Hope in the Darkness - A Story of Depression

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April 24, 2018

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Hope in the Darkness – A Story Over Depression

by Jeff Thomas

I have suffered from depression for years. It began when I was sexually abused by a school teacher when I was in my early teens. I have taken medication off and on for the last 20 years and have gone through a great deal of therapy with Christian counselors. I was excited to see the workshop entitled “10 Biblical Ways to Deal with Depression” by Brenda Poinsett at the Summit this past year. For years depression has been looked at with a stigma that causes most Christians suffering with it to remain silent and to hide it vigorously.

I attended the workshop expecting to be one of a few that did, but I was very surprised when the room began to fill up and ended up standing room only. Brenda and I visited before the session began and she actually asked if I would share a small part of my story about some of her talking points, which I was more than happy to do.

The content of her workshop was extremely helpful to me on a personal level and she is a wonderful and amazing person, but the one thing that stuck out to me was the attendance. Apparently the stigma is gone and people are willing to admit that they don’t have it all together. The fact that the room was filled to capacity encouraged me that perhaps people in general were finally ready to be open about their depression.

It was during this workshop that God placed it on my heart to come back to Arkansas and offer the same hope to the people in my community. “Hope in the Darkness” was born at the Summit. It was an idea to offer those suffering from depression the hope we all have in Jesus Christ to overcome any obstacle in our lives.

So, for 4 months I met with a few family and friends, who have battled this enemy of the soul, to plan a one night event aimed at sharing the gospel of hope and victory. I also enlisted the help of a local licensed Christian counselor to co-host the event with me. Brenda was also a huge help. We emailed each other several times and she was more than happy to send me all the info I asked for. We advertised this free event with flyers, every door direct mailers and on Facebook.

Our goal for the event was two-fold. First we wanted to inform and educate people about depression. We explained the different types of depression, the symptoms of depression, the different types of treatment including medication, therapy and the biblical principles Brenda shared in her workshop. Second, we wanted to offer continuing help with either group sessions or one on one counseling. Our desire was to help the hurting find healing through the power of the Holy Spirit and to look at life with hope instead of despair.

So, on November 11, 2017 the team gathered to see what the attendance would be. We had about 20 pre-register for the event, but ended up with about 60 showing up. We had a panel that shared testimonies of their battle with depression and how these biblical principles helped them be victorious. I ended the night with a message of God’s love and desire to make us whole again. From this one event I now have about 15 individuals I’m seeing one on one to help in their battle with depression.

God began His plan at the Summit with a simple workshop held by a veteran of depression. Through that simple workshop He is now bringing healing to others hundreds of miles away and the work isn’t over yet. We are already planning another event after the first of the year on emotional wounds and getting to the root of our depression.

Isaiah 53:5 says, “But He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.”(NLT) Yes, Jesus suffered so we could be forgiven and have eternal life, but He also came to give us an abundant life. For those with depression the abundant life seems impossible. Isaiah says He was beaten to make us whole, to put back together the broken pieces of our fractured mind and emotions and that every lash of the whip was to heal our broken hearts so that we can have the abundant life here and now. God desires for us to enjoy the gift of life we have now. The promise of God is not just joy and peace when we get to Heaven, but true joy, peace and life now.

I’m so thankful for the executive team for thinking outside the box and making things like this available at the Summit instead of just focusing on church growth. There is so much out there for us all to learn and grow from that we can take back to our own churches. I’m also very thankful for Brenda Poinsett and her willingness to share her struggles and victories with perfect strangers in such an authentic way. I wish we were all as open and honest as she is. Most importantly I thank God for His leadership, guidance and power. He had a plan long before I decided to go to the Summit and He showed up. Then He showed out by changing lives forever. I am in awe of Him always and forever.

I encourage our denomination to keep offering things like this. I also encourage the members to realize that workshops like Brenda’s are a church growth workshop. If your members aren’t healthy then the church won’t be either. So, take a chance next year and attend one. You never know what God may have planned.

Church Planting Honduras - Moving Forward

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General Baptist Ministries

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April 19, 2018

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Honduras, International Missions, Mission One Teams

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Church Planting Honduras – Moving Forward

by Rodney Walls, Missionary to Honduras

General Baptists are blessed with a good group of pastors here in Honduras who are faithful and hardworking, and it is a joy to serve Christ alongside of them! They have seen a lot of missionaries come and go over the years, and building a strong relationship with them continues to be a top priority. Relationship building takes time and the last year and a half have been fruitful in many ways.

The vision to start new works has been in place. The challenge to our pastors has been for us as a group to prayerfully identify areas where we can start a new church. Once God has given the location, the design is to have a pastor, along with a trained new leader, begin the work in that community. That way the new pastor can observe and learn from the experienced pastor. During the next six months, the lead pastor will gradually give more and more ministry responsibility to the new pastor. We (the mission and the pastors’ association) want to provide a bit of a safety net to our new pastors and leaders. The desire is to then bring Mission One teams alongside the new works to provide a short-term ministry boost.

The church is the hope of the world because the church has been commissioned by Jesus to tell others about Him and to make disciples! The ability to reach people with the gospel, to start more churches in areas without churches and to see our existing churches thrive, depends on leadership development. However, as in many areas in the States, there is a leadership vacuum here. The question became, “How can we best train up leaders in our churches as well as identify and equip future pastors?” Without development of potential pastors within our existing works, the potential for growth is extremely curbed, and the mission becomes dependent on people outside General Baptist ranks. Though there are many good people who can and hopefully will join our ranks. Growing leaders from within is paramount to the mission. Simply put, we need more pastors, because we need more churches!

In September 2017, we took a giant step forward. Miguel Ramirez a long-term employee of the mission was brought on board. He and his wife have served as house parents for Faith Home for years. Miguel has always had a heart for our churches and has served as president of the pastors’ association. He is a powerful preacher and a gifted teacher. Miguel also graduated with a bible degree in Theology in 2013. Miguel and Eduarda continue to work some for Faith Home, but Miguel’s primary responsibility is to work with and train up prospective leaders in our churches, preparing them to better serve alongside their pastor and/or preparing them to be pastors in the future. This is exciting news!

For several years, Miguel has in his own time been working with some churches and leadership groups. In fact, Ezequiel the new pastor at Emanuel church, came out of Miguel’s classes. We believe Ezequiel is the first of many. We are putting together an effort to intentionally train young men and women to be servants in the church. On top of that, Miguel will also be teaching classes to our pastors, better equipping them to be instruments in God’s hands. I told you this was exciting news.

The training will be localized not centralized. That will mean a lot of traveling for Miguel and myself. The Honduras Bible Institute has reformed, and we are working with Pastor Rene Rodriguez who leads the effort to train pastors and leaders in California and Mexico. Pastor Rene has provided materials and support to our efforts here. Thank you, Pastor Rene! Moving forward we want a unified effort among all our General Baptist Hispanic ministries! This is powerful stuff!

Miguel began his first class in October. He travels to a different church Monday through Friday, and 102 men and women from seven of our churches have signed up and are attending a class in homiletics. Yes, you read that correctly (102). I will admit it. That number is significantly higher than I had thought or hoped. And, (and this is exciting), 12 teenagers are taking the class as well (ranging from 14 years of age to 17). Tell me that is not exciting?

We have a basic curriculum in place and believe that God is going to use the Honduras Bible Institute to prepare pastors and leaders for our existing churches and to start new ones too. Soon the leadership vacuum will be no more, and there will be many new General Baptist churches here reaching people with the Good News that Christ tasted death for us all! If just 5% of this group are God called to be a pastor, then we can begin five new churches.

Moving forward… We need your prayers and your support as we move forward following Jesus! The Church Planting ministry here is dormant no more. Things are busy and getting even more so! Thanks to a couple of churches that are already helping to fund this effort by helping to underwrite Miguel’s salary. Your support is making an impact. I will also need support to purchase books and supplies as I have already used my resource for buying books. Don’t wait, join in what God is doing here. I will keep you posted as we move forward.

Saipan Community Church Celebrates 70 Years

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General Baptist Ministries

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April 17, 2018

Posted under

Ed Stevens, International Missions, Saipan

Saipan Community Church Celebrates Seventy Years

by General Baptist International Missions

Seventy years ago, the year 1948, marked an important milestone in the history of General Baptists. Just a few short years after the end of World War II, which had seen the almost total devastation of the small island of Saipan, Missionary Ed Stevens finished construction of a mission church and launched a mission congregation on this little island in the middle of the ocean. General Baptist missions had served Guam since 1911, but the work there was inherited from another denomination. The work of Ed Stevens on Saipan effectively makes Saipan Community Church the first mission started by General Baptists and the first and oldest Protestant Church on Saipan.

This was not an easy road for Rev. Stevens. He faced many trials to acquire the right property, get the right supplies, and find the right help. The plan was to have the first service at the mission on Easter Sunday in 1948. However, the church building wasn’t finished, so on the 4th of April, 1948, Saipan Community Church officially launched. That first service was mostly attended by U.S. military personnel and their families.

This was also the week the first small group met and a man named Vincente Silencino, a Filipino contract worker, accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. Vince, as he was called, later accepted his call into ministry and eventually attended Oakland City College. After seminary, Vince became the first General Baptist missionary to the Philippines. This part of the story reminds us how important Saipan can be for sharing the Gospel to the rest of the Asian world.

Seventy years later, the Saipan Community Church is still a strong and vibrant ministry. With over fourteen different small groups and four services including a morning service with a variety of nationalities, a Filipino vesper service, and two other worship services targeting residents from nearby Pacific Islands on Sunday, the church is still strong and spreading the gospel.

While the first service was primarily U.S. military families, currently at least 17 different people groups participate in the morning services. This demonstrates the awesome capacity this unique church possesses to reach out to all of Asia. It has also inspired the church’s motto of “reaching an island to reach the world”.

In 1988 the first missionary from the Philippines, Ben Porcadillia and family, arrived on the island to minister to Filipino residents. The Porcadillias were also instrumental in starting the Saipan Community School which is the first and oldest Protestant school on Saipan.

This spring Saipan Community Church will celebrate its 70th anniversary on Easter Sunday. We will also celebrate the 30th anniversary of both our Filipino worship service and our K-8 School. This will be a great year of celebration as we look to our past with joy and to our future with hope and excitement. The congregation is currently served by Pastor Josh and Rachael Slater and family.

Celebration Update!

Saipan Community Church celebrated its 70th anniversary on Easter Sunday with 450 in attendance and two baptisms according to Pastor Josh Slater. Rev. David Stevens (son of founding pastor and missionaries Ed and Gertie Stevens) and wife Lois were in attendance. Ed Stevens established ministry outreaches on Guam, Saipan, Tinian (a leper colony after WWII), and Chi Chi Jima. According to Pastor Josh, “David looked like a kid in a candy store, we were even able to go to Tinian.” This was the first time that David has returned to Saipan since his father’s passing in 1953. GBIM was honored to partner with Saipan Church and Yigo Church (pastored by Bob Murphy), Guam to facilitate this trip for the Stevens.