shook of Woodlands Church in Houston are asking churches across America to schedule a "Be the Message Sunday" on which sermons will be shortened to allow time to pack meals for people in countries hardest hit by Ebola. Woodlands, a non-denominational congregation, packed more than 280,000 meals at a pilot Be the Message Sunday in October. "As we watched the death toll continue to rise in West Africa, we asked ourselves, 'What can we do to make a difference in the Ebola-affected areas?'" Kerry Shook, pastor of Woodlands Church, said. "Ebola not only affects one's health, but their entire life. Thousands affected by the virus are unable to work or provide food for themselves or their families. That is why Be the Message Sunday is so important. One of the most immediate ways individuals can help is by supplying much-needed food to those living in West Africa." -------------------------------------------------------------------- Lone Star biker rally to draw Gospel outreach by Karen L. Willoughby Date: November 04, 2014 - Tuesday GALVESTON (BP) -- Now in its 13th year, the Lone Star Rally is touted as the largest weekend motorcycle rally in North America. At least 400,000 bikers, wannabes and gawkers are anticipated to roar into Galveston, Texas --- population 48,000 -- for this weekend's event. Southern Baptists will be among the mass of people rolling onto the 28-mile-long Galveston Island Nov. 6-9. Their purpose through Mission Lone Star: evangelize as many as possible. Mission Lone Star is a partnership of eight Baptist associations in Texas, who together want to reach bikers in Galveston with intentional evangelism, the way Southern Baptists do for events in Sturgis, S.D., Daytona Beach, Fla., and Myrtle Beach, S.C. Many more volunteers are needed for this first-ever evangelistic thrust for the bikers, wannabes and others at the Lone Star Rally, said Jim Hamilton, executive director of the Golden Triangle Baptist Network (formerly association) and overall coordinator for Mission Lone Star. "We need chaplains to minister to the more than 2,000 vendors, plus city workers and law enforcement personnel," Hamilton said. "We need people to work the booth, catchers to draw the people in, and people to share their personal story in three minutes or less. "Getting volunteers the first year is always a struggle," Hamilton noted. "We saw this in Sturgis, Daytona Beach and Myrtle Beach. Once they hear the story of how things go in the first year, they want to sign up for the next year, but they miss the thrill of being part of the first year." Hamilton was executive director of the Dakota Baptist Convention when he drew together a group of people to start the intentional evangelism ministry in 2006 at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. It expanded over time not just to Florida and South Carolina rallies, but also to churches and associations as people trained to use what has become known as the "Sturgis method" in local ministries. The Sturgis method involves a big prize -- a motorcycle in Sturgis; $1,000/day in Galveston -- that people can register for, if they will listen to someone share a 3-minute testimony. Evangelist Ronnie Hill of Fort Worth, whose ministry gave Hamilton the idea for the Sturgis intentional evangelism thrust, trained Dakota volunteers in giving their testimony in three minutes. He will be in Galveston for Mission Lone Star, again training people to share their faith in Jesus. Don Hunter, a chaplain with the Oklahoma Baptist Convention's Disaster Relief, trained chaplains for ministry during Sturgis. He too will be in Galveston to train chaplains for Mission Lone Star. "We'll have the original crew to pull the organization together," Hamilton said. "And with the partnership of the now eight associations in Texas, we're putting together something real solid for this year and for the future." The associations are Galveston, Gulf Coast, Trinity River, and Bell, plus three associations that together comprise the Sabine Neches Baptist Area, plus the Golden Triangle Baptist Network and the Baptist General Convention of Texas. More volunteers are needed, Hamilton repeated; at least 100 more than have already signed up. Free bunk bed lodging, breakfast, supper and showers are available on Jamaica Beach just a few miles south of Galveston. People can sign up at www.missionlonestar.com. Booth space has been retained on one of the three main streets of the rally action. "Catchers" will invite passers-by to talk with one of the volunteers, who will share their testimony in no more than three minutes. About one out of every six people who listen will make a profession of faith, according to statistics from the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, where this intentional evangelism method has been used for the last nine years. Sturgis 9-year totals: 6,430 professions of faith out of 38,189 who listened to a 3-minute testimony. This intentional evangelism method also is now being used by associations and churches in their communities. "This is the big difference in this model versus other models," Hamilton said. "Most of the time people want to run from an evangelistic encounter, but with the Sturgis model, they want to hear it. "We've asked Ronnie Hill to lead our evangelism training for volunteers and to oversee the 3-minute testimonies in the booth because Ronnie is a gifted evangelist," Hamilton continued. "He helped us perfect the Sturgis method, and part of why it has been and continues to be so successful is because we used an evangelist who helped us build the framework." People who listen to a testimony will be able to enter their name and contact info in a $1,000 daily drawing. The information of those who make professions of faith will be sent to local Southern Baptist churches across the nation. The Mission Lone Star intentional evangelism ministry has a $26,000 budget, all of which has already been given, including a sizable grant from BGCT. "I prayerwalked and prayer rode in Galveston last year, about what to do," Hamilton said. "We're going to need 150 to 200 volunteers at the booth itself and 30 to 40 two-person teams of chaplains. "This is [geographically] much bigger than Sturgis," Hamilton continued. "It's 16 to 20 blocks; Sturgis is six to eight. We're hoping to win several hundred people to Christ. With the training and experience volunteers will get in evangelism, we also anticipate much more one-on-one evangelism and decisions for Christ will be taking place in the future in our churches." The Sturgis method will be used at the Lone Star Rally for two reasons, Hamilton said. "It's a technique that works," Hamilton said. "And after these people are trained and have done it hundreds of time, they're not afraid to share anymore. It's something they'll take back to their home church." Souvenirs are a tangible part of Mission Lone Star, with commemorative poker chips and a King of Hearts playing card serving as reminders to take home of the Gospel message recipients heard from the witnesses. Hill said, "People are hurting, searching, looking for answers, even big, burly bikers. If we can get more workers out there, we can get more people saved and more people will hear the Gospel and more people will give their lives to Christ. The Gospel works. It still works. It's still powerful. It still changes people's lives." -------------------------------------------------------------------- 100-village challenge set before Alaskans by Staff Date: November 04, 2014 - Tuesday SOLDOTNA, Alaska (BP) -- The challenge of 100 villages in Alaska with no evangelistic witness was set before messengers at the Alaska Baptist Convention's 69th annual meeting, Sept. 30-Oct. 1 in Soldotna. The report by Butch Strickland, ABC director of church planting and missions, came alongside news from Jimmy Stewart, the convention's director of evangelism and church development, that Alaska Baptist churches baptized 417 people in 2013 -- 35 per month, 8 per week and 1.1 per day. Don Shannon, convention president and pastor of Sunset Hills Baptist Church in Anchorage, presided over the two-day meeting -- themed "Mission: Alaska" -- at College Heights Baptist Church in Soldotna. The credentials committee reported 83 messengers and 33 guests for a total of 116, representing 29 congregations. The convention's budget and finance committee submitted the 2015 ABC proposed budget of $1,692,529, a decrease of 1 percent from the current year. Included in the 2015 budget: $704,393 in anticipated CP giving from Alaska's churches, for 42 percent of the budget; $901,538 from the North American Mission Board, or 53 percent; $60,000 in support from LifeWay Christian Resources, 4 percent; and $26,598 from other sources, 1 percent. The convention will continue to forward 36 percent of CP receipts to the Southern Baptist Convention's national and international missions and ministries. The budget also includes $64,841 in shared expenses with the SBC. Elected as the convention's 2014-15 officers were: president, Todd Burgess, pastor of First Baptist Church in Eagle River; first vice president, Eric Ash, dean of Wayland Baptist University's campus in Anchorage; second vice president, Harold Conrad, pastor of Montana Creek Baptist Church in Talkeetna; and recording secretary, Judy Rice, member of First Baptist Church in Anchorage. Mike Procter, ABC executive director, reported that the convention has entered into four partnerships with Baptist associations in the Lower 48: Central Coast Baptist Association in Silicon Valley area of California; Orange County Southern Baptist Association in Anaheim, Calif.; Oregon Trail Baptist Association in western Nebraska; and Bessemer Baptist Association in Alabama. Bryan Myers, pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Fairbanks, delivered the annual sermon, which he titled "Why do we do missions?" from Galatians 4:1-7. Tom Hoffman, pastor of Fairview Loop Baptist Church in Wasilla, was elected as the annual preacher for the 2015 annual meeting, scheduled for Sept. 28-30 at First Baptist Church in Palmer. Harold Conrad, pastor of Montana Creek Baptist Church in Talkeetna, is the alternate. Among the annual meeting's guest speakers were International Mission Board missionaries identified as A. and L.S. for security concerns related to their work; Mike Hand, IMB missional church strategist; Rick Curtis, North American Mission Board regional mobilizer for the western states; Frank S. Page, president of the SBC Executive Committee; Jan Watkins, representing LifeWay; Eric Ash of Wayland; Anne Nytes, girls' clinician for Alaska Baptist Family Services; and Mike Harris, senior relationship manager for GuideStone Financial Resources. The annual meeting began with a mission rally on Monday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. at College Heights. Missionaries A. and L. S. gave their testimonies and John Montgomery, dean of spiritual life at California Baptist University, delivered the message. California Baptist University's praise team led music for annual meeting and other convention-related meetings. Pastor's Conference The 2014 Pastor's Conference was held from 8:30 a.m. to noon Tuesday, Sept. 30, at First Baptist Church in Soldotna. Doug Burrows, pastor of First Baptist Church in Soldotna, presided over the meeting as vice president due to the resignation of Kerry Chadwick as president stemming from his move from the state. Guest speakers were Rick Curtis, NAMB regional mobilize; John Montgomery, California Baptist University; and Frank S. Page of the SBC Executive Committee. Following the Pastor's Conference, D. August Boto, executive vice president and general counsel for the SBC Executive Committee, led a discussion on legal issues for congregations. Steve Shrimplin, pastor of First Baptist Church in Wasilla, was elected president for the 2015 Pastor's Conference and Harold Conrad, pastor of Montana Creek Baptist Church in Talkeetna, was elected vice president. Woman's Missionary Union The 65th annual meeting of the Alaska Baptist Convention's Woman's Missionary Union was called to order by the president, Ruby Stogsdill, also from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, Sept. 30, at College Heights. The 2014-16 WMU theme is "All For You: Surrender, Sacrifice, Serve" -- surrender completely by denying self; Sacrifice willingly by taking up your cross; serve intentionally by following Christ into your community, state and world. The theme's Scripture passage is Mark 8:31-38, focusing on verse 34 (NIV): "Then He called the crowd to Him along with His disciples and said: 'Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me.'" Guest speakers for the WMU meeting were Alan and Babs Dial, NAMB missionaries to Alaska natives; Heather Dominguez, Central Peninsula Community Health Services counselor who works with Project HELP: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD); and IMB missionaries A & L.S. Elected as WMU officers for 2014-15 were: president, Judy Zach, University Baptist Church, Fairbanks; vice president, Barbara Young, First Baptist, Anchorage; recording secretary, Glenda Shaw, Sunset Hills Baptist Church, Anchorage; adult missions consultant, Judy Rice, First Baptist, Anchorage); youth missions consultant, Melissa Batts, Fairview Loop Baptist Church; preschool missions consultant, Tiffney McNeely, University Baptist Church, Fairbanks; and African American missions consultant, Karen Ellison, St. John Baptist Church, Fairbanks). Two vacant positions are children's missions consultant and language missions consultant. Associational WMU directors, who are not elected but serve as officers, are: Barbara Young, Chugach Baptist Association; Linda Hearn, Hatcher Pass Baptist Association; Judy Ann Cabe, Tanana Valley Baptist Association; and Cindy Boney, Tongass Baptist Association. The non-associational affiliated churches' officer position is vacant. -------------------------------------------------------------------- FROM THE STATES: Ky., Ark., N.M. evangelism/missions news; 'For me, it has been a blessing to be in jail' by Staff Date: November 04, 2014 - Tuesday Today's From the States features items from: Western Recorder (Kentucky) Arkansas Baptist News Baptist New Mexican 126 inmates baptized through Hawk Creek ministry By Lauren Snowden LONDON, Ky. (Western Recorder) -- Sept. 21, 2014 is the date more than 100 Laurel County Correctional Center inmates will remember. It's a new date that defines them; when they got a fresh start. That Sunday afternoon, 126 inmates were baptized in the name of Christ, giving hope and a sense of belonging to those who have hit rock-bottom. Jessica Napier said her time behind bars is God's work. She has served 18 months so far on a drug charge. "For me, it has been a blessing to be in jail. It sounds odd, but I would just keep doing what I was doing if I wasn't here. If it wasn't for the church and me being in jail, I wouldn't be a follower." Hawk Creek Baptist Church has an extensive jail ministry, bringing Bible studies and counseling services to the jail at least three days a week. "You can just tell that they just have a love for people ... you got someone to talk to when you get out. They're friends," Napier said. Hawk Creek started visiting the jail nearly three years ago. Debbie Gilbert, a church member and licensed clinical counselor, said that the jail has become a church satellite. Each Sunday, Hawk Creek Church broadcasts their services via satellite to the recreation room at the Laurel County Correctional Center. "We are a very outward focused church. We will do whatever it takes," Gilbert said. "A lot of offenders are repeats. If we can spend time with them, lives will change." All in all, Gilbert estimates that Hawk Creek Church spends 168 days a year, eight hours a day at the jail. "Our time is measured in trust. A lot of people in jail don't trust very many people," she said. "For us to be there as much as we are, it builds hope. Hope changes people." Napier said that this baptism and the influence of Hawk Creek Church has changed the attitudes of the inmates at the jail. "It's like its own little church!" she said. Jayna Alexander is a member of Hawk Creek Church, and has a heart for those who have made poor choices, many of them drug related. "One woman told me she knew how to cut and measure cocaine before she entered kindergarten. When I was a child, we had cereal on the breakfast table, not scales," Alexander said. She said a lot of the people she has interacted with are second and third generation drug dealers, and it's no surprise that they have become inmates. But Hawk Creek Church is teaching these people that there is another and better way. The Laurel County Correctional Center alerted Hawk Creek Church to the baptismal service just 24 hours in advance. They wanted little controversy or protest of the event. The lead, associate and youth pastor baptized all 126 inmates with a small baptistery attached to the jail and two small pools. So, why such a big turnout of 126 people? Gilbert said it's because the jailer allowed the Hawk Creek Church to go cell to cell and witness to inmates. "Talking to them one-on-one was key for us," Gilbert said. "We aren't going to kid ourselves; some of these people just have 'inmate religion,'" Alexander said. "But some of these people are forever changed. They're living for the Lord and can't wait to begin the next chapter of their lives, to gain a fresh start." After the baptism, the story doesn't end. Hawk Creek Church makes a point to keep in touch with these inmates -- no matter what their next step may be. If they're released from jail, these inmates generally end up becoming members of Hawk Creek's congregation and outreach programs. If they move on to federal prison, a member of the church keeps in touch. Hawk Creek isn't stopping their outreach at the jail. They're also looking to take on ministries at local homeless shelters. "In the end we are just God-loving people, and you've got to love the people where they're at," Alexander said. "Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering" (Hebrews 13:3 NIV), she quoted. --30-- This article appeared in the Western Recorder (westernrecorder.org), newsjournal of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. Laren Snowden is a freelance writer for the Western Recorder. ********** Cross Church college ministry in yearlong revival By Lisa Falknor FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (Arkansas Baptist News) -- College attendance stats at Cross Church, Fayetteville, read almost like the yellowed pages of an 1800s revival newspaper clipping. Last year their midweek service averaged 100. Beginning Sept. 2013, 20 visitors came, then 30, then 40 and then 100. "I had no clue where they came from," said Noe Garcia, Cross Church Fayetteville collegiate minister since 2013. "Some nights when I'd give an invitation, 15 to 20 students gave their lives to Christ and 10 got baptized on the spot. When you have nights like that, students left and they'd tweet all night long about it; they're just on a spiritual high." A spiritual high like that must be emotional – a short-circuited fluke, right? "We've gone to doing two services," Garcia said. "We had 796 last Wednesday (Oct. 8)," Garcia said. They've since had more than 900. Over the last year, he counted 125 salvations and 75 baptisms. "It's an incredible thing in terms of growth," said Garcia. "I'm not even sure how it happened, honestly. The only thing I can attribute it to, and it sounds cliche, but it's a God thing. "We've seen students who are drastically changed by Christ reach out and share the gospel," Garcia said. "It's students reaching students. The Great Commission works." Pastor Nick Floyd agrees. "In an age where many college students are away from home for the first time and making poor decisions, we are seeing God develop a new generation of believers and church members who are ready to do whatever it takes to fulfill the Great Commission," he said. One such student is John-Mark Vaughan. Vaughan, a former "missionary kid" whose parents still serve on the mission field, leads a weekly small group Bible study. Forty other Cross Church upperclassmen also lead Bible studies Monday through Thursday in homes and on the campuses of the University of Arkansas, John Brown University and Northwest Arkansas Community College. Vaughan said his group mostly consists of nonbelievers from countries like Brazil, China and South Africa. "What you see at C3 (Cross Church College), is the result of prayer and investing in people and really caring about their lives," Vaughan said. Garcia labels upperclassmen like Vaughan "influencers," "persons of peace" strategically placed on their campus by God "for a reason." He guesses 150 Cross Church "unofficial student leaders" share Christ regularly. God continues to add numbers through the power of prayer and personal Wednesday night testimonies. "Former drug users, porn addicts, molested persons and rape victims have testified to Christ's victory over sin and power in restoration," Garcia said. "We are all amazed at what God is doing through the college ministry," Floyd wrote in an email. "It truly is a move of God that we have been unable to explain." --30-- This article appeared in the Arkansas Baptist News (arkansasbaptist.org). Lisa Falknor is the northwest Arkansas regional correspondent for the Arkansas Baptist News. ********** Banner year for baptisms in Tucumcari, N.M. By John Loudat TUCUMCARI, N.M. (Baptist New Mexican) -- Halfway through the most recent church year, members of First Baptist Church in Tucumcari were pleased that more people had already been baptized than had been during the entire previous year. As this year came to a close Sept. 30, they were positively ecstatic, having baptized a whopping 22 times more people than the year before. The First and the Last Ron Payne was the 88th person baptized at First Baptist Church since Oct. 1 of last year. His wife, Alice, had been the first. The Paynes live 47 miles from the eastern New Mexico community. They began coming to church with a friend, a First Baptist member. Since then they have truly enjoyed "being loved on" by their new church family, First Baptist Pastor John Hinze told the Baptist New Mexican. They have had plenty of need for that love over the past year, which has been for them a truly challenging one. When Ron Payne was hospitalized this summer and almost died, church members did what they do best, ministering to him and his wife. Most important, God got his attention with his close encounter with the grim reaper, Hinze said. Payne accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior about three months ago, Hinze said, but his baptism was delayed until Sept. 28 because his wife had to undergo heart surgery. The Other 86 Baptisms had averaged one a month until this past April, when 54 new believers were immersed on a single night. It was a Wednesday evening, the final night of a four-day revival that was led by Texas Baptist evangelist Ronnie Hill. This revival was different from others in recent years in that the church had spent the previous 40 days in an intense emphasis on prayer. The emphasis brought many members to the point where they were ready and willing to trust God to do "whatever he wanted to do however he wanted to do it," the pastor said. And the Lord showed them that such an attitude was "well, well worth it," he said. "We've just seen God move," Hinze said, deflecting all the credit away from himself and the church, and to God. An even greater number of people—230 to be exact—professed their newfound faith in Christ during the revival. While there were 150 people in attendance at the first service on Sunday morning, April 13, there were 388 on Wednesday evening. The church made a real big deal out of each of the more than 41Ž2 dozen people who were baptized that night, taking a picture of each of them and later giving them their picture and a baptism certificate. Hinze acknowledged that the church did use some methods it had not in the past to encourage people to attend the revival, but it was because that was what the Lord seemed to be telling the church to do. Another nine new Christians were baptized this summer after another evangelistic effort, the church's annual Vacation Bible School, during which 26 children made professions of faith. "The Lord is just blessing our socks off," Hinze said, recalling that blessed week. Follow Up It is apparent that far more people have made professions of faith over the past year than have followed the Lord in baptism and church membership, and the pastor readily acknowledges that. Other churches also have been blessed by what God has done at First Baptist, Hinze explained, and the follow up continues with the rest. The 2014-15 church year is beginning Oct. 5 with a kickoff of the pastor's new class for new members, which he will lead during Sunday school. Impacting Lostness Hinze said that the extraordinary harvest of souls is unlike anything he has seen in the five years he has led the church. But, he added, even those who have been members for decades cannot remember a year like the past one. The best thing about the many blessings the church has experienced is the fact that the "lostness" of Quay County has dropped 2 percent from the 90 percent the Baptist Convention of New Mexico had estimated the first of the year, and that is if only the professions of faith made at First Baptist are considered in the calculation. The fact of the matter is, though, there are plenty of other churches in the area that are testifying that God is moving in mighty ways in and through them, as well, "to the praise of (God's) glorious grace …" (Ephesians 1:6 NIV). --30-- This article appeared in the Baptist New Mexican (bcnm.com/archive). John Loudat is editor of the Baptist New Mexican. ********** 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. -------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST-PERSON: Should churches have stand-and-greet times? by Thom S. Rainer Date: November 04, 2014 - Tuesday NASHVILLE (BP) -- I conducted a Twitter poll (not scientific, I assure you) asking first-time church guests what factors made them decide not to return. In listing the top 10 in order of frequency (http://thomrainer.com/2014/11/01/top-ten-ways-churches-drive-away-first-time-guests), I was surprised that the number one issue guests don't like is a time to stand and greet one another. So what is it about a stand-and-greet time that many guests don't like? Here are the several of the most common -- although, again, unscientific -- responses, listed in order of frequency. 1. Many guests are introverts. "I would rather have a root canal than be subjected to a stand and greet time." 2. Some guests perceive the members are not sincere during the time of greeting. "In most of the churches it should be called a stand and fake it time. The members weren't friendly at all except for ninety seconds." 3. Many guests don't like the lack of hygiene that takes place during this time. "Look, I'm not a germaphobe, but that guy wiped his nose right before he shook my hand." 4. Many times the members only greet other members. "I went to one church where no one spoke to me the entire time of greeting. I could tell they were speaking to people they already knew." 5. Both members and guests at some churches perceive the entire exercise as awkward. "Nowhere except churches do we have times that are so awkward and artificial. If members are going to be friendly, they would be friendly at other times as well. They're not." 6. In some churches, the people in the congregation are told to say something silly to one another. "So the pastor told us to tell someone near us that they are good looking. I couldn't find anyone who fit that description, so I left and didn't go back." 7. Not only do some guests dread the stand and greet time, so do some members. "I visited the church and went through the ritual of standing and greeting, but many of the members looked just as uncomfortable as I was. We were all doing a required activity that none of us liked." There are strong comments at the post on both sides of the issue of whether a stand-and-greet time is helpful in reaching guests -- enough to prompt churches to ask themselves whether it's effective in their community. -------------------------------------------------------------------- October CP 2.25 percent over budget projection by Staff Date: November 04, 2014 - Tuesday NASHVILLE (BP) -- Contributions to Southern Baptist national and international missions and ministries received by the SBC Executive Committee in October were 17.69 percent above last year's opening month of the Convention's fiscal year, according to a news release from SBC Executive Committee President and Chief Executive Officer Frank Page. As of Oct. 31, gifts received by the Executive Committee for distribution through the CP Allocation Budget totaled $16,019,180.85, or 2,407,746.71 above the $13,611,434.14 received in October 2013. Meanwhile, designated giving of $3,403,210.15 during October was 6.21 percent, or $198,976.91, above gifts of $3,204,233.24 received last October. This total includes only those gifts received and distributed by the Executive Committee and does not reflect designated gifts contributed directly to SBC entities. "We receive this good report with gratitude," Page said. "We typically receive a CP bump when October follows a five-Sunday August. With total gifts through our churches down by almost $1 billion over the past six years, we know there is much yet to be done in regard to teaching our people about personal stewardship and biblical tithing. But we remain hopeful that this report provides tangible evidence that confidence in Cooperative Program support for our missions and ministries continues to grow." The October total of $16,019,180.85 is 2.25 percent above the $15,666,666.67 monthly allocation budget projection to support Southern Baptist ministries globally and across North America. The CP is Southern Baptists' channel of giving, begun in 1925, through which a local church can contribute to the ministries of its state convention and the missions and ministries of the SBC with a single monthly or weekly contribution. Monies include receipts from individuals, churches, state conventions and fellowships for distribution according to the 2014-15 Cooperative Program Allocation Budget. The convention-adopted budget for 2014-2015 is as follows: 50.41 percent to international missions through the International Mission Board, 22.79 percent to North American missions through the North American Mission Board, 22.16 percent to theological education, 2.99 percent to the SBC operating budget and 1.65 percent to the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. Designated contributions include the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions, the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions, Southern Baptist Global Hunger Relief and other special gifts. State and regional conventions retain a portion of church contributions to the Southern Baptist Convention Cooperative Program to support work in their respective areas and forward a percentage to Southern Baptist national and international causes. The percentage of distribution is at the discretion of each state or regional convention. Month-to-month swings reflect a number of factors, including the timing of when the state conventions forward the national portion of Cooperative Program contributions to the Executive Committee, the day of the month churches forward their CP contributions to their state conventions, the number of Sundays in a given month, and the percentage of CP contributions forwarded to the SBC by the state conventions after shared ministry expenses are deducted.