Tag Archives: missionary

Turnaround 2020 - 7 Steps to Turnaround in a Rural or Small Town Setting
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November 21, 2017

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Church Growth, Turnaround 2020

Turnaround 2020 – 7 Steps to Turnaround in a Rural or Small Town Setting

1. Bloom where you are planted.

Understand your community and your potential.  This potential may be defined by seating capacity or parking capacity but is most often defined by relational capacity.  The potential in many rural, small town settings is tied to relationships not to geographic location.

2. Teach and model relentlessly inviting people to church.

Capitalize on the relationships folks already have with friends, family members or co-workers by teaching and encouraging them to invite.  The key to developing a culture of invitation is relentless, on-going, never-ending, personal invitations to “come with me.”

3. Improve your hospitality.

More than offering coffee and pastries, learn to welcome people.  Avoid the holy huddles of close friends who carry on animated conversations among themselves but who exclude newcomers.  The greatest strength of a smaller church is the depth of friendship and relationship that is shared.  The greatest weakness of a smaller church is that we are so close to one another that we unintentionally exclude new folks from our circle of friendship.

4. Review your worship services from the perspective of the first-time guest.

Can a first-time guest understand what we are doing and why?  Be user-friendly.  In one congregation the keyboardist was excellent and the worship leader had a clear baritone voice that was easy to follow.  Nevertheless worship was frustrated by his habit of only announcing page numbers just as he began the first line leaving little time to find the page before the first lines were already past.  In another setting with hymnals in use but with no printed order of service, the worship leader only announced page numbers once.  This did encourage congregational interaction, however, since everyone who missed the number turned to the people around them for follow up information.

5. Review sermon content and communication idiosyncrasies.

Sermon content should be developed so that the first-time, unchurched guest can clearly comprehend the message.  Avoid church code language and theological terms that are not defined in simple, conversational terms.  Deal with real life application of the Scripture.  First time guests are ready to deal with the deep, hard questions of life if they are developed with real life language and illustration.

Have someone you trust help you find consistent grammar errors, nuisance habits that detract from the message and any tendencies to stray from the message to explore tangents that come from stream of consciousness not from the discipline of Spirit led study and preparation.

6. Proof read everything and update/correct regularly.

The most notorious offenders here are bulletin files and PowerPoint slides that are saved and reused.  Often once an error makes it into these templates it is never corrected but is instead copied forward.

Printed communication must give attention to spelling names correctly, presenting locations accurately and using code language rarely.  For example you could write:

VBS planning at Linda’s on Monday

Or you could re-write:

Vacation Bible School planning will meet at Linda Jones’ home (123 Any Street) at 7 p.m. on Monday the 15th.

7. Invest in missionary causes out of commitment to the Great Commission not out of tradition or denominational loyalty.

Partner with the Lord to reach people in other settings as well as reaching people in your own setting.

Jumpstart Turnaround 2020JUMPSTART YOUR MINISTRY:  Identify one of these steps that warrants attention first.

Establish a timeline to work on it in the next 4-6 weeks.
I will address step number______ and will begin to work on it _______________, 2017.

The Impact of One Life - Ed Stevens
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March 31, 2017

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Guam, International Missions, Philippines, Saipan

One Life Matters – Ed Stevens

by Mark Powell, Director of General Baptist International Missions

For many years, General Baptists have celebrated the life of Rev. Ed Stevens. Ed Stevens was a missionary who served on Guam, Saipan, Tinian, and Chi Chi Jima. He died at an early age while en route to Guam to receive medical treatment. As is often stated, we honor his sacrifice each year through an annual international missions’ offering on the Sunday closest to September 22 in honor of his passing. But is that the only reason we honor this singular life? Not at all.

Ed Stevens accomplished an unbelievable amount of good in a few very short years. In doing so his life reminds all of us how one single life, consecrated to God, can have an eternal impact on thousands.

The length of Ed Stevens’ ministry as a missionary was from 1946-1952. Following his ordination in 1945, Ed was on his way to Guam less than one year later. He served briefly on Guam from 1946 – 1947 where General Baptists are the oldest Protestant denomination. He then pioneered a new work on Saipan when General Baptists became the first protestant denomination on that island – making him not only a missionary but a church planter. The next two years were miraculous as Ed Stevens began a new outreach on the nearby island of Tinian to a leper colony, led Vincente Silencino to the Lord and baptized him, and laid the foundation for a new work on the island of Chi Chi Jima as the result of a hospital visit to a man from that island.

Ed Stevens in two short years accomplished more than many would in a lifetime! As a missionary, he pioneered Saipan, Tinian, and Chi Chi Jima. As a church planter, he started the Saipan Community Church which has literally touched thousands of lives. As a pastor/missionary, he ministered to the hurting in the leper colony on Tinian. As a personal evangelist, he led many to the Lord, among whom was a “Filipino boy” who would later become our first General Baptist missionary to the Philippines impacting thousands of lives and producing over 300 churches to date! As a pastor/evangelist he would make a hospital visit to a man from Chi Chi Jima resulting in a new work for General Baptists on that island.

The product of these two years has made an eternal impact on so many that only heaven knows the singular value of this one man’s life! The ministries on Guam, Saipan, and the Philippines continue to change lives to the present day.

Ed Stevens spent two years back in the States from 1949 – 1951 where he finished his degree program at Oakland City University, served as pastor, and tragically lost a son in an accident. Despite the pain of that loss, Ed, his wife Gertie, and son David would return to Chi Chi Jima in the fall of 1951 to continue the work he had pioneered three years earlier. In September 1952 Ed Stevens would fall ill and seek medical attention on Guam. His ship was in sight of Guam and ready to enter the harbor when God called this faithful servant home.

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July 10, 2014

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Christian Life, International Missions

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More Like Maddie

By Robbie Myers

At the end of June, we suffered a heartbreaking loss in our home.  Maddie, my wife’s service dog, passed away unexpectedly.  Maddie had been part of our household for over 9 years-her entire life.  Our family has faced many challenges in the past decade, and during those times, I always felt better and more peaceful when she sat in my lap.  Hopefully, she felt that same peacefulness when she took her last breath while sitting in my lap.

During this sad time, we have been intentional about being grateful to God for the time we were blessed to have her in our lives.  We are comforted by the many great memories we have of Maddie.

Maddie’s eyes would stare deeply in mine.  Her look conveyed her loyalty, her love, her admiration.  Whenever we arrived home, she would always meet us at the door with a present.  Usually, it was her most prized possession.  For the past year and a half, that item was a stuffed octopus toy.  This was a Christmas present given to her as we prepared to move to our mission field of Saipan.  Sometimes, she was too anxious to go find the toy so she would grab anything she could find-like a sock.  She would run right up to us, vigorously wagging her tail until we accepted her gift, then wait for us to pet or embrace her.

Maddie’s favorite activity was to go for a ride with her family.  We had to take great care to spell (and not say) the words “ride” and “go” or we would have a hyperactive dog to calm down.  Once in the car she would bark with excitement, and would even push the button to roll down the window so she could stick her head out.

Here in Saipan, I would take her for a walk in beach side parks after a ride.  Invariably, we would be approached by families.  When they walked up to us, they would almost always say the same words-“Your dog is pretty.  What is it’s name?”  We learn a lot from our dogs.This allowed me to engage in a conversation about my family and how we were serving as missionaries.  I was able to have some great conversations about our mission and Saipan Community Church with these families that hailed from all over the world, including Korea, China, the Philippines, Japan, and Russia.  Maddie enjoyed the attention and being petted by all the children.  Her presence helped us with our mission by creating opportunities for us to have conversations with people that would not have occurred otherwise.

As I reflect on the experiences I shared with Maddie, I keep coming back to the same thought-I want to be more like Maddie.

What do I mean, “more like Maddie”?  I mean I want to fix my gaze upon Jesus and worshipfully convey my love and dedication to my Master.  I want to show my joy for being in His presence by providing Him my best.  I want to demonstrate an unbridled enthusiasm for the journeys He has prepared for me.  I want Christ to use me to introduce Him to people from all over the globe.  I want to enjoy the same curiosity and appreciation she had for God’s creations.

In her life, Maddie provided joy to my soul.  Through her passing, she challenged me to find an even deeper joy in my spirit and a stronger relationship with my Savior.