ABC Michigan
American Baptist Churches of Michigan
A Message from the Executive Director
What is the purpose and role of a middle judicatory? Increasingly, as 
budgets are challenged and denominational entities struggle to determine the most strategic use of resources, it is an important question to ask. The American Baptist Churches of Michigan’s purpose, as stated in our Bylaws, “is to serve and strengthen local congregations by providing a network of resources, support and fellowship; to be the partnership link with the American Baptist Churches, USA; to enable all partners to carry out the mission of Jesus Christ.” Specifically, we seek to address our purpose through the theme “Growing Healthy Churches” and through the following initiatives:
- Ministry Leadership Groups (MLG): We encourage all professional church leaders in our Region to participate in a MLG. Each MLG is comprised of six to eight professional church leaders led by a peer. The purpose of these groups include: (1) support and encouragement; (2) accountability to one another; (3) continuing education; (4) spiritual enrichment.
- Congregational Health Initiatives: In recent years we have developed a toolbox of assessment tools to aid congregations in assessing their health in order to take their ministries to the next level. One such tool is ReTool, a two year intentional congregational visioning and revitalization process.
- Transitional Ministries: We continue to mature our efforts in assisting congregations in transition. In addition to working with pastoral search committees, we seek, during the interim period, to work with congregational leaders to equip them to assess the overall health of the congregation including assessing levels of conflict, clarify vision, and more.
- Equipping/Training/Mission Events: We seek to provide training opportunities for professional church leaders and lay leaders on a regular basis. We offer an annual pastor’s retreat and have partnered with other regions to provide other enrichment opportunities. In 2011 we sponsored a Haiti Mission work team bringing individuals from several of our churches together to make a difference in Haiti.
The following stories highlight how the initiatives listed above are making a difference as our Region seeks to do our part “to enable all partners to carry out the mission of Jesus Christ.”
Dr. Michael A. Williams
Executive Minister
American Baptist Churches of Michigan
Seeking, Knowing, Growing!
During his recent sabbatical, Dr. Michael Williams, executive minister for American Baptist Churches of Michigan, studied how churches are responding to the challenges of our rapidly changing culture. To benefit from his insights, First Baptist Church of Holly invited Dr. Williams to lead us in a day-long retreat.
At that time we explored the challenges of being relevant, faithful and fruitful as a congregation.
Dr. Williams then encouraged us to closely observe our community, see the needs present, and discern the ways God may be calling us to engage those outside our church family.
As we examined our purpose and explored how we were meeting the needs of those in the community, we turned our focus outward. While holding on to our core values but beginning to see the needs in the neighborhood, new activities came to life. We formed partnerships with the Police Department, Holly Area Youth Assistance, the Chamber of Commerce, and Holly Area 
Schools, among others. Our leaders established 34 ministries designed to help us engage with our neighbors. The church is building a whole new set of connections in the community.
As a pastor leading a church on this transformational journey, the resources of ABC-MI have been invaluable. My Ministry Leadership Group has been most helpful as a prayer partner and sounding board, and we are thankful to have sister churches praying for us.
Recently we invited Dr. Williams for a return visit to encourage and hearten our outreach efforts.
He called on us each to embrace this personal challenge; “This is the time the Lord has given me to serve. I am going to be faithful! The best chapters of my life are yet to be written!” By responding to this challenge, we remain true to our mission statement: Seeking, Knowing, Growing.
Rev. Ed Pedley
First Baptist Church
Holly, MI
The Joy of the Lord Is My Strength!
I celebrate the Lord’s unconditional love towards me by growing, encouraging and embracing The church I serve. New Prospect is The Church Where the Spirit of Unity Abides and The Vision Lives and Shines! With God’s help, I guaranteed them twelve years ago that my leadership style would consist of reaching, preaching, loving and praying. “Giving Away My 
Joy” and my passion for reaching, preaching, loving and praying, empowers me. Giving and loving enables me to equip the church to carry out its mission. We have adopted D.E.E.P. as our mission: We Disciple, Evangelize, Educate and Pamper and Care for the sheep. I believe that a relationship with God will transform our relationship with others. A genuine encounter with Christ brings us closer to Him and to each other.
Connecting with a Ministry Leadership Group has been a source of inspiration. Supporting one another with our prayers and fellowship demonstrates our Christian faith. The monthly commitment is a challenge but the strength received from sharing is certainly worth every sacrifice. The leadership styles of my colleagues force me to take a monthly review of what the Lord is doing through me. They have assured me that there is potential! The rich dialogue when we embark upon a Biblical text has also had a profound effect on my leadership style. Being accountable to them is no longer fearful. I look forward to sharing at the table of faith.
The Parlor, located in the Light Center, is where we meet. It has become a sanctuary. The Lord makes His Presence known and the brothers and sisters who gather there, they can respond. My colleagues have made “The Parlor” a special place for hearts, minds and souls. My cup of joy runs over because of The American Baptist Churches of Michigan. We can all drink from the saucer, receive the strength we need and live!
Rev. Dr. Wilma Johnson
New Prospect Baptist Church
Detroit, MI
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Michigan Servants for Christ in Haiti
Greetings from Michigan Servants for Christ, your Haiti mission team, in the name of Jesus! The team traveling to Haiti was made up of 13 individuals from six churches. We regret to report that one team member had a medical 
emergency just before we departed (which we gave thanks for happening “before” he left) so we were 13 in Haiti, 14 in spirit. We left Detroit Metro Airport July 7 for Fort Lauderdale then departed very early the next morning for Cap-Haitien, Haiti, in the north. Pastor Joseph Voltaire of Cap-Haitien First Baptist Church greeted us personally and whisked us off to his home, following our first of many harrowing back-of-a-pickup-truck-with-people-overflowing-the-sides ride. After a few days, we loved it.
Our main task while in Haiti was to clean up the camp at DuCroix and get a new roof of 4×12 sheets of zinc metal on the chapel there. The camp was abandoned in the early 1990’s and is now dilapidated and in need of many repairs, but when it is again an active retreat center and camp, those present will meet God at DuCroix. Pastor Voltaire looks forward to Pastors retreating there and youth being saved there. There is much to do to maximize its use, but a latrine/water system would make it useable right now. Knowing the generous heart for missions that our Michigan churches have, we promised Pastor Voltaire that we would return and raise an additional $1,500 to purchase the pump and other materials necessary to get that in place. All donations are welcome for the latrine/water system at DuCroix and can be sent to the ABC-Michigan Region office by September 1.
Despite the bleak scene, we saw God everywhere and witnessed him at work every day in the smiles of the people and from the love shown us by our hosts and all the Haitian people. Imagine the setting, on the beach at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, covered with trash and overgrown brush and weeds everywhere. With machetes and other “tools” in hand, we set about cleaning the beach and surrounding camp property, all brush was cleared, pathways and staircases were cleaned and rebuilt and finally a secret sanctuary carved into the mountainside by other churches decades ago revealed itself; the view was majestic and the Holy Spirit was in that place. After three days at the camp, our work was done and we celebrated by swimming in the ocean. At this point, we were overwhelmed by God’s goodness.
In addition to our work at DuCroix, we had the opportunity to not only worship at FBC Cap-Haitien with 2000 people, but New Prospect Baptist Church in Detroit’s Rev. Carnel H.L. Richardson preached, telling the people of Haiti about the Good News. It was very special and the people of the church responded. In that service, we were also invited to sing under the direction of our guitar-playing mission team worship leader; this was a thrill and for many team members, a first time ever singing in a choir. That day, we took the opportunity to rest and visit and walk around the town and neighborhood a bit and meet the people of Haiti. At the end of the week, we had the great privilege of touring the UCNH (Christian University North Haiti) campus, meet the President and his wife, professors and even interns from America. Most extraordinary was the precious time we had with our missionary Kihomi Nzunga whose work to educate and eliminate cholera in the remotest villages is inspiring. Together with her husband, Dr. Mabudiga Nzunga, they oversee the Kids for Kids program. The program provides a pig or goat to be raised by a youth in a Haitian family and the meat or offspring are sold to support the family. Children from our churches raised $700, enough to purchase 14 goats or pigs.
Not everyone on the team worked at the camp. Two of our teachers spent three afternoons teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) classes to more than 30 church members. Over 100 wanted to take the classes, so many were turned away. ESL teachers are needed in Haiti. Another team member spent two mornings teaching lay leaders about development of church leadership and discipleship classes. And while we were there, the General Baptist Assembly of Haiti was gathering for days at UCNH so our discipleship training team member addressed the Assembly both days. We were honored to be able to utilize our gifts and thanked God over and over again for all we experienced.
It would be wrong to write about the trip and not acknowledge the deplorable condition of the cities and villages: homes (overcrowded shacks and lean-to’s) with no doors or windows; cities and villages with trash piled high and raw sewage trenches everywhere; wheel barrows transporting everything you can possibly think of and more. Despite the bleak scene, we saw God everywhere and witnessed him at work every day in the smiles of the people and from the love shown us by our hosts and all the Haitian people. They are proud and they want to work, but there is little work. The average daily wage of a Haitian laborer is $1. We found the cost of food and clothing and souvenirs and wares and soda and everything to be comparable to our cost at home: $1 for a coke or small can of Pringles, $6 for a cheeseburger and fries and soda meal, $14 for a gauze blouse, $25 for a hand-carved wooden Haiti souvenir platter, etc. But they earn on average $1 per day. Do the math.
We stayed at Pastor Voltaire’s home where we met and grew to love him, his wife and all the people in their household. We were served home-cooked meals three times a day including pizza and meatloaf and scalloped potatoes and cheeseburgers with french fries and pineapple upside down cake for dessert, and corn flakes with fresh bananas for breakfast, but then there was the fish head stew meal and a few other dishes that were interesting.
I am certain that some of us who went to Cap-Haitien will one day return, perhaps even for a retreat at DuCroix. Thank you, Michigan churches, for your support and your prayers for our mission. We thank God for the experience we had together, for the opportunity to witness God at work in the people of Haiti who seem to us to have so little, but they have so much more.
Read about it and see pictures at www.michiganservantsforchrist.blogspot.com.
Praise God!
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Region Information
American Baptist Churches of Michigan
160 churches with a resident membership of 21,314
Executive Minister: Dr. Michael A. Williams
Web site: www.abc-mi.org
Total UM through July 2011: $96,803
