M A G A Z I N E2011/2012

312 Kempsville Road Norfolk, VA 23502757.461.3226 www.firstnorfolk.org

2 2011/2012MAGAZINE

From our PastorAt the national search and rescue school for the United States Coast Guard, an emblem of rescue swimmers’ mission tells the story of their commitment: “Always Ready… So Others May Live.” First Baptist Norfolk has that kind of commitment to fulfill God’s mission in the world. We are always ready, so others may live. We search for those who are far from God and bring them the rescuing love of His grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Our church is comprised of missionary followers of Christ whose hearts have been branded with the theme: “Always ready, so others may live.” We have this passionate commitment as a church because this is the passion of God for the world. God does not remain in icy isolation from those who are perishing. Because of His love, God has sent Jesus on mission to give eternal life to those who are already dead in the icy waters of sin. That’s why we are a people on mission. As we have been captured by Christ, we have been sent on His mission into the world. We live to glorify God by intersecting with real people in real need for a real Savior. We are always ready so that others may live. As you read the pages of this magazine, consider our church’s mission:First Baptist Church of Norfolk exists to glorify God by winning and leading all the people within our reach to become fully devoted followers of Christ. This mission given to us by Christ compels us to walk across the street and go around the world in search of those who are drowning and dwelling in darkness. These pages tell a portion of our story, but much of what needs to be done for God’s glory has yet to be written. The time is more urgent today than ever before for you and me to pick up our gear, loving God, loving others, and living the mission! Always ready, so others may live!

viva Missions! the DNa of living the MissionWhen my family and I lived in Mexico we heard a common phrase that was repeated often, “Viva Mexico!” This was said on holidays, at sports events, and at various other times. It has been thrilling to see the metamorphosis of life and experience at our church as people begin to experience a similar phrase, “Live the mission!” This concept of living the mission is transcending the mentality of an annual journey to an exotic place and is becoming an integrated part of our DNA as a church. The days of a “warm fuzzy” addiction from doing good things or doing missions “by proxy” by just giving financial contributions are passing. People are living the mission by seeing global

lostness and finding ways that we can address that directly. This is why you are seeing and hearing more about church planting in North Suffolk, the Park Place Health & Dental Clinic, Vietnamese ministry, and many other exciting partnerships! Make sure that you find your place to live the mission this year and be a part of all that God is doing through our church as we love God, love others, and live the mission!

Live the Mission Magazine is an annual publication of the Missions Ministry of First Baptist Norfolk. The goal of the magazine is to inform, inspire, and help engage members of First Baptist Norfolk, and all other followers of Jesus, in mission opportunities that advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To learn more about First Baptist Norfolk or our Missions Ministry, visit us at firstnorfolk.org or contact us at 757.461.3226.

oN the Cover: Our Philippines Mission Journey team sharing God’s Word in a squatter village in Manila, prior to sharing a meal together.

Pastor Eric Thomas with a group of children in Honduras

Craig praying with a student at Cuffee Community Center

glory has yet to be written. The time is more urgent today than ever before for you and me to pick up our gear, loving God,

eric thomas, senior Pastor

Craig Clayton, Minister of Missions

2011/2012 3MAGAZINE

New Partnerships in 2011

Charlottesville, va

PhiliPPiNes

First Baptist Church of Norfolk’s Hispanic Fellowship is

pressing on with the God-given task of reaching our world!

This summer we began a new partnership with Iglesia

Bautista Fuente de Vida in Charlottesville, Virginia. That

church’s pastor, along with several members, came to

Hampton Roads during the first week of August to help us

host Vacation Bible School and a block party at Harvard

Apartments in Chesapeake. Soon afterward, a group from

our church traveled to Charlottesville to help them put

on a Family Festival. We also distributed 250 bookbags

with school supplies to the children of Southwood trailer

park. It was touching to see the faces of the children and

parents as they received these donations. We are happy to

report that ten children received Christ as a fruit of these

labors! We are excited to begin a weekly “house of prayer”

discipleship group in Harvard Apartments and continue

giving all the glory to our God!

What an amazing ministry the local church in Manila is engaged in with two squatter villages! Not only does New Hope to Asia Church hold church services in these locations; they also meet other needs in these communities. Their Super Kids program reaches out to 400 to 500 children each Saturday with worship, Bible study, educational support, and lunch. We were privileged to serve alongside New Hope to provide Vacation Bible School, medical check-ups, and a nutritious meal each day. At the end of the week, over 100 children gave their hearts to the Lord!

Our team also had the opportunity to minister to homeless families. Our hearts were broken to see how the children survived on a daily basis, but we rejoiced to know that the church is making a difference in these lives as well.

DiD YoU KNoW? The overall population of

Hispanics in Virginia has grown by 91% over the past ten

years. The University of Virginia has seen a 50% increase

in Hispanic faculty members and a 128% increase in

Hispanic undergraduate students.

DiD YoU KNoW? The Philippines is the world’s third largest English-speaking nation, just behind the USA and the UK.

4 2011/2012MAGAZINE

Big Serve 2011 took on a whole new dynamic this year in the wake of Hurricane Irene. On the Sunday before Big Serve, Pastor Eric Thomas declared to our church that Big Serve indeed began as soon as Irene had passed on that day. This could have been a token gesture on his part, but it proved prophetic as the people of First Baptist Norfolk mobilized in an unprecedented way to reach out to their community. Not only did groups gather at the church to clean yards across the street, but many other members mobilized to reach out to their neighborhoods and make a difference in the name of Jesus. This week saw numerous individual connec-tions as a shipment from Gleaning for the World provided a generous amount of supplies for hurricane relief efforts. People visited our church for the first time to receive the assistance that was provided and our members utilized the resources to help neighbors through the week and others through Big Serve. 36,000 pounds of donated items were distributed throughout the community to help those in need. Many more stories may be told through the efforts of that weekend as our members mobi-lized to serve through working with the Union Mission, cooperating with our local military on a Habitat for Humanity house, providing oil changes for military spouses, visiting numerous assisted living facilities, hosting block parties in North Suffolk and Park Place, staffing water and footwashing stations at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon, and many more projects. This description cannot fully portray all that God accomplished through this powerful week. These pictures give a glimpse of what God accomplished, but do not do justice to the lives that were changed. The best way to fully know how much God has done and is doing through the people of First Baptist Norfolk is… to live the mission with us!

Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. John 20:25

BiG serve

2011/2012 5MAGAZINE

When we say that we are a church that lives the mission, what does that mean to you? To many it signifies that they travel to distant lands once each year in search of an opportunity to reach out to the unreached. To others it may signify that they give to see the gospel spread to the unreached. Yet when you boil it down to the nuts and bolts of what the Bible teaches, living the mission means that the Word becomes flesh and blood and moves into the neighborhood. Most of you will recognize that verse as a paraphrase from our Big Serve t-shirts on which John 1:14 is referenced. This concept has come to embody much more than weekly or monthly missions efforts. It has become what our Pastor has called “Going Deeper.” This is not in an attempt to regurgitate deep knowledge of biblical truth, but to be so bold as to actually live what we claim to believe. The people of First Baptist Norfolk are “going deeper” in many ways as they have allowed the truth of God’s Word to grip them in such a way that they cannot do anything but glorify God through the great labor of missions service. This will be different for each and every member, but some of the exciting things that we are seeing God do include:

• thepartneringofourmembershipinthe direction, and now ministry, of a local dental clinic.

• thebeginningofsmallgroupBiblestudiesthroughout Hampton Roads that are reaching people who would not have been reached otherwise.

• theawakeningtoaneedwithinthecollegiatecommunity of Old Dominion University to share our faith with international students through actively serving them.

• therenewalofafervorforthepeopleofNorth Suffolk as we prayerfully pursue the growth of another fellowship in that region.

• theactiveengagementofthosewhoride light rail and regularly find themselves at our doorstep as a result.

local Missions

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National MissionsWest virGiNia

NeW YorK CitY

alasKa

For five years Young at Heart has traveled to Old Fields Baptist Church to do Vacation Bible School (VBS) and block parties in the community. Upon our arrival, we prayer walked and passed out door hanger invitations. We held VBS each morning at a trailer park in a cornfield and each afternoon in an apartment complex. God sent new children every day to both sites! Monday evening, we assisted the church in preparing 100+ food boxes for distribution in their community. Tuesday morning, the line of people needing food flowed outside the church door. We concluded our week on Thursday with a block party that included face painting, duck pond, prizes, bubbles, ballooning, ball toss, an inflatable, and dinner. God gave us a large turnout for this event. Thank you! Your contributions enabled us to provide each child and some parents with a Bible and your prayers enabled us to step outside our comfort zone to serve the Lord.

It was a joy to serve with this new church plant, True

North Church, in Anchorage. Pastor Brent Williams is doing

an amazing job of leading this young church (less than a

year old) and mobilizing them to reach this city for Jesus!

In less than one year, this church has grown to where they

are averaging around 120 per Sunday and we had close to

140 on our last Sunday there! Our team was blessed to serve in a local soup kitchen,

a local HIV/AIDS clinic, as well to provide four community

block parties. Each of these ministry opportunities was

exciting and the block parties were a huge success. We had

close to 400 attend one of these! It was also wonderful to see some of the folks whom

we had met during the week show up at church the

following Sunday! May God receive the glory, “for great

things He has done!”

DiD YoU KNoW? It is estimated that over 20% of children in Hardy County, West Virginia live in poverty. West Virginia’s average income per family is among the lowest in the nation.

DiD YoU KNoW? Alaska has about one registered pilot for every 58 residents; six times as many pilots per capita and 14

times as many airplanes per capita as the rest of the United States.

2011/2012 7MAGAZINE

National Missions

NeW YorK CitY

North CaroliNa

We were blessed to serve with Gallery Church Manhattan

for the third consecutive year. 22+ million people live in

the Metro Area and one out of every 300 people in the

world live within fifty miles of Times Square! The nations

have come to New York City with over 800 language

groups represented here. God is at work with 40% of

the evangelical churches in City Center Manhattan today

having been planted since 9/11!

Our team was part of 100+ volunteers who participated

in a ministry called “City Uprising.” The teams participated in

a community arts project in a local park, held a community

block party, distributed 40,000 invite cards, and assisted

several HIV/AIDS clinics.

Many spiritual conversations took place and important

connections were made with the local church. Pray that

God grants Gallery Church local and global influence to

bring glory to His name and to reach the unsaved of New

York City and extending to the nations.

We were excited to return to Hamilton Baptist to host Vacation Bible School! Each day, children participated in Bible stories, crafts, recreation, and snacks and youth served as assistants to our team members. Through our mission project, Kits for Kids, children filled seventeen two-gallon Ziploc bags with school supplies for distri bution around the world by Baptist Global Response. By the end of the week, five children made decisions for Jesus and one child expressed a desire to be baptized! On Friday evening we celebrated with a community block party, cookout, and closing program. A team from First Baptist Norfolk brought our block party trailer and we had games, inflatables, prizes, balloons, and facepainting. We wish to thank those who generously contributed to help make our trip a God-filled opportunity. Your donations allowed us to give each child a Big Apple Adventure Bible and to travel to North Carolina to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

DiD YoU KNoW? Nearly half of the people living in Manhattan belong to a non-Caucasian ethnic group.

DiD YoU KNoW? The state motto for North Carolina is esse quam videri (to be rather than to seem).

8 2011/2012MAGAZINE

sing to the lorD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! Psalm 96:2-3

Philippines

Disaster Relief

North Carolina

Hampton Roads

New York

Alaska

West Virginia

Virginia

2011/2012 9MAGAZINE

Dominican Republic

East Asia

Southeast Asia

Hampton Roads

Uruguay

Peru

Honduras

Malawi

Ukraine

10 2011/2012MAGAZINE

National Missions

Not Just seating Capacity, But sending CapacityIt has been said that the true measure of a church is not in its seating capacity, but its sending capacity. In the course of God’s work through the members of First Baptist Norfolk over the past few years we have seen some great men and women of God sent out by our church. Some departures have been in the pursuit of study in college and seminary while others have been vocationally inspired. Through the relationships we have with those who have moved, we are becoming increasingly more mindful of those who are serving nationally and internationally. We celebrate our current and former members who are serving in roles such as a university student ministry position with Intervarsity Fellowship in Fredericksburg, Virginia. We also celebrate others such as a young man who is pastoring in Springfield, Missouri and preparing to serve with his family among Chinese people living in Toronto, Canada. We are thankful for a college student who recently served as a semester missionary with the North American Mission Board in Memphis, Tennessee, and for an individual who volunteered to serve in Honduras for a month to assist our friends at Orphan Helpers. There are also those who have committed to serve on a more long-term basis and have taken their families and/or dedicated their lives to reaching the unreached in India, the Middle East, Singapore, and China. These are members that our church has sent out to live the mission in numerous ways among people who are sometimes hostile to the gospel. Pray for these who have been “sent out” by our church to live the mission in bold and courageous ways. Our prayer is that there will be many more who surrender to the great call of God to take the good news to those who have never heard. There are still over 3,500 unreached people groups in the world who are waiting on us. Pray that the Lord of the harvest will send forth laborers from our church and pray for those who have been obedient to the call.

Disaster relieF

Swollen streams, thunderstorms, five inches of rain in

one hour, flashfloods, and inches/feet of mud in homes -

from where will hope come? A Disaster Relief (DR) team

from our church, among others from Virginia, responded

immediately to the call for help from the Baptist Conven-

tion of New England. Hope was brought to the damaged

community of Bare, Vermont by strangers responding to

the call, by humble acts of service rendered by DR workers

who cleaned flood residue from homes, and by the listen-

ing ear of DR workers who provided emotional support for

persons affected by this disaster. The Hope was brought by

demonstrations of God’s love and sharing the Gospel.

Two residents made professions of faith while our team

was present. In the subsequent month, as Southern Baptist

teams from other states worked, eighteen people came to

know Jesus Christ! Matthew 5:16: “Let your light so shine

before men, that they may see your good works and glorify

your Father in heaven.”

DiD YoU KNoW? Southern Baptist Disaster Relief efforts began in 1967 when Texas Baptist Men responded to victims of

Hurricane Beulah in the Rio Grande Valley.

2011/2012 11MAGAZINE

east/southeast asiaeast asia

soUtheast asia

God is at work on the other side of the world! During our first week in East Asia, we taught English in four government schools using the story of the Prodigal Son. We also had conversations with the teachers about our faith. In one city, God gave us favor with the government officials and we presented the mayor with gifts from our city. During our second week we taught English, music, and American sports at a boarding school for students in grades K-12. Students and teachers responded with great enthusiasm! We played volleyball and basketball games with the teachers while hundreds of students watched. On our last night, we sang God’s Word over 2000 students and teachers during the school’s talent show! Each night we spent time in leadership training sessions with teachers and developed personal relationships with them. We used Soularium cards as a tool to discuss life issues and have conversations about Jesus. Our hope is that these relationships will be open doors for the missionaries.

Despite previous improvements in religious freedom, this

year all large-scale Christmas celebrations were banned,

causing disappointment and frustration among evan gelical

churches and challenges for the team. Our flight out of

Norfolk was delayed two days, causing us to reevaluate

whether to stop in the nation’s capital. We continued with

our original plan and God affirmed our decision—seven

university students in that city gave their lives to Him!

God continued to work in the lives of individuals around

the country in spite of restrictions imposed by government

authorities. Our team was engaged primarily in relational

evangelism—building relationships to earn the right to

share our faith. Christmas is an ideal time for this because

this holiday is widely celebrated and it begs the questions,

“why and how do you celebrate Christmas in the United

States?” which we were thrilled to answer.

Please pray for the persecuted church in Southeast

Asia and around the world. Let’s not take our freedoms for

granted but to use them to make a difference in the lives

of those who are spiritually blind.

DiD YoU KNoW? Our work in this region is with an unreached people group, which means that this population has no

indigenous community of believing Christians with adequate numbers and resources to evangelize the non-Christian majority.

DiD YoU KNoW? The majority of people in this region consider themselves to be non-religious, though they visit religious

temples several times a year and their everyday lives are governed by influences of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism.

12 2011/2012MAGAZINE

the americasDoMiNiCaN rePUBliC PerU

hoNDUras

Our students traveled to the Dominican Republic to work with the Lighthouse School - a Christian school that serves 1,300 students in Los Alcarrizos. The Dominican students are sponsored through international fundraising efforts, which allow them to attend school and hear about Jesus through daily chapel services and subjects taught from a biblical worldview. The team participated in construction efforts on a women’s fitness center and painted a basketball court. Both facilities are locations for interaction with the community to bring young people off the streets and share the gospel with them. We also had the opportunity to work with local children in a Vacation Bible School setting. The children heard a Bible story, played games, and did a craft relating to the lesson. Thank you for your prayers for and support of this Mission Journey! We were blessed and humbled by this opportunity to work alongside our Dominican brothers and sisters in Christ to advance the gospel in their country.

Our team partnered with Orphan Helpers, an organization

that works alongside government employees to provide

spiritual and emotional support for children under their

care. We were given the opportunity to display Christ’s

love at four of their facilities through our actions, skits,

and testimonies. We spent time participating in activities

with the children and also shared Bible stories with them

and contributed to daily devotions. We had one-on-one

conversations with the youth and also answered their

questions about Christianity.

Many of our new friends had backgrounds of abuse and

neglect and some had children of their own. They had

been exposed to God’s Word but strayed from His path.

We reassured them of God’s love and forgiveness and

gave them hope. Several individuals rededicated their lives

to Christ! In just a short time God allowed us to have an

eternal impact on these children’s lives. We will remember

each child and keep them in our hearts and prayers.

DiD YoU KNoW? The community of Los Alcarrizos has a growing population of 250,000+, most of whom live in slums

with little infrastructure and few schools. Thousands of children receive no education because of the limited space in the

public schools that do exist.

DiD YoU KNoW? UNICEF estimates that there are approximately 150,000 orphans in the country of Honduras.

2011/2012 13MAGAZINE

the americas

PerU

UrUGUaY

Primeria Iglesia Bautista is a church in Villa El Salvador

on the outskirts of Lima with which our church has

partnered for two years. They have grown in leadership,

evangelism/outreach, and size since last year. This church

is carrying out its vision to spread the Gospel while

serving their community!

Our team’s mission was to spread the Gospel through

nightly church activities, a medical clinic, home/school

visits, and a sewing ministry. On Sunday, they taught

Sunday school, sang in Spanish, shared testimonies,

passed out invitation fliers, and delivered two sermons.

Throughout the week, the team shared Bible stories with

children in schools and families in homes and witnessed

to people they encountered. In the evenings, they held a

substance abuse clinic, events for men and women, and

a church-wide celebration service. Eighty-two patients

were seen at the medical clinic and more than fifty ladies

learned to sew. Twenty-two people came to faith in Jesus

Christ through the various ministries!

Our team partnered with Orphan Helpers, an organization

that works alongside government employees to provide

spiritual and emotional support for children under their

care. We were given the opportunity to display Christ’s

love at four of their facilities through our actions, skits,

and testimonies. We spent time participating in activities

with the children and also shared Bible stories with them

and contributed to daily devotions. We had one-on-one

conversations with the youth and also answered their

questions about Christianity.

Many of our new friends had backgrounds of abuse and

neglect and some had children of their own. They had

been exposed to God’s Word but strayed from His path.

We reassured them of God’s love and forgiveness and

gave them hope. Several individuals rededicated their lives

to Christ! In just a short time God allowed us to have an

eternal impact on these children’s lives. We will remember

each child and keep them in our hearts and prayers.

Our team was blessed to work with missionaries who have served in Uruguay for many years and Uruguayan believers who sacrificed to serve alongside us. In Juan Lacaze, we shared our testimonies during the Sunday worship service, held a Bible study for young girls, and facilitated a workshop for nurses. God has been at work in the lives of these nurses this past year! In Rosario, our goal was to build relationships. We prayer walked, visited a nursing home, and invited people to medical clinics and a family movie night. God answered our prayers by opening doors for us to present our work-shop to nurses in a local hospital, a door previously closed to missionaries. The head nurse invited us to return that afternoon for balloon animals with the children. God is at work in Uruguay! We thank Him for opening doors for us and pray that the missionaries will continue to be a blessing in Juan Lacaze and Rosario.

DiD YoU KNoW? 85% of the Peruvian population identifying with a religion professes to be Catholic, 11% professes to be

evangelical, and the remaining 4% includes Adventists, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Israelites of the New Universal Pact.

DiD YoU KNoW? UNICEF estimates that there are approximately 150,000 orphans in the country of Honduras.DiD YoU KNoW? Roughly 88% of Uruguayans are European descendants, a very high ratio compared to other Latin-American countries.

14 2011/2012MAGAZINE

europe

sub-saharan africa

UKraiNe

MalaWi

For over ten years, First Baptist Norfolk has partnered with Pastor Vasily in his vision to reach the Zhytomyr region in northwest Ukraine, where residents face poverty and hopelessness. Our team joined members of Calvary Baptist Church, led by John and Shari Griffin. We personally invited people in thirteen villages to evangelistic services in their town halls. There, we shared joyful singing in Ukrainian and Russian, our testimonies, and the good news of forgiveness and hope. Seventy-eight professions of faith were made, as well as many lives rededicated to the Lord! At Vacation Bible School, ninety-five children in the morning camp at Vysoke and thirty-eight in Kam’iny Brid heard Bible stories about God’s love and enjoyed crafts, games, recreation and snacks. Seventy-two children prayed to receive Jesus as Savior!

Pastor Vasily gave our team a tour of the church in progress in Kam’iny Brid. Members of both churches rejoiced in what their contributions have done, even as the work continues.

As in past years, our team participated in “hut-to-hut” evangelism,

hosted Vacation Bible School, and facilitated discipleship training

for youth/adults. Malawian interpreters from the Church Planting

and Evangelism Team (CPET) accompanied our team in villages for

witnessing and daily activities. We thank God for our friendships

with them and their dedicated service to Him.

We worked primarily in two villages outside Lilongwe: Chiliza

and Chakakala. In Chiliza we showed the Jesus film and gave a

Gospel presentation. Many made decisions for Christ, as was the

case in hut-to-hut evangelism.

In Kamoyo, a village in which First Baptist Norfolk helped

plant a church several years ago, our team assisted with Sunday

school and church services. Our team was blessed to worship

with the Kamoyo congregation in their new building, which is

now complete except for the roof.

In all, 918 people responded to the Gospel! We praise God for

the opportunity to minister to these warm-hearted Malawians

eager to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ.

DiD YoU KNoW? The predominant religion in Ukraine, practiced by more than half the population, is Eastern Orthodoxy. However, 10% of Ukrainians profess not to be religious at all.

DiD YoU KNoW? During the recent Malawi fuel

shortage, it was not uncommon to wait in line all day

to obtain fuel, and often gas stations would run out

of this sought-after commodity before the day’s end,

leaving many customers without gasoline.

2011/2012 15MAGAZINE

living the Mission CooperativelyThe question of how our missions ministry is funded has become an item of interest over the past few years, so we would like to take this opportunity to share how God is using the resources of our church. What is the Cooperative Program? First Baptist Norfolk gives 5% of our total budget toward the work of Southern Baptists through the Cooperative Program. These funds are sent to our state convention, Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (SBCV), who utilize 49.6% for work at the state level and then send the remainder to the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) for distribution to the International Mission Board (IMB), the North American Mission Board (NAMB), our Southern Baptist seminaries, and the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. Is the Cooperative Program part of the World Mission Offering (WMO)? No, the WMO is a separate designated offering that our members can contribute to through regular or annual giving directly to First Baptist Norfolk. These funds are distributed to the following missions needs:

Partnership Missions ...........................40% North American Mission Board ................................... 25%International Mission Board .............35%

Partnership Missions includes virtually all of the work that our church is involved in locally, nationally, and internationally. This includes but is not limited to the following (there are many more partnerships that we could not list):

North Suffolk Fellowship ....................$5,000 Support of True North Church Plant (Alaska) ........... $6,000Local Missions funding .........................$5,000 Park Place Health & Dental Clinic ............................... $2,400Support of Mosaic Church Plant .......$6,000 Support of Indian Church Planters ............................. $15,000Support of Boston Church Plant ........$2,400 Short term mobilization of our members ................ $50,000

Thank you for giving faithfully to our missions ministry as God continues to reach the unreached around the world with the Good News of Jesus through our church!

What Does God expect of Us?What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. James 2:14-17

Is our faith manifested in sharing the Good News, ministering to the widows and orphans, helping those who are less fortunate, working for social justice, etc.? That’s Christ’s example and His call for His followers. Unfortunately the

pre vailing mindset is that the world’s problems are too great for one person to have an impact. So what does God expect from us? Jesus and His disciples were world changers and that is His call for today’s contemporary church as well. God accomplished amazing things through the obedience of Paul and desires to do great things in and through each of us. He calls us to be His partner in changing the world! Our small team to Malawi, Africa, was obedient to God’s call and they saw hundreds come to faith in Jesus! What a glorious experience to join God at His work and enjoy the amazing blessings associated with stepping out in faith and doing the work of ministry. May we encourage you to take this journey with us?

What’s Next?If you are interested in going on a Mission Journey, plan now to attend the Missions Open House in January, where you’ll meet team leaders and learn more about our 2012 Mission Journeys. To begin the process of being part of a Journey, visit firstnorfolk.org. Click the Ministries tab, then select Missions and then Missions Forms. To follow our Mission Journeys, check out our blog at bigserveglobal.org for updates on teams who are serving and opportunities to join them in prayer.

2012 Mission opportunities

312 Kempsville RoadNorfolk, VA 23502

757.461.3226 www.firstnorfolk.org

New York City

Canada

Peru

Florida

North Carolina

Virginia

Honduras

Uruguay

Anchorage

Malawi

Ukraine

West Virginia

Hampton RoadsAssisted Living FacilitiesBig ServeBobbitt ApartmentsCatalyst TeamsCommunity Health Ministry Crisis Pregnancy CenterCuffee Community CenterGood News Jail and Prison MinistryGosnold ApartmentsHispanic MinistryInternational Student MinistryJudeo Christian MissionMosaic ChurchNorth Platte CanteenNorth Suffolk Fellowship Park Place Dental MinistryProject ComfortOutreach for ChristUnion MissionVietnamese Fellowship

Mission Journeys to Closed/Restricted CountriesIn 2012 we are planning Mission Journeys to East Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, the Philippines, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Each of these is located within the 10/40 Window, the area of the world between 10° and 40° latitude north in the Eastern Hemisphere, which is home to 2/3 of the world’s population. This is an area of great spiritual need, as the centers of several major non-Christian religions (Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc.) are found here. Those who live here also have great physical need - about 80% of the world’s poorest people reside here. More than 95% of the world’s unreached peoples live here and this region contains some of the most anti-Christian governments in the world. In areas of the 10/40 window, there is only one missionary for every one million people.

10/40 WiNDoW

Curt sharing the Good News with others in Southeast Asia

Curt Breland, Minister of Missions Mobilization