When Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief (DR) had a training simulation last May, I was blessed to have a chainsaw crew composed of volunteers mainly from Lebanon visit my home. They practiced by removing two dead trees. As they were getting ready to leave, they prayed for me and then presented me with a “gift” version of a New Testament with all their signatures. It really amazed me to think that each DR crew carried Bibles, that they cared enough to share with those that they had just … [Read more...]
Because you give … the gospel goes to Japan
At the close of World War II, Gen. Douglas MacArthur appealed to Western Christians to mobilize 10,000 missionaries to Japan, which he described as a “spiritual vacuum.” The Lord used MacArthur’s appeal to awaken hearts in America to the spiritual condition of this small, densely populated nation. Today, Southern Baptist missionaries like Missouri’s Liz Welsch devote their lives to sharing the love of Christ with people steeped in Shinto, Buddhism and other Eastern religions. For Welsch, … [Read more...]
Waynesville beginning to dry out
Disaster Relief volunteers clear out 100 - plus saturated homes WAYNESVILLE – Seven inches of rain poured on a 10-square-mile area of Pulaski County in a single, two-hour period Aug. 5. Add that to the other 15 inches of rain that fell over the previous two weeks, and the resulting flash floods led to a mud-out response from Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief (DR) and ongoing hard work by local churches. “Everything was saturated,” said Dwain Carter, Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) … [Read more...]
Missouri Baptists to share 1 million Bibles
JEFFERSON CITY – Over the next two years, Missouri Baptist churches will distribute one million Bibles through service and one-on-one encounters. At least, that’s the goal of Light Up Missouri, the thrust of God’s Plan for Sharing (GPS), an ongoing joint initiative by the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) and the North American Mission Board (NAMB) for 2014 and 2015. Over all, the goal of GPS is to spread the gospel to every person in Missouri by 2020. The idea is to get outside the church … [Read more...]
Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief responds to floods
WAYNESVILLE — Heavy rains and subsequent floods from the Gasconade and other rivers soaked much of central Missouri over the past week, leading to road closures and churches opening their doors to victims. Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency Aug. 6, as Mark Twain National Forest and many roads, including main north-south artery Highway 63 were closed. More than a foot of rain fell over a few days in the Waynesville area, flooding more than 100 homes. The Red Cross opened a … [Read more...]
Preparing for school is more than buying supplies
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” – II Tim. 2:15 As children get ready to go back to school, their spiritual growth needs to be considered above all else. It is this spiritual aspect that motivates a child to learn factual knowledge and develop behavior that is pleasing to God. Parents and churches would do well to set aside time to emphasize to children the importance of their education. They need to … [Read more...]
Leading children to Christ, tell them Bible stories early
Growing up, my best friend was Jimmy and we did everything together for several years. It was only natural one summer to invite him to Vacation Bible School at my church. His parents let him go and he soon wanted to give his heart to Christ, so my mother talked to his mother. That’s when I learned about the “age of accountability” and even though I had accepted Christ and been baptized at age seven, apparently Jimmy’s mother – following the tradition of their church – insisted that he be … [Read more...]
But can you make disciples?
It was an honor to meet recently with a young pastor from southwestern Missouri. He wanted to know how he could get his church to become active witnesses for Christ. He had a pen and paper and was ready to write down a training program or book he could use. However, my advice was to model the behavior he expected of them. MAWL is an acronym for Model, Assist, Watch, and Leave that was developed by then-International Mission Board missionary Curtis Sergeant, who is now with E3 Partners … [Read more...]
Hannibal woman goes from storm victim to DR volunteer
HANNIBAL – Sandy and Earl Cox’s property was among many where trees were down in the yard. A large part of a maple tree hit the corner of their house. But it wasn’t until after Sandy Cox had paid $700 to a professional tree service company, did she learn about some that would have taken the tree down without charge – Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief (DR). She dutifully took pictures for insurance and personal scrapbooking, and then got on the computer. Cox, a member of Calvary Baptist … [Read more...]
Disaster Relief responds to west St. Louis
On May 28, the EF3 tornado followed a path from Weldon Spring to north St. Louis County. Now, Missouri Disaster Relief is working the same path. “I’m going to drive into the Bellefontaine area tomorrow,” Paul Posey, site coordinator for Missouri, “there is a lot of damage there.” Posey is directing one site headquartered at North County Christian School and the other area command center is located at Jungs Station Baptist Church to be closer to the St. Charles damage. According to Posey, … [Read more...]
Disaster Relief crews kept busy with Hannibal storm cleanup
HANNIBAL – More than 65 Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers helped clean up trees after a powerful storm ripped through Hannibal May 20. Though it didn’t have the scope or deadly results of the tornado the same day in Moore, Okla., the storm left thousands of trees in need of partial or total removal throughout Hannibal and damaged buildings on the Hannibal-LaGrange campus. By the next day, there were 72 work orders of trees that needed attention. That number had jumped to more … [Read more...]
Joplin tornado victim ministers in Moore, Okla.
MOORE, Okla. (BP) – Gary Hunley had seen it all before. As he surveyed the damage left behind from last Monday’s EF5 tornado in Moore, Okla., he saw an all-too-familiar scene of overturned cars, metal signposts bent to the ground and houses reduced to rubble. Almost two years to the day before the historic Moore tornado, Hunley’s home was destroyed by an equally historic tornado in Joplin, which killed 158 people. Since then Hunley, the leader on his Spring River Baptist Association … [Read more...]