MEMBERSHIP HAS ITS PRIVILEGES!

Yale Divinity School and the Ministers Council partner to provide members an opportunity to extend their education at Summer Study 2013 at a DISCOUNT. 

Summer Study 2013, consists of two week sessions: June 10-14th and June 17-21th. Topics are diverse and include everything from the Dead Sea Scrolls to Jonathan Edwards to postmodern worship.

Week One will focus on Bible study and interpretation, featuring David Bartlett and Robert Wilson’s course “Preaching from the Lectionary: Year A,” which will offer fresh perspectives on familiar and difficult scriptures. Maggi Dawn will examine theology through the arts with “Reading Theology through Art, Poetry and Music.” John and Adela Collins will both be teaching bible courses. John will offer “What have we learned from the Dead Sea Scrolls?” and Adela will offer “The Gospel of Mark: The Oldest Story of Jesus.” You can sign up for both!

Week Two will focus on tools for ministry. Highlights include Jerry Streets’s course, “Creating Social Change: The Power of ‘I Have a Dream,’ “ which will examine the use of dreams in prophetic ministry. Jan Holton’s course, “Ministry in Times of Mass Violence and Tragedy,” will explore tools for dealing with issues surrounding mass casualty events. And, back by popular demand, Julie Faith Parker will offer “The Bible through Art and Artifact II” featuring excursions to museums and cultural institutions around Yale and New Haven.

Complementing Week Two is a very special Youth Ministry program featuring five great speakers: Chap Clark, Miroslav Volf, Rodger Nishioka, Yolanda Smith, and David White.

MINISTERS COUNCIL MEMBERS RECEIVE A $25 DISCOUNT FOR ONE COURSE AND $50 FOR TWO COURSES AND A 10% DISCOUNT FOR BOOKS FROM THE YDS BOOKSTORE.

For complete information about Summer Study 2013, please visit http://summerstudy.yale.edu/ To Register for Special Discount call Kira Wishart at 203.432.5359. Registration closes Tuesday, May 28th, and we hope you’ll register for one or more of these outstanding courses and take advantage of the membership savings. NOTE: Your 2013 membership card must be sent via fax to receive the “for members only” discount. Discounts are only honored for active Minister Council members and can only be used by the member whose name appears on the card. The registration of anyone other than an active member will not be honored. 

Lookout for additional savings at Yale.

Every afternoon, two different speakers will present a 10-minute talk on topics to empower, challenge and motivate 21^st – century Christians. JP Talks are being hosted by American Baptist Home Mission Societies/Judson Press in a coffeehouse setting with complimentary refreshments. All participants of the Mission Summit are invited to attend.

Friday, June 21, at 2:30 p.m., Susan E. Gillies, former executive minister of American Baptist Churches of Nebraska, will focus on “Empowering Laity, Engaging Leaders: Tapping the Root for Ministry.” Gillies will address cultivating lay leadership and sustaining church leaders in ministry while also caring for yourself as a leader.

Friday, June 21, at 4:00 p.m., Dr. Marvin A. McMickle, president of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, Rochester, New York, will highlight “Caring Pastors, Caring People: Equipping Your Church for Pastoral Care.” McMickle will include as well as expand traditional understandings of compassionate ministry through both clergy and laity roles.

Saturday, June 22, at 2:30 p.m., Dr. Trinette V. McCray, assistant professor in Christian Witness and in Worship at Central Baptist Theological Seminary-Wisconsin, will present “Spirituality That Works: Engaging Your Church through Significant Living.” McCray will connect the personal spirituality and social transformation that makes our lives matter.

Saturday, June 22, at 4:00 p.m., Dr. Lee Spitzer, executive minister of American Baptist Churches of New Jersey, will highlight “Making Friends, Making Disciples: Growing Your Church through Authentic Relationships.” Spitzer will explore the growth of individuals as well as church communities through circles of friendship.

Sunday, June 23, at 2:30 p.m., Rev. Douglas Avilesbernal, senior pastor at Calvary Baptist Church of Norristown, PA, will offer “Crossing Boundaries, Becoming Neighbors: Diversity That Works.” Pastor Doug will invite participants to journey “through Samaria,” at a time when Jews and Samaritans didn’t mix as a metaphor for engaging with ethnic and social diversity.

Sunday, June 23, at 4:00 p.m., Rev. Glynnis LaBarre, transformation strategist for the American Baptist Home Mission Societies, will present “Learning Mission, Living Mission: Churches That Work.” LaBarre will outline key components of the Missional Church Learning Experience—relationships, community, and active learning—in creating a supportive environment for churches to explore their response to the rapid changes in our culture.

The Judson Press’ Living Church series is edited by Dr. J. Dwight Stinnett, executive minister, American Baptist Churches Great Rivers Region. For more information about books in the series, visit www.judsonpress.com/books/churchresources/LivingChurchseries.

American Baptist Churches is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with over 5,200 local congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.

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The following text is taken from the video above. Watch (or read) to see American Baptist Churches USA General Secretary Roy Medley’s reflections on the upcoming Mission Summit/Biennial in Overland Park/Kansas, June 21-23, 2013. Visit www.americanbaptists2013.com for more information!

I hope that congregations will come away from this inaugural Mission Summit and our Biennial with an understanding that Baptists have always been an experimental people, that we have always faced adaptive challenges with a willingness to try new forms of ministry, to find new forms of expression of our faith and for outreach to others.

In Kansas City we will be celebrating three major events that exemplify that pioneering spirit, including the 150^th anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.  The whole issue of slavery was a huge adaptive challenge to the life of the church of that generation.  American Baptists rose to that challenge in their work against slavery.  And then following the Civil War they worked in the South to create schools and to provide for the whole expression of the citizenship of those who had once been slaves. 

On Saturday night we’ll also be celebrating the 200^th anniversary of the arrival of the Judsons in Burma.  When they received the call, our theological orientation was Calvinistic–an anti-missionary movement.  It followed that through the work begun by the Judsons there was a huge shift in Baptist life that called us to reach out in mission with a passion for the whole world, and we have not stopped.

And on Sunday night we’ll celebrate the 375^th anniversary of the founding of the First Baptist Church in America in Providence, Rhode Island, a milestone in the expression of religious freedom and another example of the fact that Baptists were an adaptive movement within the life of the church. 

We’ll also be asking people to join in conversations around the adaptive challenges they face today and that have been named by them. 

I want people to come away from these conversations with a sense of encouragement derived from our history, but also with a sense of freedom—a freedom to try new things, a freedom to ask, “How do we live out the life of Christ as a people in the midst of those who deal with despair, who deal with fear, who ask what future they will have where the gap between rich and poor seems to grow ever wider? Is there a way for us to be a blessing to our community that we have not been before?”

We look forward to learning from each other.  It will be a whole different way of doing a Biennial.

-Rev. Dr. A. Roy Medley, General Secretary, American Baptist Churches USA

Victoria Goff, national coordinator for volunteer ministries, American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS), continues to monitor the situation and is in communication with local partners.

John Williams, executive minister of American Baptist Churches of the Central Region, reports that no American Baptist churches are in affected areas. Two Cooperative Baptist Fellowship churches in Oklahoma City and another in Norman, Okla., may need assistance.

“Our hearts go out to the members of the Moore community who have experienced such a devastating loss of life as their town was struck by a ferocious tornado. We pray especially for those families who lost their children in this tragedy,” says the Rev. Dr. A. Roy Medley, general secretary of American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA). “Already, our American Baptist churches are joining with others to organize relief efforts. Our hands follow our hearts in reaching out in solidarity with those who have lost so much. May they find comfort and strength in the love and support of others.”

Adds ABHMS Executive Director Dr. Aidsand F. Wright-Riggins III: “Our hearts are heavy with sadness and grief for the victims of the tornado in Moore, Oklahoma. While our first instinct is to ask, ‘Why?’, perhaps the next question that comes to mind is more important: ‘How?’ American Baptists consistently answer that question over and over again in the same way. We will respond with compassion. We will respond with our prayers, our resources and with our volunteer efforts to help the people of Moore on their journey toward wholeness. Already, our Volunteer Ministries and Disaster Relief programs are mobilizing to put American Baptist compassion into constructive and long-term action.”

Your gifts designated to “OGHS Oklahoma Tornadoes” will help affected areas at this time. To make a donation, visit www.abc-usa.org and click “Give Online” at the top right of the page. In the “Comments” section, type “OGHS Oklahoma Tornadoes.”

OGHS is administered by the World Relief Committee of the Board of General Ministries. The committee facilitates American Baptist emergency relief, disaster rehabilitation, refugee work and development assistance by establishing policy guidelines and overseeing distribution of the annual OGHS offering. One hundred percent of donations go to relief efforts; no dollars are retained for administrative costs.

American Baptist Churches USA is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with over 5,200 local congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.

For the first time ever, the IGNITE team will also include two young Baptist leaders from the country hosting us. These two team members will participate fully in all of our activities and stay with us throughout the trip.

IGNITE is sponsored by American Baptist International Ministries (IM) Team members include:

Sarah Coots of Hamilton, Ohio

Tamuna Gogaladze of the Republic of Georgia

Ina Osikmashvili of the Republic of Georgia

Alexander Toro-Maradiaga of Cumberland, Rhode Island

Victoria Zeiner of Clayton, Indiana

IM Global Consultant for Peace and Refuge and team leader Dr. Daniel Buttry has commented, “Some of my best experiences in mission have been working with the young adults first in the Xtreme Teams and now in IGNITE.  These folks are already leaders or they wouldn’t have been chosen for the teams. To see their leadership grow as they engage in cross-cultural mission keeps me young at heart and always growing.  The relationships often continue long past the dates of the mission encounter because of the depth of sharing and the impact upon the shape of lives and ministry.”

The Republic of Georgia is a country of about 4.7 million which borders Turkey and Armenia to the south, Azerbaijan to the east, Russia to the north, and the Black Sea to the west. While in Georgia, IGNITE team members will love and serve the least and the forgotten. This will include particular ministry with the elderly, with long-since-displaced refugees, and with orphans in a state-run boarding home.

Says Buttry, “The Republic of Georgia as a mission context will ignite a heart for serving Christ, not just because of the needs to be met, but because of working alongside the Georgian Baptists.  The Georgian Baptists, though a tiny percentage of the total population of the country, are creatively and courageously involved in transformative mission in their own culture.  All of us on the IGNITE team will learn much from them as we serve together in the Lord’s name.”

Please pray for Sarah, Tamuna, Ina, Alex, and Torie while they are working together in Georgia from May 20-June 19. You can read bios and stay informed on the progress and experiences of the team by visiting their blog regularly: http://internationalministries.org/teams/570.

American Baptist International Ministries was organized in 1814 as the first Baptist international mission agency in America. It began its pioneer mission work in Burma and today works in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas serving more than 1,800 long-term and short-term missionaries. Its central mission is to help people come to faith in Jesus, grow in their relationship with God, and change their worlds through the power of the Spirit. It works with respected partners in over 70 countries in ministries that meet human need.

American Baptist Churches USA is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with over 5,200 local congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.

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The Mission Summit Conversations are the heart of the Mission Summit.  Topics can be viewed by clicking here

Schedule for Mission Summit Conversations

Saturday, June 22: 9:30 – 11:00 am – Mission Summit Conversations – round one
Saturday, June 22: 2:45 – 3:45 pm – Mission Summit Conversations – round two
Saturday, June 22: 4:00 – 4:50 pm – Reports in plenary session
Sunday, June 23: 2:45 – 4:45 pm – Mission Summit Conversations – round three

Overall Goal – Create the space for meaningful conversation among the Mission Summit participants in order to advance the mission and ministry of our American Baptist Churches.

Desired Outcomes

• MSC participants to invest in a meaningful conversation about mission and ministry
• MSC participants to gain insights from one another during the MSC
• MSC participants to desire to continue the conversation after the Mission Summit/Biennial
• MSC participants to offer insights, needs, and hopes to Mission Table participants

The groups will be divided into three large rooms titled, “Our Leaders,” “Our Witness,” and “Our Future.”  The packet given out upon registration will show which room each group is in and there will lobby hosts and room hosts at the Mission Summit/Biennial to help you find the group that you would like to join. You can join ANY group that interests you!

Attendees’ should take away from the Mission Summit Conversations:

(1) an understanding that they and their local congregations are not alone in the challenges that they face in mission and ministry;
(2) contact information and helpful insights from others who are facing similar challenges; and
(3) an experience to inspire discernment and excitement about possible experiments for their local church setting.

These questions and more will be tackled at the weekend conference, Embrace the Cause, on August 9-12 at the Green Lake Conference Center in Green Lake, Wisconsin. Anyone who senses a call to cross-cultural Christian service is invited to attend.

This intensive three-day event is sponsored by American Baptist International Ministries (IM), a leading U.S-based Christian mission organization that has been sending missionaries, working with global partners and partnering with U.S. and Puerto Rico churches for 200 years. To learn more, go to http://www.internationalministries.org/read/47661-embrace-the-cause-retreat.

Conference participants will have time to reflect on their calls, worship and talk one-on-one with current and former missionaries. IM staff will be available to provide information and guidance on the practical steps in the process of discerning a call to IM missionary service.

Recognized speakers and an inspiring worship leader will guide attendees through the process of recognizing and following a call to cross-cultural mission.

The Rev. Dr. Lee B. Spitzer will share his expertise on the importance of spiritual formation, including the value of friends when it comes to thriving on the mission field. As Executive Minister and Senior Regional Pastor of the American Baptist Churches (ABC) of New Jersey and a published author, Spitzer has pastored three ABC churches and has preached the gospel and taught on spirituality in the former Soviet Union, Estonia, Japan, Myanmar (Burma), the Philippines, Brazil, Egypt, the Congo, Zambia, Uganda and Haiti. While on sabbatical, Spitzer interviewed dozens of missionaries about their relationships with people on and off the field. He compiled his research into a book, Friendship and the Mission, which highlights the spiritual vitality to be found in circles of friendship.

The Rev. Dr. Stan Slade, current IM global consultant and associate executive director program for IM, will talk about what makes IM unique as a mission organization. A global specialist in Theological Education, Slade provides his unique and intriguing position on what it means to be a missionary today. Slade’s passion is to see followers of Jesus energized for mission through a fresh encounter with the Lord, one another, the world and the Word.

The Rev. Dr. Reid Trulson, executive director of IM and a former missionary and area director, will lead one of the tracks on IM’s distinct culture and history. Trulson will focus on the geographic areas in which IM serves, IM’s partners and the vital relationships that support the work of every missionary.

Attendees will have personal time for reflection and prayer, as well as a chance to experience international praise and worship with leader Jared Messer. Since 2009, Messer has been the Director of Worship at Calvary Bible Church in Neenah, Wisconsin. His passion for worship and music spans 20 years. He is open to new opportunities to expand his understanding of God, and then share that with others.

The cost for the three-day conference is $80; meals and housing are an additional expense. To register, call the Green Lake Conference Center: (920) 294-3323. Limited scholarships are available from IM. Write to recruitment@internationalministries.org or call 800 222-3872 ext. 2245.

American Baptist International Ministries was organized in 1814 as the first Baptist international mission agency in America. It began its pioneer mission work in Burma and today works in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas serving more than 1,800 long-term and short-term missionaries. Its central mission is to help people come to faith in Jesus, grow in their relationship with God, and change their worlds through the power of the Spirit. It works with respected partners in over 70 countries in ministries that meet human need.

American Baptist Churches USA is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with over 5,200 local congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.

The project involves the formation of four groups in different parts of the country, each of which will be led by an elder (over 60) and a young adult (between 18 and 29).  Groups will meet between summer 2013 and summer 2014 for the purposes of discussing and reflecting upon intergenerational challenges in Asian American Baptist churches of their region, learning about intergenerational relationships through this experience, and then designing at least one ministry model together.  The models, which will seek to bridge generational gaps and foster young adult retention and leadership development in local churches, will be shared among the wider Asian American Baptist constituency at a national gathering. The hope is that such sharing will lead to experimental implementation and the birthing of more Covenant Circles.

Caucus President Rev. Marie Onwubuariri commented, “This year’s Palmer Grant theme on discipleship with young adults goes hand in hand with our recent discussions about bridging generational gaps and supporting young adult leadership. What I am most excited about is the project’s emphasis on the empowerment of local and regional young adults and elders to lead and direct the conversation. I am hopeful that key leaders will emerge in our application process, setting the stage for an exciting and fruitful project year ahead.”

The Intergenerational Covenant Circles Project is one of the first emphases to be put into practice as the Asian Caucus expands its function and makes the transition to becoming the Alliance of Asian American Baptist Churches.  In addition to continuing the advocacy and leadership development role of the Caucus as established by the General Board of the denomination decades ago, the Alliance will identify and implement ministries and missions to, with, and on behalf of its member churches and individuals.  After several years of discussing this concept, the delegates to the Asian Caucus Convocation held in Puerto Rico in 2011 voted to accept the Alliance concept in principle, with the understanding that the group would officially begin to function as the Alliance at the Convocation to be held in Overland Park, KS, in conjunction with Mission Summit 2013.

In addition to the Intergenerational Covenant Circles Project, the projects of the new Alliance include the development of a resource ministry manual for Asian churches and the endorsement of an initial group of American Baptist missionaries.  Together, these projects reflect the Alliance’s commitment to partnering with ABCUSA and its agencies, and also its desire to address specific concerns and interest of Asian American Baptist Churches.

American Baptist Churches USA is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with over 5,200 local congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.

Those interested in signing the letter and affirming women as ministerial leaders for our churches can do so by visiting the following link: http://www.abc-usa.org/what_we_believe/abc-organizations/abwim/openletter/

The “Celebrating the Gifts of Women in Ministry” letter will publicize the names of those who support women’s leadership, with the hope that those who may be unsure will be encouraged to think about, discuss and explore supporting women’s gifts for ministry. Click here to view resources available to provide biblical support for the inclusion of women in all levels of ministry: http://www.abc-usa.org/what_we_believe/abc-organizations/abwim/

Signees of the letter become advocates in celebrating and supporting women’s gifts for ministry. The Advisory Team plans to use this letter to encourage others to support women as equal partners with men in ministering to all God’s people.

The Women in Ministry Advisory Team members include:

Rev. Patricia Hernandez, National Director ABWIM
Rev. Holly V. Bean, Advisory Team Convener
Rev. Charles C. Adams
Rev. Dr. Judy G. Allbee
Rev. Steve Bils
Rev. Dr. Alice B. Greene
Rev. Dr. Mary Hulst
Rev. Dr. A. Roy Medley
Rev. Lauren Ng
Rev. Jackie Saxon
Rev. Karen Yee
Rev. Dr. Mary H. Young