The Mainstream
News of Ministry and Mission
American Baptist Churches of the Great Rivers Region
October 2007 No. 2 Email: grrabc@abc-grr.org web: www.abc-grr.org
GRR Calendar
2007
November 9-11 -ABY Gathering, "Justified Through Faith" Third Baptist Church, St. Louis
December 15 -Blackhawk Christmas Camp K - 5th Grade
2008
February 23 -Area IV Annual Meeting, Centrailia, IL FBC
Feb. 29 - March 1-Area I Annual Meeting, FBC Elgin, IL
March 8 -Area III Annual Meeting FBC Peoria, IL
March 8 -Creative Worship
Seminar Len Wilson & Jason Moore Midnight Oil Productions FBC Peoria, IL
March 8 -Area V Annual Meeting FBC Kansas City, MO
March 9 -Area II Annual Meeting FBC Greenfield, IL
April 25-26 -GRR Missions Conference hosted by Cherry Hills Baptist
You’re Gonna Do What?
“I would like to have an evangelism conference here at Belvidere First Baptist Church. It would basically be a day of learning how to get out and spread Christ to our community.” I believe those were the words I used when I first approached the Council at my church about having an evangelism conference. Did I get every question thrown at me from all sides about how and when and what this little conference was going to entail?
Absolutely! Did I always have a response to the questions? NO! Did that stop me from going forward with it and doing something for Jesus? By no means. I just trusted in God, and He put all the resources I needed at my fingertips. It was really quite amazing since we had never done anything along this scope in the church before. I talked with the pastor and some of my other mentors. We figured that if we got 10 people to show up we would be doing well.
Well, God’s ways are not our ways, and I was blessed to have over 50 people attend the conference. Some of those in attendance were
staff who were doing praise leading, sound, and helping with the setup and food; but, 41 were there just to learn about how to be better witnesses for Christ and how to get
out there and be that witness. Talk about a blessing! God took our expectations and absolutely blew us away with more than we had ever dreamed!
I am not a pastor, or minister, or reverend, or anything like that. I am Randall Steele, one of the lay persons in my church, trying to do something for Jesus. Nothing special here. But you see, God had bigger plans for the conference than I did. In fact I was overwhelmed with all the blessings that were poured out onto my church that day. I think the biggest thing I would want you to walk away with after reading this is: If you’re doing something that you believe God has called you to do, don’t worry about what the result is going to be. If God has indeed called you to it, then the results are already decided. God will put all the blocks in place for you to build with. He will lead you along the path that He has called you to. There is nothing to fear… unless of course God calls and you just refuse to answer… I know that some of you are saying to yourselves: “Well, I’m not the kind of person who can do that”, or “Well, I just don’t have that gift…”
I am here to tell you that you indeed are that kind of person. Yes, you do have those gifts. All you really need is to put all your trust in God and know that He doesn’t just call anyone to do His work. He chooses those whom He wants to do it. Jesus chose each of us when He gave his life on the cross. You were chosen so that you could ‘Go into all the world, and preach the good news to all creation’ (Mark 16:15, NIV
Answer the call today
Randall Steele,
Dir. of Evangelism,
FBC, Belvidere
Christ Life Church Has Affiliate Church
Christ Life Church, Woodstock, IL
has added a new affiliate church to its membership. Pastor Jim Campbell and the elders of Christ Life Church, welcomes Restoration and Power Christian Center, Rockford, IL. The pastors of the new affiliate church,
Regional Ordination Program
Graduate Ordained
The Rev. Dave Comstock is associate pastor of Lincoln FBC. He is a recent graduate of the GRR's Regional Ordination Program. Following his completion of the course work, application process, and ordination paper,
he was invited to meet with the Council on Ministerial Standing and Ordination. This Council recommended that his church call for an ordination examination council to convene with David. Following that meeting of September 30, the Ordination Council
- made up of representa-tives from churches of Area III and chaired by The Rev. Cheri Grizzard (AP, Peoria FBC) - affirmed Lincoln FBC's call to ordain David. The church then scheduled the October 14 service. First Baptist honored Dave and his wife Alice with a reception following the service. Others who participated in his ordination service included Conner Foster (soloist from FBC), ABM colleagues John Stewart (Pastor, FBC Arthur), Mac Shotwell (ABM Disaster Relief), his pastor Robert Henderson, and Richard Ricks (GRR Associate Minister, Area III). David is President-elect of the GRR ABM. His term starts on January 1, 2008. Dave has sensed, and is further preparing for,
God's calling into interim ministry.
Camper Raises Money for Missions
After attending Lake Benton Baptist Camp in the summer of 2006, Huntar Monje, a member of Vickie Crain’s sixth grade Sunday School class from Crainville Baptist Church, Carterville, IL, came home and told her mother and dad that she wanted to help children in foreign countries by providing Bibles and blankets. With the help of a friend and her parents, she held a number of fund raisers including a car wash, pancake breakfast and spaghetti supper. By February 2007 they had raised $1,200.
After reading many mission profiles she chose the mission work of Corenne Garrison and Philip Smith based in Brazil to receive the funds she and her friend raised.
Little do we realize how a week of camp will change a life and in turn many lives in other countries.
Vickie Crain, Mission Treasurer Crainville Baptist Church
Prisoners Receive Devotional Book
John Dubois, from Ridgeview Baptist Church, Danville, IL. was recently able to get 50 copies of his devotional book, A Journey Through the Year, distributed in the Illinois correctional system as an outreach to the prisoners. It took three months to accomplish this and was a wonderful answer to ongoing prayer of how to
witness to the prisoners.
American Baptist Youth Gathering: November 9-11 Third Baptist Church St. Louis, MO
Speaker:
Rev. Muriel Johnson
Praise & Worship Band:
Rolling Prairie Praise Band
Concerts Performed By:
Before Summer Ends
Cost: $50.00 for youth $40.00 for adults (Add $10 per person after 10-21-07)
Our Great Rivers Region Baptist Family Is Growing!
First Baptist Church Ashland, IL Welcomes: Paul Harris
Remember the World Mission Offering
Check Out New Book
Jim Wolfe, Sr. Pastor of Pontiac FBC has recently had his book American Baptist Women in Pastoral Ministry: A Contemporary Survey, published by Cloverdale. This is a book for church members and clergy to look at ways to grow by acknowledging how God uses all those God calls in ministry.
Mainstream Contact Information
Send your stories of mission and ministry. Please also send the names of new members (the fruit of this mission and ministry) to:
Linda Ricks
232 Devron Circle
East Peoria, IL 61611
E-Mail: Ricks4LR@insightbb.com
The Mainstream is a twice-monthly publication of the American Baptist Churches of the Great Rivers Region, 3940 Pintail Drive, Springfield IL 62711 Telephone: (217) 726-7366 Fax: (217) 726-7566 Email: grrabc@abc-grr.org Web: www.abc-grr.org