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FENTON, MI – To be a Chaplain is to be in the right place at the right time. How you get there can be a matter of being sensitive to your calling as an “Under Shepherd.” Your calling is not just a call to duty, but feeling the Holy Spirit tug at your heart to be just where God wants you to be. Being in touch with the Holy Spirit’s guidance is important, especially for where and when you should be ministering. I had a chapel member missing last Sunday from our morning chapel service who is always in his place. Just like any regular church service, he parks his big electric wheelchair in the same place every Sunday. This particular Sunday I noticed immediately that he was not there in his usual place for worship. I finished my Sunday morning “endurance” routine by 1 pm, and felt the Holy Spirit calling me to go find my missing “sheep” that had been absent from worship that morning. At my age, I often feel like my recliner at home is calling, but not this time. God had a Divine appointment for me to attend and be his representative. As I entered the room of my chapel family member, I was surprised to find him actively dying. I spent the next 30 minutes with him sharing his favorite scripture and praying with him as he stepped out into eternity to meet his Lord and Savior. He died a peaceful death with dignity with God’s chaplain pastor at his side at the right time. I was grateful to God that He had impressed on my heart to go check on him, and to be with him during that sacred moment. For me it was confirmation that I need to be sensitive to the Lord’s leading, and to continue receiving my “Sacred Moments.” Psalm 116:15 - Precious in the sight of the Lord Is the death of His godly ones. (NASV) If you believe you may be called by God to be a chaplain or to be of support to our chaplains in prayer please contact me at (bdennis@bscm.org). You can also see more information on our BSCM website at bscm.org and look under “SEND” to find the Chaplaincy page. We also offer chaplaincy training. See below for more information. 2017 BSCM EVENTS FOR CHAPLAINS: The first annual BSCM Chaplain Training will be at the Church Equipping Conference on September 16, 2017. We have an experienced chaplain key note speaker and important topics selected. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Chaplain Bob Dennis is the new Chaplain Coordinator for the BSCM. He became a North American Mission Board endorsed chaplain for the State of Michigan after ministering as a pastor in the Woodland Baptist Association for many years. He currently is a chaplain assigned to the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans. #AUGUST17

ALPHARETTA, GA (BP) – For many pastors and churches, Send Relief is still a developing thought. Just a year ago, Send Relief became a key part of the North American Mission Board's strategy to equip our churches to engage their communities through compassionately serving those around them for the sake of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Since the launch of Send Relief at the 2016 SBC annual meeting in St. Louis, we have seen and heard of churches across North America -- established churches and church plants -- utilizing resources provided by Send Relief to meet the needs of their neighbors. Here are some practical examples: In April, Lakota Hills Baptist Church in West Chester, Ohio, used our Home Fire Campaign program to install free smoke alarms in their community. Send Relief distributed the alarms, provided free by the American Red Cross, which allowed the church to mobilize nearly 80 volunteers into their community that day. They're building relationships throughout their community and plan to do the outreach event again in October. In May, Strong Tower church at Washington Park in Montgomery, Ala., held a community festival with 150-plus people in attendance. During the festival, they utilized our Send Relief mobile medical clinic to provide care to more than 20 uninsured residents. While volunteer doctors and nurses administered care, others from the church were meeting additional physical and spiritual needs. At least two people placed their faith in Jesus during that event. At the end of August, St. Louis-area Southern Baptist churches and business leaders will lead thousands of volunteers to produce a million meals to be distributed to those in need throughout St. Louis and beyond. We'll be taking 250,000 of those meals via our Send Relief tractor-trailer to our new ministry hub in Appalachia, where we'll be distributing them to those in need throughout the region. Think of the Gospel-sharing opportunities when you share a million meals! Speaking of Appalachia, state conventions and churches have committed to providing at least 65,000 backpacks to be distributed to needy children throughout the region this year. Through local churches, these backpacks will be given to children, along with the Gospel. You could do something like this in your hometown! Through the Appalachian hub, we'll be able to serve one of the most disadvantaged regions of North America. The ministry hub there will be a distribution center for food and other necessities to reach the thousands of people who live in poverty. This hub also will serve as another staging facility to respond with disaster relief resources. In addition to the Appalachian hub, God has graciously allowed us to acquire another property in Clarkston, Ga. Each hub allows Southern Baptists to serve and experience ministry in unique contexts. In Clarkston, we're positioned in one of the most diverse communities in North America. In the "Ellis Island of the South," you will find more than 50 unique ethnic backgrounds. Clarkston is a mission field, but it is not unreached. The new Send Relief ministry hub will not only allow us to serve the community in relevant ways, but churches from throughout North America will be able to experience ministry in this unique context and learn how to serve people of diverse backgrounds in their own communities. You can expect more in early 2018 as the property is prepared to serve and equip our churches. We're incredibly excited to partner with state Baptist children's homes to launch a campaign emphasizing the need for churches across North America to step up and meet the needs of orphaned children in our state foster care systems. We're called to serve orphans and widows, and we hope to see thousands of Southern Baptists respond to that need. Of course, our alliance with state convention partners in the area of disaster relief is the core of our ability to serve communities in response to weather-related crises. The 45 disaster-related entities are key to serving those areas when they're impacted by hurricane, flood, tornado or fire. And we're prepared to support them to ensure that the response is optimally coordinated. While other organizations might be the first in, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief is often the last out. With 70,000 volunteers and 50 years of experience, the third-largest disaster relief organization in North America stands ready. Why do we do Send Relief? To equip the church for its next missional opportunity. What does that look like? It depends on where you live and the needs of your community. When we drop our agendas and consider others above ourselves, when we show compassion and meet the needs of others rather than being concerned for our convenience, that's when ministry takes place and relationships are formed. Send Relief exists to equip you and your church to share Jesus and to see others place their faith in Him. That's why we say: Send Help. Send Hope. Send Relief. To learn more or to find resources your church can use in ministry, visit Send Relief. ABOUT THE AUTHOR David Melber is vice president of Send Relief at the North American Mission Board. #AUGUST17

FENTON, MI – In the early years of our marriage and ministry, Sabrina and I lived in the hamlet of Marathon, Texas at the edge of the Big Bend National Park. At the time I was working in a small church as the associate pastor, which really meant that I was the personal slave of the pastor. One of the perks of that ministry assignment, however, was that I had the opportunity to travel that region quiet extensively. While driving those roads, the beauty and expanse of the vistas that were afforded me were almost incomprehensible. Jagged peaks and desert valleys filled my view from one horizon to the other. Pronghorn antelope dotted the vast grasslands, and mule deer could be seen grazing in the same pastures along side thousands of sheep and cattle. There awaited me around every turn visual delights and windows of wonder into God’s great creation. In my first year or so, I was taken in by the enormity of it all, but as I spent more time in the area I began to take notice of the small and more intricate beauties of the landscape. The small reptiles and the tiny rodents that dotted the desert floors were amazing, as well as the various cacti and flowering plants. The rocks, sand and variations in strata seemed to have been painted by some imaginative artist. This high desert region commands one's attention and captivates our vision like so many of the landscapes of our great nation. Something else I began to notice were mounds of rock and dirt at the base of mountains, knolls and outcroppings. Their shapes and colors betrayed their manmade beginnings, and were somewhat out of place with their surroundings. I later discovered that these mounds of rocks and dirt were the results of men digging for gold ore among the desert hills. As I began to take notice of them, it was obvious that literally hundreds of them could be seen across the landscape. Some were located high in the crevasses of lofty peaks while others were more easily accessible at the base of foothills. Their locations seemed to have little to do with logic, and did not seem to follow any pattern. At one time the area boasted some very profitable silver and quicksilver mines, and I have been told very few true gold producing mines ever existed. Pioneers, adventurers and travelers from across the globe came to this barren region of West Texas to find their fortunes and build the empires of their minds. With all their worldly possessions in a few bags and bundles, they left the comforts of cities, towns and villages to live the solitary life of a prospector. The future would hold unbelievable loneliness and isolation, and conditions that would make even the residents of Hades happy to live in the abyss. It was a hard life, yet untold numbers of men gambled with their livelihoods and their very lives for the almost nonexistent chance at riches. Today I see person after person doing the same thing as did these wishful prospectors of years past. They leave all that is good and right to stake a claim on nothing more than a fantasy that has about as much substance as the dreams that produced them. Instead of building their lives on that which is real and lasting, they scurry about punching holes in barren soils that offer nothing but misery. And just like the abandoned mines and shafts of the Big Bend of Texas, this present life is pocked with the desperate diggings of disappointed men. All they have to show for their efforts are empty holes. Fulfillment, happiness and peace are found much closer to home, and it is unnecessary to traipse across the barrens of this world to possess them. In fact, those wonderful states of being can only be found in one's heart. Oh, not the muscular pump that delivers life-giving blood to our bodies, but the inner Soul and Spirit of the human being. And here is the good part, all of this peace and fulfillment is a free gift. Peace, fulfillment and complete satisfaction are ours for the asking. All He asks for in return is our hopeless and hapless lives. It sounds like a good trade to me. Besides, it is my understanding that when we get to heaven they use gold instead of asphalt to pave the streets. What a deal! Stop digging and start believing. Empty holes or full–filled hearts? It’s your choice. John 14:27 – Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Proverbs 8:19 – My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold, and my revenue than choice. Ecclesiastes 4:8 – There is one alone, without companion: He has neither son nor brother. Yet there is no end to all his labors, Nor is his eye satisfied with riches. But he never asks, “For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good?” This also is vanity and a grave misfortune. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Tim Patterson is Executive Director/Treasurer of the Baptist State Convention of Michigan. Elected unanimously in May of 2015, Patterson formerly served for 9 years as pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla. He also served as trustee chair and national mobilizer for the North American Mission Board. #AUGUST17

FENTON, MI – Knock, knock, knock! The worn, lightweight aluminum screen door opened up toward our 12 year old faces. We were nervous. Tom stood behind me trembling in his tattered Converse sneakers, stained t-shirt, and gym shorts. Despite the summer heat, both of us froze in fear while our brains were screaming for us to run away when we saw Mr. Poindexter open the door with an impatient sigh. You see our neighbor Mr. P, as we called him, scared all of the kids on my street. He and his wife didn’t have any children so we didn’t really know him. All we knew is that when we crossed the corner of his yard to get to the little store or the ball field that he wasn’t happy with us. Mr. P wasn’t a screamer. He was quiet. Dead serious quiet! His glares made our hearts stop so on normal days we didn’t bother Mr. P. This particular summer day, back in the 70s was different though. Tom and I were building a fort out in the woods behind our houses. For 3-4 weeks we noticed that Mr. P was collecting wood from what we thought was a basement remodel. His scrap wood was collected on the ground at the side of his garage. On this particular hot hazy summer day, Tom and I decided that one of us was going to ask Mr. P for that scrap timber. Since I lived closest to Mr. P I would be the one to do the talking. “Mr. Poindexter,” I stuttered as each syllable stuck in my throat. “Tom and I couldn’t help but notice the scrap lumber laying beside your garage.” As I finished that opening line I think Mr. P glared at us even harder as if to say, “What business is it of yours!” I continued with a nervous tremor in my voice, “Sir, if you don’t have any plans for that lumber may Tom and I use it for our fort in the woods?” Mr. P replied, “No. I don’t have plans right now, but I might later.” With the thump of the word “later” came another long stare, silence that seemed to go on forever. I still believe part of my life ebbed out of my soul that day from his frightening look. Somehow I was able to form the words, “Okay sir. Sorry we bothered you.” as we turned and walked away much quicker than we had arrived. Some forty years later, I happened to run into Mr. Poindexter again. This time it was in my parents’ yard while visiting with my wife and children. He said, “Tony, do you remember when you and your little friend asked for that wood beside my garage years ago?” I said, “Sure do Mr. Poindexter. I’m sorry we bothered you that day.” Mr. P held up his hand as if to gently silence me then continued, “No, I’m the one who should apologize. I don’t know what got into me back then. I have always regretted not giving you that lumber. It all rotted after being exposed to the autumn rains and winter snows. It rotted and ever since I have regretted not letting you have that stack of wood. You were good kids and I should have given it to you.” I accepted his heart-felt apology all the while thinking to myself, “Wow, an apology forty years later.” Isn’t that the way we are with a lot of things in our lives, in our families, and in our churches? We buy, we hoard, and we don’t share. We justify our collections by convincing ourselves that one day, when we have enough then we will share. In Luke 16:9 (NLT), Jesus explains the emptiness of selfishness and the eternal results of generosity, “Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.” Please, pay close attention here or you’re going to miss it. Summer is coming to a close. A new church year is about to start. Many of you will review the annual church budgets this fall. It’s time for you to let go of the “lumber laying beside the garage” and let your funds extend God’s Kingdom. Here are two meaningful options that come to mind during this time of the year: The State Missions Offering & the Bambi Lake Retreat & Conference Center Restoration Project – In September, we are kicking-off a campaign with the theme “Because we believe in the power of one.” One more person, one more church, and one more contribution can make a difference! The state retreat center is where our churches and God fellowship together and inspire one another to strive for greater aims. Please, lead your congregation to give generously each week or each month to this incredible undertaking. Cooperative Program (CP) – For the first time in history, every church treasurer can make the church’s contribution to the Cooperative Program securely online at bscm.org. In fact, a recurring donation can be set-up where funds are automatically transferred from the church to the state convention. Those funds help us help churches in Michigan. Those CP funds help 20,000 students study for ministry and missions. Those CP funds help supply the needs of 8,500 missionaries and their children all over the world. Please, don’t let forty years pass before you realize the “lumber has rotted.” Mr. Poindexter and I agree, sharing is better than hoarding. Join the movement of God in Michigan. Great things are happening. People’s lives are changing. Believe in the power of one! ABOUT THE AUTHOR Tony Lynn is the State Director of Missions for the Baptist State Convention of Michigan. Before coming on staff at the BSCM, Tony served as lead pastor for more than six years at Crosspoint Church in Monroe, Michigan. He and his wife, Jamie, also served with the International Mission Board in Africa and in Europe. #AUGUST17

FENTON, MI – Shar and I recently had the privilege of participating in a God moment. We were sitting around the table with the Patterson’s, the Lynn’s, the Taylor’s, and the Schatz’s. Pastor Tim asked Mick and Jackie if they had ever considered serving in retreat ministries. Mick and Jackie looked at each other, and then told us it was something they had always wanted to do. That moment started the beginning of a new future for Bambi. Interviews were conducted, references checked, votes taken, and the call was extended and accepted. Somewhere in the midst of all that was Mick’s first trip to Bambi. Mick saw it initially without Jackie. I wondered what he would feel when he looked at Bambi Lake for the first time. There was a lot to see - the grounds, the buildings, the area, the schools, and so much more. And there was a long way to go to see it. He had no prior experience at Bambi to draw upon, no emotional connection, and no life changing moment at camp to color his experience. There was just the camp. He would look with fresh eyes, with eyes fixed on the Father, with eyes focused on the future. Was this the place, the ministry, God was calling him to invest his life? Would his family sense that same calling? That first look was overwhelming for him. I know because I was there. I could see it in his eyes, and hear it in his voice. I felt for him as we went to the manager’s house for the first time - the place his family would live. We were in the process of remodeling the house, but all he saw was a house that had been dismantled. It wasn’t pretty. There wasn't a single room that was ready or even close to being ready. I watched and listened as he showed Jackie the house with FaceTime on his phone. I walked with him, painting a picture with words of what the house could look like, but at that moment it was floors without coverings, bathrooms without fixtures, walls in need of paint, dust and demolition debris. He took it all in. A lot of questions were asked. A lot was said. But one sentence that I’ll paraphrase stood out: “As I walked the grounds,” Mick said, “I realized that this place has a wonderful heritage to build upon.” Since becoming our State Director of Spiritual Refreshment and Retreats, Mick has been building on that heritage. There’s a whiteboard in his office that takes up most of the wall. It is filled with retreats, updates, and projects for the future. Improvements to the buildings and grounds are noticeably visible. It starts at the entrance of the camp where the signs have a fresh coat of paint and fallen trees and limbs have been removed. Mick oversaw the completion of the remodel of the manager’s house, and it’s beautiful. There’s a new stage in the worship center that makes a great statement. Repairs on the exterior of the lodge are taking place and the lodge is being repainted. The foyer has a new look that invites you to a fresh new experience at Bambi. One of the most noticeable additions is the waterslide. It rises 20 feet off the ground and descends 120 feet to the water! The first time Shar and I went to Bambi together was for a pastors and wives retreat. It was a Godsend in our lives. We had recently returned to Michigan after eight years of college and seminary. We were starting a new ministry after serving as a pastor in a rural church for five years. It was the first time in our seven year marriage that we lived in the center of a major city. The parsonage was on a noisy, five lane highway. Our first child was born just a few weeks after we made this major move. He was so little that we laid him in an open dresser drawer at Bambi to sleep. To say the least, it was a time of incredible transition in our lives. We arrived at Bambi exhausted, overwhelmed, and all the while trying to figure out the whole parenting thing. Shar was experiencing the beginnings of postpartum depression, but we didn’t know what that was at the time. There were all kinds of stressors in our lives. We needed encouragement, community, and a fresh encounter with God, and that’s exactly what we experienced at Bambi. The details vary, but believers all over Michigan have experienced fresh encounter and renewal with God at Bambi. I had the privilege of experiencing Bambi retreats as a student, adult, parent and now as a grandpa. Our children have been to Bambi on numerous occasions, and so have their wives. Shar and I have taken our grandchildren to Bambi camping. The camp has been a blessing to three generations of Durbins, and hopefully that will continue as the family grows and new generations are born. We have come to know the blessing of Bambi and hope you will come experience it as well. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mike Durbin is the State Evangelism Director for the Baptist State Convention of Michigan. Before joining the state convention staff, Mike served as Church Planting Catalyst and Director of Missions in Metro Detroit since 2007. He also has served as a pastor and bi-vocational pastor in Michigan, as well as International Missionary to Brazil. #AUGUST17

ROSCOMMON, MI – What a ride! I have now been at Bambi Lake for 6 months and what a ride it has been! Each day brings new challenges and opportunities so no one day is ever the same as the last. Meeting new faces from a diverse variety of places is a true joy! However, there are three things about Bambi Lake that I am passionate about– it’s past, it’s present, and it’s future. Past – At every Camp or Retreat we host, I encounter stories of how Bambi Lake has impacted a life for eternity. I hear testimonies of individuals who were saved here as a child, and now serve in a church or full-time ministry. Most often, those individuals are now bringing their family or student group or church to Bambi Lake. I watch as friends reunite and share memories of first meeting each other at a camp or retreat fifteen or twenty years ago. I listen to students tell of the first time they heard the voice of God speak to them in the quietness and calm sitting by the lake. Numerous are the tales of cramming a few hundred into Hubbs chapel, but it did not matter because worship was the priority of the day. Being uncomfortable was not an issue because God was in the house and His presence was imminent! That will preach! Many, many lives have been transformed by the power of the gospel here at Bambi Lake. What a heritage, what a legacy. Present – It has been said, the best gift we can give ourselves and those around us is to be present. With such an amazing heritage to learn from and stand on, by the grace of God, Bambi Lake now has the responsibility to be present. We cannot be satisfied and rest on the accomplishments of our past – however great – we must be present. We must be engaged in raising up new leaders, and fiercely empowering young and old alike to share the Good News of salvation, the Good News of Jesus. I am excited to say that this is a reality at Bambi Lake. At every Camp and every Retreat new stories are emerging. New chapters are being written in the lives of those who are discovering freedom, healing, joy, and forgiveness in Christ. Bambi Lake is discovering new ways to encounter the culture with the love of Christ. We are implementing new programs and opportunities for the Body of Christ to be encouraged and empowered for the Kingdom. Bambi Lake is striving to be a lighthouse in our community, state, nation and world! Bambi Lake is Present! Future – With a legacy of life change and a mandate to be present, I am ecstatic about the future of Bambi Lake. We should all be! As great as the past has been, I believe the future is going to be even more amazing. Not just because of new camps, retreats, or new activities, but because of people like you. Yes, people just like you reading this article, God’s people, Christian Michiganders who love God and worship together with other believers at churches filled with worship because the presence of God is evident. How you ask? By praying for Bambi Lake and taking advantage of opportunities to participate. Many of you already have stories written at Bambi Lake. Others have yet to experience a weekend or week of enjoying fellowship with God and making new friends and memories. I believe, like many of you, God has great plans and designs for Bambi Lake. His presence is being felt and experienced here in new and refreshing ways. The cool part? He is inviting you and me to come. So, come join the ride. Come be refreshed. Come find rest. Come be present and see God move! ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mike Schatz serves on the staff of the Baptist State Convention of Michigan. He is the State Director of Spiritual Enrichment and Retreats and lives at Bambi Lake. #AUGUST17

HUDSONVILLE, MI – A friend of mine recently started a new job as a buyer with a large food distribution company in the area. He was describing the ins and outs of forecasting what products his customers are going to need in the next 2 to 3 months. So far, he had not under-purchased or over-purchased by any great amounts. Keeping the right amount of product in the pipeline keeps his boss and the customers happy. I laughed a little to myself, when he told me the story about a coworker who completely forgot to order hamburger buns for a large chain of burger restaurants in the area. You can imagine, there was some scrambling going on to find buns in order to prevent a drop in burger sales. In any industry, it is important to plan ahead, not only with product but also with people. Having the resources on hand to accomplish the job takes a lot of preparation, time, and energy. It is not done overnight. This kind of thinking is also important in ministry in the Kingdom of Jesus. In fact, this is exactly what Jesus did with his disciples. He trained them before, during, and after he sent them out for ministry. If we are going to see a movement of making disciples all around the state of Michigan and beyond, we are going to need to develop more missional leaders. We need to fill the pipeline and keep it filled. I am excited about a new tool called, the Church Planting Pipeline, that will be available from the North American Mission Board in August. Our church planters go through a rigorous pre-assessment process. The extensive report created from this process helps us determine if a planter is ready to move forward; an assessment retreat and then on to planting, or if we need to hit the pause button and get them some more training. Jeff Christopherson, vice President of the Send Network says, "The Church Planting Pipeline is a simple and systematic way for a local church to prepare leaders to become effective disciple-makers in a post-Christian world. Implementing the system in the heart of a church is the discipleship plan – they can prepare homegrown missionary teams that literally transform their communities. This puts the missionary movement back where it was always meant to be – in the local church." The Church Planting Pipeline is a tool for our pastors to raise up leaders and planters within their own church. It can be up to three years worth of material helping them prepare to plant a church. Level One (L1) focuses on spiritual formation and theological foundation. Level two (L2) focuses on missiology and disciple making. Level three (L3) is all about church planting. Each year has ten 4-week modules that the planter can complete under the guidance of pastors and coaches. I am especially excited about this opportunity because I have a number of men who are not ready to plant a church yet, but are confident in their call. They simply need more time and training. Beginning this fall, we will have four interns or residents using this material in at least two churches here in West Michigan. We need pastors and churches all around our state to fill a pipeline of missional leaders, not only for church planting, but for shepherding as well. We would love to get this tool into your hands. Feel free to reach out to me, any of our CPC's or Tony Lynn, our SDOM and we can walk you through more details. Let's work together to create a pipeline of missional leaders, both young and old, in preparation for a disciple-making movement here in our great state of Michigan. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dan Ghramm serves as a Church Planting Catalyst with BSCM/NAMB in Southwest Michigan. He is married to Amanda, a Sign Language Interpreter. They have five children: Elijah, Malia, Jacob, Joshua, and Sophia. They live in Hudsonville, Michigan and are members at Redemption Church, a two-year-old church plant in Grandville a suburb of Grand Rapids. #JULY17

KINGSLEY, MI – A church planter catalyst is as diverse as the area he serves. I have the privilege of serving in an area that stretches from Flint to Ironwood and across to Sarnia, Canada. This means God has allowed me to see churches catalyzed in two time zones and two countries! Some of the most exciting times include work started with the Native Americans, African Americans as well as Anglo churches. Recently, we have seen God replant in areas like Petoskey, Clio and Bellaire. This means that we have a struggling congregation that has new leadership, sees a new vision, and learns to grow and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit as well as their new church planter pastor. One of the great blessings of my ministry was being on the ground level of a suburban church plant in Grandville. I also got to help plant a rural church in northern Michigan and watch the planter be encouraged by a block party event sponsored by our WMU. Currently, there is an African American church plant on the east side of Flint I am blessed to support. I also cross a few bridges in the literal sense - going across the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron to visit with one of our newest plants in Canada, or crossing the mighty Mac (Mackinac Bridge) to visit with our planter in the Soo (Sault Sainte Marie). All of this new work brings great joy to my soul. With so much traveling you may wonder if I ever sleep. Well, my days begin quite early with personal Bible study and prayer. One of the things I pray for daily, as Jesus commanded, is to have workers. He said the fields are white, pray for workers and the harvest. I would challenge you to pray with me this prayer because there are many places with great needs and opportunities. One of these great needs is in Marquette (the largest city in the Upper Peninsula) that has no Southern Baptist work. Alpena, the largest area on the sunrise side of the state is also without a Southern Baptist Church. On the west side of the state Traverse City, a growing and popular city, needs another church work planted. In addition to my support and encouragement of church planters, I look for men who are called by God to a specific area or to a people group, along with men and women, who are entrepreneurial and willing to start something new from nothing. I also look for the leaders who train disciples who then train disciples. I am grateful that God allows me to be part of His kingdom and to invest and work in the lives of Mid and Northern Michigan as well as Canadian churches and church planters. Let me invite you to come visit the prettiest part of our state and join me in punching holes in the darkness. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Darren Greer came to Michigan as a summer missionary in 1985. Since he has served in northern Michigan 27 of the last 30 years as a church planter, minister of education, pastor, DOM and now serves as Church Planting Catalyst with NAMB and BSCM in Mid and Northern Michigan. #JULY17

BELLVILLE, MI – It was always our hearts' desire to be able to do ministry in the United States or Canada. Most of my wife’s relatives live in Windsor, Canada or here in Michigan. We had heard that our Filipino Churches can use more pastors from the Philippines to do Church planting work and ministry. For the first time, in 1993, our family tried applying for permanent residency in Canada. All of us, especially our kids, were so excited, but the excitement soon turned to sadness and gloom when we learned we had failed the consulate interview. So we said, though it is sad, we will wait on the Lord. While waiting on the Lord, we kept on keeping on, pouring ourselves into our church work, and focusing on the youth and couples, and winning others for Jesus. After much consideration, prayers, preparation and the passionate encouragement of friends and relatives in the States, we went ahead and applied again in the spring of 1998, both in Canada and the United States. We learned from other peoples’ experiences that it is very difficult to get tourist visas to North America, especially when you bring all of the family. Coming from a third world country didn’t help either, so we needed a lot of prayers. Moreover, the thought of uprooting a whole family (Chrissy was 15 yrs. old, Ivan 13, and Jourdane 11) who had lived in the Philippines all their lives, and moving to the United States resulted in questions, some doubts, and fears. It all happened as my brother-in-law was getting married, and they wanted Nancy to attend their wedding. At first, it was only Nancy who was coming, but she wanted me to go with her, then eventually we wanted our children to come, too. So in the end, we were doing what we wanted to do, 5 years before. First, we applied for a Canadian visa, we got approved. Then, we applied for a US Visa and got approved. In spite of the difficulty of our situation we were excited to say, USA here we come! We set foot in the United States on April 25, 1998, landing in L.A, then Columbus, Ohio, and finally our destination, Detroit. It took us 3 layovers, 3 different planes, almost 20 hours of flying, to finally arrive in Michigan. We didn't care, we didn't mind, this is the United States of America and we had finally arrived. We were here! Here in Michigan we found a home, and we found the work that God wanted us to do. We immediately connected with a Philippine International Baptist Church in Dearborn, and became actively involved in the ministry of that church. While serving PIBC, we started to pray and plan to do church planting in Canton, MI. With the prayers, support and help of PIBC, Bethlehem Baptist Church in Canton was launched, and on April of 1999 we held our first church service. That was one year after arriving in this country. Three years ago, Bethlehem moved from its original Canton location to Belleville, Michigan and last month, June 25, we celebrated our 18th Anniversary as a church. Indeed, the Lord has been faithful through the years, and the rest, as they say, is history. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Aaron Tanap & his wife, Nancy have 3 children, Chrissy 34 yrs. old with three children; Ivan our son is 32 and Jourdane is 30. They live in Canton, Michigan, where he has served as Pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Belleville, MI since 1999. The Tanaps also planted two churches in the Philippines, serving as an associate pastor and pastor there. #JULY17

PHOENIX, AZ (BP) – Church planting drew the spotlight of the Chinese Baptist Fellowship's June 13 meeting in Phoenix. In fact, the mission of the fellowship is threefold, according to Benny Wong, president of the Chinese Baptist Fellowship of USA and Canada and senior pastor of First Chinese Baptist Church of Los Angeles. The fellowship exists for planting, caring and training. The fellowship's gathering was held in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting on June 13-14. As a fellowship, their goal is to see 600 Chinese church plants by 2020. An International Mission Board worker among East Asian peoples (name not disclosed for security reasons) explained some of the work that his family is doing in East Asia. They work with a people group in East Asia who has a high illiteracy rate. Much of the work his family does is in oral Bible storying and Bible translation. "We want to encourage you to connect through the IMB so that you can go and be a part of reaching out to your brothers and sisters in those countries." he said, explaining that many of those present have family and friends in that area. Jeremy Sin, a national church planting strategist with the North American Mission Board, brought with him a team of Send City missionaries to share about church planting efforts in Send Cities throughout North America. Chris Wright in Chicago shared that Chicago is filled with immigrants from all nationalities, including Chinese. There are 42,000 Chinese people in the city, he noted. Three years ago there was only one existing Chinese Southern Baptist church in the city, but in the last three years two additional churches were planted. "We're very grateful to have two (more) Chinese planters, but it's simply not enough," he said, noting there are ongoing efforts to reach Chinese in Chicago. Seattle, Ron Shepard said, has become "the number one destination for mainland, Mandarin Chinese," and that they believe it's "God's time for us in Seattle church planting to focus on reaching the Mandarin Chinese." The city now has a church planter on the east side of the city, a church planter in Chinatown, downtown Seattle, and south of Seattle. "We really need prayer and engaged partners more than we need money. We need prayer partners," Shepard said. "We need encouragers. We need people who understand the unique challenges of immigrants and refugees and those who are ministering cross-culturally," he said. "We believe that God is going to reshape the greater Seattle metro-area with the Asian culture, and that we have a unique opportunity." Other Send City missionaries, church planters and strategists who shared what God is doing in the Chinese populations in their cities included Joshua Whestine in Minneapolis, Linda Bergquist in San Francisco, Jerico Deveyra in Denver, Ray Woodard in Vancouver, and David Butler in Boston. In addition, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Gateway Baptist Theological Seminary have extended their programs to include Chinese or Chinese/English bilingual programs. The next meeting of the Chinese Baptist Fellowship will be held in June 2018 in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention in Dallas. Their biennial conference will be a cruise in Los Angeles in Sept. 2018. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Myriah Snyder is assistant editor of the Western Recorder (www.westernrecorder.org), newsjournal of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. #JULY17

OSHKOSH, WI – A little over twenty years ago, while serving on the staff of a large church in Fort Worth, Texas, God called my family to plant a church in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. God used the study, “Experiencing God” to call me to go. I knew little about Oshkosh when God orchestrated a move there. All I knew was that there were thousands of spiritually lost people in that small city of 65,000. God called together five adults and five children, all Southern Baptists from somewhere else, to move there, and believe a new church should be planted to reach the lost around them. That reality is key: They believed a new church should be planted to reach the lost around them. We weren’t focused on reaching other people from the south who had moved north, we were focused on reaching the indigenous lost people of our city. That is what church planting is about, and that has not changed. Now, as a church planting catalyst in Michigan, I have the privilege of working with new church planters. They have the same passion and calling to reach spiritually lost Michiganders as we did those twenty years ago to reach spiritually lost Wisconsinites. One thing that has changed, though, is training. I am happy to say that our NAMB church planters today are offered the best training in the church planting world. When we planted a church years ago in another state, the approval process was minimal, to say the least. For many, just saying that you wanted to plant a church was enough to get you approved. Sadly, during those years, we had many failed church plants due to pastors not being fully accessed, equipped and coached. Since coming to Michigan one year ago, there is now a thorough NAMB approval process that seeks to make sure that the potential planter is called, equipped, and ready to plant a church. Thankfully, there is ample training to equip and encourage the new church planter, too. New Michigan church planters are given a trained and approved church planter coach, connection with the regional church planter catalyst, encouragement from the Sending Church Pastor, as well as the access to training. Although church planting is still difficult and challenging, the church planter should never feel isolated. As one of Michigan’s NAMB church planting catalysts, I get to train some of our new planters in a course called “Multiply”. Multiply helps new church planters master the competencies that NAMB has identified are necessary for successful church planting. We cover: calling character missional engagement vision bold faith values fundraising disciple-making systems and structure team building communication multiplication That’s definitely a lot of material to cover, but each one of these competencies are key to seeing a gospel-centered, evangelistic church planted that will not only reach the lost around them, but will also plant other churches in the near future. I am grateful for the way God blessed our church plant in Oshkosh years ago, but oh how I wish I had the opportunity to learn the way our new church planters are learning through Multiply. I am confident that many of the mistakes I made would have been avoided with proper training. That training is offered now, and it is excellent. So if you are reading this and sense that God is calling you to plant a church, be a supporting or sending church, or joining a church plant launch team, but you are reluctant because you don’t know how, contact Dr. Tony Lynn at the Baptist State Convention of Michigan, tony@bscm.org. He will connect you with the church planting catalyst in your region and they will help you discover the joy of reaching the lost around you through church planting. ABOUT THE AUTHOR With degrees in music and divinity, Church Planting Catalyst Tim Shrader has more than 30 years experience in ministry. Tim Shrader was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and raised in the Metro East area of Granite City, Illinois. He has been happily married to Debbie since 1980 and they have 3 children, Beth Anne, Rachel, and Nate. In his spare time, Tim loves the St. Louis Cardinals baseball, Green Bay Packer football, and motorcycling. #JULY17

FENTON, MI – Remember the TV commercial that stated, “I’m not a (fill in the blank) but I did stay at the Holiday Inn last night!” That is sort of how Disaster Relief training works. We need volunteers who have taken the time to train so they can come to the aid of those in need. We need volunteers, willing to listen and learn, so we can bring you back spiritually blessed, and not physically broken. We have found that where 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 talks about training and the prize of working for the real crown to be our encouragement. As the State Director for SBC Disaster Relief, I am often asked, 'Why do I need training to be a volunteer'? Not only is that a great question that everyone should ask, but the answer is equally important. The government Emergency Management Officials we work with require that all volunteers be credentialed by an organization, like ours, before they are allowed to work in a disaster response area. Our training is designed to meet these requirements, and to prepare volunteers to do effective ministry when called upon. The Disaster Relief training prepares us in our understanding of disasters and the needs that arise in times of disasters. But the greatest reason to train is that God deserves our very best, and to achieve the best requires discipline, effort and knowledge. Disaster Relief training opportunities allow us to grow as believers in Christ so that when God calls, we are prepared and ready, both physically and spiritually. I encourage you to attend the next training opportunity and learn the other 8 reasons to take disaster relief training before volunteering. We need you, but we need you trained. The Disaster Relief Full Trainings this fall (unless we are activated to a major disaster) are: Lake Bible Church 309 Decker Rd. Walled Lake, MI September 29-30th Bambi Lake Retreat and Conference Center Old 76 Highway-using Exit 222, 3468 East Robinson Lake Road, Roscommon, MI October 6-7th Friday, October 6th at 7:00pm-10:00pm Basic Training (Involving Southern Baptists in Disaster Relief) Cost $10.00 Saturday, October 7th at 8:30am-3:00pm Unit Training Feeding - Chain Saw - Mudout - Shower/laundry - Water Purification - Chaplaincy Cost $25.00 Cost covers background, ID badge, and cap. Lunch on Saturday will be provided by feeding team. Free to stay over night, bring your sleeping bag, cot and your personal need items. Please register by calling Judy Roy at 810-223-2465 or email at judyroy26@gmail.com. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Win Williams has been the State Director of Disaster Relief for Michigan since 2007. He has been married to his bride, Carolyn, for 53 years. Win has been involved with Michigan Southern Baptists since 1961. #JULY17