baptist digest june 2016

8/16/2019 Baptist Digest June 2016

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www.baptistdigest.com

Newsjournal Of Kansas and Nebraska Southern Baptists

Vol. 60 No. 6

Baptist

igest June 2016

Kansas-Nebraska Campers on Mission performed 761.5 hours of volunteer laborduring their recent two-week work project at Webster Conference Center, Salina,Kan. One of the COM men’s projects was constructing new entrances into the WCCdining hall. The new entrances connect the original dining hall with the new dining-hall addition. (Below) The Campers on Mission ladies work on painting the cabinetsin the dorm kitchen.

Plan Now to AttendKNCSB Annual Meeting

We are so excited to be hosting alongside theInternational Mission Board this year’s MissionaryKid Re-Entry retreat.IMB puts on a retreat each year for MKs return-

ing to the States for their rst year of university.Purpose of this retreat is to help MKs adjust back

into Western culture as well as learn how to con-nect and survive when their parents return to theireld of service.The retreat will be held Aug. 8-12 at Webster

Conference Center, Salina, Kan. IMB stas the re-treat while KNCSB covers transportation, lodging,meals, snacks and a gift card.We ask that you pray for these MKs coming back tothe States as well as nancially support them if thatis where you feel God is leading you. There areseveral ways you can give:

1. Any dollar donation. The retreat cost will be $350per MK.Send to: KNCSB An: MK Re-Entry Retreat 5410 SW 7th Topeka, KS 666062. Sponsor one or more students at $350 each.3. Cover $100 gift cards for one or more MKs.This retreat is such a blessing and honor to be

hosting! For more information contact Mari Parkerat [email protected] or call the KNCSB Sending

Oce at (800) 984-9092 ext. 828.

MK Re-Entry Retreat

The 2016 KNCSB annual meetingwill be held Monday night, Oct. 10,and Tuesday, Oct. 11, at LifeSpringChurch, Bellevue, Neb.

On-line messenger pre-registrationis now underway. Sept. 9 is the pre-registration deadline.

Find more information at hp://www.kncsbevents.org/EM16

KNCSB will mail informationabout the annual meeting in late June.



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WWW.KNCSB.ORG

GUIDING PRINCIPLES:INFORM -- Regularly share information about ongoingtraining, curriculum, events, support and personnel.RESOURCE -- Serve as a resource pool for practicalideas about what is working in KS-NE congregationsand 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 whowork with families.

AGE DIVERSE -- Publish stories that address thediversity of age, ethnicity, and geographical regions ofKS-NE.MISSION-ORIENTED -- Publish stories about peopleand congregations involved in missions and regularlypublicize ministry opportunities.PART OF WIDER MISSION - Help congregationsdiscover that they are part of the larger work of theKingdom 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: [email protected]

STAFFEditor: Tim Boyd, PhD.

Associate Editor: Eva Wilson

Printing Coordinator: Derek Taylor

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

AFFILIATIONS Association of State Baptist PapersBaptist Communicators Association

The Baptist Digest (USPS 018-942) Vol. 60 No. 6

Leadership Newsjournal for Kansas-Nebraska Southern Baptists is publishedmonthly (except for January and July)

10 times a year.

5410 SW 7th StreetTopeka, KS 66606-2398Phone: (785) 228-6800Toll Free: 800-984-9092

Fax: (785) 273-4992E-mail: [email protected]

Web site: baptistdigest.com

POSTMASTER:Periodical postage paid at Topeka, KS 66606 andadditional entries. Send address changes to: TheBaptist Digest, 5410 SW 7th Street, Topeka, KS

66606-2398.

By Bob MillsKNCSB Executive [email protected]

This morning in my time before the Lord, I foundmyself reading Psalm 146 over and over again. This

Psalm really spoke to me this morning about theimportance of placing our trust completely in the Lordfor all things. I pray that we as a family of believershave not lost our absolute dependence on God. Do wereally depend on “The Maker of Heaven and Earth?”Let me share this Psalm with you:

Praise the Lord.Praise the Lord, O my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

Do not put your trust in princes,

In mortal men, who cannot save.

By Andy AddisSenior Pastor, CrossPoint, Hutchinson, KSE-mail: [email protected]

I’ve been married for more than 20 years, and Ihave learned a few things. One of which is how toapologize.

A few weeks ago I was eating out. At a nearby tablea young couple, who by every nonverbal, displayed

there was trouble in para-

dise.He was talking, she was

fuming, and the tension inthe air was thick like bodyspray in the junior high boys locker room.

I heard this youngman start down the rightroad and then… well, hecrashed.

He said in a gentle way,“Well, I’m really sorry,

but…”Ouch, rookie mistake

kiddo.The word sorry should always be followed by a

period, not a comma.What comes next after an “I’m sorry” should be

silence. Yes, 20 plus years of marriage has taught methat at least.

I think we often try and say the right thing, but it isactually more important that we mean and believe theright thing.

If I asked you to summarize the book of 1

Corinthians in a word you’d probably come up with:division, fighting, backbiting, difficulty, etc.You’d be right!Yet, nestled in chapter 1 is a seemingly out of place

paragraph written by Paul about his thankfulness forthe church.

This same writer was the subject of the Corinthianchurch’s verbal attacks. A minister who’s value theydemeaned, ministry they criticized and name theydefamed.

The Cross Eyed Life

Andy Addis

Bob Mills

The Thought Occurred to MeWhen their spirit departs, they return to the ground; On that very day their plans come to nothing.

Blessed is he whose help is in the God of Jacob, Whose hope is in the Lord his God.

The Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, andeverything in them- The Lord, who remains faithful forever.

He upholds the cause of the oppressed And gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets prisoners free, The Lord gives sight to the blind,

The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, The Lord loves the righteous.

The Lord protects foreigners And sustains the fatherless and the widow,

But he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

The Lord reigns forever,

This church was busy picking sides, playing favor-ites and following whichever teacher they thought hadthe most “Jesus juice.”

So, it’s hard for me to stomach Paul’s words as heexpresses incredible thankfulness for that church.

In my history, I’ve been on the receiving end ofsome fairly vicious church member attacks. I’ve beenaccused of highjacking a church, using a bully pulpit,

and worst of all, not being very Baptist. I rememberchanging lights in the foyer because they didn’t workand I was labeled the desecrator of the temple.

I thought that last one was pretty harsh… they were just fluorescent lights.

I promise, immediately following those encounters Iwas not hitting my knees thanking God for those pre-cious people in my congregation.

I was spitfire mad, and was searching the scripturesfor wrath, judgment and… isn’t there something inthere about wailing and gnashing of teeth?

However, Paul was thankful, and it wasn’t just

words. He was genuinely thankful.If you look at his writings throughout the New

Testament, one of the things that marks this leader is amaturity displayed in excessive thankfulness.

He’s thankful for trials, thankful for much or little,thankful for people even when they’re difficult. I

believe thankfulness is one of the marks of spiritualmaturity that is overlooked.

We are thankful when we can identify a blessing,an answer or something that we can post, like andhashtag (#Blessed).

But, if we can find thankfulness in difficult peopleand circumstances, we are actually expressing graceand acting like Jesus.

In 1 Corinthians 1:4 Paul said, “ I give thanks to myGod always for you because of the grace of God thatwas given you in Christ Jesus.”

He wasn’t thankful for their negativity, name-callingor any of that ugliness, but he was genuinely thankfulthat the same grace he had received they had received.

Having that spirit of thankfulness allowed him tocorrect, endure, and lead out of a Christlike spirit.

It’s so important that we learn to be thankful.Thankfulness not only displays our maturity, it dif-fuses difficulty. It frames conflict. It paves the pathwayto peace.

It’s true, you’ve been hurt, they’ve been wrong, ahuge travesty of justice has taken place. But, if you flipthe script and change the roles around it sounds a littlelike the relationship you and Jesus have, doesn’t it?

So, don’t be thankful for whomever, but... Just be thankful. Then deal with the rest.

Your God, OZion, for all generations.Praise the Lord.

Soon we will be gath-ering in St. Louis forthe Southern BaptistsConvention. Each yearthe SBC family gath-ers to conduct businessand celebrate what theLord has done throughthe Southern BaptistsFamily. My prayer for ourBaptist family is that we will absolutely turn our heartstoward God and trust “The Maker of Heaven and

Earth.” Hope to see you in St. Louis.



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Sharing & Strengthening

God’s Plan for SharingBy Jon SappKNCSB State Director of EvangelismE-mail: [email protected]

“So naturally we proclaim Christ!” These words

have held meaning for me over the years. Found inColossians 1:28 and translated by J.B. Phillips, Paulshares what drives his life and ministry.

During recent weeks, I enjoyed watching DavidPlatt share on the “Secret Church” his insights of shar-ing the good news of Christ with the six major worldreligions. Then, with a weekend workshop at FirstSouthern in Topeka, we were challenged to learn andshare the stories of both the Old and New Testamentto communicate the gospel. Interestingly, in each ofthe presentations several insights were common asthe speakers encouraged us to share Christ in today’sworld.

First , we need to be praying for the lost. We want totalk to people but we need to be talking to God in thefirst place about people. Begin with prayer. Let’s ask,“God how do you want me to bless these people herein this place you have sent me to?”

The second consistent idea was to be a listener.Don’t start by telling them what you want them to believe. Begin with a listening ear and ask clarifying

questions. Get to know the people God has placedaround you. Engage in their struggle and their pain.As you listen to people, you discover what’s going on

in their lives. You identify places where you can walkalongside of them, help them, and carry their need tothe Lord.

Then , why not share a meal. Eat together. One ofthe most common ways to build a relationship is toshare a cup of coffee or a meal. Tim Chester, a pas-tor and author once asked the question, “How wouldyou complete the following sentence: ‘The Son of Mancame….?” He presented three ways that sentence wascompleted in the New Testament.n“The Son of Man came not to be served but to

serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many”(Mark 10:45. ESV)n“The Son of Man came to seek and to save the

lost ” (Luke 19:10, ESV)n“The Son of Man came eating…” (Luke 7:34, ESV) Jesus explained his purpose for coming in the first

two verses. However, in the third verse, he explainshis pattern of behavior of eating with people and hewas accused of being a glutton and drunkard. He wasneither, but he did spend time over meals with people

that were not attendingthe synagogue and thatgave opportunity for

complaint. Never theless, Jesus connectedwith folks over the table.

Finally share yourstory. In both of thetraining events men-tioned above, learninghow to connect yourstory to meaningful pas-sages in scripture waspresented. The consistent element was listen first andshare second. Share your story of how Christ has metyour need. Share how God communicated his love toyou. Use biblical events where we see God’s character,our need and His provision to meet our need.

Naturally proclaiming Christ is a goal that all of usshould have. As we pray for others, listen to them,enjoy coffee or a meal with them, and then share thegood news of Jesus. I trust you will enjoy living outGod’s Plan for Sharing.

Jon Sapp

The Cooperative Program

and KNCSB: Reaching out

to Nebraska and Kansas aswell as the whole world.

Partnering with all South-

ern Baptists to carry out

the Great Commission.

Featured Videos Available to churches cooperating with KNCSBby contacting [email protected] or calling either785/228-6800 or 800/984-9092. Ask for BarbaraSpicer.

1 Peter: A Living Hope in Christ by Jen Wilkin

Our inheritance through Christ is imperishable,undefiled, and unfading. In 1 Peter, a man offaith and flaws and eyewitness to the life of Christchallenges us to look beyond our current cir-cumstances to a future inheritance. He shares

his concerns on big picture issues for the earlychurch, describes believers’ true identity in Christ,and ultimately helps readers discover what itmeans to experience the Living Hope they havein Christ. Key themes of humility, submissions,and identity in Christ guide the study of 1 Peter asparticipants are challenged to read the book in itsentirety each week.

n1 Peter Introduction

nA Living Hope

nThe Believer’s Identity

nLiving Stones nSubmission – Part 1

nSubmission – Part 2 nSubmission – Part 3

nSelf-Controlled and Sober-Minded

nClothed in Humility

More Than Pretty by Ocielia Gibson

More Than Pretty is a six-session Bible study for

teen girls that explores the definition of true beau-ty. Using our five natural senses, this resourcewill serve as a tool to guide girls in exploring howto spiritually and practically develop multifacetedbeauty that ultimately honors God.

nIntroduction

nThe Flavor of Beauty

nThe Aroma of Beauty nThe Sound of Beauty

nThe Touch of Beauty

nThe Visual of Beauty

The Gospel of Mark by Lisa Harper

Throughout his account, Mark unveils a Jesus ofunparalleled power and authority but also a Jesusof humility and love. And while this Jesus inviteseach of us into a greater story through His teach-ings, He demands we come as active participants.This study shows what it fully means to be therecipients of His overflowing compassion and thevery reason for His all-consuming passions.

nAggressive Grace nChickens and Champions

nThe Scandal of a Scarcity Mentality

nGiving Up the “Right” to Ride Shotgun

nThe Beginning of His Earthly Ministry

nThe Beautiful Outcome of Our Lord’sBetrayal



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KNCSB ON MISSION

Leaders Urged to Stay Passionate about Jesus

Jon Sapp of the KNCSB staff welcomed Gracia Burnham to the KNCSB Normative Church Confer-ence held April 22-23 at Webster Conference Center, Salina, Kan. Burnham spoke during the nalretreat session on Saturday afternoon, April 23. She and her husband, Martin, were held captive inthe Philippines for more than a year in the early 2000’s. Martin died in the reght that resulted inGracia’s release. Gracia Burnham is a member of Metro East Baptist Church, Wichita, Kan. To learnmore about her ministry, visit her Web site at http://graciaburnham.org/

“If we’re going to develop spiritual leaders, we needto be deeply in love with Jesus,” Chuck Lawless said.

He urged participants in the KNCSB NormativeChurch Conference to re-gain their passion for Jesus.

The Normative Church Conference is designed forleaders in smaller-membership churches. It was heldApril 22-23 at Webster Conference Center, Salina, Kan.

Lawless was the featured speaker for the event. Heis vice president of Graduate Studies and Ministries atSoutheastern Baptist Seminary, where he also servesas professor of evangelism and missions. Visit his Website at hp://chucklawless.com/

The meeting also featured a special appearance byGracia Burnham. She and her husband, Martin, were

held captive in the Philippines for more than a yearin the early 2000’s. Martin died in the reght thatresulted in Gracia’s release.

Gracia Burnham is a member of Metro East BaptistChurch, Wichita, Kan. To learn more about her minis-try, visit her Web site at hp://graciaburnham.org/

“Developing Spiritual Leaders” was the retreattheme. Lawless spoke from the Gospel of Mark whichshows paerns in God’s work:

n “Jesus shows up.n “He teaches like no one has ever taught.n As a result, “people are astonished.”n

“People talk about Him and spread His fame.”Part of his emphasis during the retreat was to helpchurch leaders regain their passion for Christ so theycan develop spiritual leaders.

“Our job is to go speak about Jesus even if ournames are never recorded in the story,” Lawless said.

Lawless oered these tips for developing spiritualleaders:

n Know people. “You’re not going to raise up lead-ers in your church unless you know your people.”

n Recruit potential leaders face to face.n Work with a few people. Follow Jesus’ example as

he worked with his 12 disciples.n Keep a strong passion for Christ. Pastors need

such a strong passion for Christ that “people want to beon board.”

nRememberyou’re a sinnerand work withsinners.

During hisnal teachingsession Lawlessspoke from Mark9 on “Living

between theMountain andthe Valley. Jesustook Peter, Jamesand John up ona high mountainto pray, and Hewas transgured.

“When was

the last time you took a few of your leaders and all youdid was pray?” Lawless asked. “Prayer puts us in aposition for God to work in us.”

He also emphasized the need to pray constantlyinstead of waiting until tough times come. “What wemust learn to do is to pray proactively, not reactively.”

Spiritual leaders need to keep going to the moun-

taintop in order to minister eectively in the valley,Lawless continued.

“If you stay in the valley long enough you will lose

the power of God in your life.“To get back to the mountain, don’t do it alone.”

Find someone to hold you accountable and ask peopleto pray for you regularly.

Chuck Lawless

The Cooperative Program is Southern Baptists’ unied giving plan. Find resources to promote

the Cooperative Program at http://www.sbc.net/cp/default.asp



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KNCSB ON MISSION

Southview

Easter PageantMarks 25 Years

Southview Baptist Church, Lincoln, Neb., celebrated the 25th anniversary of its Easter pageant, “This Day of Resurrection,” in March. It is a powerful outreach event. Church members of all ageswork together in every part of the pageant’s production. (Photo by Becky Jansen)

Find where God is working and join Him.That is one of the key points in Henry Blackaby’s “Expe-

riencing God.”Southview Baptist Church, Lincoln, Neb., has been

joining God’s work for 25 years through its annual Easter pageant “This Day of Resurrection.”

Sylvana Airan, a long-time member of Southview, wrotethe pageant’s script, based on the Bible, and serves as the

director. She and her family left Pakistan in 1978 to escape persecution of Christians. Here she shares some of herthoughts about the background of the Easter pageant.

By Sylvana Airan

As a child growing up in Pakistan I received a Biblein the format of a comic book. I found myself alwaysreading the last few years of Jesus’ life —miracles, thearrest, denial, crucixion and the resurrection. But Icouldn’t bring the comic book with me to America — Icame with only one suitcase.

My father owned a View-Master® and he had a reelon the Life of Christ. I would sit for hours going overthis reel. But I also couldn’t bring the View-Master®when my family came to America.

When I was about 10 years old the Karachi (Paki-stan) American school held an annual outdoor play inthe mountains. The play was about the life of Jesus. Wewent to it every year until the government put a stopto it.

My mother was interested in the performing arts.She directed an outdoor Christmas play at Trinity HighSchool in Karachi and surprised everyone by having

the wise men enter on live camels.

My mother encouraged me to be in plays and she

took me to plays in town. I remember playing the partof the mother in Cinderella.

When I was in my early 20’s a Catholic gentlemanhad returned from America. He led a group of youngCatholic college singles and they staged “Jesus ChristSuperstar.” This was staged in a very respectful man-ner. I went to this every day by myself and was justintrigued by it all.

Again here I remember when the guy playing thepart of Jesus was brought in for the entry into Jeru-salem. I locked eyes with him and it reminded me of

Jesus in the View-Master®.

I could only come to America as a student and I hadto choose amajor thatwas notoered inPakistan.I chosearchitectureand hated it.But I foundI couldchange ma-

jors to the-atre. Duringthis two- orthree-yearperiod, Ilearned alot aboutstage sets,lighting,costumes,

makeup and so forth.

When I left college the department chairperson metwith me and asked me what I was going to do with mytheatre classes. I told him I didn’t know.

At the University of Nebraska-Lincoln I was in twoplays. And at the church I joined — Southview Baptistin Lincoln — I had an opportunity to direct small skitsand then one-hour plays.

Then in 1991, I had a vision from God to direct apassion play. I talked to Pastor Bob Grayson and JimEsslinger, the assistant pastor. The pastor gave me his

blessing and said, “Go for it.”But who was going to write the script? I knew what

scenes I wanted. After all I had seen it in my comic book, View-Master® reel and the play in the mountainsof Pakistan. So I went to the Bible and guess what: theBible is quite dramatic and the script was already writ-ten. I just wrote some words for the narrator to helpnon-church goers understand.

The Easter pageant at Southview started out as a20-minute play for two nights. Then we had to adda night the next year. Presently, the pageant has vehour-long performances.

God has used the Easter pageant to reach out toMuslims, Hindus, Atheists, Jews and not forgeinglukewarm Christians.

God’s hand is in the play because there are only tworehearsals for the entire cast. The main cast holds fourrehearsals and the choir practices about 12 times.

The whole church is involved and works as a team.We do not take an oering. The budget is now about$1,500.

We at Southview Baptist Church have truly “experi-enced God” through the pageant’s success. For us, thepageant is the “burning bush.”



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KNCSB ON MISSION

By June Newman

Teams Mark 24 Years of Service in Fort Worth

Southeast Kansas Baptist Association recently took its 24th annual mission trip to inner-cityFort Worth, Texas. The team works at the Beautiful Feet homeless ministry. This year’s majorproject was renishing the pews in the Beautiful Feet sanctuary. (Photo by Chris Wyan)

Editor’s note: This article isreprinted from the Southeast KansasBaptist Association newsleer.

In school we learn our ABCs by saying them over and overand writing them many timesto commit them to memory. Thesame goes for math skills — ad-dition, subtraction, multiplica-tion and division. Each one

builds on the other until we learnthe basics.

The alphabet leers become

words that become sentences.The addition and subtractionturns into balancing our check-

books and puing a budget inplace. Skills! We continue tolearn and develop ways to do thetask easier. But it always beginswith skills.

That’s the way the 2016Beautiful Feet mission trip toinner-city Fort Worth, Texas,

began — doing the basics. This

was the 24th annual mission tripto The Feet and we started withour leadership. Touch Touchtonand his son, David Touchton, ledthe whole team. But they alsoknew how to put key people inleadership positions.

Maxine Thorne took care of the food needs for theteam. We were well fed!

Kris Smilko was the leader for the Street Ministryteams that went out to the homeless Friday night andthroughout the day on Saturday. Smaller groups goingout at various times of the day allowed many morepeople to be a part of this ministry.

June Newman was in charge of the clothing, whichincluded sorting, sizing and bundling men’s clothes fordistribution on Sunday. Thank you for providing cloth-ing, jeans, shoes, underwear and warm coats. When we

left, the shelves in the clothing closet were packed full.Luke Oldweiler headed the team for the children’s

event on Saturday. The children’s laughter was conta-gious as they learned the Bible story and participatedin crafts, music and snacks.

Then there were the construction project leaders.Some were experienced in electrical work and com-pleted several jobs.

The big project for the weekend was renishing thepews in the Beautiful Feet sanctuary. Many hands andsanders kept the place buzzing Saturday morning asthe pews were prepared for stain. It reminded some of

a bunch of bees. Windows wereopen to let the sawdust driftoutside.

The stain was quickly appliedand wiped o. Then a crew cameright behind to apply the poly-urethane.

This was a huge project. Butwith everyone following theplan, it was completed by 5:30p.m.

All the pews were dry and

ready to use Sundaymorning. It looks so good!Thanks to all who helped.

The men from IglesiaBautista Communidad inWebb City laid the nalcarpet on the front stageand in the choir area. Theydid a great job!

This year’s teamtotaled 110 people from20 years. The youngestwas a 9-year-old boy andthe oldest was 80. Therewere many rst timers

and several who have been coming for 12 yearsor more.

Each year is dier-ent — new faces, newprojects, dierent situa-tions, and various talentsand skills. But togetherwe form the Beautiful Feetteam and we are ready toserve the people of FortWorth.

We have seen a dif-ference over the years— Christ is making thedierence.

For the rst time in2016, a second mission

team from our area went to Beautiful Feet the followingweekend. First Baptist Church, Baxter Springs, Kan.,and First Baptist Church, Joplin, Mo., joined together.

Je Street reported, “There were about 45 of us whowent to Beautiful Feet the last weekend in January.Nine were from First Baptist, Baxter, and the rest werefrom First Baptist, Joplin.

“Even though it was a separate trip, we did almosteverything exactly like we have been doing every otheryear I’ve been going and exactly like the group fromthe association that went the week before us.

“The work we did included some construction-typemaintenance around the Beautiful Feet building; sort-ing clothes, although not as many as we usually dealwith; and a kids club on Saturday afternoon for thechildren at the Hispanic church where we stay.

“Street ministry was our group’s focus. We passedout 700 care packets, 300 stocking caps (all made by ourvery own Shirley Morton), 50 knapsacks and more than

30 sleep mats (also made by Shirley).“As usual, most of the homeless we ministered to

were extremely grateful for what they received.”(June Newman is secretary for the Baptist Area Oce in

Altamont, Kan.)

Thank you for supporting the Cooperative Program.Find resources to promote the Cooperative Program at http://www.sbc.net/cp/default.asp



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www.knwomen.com

I have a huge heart for adoption. I think I always

have. One of my dearest childhood friends who was adopted

from foster care opened my eyes to the beauty of

adoption even as a young child. Now as a mother to four girls,

two of which are adopted, I find myself often surrounded by

it. Adoption is a big part of my family’s every day life. But I

also struggle with adoption. I hate that so many children have

endured such horrific trauma in their lives that adoption has

become their reality. These children have seen death, abuse,

neglect, or abandonment. Their birth mothers may have faced

extreme poverty, rape, or some other awful situation that led

her to make this decision. I long for a day when there are no

children desperately in need of parents, a day when the foster

system does not exist and the waiting child lists are empty.

So while I am grateful and blessed to get to parent

my two adopted girls, I also wish that they had not had to

endure all that they did to get to my home. I ask myself, howcan I help to prevent this from happening to more

children. How can we, the church, help to keep children with

their biological families?

I won’t pretend to have all of the answers, but I do

think one big piece of the puzzle is for us to support single

moms (or dads) in every way that we can. Nearly every time

We are HOME!!!So many of you have asked, prayed, and sup-

ported us throughout our adoption process, so I wanted

to give you a personal update. Our adoption process

began for me at WWW 2011, when Jen Hatmaker was our

speaker. I left the weekend praying, seeking God, as I felt

Him prompt our family toward adoption. With 4 biologi-

cal children, Ryan and I had never discussed adoption, so

it was out of the blue. After returning home, I just asked

Ryan to pray about it (and TRIED to not nag or keep ask-

ing him what God was saying!) Almost a year and a half

later, Ryan was ready to pursue adoption of a little girl…

it was amazing how God used various things, including

our children, to lead us in this direction. So our process

officially began in January 2013. We experienced many

struggles and changes throughout the process (adoption

program closures, country changes) before finally beingmatched with our daughter in Uganda. We received our

court date with just 3 weeks to plan our trip and fig-

ure out all the logistics. I was unable to attend WWW

2015, because we left just a few days after the weekend

for Uganda! Our entire family traveled to Uganda on

September 17, 2015 (what an adventure…a family of 6,

on a international flight!) The kids did great, and were so

excited to experience Africa! We arrived in Uganda on

Saturday afternoon, and FINALLY were able to meet our

daughter on Sunday, September 20. By the next day, the

children were holding hands as they walked, and playing

like long lost best friends.Our family stayed in Uganda for 2 weeks, then

Ryan and our “bios” came back home, to get back to work

and school. I remained in Uganda with Suubi for another

6 weeks to complete the adoption process on the Ugandan

end. Our process in country was almost picture perfect,

with no real delays to speak of. But it was definitely a

LONG time to be away from the rest of our family! We

returned home on November 13, and it has been non-

stop ever since! With doctor’s appointments, paperwork,

recovering from being overseas so long, and just adjusting

to life as a family of 7, the last 7 months has been noth-

ing short of a whirlwind. Suubi is doing amazing, and

has loved experiencing so many firsts: snow, American

school, sneakers, birthday parties, dance and gymnastics,

and her favorite, BACON!

The verse we clung to for Suubi before we

even knew her was John 14: 18 – “I will not leave you

as orphans, I am coming to you.” God had been prepar-

ing her heart as well…months before she was told of her

adoption, she began telling workers at her orphanage that

she had a family coming for her from America, and that

she was being adopted! We believe God was prepar-

ing her for us at the same time preparing our family for

her! Adoption was not anything we had ever planned for

our family, but we can’timagine our family any dif-

ferent now. God designed

each step of the process,

and provided all along the

way. Thank you for your

prayers!

Sarah

Adoption

Life Liquid Offering

But I will rejoice even if I lose my life,

pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like

your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want

all of you to share that joy. (Philippians 2:17/NLT)

Life Liquid offering... when we flooded in

‘98, one of the things we discovered about water is

that there is no place it did not permeate or penetrate.

The water had even penetrated a vacuum packed and

plastic sealed container of deodorant. When I opened

it there was nothing in the deodorant container. No

water and no solid deodorant. The liquid had moved

in and out while totally dissolving all the contents

within. This astounded me. There were no signs that

the water had even moved through the sealed plastics.

Yet, the contents were radically changed because it

had poured through it.

This made me think of the power of God's

Word and the movement of the Holy Spirit. When we

pour out the life-giving water of the LORD JESUS,

we can expect the same. His Word can penetrate any-

thing and wash away all the contents inside that seemso solid or immovable. It is not always visible that the

Spirit of God has been poured out, but when the Word

of God has been given it does not return void. Here’s

to living as a life-pouring liquid in Jesus.

In what ways have you been poured out as

a life liquid offering this week? Father, make us into a

liquid offering. In this we will rejoice!

Simply, Tara

in scripture that God calls for the church to

care for orphans he also calls us to care for

widows. I think

“widows” in scripture can refer to more

than just women whose husbands have died.

I think that single mothers or vulnerable

women fall into this category as well.

Let’s do our part to support these women. You

could volunteer at a pregnancy center. You could mentor

a struggling mom who may have no clue what it means

to be a Godly mother. Maybe you could offer to baby sit

or provide car repairs for a single mom. You could help

women battling substance abuse or escaping the sex

trafficking industry. You could find ways to provide health

care, education, and vocational training for women all

over the world. The possibilities are endless and the needs

are great.I hope we will each pray and ask God to reveal

ways to us that we can help and be part of the solution.

May we take God’s command to support orphans and

widows seriously and search for how God would have us

live this out in our daily lives.

Melissa

Wonderful Weekend ForWomen

With Wonderful Weekend for Womencoming September 16th and 17th, it's timeto get excited and get prepared for what Godhas in store for you. Not only is He planningsomething great for you, but this is an oppor-tunity to share with those who surround you,whether they are in your neighborhood, friends

from school or right there in your church. God calls us toseek those around us, worship together and praise Him; it'ssomething that will change a relationship. Sometimes it's hard to go up to somebody and just ask them if they'll join you for an event, the worst theycan say is no, and the best they can say is YES!!! Relation-ships change when you allow God to intervene; you become

closer and connect spiritually. I personally experienced thisat WWW 2014 when I invited a friend to come with me.Our friendship changed from a day-to-day friendship to aspiritual friendship where we often discuss God’s Word andwhat he is doing in our life. I am thankful I asked her to joinme and even more thankful she said yes! So I urge you to pray that God will put someoneon your path and then be bold enough to invite them to join you for the weekend. Once the weekend rolls around,use your time to talk and be vulnerable. This year’s themeis “A Beautiful Mess”, and I know there is a little mess inall of us, so start there. Ask God to help you identify your beautiful mess and then share. James 1:2-3 “Count it all joy,my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for youknow that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” ESV I have seen first hand how God has used a hard place in my life and turned it into hope for someone else. Ittook courage and trust on my behalf. God will put us next tosomeone that needs to hear our story, or maybe we need tohear theirs.

God is so good and we can see a glimpse of Hisgoodness in those relationships when we jump in!

Caroline



J U N E

2 0 1 6

8

WWW.KNCSB.ORG

SUMMER CAMPS AT WCC BEGIN MAY 30:Associational Children’s Camps begin on May 30 and run through mid-June.These camps are followed immediately by the Latino Youth Summer Camp andsix weeks of Super Summer. Pray for God’s will to be done in the lives of chil-dren, youth and sponsors, as well as their churches and communities when theyreturn home.

THE DINING HALL SHOULD BE USEABLE FOR THE SUMMER CAMPINGSEASON:1. The area connecting the old Dining Hall to the new addition has been opened.2. The dry wall has been installed, the taping completed and mudding has beennished.3. Cabinets have arrived and are being installed now.

4. Plumbing connections and painting has begun.With the completion of the interior, an occupancy permit will be issued and theexterior work will continue through the summer. Final landscaping should bedone this fall and the renovation of the old Dining Hall should be completed bythe end of the year.

MATCHING CHALLENGE GRANT: About $60,000 has been raised to date andthe nal $15,000 needs to raised by mid-July. If this challenge is met, and someadditional funds are raised, the original bid will be honored and paving will be-gin at the end of summer. If this goal is not met by mid-July, the price may go updue to the cost of materials. If you or your church would like help, send your taxexempt gifts payable to Webster Conference Center and mail them to: WCC, 5410

S.W. 7th Street, Topeka, KS 66606-2398. God has opened the door…it is up to us torespond. Thank you!

Sign up for the free monthly WCC E-Newsletters by going to the WCC websitewww.webstercc.org and click on the newsletter link to begin receiving the news-letter.

“Thank you” for your continued support of WCC!

Webster

Update

WICHITA CHURCH is looking for part time Director of Worship to plan andlead a blended worship service working with a praise team. Please send

resumes to Tyler Road Baptist Church, 571 S. Tyler Road, Wichita, KS 67209or to [email protected].

FT Worship Pastor sought to lead blended worship in conservative, reformed

SBC in Bartlesville, OK (www.highlandparkbaptist.net) Choir conducting, me-dia skills preferred. Send resume to [email protected].

Vacation Bible School—it’s not just for church kids!

VBS can be a fantastic evangelism event. Catch avision for how your VBS could impact eternity.Here is a simple plan to involve every member of

your church or small group to engage unchurchedchildren in life-changing VBS. It’s called: “I Invited 1”Issue a challenge.

The goal is for every individual in your church topersonally invite one unchurched boy or girl to VBS.Anyone can do that. Specifically call out every child,senior adult, youth, single adult, couple, and collegestudent to take the challenge.

They personally invite a child in their life path

who doesn’t attend church—neighbor, acquaintance,schoolmate, stranger, work associate’s child.Ask church members to bring the first name of

that child next Sunday.Make it easy.

As you issue the challenge, give each person aVBS invitation for the child they’ll invite. It can bea business-card size invite or a card. Include thechurch website for details and online registration.Pray over the invitations, and ask God to direct each

person to a child who needs Him.

Make it visual. nCreate a huge “Jesus loves the little children”wall display in a visible area of the church.nA couple of Sundays before VBS, give each

church attender a colorful die-cut paper doll, to writethe first name of the child they’re inviting, and add itto the wall display as a prayer reminder. nPrint well-designed, round stickers with largeletters “I invited 1” for every person to proudly wear.Purchase and print sheets of circle stickers, or orderstickers from a print company. Picture this: granniesand four-year-olds, teens and newcomers—all wear-

ing “I Invited 1” stickers. Wouldn’t it be fun if someneeded a dozen stickers? nAnnounce the total number who’ve been person-ally invited so far. Pray for them. Challenge others toinvite one.Create excitement. nStrive for 100% involvement. Though many arealready fully engaged in VBS planning, the major-ity of members probably can’t offer hands-on help

because of work, schedule or health conflicts. Every

person of every age and circumstance can invite one

child. Imagine what God can do if every memberparticipates.nChildren’s Sunday School teachers give tips on

how to invite friends, how to include and welcomenewcomers, and how to invite them to your churchafter VBS.n Just before VBS begins, encourage members to

remind the child they invited to come.nInstead of an all-church project, this could be

done in your choir, women’s ministry, youth group,deacons, small group, etc.nPlan an enormous follow-up on Saturday after

VBS, and prepare to welcome many new parents andchildren on Sunday. So wear your “I Invited 1” sticker with pride and

prayers. And, VBS staffers--hold on to your hats!God’s at work, His church is excited about inviting,and this may be the most thrilling VBS in history.

© Diana Davis is an author, columnist

and minister’s wife. www.dianadavis.org

F E L L O W S H I P O F C H R I S T I A N

M A G I C I A N S ( F C M )Free Clinic to learn Magic,

Clowning, Puppets, Skits, Balloons, etc

August 19-20, 2016Friday Sign-In 4-5 pm

Early Bird Workshops 5-8 pm Saturday Sign-In 8-9 am

Workshops 9-5 pm First Baptist Church, 11400 Johnson Drive,

Shawnee, KS. 66203 (2 blocks WEST of Neiman Rd

on Johnson Dr.) Registration Deadline: Aug.15, 2016

Call Bev Dowling: 913-236-8808 or email: [email protected] for more information or

to register. Pre-registration is required.

Vacation Bible School - An Evangelism Opportunity

“Seeking Resident Managers at Flagler, Colorado. We need a self-supported couple (considerseasonally or long term) who can do maintenance and oversight of the lodging aspect andenlisting temporary paid persons (room cleaning and laundry). Manage program and engage in

evangelistic conversation with guests and groups. Wheatland can provide a furnished apartment,utilities, and a monthly stipend. We will also assist you in acquiring appropriate part-time work.Inquire my email to [email protected] and check out www.wheatlandcenter.com

baptist digest june 2016

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