VBS 2009 and Wildwood Forest

We returned home from our mission trip to Baltimore on Friday evening … and on Monday morning we woke up to an early start with VBS at Yellow Creek Baptist Church.  Talk about insane – but what a great way to keep our focus on carrying out the Great Commission!

In a Christian culture where many things considered “traditional” are maligned, VBS holds its ground.  Vacation Bible School is still a pivotal ministry in the life of most churches – drawing children and families into the church building who might not enter it under other circumstances, and sharing the gospel and the love of Christ with them in a non-threatening way.

Our theme this year was “Wildwood Forest,” so the church was decked out in trees and greenery.  Our student minister built a huge tree for the sanctuary stage that was absolutely amazing.  I was the director for the preschool department this year, and we had a total enrollment of 54 4- and 5-year-olds!  We hovered just under 50 little people each day, and let me tell you – I took a nap a couple of those days after I got home!

Our total enrollment through sixth grade was 312 – just under our goal of 325.  But the best news – 25 boys and girls prayed to accept Christ on Thursday and Friday!

Vacation Bible School is a good time to remind ourselves that while the world does need us to take the gospel to the outer reaches, we must not do so at the neglect of those right in our own backyards who need to hear the good news of the gospel.  We need people to take the gospel to the far corners of the world.  We need people to take the gospel to places like Baltimore.  And we need people who will share the message of Jesus right here in Owensboro.

 

Reflections on Baltimore

It’s been ten days today since we returned from our mission trip to Baltimore.  I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on our week.  God was so good to us!  Baltimore was certainly one of the best mission trips I have had the opportunity to take.  Our group was one of the best groups with which I have worked.  I don’t have the space or time to tell you everything we did, but I’ll try to give you some “snapshots” of our time away.

Friday, July 3

Lots of riding and driving.  Lots.  Did I say it was a lot?  We left Owensboro about 6:30 a.m. or so that morning, and we arrived in Baltimore about 9:15 p.m.  A very uneventful drive, but lots of it.

Saturday, July 4

Sea of people waiting to watch the fireworks in front of the Capitol

The pastor of FBC Brooklyn had warned us that the Fourth of July holiday would not be a particularly good day to try to do outreach in the community because most people would have their own plans for the day.  So, we decided that since we were so close to Washington DC, and since some of our group had never been to DC, we would take the holiday to do some sight-seeing.  We were able to end the day with a most wonderful memory – watching the fireworks between the Capitol and the Washington Monument.  They were spectacular!

Sunday, July 5

We helped lead in the morning worship service at FBC Brooklyn, our host church.  Bro. Tom, our student minister, led the worship, and Chris preached the morning message from Romans 12:1-8 – “As a man thinks, so he is.  Our minds must inform our hearts.”

Monday, July 6

Feeding lunch to the children of the community

On Monday, we held a Backyard Bible Club for about 30 of the children of the community around FBC Brooklyn.  A lot of these kids just sort of showed up on their own and left on their own.  In the morning, Bro. Tom and our college students led the BBC, and Chris shared the gospel with them.  We ate hot dogs, chips, and cookies, and then played carnival-type games with the kids.  We had a great time sharing Jesus with them and playing with them!

On Monday evening, we shared a meal with the young adults of the church and community.  They come from varied walks of life and various levels of church involvement and backgrounds, but we learned that we are all very much the same regardless of our perceived differences.

 

Tuesday, July 7

 

On Tuesday, we spent the day with the teenagers of the church and community.  Many of these teens do not have parents who attend church with them.  They come to church on their own many times, and for many reasons – a safe place to be, friendships, people who love and care for them.  This day was an interesting time for our group to be “mentors for a day” to younger youth who come from very different backgrounds.

 

Wednesday, July 8

 

On Wednesday, we were back at the church with Backyard Bible Club and a time to share the gospel in the morning, and water day in the afternoon.

Water day

In the evening, we held a cookout for members of FBC Brooklyn and for others who live in the community.  We fed about 90 people that evening (thanks to Lenny, Austin, and Drew for grilling the meat!), and then participated in a joint worship service.  Chris brought the message that night from John 3:22-30 – “He must increase and I must decrease.”  A good reminder that this week was not about us but all about Jesus.

Thursday, July 9

Eating in our small kitchen

The greater part of the day on Thursday was spent packing and cleaning up so that we could leave early on Friday morning.  Twenty-one members of our team lived for one week in a large house owned by the church.  This house has five rooms that we used as bedrooms, two bathrooms (yes, only two!), and a small kitchen.  A great tribute to our team is how we made this tight living arrangement work so well all week long!

On Thursday evening, we held a worship service for the youth of FBC Brooklyn, led by Bro. Tom and our youth worship team.  I enjoyed seeing everyone use their talents all week, from singing and playing instruments to working with children to helping with the shopping and cooking!

Friday, July 10

By 6:15 a.m. we were back on the road again.  And again.  And again.  We pulled into Yellow Creek’s parking lot around 6:30 p.m. that evening, and you have never seen a group of people more glad to be home!

Final Thoughts

We had a wonderful week.  Our relationships with one another were strengthened as we made memories that will last a lifetime.  Our faith was challenged as we learned to be flexible in carrying out God’s plans, even if that means laying our own plans aside.  We learned the importance and the urgency of sharing the gospel with the nations – including in our own nation.  We pray that the seeds we planted will bloom to maturity as others come along to water them and to harvest them.

 

Taking the Great Commission to Baltimore

Next week, I will be going to Baltimore, MD on a mission trip with a group of young adults from my church to share the Good News of Jesus with those in the suburb of Brooklyn.

Last week, my husband and I attended the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, the denomination with which we serve.  At that meeting, the messengers to the convention overwhelming approved (by 95% or better) the Great Commission Resurgence.

You may be wondering how I see these two events as connected, but hang with me for a minute.  While parts of the GCR are related to the business of the convention – how the agencies and entities do their work and whether or not they are effective in fulfilling the Great Commission through the way they work – the central concern of the movement is whether or not we are personally and as a denomination carrying out the final orders left to us by Jesus Christ while He was on earth.

If you take the time to read through the GCR, and if you are Southern Baptist I encourage you to do so, you may begin to wonder how this affects those who are not convention leaders and ministers in local congregations.  Some of the points are certainly directed at those in leadership.

However, I would issue the challenge that the GCR begins with me – and with you.  It begins with every man and women in the pew who professes the name of Christ taking upon themselves the burden to take the gospel to a world that each day falls further and further away from the Truth found in the Bible.

A renewed commitment to the Great Commission as outlined in Matthew 28:19-20 begins with each Christian deciding today to share the gospel in her hometown, around her state, across the US, and to the far corners of the world.

So, my first, tiny little step in a renewed commitment to Jesus’ Great Commission to believers begins in Baltimore.  Please pray for our team.  Pray that God will be glorified through all that we say and do.  Pray that we will share the gospel with boldness.  Pray that those who hear will have hearts and ears that are open to the Word.

 

New WorldCrafts Article Online

I have a new article up at MyMissionFullfilled.com on WorldCrafts in Sri Lanka.  I hope you’ll check it out!

 

NAMB Sojourners

This past Sunday, we said farewell to one of our church youth for the summer.  During June and July, K. will be serving as a Sojourner missionary through the North American Mission Board in San Diego, CA.  While we and her friends miss her already, we are looking forward to hearing how God is going to use her this summer to share the gospel with people on the West Coast.

Sojourners are “high school students who work with missionaries and churches in evangelism and church planting projects in the United States and Canada.”  K. will be working with a church in San Diego doing Back Yard Bible Clubs and other tasks in order to reach people with the Good News of Christ.

We pray that the people she meets will be changed by the message, and we know that she will be changed by the experience!

 

Baltimore Bound!

Two weeks ago we traveled to Baltimore, Maryland with our student minister and another volunteer to scout out possibilities for a summer mission trip with our graduating seniors and college students.

FBC Brooklyn, Baltimore, MD

For a week in July, we will be working with First Baptist Church Brooklyn, located in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Baltimore.  The great fun of this trip has been the opportunity to reconnect and work with a couple with whom we went to church when we were newlyweds at First Baptist White House, TN.

Lou Paradiso, pastor of FBC Brooklyn, and his wife Sonya were good friends many years ago, and we had such a good time seeing them again!

FBC Brooklyn is experiencing an interesting time in the life of the church.  Many of the members no longer live in the neighborhood around the church, primarily due to the economic level and crime rate in the area.

Brooklyn neighborhood

In the blocks immediately around the church building, you find houses like these.  Many of these older homes are being remodeled, and are quite beautiful.  Often they are valued at more than $200,000.

However, a couple of blocks away from the church, you find large blocks of housing like this:

Low-income housing

While we didn’t see any signs indicating that this is government housing, the appearance of these apartments is drastically different from that of the homes immediately surrounding the church – and yet they are still in walking distance from the church building.

We plan to take on a wide-range of projects while we are in Baltimore – Back Yard Bible Clubs, leading in two worship services, meeting with the church’s ESL ministry, spending time with the teenagers in the church (many of whom come to church without any family members), and anything else that we see needs to be done.

We are so excited about this opportunity and all that God has in store for us.  Please pray for us as we begin to divide our group into work teams, and as we have our planning sessions on Sunday and Wednesday evenings.  Baltimore, here we come!

 

The Year of Living Dangerously

Southern Seminary has designated 2008-2009 “The Year of Living Dangerously.”  In the clip below, Dr. Mohler calls all of us to be willing to live dangerously for the sake of the gospel.

 

New Articles

I have a couple of new missions articles in print!

The first is on the Adults On Mission web site, titled “Honoring God in the United States and in Moldova.”

The other is found in the February 2009 issue of Missions Mosaic.  It is titled “The House That God Built,” and is a really neat story about a group in North Carolina that built a home for missionaries to use when returning to the United States.  I also wrote the short “missionary sidebars” in the same issue.

I hope you enjoy reading them!

 

New Article in On Mission Magazine

I have a new article in On Mission magazine’s Winter 2009 issue titled “When the Nations Come to Us.”  I had the privilege of interviewing two North American missionaries who are working with Somalis living in the United States.  I encourage you to check it out and learn more about their ministry!

 

Article in January Missions Mosaic

For those who subscribe to Missions Mosaic magazine, I have an article in the January 2009 issue titled “Fasting to Hear God’s Voice.”  Thanks go out to a couple of great friends who allowed me to share their personal testimonies regarding fasting!