In this edition:
- Dr. Mac's Minute: My Beautiful Office
- Safety and Security Thoughts (Part 1)
Around the Dakotas:
- Mercy Gate in Box Elder launches on Easter Sunday
- Christ Church in Rapid City hosts Southern Gospel quartet
- Edgemont surpasses Annie Armstrong goal
- CP Ambassadors meet on Zoom on May 24
- Online Youth Camp registration opens
Celebrating Church Planting... Dakotas style:
- Celebrating what God is doing in Bismarck
- Getting involved in church planting
Around the SBC:
- CP story: Derek & Kristin Duvall
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My Beautiful Office
Passage: Colossians 3:23-24
NOTE: As you read this article, I am in South Africa with Huron pastor Ian Harp. We are here to conduct a two-day evangelistic crusade in Olieven and evangelism training for over 100 rural pastors in the Durban area. As I was preparing to leave, it brought back memories of an experience from one of my trips there a few years ago.
It never ceases to amaze me the things God uses, the people He uses, and the places He uses to remind us of the things He wants us to remember.
I was sitting in the boarding area at the Johannesburg airport waiting to start my three-leg, 27+ hour journey home from one of my mission trips to South Africa (you are welcome to feel sorry for me!!!). I went into the men’s room as I waited for the first leg of my travels where I was greeted by a young man whose job was to keep the restroom clean. He greeted each “patron” with a smile and a cheery, “Welcome to my beautiful office!”
Cleaning toilets! That’s what this young man was doing. He was taking care of the messes left behind by travelers in too big of a hurry to pay attention to someone whom most of them probably would have thought beneath their stage in life, even if they did take notice of him out of the corner of their eye. Yet he continued to smile, greet, and clean in his “beautiful office.”
In Colossians 3:23-24, Paul wrote, “Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.” Admit it, it’s easy to catch ourselves griping, grumbling, and complaining about our life’s circumstances; then gaze longingly on the state of another, thinking, “that should be me.”
Paul challenges us to do whatever we do and use whatever we have, not for our own glory (and not even for others), but “as something done for the Lord.”
I don’t know this young man’s spiritual background or condition, but in a smile and genuine word of greeting he reminded me of how blessed and honored I am to serve a God who gives me a “beautiful office” wherever I am and whatever I’m doing that I can use to bring honor and glory to Him (even a long 27+ hour flight).
Okay . . . maybe it’s better if you don’t feel sorry for me.
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Safety and Security Thoughts (Part 1)
by Everett Hornbostel
In Nehemiah 4:15-23, we find workers hard at work doing what God had called them to do. In this case, rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. As they built, half of the crew held spears, shields, bows and coats of mail. This was done to provide protection for the workers because God had frustrated the plan of the enemy.
How does this carry over to the current context of the local church? If the church is a place for comfort, refuge, worship and learning, do we have a duty to offer protection to those within the church? This isn’t about guns in church. This is about offering protection to people who are seeking comfort, refuge, worship or learning within our local church facility. Protection can look different depending on the context in which we live and serve. I hope to work this out in coming articles.
Today, I want to point to something that should help us get to a point of considering the importance of a safety and security ministry within the local church. I think that understanding the history and demographics of violent crimes that have occurred in churches will get us there.
According to data compiled by Carl Chinn (https://fbsnamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/1999-2018-Church-violence-statistics-MASTER.pdf), there have been 1,967 deadly force incidents at faith-based organizations in the United States between January 1, 1999 and December 31, 2018. Approximately 28% of those incidents are caused by issues that take place outside of the church and then spill over into the church. Half of that 28% are domestic relationship issues that found their way onto church property. While the animosity toward the Christian faith is growing as we seek to stand firm on the Truth of Scripture, only 5% of incidents were directly related to bias against faith.
The reality is, violence can occur in and around the church. We need to be prepared for when it does happen at our church. We are in the unfortunate time when we can no longer say “it won’t happen here.” Many incidents are over in a matter of a couple of minutes, while the response of first responders could take as few as 5 minutes to as many as 35 minutes to a priority 911 call. Does your church leadership have a plan in place if an incident presents itself? What would be the impact if an incident were to occur at your church?
Join me as we continue this discussion in coming articles. Next time, we will look at providing a safe area for Children and Youth ministries.
Everett Hornbostel is pastor at Cornerstone Church in Mobridge, SD and one of our DBC Church Relations Missionaries.
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Mercy Gate in Box Elder launches on Easter Sunday
One of the newest churches in the Dakotas held their first public worship service on Easter Sunday. The church had 51 in attendance. Pastor Andy Daniel said, “It went absolutely wonderful! We had an awesome resurrection service and are looking forward to next Sunday.”
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Christ Church in Rapid City hosts Southern Gospel quartet
Christ Church in Rapid City will host the Master’s Voice Quartet on Tuesday, May 3. The concert will be at 7:00 p.m. Master’s Voice is a Southern Gospel quartet from Oklahoma. The group will be in the Black Hills on their way to Montana. A love offering will be received for the quartet. For more information on the concert contact the church at 605-791-5591. Garvon Golden is the pastor at Christ Church.
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Edgemont surpasses Annie Armstrong goal
Edgemont Baptist Church in Edgemont, SD is a church that is strong in mission spirit. In the recent Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions, the members gave $1300, one of the highest mission offerings the church has ever received. The AAEO assists with evangelism and church planting across North America. It also supports work done in the Dakotas. Edgemont pastor Todd Olson said, “We always reach our goals for missions. Edgemont Baptist has always been a very giving church; especially for missions.
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CP Ambassadors meet on Zoom on May 24
The next CP Ambassadors meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 24, at 10:00 a.m. (Mountain Time). The CP Ambassadors are members from the churches of the DBC who are interested in learning more about the cooperative work that is being done across the Dakotas and the SBC. So far, eight churches have designated an ambassador for their church.
Each time the ambassadors meet they learn new ways the name of Jesus is being carried around the world that they can share with their church. The ambassadors have also been meeting Southern Baptist leaders such as Willie McLaurin, IMB president Paul Chitwood, and NAMB president Kevin Ezell. Each Zoom meeting features a different leader sharing the cooperative work of Southern Baptists through the agency that they lead. The guest for the May meeting will be Brent Leatherwood. Leatherwood serves as the interim president for the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.
If your church would like to designate a CP Ambassador, send their name, email address, and phone number to Fred MacDonald at [email protected]. They will receive an invitation and Zoom link so that they can join the next meeting. CP Ambassador Zoom meetings are open to anyone that would like to participate. If you would like to sit in on the May meeting, email Fred and he will send you the link.
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Online Youth Camp registration is open
The annual Dakota Baptist youth camp is June 6-10 at Crystal Springs Campground in eastern North Dakota. This year’s theme is “Real Love.” Richard and Cheryl Hardy from Harleton, TX will return to lead the Bible times. A few years ago the Hardys led teams from their church in Texas to help with the camp over several years. Chris Wallace, pastor at Hope City Church in Bismarck, ND will lead worship.
The camp will focus on helping teens understand what real biblical love is. The theme verse is 1 John 3:16: “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.”
Registration and more information for both youth and adult leaders can be found at the DBC website. Adult leaders are required to go through the online Ministry Safe training. The registration fee is $195. This will go up to $210 after May 13. Youth camp is open to all young people currently in grades 7 through 12.
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“Celebrating Church Planting . . . Dakotas Style!” is a monthly celebration of what God is doing around the Dakotas through our new work. Each month’s feature will have two parts. The first is an article on one of the newer churches in the Dakotas. The second is one of the fourteen ways that you and your church can be involved in church planting along with an implementation suggestion. You can find all fourteen of the ways listed under the “Resources” link at www.dakotabaptist.com. Help us celebrate the new things God is doing across North and South Dakota.
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1) Celebrating what God is doing in Bismarck
Hope City Church: Chris & Kristy Wallace
Chris and Kristy Wallace are church planters in Bismarck, ND at Hope City Church. They are originally from just outside of Memphis, TN. They have two biological children, Josiah and Lily, and they also have two foster babies.
In October of 2019 the Wallaces followed God’s call to church planting in Bismarck and moved their family across the country to pursue that. They moved to Bismarck and began the process of building relationships and making disciples. Though the pandemic was a big surprise, God has continued to grow this new church.
They began meeting in their home doing Bible studies in January 2020 and launched their first worship service one year later. Since then, the church has grown to about 60 people. They have multiplied small groups several times and are baptizing their first three new believers in the next few weeks. Hope City is in the process of purchasing their first building as a church.
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God continues to bless this work in Bismarck as Hope City Church seeks to lead people to enjoy Jesus and multiply disciples in real life. Please pray for the Wallaces and Hope City as they labor to be a faithful, Christ-centered, disciple-making, kingdom-advancing church.
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2) 14 Ways to be Involved in Church Planting . . . Dakotas Style!
Way #3. Contribute to the new church’s financial needs: Put them in your church’s budget for one to three years. It does not have to be a large amount – any amount shows them you believe in what they are doing and that you want to help. You may be in a position to help them find funding streams to get them started. Give them a one-time financial gift for home or vehicle repairs, vacations, etc.
Implementation Suggestion: Select one of our church planters in the Dakotas and contact them. Ask if they have any one-time or ongoing needs (personal or ministry-related) that you could help to meet.
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*click image above to link to CP story with powerpoint image download |
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