Nebraska

Note from the Executive Minister

The American Baptist Churches of Nebraska met this year under the banner of “Mission nXt”.  We wanted to recognize the heritage we share as Baptist Christians in Nebraska, be alert to the moving of the Holy Spirit among us today and prepare for what God is going to do next in our lives together as the body of Christ.

We have a rich history of ministry and mission.  Our own Ola Hanson, an early missionary to Burma, translated the scriptures for the Kachin people as well as putting their oral language in written form. Chapel cars helped start churches on our prairies; home missionaries worked with the settlers and the Native Americans teaching about Jesus.  We share a ministry together at Moses Merrill Camp and Conference Center.  We host food pantries, do neighborhood projects, and challenge our young and old to live for Christ in the communities where they live.  We welcome people of various ethnic backgrounds to our region and are blessed as they join us in serving Christ.

But what does God have for us next?  We are excited about the possibilities! What a wonderful time to be alive and to be able to serve. We are uniquely positioned to make a difference, to participate in a transformation in the lives of those around us and in our own.  We do not know the future but we know we serve a God who has a vision and the strength to accomplish it.  Join us as we prayerfully seek His heart.

Rev. Robin Stoops, Executive Minister
American Baptist Churches of Nebraska

Leadership Transitions

American Baptist Churches of Nebraska will experience a staff transition as Dave Lundholm retires this year after twenty years on the staff of the region.  Greg Mamula will become the new Associate Executive Minister in January, 2012.

Dave received a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1971 and then spent four and a half years as a Personnel Officer in the United States Air Force.  Following his service, he attended Bethel Theological Seminary in St. Paul, MN, receiving his MDiv in 1980.  Dave served three and a half years in Timber Lake South Dakota (the former church of Genie Sherman of colporteur fame) where he was ordained in 1981.  He then served for six and a half years in New Hampton, IA.

Dave joined the Region staff of ABC Nebraska in 1991, serving churches from York to Chadron as Western Area Minister.  In 2000 his service area was expanded to the entire state and a short time later his title was changed to Associate Executive Minister.

Dave has had a long term interest in the early Celtic Christian church in Ireland and elsewhere, and is exploring the new monasticism.  After his retirement in the late fall of 2011, he plans to continue to live in Grand Island, NE while enjoying hobbies and being able to respond to new and unusual ministry opportunities.

Greg Mamula grew up in a military family.  His father served in the United States Air Force as an active duty soldier and as a reservist before retiring in 2009.  During those years Greg lived in eight states and two countries, attending thirteen different schools before graduating from high school.  These years exposed him to several cultures, taught him to live with regular change, and emphasized the importance of family relationships.

During high school, Greg became active in the local church, professing Christ as Savior at the age of 16.  Greg graduated from Williams Baptist College with a B.A. in Christian Education, while serving as a part time youth pastor of two Baptist Churches in Arkansas.  After college he attended the George W. Truett Baptist Theological Seminary at Baylor University, earning a Master of Divinity degree while serving as Pastor to Youth and Families at First Baptist Church of McGregor, TX.   In 2007 Greg transitioned to American Baptist life when he moved to North Platte, NE to serve full time as the Associate Pastor to First Baptist Church.  During his tenure at FBC North Platte, Greg was ordained as an ABCUSA pastor and became involved in the greater ABCUSA life by participating in various ABC/NE Regional events and boards.  He has also had the opportunity to participate in larger ABCUSA events like Biennials, Green Lake, Ministers Council, and national continuing education conferences.

Greg is married to Lisa, his wife of eight years. They have two children, four year old Sophia and one year old Joel.

ABC/NE invites the entire American Baptist family to join them in wishing Dave all the best in his retirement, and in welcoming Greg to the regional staff.

Missional Church Leadership Experience

There are currently nineteen churches in two groups going through the Missional Church Leadership Experience with Glynis LaBarre.  Although they are early in the process, there have already been some great ideas generated for how churches can take the love of Christ into their communities.

Pastor Gundar Lambert reports from First Baptist of Fremont:

• We have had two free garage sales.    The last one was last Saturday, November 5, with winter clothing being featured.   We started with 11 tables full and went down to 2.
• We have twice this year done what we call “Laundry Love.” We take quarters to laundromats and allow the customers to wash and dry their clothes at no cost.  Then we are able to talk to them as their clothes go through the machines.
• We are now running a bus for our Wednesday night ministry to a nearby trailer court which has brought an average of 25 children a night, many of them new to our church.
• We did “trunk or treat” October 20 as part of a downtown business event providing treats for children for Halloween and we passed out 200 fliers about our church.

It will be great to see what else God has for these participating churches!

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Nebraska Goes to Burma

This fall, a group of five from ABC Nebraska joined a team from International Ministries and a group from the Rocky Mountain Region on a visit to Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.  Harry Riggs of FBC Lincoln, Brad Daniels of FBC Chadron, Gam Lahpai of First Kachin Baptist Church of America, Ron French of Sunset Hills Baptist Church, and Robin Stoops, Executive Minister, were able to participate in the ten day trip.

One day, the team was at a market in a town four hours south of Yangon when a man dressed in a military uniform rode beside Robin Stoops and parked his motorcycle.  He was friendly, nodded hello, smiled and said, “Reverend.”  Robin was stunned that the officer knew who he was.  It was explained that the team was being observed for their own protection, but it was a new experience for the visitors from the U.S.  The team quickly understood that they were in a place with a very different culture from what they were used to.

During the trip, they were able to visit a research and education farm that provides local farmers with the latest in new methods of farm management.  This includes such things as growing their own fertilizer, introducing higher yield planting techniques and ideas for supplemental income such as fish ponds and tree production.  Also included are more holistic topics such as producing clean drinking water, developing vegetable gardens, and producing methane gas to run motors.  During the multi-week training given to each attendee is the opportunity for the staff to introduce the farmers to Jesus Christ in a country where the majority of people are Buddhist.

The photo shows the entire mission team with the farm director and one of the van drivers.  The twelve team members had an amazing time visiting with numerous local Baptist convention council members, seminaries, hospital and medical clinics, orphanages, schools and churches.  The ten days went by all too fast and they were repeatedly blessed with incredible hospitality by the people they met.

“We were blessed to see God’s hand in the lives of the Burmese people,” said Ron French.  “I pray we never forget the blessing God has given us in knowing people of different cultures and backgrounds.  We are better people for having known each other.”

Ten Lessons I Learned In Burma 

Lesson # 1: Don’t make comparisons—they aren’t fair. Before I went to Burma I had a micro understanding that all people are different, but I didn’t fully understand what that meant at the macro level. For example, I understood that we are all unique like a finger print, however I did not understand how that individual uniqueness played itself out onto an entire culture.

Lesson # 2: Customs are not good or bad, they are just different. I think, as Americans, we tend to weigh the world’s differences against how we live here in America. We then tend to pass judgment on an action or behavior based on “the American way”. Cultural customs are not good, normal, or the right way, simply because they are familiar. When something is unfamiliar it is just different and not bad, abnormal or the wrong way.

Lesson # 3: Make sure you take your tissue where ever you go. In much of Asia the toilets are not commodes with a seat. Many bathroom stalls do not have toilet paper so you need to have brought your own tissue. Always check to make sure you have your tissue before you leave your hotel room!

Lesson # 4: Always be ready, willing, and able! My pastor taught me to always enter the church ready to preach even if you are not scheduled. “Have a message in your heart and another in your pocket.” While I was in Burma the highlight for me was an unexpected opportunity to preach.

Lesson # 5: Do not say you like something if you’re not ready to have it given to you. When we first arrived, we were amazed by, and wanted to remark on everything. Here in America you compliment a host on something because you want to show your appreciation, not because you want it given to you. However, the level of hospitality is so high, the people really take it upon themselves to make sure your experience is a good one. When I complemented my host on his outfit, his response was “What size do you wear?”

Lesson # 6: Remember that what you see is only part of the story. Just because we had certain experiences in Burma, that does not mean they are normative for the individuals who live there.

Lesson # 7: Expect the unexpected. When I was growing up I had a leech latch onto me while I was playing in a lake. You can imagine my surprise as a youngster having never seen nor heard of a leech, and finding the slimy black creature attached to me—I hollered bloody murder! From that time until my trip to Burma I thought that leeches only existed in water. Again, you can imagine my horror to learn that Burma has “land leeches” and that there would not be water to separate me from them. Yuck!

Lesson # 8: Don’t ask someone to repeat themselves; just nod politely and smile. I think the worldwide signal for “I don’t understand anything you just said” is a polite smile and nodding of one’s head.

Lesson # 9: Road rules are diametrically different. It doesn’t matter how many a bus was made to hold—you can always fit one more. We saw vehicles that were filled literally to overflowing. I personally saw as many as four to a scooter or small motorcycle. There were often no stop lights at intersections or if there were, they were not working. I did not see one speed limit sign.

Lesson # 10: Pray, Chew, Swallow (a.k.a. Hospitality). We were taught in our training that it is rude not to eat what is set before you. Therefore, you are to eat slowly and don’t ask what something is. We were at dinner one night and the host was telling us about a mountain lion that was loose in the village and had been caught. I naively asked, “What did you do with the animal?” I was expecting to hear that they caught it and released it into the jungle, or that it was sent to a zoo. However, he calmly and matter-of-factly said, “We ate it.”

Conclusion: If any or all of these lessons seem a bit weird or challenge your world view, think about how our own travelers who now live among us feel, and ask yourself how hospitable you and I have been to help them in their transition.

The Bible says that we are to show hospitality to the stranger, for in so doing we may be entertaining angels unaware. (from Hebrews 13:2)

In this holiday season how will you show the hospitable love of Christ to the widow, the orphan, the less fortunate? The Bible says that whatever we do to the least of these we do it to Jesus. (from Matthew 25:40)

Harry Riggs
First Baptist Church, Lincoln, NE

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Region Information

55 churches

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