baptistlife fall 2015

Fall 2015 Newsjournal of the Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network/BCMD • www.baptistlifeonline.org

®

LOVING OUR NEIGHBORS

Ensuring under-

reached populations

have opportunity to

hear the Gospel

Fall 2015

I cannot wait to experience this year’s Annual Celebration, and I want to extend to you an invitation.

You will not want to miss the 2015 Annual Celebration at the Clarion Resort Fontainebleau Hotel, Ocean City, Md., on Nov. 8-10. This year’s gathering will be a major celebration as we praise our Lord and celebrate what He is doing in our Network. Please mark your calendar, pray, commit to participate in this experience, and invite a friend.

This year’s theme, “Loving Our Neighbors,” celebrates God’s command to us to love each other (Galatians 5:14). Paul reminds us that we as Christians are called to serve one another in love. As we move ahead next year committed to sharing the love of Jesus with a lost and hurting world, we will highlight a number of specific initiatives to advance God’s kingdom. We are called to show love!

This year we will celebrate our love for the world by com-mitting to an action: loving each other. We will celebrate exciting new initiatives. You will have an opportunity to participate in very interesting and thought-provoking breakout sessions. We will worship together. Various guests will bring God’s Word to us. We anticipate a joyous experience.

I ask that you come “prayed up.” The theme is “Loving Our Neighbors.” It starts with us. Let’s demonstrate we are willing to love our neighbors by loving each other! I look forward to seeing you in Ocean City!

ONE-FOR-ONE

The International Mission Board is addressing a major financial shortfall and has been forced to reduce its missionary force through voluntary retirement incentives.

What can your church do to help? Follow the example of our Network. The proposed budget

for 2016 will show an increase of one percent in the Network’s giving through the Cooperative Program (CP). I am urging the 550-plus churches of our Network to increase their CP giving to our multi-state convention by one percent next year. I call this effort the “One for One” campaign.

If we all increase our giving through CP, then perhaps “Elizabeth” can stay on the mission field where she belongs.

ANNUAL CELEBRATION

Are you ready for some boring reports and endless motions confusing to everyone except the parliamentarian?

If so, then do NOT show up at our upcoming annual celebration in Ocean City. We have planned three days of exciting speakers, moving songs of worship, and the unveiling of major missions emphases that will stir your soul. Please make plans to attend the 180th annual meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network in Ocean City, Md., November 8-10.

To prepare our hearts for this celebration, please join with me for a week of prayer and fasting, November 1-7. As you pray and fast, remember the words, “unify” and “glorify.” Ask the Lord to use our annual celebration to unify us and to glorify His name.

BILL WARREN

PresidentMid-Atlantic

Baptist Network

Senior Pastor Allen Memorial Baptist Church,

Salisbury, Md.

TOM STOLLE

Interim Executive Director Chief Financial Officer

Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network

PERSPECTIVE BY BILL WARREN

PERSPECTIVE BY TOM STOLLE

Fall 2015

BaptistLIFE (ISSN 331-640) is published quarterly as a Cooperative Program ministry of the Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network/BCMD.

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VOLUME 100 ISSUE 3/ Fall 2015

Contents

Network NewsLATEST GMB MOVES p. 4 The Network’s General Mission Board approves a new agreement with NAMB, budget proposal and increased CP giving

INTERIM EXEC TOM STOLLE URGES PRAYER p. 6Urging ‘hard’ prayer, Tom Stolle outlines key areas of the Network’s ministry

ENGAGING THE WORLD HERE AND NOW p. 8 Joel Rainey shares distinct ways to ‘love our neighbors’

STRENGTENING CHURCHES p. 10 The Network’s Church Strengthening team seeks to ‘duplicate less and multiply more the impact of the churches from this part of the country to the whole world’

FeaturesLOVING OUR MUSLIM NEIGHBORS p. 12 ‘A community of outcasts . . . outcasts reaching outcasts’

LOVING OUR JEWISH NEIGHBORS p. 14 New Planting Strategist Robert Pristoop reaches Jewish people with the Gospel of the Jewish Messiah Jesus

LOVING OUR SPECIAL NEEDS NEIGHBORS p. 16Tom Stolle is on a mission to ensure families with special needs have access to the Gospel, too

LOVING OUR URBAN NEIGHBORS p. 18In the aftermath of the Baltimore riots, the Network is examining ways to truly minister to our hurting cities

PerspectivesBILL WARREN p. 2

TOM STOLLE p. 2

p. 18p. 16

p. 14

Fall 2015

By Sharon Mager

COLUMBIA Md.—General Mis-sion Board (GMB) members voted unanimously to ac-cept a new Strategic Cooperative Agree-ment with the North American Mission Board (NAMB). They also approved a 2016 budget, increasing Cooperative Program (CP) giving an ad-ditional one percent. The proposed 2016 budget will be sub-mitted to messengers for consideration and approval at the Annual Celebration in November.

Regarding the NAMB agreement, GMB President Mark Dooley said, “We can do more together than apart. We need to be united together and partner with churches and with other SBC organizations as well. I think the agreement is good and will serve us well.”

GMB members approved an Administrative Committee proposal increasing Cooperative Program giving by one percent setting the proposed percentage split for 2016 to 57.5 percent staying in the region and 42.5 percent sent to the SBC national office.

Network Interim Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer Tom Stolle ex-plained that the GMB voted when approv-ing the 2012 budget, to increase CP giving one percent per year to

the national SBC until the year 2020. This would result in the ultimate goal of 49 percent of

CP receipts being reinvested into church strengthening and multiplying of Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network churches and 51 percent leaving the Network. However, the accomplishment of this shift in future budgets was tied to churches’ increased

investment through CP. The increase in CP receipts from the churches did not happen. Instead, receipts declined, de-railing the effort. Although the effort has been hindered, GMB members voted to move ahead in 2016 once again and support a one percent increase in the amount of CP being sent on to the national SBC.

“We want to affirm and support the Cooperative Pro-gram,” Stolle said.

“Now is not the time to give up on CP,” Stolle said. “We will be receiving a quar-ter million additional dollars earmarked to plant (churches) and that should help,” he said, referring to an increase in NAMB’s cooperative support in 2016, adding that CP giving still has to increase from the local church to support future per-centage increases in amounts sent on to the national SBC.

Financial Report

Stolle presented the quar-terly financial report based on the July 31 Operating Income Statement. He said CP giving is down approximately 5.7 per-cent from last year. He predicts

end of year CP giving to be approximately $3.9 million, falling short of the budgeted $4.025 million.

Stolle said Network facility operations show spending is slightly over budget but that is due to higher than anticipated corporate insurance costs and offsite storage fees. Stolle said offsite stor-age costs for 2015 were cut in half. The storage fees were paid up front.

“It is a timing issue,” he explained. All other major

GMB members approve agreement with NAMB, budget proposal and increased CP giving

Mark Dooley, General Mission Board President, Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network

Martin Bennett, pastor of Life Connection Church, Severn, Md., prays during the Sept. 8 General Mission Board meeting.

Fall 2015

ministry areas are operating within budget.

The staff is doing a good job of ‘holding the line,’” he said.

Overall, Stolle said the Network financial receipts are $59,712 ahead of dis-bursements for the seven months ended July 31, 2015. “Where will it end up? It de-pends on CP giving.”

Regarding the Skycroft Training Center budget, Stolle said income has been down, but they hope to break even. Currently Skycroft is “to the good” about $79,682. Approximately 75 percent of the receipts arrive between May and early September. “We are doing everything we can to break even. If we don’t, it will be close,” Stolle said. “In my opin-ion, the Network has one of the best conference center direc-tors in the country,” Stolle said, referring to Skycroft Training Center Director Doug DuBois.

In addition to serving as the Director of Skycroft, DuBois is serving as strategist for church strengthening and will continue to meet and encourage pastors.

Baptist Foundation

Stolle also presented the report for the Baptist Founda-tion of Maryland/Delaware. Sixteen churches have out-standing loans with the Bap-tist Foundation of Maryland/Delaware. Stolle explained that the Foundation recognizes no profit on its church loans. The interest paid on the loans generates the majority of the income that annually is distrib-uted to the Network to assist in the starting and strengthening of churches.

The Foundation’s portfo-lio value as of June 30, 2015 was $7,472,980. Year-to-date returns reflect a performance of 1.8 percent. The one-year portfolio performance reflected

a return of 2.8 percent.The Foundation also man-

ages funds for churches, as well

as provides stewardship educa-tion, Stolle told GMB members.

For more information about the Foundation, see www.bcmd.org/baptist-foundation.

Search Committee Report

Victor Kirk reported for the GMB’s executive search committee. “We want to make sure we are finding God’s man,” Kirk told GMB members. He said the team is seeking someone who is educated, adheres to the Baptist Faith & Message, and is called to the position. “While there is a process of applying, there is still the call,” Kirk said.

“We have committed to pray over the process,” he added.

President’s Remarks

Network President Bill Warren called for a week of prayer and fasting, Nov. 1 to 7. “Fast as you feel led to and pray for God to unify and glorify—unify the Network and glorify His name.”

Warren shared about a missionary who has served 25 years “underground,” and now has to decide whether to take the first offer and retire or await the next “cut.” He said it is “heartbreaking.”

Warren said he applauds the GMB for voting on a budget that increases the percentage

going to the SBC ex-ecutive office. “Going back was a mistake,” Warren said.

He introduced the “One for One” Campaign.

“We are sending another percentage to Nashville so more money can go to the International Mission Board,” Warren said.

“We are not wait-ing for churches to give money. We are walking by faith that churches will send

money…” He challenged GMB members to approach their finance teams and ask them to increase CP giving by one percent.

“We need you to try,” he said. “And send it through the state convention. Send it here, and we’ll send it on,” Warren said.

Warren prayed, “Thank you for the staff you have given us. Thank you for the budget in which we’re giving more money to help missionaries and seminaries. God, I ask that you will move our churches to give more….”

Bill Warren, President, Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network

for

Fall 2015

By Sharon Mager

“I’m excited. We’re on the verge of some of the most amazing ministry

opportunities that I’ve been a part of not just in my 11 years of service here but in my lifetime,” Tom Stolle, Mid-Atlantic Net-work’s interim executive direc-tor told General Mission Board (GMB) members at the Sept. 8 GMB meeting at the Network Center. These initiatives include:

Church Revitalization:

“NAMB (North American Mission Board) states that more than 70 percent of Southern Baptist churches are plateaued or declining. Perhaps your church needs help in this area. Perhaps your church is part of this trend. There are resources available to help you face this challenge. The Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network wants to come alongside you!” Stolle said.

Jewish Church Planting:

“Do we want to see Jews come to Jesus? Do we really? So often, we forget about this

people group. Well, no more,” Stolle said. The Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network is going to work with other churches and other pastors to “make inten-tional church planting target-ing Jewish people that do not know Jesus a reality!”

Muslim Church Planting:

Stolle acknowledged that Mus-lims are another under-reached population. Noting the Network is strategically located in an area where many Muslims live and can be reached, he ex-pressed his excitement over the Network’s new focus on plant-ing churches for Muslims. “We are contracting with a former Muslim man who now serves as a pastor to other former Mus-lims,” he said.

African-American Church Planting:

“I believe that we as a Network must do a better job of assisting other churches and endeavoring to start new Afri-can-American church plants. I believe that we have not done nearly enough in the city of

Baltimore to share Jesus with some who live in the poorest, most crime-ridden sections of the city. In some ways, we have failed Baltimore. We are sorry.” Stolle said the Network leaders also want to do a better job in the area of African-American church planting in other loca-tions, urban, suburban, and rural, throughout this Network. More than 30 percent of the statewide population in Mary-land, according to the most recent census data, is listed as black or African-American. In Baltimore City, it is over 60 percent. “We just must do a better job in this area,” Stolle said emphatically.

Special Needs Church Planting:

“As a parent of a child that has severe autism, I am personally on fire about this initiative,” shared Stolle. “There is so much I could say here, but I’ll just tell you a story. I received a call a number of years ago from a Mom. She was desperate. You see, her husband had left years ago. The mom was left to raise alone

‘We have to pray—pray hard!’ says Network Interim Exec Tom Stolle

Church planting has a bright future, says Crawford COLUMBIA, Md—“We’re good, we’re ready, we’re thankful for your support and we have a

bright future,” Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network Church Multiplication Strategist told General Mission Board members at the Sept. 8 GMB meeting at the Network Center.

“We are on pace to break the record for the most church plants in a year. As you might imagine this is presenting some significant challenges to us but we are sure God will give us the wisdom and resources we need to move forward,” Crawford said.

The church planting team has been doing an in-house church multiplication audit, ensuring all systems are clean, up-to date and accounted for, he explained. “Some places we haven’t been as excellent as we should have been…we have made corrections and we are changing.”

“Rolando Castro and Robert Kim (language church multiplication strategists) are doing an extraordinary job. We have a lot of planters being raised up and sent to plant churches as a result of their efforts,” Crawford said.

He is especially excited at the Network’s new church planting initiative that includes hir-ing part-time church planting catalysts to reach Muslims, Jewish people, African Americans and those with special needs. Crawford said he is also confident that an increase in support by NAMB will have a profound impact on church planting expansion.

Learn more by contacting Crawford at [email protected], 800-466-5290 x225.

Fall 2015

two daughters—two daughters created in the image of God. Two daughters that had severe autism. The family was poor. The mom had to be there to make sure her children got on the bus and had to be there when her children got off of the bus. This severely hindered her ability to secure a full-time job. After all, who else would be willing to help? The family had no car. The mom would stare at the church out of the back of her house. She told me that she wanted nothing more than to be a part of that church. I asked her ‘Why not just go? She told me she believed that the church would never accept her children. Perhaps the mom was not correct. I don’t know. But you see, the world had taught her that her children were somehow less than others. That they were not worthy, entitled, or even able to access

the same services, perhaps the same church that others could, perhaps even the same God. God has placed on our hearts the desire to plant churches targeted at this very special population. So that they can hear the Gospel in a setting in which they are comfortable. A setting not made for us, but made for them,” Stolle said.

‘We have to pray, pray hard’:

“I believe we are called to do great things for God, not because we’re great because we’re not. God is great.

“If we’re going to do great things for God what do we have to do? We have to pray, pray hard. Satan will seek to di-vide. He will use forces both in-side of the church and outside the church to use the “Three D’s”: distract, discourage, and divide. When moving ahead to

share the Gospel in this way, we can expect opposition— op-position from many directions and sometimes from strange or unexpected sources.

“That is why we should pray Psalm 90:17 (NLT), ‘And may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our ef-forts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful!’

“We are here. God has or-dained it so. If you are a senior pastor, God has ordained it so. God has put us here for far more than to collect a paycheck and just live life. He put us here so that others who don’t know Jesus come to know Him. At times, it doesn’t feel like an easy task, but that’s what we’re called to do. I pray God enor-mously blesses efforts of our network, your churches and your lives.”

Tom Stolle, interim executive director for the Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network

Fall 2015

LOVING OUR NEIGHBORS:

Engaging the world here and now“From Baltimore to An-

tigua to Cambodia, our staff missionaries

have been working to catalyze stronger efforts by our church-es to make the Gospel clear and present, wherever they are ministering in the world, start-ing with their own neighbor-hoods!” Joel Rainey recently wrote in a written report to the Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network’s General Mission Board. The Engagement Team supports churches as they develop and implement effective mission strategies that will fulfill Mat-thew 28:19-20 and Acts 1:8.

The Engagement team desires to “fortify a strong wit-ness for the Gospel of Jesus Christ within our churches, and the empowering of our churches to penetrate lostness through every sector of society in our region,” Rainey added.

This includes personal evangelism, training individuals and churches to ask the right questions as they frame their own contextually appropriate strategies to connect with a lost world. “We will equip our churches to engage the world Jesus died to save in four pri-mary ways,” Rainey said, outlin-ing specific areas:

Project Development:

We help provide develop-ment funds towards human needs as an avenue for sharing the Gospel, such as disaster relief and recovery, project development volunteer training and urban poverty initiatives, immigrant, and other cross-cultural ministries, and resort ministries.

Domain Engagement:

“We believe that the Lord-ship of Jesus doesn’t stop with the church, but extends to every ‘dominion’ on the planet. These funds will be aimed at events, training, and evange-lism projects that equip laity in our churches working in these sectors to demonstrate how the Gospel of Jesus brings the Kingdom of God into these environments and contributes to human flourishing,” Rainey explained. “There is no more strategic place on earth for a focus like this than the Mid-Atlantic region!”

Apologetics:

“…While we work together to improve this life, we also want to start conversations with our neighbors to talk about the next life. Apologet-ics resources will be aimed at helping those in our churches more effectively give a reason for the hope they have, and bear an effective witness for Jesus, whose message has no parallel.

“Glocal” Interaction:

“The Mid-Atlantic region is one of the most multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and multi-faith areas on the planet, mean-ing that those who attend our churches have neighbors that are as likely to be eastern-In-dian Hindus as Irish Catholics,” said Rainey. “Interaction with, and cross-cultural service to-ward our current environment of hyper-diversity can and most likely will affect subse-

quent relationships around the world.”

To these aims, Rainey shared upcoming events:

“A Night For Peace,” at Glenelg High School on Oct. 16 will feature Emmanuel Jal, who as a child was handed an as-sault rifle and challenged to kill as many Muslims as he could. Jal will present his story and music at the event. There will also be a panel discussion with leaders from a broad spectrum of faiths. The event is spon-sored by Gethsemane Baptist Church.

“Baltimore After the Riots: What’s Next?” is the topic of an evening luncheon on Nov. 9, during the Network’s annual celebration, sponsored by the engagement team and multiplication teams for those interested in learning more about what has transpired in Baltimore since the riots, and how churches can engage more substantively to serve the city. A panel of pastors will include: Joel Kurz, Sean Robin-son, Jeremy Dickson, and Dan Hyun alongside Bill Simpson and Pastor Dan Crow of Open Door America.

“Ethnos,” sponsored by Village Church, Baltimore, on Nov. 14 is a conference de-signed to help churches reflect the heart of God in bridging historically diverse cultural barriers in race, ethnicity and class.

Learn more by contacting Rainey at [email protected], 800-466-5290 x235.

Fall 2015

Network celebrates phenomenal three-year growth in collegiate ministry

God is continuing to bless the collegiate ministry of the Mid-Atlantic Bap-

tist Network, Mike McQuitty, team strategist for collegiate ministries, told General Mission Board members at the Sept. 8 GMB meeting at the Network Center.

McQuitty said the ministry team uses three models: BCM student group ministries, local church-based ministries, and church planting ministries. The strategy has proven successful. Since the summer of 2011, there has been tremendous growth:

• Collegiate staff has grown from four full-time to 15 part and full-time ministers;

• Church-based ministries have grown from three to 19;

• There are now ministries on 15 campuses as opposed to six in 2011;

• Student involvement has grown from 110 to 425;

• Student participation in church ministries has grown from 115 to 285;

• The number of students in discipleship has grown from 30 students to 322; and

• The number of students involved in international minis-try has grown from two to 77.

In addition, though there was no definitive record of Gospel presentations in 2011, in the 2014-15 year, 2,404 people heard the Gospel of Jesus.

Students are also having international impact. Those who served overseas reported 583 decisions to follow Christ. Locally, students are minister-ing to international students representing 18 countries.

McQuitty said he is espe-cially excited to see students partner with and bless church plants. Last year, students helped ten church plants. McQuitty shared about Caro-los Melendez, currently the president of Baptist Collegiate Ministry at Towson University, and Fred Curtis, a student who helped with Graffiti Church, a plant in the Greenmount area of Baltimore City led by Pastor Charlie Brown.

“Carlos and Fred served as missionaries and assistants. What a perfect partnership!” he said.

Curtis served through the summer. Melendez stayed and continues to work with Brown and the core team to share the Gospel through music, sports camps and other outreaches.

Looking ahead, students will soon be trained for disas-ter relief with plans to serve in Michigan in the spring.

McQuitty said he’s thrilled with the blessing but there’s much more to be accomplished in the name of Jesus.

“I’ll be honest, we have a long way to go. We need your prayers. I pray you continue to value and support your colle-giate ministries,” McQuitty said.

GMB Member Thomas Win-born, pastor of Welsh Baptist Church, Frostburg, md., prayed for McQuitty and his team, “Thank you for bringing Mike to us…Would you make this a year of fruit that blows our minds…Let us see the darkness on these campuses pierced by the light of the Gospel.”

Learn more by contacting McQuitty at [email protected], 800-466-5290 x224.

Thomas Winborn, pastor of Welsh Memorial Baptist Church, Frostburg, Md., prays for Mike McQuitty, Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network team strategist for collegiate ministries

Fall 2015

“Stronger pastors; stronger key lead-ers; stronger disci-

ples; stronger groups; stronger churches… greater missional impact here, and around the world!” said Randy Millwood in a written report to the General Mission Board at their meet-ing on Sept. 8 at the Network Center.

“It really is that simple.”

Millwood said the team has been work-ing to strike a healthy balance between “work with individual churches on their key initia-tives and more reproducible efforts with our associational partners and churches of similar ministry philosophies.”

For ex-ample:

• New partnerships are emerging with the churches of Montgomery Baptist Associa-tion in the broad and sweeping areas of Church Strengthening;

• New efforts are launch-ing with Mid-Maryland Bap-tist Association churches in the development of learning clusters;

• A new interest in as-sessing Church Health during interim periods is developing with Potomac Baptist Associa-

tion churches; • Initial conversations with

the revitalization team of the Baltimore Baptist Association have the Network’s church strengthening team on pace to merge best practices in order to more seamlessly serve the churches of this region;

• A new passion to help pastors and key leaders to

Lead Like Jesus (at home, at work, and in Church) is emerg-ing among several Associa-tional partners and already Prince George’s Association churches are bearing Kingdom fruit.

“All of this, as God’s Holy Spirit leads, so that we can du-plicate less, and multiply more – the impact of churches from this part of the country to the whole world,” Millwood said.

The team continues to

serve churches in a variety of ways. Recent examples are:

• They have moved churches, in various levels of conflict, toward peace and reconciliation;

• Ten new pastors/families are receiving services through the Network’s ministerial coun-seling partnership with Cen-trePointe Counseling;

• The great major-ity of our Network churches have en-gaged their commu-nity through children ministries such as VBS, Music Camps, Sports Camps, Girls Camp, Boys Camp, Backyard Kids Club,

CentriKid, etc. and our team has provided leadership training for most;

• Larger percentages of un-churched kids are enroll-ing and participating in those events this year;

• Learning Clusters (LC) of pastors, executive pas-tors, children’s ministers, and worship pastors are already actively sharing best practices, continued education, and relational connections and new LC’s are coming;

Strengthening churches equals greater missional impact

Page 10 Fall 2015

The Church Strengthening team at the Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network seeks to ‘duplicate less and multiply more the impact of

the churches from this part of the country to the whole world’

Almost 100 men from 16 different churches recently attended the Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network’s Men’s Retreat at Skycroft.

Fall 2015

• Their team coordinated and assisted six churches in providing interns to help with their VBS and summer mission programs;

• Networking efforts have included helping a Church launch a contemporary service with help from others who’ve already done so, connecting churches to schools in their area for missional impact, and sharing lessons-learned from a new revitalization story, with other churches hungry for the same;

• And almost 100 men

from 16 different churches re-cently attended the Network’s Men’s Retreat at Skycroft.

This is all in addition to ongoing consulting and coach-ing.

Lead Like Jesus introduc-tory lunches are continuing in the Fall; new one-day Lead-ership Encounters are being coordinated with Directors of Mission, and three local Church LLJ events have already im-pacted around 125 key leaders.

In addition, the Network is spearheading a massive part-nership to bring a significant,

Bible-teaching leadership-equipping event to the region in 2016.

In spite of all the work, some pressing questions remain. Millwood seeks prayer for the team as they begin to intentionally tackle some mis-sion-critical questions: “When is a local Church strength-ened? How do we measure that?”

Learn more by contacting Millwood at [email protected], 800-466-5290 x217.

A new passion to help pastors and key leaders to Lead Like Jesus (at home, at work, and in Church) is emerging among several Associational partners. Already, three local Church LLJ events have already impacted around 125 key leaders.

By Sharon Mager

LEESBURG, Va.—S.D. Abraham is a soft-spoken, middle-aged man born in Baghdad, Iraq. He lives in a nice quiet northern Virginia neighborhood with his wife and children. And, he travels the world helping Muslims convert to Christianity.

Abraham has seen thousands of Muslims come to Christ. In fact, in his role as pastor of Salam Church, Abraham serves as a father

figure to many who have lost everything as a result of following Jesus.

Abraham is quick to note that Salam Church isn’t and can’t be a typical church gathering. It is, however, a community. Congregants don’t meet in large groups; they network to find other believers for support. In many Muslim families, Christian converts are cast out, disowned, and sometimes even killed for their faith. It is a dangerous ministry

but God is blessing and there is much fruit.

“We are a community of outcasts,” Abraham said sadly. “Outcasts reaching outcasts.”

He is considered a trusted resource for those new to the faith. Many have no one. Many stay in their Muslim communities without revealing their true belief. One man said he goes to the mosque and prays to Jesus while others are praying to Allah.

There are plenty of

‘A community of outcasts . . . outcasts reaching outcasts’

Fall 2015

‘A community of outcasts . . . outcasts reaching outcasts’

Muslims masquerading as new Christians in an effort to root out and target Muslim converts. That’s why people like Abraham, who are known to be trusted, are priceless.

While in Jordan, Abraham recalled a young woman in her 20’s who came to him wearing a veil. She was a believer in Jesus but had not told her family. “They found a good Muslim man for me to marry, what do I do?” the panic-stricken girl asked. Abraham introduced her to a former Muslim turned Christian who is now her husband.

That’s just one example of many. Men and women contact Abraham, frantic and in need of answers. Sometimes they’re desperate to just find other believers that they can trust.

People are searching for community, Abraham said. In the United States, many immigrants arrive lonely and lost. They desperately need help and direction. Muslims meet them and take them to the nearest mosque, get them in a community with the support system they need.

Abraham has been seeking to build a support system for Muslim to Christian converts.

It was while trying to convert non-Muslims that Abraham discovered truth. He explained that Islam is a works-based faith. The good

and bad are weighed on the scales. During the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980’s, Abraham was worried. What if a bomb fell and killed him? Where would he be? He decided to get some more “good” credits for the scales and work to convert non-Muslims. To be effective, he decided to get a Bible and read it to understand Christianity. When he began to read, his life changed.

According to the Quran, the Bible, Abraham had been taught, had been corrupted. But that didn’t make sense to him.

“As soon as I started reading [the Bible], it didn’t sync,” Abraham said.

There was much more information in the Bible about creation and about Abraham. “The Quran just gave glimpses,” Abraham said.

Abraham began to wonder, why would God preserve the Quran but not the Bible? Either Allah was weak, or he was strong enough to preserve the Bible like he did the Quran.

In the Bible Abraham found that the first Adam ate the fruit and died but the last Adam, “Jesus,” was sinless, and brought restoration. Abraham lost faith in the Quran.

It was the beginning of his faith journey. He grew, as he trusted the Bible. He became

a believer in 1991. Later, as a refugee in Europe, God used him to minister to Muslim refugees, and he taught Bible studies to Christian and Muslim-born Arabs.

Later, Abraham became a webmaster for www.answering-islam.org, where he writes articles and interacts with curious Muslims and those being drawn to Jesus. It’s a huge opportunity.

Years ago, Abraham said, it was much harder to get the Word out. They used short-wave radios. Now, you can’t stop it, he said.

In 2004, he became the Islamic Ministries Specialist with Avant Ministries, through which he speaks at seminars, recruiting and training missionaries and other Christians how to minister to Muslims.

Abraham is available to work with churches to help them understand Islam, and as they prayerfully consider how to interact and minister to their Muslim neighbors.

For more information visit the church website, salamchurch.com or email, [email protected].


Fall 2015

SILVER SPRING,

Md.—Each Saturday a group

of believers, from a variety of

ethnicities, gathers in their Rabbi’s home

to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

They also worship the Jewish Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth,

whom Jewish people know as Yeshua.

The Jewish and Gentile believers in Jesus are part of the congregation of Mishkan HaShofar, a new plant in Silver Spring.

Each week, Rabbi/Pastor Robert Pristoop shares with the congrega-tion a “drosh,” or lesson related to the Torah, followed by a teach-ing rebutting a traditional Jewish objection to Jesus. Then comes a time of praise, worship, a ser-mon and prayer. The conclusion is “Havdalah,” a Jewish service ritual to close the Sabbath that includes three elements; lighting a candle-as Messiah is the light of the world, blessing a cup of wine—an element of joy in Jewish vernacular—and

smelling sweet spices, to remem-ber the Sabbath as each participant goes back to the secular part of the week.

Each service begins with the blowing of the shofar as a call to gather for worship, an ancient

New Planting Strategist Robert Pristoop reaches Jewish people with the Gospel of the Jewish Messiah Jesus

By Sharon Mager


Fall 2015

practice using an animal horn.

Pristoop is adept at playing the ancient instrument. Refreshments are provided following the worship.

The Rabbi remembers when he first accepted Messiah. “I thought I was no longer Jewish,” he said.

Later, when he attended a service where Jewish people were worshipping with familiar Jewish traditions yet truly worshipping Yeshua as Messiah, he was overwhelmed with emotion.

“All I could do is cry,” he said “My faith and my heritage were ‘echad’—one!”

Pristoop’s father was raised in the Orthodox Jewish tradition and his mother was a Catholic who converted to Judaism. The family, though, only observed religious tradi-tions when celebrating with extended family during the Jewish holy days, and during Christmas and Easter as secu-lar festivals.

Accordingly, Pristoop had no real knowledge about Jesus. “For fifteen years all I ever heard was that Jesus hated Jews,” Pristoop said. “I had never heard that Jesus was, in fact, Jewish. I had never heard that He came to save the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

The Messianic Rabbi’s journey to Jesus began when he was a rebellious teenager. He noticed a young student teacher that was “different.” She was an authentic Christian. He saw that she had joy and

peace. She invited him to go out with her and her friends

and he found him-

self in church and then at

a restaurant discussing the

sermon. Pristoop said he

eventually accepted Messiah, but it was during a Passover celebration with his family that God really opened the new believer’s eyes. As the family observed the Seder with the three pieces of matzo, Pristoop knew the bread traditionally represented Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but in light of Mes-siah the same traditions looked much different.

The first piece always stays untouched in the “echad” (meaning “one” in Hebrew), a bag with three chambers. The second matzo is broken in half and half is hidden while half is placed back in the “echad.” During the dinner portion of the Seder, the broken matzo is wrapped in a linen cloth and hidden. The children find the hidden half and hold it ransom. The third piece of matzo is eaten with the elements on the Seder plate like the bitter herbs and charoset.

“Why break Isaac?” Pris-toop dared to ask. The answer he received, he laughs, is, like Tevye’s in “Fiddler on the Roof”: “Tradition!”

The first Passover after coming to faith in Messiah Jesus had Pristoop see many mysteries solved; like what do the three matzos represent? He explained, the first piece of Matzo represents the Father – which no man has seen; the second is the Son, broken for us, buried and then resurrected as well as He was ransomed for many (Isaiah 53). The third matzo represents the Holy

Spirit who lives in us. “That is how I came to

know…I saw Messiah in so many of the Jewish traditions,” Pris-toop said. He fully embraced his heritage and his newly dis-covered Jewish Messiah.

Pristoop is married to Her-ta, who was raised in a Catho-lic convent and converted to Protestantism. In 2009, after retiring as a 27-year career as a police detective, he enrolled in the Feinsberg Center for Messi-anic Jewish Studies with Talbot Theological Seminary where he completed his master of divin-ity degree in Messianic Jew-ish studies. He holds a double ordination, as a Messianic rabbi and as a Baptist pastor.

Pristoop wants other Jew-ish people to see Jesus through their own traditions. He pas-sionately wants to open the eyes of both Jewish people and Gentiles to the Jewish-ness of Jesus, to the true and full understanding of Scripture through the Jewish culture, lan-guage and feasts. Robert’s con-gregation celebrates the high holy days of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot. Unlike Jewish temples, his congrega-tion does not charge a fee for people to attend the High Holy Day services.

The Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network has contracted with Pristoop on a part-time basis, to help equip churches to reach out to their Jewish communi-ties.

He and his wife are avail-able to meet with pastors and church leaders, and they are available to host Passover Sed-ers, teach about and demon-strate the Shofar and share about Jewish festivals and the Jewish roots of the Christian faith.

For more information, contact Rabbi Pristoop at [email protected] or visit online at www.mishkanhashofar.org.

Fall 2015

MILTON, Del.—Tom and Shelley Stolle understand all too well what it is like to care for a child with special needs. The young-est of their three boys, Jimmy, now 14, has autism.

According to Autism Speaks (www.autismspeaks.org), the nation’s largest autism science and advocacy organi-zation, one in every 68 children is diagnosed with autism, mak-ing it more common than child-hood cancer, juvenile diabetes and pediatric AIDS combined.

That translates to an esti-mated three million individuals in the U.S. and tens of millions worldwide that are affected by the condition.

“I remember when Jimmy was born. It was an awesome experience, just like the birth of our other two boys. But we no-ticed shortly after he was born that Jimmy was a bit different,” shared Tom, the chief financial officer and interim executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network.

“Instead of rolling Match-

box cars, he would line them up next to each other. Or he might line up empty soda bottles and look at them. He would flap his hands and move his hands around and spin his feet around, but we didn’t know what all that meant.”

Tom shared that he and Shelley didn’t know anything about autism; so they just thought that Jimmy was differ-ent and cute. But other people, including Shelley’s sister, Kim, noticed things they didn’t see.

Kim had previously inter-acted with a child with autism and when visiting the Stolles noticed that Jimmy displayed similar behavior.

“It was hard to hear but I got online, and I read one paragraph about autism, and I knew. It finally all made sense,” Shelley said.

Tom remembers that he was initially very angry because when Kim said she thought it was autism, what he heard was something like, “You just called my son stupid.”

He added, “For awhile, I felt guilty for not seeing it, just thinking he was a late developer or he had some peculiar habits.”

The Stolles took Jimmy to Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore to be tested.

That was a tough day watching Jimmy slamming his head against the file cabinet, Tom said. It was very obvious that Jimmy was different.

“I realized then that our lives would be very different. We didn’t have the child we thought we had,” Tom shared. “It’s almost like a death. You have to bury the child you thought you had and raise the child that you now have.”

At the time, the Stolles were living in Bowie, Md., where they were delighted to find a really good program through the Prince George’s County public school system for children with special needs.

Later, the Stolles moved to Delaware where Jimmy could attend the Sussex Consortium in Lewes. In the same city, they

Special needs families need Jesus, too

By Shannon Baker


Fall 2015

found Seaside Church, which has proven to be a very posi-tive experience for the family.

“The people at Seaside minister to Jimmy. They love Jimmy. Jimmy is very comfort-able there. We are glad to be a part of that family. Pastor Char-lie Arnold and the other folks there really do love Jimmy,“ Tom shared.

Tom believes that the church will continue expand-ing its ministry to families with special needs, which for Tom is part of his “big dream.”

“For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life,” Tom said, reciting John 3:16.

“Jesus says ‘whosoever,’” he stressed. “It’s not only for the smartest or the brightest or for those in society that fit in or are considered normal. It’s everybody.”

He continued, “The people on the fringes of the popula-tion are just as important to Him as those who are in the mainstream. Jesus doesn’t say, ‘You’re not good enough to make the cut.’ Jesus says, ‘I love you, and you’re all included.’”

The second half of Luke 14:21 also jumped off the page into Tom’s heart: “Go out quickly into the streets and al-leys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.”

He dreams for there to be churches where special needs isn’t just a ministry of the church. It is the church where special needs families and their kids can come together in a single worship service and wor-ship God and feel like they are included.

In other words, they have a seat at the banquet table like Jesus talks about in Luke 14.

“Jesus doesn’t say, ‘Go get the poor, crippled, blind and the lame, and we’ll put them in

a special section of the ban-quet.’ ‘Bring them in,’ He says, ‘so my Father’s house will be full,’” Tom stressed.

“At the end of the day, we are all special needs. God sent Jesus to die for us because we had a special need. We were all

separated from God, and God sent Jesus to bridge that gap.”

That includes those with special needs.

“Jimmy just blesses people. He’s just an amazing kid. There are many, many Jimmys across the country and around the world that bless people just because of who they are. I believe my church is blessed because of Jimmy, and I think more churches will be blessed if they embraced more of these children and their families.”

Tom admits that a special needs ministry will not be easy. He is quick to point out that children with special needs do not “cause problems” but the dynamic “magnifies challenges.”

“The mom intensely loves that child, nurtures that child, pours her life into that child, and in spite of what many of us think, moms don’t have this vat of energy that never runs dry. The father feels, ‘Hey, there’s nothing left for me.’ The father gets to escape, go to work and have more going on in his

life. He starts to withdraw. The marriage grows apart.”

He stressed, “What a ministry opportunity for our churches to step into and bless these people and show them the love of Jesus! Special needs ministry is more than caring for the child. It’s also the care for the family because many of these marriages—if they are still intact—are a disaster.”

Moreover, he says there is a large segment of the popula-tion who wants to go to church but many feel that they can’t, afraid of how their children may respond or behave or that the church won’t love or em-brace their child.

But Tom and Shelley know that these children have so much to offer and that God will use them to teach special les-sons to individuals and families.

“God is using Jimmy more than anyone to teach me about love. Jimmy’s love is uncondi-tional,” he said. Shelley agreed, “Jimmy is very loving and there is nothing fake about him. You always know that he loves you.”

Tom has learned also a lot about social discrimination through the way others view Jimmy by his behavior or their expectations of him.

“It’s very eye-opening to come from white suburbia and feel such discrimination,” he said. It helps you understand that we are far from where we need to be as a society.

“The reality is, we’re all sin-ners,” he said. “God has really used Jimmy to soften my heart in those areas.”

“This isn’t the life I would have chosen for Jimmy,” shared Shelley, “but we work every day to try and help him be all that he can be.”

To learn more about min-istry to families with special needs, contact Tom Stolle at [email protected].

Special needs families need Jesus, too

Stolle dreams for there to be churches where

special needs isn’t just a ministry of the church. It is the church where special needs families

and their kids can come together in a single worship service and

worship God and feel like they are included.

Fall 2015

Non-profit aims to transform urban families

BALTIMORE—It’s no question the spring riots in the after-math of Freddie Gray’s death sparked a national conversa-tion about the rights of people who live in impoverished inner city neighborhoods. Many who took to the streets simply wanted their voices heard, their circumstances recognized, and their hopes and dreams acknowledged, too.

There is at least one person who has been listening: Joseph Jones, Jr., founder of the Cen-ter For Urban Families (CFUF) in West Baltimore. He leads a nonprofit service organization a few blocks from where the riots took place in a building he acknowledges God provided.

Jones knows what it is like to live as a black man in this urban environment. He also knows success is often based on whether a father is in the home, so he established the nonprofit to empower low-in-come families through training women and men to contribute to their families as wage earn-ers and men to fulfill their roles as fathers.

Michael Crawford, team strategist for church multiplica-tion for the Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network, recommends this non-profit to the churches he works with in Baltimore.

“A lot of the people who come here and get help are basically walking testimonies of how much this place has helped them,” he said. “And as this place helps them, it helps our city and our communities.”

Former gang member, Eric Bowman, 25, grew up on the streets of Baltimore, “do-ing corrupted things,” he said. “I became a product of my environment because that’s all

I knew.” Bowman confessed, “In

time, I started to see things for what they really were. I started seeing that a lot of the bad things we were doing was bringing corruption not just to our community—not just Balti-more, but around the world.”

Now an intern at CFUF, Bowman is wearing a nice shirt and clip-on tie. In fact, all of the clients who participate in the CFUF’s “Strive” workforce training class are distinguished in their dress and respectful conduct.

Bowman found out about CFUF right in the middle of the riots. He and many of the rival gangs had come together, bonding over their shared commitment to protect their city. As they roamed around, seeking to add their voices, they walked down North Ave. to New Shiloh Baptist Church to listen as community leaders discussed their responses to the rioting.

“A lot of us were feeling angry because we felt we were not being heard... We got mad and stormed out.... and that’s how we met Mr. Joe,” Bowman said. “I’ve never actually seen somebody passionate about what they did. He came to talk to us with respect and integrity ... while we’re still angry.”

Bowman said Jones actu-ally listened.

“We actually got to vent and get stuff off our chests. In due time, I started to respect and actually look up to Mr. Joe.”

Jones shared about when he gave Bowman a ride to see his two boys, ages 4 and 2.

“The image of him walking out of this apartment complex with those two boys cemented

the fact that what we do—the reason we built this organiza-tion—is to give those two boys a chance,” Jones said.

“The only way we can im-pact those little kids is by grab-bing a hold of [Eric] and seeing if he wants to go along.

“The reality is that it is almost like warfare. Some folks are going to go through the grind and make it.” But, all too often, others on the journey just don’t make it.

“Baltimore, right now, is in this really funky place,” Jones added, noting the time was ripe to reach people who want different lives.

“We’re looking for knuck-leheads, right? We’re looking for people who are least likely to do it on their own, and for us to be able to get to those knuckleheads, we can’t have a team of people who sit here ... and wait for people to come in. We have to go to where people are.”

Jones explained CFUF has an outreach team of profes-sionally dressed men and women who go throughout Baltimore City.

“In order for Eric to run with us, he’s going to have to make that transformation,” he said. “Our goal really is to create family stability and economic success... and then have that drilled down to their children.”

Crawford is impressed. “This is exactly what our churches should be doing!” he said.

To learn more about planting churches in the Network’s urban environments, contact Michael Crawford at [email protected].

Organization models what churches should be doing, says Crawford


Fall 2015

Block party promotes reconciliation between police and Baltimore residents

Pastor Joel Kurz ministers at The Garden Church, located blocks away from the Baltimore riots. To him, the riots were eye-opening on a lot of levels. While they exposed issues that have been around for a long time, he said, the riots also provided solid lessons for

church leaders serving in urban environments, such as:1). Promote reconciliation. In the face of uneasy relations between residents and the po-

lice, The Garden Church held a block party in Baltimore this summer. Police, in uniform, came to serve the community. Two officers expressed their care for the community. “Most officers don’t engage the community except while in uniform and on active duty. This event allowed them to spend time with the residents and get to know them,” Kurz shared. “We want the community to learn to trust them, but we also want the police trust the community.”

2). Start younger. While most churches seek to reach adults and then their families, it is easier in the city to start with the kids, especially those in elementary and middle schools, Kurz said, noting his church is constantly looking at new ways to reach youth. For instance, Emma Kate, a student at the Maryland Institute and College of Art volunteers time every week to lead an art program—in school and after school. Volunteers from the church also assist in the monthly youth activities, where they experience “life on life in the community, walking through every door God opens for them to serve.”

3). Figure out what it looks like to embrace a holistic approach in the city. “The Gospel is the number one priority in ministry,” shared Kurz, “yet this is very hard soil. There are genera-tional habits that keep [people] from hearing.” Kurz knows kids who sell drugs—an easy way to make money on the street—who have a hard time understanding the value of work.

4). Engage in job development and creation. Kurz witnesses first hand the explosive growth of Islam in his community. Why? Because many Muslims provide jobs and offer ways to think through the social realities of life. On the other hand, “the church has a middle class mindset,” which assumes people have most basic needs met. “We have to approach everything from an entirely different mindset,” Kurz said.

A participant in the Center for Urban Families workforce development classes shares how the program has helped him rise above street life in western Baltimore. In the background listening is Joseph Jones, Jr., founder of the non-profit. Photo by Lauren Koski.

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PLENARY SPEAKERS:

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Ed Litton, Pastor, First Baptist Church, North Mobile, Ala.

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Drew Worsham, Illusionist and Mentalist, Drew Worsham Ministries

Fall 2015

On August 2, 2015, Pastor Ed Jordan retired after 30 years of ministry at Faith Baptist Church, Knoxville.

Jordan began his ministry as an intern at his home church, First Bap-tist Church in Kenova, W. Va., while study-ing at Marshall University for a bachelor of science degree in psychology. During this time, he was also actively involved in the ministry with Campus Crusade for Christ.

He served as Minister of Visitation and Youth at Morton Memorial United Methodist Church and pastor of West End Bap-tist Church while studying for a Master of Divin-ity at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.

Jordan entered full time ministry on August 1, 1974 as associate pastor at West Lauderdale Bap-tist Church in Ft. Lauder-dale, Fla., where he served until January 1981. He served as pastor of La-Vale Baptist Church until he moved to Brunswick to become pastor of Faith Bap-tist Church on April 21, 1985.

His wife, Jo Anne has been a devoted ministry partner and served in many areas of the church, including teaching an adult Sunday School class, helping in

the nursery, and singing in the choir.

After serving close to 30 years, Sherrill Dillon will retire as pastor of Second Baptist Church, Cumberland, on Oct. 4. The church will honor Dil-

lon with a special dinner on Oct. 3.

Under Dil-lon’s ministry, Second Baptist Church began a youth basket-ball league, and members have served in mis-sions near and far, helping with international

student ministry in Ocean City, ministering in the Appalachia, and helping in Mississippi after Hur-ricane Katrina. The church also has provided many leaders for the Western Association’s annual youth camp.

The Dillons lived in the parsonage for three decades, so they’re not only leaving their church, but their home where they raised five children. Those children are now grown and are living in various locations the Unit-ed States. After retiring, the couple plans to visit

their children and grandchil-dren, and then they’ll be split-ting their time between North Myrtle Beach, S.C. and Terra Alta, W. Va. Dillon plans to provide pulpit supply in the future.

Dillon said his wife, Sheila,

has been right by his side, involved with all aspects of ministry, particularly the music.

Barnesville Baptist

Church honored Pastor Randy Gilliam and his wife Sandy in August. He retired after serving the church for 14 years.

Emmanuel Baptist Church, Laurel, Md., will have a fall revival Oct. 7 to 9 and then celebrate their 34th anniversary at a special service at 5 p.m. on Oct. 11.

First Baptist Church of Capitol Heights will celebrate 15 years of the pastoral leadership of Harold Dugger, Sr. and the church’s 107th an-niversary at a special gala event on Nov. 21 at the Camelot by Martin’s. The theme for the Anniversary is, “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now” (Philip-pians 1:6).

Catons-ville Baptist Church called Christopher Snider as pastor effec-tive Sept. 1. Previously, Snider served as associate pastor at First Baptist Church St. Charles and volunteered as a member of the church planting team for the Potomac Baptist Association.

Snider felt God’s call to Gospel ministry when he was 14 years old while at a Centrifuge Camp in 1988 and soon began leading youth services and providing pulpit sup-ply. After college he worked as a plumber and bi-vocationally served as a ministerial assistant in a church in Granite City, Ill.

Snider received a degree in religion from Missouri Baptist Univer-sity and a master of divin-ity from Southeastern Baptist Seminary with a

concentration in pastoral studies.

He and his wife, Jes-sica, have four children: Hope, 13; Hunter, 6; Holly, 2 and Henry, 7 months. Jessica enjoys staying home with the kids. The family homeschools their children.

Grace Baptist Church of Sunset Beach, Pasadena, Md., celebrated Doug Alberts’ retirement as senior pastor, effective Aug. 31. Alberts served the church for 13 years.

He and his wife, Iris, plan to spend time in the Caribbean but overall, Alberts plans to stay active in ministry. He will continue to serve with the

Arundel Baptist Network, will pro-vide pulpit supply as needed and will continue to serve on a pas-toral care team at Baltimore Washing-ton Medi-cal Center.

The church wel-comed their new pastor, Gordon Fox, who began his ministry at Grace Bap-tist on Sept. 1.

Gordon Fox formerly pastored Mt. Moriah Bap-tist Church in Knoxville, Md. He grew up in New York and served in the Navy. He came to faith when he was 30 years old.

Fifteen years later, he felt the call to seminary and received his master of divinity degree from Southeastern Baptist Seminary’s extension program at the Network Center. He and Rina have a grown son, Wellie, who

Network News

Ed Jordan

Sherrill Dillon

Doug Alberts and Gordon Fox

There have been many changes in our Network churches as pastors and leaders

retire, are called to other ministries, or are called to serve in our Network. This is just a sampling of those changes as God

moves us forward as a Network.

Fall 2015

lives in Pittsburgh, and a 17-year-old son, Robert, entering his senior year of high school.

Tim Byer, 33, grew up at Faith Baptist Church (FBC), Glen Burnie, and on August 1 became the lead pastor following in the footsteps of Thane Barnes; James Nichols, David Lee and John Pepper.

Byer’s first staff posi-tion at FBC was associate pastor, overseeing the sports programs, primar-ily Upward basketball and soccer. The church built the multipur-pose area/gym when Byer was attending University of Maryland Baltimore County and called Tim, in his sophomore year, to serve in the new ministry. He later served as pastor of English Ministry at Abun-dant Life Korean Church, Severna Park, and then as lead pastor of Crossroads Church, Odenton for al-most four years. Byer also began taking seminary classes at Rockbridge Seminary.

“I’ve seen Faith be a beautiful family in the past. We can do it again. We’re looking forward to being the church that feels like the family Thanksgiving celebration each Sunday morning when we get together—

the one with grandpar-ents, grandkids and the crazy uncle all celebrating together,” Byer said.

Steve Hardnett of Full Circle Church and Ministries will celebrate his 50th year of ministry this October. A celebration is planned on Oct. 24, 2-6 p.m., at DoubleTree Hotel in Pikesville, Md. Cost is $30 per person. Email [email protected].

On Oct. 31, 1965, Hardnett was licensed to preach at Thankful Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Pa., where he ministered for several years. He then moved to Balti-more, where he served at Beacon Baptist Church (downtown Baltimore) for two years before plant-ing and serving 33 years as senior pastor at New

Christian Bible Baptist Church. Presently, he and his wife Brenda are focusing their latest efforts through Full Circle

to adopt and come along-side families of various ethnicities to spiritually, physically and mentally assist them in housing and recovery from addic-tions and joblessness.

In Memoriam

Charles Louis Callis, Jr., pastor of Tri-County

Baptist Church, Gaithersburg, Md., known af-fectionately as “Pastor Chuck” died on Sept. 12 at the age of 63. A celebration of life was held on September 26, 2015 at Tri County Baptist. A west coast service will be

held in San Jose at Alum Rock Baptist Church.

Callis was born and raised on a farm in Ahoskie, N.C., and was known for being an ex-ceptional all-star athlete in football, basketball and baseball and a mem-ber of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He graduated from Liberty University, Southeastern Baptist Seminary, and Wake Forest University and com-pleted an additional Master of Divinity.

Follow-ing ten years in the busi-ness world, he answered the call to full time ministry following the sudden death of his 10-year-old son, Adam. Prior to ministering at Tri County Baptist, he minis-tered in several churches in Virginia and in San Jose, Calif.

His son Adam and his parents Charles and Jean Callis precede him. His wife Juli Anne, children, grandchildren and siblings survive him.

Condolences to the family may be sent to [email protected]. In lieu of flowers the fam-ily requests donations be made to the following se-lected charities; The Tim-othy Initiative (#78800 in the memo line) 2101 Vista Parkway Suite 201, West Palm Beach, Florida 33411 and The Pastor Chuck Angel Fund at Tri-County Baptist Church, P.O. Box 623, Damascus, Maryland 20872.

Janice Simpson, wife of Pastor Vic Simp-son, Emmanuel Baptist Church, Huntingtown, Md., died peaceably on Sept. 15. A celebration of life was held September 19 at Huntingtown High School Auditorium.

She and Vic were married in 1984 and spent 31 years serving churches

in Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma. They spent the last 13 years at Emmanuel Church.

Janice taught several women’s Bible studies and was a sought-after speaker for women’s conferences across the country. She was also a cancer survivor for nearly

five years and trav-eled exten-sively to give motivational speeches to those who are battling breast cancer. She was known for her homespun Southern humor.

The fam-ily asked that in lieu of flow-ers, donations be made to

Emmanuel Baptist Church for a work in Chihuahua, Mexico commonly known as the “Soup Kitchen.” To honor Janice’s passion for the poor in Chihuahua, the church recently began a new initiative to help the homeless named “The Momma Janice Project”.

Mary Robb, music director for over 40 years at Grace Baptist Church, Cumberland, died on Au-gust 16 at the age of 97. A charter member, she also ministered as a Sunday School teacher, and had served as Sunday School and Bible School director as well as training union director.

Robb was a music teacher for over 30 years and was elected to the Allegany County Board of Education in November 1978 where she served as vice president in 1979 and president from 1980 to 1982. She was also very active in her community, serving in a variety of roles in the Cumberland Choral Society, the music and arts club, community concert association, and many other community organizations.

Tim and Jill Byer

Charles Callis, Jr.

Janice Simpson

Brenda and Steve Hardnett

BaptistLIFE10255 Old Columbia RoadColumbia, MD 21046-1716

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Gofwd Mid-Atlantic State Missions Offering

Your Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network dreams of seeing revitalized churches impacting their communities in powerful ways. Your Network dreams of planting new churches among many different people groups, including Muslims, Jews, African Americans and families with special needs.

The bottom line is that we are united together to love our neighbors and share Christ in our region. That’s what Gofwd Mid-Atlantic does. Your generous gifts help Mid-Atlantic Baptists go forward together.

www.gofwdmidatlantic.com

baptistlife fall 2015

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