Today’s From the States features items from:
Northwest Baptist Witness (Oregon and Texas partnership)
The Baptist Messenger (Oklahoma)
Biblical Recorder (North Carolina and New York partnership)
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Texas students spurred
to outreach in Northwest
By Morgan Little
PORTLAND, Ore. (Northwest Baptist Witness) — Clayton Bullion, the Baptist Student Ministries director at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, TX, and his wife Bethany traveled to Portland in summer 2015 to visit five of their “Go Now” missionaries who were serving with the Northwest Collegiate Ministries (NCM) for the summer.
Since that encountered, something much bigger has emerged.
“Our hope was to encourage our team, visit as many campuses as we could, and get a ‘feel’ for college ministry there and see if there was anything we could do to help,” Bullion said. “We were not prepared for what we encountered.”
From Seattle down to Eugene, Ore., they visited 12 campuses and realized thousands of university students were going through school without being engaged with the Gospel.
“You can’t walk among lost and unengaged students like that and it not shake you to your core,” he recalled. “We sat at a coffee shop on Portland State University’s Campus our last day in town with Ken (Harmon) and were speechless. We told him, ‘Ken, we don’t know what to do. We don’t know whether God is asking us to move up here next week or send everybody we know.'”
Harmon, director of Northwest Collegiate Ministries, recalls talking with the Bullions in the coffee shop.
“Clayton and Bethany arrived in Portland all starry-eyed, filled with youthful zeal. We talked about how they could be most effective,” he said. “We talked about whether they needed to be in the northwest or stay in Texas to mobilize students and other workers to come to the northwest. It takes a courageous couple who will submit their personal desire and passions to the Lord to be more influential in kingdom work.”
Clayton and Bethany returned home determined to prepare workers for Oregon. They began to pray that God would prepare the hearts of Tarleton students and local churches and that they would catch the vision God had given them to reach the northwest. From those prayers, a partnership with the NCM was born.
Since June 2015, Tarleton State has sent 43 students and staff to work with NCM on 10 college campuses across the northwest. Local Texas churches have been sending students, members, staff and resources as well.
In November, a team of 14 Tarleton students and local church members and staff were in Seattle to provide meals for an NCM fall event.
This past August, NCM sent its first team of nine to Texas to serve alongside Tarleton during its first week of classes.
Matt Munger, NCM director at Oregon State University in Corvallis, brought one of his students to Tarleton in August to help serve.
“I caught a renewed vision for my campus at Oregon State,” Munger said. “Ministry here has been slow and difficult these past two years with little student involvement from the student leaders I have had. To see students not only leading other students, but motivating each other to work hard and share the Gospel during ‘harvest season’ was reinvigorating to watch.”
During their week at Tarleton, Matt and the rest of the NCM team spent time collecting spiritual surveys on campus, passing out BSM information and engaging new students on campus. They also selflessly put themselves behind the scenes at certain events to allow for Tarleton students more face time with their peers.
“This was an extremely humbling week,” Bullion said. “NCM came in and worked hard and loved our students well. They served and took the behind the scene jobs so our students would be freed up to engage their peers. They were ready to serve and constantly asking questions trying to learn. It was an overwhelming experience to see their eagerness to serve in every aspect.”
With a partnership that is now about 18 months old, Tarleton and NCM students have formed encouraging friendships that are not limited by thousands of miles.
Garrett Harmon, a student at the University of Oregon, enjoyed getting to serve alongside his Texas friends on their campus: “It was really encouraging just being able to work alongside so many other college-aged Christians. With an NCM of only three other college-age students on leadership, it is great to work and talk with other student believers.”
During their week at Tarleton, NCM helped reach about 3,255 students of the school’s 8,800 students.
The Tarleton BSM has begun a 2025 vision, praying that 20 Tarleton graduates will move over the next 10 years to the northwest after graduation to work among college students. They hope to mark 20 northwest campuses off the “unengaged campus” list. Three Tarleton students are preparing to move to the northwest after graduating in May.
“Our partnership with NCM has given my wife and I a path to do college ministry after I graduate in May,” said senior Wesley Fuller. “We found a calling to an unreached people group that we get to go and serve.”
The sharing of ideas, students and leaders with one another to see an even greater impact in their ministry fields is something that’s benefitted both Tarleton and NCM. Tarleton BSM associate director Warren Ethridge emphasized its importance.
“Different things work in different places,” said Ethridge. “But just as scientists know that sharing their data helps advance the whole of science forward, collegiate workers must share the what, why, and how behind their practices for the advancement of the kingdom.”
Visiting the northwest and spending time on their campuses has encouraged Tarleton to constantly pray for their friends in the northwest.
“Our NCM friends serve on hard campuses,” Bullion said. “Many of them have been doing this longer than us, they pray more than us, work harder than us, and they are not seeing the fruit that we are seeing at Tarleton. It is very humbling. It makes me give thanks with more vigor and pray with more ferocity for the northwest campuses.”
A year and a half ago God began to answer the prayers of Portland State University NCM director Miriam Rainwater, by giving Tarleton a vision to partner with NCM to reach the unreached of the northwest.
“I think the biggest way our partnership has affected me personally is knowing that God is preparing people to be future laborers in this city,” said Rainwater. “I have been in the northwest for four years and have been continually praying for more leaders who can reach the unreached campuses in the Portland area.
Spending time with Tarleton students planning to move to the northwest when they graduate “gives me hope for the university students in the greater Portland area,” she added. “God is sending laborers to precious fields!”
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This article appeared in the Northwest Baptist Witness, (gonbw.org), newsjournal of the Northwest Baptist Convention. Morgan Little is a Go Now Campus Missionary Intern at Tarleton State University BSM.
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Okla. Baptists share their
testimonies through letters
By Emily Howsden
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (The Baptist Messenger) — What is a Legacy Letter? It is a proclamation of the legacy the Lord has given to believers in Christ, written down on paper or online that makes it easier to verbalize their story in a concise manner.
Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma (BGCO) Evangelism Specialist Mike Napier, explained Legacy letters saying, “A Legacy Letter is you putting your life story on paper, what your life was like before you accepted Christ, how you had a life-changing experience with Jesus Christ, how that came about and what your life has been like since that point.”
For those in all stages of life, a Legacy Letter is a way of telling people the Good News and how hearing and applying that Good News to their lives has affected them. Whether their story is at the beginning, still being written or nearing the end, all are encouraged to participate.
“The Legacy Letter is a part of the Sunday School emphasis for 2017 — The 3 by 3 Evangelism Emphasis,” explained Napier. “Sunday School (members) will be doing their legacy letters in Sunday school classes and sharing their letters with each other.”
Leaders of the Legacy Letter initiative as a part of 2017 Sunday School Evangelism Emphasis include Anthony L. Jordan, BGCO executive director-treasurer, Bob Mayfield, BGCO Sunday School and adult discipleship specialist and Napier.
“The Legacy Letters are a large aspect of Dr. Jordan’s heart. He wants to see Oklahomans sharing their faith with their neighbors and co-workers. Writing your Legacy letter could be a big part of that,” said Napier.
Those who put Legacy Letters into motion did so with the intention of members of Sunday School classes getting to know each other deeper, rather than on a superficial level.
“We can go to Sunday School with people for years, and we never really know the people, their story, their journey or their legacy,” said Napier, “so I think this is a great opportunity to get to know each other better, deeper.”
In addition to sharing Legacy Letters in the Sunday School setting, those who write their letter are strongly encouraged to share with any and everyone.
One area those who write letters are specifically encouraged to share is within their own family.
“We can look to our parents and grandparents, and say, ‘Wow your life has been so easy,’ and that’s not always the case,” exclaimed Napier, “But part of what your life has been like since you accepted Christ is a part of our legacy. A lot of people don’t know that our dependency on God has molded and shaped who we are today.”
Napier cited 2 Timothy 1:5 that says, “Clearly recalling your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois, then in your mother Eunice and that I am convinced is in you also.”
Napier pointed out in this passage how Paul is encouraging Timothy to share his faith, not be ashamed of the Gospel and to boldly proclaim it while living a life of sincere faith, as those in his family before him did.
“I think that is the definition of a Legacy letter, passing on our faith from generation to generation,” Napier said. “If you take time and write it out and put it in an electric version, to me that’s powerful. The power of handing down the legacy of spirituality and that faith walk we have from generation to generation.”
Jordan, Mayfield and Napier encourage believers to write down their legacy where they are at this moment. Letters will change over time, as faith walks go through spiritual valleys and mountains, but those times build legacies that can always be added to or re-written.
“I really hope Sunday School classes will embrace this as a vital part of the 3 by 3 Evangelism Emphasis of Sunday School,” said Napier, “I appreciate Bob Mayfield and his heart for evangelism that we’ve seen through this process.”
Visit 3×3.reconnectss.com to order resources.
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This article appeared in The Baptist Messenger (baptistmessenger.com), newsjournal of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. Emily Howsden writes for The Baptist Messenger.
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N.C. Baptists send coats,
gospel and love to N.Y.
By Mike Creswell
BROOKLYN, N.Y. (Baptist State Convention of North Carolina) — A woman wept as she showed off the nearly new coat sent by North Carolina Baptists.
“It’s beautiful!” she said through her tears.
It took the promise of a warm coat to draw her into Graffiti 3 Church, a new Baptist church plant in Brownsville, a high-crime, high-poverty neighborhood in eastern Brooklyn, one of New York City’s five boroughs.
Pastor Norm Cannada, church members and a team of students from Fruitland Baptist Bible College in Hendersonville, greeted local residents outside and sent them upstairs to look through tables covered with coats. The locals left with coats, Gospel tracts and copies of the 24-language Jesus DVD. Many had heard the Gospel and seen Christian compassion expressed.
“Graffiti 3 had a great day with the coat giveaway,” Cannada said. “I had people sharing how much they appreciated the way our team from North Carolina and here at Graffiti 3 prayed for them. Thank you so much for allowing us to participate.”
Six Fruitland students who worked at Graffiti 3 were led by Ben Tackett, librarian and professor who teaches Christian literature, computers in research, Greek and Hebrew.
“I personally prayed with four different people and talked to probably 30 to 35 people,” said second-year student Byron Allison of Olin. “It was an excellent experience.”
The Brownsville scene was repeated across New York City on Saturday, Dec. 3, in the sixth annual Coats for the City outreach, a ministry carried out in partnership between the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina and the Metropolitan New York Baptist Association (MNYBA).
Twelve churches, mostly recent church plants, distributed about 5,000 coats collected by N.C. Baptist churches and shipped to New York for the ministry. A 13th church in the Bronx will distribute coats later this month.
“Coats for the City has been a great example of how partnership with multiple churches and volunteers can help us here in the city to multiply our contacts and Gospel conversations and as a result, greatly strengthen our church-planting efforts,” said Kelli Creswell, staff member of MNYBA, based in Manhattan.
The association includes some 250 churches of many cultures and languages across greater New York City and beyond, plus parts of New Jersey and Connecticut.
About 135 N.C. Baptist volunteers went to New York to help, starting on Thursday, Dec. 1, as church planters picked up the coats in three locations.
A team from First Baptist Church of Summerfield helped unload, sort and later reload more than 1,000 coats which had been delivered to a ministry warehouse operated by Cru Inner City Ministry, an arm of Campus Crusade for Christ. Saturday the Summerfield team helped give out more than 700 coats in Jackson Heights, Queens.
First Baptist Church has worked with Coats for the City since soon after the ministry began there in 2011. Jim and Wilma Morgan, leaders of the coats ministry, were on hand to sort, tote and distribute the coats. The two lead efforts to acquire coats from multiple sources, then rally volunteers to help clean, repair and sort the coats before hanging them on store racks in the church for delivery.
Marsha McDaniel, a 15-year member of First Baptist, was along to help with the coats on her first mission trip, though she serves year-round with Operation Christmas Child.
The First Baptist team worked as in previous years at Jackson Heights, Queens, where they handed out hundreds of coats in a public square to long lines of people eager to get them. This is one of New York’s most people-diverse areas, with many residents from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and beyond.
“We had a great coats outreach. It was really well received by the community,” church planter Brad Wall said of the Jackson Heights ministry. Wall leads South Asian outreach for the Global Gates Network and also directs strategy and leadership development.
“We have 18 follow-up appointments with people who requested a Bible and someone to study it with them,” Wall said. “We are going out tonight to connect with some of them. Please be praying.”
Bud Davis, a member of Lakes Community Church in Sanford, drove the 22-foot truck packed with coats to New York. His son, Clay, accompanied him.
Six other Fruitland students — led by Fruitland facilities director Bobby Garrett — helped with coats in Jackson Heights, which is one of the most culturally diverse areas of the city. Few in Jackson Heights spoke English, so most of the talking required interpreters, Garrett said.
They talked with people from South Korea, Peru, Nepal, Tibet, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan and Ecuador.
“It was an incredible thing,” Garrett said. “Only one Muslim man refused to talk to us.”
Zac Lyons went to a coats distribution in Jamaica, Queens, where many people from Bangladesh live. Lyons recently became director of the Baptist State Convention’s Great Commission Partnerships ministry, which helps churches set up missions partnerships in the United States and overseas.
“Coats for the City has proven to be a good way for North Carolina Baptist churches to partner with church planters and missionaries in New York City for the spread of the Gospel to the nations God brought to us,” Lyons said.
The impact of giving out coats was clear: Lyons said one Bengali family was so touched by what the visitors were doing on the chilly day that they bought cups of hot chai and gave to all the volunteers so they could be warm while serving.
“Several people asked ‘Why are you guys doing this?’ and we were able to share the Gospel with them,” Lyons said. Many wanted a copy of the New Testament in their language.
One man told Lyons he had tried to read the Bible once but had found it difficult to understand. Lyons pulled out his cell phone and used an app to audibly read out the Gospel of John in Bangla (as Bengali is called).
Volunteers at Jamaica were from Wilkesboro Baptist Church in Wilkesboro, Rich Fork Baptist Church in Thomasville and Tar Heel Baptist Church in Tar Hill.
In a different cultural context, pastors and members of three churches in Ridgewood, Queens, joined with volunteers from Dudley Shoals Baptist Church in Granite Falls to hand out coats. Kristo “Beni” Pango, pastor of an Albanian language church; Emanuel Grozea, pastor of Maranatha Romanian Baptist Church; and Nathan Creitz, pastor of City Life Church, worked together as they set up tables laden with coats along the sidewalk in front of Maranatha’s building.
“We had a great response to our coat giveaway,” Creitz said. “Our English-speaking church plant connected with people of many different languages, including Arabic, Polish, Spanish, Romanian and Albanian. Our volunteers from Dudley Shoals Baptist Church were able to speak with many families, and the scarves and hats they brought from North Carolina were a big hit.”
Creitz said he wanted to send a message to North Carolina Baptists: “Thanks so much for your gift of coats and helpers to make this event a success every year.”
Pastor Bartley Wooten led a team from Beulaville Baptist Church in Beulaville, which included Wooten’s wife and daughter.
They served with Swerve Church, a newly planted church which meets in the building of longer established Evergreen Baptist Church in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The two churches set up the basement as a distribution center for coats, doughnuts, hot drinks and other goodies. Wooten was able to swap pastoral stories with Swerve’s pastor, Danny Torres.
Beulaville member Todd Jackson, his son, Lance, and member Ransom Smith helped local people sort through tables laden with coats to find good fits. Kim Longbottom, a member of New Friendship Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, and Courtney Combs from Beulaville Baptist Church worked with children at a table to one side. Ann Combs had an extended conversation with a young couple from Italy.
In Crown Heights, Brooklyn, a team from West Canton Baptist Church, braved freezing breezes outside in a park to distribute coats and talk with people who came to get them, working with the pastor and members of Mosaic Baptist Church.
Crystle Fletcher, Harriett Worsham and Beth Gray talked with a woman who sipped the hot chocolate they gave her while member Daniel Fletcher talked to a local man while they sat on a park bench.
A training session was held the afternoon of Friday, Dec. 3, at First Baptist Church in Manhattan by Baptist State Convention leaders and local church planters.
Staff and leaders with the Baptist State Convention and MNYBA plan to talk later in December on the prospects of holding Coats for the City in 2017.
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This article appeared in the Biblical Recorder (brnow.org), newsjournal of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. Michael D. Creswell is senior consultant for the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: From the States, published each Tuesday by Baptist Press, relays news and feature stories from state Baptist papers and other publications on initiatives by Baptist churches, associations and state conventions in evangelism, church planting and Great Commission outreach, including partnership missions. Reports about churches, associations and state conventions responding to the International Mission Board’s call to embrace the world’s unengaged, unreached people groups also are included in From the States, along with reports about church, associational and state convention initiatives in conjunction with the North American Mission Board’s call to Southern Baptist churches to broaden their efforts in starting new churches and satellite campuses. The items appear in Baptist Press as originally published.
