Ministry Updates – August 2010

Nampa FBC (ID) is planning their second annual Family Camp in Cascade over Labor Day weekend. The main focus is to enjoy getting to know each other better through a wide variety of outdoor activities. Two potluck dinners are planned and Sunday morning worship service, Sounds like fun!

The congregation is also in the midst of starting a new Hispanic congregation in their facility. The first service took place on Sunday, June 6^th and was launched with a Mexican Festival potluck. The church reports that the fellowship hall was so full they had to set up additional tables in another room. Prayers in both English and Spanish called on God’s blessing for this new undertaking. This new congregation is intent on reaching people who do not yet have a relationship with Jesus Christ.

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Pastor John Parsley, Senior Pastor of Clearfield Community Church (UT) is an example of a devoted follower of Christ who relentlessly submits to God’s call. Prior to coming to the ABCNW his former church in Indiana had just completed a 2.4 million dollar facilities expansion . This was a vibrant congregation with over 350 worshippers on Sunday morning. He had enjoyed a long tenure there and the ministries were going well.

But, when Clearfield Community Church called him to be their new pastor, John said “yes”. In moving to Utah, it would be obvious that the mission field was right outside his front door. After much prayer and consideration, he welcomed the opportunity to take on a new challenge in his ministry career. This required a cut in salary and leaving behind a beautiful new home in Indiana. This also meant separation from his wife, Susie, until they could sale their home. This separation lasted far longer than either anticipated.  Due the economic downturn, selling the house became impossible, and the separation continued for over a year and a half. This last May John and Susie were finally able to be together on the church field after so many months apart. The Clearfield church is on the move, conducting excellent ministry under John’s leadership. But, it has been a great challenge that John has willingly taken on, and we are so glad that he has!

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Rev. Jim Loewen is the new interim pastor at Filer First Baptist Church.

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FBC Bellingham is in the process of establishing six systems through which their ministries will be organized. These ministries are Worship, Teaching, Prayer, Care, Service and Facilities.

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Pastor Mark Rambo, of FBC Olympia, led a mission team from Emmaus House (a FBC Olympia worship and community ministry for “folks who are exploring what it means to follow Jesus into a postmodern world”) to serve in Costa Rica earlier in the summer. They joined Gary & Mylinda Baits, ABC missionaries in Costa Rica, and assisted with their VBS and conducted other vital projects.

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Rather than conducting a standard VBS, Yakima FBC/Communidad Cristiana took on an entirely different challenge this summe. They conducted a month long summer school. That’s right, school! As in education. They had two goals for the project: 1) To prepare children for the coming school year by moving them closer to grade level expectations in reading, writing and math, and 2) To introduce the children and their families to Christ.  At the beginning of the program, each child was assessed to determine levels in reading and math. Efforts were made to overcome as many deficits as possible so that each child would be at grade level at the start of the school year. All attended chapel each day where Christian songs were taught and a Bible message given. Several parents indicated they were interested in reconnecting with their faith as a result of the week. Relationships with children and families were established through this very practical and helpful endeavor. La Escuela de Verano is an excellent example of an externally focused ministry that made a difference in people’s lives, and also opened doors for the Gospel.

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Chad Marvin, Pastor of Worship and Arts at The Summit Church in Boise, led nine musicians and artists on a mission trip to Romania in July. Their mission was to work alongside churches in three communities aiding them in reaching outside their walls through service projects and concerts. They conducted a wide variety of activities ranging from a soccer tournament to flood cleanup to playground restoration to tent meetings. Incredible! The entire story, along with pictures, may be found at the ABCNW web site. Or, check out the story on ABCNW’s Facebook site.

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On Sunday, August 22, the worship service at The Bridge Church in Snohomish focused on Christian marriage. Pastor Daniel Espy gave a seventeen-minute message on marriage. This was followed by a surprise announcement that a wedding would then take place in the service. Within a few moments several changes were made in the sanctuary setup and the wedding proceeded. One of the special moments of the ceremony took place at the end as the congregation came forward to lay hands on the couple and pray for them. The service can be viewed at www.thebridgetolife.com.

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FBC Great Falls, MT will host the Big Sky Area Convention, Friday, September 17 through Sunday, September 19^th. Rev. Dick Sipe, senior pastor of FBC Marshalltown, IA will be the keynote speaker. Dick is a transformational leader who has been a featured speaker at a previous ABCNW All Region Ministers Conference. Dick has been the lead pastor in several ABC church. Each congregation experienced growth and remarkable transformation through Dick’s capable leadership and evangelistic emphasis.

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Dianne O’Brian, wife of pastor Rich O’Brian of FBC Livingston, MT, was featured recently in their August newsletter. Why? Because this daredevil accepted the challenge to take on the new Ropes Challenge Course at Templed Hills Camp during Family Camp in July. Dianne, we are impressed!

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FBC Missoula has launched a Penny Project, adopting the idea from National Ministries and inspired by an ABC church in New London, N.H.  The State of Montana reports that 40,000 children live in poverty within its borders Utilizing this information FBC has established a goal of 40,000 pennies to fund a project that will help children who are living in poverty in Missoula. So far they have received 8,175 pennies.

Update! "Our Penny Project has been extremely successful and so well received that we will do it again next summer. We have exceeded 40,000 and will undoubtedly surpass 50,000 by the end of September when our Project rests. The use of the money has not yet been chosen but will update when it is decided. God has blessed the project and we in turn want to bless Him in its use to help children in poverty in Missoula."

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A new ABC-NW church is in the midst of being planted in Vancouver, WA. The name of the church is Water’s Edge Church and the church planter is Pastor Dave Lodwig. Dave has identified a section of Vancouver, southeast near the Columbia River, where thousands of families live, but there is no neighborhood church. Although there are several mega-churches in Vancouver, he is convinced that there is a great opportunity to establish a more community-oriented style church in the southeast part of the city. He started developing the launch team for the new congregation in 2009. Along the way Dave reached out to the ABC-NW because he wanted his new congregation to be in a supportive, accountability relationship with American Baptists. Dr. Revis has worked with Dave in establishing the Regional relationship with the new project. More recently Dave received a “Recommendation to Plant” from the Discovery Center, a rigorous assessment process conducted by the GHC Network (a ministry arm of ABCW, aka, Growing Healthy Churches).  The public launch of the new church will take place on Sunday, September 12. 

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Do you have an Intercessory Prayer Team in your church? If so, could you pass this information along to them? Do you pray regularly? Could you also include these sister churches when you pray?

Each of these ABC-NW churches are in the midst of searching for their next pastor. Some have been without a permanent pastor for over a year. Some have just embarked on their journey. Most of these churches are also being currently served by an interim pastor, a result of ABCNW and Interim Ministries-ABC-USA working together to serve our local churches. We believe God honors the prayers of His people! Please pray for these churches and their search committees:

• Pocatello FBC (ID)
• Filer FBC (ID)
• Kelso FBC (ID)
• Payette FBC (ID)
• Melba Community Baptist Church (ID)
• Central Baptist Church (Spokane, WA)
• Spokane Valley Baptist Church (WA)
• Bozeman FBC (MT)
• Helena FBC (MT)
• Gorst Baptist Community Church (Port Orchard, WA)
• Delta Community Baptist Church (Everett, WA)