By Dwayne Lee SCBO Bible Teaching/Leadership H ow do you put into words every- thing that took place on March 9 and 10 at Vacation Bible School Institute? I don’t know if I can, but I will try. VBSI was held at Highland Baptist Church in Grove City. It took more than 50 people two days to set up for the event, dec- orating classrooms and the sanctuary, setting up the book- store, and worksta- tions. On ursday, a semi-truck showed up in the rain to de- liver 4 pallets full of VBS ma- terial, and another truck brought 60 more boxes of material from Lifeway Christian Bookstore. is year’s VBS eme is Amazing Wonders Aviation, and it wasn’t long before Highland Baptist Church was transformed into amaz- ing wonders of God’s creation with things like waterfalls, Northern Lights, and the Grand Canyon scattered throughout the buildings. People started arriving Friday evening at 5:00 for the two- hour VBSI Open House. is is the first year we included an Open House as part of VBSI. All of the rooms were decorated and open for all to observe and get ideas for their own VBS. We had display areas with Make and Take Craſts, Snacks, Music, Bible Studies, Worship Rally information, and Mission Studies. e Lifeway Bookstore was also open and selling all the VBS supplies and decora- tions. Many churches took advantage of the three Accu-Cut machines and cut out airplanes, world globes, bookmarkers, and other shapes for their VBS craſt time. People brought cameras and took pic- tures to take back to their own church for ideas of how to decorate for VBS. ere was even an Inflatable Bounce House set up outside with an airplane on top of it (Churches can rent these for their own VBS). Everyone received a Passport O HIO B APTIST M ESSENGER PUBLICATION OF THE STATE CONVENTION OF BAPTISTS IN OHIO APRIL 2012 | VOLUME 60 NO. 2 INSIDE: Buckeye Baptist Builders ......... Page 2 VBS Clinics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 3 2012 Tax Issues Conference ...... Page 5 Women’s Ministries ........... Pages 8-9 Press Toward e Mark ......... Page 12 Worship Rally VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL INSTITUTE E N C O U N T E R I N G G O D ’S A W E S O M E P O W E R Jeff Slaughter and Margaret Williams VBS ~ Continued on Page 7 e “1% Challenge” is simply a request to every Southern Baptist pastor and every Southern Baptist church to increase their Cooperative Program giſts by one percent of their church’s undesignated contributions. Frank S. Page, president of the Executive Committee, is- sued this challenge during the Executive Committee report at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. He said, “To do better what we’re doing together, we’re asking you... we challenge you, we encourage you to raise your Cooperative Program support. Would you do that? One percent? Next year?” During his report, he noted that though the dollar amount contributed through the Cooperative Program has increased fourteen of the past twenty years, a twenty-year decline in percentage of funds forwarded by local churches through the Cooperative Program was a reflection of a much larger cause for concern. He said, “We’ve been headed in the wrong direction in several ways. In 1989 our giſts to total Missions expenditures were 16.5 percent of our total receipts [average per church]. Twenty years later, in 2009, our giſts to total mis- sions expenditures had declined to 12.3 percent. at’s a 4.25 percent drop in missions giving. Did you hear me? I’m not even talking about the Cooperative Program, I’m talking about missions expenditures… that is not right! “Added to this is the individualistic mindset of twenty-first-century churches where everyone assumes they can do what they do best on their own rather than in cooperation with others. We have before us a great challenge and I believe we need to recommit to the principle of unified ministry. What we do best, we do together! To accomplish this, we request that our churches raise their Coopera- tive Program support by one percent next year.” In the three months since the SBC annual meeting, many pas- tors and churches have stepped forward to accept the “1% Chal- lenge” for CP. Many state Baptist conventions are adopting this simple plan for their cooperating churches and will present this challenge at their upcoming annual meetings. To view the “1% Challenge” video, go to www.SBC.net and click on the “1% Challenge” video on the home page. Here’s how it works. If your church gave four percent of undesignated re- ceipts through the Cooperative Program last year, consider giving five percent in the coming year. If your church gave two percent, or perhaps six percent, or even ten percent, consider giving an additional one percent through the Coop- erative Program in the coming year. e impact of this simple plan could gener- ate almost one hundred million dollars more to fund the Kingdom enterprises of Southern Baptists. Some churches may see this “1% Challenge” as a starting place to increase the total missions expenditures in their church, accepting a “1% or more” challenge! No single church alone can reach every unreached and unengaged people group; no individual church can plant churches across North America to reach our nation for Christ; no isolated congregation can accomplish the work of a cooperating state convention; no solitary church can, by itself, equip a new gen- eration of pastors; no single voice alone can sway the direction of our culture. But, together, we can accomplish much! Truly, we can do more together than we can do alone! Pastors and church leaders are encouraged to accept the “1% Challenge”—for the sake of the Gospel! The “1% Challenge for CP” SUNDAY SCHOOL WORKER TRAINING P.3 Prayer Guide P.9 Tax Issues & Ministerial Tax Issues Seminars P.5
Transcript
By Dwayne LeeSCBO Bible Teaching/Leadership
How do you put into words every-thing that took place on March 9 and 10 at Vacation Bible
School Institute? I don’t know if I can, but I will try. VBSI was held at Highland Baptist Church in Grove City. It took more than 50 people two days to set up for the event, dec-orating classrooms and the sanctuary, setting up the book-store, and worksta-tions. On Thursday, a semi-truck showed up in the rain to de-liver 4 pallets full of VBS ma-terial, and another truck brought 60 more boxes of material from Lifeway Christian Bookstore. This year’s VBS Theme is Amazing Wonders Aviation, and it wasn’t long before Highland Baptist
Church was transformed into amaz-ing wonders of God’s creation
with things like waterfalls, Northern Lights, and the Grand Canyon scattered throughout the buildings.
People started arriving Friday evening at 5:00 for the two-
hour VBSI Open House. This is the first year we included an Open House as part of VBSI. All of the rooms were decorated and open for all to observe and get ideas for their own VBS. We had display areas with Make and Take Crafts,
Snacks, Music, Bible Studies, Worship Rally information, and Mission Studies. The Lifeway Bookstore was also open and selling all the VBS supplies and decora-tions. Many churches took advantage of the three Accu-Cut machines and cut out airplanes, world globes, bookmarkers, and other shapes for their VBS craft time.
People brought cameras and took pic-tures to take back to their own church for ideas of how to decorate for VBS. There was even an Inflatable Bounce House set up outside with an airplane on top of it (Churches can rent these for their own VBS). Everyone received a Passport
OhiO Baptist MessengerPuBLICATION OF THE STATE CONVENTION OF BAPTISTS IN OHIO
The “1% Challenge” is simply a request to every Southern Baptist pastor and every Southern Baptist church to increase their Cooperative Program gifts by one percent of their church’s undesignated contributions. Frank S. Page, president of the Executive Committee, is-sued this challenge during the Executive Committee report at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. He said, “To do better what we’re doing together, we’re asking you... we challenge you, we encourage you to raise your Cooperative Program support. Would you do that? One percent? Next year?” During his report, he noted that though the dollar amount contributed through the Cooperative Program has increased fourteen of the past twenty years, a twenty-year decline in percentage of funds forwarded by local churches through the Cooperative Program was a reflection of a much larger cause for concern. He said, “We’ve been headed in the wrong direction in several ways. In 1989 our gifts to total Missions expenditures were 16.5 percent of our total receipts [average per church]. Twenty years later, in 2009, our gifts to total mis-sions expenditures had declined to 12.3 percent. That’s a 4.25 percent drop in missions giving. Did you hear me? I’m not even talking about the Cooperative Program, I’m talking about missions expenditures… that is not right!“Added to this is the individualistic mindset of twenty-first-century churches where everyone assumes they can do what they do best on their own rather than in cooperation with others. We have before us a great challenge and I believe we need to recommit to the principle of unified ministry. What we do best, we do together! To accomplish this, we request that our churches raise their Coopera-
tive Program support by one percent next year.” In the three months since the SBC annual meeting, many pas-tors and churches have stepped forward to accept the “1% Chal-lenge” for CP. Many state Baptist conventions are adopting this simple plan for their cooperating churches and will present this challenge at their upcoming annual meetings. To view the “1%
Challenge” video, go to www.SBC.net and click on the “1% Challenge” video on the home page. Here’s how it works. If your church gave four percent of undesignated re-ceipts through the Cooperative Program last year, consider giving five percent in the coming year. If your church gave two percent, or perhaps six percent, or even ten percent, consider giving an additional one percent through the Coop-erative Program in the coming year. The impact of this simple plan could gener-ate almost one hundred million dollars more to fund the Kingdom enterprises of Southern Baptists. Some churches may see this “1% Challenge” as a starting place to increase the total missions expenditures in their church, accepting a “1% or more” challenge! No single church alone can reach every unreached and unengaged people group; no individual church can plant churches across North America to reach our nation for Christ; no isolated congregation can accomplish the work of a cooperating state convention; no solitary church can, by itself, equip a new gen-eration of pastors; no single voice alone can sway the direction of our culture. But, together, we can accomplish much! Truly, we can do more together than we can do alone! Pastors and church leaders are encouraged to accept the “1% Challenge”—for the sake of the Gospel!
The “1% Challenge for CP”
Sunday School Worker Training P.3
Prayer Guide P.9
Tax Issues & Ministerial Tax Issues Seminars
P.5
Page 2 | Ohio Baptist Messenger | April 2012
The Ohio Baptist Messenger (ISSN 0472-7096) is published every other month by the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio; 9000 Antares Avenue; Columbus, Ohio 43240-2011. Periodicals Postage Paid at Columbus, Ohio. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Ohio Baptist Messenger; 9000 Antares Avenue; Columbus, Ohio 43240-2011.
Jack Kwok, Ohio State Convention Executive Director-Treasurer, Editor; Linnett Snodgrass, Administrative Assistant; Spangler Production & Design, Publication Layout. Published every other month for members of Southern Baptist churches in Ohio. Subscriptions provided out of each church’s Cooperative Program gifts. Member of Baptist Press, news service of the Southern Baptist Convention.
2012 Project ScheduleHope Children’s Home January 9 – 20, 201211415 Hope International Dr. Building CottagesTampa, Fl. 33625 Meals & Lodging Provided
Seneca Lake Baptist Camp May 7 – 11, 201255819 Skyline Dr. Prepare Camp for YouthSenecaville, Oh. 43780 Meals & Lodging Provided
Freedom Baptist Church May 25 – June 2, 20121766 Millville Ave Build New AdditionHamilton, Oh 45013 Meals, Lodging & Campers
Shoreline Community Church June 8 – 15, 2012790 Carnegie Ave. Build New AdditionAkron, Oh. 44314 Meals, Lodging & Camper Set-up
Calvary Baptist church Aug. 13 – 16, 2012502 N. Columbus St. Install Metal RoofingBlanchester, Oh. 45107 Meals & Lodging Provided
Trinity Baptist Church September 7 – 11, 20122707 Grantwood Dr. Build Two-Story Handicap RampParma, Oh. 44134 Meals, Lodging & Camp Area
If you can help on any of the above projects or need additional information please call or e-mail.
Raymond E. Morris - State CoordinatorBuckeye Baptist Builders1-513-593-5130, [email protected]
Buckeye Baptist Builders
SEEKING STAFFThe Circleville First Baptist Church is seeking a part-time Worship Leader. If interested, please send your resume to the attention of Tom Perkins, Worship Leader Search Team Chairman, Circleville First Baptist Church, 1540 North Court Street, Circleville, OH 43113.
First Baptist of Trenton, Ohio SBC is accepting resume’s for a Senior Pastor. Please send all resume’s to [email protected].
Training for new volunteers Friday and Saturday
Cross-training for current volunteers on Saturday
DR clothing sales
DR Badges will be issued or updated as needed
Volunteers must be at least 18 years of age
(21 years of age for Child Care unit)
Serving in Southern Baptist Disaster Relief requires membership at an
Ohio Southern Baptist Church
CPR Training will be available for those already trained in Disaster Re-
lief. This requires pre-registration at a cost of $ 20.00 per person for the
Friday 6:00 PM Registration 6:30-9:30 PM “Involving Southern Baptists in Disaster Relief” Saturday 7:15 AM Continental Breakfast 8:00 AM Unit Training 12:00 PM Lunch Provided by DR Food Service 12:30 PM Evangelism Training 3:00 PM Dismissed Background check information will be requested during this session. All volunteers must have a background check performed. “...Giving a cup of cold water in Jesus’ name” from Matt: 10:42
Warren, Oh 44483 Amherst, Oh 44001 Liberty Township, Oh
April 2012 | Ohio Baptist Messenger | Page 3
Sunday School Worker Training Events
What will the attendee gain from attending this training?• Giveeachattendeeasenseofvalue• Developmoreandbetterleaders• Encouragement• Createanatmosphereofgrowth• Developtechniquesthatwillhelpgrow
their class spiritually• Learnstrategiesthatwillmultiplytheir
For more details please contact: Wendy Hammock, 614-827-1826 or [email protected]
additional information: Early bird registration through July 11 Cost $8.00 per person. Advanced registration from July 12 through July 26 Cost $15.00 per person.$25.00 on site(Registrations non-refundable)Lunch included
location: Dublin Baptist Church 7195 CoffmanDublin, OH 43017
Event 2
scbo.org/register
By Brian Frye
For the past three years, Ohio Collegiate Ministries (OCM) campus groups have been attending the Passion Conference in Atlanta. Many of the students that are reached through the various OCM ministries have little church background. The Passion Con-ference is an opportunity for them to be exposed to great Christian teaching, interact with other Christian students from all over the country, and participate in corporate wor-ship and corporate missions fo-cus like they never have before. Many of our students leave encouraged by the knowledge there are so many other Chris-
tian students passionate about Christ. As we reflect on how this conference impacts our students and serves as a catalyst for ministry when they return, we are beginning our efforts now to make sure Passion 2013 will impact as many students in Ohio as possible. Passion 2012 had 42,000 people in atten-dance. This next year, they are expanding capacity, making Passion 2013 likely the largest gathering of Christian college students ever. As this event has grown every year, we have learned two things: it helps to go with someone who has been before, and it is easier to have central planning for travel, lodging and registration. In light of
this, and in an attempt to con-nect to more church based col-lege ministries and graduating high school seniors, Ohio Col-legiate Ministries is organizing a central planning group for Passion 2013.
Who should plan on attending Passion 2013? The Passion Conference is for college age students 18-25 and for graduating high school seniors. We encourage all church based college minis-tries, Sunday school classes or college age fellowship groups to attend. We also encour-age youth leaders to consider sending their graduating high school seniors. This would be a great way for them to catch
a vision for how God can use them on their college campus. The dates for Passion 2013
are January 1st through 4th; a day on each end of those dates should be added for travel.
Ohio Collegiate Ministries Organizing trip to Passion 2013
How can I get more information?
The Passion Conference website (268generation.com) can give you general information about the conference, but to learn about registering and travel-ing with the OCM group, contact Ty Waardenburg via email at [email protected].
You can also follow the group on Twitter to keep up to date on new information; @OCMPASSION2013.
Registration costs increase over time and space will be limited. If you are interested in learning more, please get in touch with Ty as soon as possible.
CLASSES PROVIDED IN ThE FOLLOwING AREAS:• Pastors & Directors• Preschool & Kindergarten• Pre-teen/VBX/Youth• Middle Children & Younger Children• Crafts• Missions/Music • Recreation/Snack• Decorating Ideas
OThER INFORMATIONDoor Prizes. Literature on display. Pre-orders made two weeks in advance will be available for pick up at the clinic. On-line order forms will be available 1/31/12 at www.scbo.org.
DATES AND LOCATIONS: Northeast Region April 14 - 10am-12pmBroadman Baptist Church350 E. Bath Rd.Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio 44223
Are we there yet?2012 Mission Round Table at Spring hills Baptist
Mission Round Table hosted 168 people representing 13 Associa-tions. Muskingum Valley Baptist Association with 49 in attendance won a $250 LifeWay gift card.
Pastor Doug Morgan, Edgewood Baptist Church Trenton, Ohio, shares how to engage children in missions throughout the year.
Joanne Hopkins, Ohio WMU President, fires up the ladies to be on mission in Ohio.
L-R Brian Galloway, IMB Representative; Jack Kwok, Ph.D. State Executive Director; Roo Kwok,; Josh Ellis, Union Baptist Associa-tion of Huston.
Quiet Love Ministry of Cambridge, Ohio brought 14 participants. www.quietlove.us.
Pastor Dan Ghramm, Gateway West in Cleveland Hope shares his church planting story.
watch scbo.org for further details on 2013 event! February 23rd, 2013 at First Baptist Church, Grove City.
Debbie F. GillJanuary 4, 1955 - February 17, 2012
Clough Pike Baptist church lo-cated at 1025 Clough Pike Cincinna-ti, Ohio, has developed a unique way to celebrate “Souper Bowl Sunday.” During the year each Sunday school class collects food items for the food pantry. Each food item is assigned a point value. The points are tallied at the ending date of the contest. The class with the most points wins! The class that wins receives a trophy and a delicious homemade breakfast buffet prepared by our pastor’s wife Kara Barnette. Kara is the director of our church sponsored food pan-try and also coordinates the food distribution throughout the year to local families in need. Our church members have good time collecting the food items and demonstrate a giving spirit during this competition as well.
“Souper Bowl Sunday”
homegoing of
Debbie GillSearch
“Homegoings” on www.scbo/news
for obituary
Above: Daryl Bisig’s Sunday School class accepts the Souper Bowl Sunday trophy.
At left: S.S. teacher Daryl Bisig with trophy.
April 2012 | Ohio Baptist Messenger | Page 5
This seminar introduces a step-by step process that a church or ministry can use to determine and organize a comprehensive financial support plan for ministers and employees. It reviews ways to respond to tax laws wisely and to pro-mote good stewardship.
who should attend: Ministers, Church Treasurers, Financial Secretar-ies, Budget and Personnel Committee members and other leaders.
Topics:Dealing with Church Tax Issues:• Handling designated gifts/love offerings le-
• Practicalchurchfinancialpoliciesthat help prevent IRS problems• IRSrecord-keepingrequirements• Dangersinusingbenevolencefunds improperly
Dealing with Ministerial Tax Issues:• Recenthousingallowancerulings• Taxabilityofhealthinsurancebenefits• Pastor’sappreciationgifts• Compensationversusthepaypackage: Which is correct?• EmployeeorSelf-employed?• Whoisaministerfortaxpurposes? The answer might surprise you• New403(b)IRSregulationsforChurch Retirement Plans
SEMINAR LEADER
Dr. Keith hamilton, CFP, AFC, CRPC, is serving as a Specialist in Church Financial Services with the Georgia Baptist Convention. He specializes in tax matters relating to issues concerning churches.
For Church Planters and wives within the first four years of the plant. Associational Missionaries and Church Planter Strategists are also invited.
The Forum will begin at 10:00 AM on Thursday, May 3rd at Dublin Baptist Church – 7195 Coffman Road, Dublin
and conclude after lunch on Friday, May 4th. Lodging will once again be provided
by The Crowne Plaza – 600 Metro Place North, Dublin
Register by contacting Charlotte Barbo at [email protected] or 614-827-1804 by April 9th.
If you have suggestions for discussion topics for the Forum, contact Gary or Quinton:
• Thursday,July19,2012–LakotaHillsBaptistChurch, 6300 Tylersville Road, West Chester
SEMINAR DESCRIPTION
This conference is made possible through the Cooperative Program ministry support of your local church.
Helping Churches and Church Staff handle common tax issues
Page 6 | Ohio Baptist Messenger | April 2012
By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist & Reflector
TENNESSEE BAPTIST VISION TEAM ExPLORES NEEDS IN CIN-CINNATI AREA CINCINNATI — Last November Tennessee Baptist Convention messengers voted without opposition to begin a partnership with Baptists in the Greater Cincinnati/Dayton (Ohio) area. A team of about 41 Tennessee Baptists from across the state trav-eled to Cincinnati Feb. 20-24 to explore missions and ministry op-portunities with four associations in the Greater Cincinnati area. Most everyone who made the trip agreed that the needs are apparent and multiple opportu-nities for ministry await Tennes-see Baptists in the partnership that officially begins Jan. 1, 2013, and will continue through Dec. 31, 2017. Baptist leaders in Cincinnati have divided the area into nine re-gions. Those regions have a com-bined population of 1,184,657 people but only have 75 Southern Baptist churches, a ratio of one church for every 15,759 people. By contrast, there is one church for every 2,000 people in Tennessee. The Cincinnati area has been chosen by the North American Mission Board as one of its “Send North America” target areas. “The lostness is vast here,” observed Travis Smalley, pastor of Lakota Hills Baptist Church in West Chester. “There are a lot of people here not hearing the gospel,” agreed Steve Renfrow, one of four church planting strategists in the Greater Cincinnati area. “Many people are unchurched or under-churched,” he continued. He noted that in his associa-tion 50 percent of the churches average less than 50 in worship on Sunday morning and 80 per-cent average less than 125 in wor-ship.
A ChuRCh PLANTING FOCuS Ohio Baptist leaders agreed that the focus of the partnership needs to be on church planting. There are about 75 churches in the area now. Leaders in the Greater Cincinnati area have a goal of 202 churches by the year 2020. The Baptist State Conven-tion of Ohio has a similar goal —
2,020 churches by 2020. “It is going to take a God-giv-en church planting movement to reach those goals,” observed Bob Burton, Midwest regional mo-bilizer for the North American Mission Board. Several Ohio leaders noted that many of the Southern Bap-tist churches that were begun decades ago are now in commu-nities where the population has changed dramatically. “We need new churches that can bridge the gap in those com-munities that have changed,” ob-served David Coppedge, one of the church planting strategists. He acknowledged that many of the older churches in the city have not “transitioned to where we are now. “We need church plants that can impact what is the real Cin-cinnati,” Coppedge said.He noted that while they are getting suburban church plant-ers there is a real need for urban church planters “who are com-fortable working in a city.”Smalley, who is chairing the “Send Cincinnati” effort, agreed. “We are in a real need of churches being planted inside the beltway of the city,” he said, noting that in the city limits of Cincin-nati there is one Southern Baptist church for every 46,000 people. Another area where new church plants is desperately needed is for language groups.Because of its international air-port, “the world comes to Cincin-nati,” observed David Smith, pas-tor of Creek Road Baptist Church in Cincinnati. “For us to reach the world we don’t have to go far outside our property line,” he observed. Reaching ethnic groups is es-pecially important to Smalley. He noted there are 16 eth-nic groups in the church’s cur-rent ESL classes. “Our vision is to launch ethnic churches using ESL as a platform,” he shared.
STENGThENING ExISTING ChuRChES Another area of need is to help the existing churches in the Greater Cincinnati area, Ohio leaders agreed. The partnership with Ten-nessee needs both a focus on church planting and helping the churches that are already in the area, said Dennis Holmes, one of the church planting strategists in the Greater Cincinnati area.
“In Ohio we have been concerned about strengthen-ing churches so they can plant churches,” Holmes shared.He noted that was one reason why there was an intentional ef-fort to introduce Tennessee Bap-tists to both church planters and existing church pastors during the vision trip. “While we would like to see a church planting partnership, we also want (Tennessee) churches to partner with existing churches (in Ohio) to strengthen them and revitalize them,” Holmes said. Chuck Sams, a church plant-ing strategist who retired recent-ly, but is continuing to help in the initial stages of the partnership, agreed. “We have a number of small struggling churches that could benefit from missions teams which could strengthen them and broaden their vision and out-reach,” Sams observed. Tennessee Baptists “can help them become more effective,” he added.
BARRIERS TO CROSS Reaching people with the gosple in Ohio is not easy and there are barriers, leaders agreed. “When you cross the Ohio River, Southern Baptists are a mi-nority,” Holmes observed. He noted Southern Baptists have an “identity problem” in Cincinnati. He did note, however, that World Changers have helped to improve the image and identity of Southern Baptists in the area. Other barriers cited included negative attitudes toward religion in general, the strong influence
of Catholics, the age of existing churches, financial resources and more. Don Pierson, TBC prayer specialist who was part of the vi-sion team, put the perceived bar-riers into perspective. “There are no hindrances or barriers with God. They only be-come hindrances if you focus on them.”
TENNESSEANS RESPOND Randy Maxwell, director of missions for William Carey Baptist Association, based in Fayetteville, said he was excited about the partnership because of its proximity (about seven hours from Fayetteville). As he visited various areas in the region, Maxwell was im-pressed with the leaders he met. “They have a vision here. They need help to carry out that vision to reality. That’s where Tennessee Baptists can help,” he observed. “The vision tour was great,” observed Jeff Bowden, disciple-ship pastor with responsibilities for evangelism and missions at First Baptist Church, Lenoir City. “I was able to meet local as-sociational leaders, local pastors and church planters. I saw the greater Cincinnati area — neigh-borhoods, churches and people in the community.” Bowden cited the lostness of the city and the need to start new churches, and to encourage cur-rent churches. “Tennessee Baptists can and must respond to this great need of sharing the gospel of Christ to Cincinnati,” he said, noting that First Baptist Church of Lenoir City “will be responding.”
Ray Luck, director of mis-sions for McMinn-Meigs Baptist Association, said the partnership would offer “about anything a team would want to do” including leading Vacation Bible Schools, construction and more. Ron Davidson, director of missions for Shiloh Baptist As-sociation, was impressed about the potential for partnering with Baptists in the area. He pledged to ask every church in his association to select one of the church planters in the area to pray for him and to con-tact him to encourage him and to ask what they can do to help his ministry. Pierson acknowledged there were so many needs. “It is over-whelming to decide where to start a church,” he observed. Reagan Wagoner, missions and Next Generation pastor at Thompson Station Church in Thompson Station, noted the “Lord spoke to my heart about the lostness of the area” as he drove around Greater Cincinnati. He noted they were told that the majority of the existing churches had few if any members under the age of 40.“I felt the Lord saying as we drove, ‘Who will go and reach the 20-somethings and the 30-some-things and their children?’ ” Wagoner added that it was “encouraging to get to meet and hear from men who were seeing this city, just five hours north of us, as a mission field where there are people hurting and in need of our great God.” Wagoner said “they are spe-cifically praying for three church
Ministry Opportunities Abound
Kim Margrave, volunteer missions specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Convention, is working with four church planter strate-gists in the Greater Cincinnati area. From left are David Coppedge, Dennis Holmes, Margrave, Steve Renfrow and Chuck Sams. Sams recently retired, but is helping in the initial stages of the partnership which officially begins Jan. 1, 2013.
Ministry ~ Continued on Page 10
April 2012 | Ohio Baptist Messenger | Page 7
University Baptist Church, Middletown Ohio presents the 3rd Annual
Featured Speakers:David Jakes Administrative Director, The Association of Bap-tist Ministries with the Aging
Nancy Jakes President, Baptist Senior Life Ministries, Scotts-dale, AZ
Steve hopkins State Convention of Baptists in Ohio, Bible Teaching/Leadership Resource Group Leader
William Wilson, MD
Topics of Discussion:• The importance of senior adults in the Church
today• Ministries available for senior adults• Making connections between senior adults
and young people in your Church• Finishing Well
Registration will begin in April, please contact the Church at: [email protected] or call (513) 424-2612. upon registration indicate: Meal, no meal, wheelchair, deaf interpreter.
David Jakes Nancy Jakes Steve Hopkins William Wilson, MD
All senior adults and senior adult leaders are invited to attend this free event on Saturday, June 2. A lunch will be available for purchase at the event for only $10.00.
ROYAL AMBASSADOR CONGRESS APRIL 20 - 21, 2012 FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH 1167 Highview Drive FAIRBORN, OHIO
Prepare now to bring your Royal Ambassador Chapter to the annual Congress. Plenty of fellowship, messages from God’s Word, challenges, individual and chapter competitions, and the famous R. A. Lunch (Hot dog/ chips / drink)!
Cost:$10.00perperson
STATEWIDEMISSIONPROJECT:COLLECTRECYCLEABLESANDBRINGTHEFUNDSTOCONGRESS.TRACK YOUR POUNDAGE SO WE CAN RECOGNIZE THE CHAPTERS FOR THEIR EFFORTS. MONEY WILL BE DONATED TO A LOCAL FOOD BANK. MEDALS AND PATCHES WILL BE AWARDED.
CONTACT BOB ANDES (937) 581—1239 FOR MORE DETAILS
that required passage stamps from the different display areas. Anyone who collected all seven stamps received a free gift. After the Open House, ev-eryone gathered in the church sanctuary for a Worship Rally featuring Jeff Slaughter who led the music and motions of all this year’s VBS songs. Doug Mor-gan, Associate Pastor at Edge-wood Baptist Church in Tren-ton, did a monologue giving a brief description of each day’s theme. Dwayne Lee gave out an assortment of VBS material for door prizes. The Rally was a high energy time of praising God with over 300 people in at-tendance. This is Jeff Slaughter’s last year working with Lifeway VBS. He has been composing and choreographing all the songs for VBS for the past 16 years, writing 130 songs during those years. Jeff sat at the piano and sang some of his favorite songs from the past 16 years. We watched a video tribute to Jeff and gave him some gifts to re-member Ohio Baptists. Among those gifts were, of course, an OSu shirt and hat! Jeff mentioned that he looked up the significance of the number 16 and found that it means “achievement” and also it was the amount of time it took for all four of the Gos-pels to be written. Jeff thanked the Lord and Lifeway, “for the wonderful opportunity and privilege I have had to be able to serve in this way and for al-lowing me to write His Gospel in these songs during these 16 years.” When asked what Ohio meant to Jeff, he replied, “I have very dear friends here who have prayed for me, encouraged me, and loved me since the begin-ning of my journey with VBS. Probably the closest friends I’ve made through my experience with VBS have been Ohio peo-ple.” What a wonderful com-pliment to Ohio Baptists from a well-loved and respected man of God! Another highlight of the Worship Rally was a surprise celebration for Margaret Wil-liams, member of FBC Vanda-lia who has served in Ohio VBS for 30 years. Margaret’s family came from Aurora and Dayton to surprise her and participate in the celebration. We conclud-ed the evening with a reception for Jeff and Margaret. Jeff signed autographs and had his picture taken with attendees. Then ev-
eryone crashed to catch a good night’s sleep. By 7:00 Saturday morning Highland Baptist Church was again buzzing with workers get-ting ready for the day of work-shops. By 9:00 AM there were 420 people registered. The day was packed with workshops for VBS Directors, Pastors, Craft Leaders, Mission Leaders, Teachers, and more. The whole event concluded with a drama and a 100 voice Children’s Choir singing all the VBS songs for this year. The Children’s Choir consisted of children from several churches in the Metro Columbus Associa-tion. During practice that after-noon, Jeff Slaughter sang some of the songs with the children, posed for pictures and signed autographs. The children were very excited to see Jeff in person and to be able to talk to him. Some of them couldn’t believe that he was “here in real life!” It certainly was the highlight of the weekend for those children. Flyers Pizza did an out-standing job providing all the food for VBSI and the reception. They also held a drawing for one church to receive free pizzas for their VBS Family Night. The winning church was Covenant Church in Galloway. The Bible Teaching and Leadership Resource Group and the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio would like to thank ev-eryone who helped make this year’s VBSI a wonderful suc-cess. Thank you to all of you who participated by teaching a workshop, to those of you who helped set up and tear down, to Lifeway Christian Bookstore for being on site to sell VBS materi-als, to Highland Baptist Church for turning their building over to us for three days, and a big thank you to all of you who at-tended the event. We pray that your VBS this year will reach many, many children for our Lord.
Jeff with 100 voice Children’s Choir
VBS ~ Continued from Page 1
Partnering with the Bible Teaching/Leadership Resource Group - a Cooperative Program Ministry of Mission Ohio
Page 8 | Ohio Baptist Messenger | April 2012
L to R: Cheryl Ellis, Jean DiFilippo, Norma McMurry
Women’s Missions & Ministries By: Jean DiFilippoWomen’s Ministry Direc-tor, Scioto Valley Baptist Association
The Scioto Valley Baptist Association host-ed the Southeast Ohio Women’s Spring Retreat “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” on Saturday, March 3, at First Baptist Church in Athens. Ninety-eight women from more than twenty-five churches at-tended. Men from FBC, Athens, First Southern in Pomeroy and First South-ern in Southpoint parked cars and served lunch. Keynote speaker, Norma McMur-ry, challenged us to look at Jesus’ power and glory. Worship leader, Cheryl El-
lis, stirred all of our hearts with her solo “His Life for Mine”, and storyteller Donna Wilson filled the church with laughter as she shared during the breakout session. State WMu President Joanne Hopkins brought greetings from WMu and recipients of the Joan White Scholarship Fund
shared reports of their recent mission trip to Haiti. All in all, the day was very uplift-ing and encouraging as we were all challenged to continually “Turn Our Eyes upon Jesus.” 2013 Southeast Ohio Women’s Spring Retreat will be March 2. Please mark your calendar and plan to join us.
BLOG www.scbo.org/wmm
Date Event
Upcoming Events
April 21 Northwest Spring RetreatApril 28 Beautiful FeetMay 5 Metro Columbus Spring RetreatMay 18-19 SLBA Spring RetreatJune 11-15 Kids Kamp 1June 18-22 Kids Kamp 2July 25-August 3 More than GoldJuly 30-August 3 Kids Kamp 3August 6-10 Missions CampSeptember 14-15 Fall Retreat & Mission CelebrationSeptember 16-23 Ray Roberts State Missions OfferingOctober 12-13 Mother Daughter RetreatNovember 8 Pastor’s Wives LuncheonDecember 2-9 Lottie Moon International Missions Offering
those who bring the Gospel of
peace...
Beautiful Feet
Ohio WMU President Joanne Hopkins
L to R Joan White Scholarship Fund Recipients from FBC Groveport, on mission to Haiti, Nancy Wilkerson and Dawn Bellamy Also pictured Randa LeMasters
Joyful Confections: Fudge & Scones, Grand Rapids, Ohio. Donations to Joan White Scholarship
Lunch Fellowship
Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus
Join us On Facebook! OwN-Ohio women’s Network
Story Teller, Donna Wilson
April 2012 | Ohio Baptist Messenger | Page 9
April 2012 ~ A prayer guide for remembering the Horn of Africa Nam id velit non risus consequat iaculis.
Millions of people are dying without knowing Jesus and destined to an eternity in hell. Please do your part this month, spend a few minutes each day interceding for the people that live in the Horn of Africa that do not yet know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Based on Isaiah 9:2, pray that God would bring them out of the darkness and into His light.
1 ~ Over 100 million lost people are in the Horn. Ask how God will use you to intercede for them.
2 ~ Pray that the Global Body of Christ around the World will take time to pray for the lost in the Horn Africa.
3 ~ Pray for many born again Orthodox clergy who meet in secret to study God’s Word, instead of tradition.
4 ~ Pray that these Ethiopian clergy will effectively share God’s truth with others and teach it at church.
5 ~ Pray for God to protect them from being kicked out of the Local Church & that opposition would fail.
6 ~ As believers celebrate ‘Good Friday’, pray that Muslim believers would acknowledge the death of Christ.
7 ~ Pray that field workers would not get caught up in ‘good things’ but see how God desires them to spend their time.
8 ~ Pray that as locals hear the “Easter Story”, they will believe and desire to know Christ.
9 ~ Pray that as one person comes to know God, that they can connect with others to form a church.
10 ~ Pray that others would answer the call to GO serve Him and to help in the ‘harvest fields’.
11 ~ Many people in the Horn of Africa cannot read. Pray that the Bible can be put in audio forms.
12 ~ Pray that each time truth is shared that God’s Word would not return void.
13 ~ Pray that workers can learn language deep enough to share Biblical truth and answer tough questions.
14 ~ Pray that God would speak to people of the Horn through dreams and visions that will lead to Him.
15 ~ Pray that many from every tribe, nation, people, and language would come to know Christ.
16 ~ Pray that God would open doors to places that are currently closed.
17 ~ Pray that Africans would see that you can’t EARN your way to paradise, but to trust in Jesus!
18 ~ Pray that workers would step out of their comfort zones and meet people where they are.
19 ~ Pray that local believers in Ethiopia and Djibouti will be bold in sharing their witness with others.
20 ~ Pray that believers every-where would financially give so that workers can remain on the field.
21 ~ Pray that ALL believers would see it as their calling to share the good news with those around them.
22 ~ Pray that the projects done in the Horn will be effective in providing opportunities to share the gospel.
23 ~ Pray that as local believers are persecuted, they can stand firm in their faith.
24 ~ Pray that local believers would learn to love their enemies and share with those around them.
25 ~ Pray that God would draw many to Himself from across the Horn and many would believe.
26 ~ Pray that workers & local believers alike would hunger for God’s word and hide it in their hearts.
27 ~ Pray that new believers would abide in Jesus and bear much fruit for Him.
28 ~ Pray that each time seeds are planted, they would fall on good soil and be able to grow.
29 ~ Pray that small groups would learn Biblical truths (abide in the word, pray in faith, share the gospel, and grow in the Lord)
30 ~ Pray that God would do the seemingly impossible and a Church Planting Movement would break out in the Horn of Africa!
IMPORTANT NOTE:
The goal is for ONE MILLION people praying this month for the Horn of Africa. Thank you for doing your part! Help track the
number by logging in your participation at … www.prayforthehorn.com
April 2012 ~ A prayer guide for remembering the Horn of Africa Nam id velit non risus consequat iaculis.
Millions of people are dying without knowing Jesus and destined to an eternity in hell. Please do your part this month, spend a few minutes each day interceding for the people that live in the Horn of Africa that do not yet know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Based on Isaiah 9:2, pray that God would bring them out of the darkness and into His light.
1 ~ Over 100 million lost people are in the Horn. Ask how God will use you to intercede for them.
2 ~ Pray that the Global Body of Christ around the World will take time to pray for the lost in the Horn Africa.
3 ~ Pray for many born again Orthodox clergy who meet in secret to study God’s Word, instead of tradition.
4 ~ Pray that these Ethiopian clergy will effectively share God’s truth with others and teach it at church.
5 ~ Pray for God to protect them from being kicked out of the Local Church & that opposition would fail.
6 ~ As believers celebrate ‘Good Friday’, pray that Muslim believers would acknowledge the death of Christ.
7 ~ Pray that field workers would not get caught up in ‘good things’ but see how God desires them to spend their time.
8 ~ Pray that as locals hear the “Easter Story”, they will believe and desire to know Christ.
9 ~ Pray that as one person comes to know God, that they can connect with others to form a church.
10 ~ Pray that others would answer the call to GO serve Him and to help in the ‘harvest fields’.
11 ~ Many people in the Horn of Africa cannot read. Pray that the Bible can be put in audio forms.
12 ~ Pray that each time truth is shared that God’s Word would not return void.
13 ~ Pray that workers can learn language deep enough to share Biblical truth and answer tough questions.
14 ~ Pray that God would speak to people of the Horn through dreams and visions that will lead to Him.
15 ~ Pray that many from every tribe, nation, people, and language would come to know Christ.
16 ~ Pray that God would open doors to places that are currently closed.
17 ~ Pray that Africans would see that you can’t EARN your way to paradise, but to trust in Jesus!
18 ~ Pray that workers would step out of their comfort zones and meet people where they are.
19 ~ Pray that local believers in Ethiopia and Djibouti will be bold in sharing their witness with others.
20 ~ Pray that believers every-where would financially give so that workers can remain on the field.
21 ~ Pray that ALL believers would see it as their calling to share the good news with those around them.
22 ~ Pray that the projects done in the Horn will be effective in providing opportunities to share the gospel.
23 ~ Pray that as local believers are persecuted, they can stand firm in their faith.
24 ~ Pray that local believers would learn to love their enemies and share with those around them.
25 ~ Pray that God would draw many to Himself from across the Horn and many would believe.
26 ~ Pray that workers & local believers alike would hunger for God’s word and hide it in their hearts.
27 ~ Pray that new believers would abide in Jesus and bear much fruit for Him.
28 ~ Pray that each time seeds are planted, they would fall on good soil and be able to grow.
29 ~ Pray that small groups would learn Biblical truths (abide in the word, pray in faith, share the gospel, and grow in the Lord)
30 ~ Pray that God would do the seemingly impossible and a Church Planting Movement would break out in the Horn of Africa!
IMPORTANT NOTE:
The goal is for ONE MILLION people praying this month for the Horn of Africa. Thank you for doing your part! Help track the
number by logging in your participation at … www.prayforthehorn.com
April 2012 ~ A prayer guide for remembering the horn of Africa
Women’s Missions & Ministries
Page 10 | Ohio Baptist Messenger | April 2012
ThuRSDAY EVENING, APRIL 5Worship and Message by Carl Kerby with Reason for Hope.
FRIDAYWorship and Message by Jeff Smith, Youth Pastor of Clough Pike Baptist Church. Youthcanchoosefrom3ministrytreks:• KelliHundley-BlockPartiesDoneRight• CarlKerby-WorldView/ Relativism/Apologetics • NealMcKinney-GettingRadical (Faith Worth Dying For) • AmberGallagher-PurityGirls• AmberGallagher-PurityGuys• KennyCousar-NewBelievers101• JeffSmith-AreyouDevelopingStudents/YourStudentMinistry(adultsonly)
FRIDAY AFTERNOON Community Outreach - An invitation to a community wide showing of the “Passion of the Christ”
Learn how your youth group can participate by calling 513-724-7182 or e-mail [email protected]
planters we connected with in Cincinnati, and asking the Lord how we could come alongside them financially or by sending volunteers to help them as they get started. “We are also open in any place we partner or send teams to the fact that God may call some of our own people to go and start something new. “We are praying that the Lord would continually give us fresh vision to reach the lost, and part of that fresh vision right now is Cincinnati.” As they were driving they came across “area after area that only had one Southern Baptist church for every 10,000-15,000 people. We are praying that God would use us to bring change to that state,” Wagoner said. Jackie Suggs, a layman from First Baptist Church, Selmer, called the vision trip “an eye-opening experience.” Suggs noted there are a lot of diverse areas in the Cincinnati area, but the residents all share a common bond — “They all need Jesus.” Kim Margrave, TBC volun-teer missions specialist, said the opportunity “is great for Tennes-see Baptists to serve in southwest Ohio. “Cincinnati has some great church planters to work alongside of to encourage and strengthen their work. Many of these church plants are in difficult areas. We also have the opportu-nity to serve existing churches to reach their communities through various outreach ministries,” she said. Dennis Holmes is excited about the possibilities of the part-nership. He noted that short-term missions groups have come to the Cincinnati area for a number of years. Holmes stressed there is nothing wrong with that and short-term projects will still be needed. “But we are looking for on-going partnerships,” he said, noting that he envisions Tennes-see Baptist churches adopting a church planter in the area and helping him in his ministry on an ongoing basis. “You can have a stake in a church planter’s life. Be an en-courager. Connect with the planter. Make an investment in him and his church,” Holmes suggested. “It makes a difference.”
Ministry ~ Continued from Page 6
April 5, 6, 7 in Greenfield, Ohio Sponsored by Southern hills Baptist Association and SCBO
In the opening decades of the twen-tieth century, leaders of Southern Bap-tist Convention ministries and leaders of state Baptist ministries made frequent
financial appeals to Baptist churches for a wide range of ministry needs. The churches being asked to fund the ministries of the Southern Baptist Con-vention were the same churches being asked
to support the ministries of individual state Baptist
conventions. Inundated with so many re-quests from so many legitimate ministries, pastors and churches alike grew weary. Recognizing the drain these requests made on the churches, our Baptist forbears hammered out a plan that both recognized and sought to address the problem of so many special offerings. The plan was re-markably simple – (1) individuals give their tithes and offerings to their local churches; (2) the churches would forward a percentage of their contributions to their state Baptist convention for ministry in the state; (3) the state convention would then forward a percentage of its funds to pro-vide support for SBC ministries. Through a unified, cooperative pro-gram of giving, both sets of ministries could be funded – state ministry needs and ministry endeavors of the Southern Bap-tist Convention. In 1925, this cooperative
venture between churches, state conven-tions, and the Southern Baptist Conven-tion was given the name Cooperative Pro-gram. By definition, the “Cooperative Pro-gram is Southern Baptists’ unified plan of giving through which cooperating South-ern Baptist churches give a percentage of their undesignated receipts in support of their respective state convention and the Southern Baptist Convention missions and ministries.” As faithful stewards give of their tithes and offerings through their local churches, they partner with other Southern Baptist Christians to accomplish Kingdom-sized ministries. Two of the world’s largest mission-ary-sending agencies – the International Mission Board of the SBC and the North American Mission Board of the SBC – are equipped and resourced to deploy more than ten thousand missionaries across the nation and around the world; Tens of thousands of college stu-dents are reached with and for the Gospel through Baptist Collegiate Ministry, the
largest campus ministry organization in America; Hundreds of new churches are planted annually in major cities and among mul-tiple ethnic, racial, and language groups in the united States through a collaboration of local church, associational, state con-vention, and SBC efforts; More than sixteen thousand future church leaders are trained in the largest theological seminary consortium in the united States; Thousands of children are fed and housed through children’s homes minis-tries in multiple states; More than sixteen hundred mobile disaster relief teams, scattered across the states, constituting the third largest re-lief organization in the united States, are trained and on ready-alert for deployment whenever a natural disaster strikes the united States. The synergy of cooperative ministry is incalculable. As Nehemiah’s story shows, we each can accomplish so much more when we work together – cooperating for the purpose of penetrating lostness, mak-ing disciples, and evangelizing the nations with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Roger (Sing) OldhamVice President for Convention Communications and RelationsSouthern Baptist Convention Executive Committee
Cooperation and the Southern Baptist Convention
Oldham
April 2012 | Ohio Baptist Messenger | Page 11
By Planter Gene Smith
As Christ proclaimed in Mark 10:14, “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.” Children and families are the future of the church. As we reach out into our communities to win those for Christ we need to put the family unit at the forefront. Children today are being flooded with so many worldly influences that are constantly competing for their attention. As the church, we are going to have to rise to that same level and compete for their attention even more. With a mas-sive influx of technology, children are enticed to have the latest and greatest this or that which in turn they define their lives by these worldly goods and influences. We need to take the gospel to them and pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to influence them that what they do with Jesus will be the most important decision that they will ever make in their lives! We, at Cold Creek Community Church, a new church start-up in Castalia, Ohio, believe that reach-ing the family for Christ is one of the most vital parts in fulfilling our God-given vision. We have begun to fulfill that vision! On Sunday, January 29th we bap-tized two new converts into the family of God. First, was my son Samuel Smith who had made a profes-sion of faith in Christ in December and second, Annie
Wadsworth, who made a profession of faith in Christ in October, 2010, in her Sunday School Class at Port Clinton Baptist Church by the witness of Mrs. Mayan-na Young. We are so grateful to be part of the kingdom of God by baptizing these two precious souls into our Lord’s kingdom. Please pray for us at Cold Creek Community Church that we continue to reach the lost for Christ, especially through local family units. We have had a great start not only through these baptisms, but through initial Bible study. We had our first meeting on January 5th with 12 in attendance and have been averaging (approx.) 9 every week thereafter. There are several events that we have planned for 2012 includ-
ing GPS door hangers on every door in the commu-nity, Backyard Bible Club, a sports camp and a block party. Please pray and consider supporting us in any way that God would lead you or your local church. We will especially treasure your prayers! If you would be interested in serving on our intercessory prayer team, please contact us at 419-680-4084 or 419-684-8044. This new work is made possible by the Coop-erative Program gifts of Southern Baptist churches as well as the Ray Roberts State Missions Offerings. The church planter is Gene Smith and the sponsoring churches are First Baptist Church Clyde, Ohio, and East Fremont Baptist Church in Northcoast Baptist Association.
NEW CHURCH START: Cold Creek Community Church
SChEDuLE: 8:00 - 9:00 AM ~ Continental Breakfast and Check-in 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM ~ Programming including lunch
whAT CAN YOu ExPECT: • Exercises You Can Do• Incredible Weight Loss Stories from Real People• Practical Information on Nutrition and Health• Motivational Messages for Growing Spiritually• Lunch and Snacks
COST: $39**If registered by 4/5/12. $49 after that date.
LOCATION:West Side Baptist Church 154 Gordon Ave Hamilton, OH CONTACT: Karen Rhodus Email: [email protected]
GuEST SPEAKERS:Carole Lewis - First Place 4 Health National DirectorVicki Heath - First Place 4 Health Associate Director and ACE-certified Fitness Professional & Others!
Better Together ~ OhioSaturday, april 21st, 2012
9:00 aM – 3:00 PMSpend a day focused on how to get healthy physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually with First Place 4 Health.
Do you crave balance in your life?
Have you vowed to “get it together” this year?
Are you in a funk and need some encouragement?
Do you want to live longer and stronger?
Want to know about food and exercise that will work with your lifestyle?
Desperate to lose weight and keep it off forever?
Join us for a day of hope and “how to” for balanced living and sustainable weight loss. This event will introduce you to the concept of whole-person wellness, and reinforce not just physical health, but Total Health!
Join us! Because, we really are...better together!
FP4h has arranged for a reduced rate of $89 at the following hotels:Best option for those coming in from the Dayton Airport or from North on I-75 (29 minutes from the church):
Fairfield Inn Middletown 6750 Roosevelt Parkway Middletown, Ohio 45044 (513) 424-5444 http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/mwdfi-fairfield-inn-middletown*Rate does not include tax. Tax is currently 12.5%. Please men-tion West Side Baptist when making reservation. Best option for those coming from the Cincinnati Airport or from South on I-75 (21 minutes from church):
Springhill Suites by Marriott 12001 Chase Plaza Drive Cincinnati, Ohio 45240 (513) 825-9035 www.springhillsuites.com/cvgfp *Rate does not include tax. Tax is currently 16%. Please mention West Side Baptist to receive reduced rate.
Partnering with the Bible Teaching/Leadership Resource Group - a Cooperative Program Ministry of Mission Ohio
Page 12 | Ohio Baptist Messenger | April 2012
He is Risen “He is not here; He is risen,” proclaimed the angel on the day of Christ’s resurrection. We con-tinue to proclaim the same message today, because
people for whom Christ died and rose again still need to hear and obey this message. Addi-tional media and venues expand our delivery of this message, but the message remains the same. It remains the same because the need of all humanity remains the same, and the remedy for humanity’s need remains the same. All of humanity has sinned against holy God. This sinful re-
bellion against God resulted in every human’s judg-ment and damnation. Therefore, everyone is spiritu-ally lost and separated from God. Death is the penalty for sin. It is the unavoidable result, because when one sins against God that person walks away from life. Death is the only other path available when one de-parts from life. The ultimate end for this condition is hell. All who die physically without a remedy for their spiritually lost condition will remain separated forever from God in hell. The remedy for all humanity is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus: the Gospel or good news. Je-sus died for us. He took our place and suffered for us. He paid the penalty in full. No one can add nor subtract from the payment by Jesus for our sins. His burial veri-fies that He really did die. The angelic announcement of
His actual, physical resurrection verifies that the Father accepted the payment by Jesus. Had Jesus not been an acceptable and sufficient offering for our sin, He would remain in the tomb to this day. However, He arose. We know that our sin debt has been paid. All the claims and promises of Jesus can be accepted and trusted for His resurrection verifies that He is the Christ, the son of the living God: Redeemer, Savior, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Hallelujah! Since the only remedy for the universal problem of humanity’s sin problem is the Gospel. All of hu-manity needs to hear the message. As believers in the Gospel, that is our mission and ministry. We are am-bassadors of Christ with the mission from our Master to tell the good news to the whole world. For those of us in Ohio, the world begins in our state but it does not end there. We share the responsibility for telling the whole world. The 2020 vision for Ohio Southern Baptists di-rects us to concentrate on Ohio. Because He is risen, let us press toward the mark of having one million members in 2,020 Southern Baptist congregations by the year 2020. While we are primarily responsible for Ohio, that does not excuse us from the responsibility of telling the whole world about Jesus. God gave Southern Bap-tists a unique plan to fulfill this responsibility: the Cooperative Program. Since 1925, Southern Baptists have been able to share in taking the Gospel to the whole world through the Cooperative Mission Pro-gram. Tithes and offerings from members of a South-ern Baptist church support the ministry of their local church. Their local church sends a percentage of their undesignated receipts to the Cooperative Program.
The Cooperative Mission Program funds the work of the state convention and world-wide missions beyond the state convention. Overseas and home missions have occupied the pri-ority positions for Cooperative Mission Program min-istries beyond the state convention. Today, the Coop-erative Mission Program provides the backbone support for Southern Baptist missionaries in over 130 countries around the world. Here at home, the Cooperative Mis-sion Program enables missionaries to minister in every state and territory of the united States. The Cooperative Mission Program enables Southern Baptists to take the Gospel around the world every day of the year. Other ministries receive Cooperative Mission Program support. These ministries support our world-wide mission thrust: executive committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, mission boards, seminaries, and several commissions. While Southern Baptists are doing many godly and righteous minis-tries through the auspices of the Cooperative Mission Program, the main purpose remains taking the Gos-pel to the whole world. As we celebrate the Resurrection this season, let us renew our commitment to taking the Gospel to the whole world: Ohio and beyond. April is designated as Cooperative Program month. Please take this op-portunity to share our global mission vision and plan with your church during the weeks ahead. When your church engages budget planning, please pray earnestly about increasing your participation in global missions through your Cooperative Mission Program giving. Let us Press toward the Mark of global missions, be-cause hE IS RISEN!
P R E S S T O WA R d T H E M A R K
Jack Kwok, Ph.D.Executive Director-TreasurerState Convention of Baptists in Ohio
For information about the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio and more Baptist Press news, go to our
website www.scbo.org.
If you are not a Christian, have never surrendered your will to the Lord Jesus, let me share briefly how you can make this life changing decision. GoD WaNtS You SaVED.
First, you must believe that God loves you and wants you to have peace in your heart and an everlasting life (John 3:16).
Second, you must recognize that you are a sinner, that you have done things which have displeased God and that you have separated yourself from Him (Romans 3:23; 6:23).
Third, you must believe that Jesus came to this earth, was actually God in the flesh, lived a perfect life, and yet went to a cruel cross, dying for your sins, paying once and for all the penalty of sin (I Peter 2:24). However, it’s not enough just to know these three things. Many of us knew them for years before we ever gave Jesus our lives.
Fourth, you must personally ask Jesus to come into your life and forgive you of your sins (Revelation 3:20).
You can pray this prayer now and if you mean it with all of your heart, Jesus will come in just like He said. He cannot lie.
Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. I’m really sorry for my sins, Lord. I ask you now, Lord Jesus, to come into my heart, forgive me of my sins, take control of my life, and make me the kind of person You want me to be. I now receive You into my heart. Thank You for coming in. I will follow You all the days of my life. In Your name I pray, Amen.
How to become a
Christianhow to submit Church News
Send all church news and information to Linnett Snodgrass at [email protected]
