Category Archives: International Missions

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May 10, 2021

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Calling, Faith Home, GBBC, Honduras, India, International Missions

Called In The World

By General Baptist International Missions

God is at work in the lives of His people. We have a collection of His work in the lives of people in the pages of the Bible. We have assembled in this Messenger further evidence that God continues to call people to particular places of service. This article reminds us that it is not only here in the United States that He is at work in the lives of His followers but around the world as well. International Missions asked four of our many faithful co-laborers to share their story of calling for this Messenger. The first two of these come from Honduras, where missionary Rodney Walls gathered, translated, and edited the callings of Pastor Miguel Ramirez and Dr. Sharon Castro. The others come from the Philippines and India, with General Baptist Bible College President Dr. Joyce C. Porcadilla-Rubia sharing her calling and Pastor Dr. Prakash Pamu in India.

Pastor Miguel Ramirez with Dr. Rodney Walls

The depth of success of mission work rests in the development and equipping of nationals. The mission of making disciples for Christ in Honduras has been greatly blessed with a host of Hondurans who serves Christ as General Baptists. Our General Baptist movement today would not be where it is without the sacrificial service of Pastor Miguel Ángel Ramirez Padilla. Foremost, Miguel is a pastor and has a pastor’s heart.

“In January 1996, the Lord called me to His vineyard as a pastor. This was a new experience for me and my family. I did not know how to do it, but I prayed to the Lord, and He began to move the lives of the people in the community of Canchias, Comayagua, where I was born. It was very nice to see the spiritual movement in the church as my family and I worked with the ladies, gentlemen, young people, and children.

“One day in January 2005, I was praying in the early morning and God spoke to my spirit and said, ‘tell the church that you are not a permanent pastor in this place. I’ll take you somewhere else.’ That night I said exactly what God told me to the church. The brothers of the church were saddened by the news, as they were accustomed to our work as pastors.

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General Baptist Virtual Missions Conference
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August 18, 2020

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Ed Stevens, Faith Home, GBBC, Honduras, India, International Missions, Mission One Teams, Philippines, The Summit

The Virtual World – 2020 Missions Conference

by Franklin Dumond, Director of Congregational Ministries

“Our Mission is Missions” was a popular slogan, vision statement a few years ago. It is not a very polished phrase nor is it particularly user friendly to the unbeliever who does not know about missions. But for those of us who believe in a General Atonement (that everyone can be saved), it sure rings true. This year the pandemic impeded the mission emphasis generally provided by The Summit and other large group gatherings.

To make up that deficit, Director Mark Powell and the General Baptist International Ministries staff have used technology to create a virtual missions conference. This event will be released in a few days. The Fall 2020 General Baptist Messenger provides an overview of the mission workshops that could have been offered in large group gatherings.

Here are an overview and an invitation to experience up-close-and-personal connections with missions and missionaries that I hope many of you will utilize to challenge your small groups, mission groups, and even the entire congregation with the missionary challenge to reach the world for Jesus Christ.

Missions Conference 2020
By Mark Powell
Make a difference. Share today!

Please join us in September for a Virtual Missions Conference.

The 2020 General Baptist M&M Summit became a victim of COVID-19 and was canceled. You may not know that M&M stands for Missions and Ministry, but missions have been an integral component of the Summit since its inception. General Baptist International Ministries places a high emphasis on the Summit each year offering many breakout sessions and offering General Baptist the opportunity to mingle with international missionaries and guests. We did not want to miss out on that opportunity in 2020, and so we asked each missionary family to produce a “break out” session for us to use in a “Virtual Missions Conference.”

We’ve included a synopsis of each presentation in the pages of this edition of the General Baptist Messenger – gbmessenger.org. Video presentations and additional information will be found at gbimissions.com/missions-conference-2020.

The possibilities for using these materials are endless but here are three suggestions:

  1. Personal or small group. The video presentations and papers will be online, downloadable, and available for your personal or small group as you desire. We suggest the month of September.
  2. Local Church Missions Conference: This could be over several days, a weekend, Wednesday nights, Sunday School, etc. The videos will be downloadable, and Word documents will be available for your own branding. Again we recommend September.
  3. Facebook Live: A schedule will be published when each of these videos will premiere on Facebook live. These events will take place on Tuesday and Thursday evenings in September. As much as possible, we hope that the presenter will be available to join the “Live” event in order to chat with participants (the COVID-19 version of mingling).

Follow the links provided to find the videos, handouts, and, for some speakers, additional information. Use them as you wish: individual, small group, church-wide conference, Sunday School. Really the sky is the limit!

Don’t forget that Ed Stevens Day is on September 20, 2020. This year the offering will go to do some work on the campus of the Matigsalug Bible Institute which prepares pastors for indigenous ministry throughout the Philippine island of Mindanao.

Transition - A way of life for the Yeomans
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September 26, 2018

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Christian Walk, International Missions, Niger

At This Point In Our Lives… Transitions – Part 3

by Nicole Yeomans, General Baptist Missionary to the Philippines and Niger

“A man’s heart plans his ways, but the Lord determines his steps.” – Proverbs 16:9

In all of our planning over the past several years, I never thought we would be here at this point in our lives. Most of us have said that at some point in our lives, I’m certain. I am saying that now. The first rule one becomes aware of in any type of mission work is to be flexible. Overall, I consider myself a flexible person. However, if you were to ask my husband, he would probably tell you that I often get upset if he asks me to alter the schedule that I lay out for myself each day, though I may not voice it. I am still a work in progress. I find myself looking more and more to Proverbs and other Scriptures that have a great deal to say about the plans we make for our lives and who is ultimately in control of our lives.

As you know, our family had planned to depart for Niger, West Africa at the end of July, just in time to get settled before the start of the new school year. The girls and I did just that, thinking Kris would be right behind us. We got settled in our house. We unpacked everything. We learned our way around to the school, the gas station, the grocery stores, and our favorite restaurant that serves the most amazing hummus.

Transitions are taken differently by different peopleAs for Kris joining us, a day turned into three days, then three days turned into 10 days, and then when he got the news that he needed a heart catheter, we knew then that we needed to return to the states to be with him. I have to brag on my kids for a brief moment. Eden looked downtrodden for a split second, but then decided she would be ok if she could get her ears pierced soon after landing. Emily, who has been to more schools now than blanks provided for previous schools attended on school forms, was upset about missing the first day of school at Sahel and yet another change in schools. After being upset for about 45 seconds, she came back in and said, “ok, let’s get to packing. We gotta do what we gotta do.” For a girl that never wanted to leave the house for the first 7 years of her life, I can’t tell you how thankful I am for her flexibility, how blessed I am to have her as a daughter, and to see how God is working in her life.

So, we packed everything back up, not knowing what this latest transition would look like or how long it would be before we returned, and 3 days later, boarded a plane back to the U.S. I was prepared (or at least ready for the challenge as best I could be) to be in a new culture, learning a new language and way of life. I was not prepared to be back in the states, enrolling my girls in the local school and helping Kris recover to full health while working his way thru new medicines and their side effects.

A lot of this transition is the same as it would have been in Niger. I’m learning to cook with fresh fruits and vegetables rather than canned/packaged items for a low sodium diet. I’m learning French. I’m watching my girls adjust to a new school (and love it!) and make new friends, praying the next stage of transition is not too hard on them. I don’t know why God has us here at this time, but I am continually learning that His timing is perfect, and to trust, even when I don’t understand why or for how long.

God has a way of placing us in situations that require a dependency on Him. This is where we grow. This is where we learn. This is where we find peace and learn to trust God completely, without reservations and without glimpses into His plan. I didn’t expect to be back in Greenville, KY, but here I am. I am learning. I am growing.

The Yeomans in Niger - transitionI must confess that this phase of the transition article took a lot longer for me to write than I expected. I have had to start, and start again while working my way thru an array of emotions. I have been angry. I have been confused. I have felt sorry for myself. I have felt sadness. I have felt joy. While I will never know all the details this side of heaven, I know that God had a purpose for this delay. I am thankful that my husband is alive and well and feeling more and more ready to go with every passing day. I truly believe that God saved his life by not allowing him to get on that plane.

I do not have the gift of discernment, and I have had to work my way thru what this delay means. Is it from God, similar to what Paul and Timothy faced in Acts 16:6-7 when the Holy Spirit prevented them from going into Asia to preach the Gospel? Or is it a test from God to test our faithfulness? Or is it spiritual warfare, an attack from the enemy? I wish I could read between the lines and know how Paul and Timothy felt, and how they arrived at their conclusion in Acts 16:10 when they concluded that God had called them to evangelize in Macedonia rather than their planned destination in Asia.

What I do know is that the Spirit of God has not released us from Niger. Our calling has not changed, and we are still committed to being obedient to that calling. We are hoping to depart (all of us this time) mid-October for the next phase of this transition. Please pray with us as we journey together in this walk of faith and obedience.