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FROM THE STATES: La., S.C., Ark. evangelism/missions news; ‘If Jesus had been here … what would He have done?’


Today’s From the States features items from: Baptist Message (Louisiana); Baptist Courier (South Carolina); Arkansas Baptist News.
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Return home for Christmas
‘a miracle’ for La. woman

By Brian Blackwell

WELSH, La. (Baptist Message) — Judy Bertrand felt the sting of tragedy twice in August.

After 49 years of marriage, her husband Joe passed away, having lost a lengthy battle with cancer.

Next, floodwaters deluged her house near Welsh, destroying most of her possessions and forcing Bertrand out for what she thought would be a long while.

Home for Christmas seemed unlikely for 2016.

But those prospects greatly improved when an army of Louisiana Baptists and other volunteers converged in late August to rebuild what nature had destroyed.

Bertrand calls what transpired “a Christmas miracle.”

“It was surreal,” she said. “I felt like God was taking care of me. How else do you get that kind of help? From day one they were a blessing to me.”

After meeting Bertrand during a meeting at the First Baptist Church in Welsh, one disaster relief volunteer felt led by the Holy Spirit to spearhead the rebuild effort.

“The Lord just tells you to do things sometimes, so I put my arm around her at the church and told Mrs. Bertrand we would rebuild her house,” said Reggy Saxon, the project manager who is a member of Trinity Baptist Church in Lake Charles. “She asked, ‘How will you do that?’ and I said, ‘The Lord will provide.'”

And provide He did.

Lacking money, the rebuild team enjoyed great favor in God’s provision of needed supplies and volunteers.

Community Spirit

In short order, a team from the Carey Baptist Association of churches agreed to take on the project.

Then other churches of various denominations, as well as non-profit organizations and individuals from the community — even other states — rallied around the effort.

In the end, the project was completed in fewer than six weeks — just in time for Thanksgiving and dedication with a prayer of thanks.

The outpouring of support for Bertrand came as no surprise to Pat Deshotel, pastor of First Baptist Church in Welsh. He said it was a manifestation of Christ-like love in a time of desperation.

“They didn’t know Judy but knew her situation,” Deshotel said. “They jumped in and helped.

“It wasn’t about the name of your religion,” he continued. “It was about representing Christ. If Jesus had been here and seen these kinds of predicaments, what would He have done? He would have helped; He would have had compassion. And that’s what all these people did. They had compassion. They represented Christ.”

A special gift

Rob Tibbitts, pastor of Crossroads Church in Vinton, said he received a blessing knowing he helped someone in deep need.

“Scripture says we prove our Christianity when we help widows and orphans,” he said. “It started with a cup of cold water and ended with a house redone. We are hopeful the seeds we planted will come to fruition for Kingdom stuff. This is neat to be able to go in and do a rebuild and watch everything fall together and the body of Christ work together.

“For her, it’s a double blessing,” he said. “She is going back into the house where she and her husband made memories, and it’s a fresh start after the flood.

It also was a blessing for all those who were involved, he said.

“It was a great gift for us to be able to do.”

A Christmas story

With Christmas just two weeks away, Deshotel said the act of kindness shown by the volunteers mirrors, somewhat, what God did for mankind by sending his Son to earth.

“There was a time when the water was in the house,” Deshotel said. “It was almost like there was ‘no room at the inn.’ Where do I go?

“This is just the perfect example of what God expects from us because of what His Son did for you and me.”
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This article appeared in the Baptist Message (baptistmessage.com), newsjournal of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. Brian Blackwell is a staff writer for the Baptist Message.

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S.C. ministries serve
a growing Japanese community

By Julia Bell

UPSTATE S.C. (Baptist Courier) — Three major Japanese companies will open industrial plants in the N.C. Upstate over the next year. Along with creating thousands of new jobs, the companies will move hundreds of Japanese executives, workers and families into the Moore, Greer and Simpsonville areas.

Groups that teach English as a second language, along with other South Carolina Baptist ministries, are preparing for the opportunity to reach the transplanted Japanese community.

“For decades, Spartanburg County has had the highest foreign business investment per capita of any county in the United States,” said Jim Goodroe, director of missions for Spartanburg County

Baptist Network. “God is bringing Japanese people here, which makes them more accessible to the Gospel.”

Goodroe said most Japanese people come from polytheistic or atheistic backgrounds. The plan is to begin reaching them by offering free language classes, building friendships and helping the Japanese people navigate American culture.

There already exists a growing Japanese community in the Upstate, and Goodroe said many have begun to assimilate into churches as they learn English.

Some Japanese people have also heard about Jesus because they met Aki Shigemi, a Japanese pastor and hospital chaplain living in the Upstate. 

Born in Nagasaki, Shigemi began visiting Nagasaki Baptist Church as a teenager, but, like his family, wrestled with the idea of Christianity for many years because he questioned how God could make their city the site of the atomic bomb explosion in 1945. He credits the testimonies of bomb survivors and other believers with helping his family make peace with many of those questions.

Shigemi was baptized at 26, went to the Baptist seminary in Japan, and pastored a church there for six years.

“My commitment is to create world peace,” he said. “I learned from Japan’s history of the Pacific war, and I am convinced of the need to make friends beyond the walls of race, culture and language.”

Shigemi came to the United States 18 years ago. He has been instrumental in starting ministries to Japanese students at Anderson University and organizing worship services for Japanese people living in Anderson, Greenville and Columbia. He also has worked with state mental health services and continues to provide counseling services in Greer, where he lives. 

In October 2015, Shigemi partnered with area churches to begin reaching the wives of the Japanese executives already living in South Carolina. First Baptist Church of Greer hosts five ESL classes during the week, including one that teaches hymns to the women, which helps with language skills.

New classes began in the fall, including an evening class for Japanese middle school students, a Japanese class for Americans, and a class about American culture. The ESL ministry recently reported its largest attendance — 25 Japanese and 10 volunteers. 

Last August, a woman named Mika placed her 4-year-old son in Greer First Baptist’s childcare program while she took ESL classes. Her child began to talk about what he learned at church and told his parents about Jesus Christ. Now Mika brings her friends to ESL classes and encourages them to put their children in the church’s childcare program. 

Goodroe said more churches are preparing to reach the Japanese community. Center Point Baptist Church in Moore has an ESL ministry, and a member of Poplar Springs Baptist Church in Moore is working with Shigemi to be ready to minister when families arrive. 

Joyce Cook served four years as a missionary to Japan. She trains ESL volunteers and has a deep love for Japanese people. She helped organize a summer program with Shigemi and said she has grown very close to students she has taught. 

“Pastor Aki also wants to start a choir to show how music can be used as a tool for learning English. His dream is to have a choir singing old church hymns,” Cook said.

According to Ryan Dupree, multiethnic church consultant with the South Carolina Baptist Convention, Shigemi’s presence in the Japanese community is critical to successfully sharing the Gospel. 

“Aki is persistent in reaching the Japanese and will go to where they are and build relationships,” Dupree said. “Building a friendship first opens the door for a Japanese person to return for more than just learning English.” 

According to Goodroe, language ministry also provides an international window of opportunity. “When we reach people groups that come here, we are fulfilling the Great Commission,” Goodroe said. “It’s especially strategic and effective when these people groups are from closed countries that we can’t send people to.

“We can reach the individuals who are here, and some of them may take the Gospel back to their own countries.” 
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This article appeared in the Baptist Courier (baptistcourier.com), newsmagazine of the South Carolina Baptist Convention. Julia Bell writes for the South Carolina Baptist Convention.

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Ark. Baptist Children’s Homes
receives $1.2 million gift

By Staff

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Arkansas Baptist News) — A $1.2 million gift recently made by supporters allows Arkansas Baptist Children’s Homes and Family Ministries (ABCHomes) to expand its foster care ministry and impact major capital needs, agency leaders announced today. 

More than $767,000 of the generous gift was made by Charles and Genevieve Bonner of Conway, Ark. Winston Wolfe of Memphis donated $500,000. The trio are longtime supporters of ABCHomes.

Part of the Bonner’s donation will help the organization meet the needs of foster children and provide startup money for the “Connected” Foster Care Ministry in Sebastian County. Sebastian County has more children in need of a foster home than any county in the state, according to Arkansas Division of Children and Families Services (DCFS) statistics.

The “Connected” program gives Baptist churches an opportunity to take an active role in ministry to foster care children, families and state foster care workers. It will help establish a structure for the foster community; recruit, facilitate and provide training for foster families, in accordance with DCFS; and facilitate multi-church partnerships. To date, Connected is ongoing in Pulaski, Mississippi and Miller counties.

“We are honored to give to the Baptist Children’s Homes,” said Charles Bonner. “We pray our gift will reach more children and youth who are growing up in today’s world with so many distractions and many who come from difficult, difficult situations.”

Through their gift, the Bonners also provided a $100,000 matching gift to the agency’s annual Thanksgiving Offering. Additional funds from the Bonners and Wolfe’s gift will help agency leadership pursue architectural consultation in consideration of major capital needs at the Arkansas Baptist Home for Children in Monticello, Ark.

“At Arkansas Baptist Children’s Homes and Family Ministries we are overwhelmed with the generous gifts from longtime supporters, Mr. Winston Wolfe and Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bonner,” shared David Perry, ABCHomes executive director. “What a blessing to interact with Winston, Charles and Genevieve as they went through the process of providing these gifts. I think they are as excited about making the gifts as we are in receiving them.”

Wolfe’s gift honors the memory of his dear friend and former Arkansas Baptist Home for Children director, Royce Aston. Aston served as social services/campus director of the Monticello home from 1975 to 2002. The Bonnor’s gift is given in memory of their parents, Charles F. and Jewel Mae Bonner, and Jim and Ethel Goff, as well as their daughter, Ethelyn Bonner Gaither.

“Royce was like a brother to me,” shared Wolfe. “I want to honor him with this gift … and hopefully it will help children in need.”

For information on ABCHomes or to schedule an interview, please contact Stella Prather at 501-376-4791, ext. 5168 or email [email protected]

Arkansas Baptist Children’s Homes and Family Ministries is a 501 (c) 3 charitable organization, which has been caring for children and families in crisis since 1894. Last year, ABCHomes impacted the lives of about 300 children and single mothers that lived at seven ABCHomes locations. Many of these residents come to ABCHomes from situations of severe abuse,

abandonment or neglect. In addition, more than 2,200 counseling sessions were provided to individuals, couples and families around the state by five licensed ABCHomes counselors. To learn more about ABCHomes, go to abchomes.org.
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This article appeared in the Arkansas Baptist News (arkansasbaptist.org), newsjournal of the Arkansas Baptist Convention.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: From the States, published each Tuesday by Baptist Press, relays news and feature stories from state Baptist papers and other publications on initiatives by Baptist churches, associations and state conventions in evangelism, church planting and Great Commission outreach, including partnership missions. Reports about churches, associations and state conventions responding to the International Mission Board’s call to embrace the world’s unengaged, unreached people groups also are included in From the States, along with reports about church, associational and state convention initiatives in conjunction with the North American Mission Board’s call to Southern Baptist churches to broaden their efforts in starting new churches and satellite campuses. The items appear in Baptist Press as originally published.

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