Newsjournal Of Kansas and Nebraska Southern Baptists

www.baptistdigest.com

February 2013Vol. 56 No.2

Baptistigest

A team of Kansas-Nebraska students served in Hurricane Sandy relief the week before Christmas 2012. The team worked in cleaning up homes on Staten Island, N.Y., that had been flooded by the hurricane. They were part of a Christmas break project for students sponsored by the North American Mission Board. The students were housed in a tent village on Staten Island. (Photo by Rick Clock)

Students HelpIn ‘Sandy’ Relief

Hurricane Sandy caused major damage to Staten Island, N.Y. Southern Baptist student groups did clean-up on their island during their Christmas break. A group of Kansas-Nebraska students joined the project. (Photo courtesy of Baptist Press)

A team of Kansas-Nebraska students served in Hurricane Sandy relief the week before Christmas 2012.

The team worked in clean-ing up homes on Staten Island, N.Y., that were flooded by the hurricane. They were part of a Christmas break project for students sponsored by the North American Mission Board.

Rick Clock, campus minister at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, was the team leader.

“I had an excellent team of students. The students were hard working and good-spirited servants,” Clock said. “They were a blessing to many of the victims of Hurricane Sandy.”

Here are some of the stu-dents’ comments about the trip:

Matt Langworthy, Washburn University, Topeka, Kan.

This trip for me was just a step in what has been a long journey. This was my fourth Disaster Relief trip and my sixth overall mission trip. I know what

it means to be a servant because I am on my ministry team at my campus Christian Challenge.

I know what I am doing to be a leader-servant on campus. Lately I have been convicted about helping the area around me. I have taken the Gospel to Jerusalem (Washburn) and the ends of the earth (Asia) but have neglected Judea and Samaria. That is why when I go back I will seek out opportunities to serve around the Topeka com-munity.

Sarah Smith, Kansas State Uni-versity, Manhattan, Kan.

This trip was sudden and unexpected, but I am thankful that God opened a way for me to come and to serve. It was touching to see the diversity of New Yorkers along with their unity in helping those affected by Hurricane Sandy. God has used the storm in wonderful ways—allowing new relation-ships to begin and the Gospel to be shared.

Cassidee Connors, Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, Kan.

Among many things about this trip, it was a reminder to me of God’s grace. The work was laborious, but we all worked so well together encouraging one another, learning from each other and keepinga positive at-titude. The homeowners affected by the disasters well as others in the community repeatedly expressed their gratitude. This was something that struck my heart because I don’t deserve their thankfulness.

Olivia Walterman, University of Kansas, Lawrence

As I rode around the streets of Staten Island, N.Y., most of the houses appeared to be good from the outside, but once you opened the door and looked inside, they were a wreck; they were torn apart.

After speaking with some of the residents, I realized that many people are the same. They appear to be doing OK on the outside, but on the inside, they’re broken and torn apart.

Many would say, “Why even bother? You can’t reach them all.” I would say, “If I can bring hope to even one, is that not worth it?”

Rachel Baker, Kansas State Uni-versity, Manhattan, Kan.

I have realized that I need to re-center my thoughts. During the trip, it was made clear that my focus was often on myself. I am working on turning my destructive thought patterns into ones that benefit and honor God and others.

Lauren Doherty, Washburn University, Topeka, Kan.

I am learning how to be a ser-vant. Being a servant means you are willing to go and help others in their time of need. A servant is patient and ready to help at a moment’s notice. They joyfully serve the Lord while spreading His Word.

Rikki Miller, Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, Kan.

Throughout this trip I learned that even the smallest hint of

kindness or love can make the biggest difference in someone’s life. I feel that in these three days of working, we barely made a dent in the recovery process. But it meant so much to the people, even those not directly impacted, to see people caring about them. This inspires me to become a better servant and get involved to show God’s love all over the country, and maybe even the world.

Matthew Beattie, Washburn University, Topeka, Kan.

This was the first ministry that I have worked on that has required me to leave my home town. It was great to be able to show God’s love in this very practical way. It was so amaz-ing to see how such a small act can mean so much to an entire family. It was great being able to get to know the people who we were serving. This was some-thing that I had not expected.

Read more on the KNCSB Web site at http://www.kncsb.org/news/students_serve_stat-en_island_residents/

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GUIDING PRINCIPLES:INFORM -- Regularly share information about ongoing training, curriculum, events, support and personnel.RESOURCE -- Serve as a resource pool for practical ideas about what is working in KS-NE congregations and how it relates to all sizes of churches.GENERATIONAL -- Cast the widest net, providing sto-ries and information that will appeal to all generations of Southern Baptists in NE-KS.FAMILY-FRIENDLY -- Be family-friendly with stories, regular columns and helps for families and leaders who work with families.AGE DIVERSE -- Publish stories that address the diversity of age, ethnicity, and geographical regions of KS-NE.MISSION-ORIENTED -- Publish stories about people and congregations involved in missions and regularly publicize ministry opportunities.PART OF WIDER MISSION - Help congregations discover that they are part of the larger work of the Kingdom of God through their ministries.

To give local news:Local church and associational news may be submit-

ted by mail, phone, fax or e-mail.

Advertising:Advertising policy and rates are available upon

request Call 800-984-9092 or e-mail: tboyd@kncsb.org

STAFFEditor: Tim Boyd, PhD.

Associate Editor: Eva Wilson Printing Coordinator: Derek Taylor

Robert T. Mills, D. Min. KNCSB Executive Director

AFFILIATIONSAssociation of State Baptist PapersBaptist Communicators Association

The Baptist Digest (USPS 018-942)

Vol. 57 No.2Leadership Newsjournal for Kansas-

Nebraska Southern Baptists is published monthly

12 times a year.5410 SW 7th Street

Topeka, KS 66606-2398Phone: (785) 228-6800Toll Free: 800-984-9092

Fax: (785) 273-4992E-mail: tboyd@kncsb.org

Web site: baptistdigest.com

POSTMASTER:Periodical postage paid at Topeka, KS 66606 and additional entries. Send address changes to: The Baptist Digest, 5410 SW 7th Street, Topeka, KS

66606-2398.

By Georges Boujakly KNCSB State Director of MissionsE-mail: gboujakly@kncsb.org

The Year of Learning Jesus…Care to join me? I’m designating 2013 as a learning-

Jesus-year for me (Ephesians 4:20). I hope you don’t take this to mean that it will only take a year to learn Jesus. Learning Jesus is our life’s calling. Jesus is far deeper than anyone or anything we can fathom because in his essence he is God and Man.

My friend and colleague, David Manner, recently taught from the passage where Jesus stayed at the tem-ple in Jerusalem while his parents were well on their

way to Nazareth before they missed him. David’s application of this passage coincided with what I had already been thinking for a while. The application in-cluded questions like these: Where is Jesus in your life today? What is Jesus teach-ing you, or doing in your life that amazes you? Are you growing in wisdom and in favor with God and man as Jesus did? I heard in the message an invita-tion and affirmation by God

to focus on learning Christ and to share with others.My prayer is that the Holy Spirit would use these

thoughts on the subject of learning Jesus to reawaken in us the greatest need in our lives and in the church today: To know God and to know Christ (John 17:3). Jesus was asked, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” He responded by saying that the work of God is “that you believe in him whom he has sent” (John 6:28-29).

I believe that the church ought to be a travel guide and not just a travel agency on the road of learning Jesus. I thank God when churches guide new believers in the process of learning Jesus. But let’s repent when it is not being done. Equipping the people of God to grow in grace, knowledge and faith (2 Peter 1:4; 3:18) and for ministry cannot exclude the ancient paths of learning Christ without miring in the shallow waters of ineffec-tiveness. Every believer ought to be led on the Emmaus Road, where Christ is learned. To Emmaus with Jesus let us all go!

Early followers of Jesus made a huge difference in their society. People noticed that they had been with Je-sus and that they had learned from him how to do their lives as if he would do it were he in their place. The

Walking With the Masterdisciples and those they made disciples didn’t bother asking the overused “WWJD” question. They actually knew what Jesus did and went about doing likewise. They patterned their lives on his. And the kingdom of God spread.

They learned to face misunderstanding, reacted gen-tly to opposition, dealt courageously with heartaches and the traumas of suffering. When they were rejected, shunned, denied, and betrayed, they acted just like Je-sus. At work, at home, and at their neighbors they were a joy to be around. They joked and laughed, prayed and worshipped, handled stress, and got tired without un-due irritation. They learned that there was such a thing as a life of learning Jesus.

It turns out that learning Jesus is not all that easy! There is a telltale sign that we are learning Jesus:

When others take note that our ways are similar to Christ’s, they too might be willing to join us in the life of the Kingdom of God.

Where, then, does the term learning Jesus come from?

Paul uses those words “learning Christ” in Ephesians 4:21-24. Here’s the text in American English as inter-preted by Eugene Petersen in the Message.

4:20 But that’s no life for you. You learned Christ! 4:21 My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to him, been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus. 4:22 Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything-and I do mean everything-connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life-a God-fashioned life, 4:23 a life renewed from the inside 4:24 and working itself into your conduct as God accurately

reproduces his character in you.“You learned Christ” has weight (glory and God-

given worth) to it. I wonder what the content of this learning was. It’s worth all the exploration we can do. If we placed on one side of the scales all that could be called Christian and learning Jesus on the other side, the scales will tip on the learning Christ side.

We have wide ranging opportunities today to learn Jesus in our faith communities to the point that we could bring tangible progress for good in our society (return to Biblical morality) and in our own spiritual communities and personal development. Learning Jesus by heart, by hands, by feet can bring the greatest transformation in our much needy world. The Holy Spirit bids his Holy Bride, to learn her Groom again and fall head over heel in love with him again and again. Christ, our first and last love!

Listen to Paul’s heartthrob and joyful cry! Listen to it on your knees: “that I may know him, the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his suffering, that I may be conformed to him in his life and death” (Philippians 3:10-11). We can only hear this call of learning Jesus on our knees.

Care to join me? Find a few friends, colleagues, and small group members and covenant together to learn Jesus this year.

Jesus, the longer I journey on in this life with God the larger you become for me. May you loom larger than life in my mind and heart! Truly, the Christian way of life is all about learning to live for, with, and in you. Shall I commit to learn less than resurrection power? Can I do more than to learn the secret of all life, the joy in suffering you are willing to teach me, the deepest love that no oceans can hold? May it never be!

Georges Boujakly

By Bob Mills KNCSB Executive DirectorE-mail: bmills@kncsb.org

With each passing day, we are losing America to a humanistic, secularistic ideology. It seems like we are in a spiritual free fall and we are at a loss as to how to to break our fall and reverse the trend. Statistics seem to indicate approximately 85% of the churches in North America are plateaued or declining. In KNCSB, early reports seem to indicate that more than 80 of our churches baptized NO one last year. My fear is that number is going to be higher because more than 100 of our churches have not submitted their Annual Church Profile (ACP) at this time. Even some of our stronger churches are showing fewer people being baptized.

What must we do? What is the answer to our spiri-tual condition?

Bob Mills

A. The Word of God does speak to our condi-tion. “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14. On our face before God, we must ask God to forgive us for being disobedient to the Great Commission. As a covenant people we have

The Thought Occurred to Menot been good citizens in God’s Kingdom. Let me ask us as Kansas-Nebraska Baptists to humble ourselves, pray, seek the face of God and repent. It seems to me that we must begin with our personal relationship with a Holy God.

B. The answer is to be disciples that make dis-ciples.

We must become followers of Christ and not just believers. Personally, I believe the greatest need in the North American church today is disciple-making.

C. Another new program from one of our denomi-national entities is not the answer.

We need to see and experience the hand of God. We need to consecrate ourselves so that we can experience something that only God can do.

To be continued...

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By Eva WilsonBaptist Digest associate editor

New Ministry Emerges from Tragedy

Lora Jones is a former pastor’s wife in Kansas and Ne-braska. Soon after losing her husband and two children in a wreck in November 2004, Jones found herself embarking on a speaking ministry. She moved back to her hometown of Liberal, Kan., in 2007 and became a full-time speaker in 2010. (Photo by Brandi Stapleton, Blessed Treasures Pho-tography, Liberal, Kan.)

After losing her husband and children in a wreck, Lora Jones shares Christ’s hope through her speaking ministry.

Lora Jones found her life changed forever when she lost her husband, J.L., and children Jayden and Janessa in a wreck in November 2004. The Jones family served in Clay Center, Kan., and Grand Island, Neb., before moving to Oklahoma in August 2000. Lora now has a speaking minis-try and loves to bring hope and encouragement to hurting people. (Submitted photo)

“I love ministering to people. That’s the only thing in my life that didn’t change.”

Lora Jones sits at the oak dining table in her 1920s bun-galow-style home in Liberal, Kan. She recalls how a traffic accident right before Thanks-giving 2004 changed her life forever. The accident claimed the lives of her husband, J.L., and their two children, Janessa and Jayden.

At the time the family was living in Miami, Okla., where J.L. was pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church.

Before that they served at Calvary Baptist Church, Clay Center, Kan., and Immanuel Baptist Church, Grand Island, Neb.

J.L. and Lora had been ministry partners since they were students at Kansas State University, Manhattan, in the early 1980s.

Although Liberal, Kan., was their hometown, “for whatever reason God didn’t let us cross paths,” Lora says, until they came to K-State.

J.L.’s home church was First Southern Baptist Church in Lib-eral. His parents are Janet Jones and the late Jim Jones, who was active in KNCSB disaster relief.

Lora grew up attending First Baptist Church, Liberal, where she is still a member.

The two met at a K-State

Baptist Student Union (now called Christian Challenge) hay ride in the fall of 1982.

“We didn’t start dating until the summer of 1983,” Lora says. They were married in 1985.

While at K-State, J.L. and Lora led BSU Bible studies. They expanded their ministry in November 1985 by leading youth and singles at Calvary Baptist Church in Clay Center. J.L. was called as the church’s

pastor in January 1986.Lora served at his side as

church treasurer, pianist and Sunday School director.

They served the Clay Center church while attending Mid-western Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo. They were study partners and graduated together in May 1989 — J.L. earned a master of divinity degree and Lora was awarded a master’s degree in religious education.

Their daughter, Janessa, was born while they were serving

in Clay Center. They served at Clay Center until February 1993.

Then they went to Grand Island, Neb., where they served until August 2000. Their son, Jayden, was born in Grand Island. From there they went to Miami, Okla.

On that fateful night in late November 2004 the family was traveling in a snowstorm to Liberal to spend Thanksgiving with their families.

At Kingman, Kan., an on-coming pickup hit a slick spot, crossed the center line and hit the Joneses’ vehicle, which J.L. was driving.

J.L. and their son died at the scene. Lora and Janessa were taken to a Wichita hospital, where Janessa died the next day.

Jayden was 11 and in the sixth grade, and Janessa, age 14, was in the eighth grade.

With her old life ripped away, Lora found God leading her back to Miami, Okla. She lived in the church parsonage for six months and then bought a house, where she lived for two years.

“The whole community took care of me,” Lora recalls.

Being around her children’s friends helped her begin to heal from her losses. “That was really pivotal in those early years.”

As she grieved the loss of her family, Lora found herself struggling.

“God had to confirm to me that He still had a call for me.”

Lora opens her Bible to Romans 11:29, which says God’s gifts and calling are irrevocable. Then she points to the date she wrote by that passage: Dec. 13, 2004.

In March 2005 she shared her testimony at a country church near Miami, Okla.

“God started telling me I was going to do this [have a speak-ing ministry]. It took me a while to say ‘OK’.”

Her early speaking engage-ments “were out of obedience, not desire,” Lora says. “I’m not a speaker by nature. I

hated speech in school. God has changed my nature. I love see-ing people get a breath of hope.

“People want to know how I’m doing it. It gives me a wide open opportunity to talk about God.”

In 2007, Jones moved back home to Liberal. She served as Christian education director at her church for three years before going full time in her speaking ministry.

The spring of 2008 found her making a trip back to Nebraska, where she was the featured speaker at Oregon Trail Associa-tion’s annual women’s retreat. Her husband was the associa-tion’s moderator before they

went to Oklahoma.Jones reminded the women

“that no matter how bad you think things are, God is still there, and He doesn’t want you to give up,” said Brenda Lee, the retreat coordinator.

Word of her speaking minis-try is spreading, especially after a recent article in the southwest Kansas Christian newspaper. To learn more about her ministry, visit her Web site at http://www.lorajones.org/

“My heart’s desire is not to become some famous person,” Jones says. “My heart’s desire is to stay in the little places where anybody can have me come speak.”

Stay updated about WCCYou can keep up with what God is doing at Webster Conference Center, Salina, Kan., by subscribing to the WCC E-Newsletter.Sign up at http://www.webstercc.org/wcc/e_newsletter/”>

Pray for:PRAY for a greater passion to reach your community for Jesus Christ.

PRAY for a greater passion to reach all of the communities of Nebraska andKansas for the sake of the gospel.

PRAY for all the missionaries in our two-state convention who are strivingto plant the seed of the gospel across Kansas and Nebraska.

Copies of this page are available for download in a letter size page athttp://www.kncsb.org/ministry/article/viola_webb_promotional_material_downloads/

And then I heard the voiceof the Master:

“Whom shall I send?Who will go for us?”

I spoke up.Isaiah 6:8

Your Church Is Helping to Reach Allof Kansas & Nebraska for Christ

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Funding Missions in Nebraska & Kansas

Many Baptists mistakenly believe that the Cooperative Program is only used to fund International missions, North American missions and other national schools and programs. That is only part of the pur-pose of the Cooperative Program.

One of the major emphases of the Cooperative Program was and is to fund the work of state conventions and the mission works in which they are involved. Without Cooperative Program funding, there would be no state conventions. KNCSB would not exist and there would be no coordinated effort to bring the gospel to every person in Nebraska and Kansas.

Every dollar that your church gives to the Cooperative Program means that mission money is penetrating all parts of Kansas and Nebraska. Acts 1:8 lays out a progression of mission responsibility for the church of Jesus Christ in every generation from the first century until now.

The churches of Kansas and Nebraska have a biblical mandate to reach all of the lost of our two states. The Cooperative Program helps us do that more effectively than any other means ever developed by Baptist churches.

After shared ministry expenses are deducted, all Cooperative Program giving is divided by using 68% in KNCSB and sending 32% to the SBC for reaching the rest of North America and the world.

In addition to supporting missions through the Cooperative Program, your church can also support mission work in Nebraska and Kansas through the Viola Webb Associational and State Missions offering. This offering supports general missions in KNCSB and the mission enterprises of your local association.

50% of the Viola Webb Missions Offering comes back to your local association for mission proj-ects there. 50% goes to mission work throughout Kansas and Nebraska. Of that 50%, 40% goes to church starting, 40% goes to student work, and 20% goes to church strengthening.

Giving to the Viola Webb Mission Offering(VWMO) represents an opportunity for Kansas Nebraska Baptists to give specifically to the needs in our convention and associations. Perhaps you have heard me say, “we need to become more fiscally responsible for our future.” Increasing our gifts to the Viola Webb Mission Offering is a step in the right direction. I would like to challenge you and your church to give 10% more than you did last year to the VWMO.

Bob Mills, D.MinExecutive Director, KNCSB

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By Eva WilsonBaptist Digest associate editor

Church Librarians Urged to Share Christ

Kansas author Kim Vogel Sawyer was the featured speaker at the recent KNCSB Church Library Ministry Conference. Sawyer told about her long journey to becoming a best-sell-ing author. She thanked the church librarians for their ministry. “If it weren’t for people who love books, there wouldn’t be any point to what I do.” She and her husband, Don, are members of First Southern Baptist Church, Hutchinson, Kan.

Church librarians were chal-lenged to use their libraries to help reach and disciple people for Christ.

The KNCSB Church Library Ministry Conference was held recently at Webster Conference Center, Salina, Kan. Kansas-Nebraska church librarians attended the event along with people from surrounding states, including Colorado and Mis-souri.

“To help people to know the Lord or grow in Him — that is our purpose in being there,” Eva Nell Hunter told the librar-ians. Hunter is church library director at Central Baptist Church in Decatur, Ala. She is a national consultant for Life-Way Christian Resources and a popular conference leader at KNCSB church library events.

Hunter continued, “The best way to share Jesus through the library is to make sure it’s real with us.”

The highlight of the confer-ence was a Friday night ap-pearance by Kansas author Kim Vogel Sawyer, who has written more than 20 novels. She and her husband, Don, are mem-bers of First Southern Baptist Church, Hutchinson, Kan.

She told about her long jour-ney to becoming a best-selling author. It included battling health issues and a long string of rejections from publishers.

“It wasn’t something that hap-pened over night.”

Sawyer brought copies of each book she has written to the Church Library Ministry Conference.

“Those books are wonder-ful,” she said, pointing to the table covered by her books. “But my fulfillment is knowing who I am: I am God’s child.”

Sawyer tries to include the plan of salvation in the plot of each book she writes.

She also thanked the church librarians for their ministries. “If it weren’t for people who love books, there wouldn’t be any point to what I do.”

Sawyer and her husband re-cently moved to Kingman, Kan., where they own The King’s Inn, a bed and breakfast and retreat center.

Visit her Web site at http://www.kimvogelsawyer.com/ and look for her on Facebook.

The group also was urged to:n Keep updated on church

library ministry by joining the Church Librarians Network at http://churchlibrarians.ning.com/n Make plans to attend a

national church-library training conference, Aug. 2-4, 2013, at Ridgecrest Conference Center in North Carolina. Find more information at http://ridgecrest-conferencecenter.org/event/equippingchurchlibrarians-forministry

Real Encounter Sees 19 Saved

High-flying stunts on bicycles and motorcycles helped share the gospel in a fun and effective way during KNCSB’s Real Encounter Dec. 28-30, 2012. Real Encounter took the place of the InDepth conference. It was held in three locations. Real Encounter was designed to share the gospel and show Kansas-Nebraska Southern Baptist churches how they can hold a similar event in their own communities. (Submitted photo)

High-flying stunts on bi-cycles and motorcycles helped share the gospel in a fun and effective way during KNCSB’s Real Encounter Dec. 28-30, 2012.

Real Encounter took the place of the InDepth conference. It was held in Hutchinson, Kan., Topeka, Kan., and Ralston, Neb.

A total of 909 people attend-ed. Nineteen people accepted Christ as their Savior. Ten rededicated their lives to Christ and two received assurance of salvation.

Each event featured the riders from Real Encounter, a ministry based in Springfield, Mo. Real Encounter uses such elements as motorcycle stunt

riding, mountain bike stunt riding, flatland BMX to connect with the culture and share the gospel.

When Real Encounter stages a community event, it starts with school assemblies focusing on character and good choices. Then students are invited to an evening rally featuring high-flying stunts while sharing the gospel.

The three KNCSB events opened with a typical assembly that Real Encounter presents in schools. Then the second half was a Real Encounter rally, where the gospel was presented and participants were given an opportunity to respond.

Kansas-Nebraska Southern Baptist churches now have the opportunity to receive money from KNCSB to pay part of the cost of holding a Real Encounter event in their community. For details, contact Terry McIlvain at KNCSB, (800) 984-9092, or tmcilvain@kncsb.org

This money is available on a first-come, first-served basis, McIlvain added.

Celebration Church, a new church in Atchison, Kan., is in the process of organizing a Real Encounter event for Oct. 29-30, 2013.

To learn more about Real Encounter, visit its Web site at http://realencounter.org/

Thank you for supporting the Cooperative Program

Mission Trip Opportunityfor August 2013For those who are looking at doing a mission trip for 2013, the convention of Baptist Churches in Belize, Central America have asked International Commission to do a Evangelistic crusade in their country. There are 50 churches nation wide and we need 100 North Americans to help them conduct this crusade. Pray about being apart of this mission trip August 2013. For more information call Scott Mayse International Commission Coordinator at 913-731-0539 or e-mail at ScottM@IC-World.org.

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WWW.KNCSB.org

WCC Update

1. WCC is debt free as of first week in February. The loan to the KNSBF has been paid and WCC is now debt free. 2. User Days reached a new record high in 2012 with 47,451 users...up by 2,382. 3. Revenues also set a new record with $858,842.68, up $80,805.34, to keep WCC operat-ing in the black in spite of the economy.

VBS JumpstartSaturday, March 9, 2013

9:45 am - 3:00 pm Webster Conference

Center, Salina

Cost: $15/person for 3 conference sessions + lunch

Registration by 2/25/13: Barbara Spicer, 800-984-9092 or www.kncsb.org/ministry/bible_study.

Sponsored by: KNCSB Bible Teaching & Discipling Department. This event is made possible by Cooperative Program gifts from churches in Kansas and Nebraska.

LifeWay’s National Sunday School Director Seminar, redesigned for 2013, is coming to Webster Con-ference Center on Saturday, April 27. The new one-day format, 8:30 am-3:00 pm, is unique because it is intensely focused and totally devoted to Sunday School leaders.

“Sunday School directors, pastors/staff, department directors, and age division coordinators will benefit from a renewed vision for their Bible study ministry. In addition, they will leave with a customized step-by-step strat-egy for leading their Sunday School,”

National Seminar Comes to Salina in April

Spanish Sessions to Be Featured at VBS JumpstartVacation Bible School is the most effective evangelistic event held by the majority of our churches. Specific help for Hispanic churches in using this outreach tool is now available. Spanish-speaking sessions will be offered at the annual VBS Jumpstart on March 9, 2013, held at Webster Conference Center, Salina, Kansas.

The theme for this year is Colosal Parque de Diversiones: Enfrenta El Temore, Confia en Dios. Francisca Bluvan will lead the session for grade-school children’s leaders, and Gabriela Urena will provide training for preschool leaders. Both women are from Garden City, Kansas.

Francisca and Gabriela are part of the 12-member KNCSB VBS team that attended the national LifeWay VBS Institute in Ft. Worth, TX, in mid-January to receive in-depth training in their respective areas. The Spanish sessions will be held at the same time as the training for Colos-sal Coaster World: Facing Fears, Trusting God.

The registration fee of $15 per person includes lunch, a morning core conference, and two afternoon electives. Registration deadline is February 25, 2013. A registration brochure is available at www.kncsb.org/ministry/bible_study/, or call Bar-bara Spicer at 800-984-9092.

said Marie Clark, team leader for the KNCSB Bible Teaching & Discipling Team. “I encourage churches of any size to plan on sending their S.S. director and pastor, and possibly others. The seminar is timed to help S.S. leaders prepare for the launch of the new church year in the fall.”

Conference materials and lunch are all included for only $35 per person. To register, go to www.lifeway.com/nssds, or call 800-254-2022. For additional information, contact Marie Clark at 800-984-9154 or mclark@kncsb.org.

FSBC, Topeka recently called Gary Smith as Pastor. Smith, who grew up in Dodge City, has been serving with the Southern Baptist’s North American Mis-sion Board (NAMB) as a church planter and missionary for the past 12 years. His mission has been to plant new churches and share the Gospel amidst a vastly “lost” Canada.

Smith says only eight percent of all Canadians are connected to an evangeli-cal church, compared to 28 percent in the United States.

After making his family’s home in Canada, including recently purchasing a home in a Toronto suburb, Smith had no plans or interest in pursuing a pastoring job elsewhere – including in his native Kansas. But calls from trusted advisors who kept thinking of his name when considering candidates for the vacant po-sition at First Southern Baptist in Topeka compelled him to commit to a time of prayer and fasting. What he discovered was that, after initially dismissing the notion of a move to Topeka, he became more and more excited at the prospect.

“First Southern is a very mission-minded church, with a history of church planting and sending missionaries into its own community, throughout the country, and around the world,” Smith says. “The last 12 years as a missionary and church planting catalyst in Canada have really shaped me to lead a church into missional living. I am excited to lead

First Southern Baptist Church of Topeka to live out our Christian faith beyond the church walls and reach more and more people for Jesus Christ!”

Smith will replace Pastor Bob Mills, who is the Executive Director of the Kan-sas Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists and has been serving as the intentional interim pastor following the retirement of Pastor Clark Johnson. Join-ing Pastor Smith on his move to Topeka are his wife, Sue, and four children, Caleb, Joshua, Sarah and Andrew.

“I am passionate about leading people to understand, know and walk in God’s ways. My life verse is Acts 13:36 which states, ‘For when David had served the purposes of God in this generation he died.’ I am asking God to help us to be a part of fulfilling his dy-namic purposes in First Southern Baptist Church of Topeka and I am looking for-ward to seeing Him fulfill His answers to this prayer!”

FSBC, TopekaCalls New Pastor

4. A new opportunity to invest in WCC through a “Match Madness Campaign” that will benefit the ministry immediately, as well as in the future, is being repeated due to its success in 2012. To find out more about this opportunity, go to the WCC Website www.webstercc.org and check out how you can be involved. 5. The WCC Board of Directors will meet on February 7-8 to welcome its new board members and to beginning planning for the next phase of expansion at the Salina facility.

“Thank you” for your continued support of this mission facility as we continue to reach people for Christ and train believers for the work of the ministry! The WCC Staff

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I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard the Coach Parker DIF speech over the past eighteen months! Seriously! It comes up in conversation with kids, co-workers, innocent shoppers at the grocery store. Okay, maybe that’s a stretch, but I’ve heard it enough that it has caused me to ponder it.

DIF…D-desire, I-intensity, F-focus. As I frequently do, I looked for a spiritual application for this. It didn’t take long to formulate in my mind. When Parker (Dave, my husband) voices this speech it’s usually in relation to soccer players because that’s his passion, but DIF can be applied in our everyday-walking around-following Christ life.

First is desire. Would you rate your desire to reflect Christ as high, so-so, or I have no idea what you’re talking about? What would a high rating look like? Desire to reflect Christ produces fruit. Matthew 7: 16, “You’ll recognize them by their fruit.” Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Desire to reflect Christ shows

in our character. 1John 2:6 “The one who says he remains in Him should walk just as He walked.” What does your character say about your desire to reflect Christ?

Second is intensity. 2 Timothy 4:2, “Proclaim the message; persist in it whether con-venient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching.” I’ve

D I Foften wondered what an impact I would have on my world if I truly, truly believed in the magnitude, force, and strength of the gospel message. And then, what if you did as well? Imagine a world so bright with the glory of God being reflected on the face of every Christ follower!

The third word is focus. My eye doctor shared that as we age we develop three fields of vision, but we only have two eyes. Focusing within a three foot radius with one eye was easy. He corrected the other eye to focus on distance…the far away-not really in my world kind of stuff. Between these two fields of vision is a significant part of my world that’s easy to just let blur. Can’t really see their faces so how does their plight affect me? Don’t really understand them so it’s not my problem. No clear vision so fear takes over. Maybe those people are in someone else’s clear field of vision so I’ll just not get involved. Deuteronomy 31:6, “So be strong and coura-geous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

I hope with all my ramblings you can ponder on the Parker DIF idea and let God identify not only where your faith impact is strong, but also where you’ve chosen to let someone else do that because your vision is gone or not clear.

Desire Intensity Focus: foundational for reaching a dark world with the light of Christ!

Shiggaion! Mari

By Sarah SchmidtKNCSB Women’s Leadership Children’s Resource Team Leader

Luke 10:2 says, ”He told them: ’The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.’” HCSB. That is our theme for GLOW 2013: “Pr 4 M’s (Pray for Missionaries)”. GLOW is the annual mother/daughter retreat for girls in the first through sixth grades. This year we will be learning why and how to pray for missionaries. Priscilla Sapp, former IMB missionary, will be our speaker. Worship leader Mandy Horseman is a returning favorite to GLOW. Retreat date is April 5th & 6th at Webster Conference Center in Salina. Registration information will be coming to your church soon.

Annie Armstrong 2013: Acts 8:26-31

By Marca DeimundKN WMU President

It has been 125 years since Women’s Missionary Union (WMU) was founded! As you can imagine we are spending this year celebrating all that God has done using WMU’s influence on those who have felt God’s call to go, tell, give, teach and pray for missionaries; all a part of an individual’s and churches understanding their role in missions!

Annie Armstrong was a founding member and the first Corresponding Secretary of National WMU. Annie worked tirelessly in this role; she once traveled 3,300 miles in 21 days. Annie is well known for the letters she wrote and she wrote them by the thousands to the “sent ones”. She also wrote to churches encouraging them to give, pray and to be active towards the cause of The Gospel! One year alone she wrote 18,000 letters!

Today we can shoot an email, facebook, Face Time, Skype or send a text of encouragement to our mission-ary friends and family. Following the examples of the faithful before us to communicate with missionaries on the field and being examples to those who are coming up after us. Communication is vital whether done the old-fashioned way or with today’s technology.

Annie was also very personally involved in missions as she led women in her church to sew clothes and send them to children in need in the United States. She also led her church and the children she taught in Sunday School to provide for the orphans on the streets in her own city. They provided clothes, toys, school supplies and Christmas presents. Is there any wonder why her name is on the North American Missions Offering?

The Annie Armstrong Easter Offering deserves to reach this year’s goal of $70 MILLON. In honor of An-nie and her contemporaries, in honor of the missionar-ies who are depending on these funds to reach the lost in North America and in honor of those who are spiri-tually lost and will be until one of us tells them about Jesus, are you willing to take a part in the challenge of: What Ever It Takes?

By Debra BondsWWW Life Session Leader

The New Year is here. Have you made plans to make the intimacy in your marriage better, different, more exciting? Choose an adjective and make it hap-pen!

God created our bodies for sexual pleasure with-in the marriage context and in Genesis He states every creation of his was good.

Has this part of your mar-riage gone stale? Too busy raising kids? Been together so long that you don’t think it worth the time and effort anymore? Are you waiting for him/her to make the moves?

Don’t catch yourself acting like God is not concerned

Keeping Intimacy Alive in Marriagewith the sex/intimacy part of your marriage. He is! Step out of the box and get out of your comfort norm and do something different. Pray for some ideas, and I’ll let you in on a little secret…God will answer!

Keeping intimacy alive in marriage has to be inten-tional. Don’t think that it’s just going to happen, or it can wait until the kids are out of the house. NOT! Here are a few suggestions:

• Plan a date night…or• Show up at your spouse’s work to take him/her to

lunch… or• Create tickets and give them to your spouse, offer-

ing foot massages or back rubs or whatever creative thing you can put on the ticket to ‘gift’ to him/her….or

• Plan an after work surprise! – When your spouse comes home from work, let them be directed by signs to a certain room. When they get there, they will find you all alone, candles lit and ready. Your imagination can take it from there!

If you don’t make it intentional, intimacy can go stale. So come on … let’s take back this part of God’s creation, and use it to please our spouse. Have FUN!

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Coming April 19-20, 2013,a conference for ourNormative (under 150 in atten-dance) Churches.

Place:Webster Conference Center

Keynote: Terry Dorsett, author (Developing Leadership Teams in the Bivocational Church) and normative church leader.

Who: Pastors, key leaders, and spouses

The conference will begin Friday evening (19th) and con-clude mid to late afternoon on Saturday (20th). In addition to Dorsett, there will be breakout sessions dealing with is-sues facing the normative churches of KNCSB.

The cost for the conference will be $40 per person and $60 per couple. This includes one nights lodging at WCC and 2 meals plus a gift book. To make a reservation, contact Jana Gifford (jgifford@kncsb.org or call 800-984-9092).

Nall Avenue Baptist Church, Prairie Village KS, is searching for a full-time Minister of Children & Fami-lies. We are searching for a passionate candidate who excels at organization, planning, and delegation. Resumes should be sent to resumes@nallave.org. Please visit nallave.org for additional information.

FBC Muskogee is accepting resumes for a full-time Minis-ter to Students. Send resumes and inquiries to apastor@fbcmuskogee.org or by mail to Associate Pastor, Mark Hall, 111 S. 7th Street, Muskogee, OK 74401.

Carey Baptist Association is seeking a new Direc-tor of Missions. For more information, see our website at www.careyassoc.org or send a resume to: DOM Search Committee, P. O. Box 1302, Lake Charles, LA 70602-1302

Wife of Former KNCSB President Dies

N. Marie Berry, lived a long life for the Lord. She had turned 91 on Nov. 23, 2012. She was a witness for Christ right up to her last breath. She died on December 22, 2012 following complications from a fall which resulted in a broken leg. According to her son, Rennie, “When we would pray she would add, ‘and Lord, I want to come HOME!!!’ Well she made it for Jesus’ Birthday!”

Marie was preceded in death by her husband, Luther, They were long-time faithful workers for the Lord in KNCSB. Luther served as the President of KNCSB in 1974 and 1975.

Cooperative Program:the Heartbeat of Missions in KNCSB