Changing Communities Together

Go counter-cultural -- ordinary

2011-09-29T12:34:00.000-07:00

By Cameron Crabtree

          It’s getting harder to live as an ordinary Christian. Almost everywhere Christians turn these days, they are lured toward experiencing an extraordinary walk with God – which tends to mirror North American definitions of success and triumph.
          Should they live their best life now or join the divine conspiracy? Focus on the family or spread a contagious Christianity? Better to spend 40 days on purpose or just wild at heart? Should the essence of devotion be radical, purpose-driven or missional?
          If you’re familiar with such allusions, you’ve already spent adequate time in a “Christian” bookstore, listened to enough “positive alternative” radio or perused the plethora of mail-order catalogs offering discounted pathways to spiritual growth.
          The industries comprising evangelical subculture seek to help, they can confuse fellow believers. It’s easy to understand why some people increasingly choose to free themselves of those entanglements and just go with “me and Jesus.”
          Pastors and church staff don’t have it much easier as they face an almost constant barrage of subtle judgment about perceived inadequacies in ministry and their need to do more for God.
          Among the popular burden of our day is the notion of setting expectations or goals so high that if they’re met, God’s handiwork is the only explanation. Perhaps that’s the modern-day version of William Carey’s famous adage: “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.”
          Such well-intended ideas sound good in a sermon or book chapter, but people rarely live near the edges of triumph so much as in the trenches of daily burdens and responsibilities. One of the favors we can do for those we serve is to help them interpret the ways God works in and through them in their ordinary activities.
          The weekly Bible study group in which I participate again has been walking though Sermon on the Mount. While the material in the discourse is familiar to almost everyone, what jumps out in our dialogue is just how much Jesus encourages his followers to live counter-culturally in the ongoing routines and relationships of life.
          Certainly, we want to continue to commission those who give their workaday vocation to serving the kingdom of God in lives in so-called extra measure, but we also want to celebrate those who simply obey the commands of Christ in daily living behind the scenes and out of the public’s view.
          John Ortberg suggested it best in a recent essay: “Our attention can be arrested by deeply dramatic moments. But our character cannot be reformed by dramatic events alone. That demand’s a longer, slower, less glamorous process. Our attention, like our habits, will have to be retrained. Spiritual maturity is not the capacity to see God in the extraordinary. Pharaoh could do that. Spiritual maturity is the capacity to see God in the ordinary. And if you receive that capacity, if you become someone with eyes that can see and ears that can hear, you are given a gift.”

NWBC Executive Board recommends budget with reduced staff

2011-06-29T11:44:00.000-07:00

          The Northwest Baptist Convention executive board will propose to messengers at the November annual meeting a $5.1 million budget for 2012, a $140,000 Sylvia Wilson Mission Offering goal for 2012 to support church planting & leadership development efforts and a 2013 calendar of events. In addition, the board elected Frank Shope as Church Planting Catalyst and Region 3 Team Leader. A former NWBC associate executive director, Shope has served since 2007 as a regional team leader for the North American Mission Board.
          The proposed budget anticipates $2,840,000 in Cooperative Program gifts from NWBC churches (unchanged from the current year), $1,729,000 million from NAMB (down 13.5 percent from the current year), $64,000 from LifeWay Christian Resources, $130,000 from the 2011 SWMO and $336,200 from various sources.
          Although the 2012 budget represents a 4.9 percent decrease from the current year’s spending plan, it contains significant line item increases or additions: an additional 1 percent in giving though the SBC Cooperative Program (from 25.5 percent to 26.5 percent of the CP budget), three new church health & leadership development staff positions (funded solely by NWBC), “Oasis” retreat for pastors/spouses, “missions mobilization” for assisting church planting recruitment & partnership development, evangelism training & projects and enlistment of contract workers for preschool/children’s and youth ministries.
          But the budget recommendation also includes noteworthy changes in staffing: eliminating 10 existing field strategist positions (from 23-13) jointly-funded with NAMB and eliminating the equivalent of 3 full-time support staff positions (funded solely by NWBC) at the NWBC Center in Vancouver, WA. For staff remaining, the budget includes a 3 percent cost-of-living increase, additional compensation adjustment for more equitable salary ranges and restoring retirement contributions back to 10 percent of salary levels.
          NWBC executive director Bill Crews, in a document written to the board, stated: “With the immediate and long-term refocusing of the North American Mission Board, we are faced with a strategic decision concerning the nature and shape of our partnership with NAMB. To be sure, the sharp focus on church planting is one that we agree with and plan to pursue. From the beginning of the development of the Strategy for the Renewal of the NWBC, our mission has been “to encourage and empower the churches of the Northwest Baptist Convention toward a spiritual vitality that results in a growing gospel witness and in the continuous planting of healthy, reproducing new churches.” This two-pronged approach to assisting the churches of the NWBC is still the mission of our network of churches and one we intend to pursue vigorously.
          “The challenge before us is that the North American Mission Board, our primary partner, is intent on shifting most of the financial part of the partnership toward the church planting strategy. … the ultimate aim of the partnership is that almost all of their financial contribution will be directed into church planting. The suggested transition could be spread over the next two or three years, but the ultimate goal is that the NWBC would assume the responsibility for funding ministries beyond church planting. NAMB’s resources would be directed almost exclusively into church planting. … In consultation with the Strategic Leadership Team and other NWBC leaders, the counsel was to make these changes in 2012 and begin to actively pursue our mission of assisting our churches in pursuing spiritual vitality and health and partnering with NAMB in the planting of new, healthy reproducing churches.”

Renew enthusiasm for starting churches

2011-01-28T15:13:00.000-08:00

by Cameron Crabtree
       A primary aim of the Northwest Baptist Convention’s cooperative mission effort is to start healthy, reproducing churches — lots of them. A barrier to achieving that goal, however, is skepticism among too many existing churches about the need for and effectiveness of such an effort. That must change.
       If you surveyed some of the Northwest Baptists you know and asked them to identify the main purposes of the church, you’d likely predict most the responses — worship, evangelism, missions, ministry and other familiars. In many instances, you’d find the variations and visionary phrases on banners or other signs reminding church members of Jesus’ Great Commission task.
       But usually missing from that list of responses is any concern about churches reproducing themselves. Without a commitment to reproduce itself in a new expression in a new community, a church may never enjoy its fullest impact.
       As a convention of churches scattered across a vast territory of diverse populations, we must find a way to develop a movement of “missionaries” committed to sharing Christ through new churches and the development of ministries that reach new people.
       In traveling across the Northwest in recent years, be it in the vast rural areas or the major population centers, it’s clear that our basic approach to church life — despite rhetoric to the contrary or attempts to change when given ample opportunity — is about the same in just about every setting. Indeed, God has blessed Northwest Baptists with leaders trying to share Christ with more creative approaches, but for the most part there’s little difference reflected in the diverse settings.
       A key to any large scale church starting effort in the Northwest is fostering a positive climate for such efforts. Too often, initiating conversations about the need to start churches in the Northwest invokes a look of concern from some pastors and leaders of existing churches. Their criticism often goes to their perception that a lot of money is spent on church planting with “nothing to show for it” just a few years later.
       There is some validity to their concern. We sometimes use approaches that assume economic and cultural settings that simply don’t exist in many places in the Northwest. But that should drive us to plant churches with an even greater sense of spiritual dependence, an even stronger sense of calculated risk and a way to balance sustainability and short-term impact in a given setting.
       NWBC history is full of seasons when churches were burdened with the need to plant more churches. That’s a burden worth renewing again — enthusiastically.

Church facing challenges in 2011

2011-01-20T16:09:00.000-08:00

By Cameron Crabtree

       As usual, the year began with the cycle of reflecting on events that have passed and anticipating opportunities ahead. If a 2010 analysis by a prominent research firm is believed, the church in North America has work to do on both fronts.
       The Barna Research Group reviewed studies over the past year and came away with not-so-surprising but nonetheless unsettling findings — it terms them “megathemes” — about what is happening and not happening in America’s Protestant churches. Together, the themes reveal a challenge the church may not have faced in generations.
       Log onto www.barna.org for the full report.
       The group’s assessment that the church as a whole across the nation is becoming less theologically literate comes as no surprise. Trends have been pointing in that direction for years, despite the massive amount of resources constantly poured into preaching, teaching, discipleship efforts and other Christian education ministries.
       The review lists several examples of this trend, including the fact that few adults surveyed believe their faith is “meant to be a focal point in life or integrated into every aspect of their existence.” For a movement that views such a belief as fundamental, that’s bad news. Barna suggests a “theological free-for-all” could ensue as “Busters” and “Mosaics,” those born 1965-2002, step with their suspect levels of theological literacy into leadership roles of many of the nation’s congregations.
       The research group also believes Christians are focusing inward rather than becoming more outreach-oriented. Despite continual advances in communication technologies and prompts for engagement with the world ringing constantly in the ears of believers, the group noted an increasing number of Christians is becoming “more spiritually isolated from non-Christians” than a decade ago.
       Again, Barna’s firm pointed to examples as evidence of its finding, such as less than one-third of born again Christians planning to invite anyone to join them for church events during the Easter season or teenagers less inclined to discuss Christianity with their friends than in the past. The group suggested a growing “absence of faith talk” may lead to diminishing prospects of young adults seeking a Christian church in the future.
       Ironically, this is taking place even as a third, positive theme emerges: escalating interest in community action. Led in this area mostly by young adults, the group reported Christian are “more open to and more involved in community service activities” than in recent years.
       While this could be a boon to churches aiming for greater impact in their respective communities, the group warns churches could see such interest wane without rooting it in a strong spiritual basis. “Simply doing good works because it's the socially esteemed choice of the moment will not produce much staying power,” the group predicted.
       In a fourth arena, according to the group, people are becoming more interested in pragmatic solutions for life than in spiritual principles. When teenagers were asked about life’s priorities, faith takes a back seat to other priorities and is “not necessarily perceived to affect their ability to achieve their dreams.”
       The trend isn’t much better among adults, who “consider survival in the present to be much more significant than eternal” matters. The Barna group makes an important observation: “Because we continue to separate our spirituality from other dimensions of life through compartmentalization, a relatively superficial approach to faith has become a central means of optimizing our life experience.”
       The group noted in a fifth theme the broader culture’s insistence on tolerance is “winning over the Christian church.” The group suggested a mix of issues has severely weakened churches’ influence in areas of morality: biblical illiteracy and lack of spiritual confidence, fear of being labeled as judgmental, limited accountability within the body of Christ and Christians believing churches should be dogmatic about fewer and fewer things.
       We serve the Lord here in the Northwest at a crucial cultural moment. Certainly, we remain confident in Christ’s ultimate triumph in the world. But to serve the Lord faithfully — when many of the cultural advantages his church in our nation once enjoyed have disappeared — we may need to consider what it means to demonstrate his love in new ways effectively. With the page of a new year’s calendar now turned, it seems a good time to think it through and take some risks.

Life's Routines Are Holy Endeavors

2010-11-05T14:44:00.000-07:00

       The Northwest is home for nearly 11 million of people in myriad circumstances. Yet, we often find ourselves challenged in efforts to connect the gospel of Jesus with them effectively. Often, it’s because the conversations we concern ourselves with in church life whiz right past where people are hurting and hoping. God is not abstract, but we often talk about him that way.

       The concerns of those of us blessed to live here can seem trivial compared to what citizens in many countries endure daily, but the challenges of life mar many of the people right next door.
       Just ask any pastor who regularly sits across from people trying to give spiritual guidance about the messes in their lives. Ask the volunteer youth leader helping a family cope with the tragedy of its teen’s rebellion. Talk to the friends at wits end trying to care for an elderly parent who no longer recognizes them. Lend an ear to the wife whose husband has shown little devotion for the past 13 years.
       The stories of burdened lives can seem endless. You don’t have to look hard to see it on people’s faces, downcast too often, brows furrowed and eyes askance. Many are tired, anxious and scared. Following Jesus in no way ensures problems or their consequences go away, but he invites us all to a “burden” that is easy and a “yoke” that is light.
       That shouldn’t suggest ministry to others is easy or convenient. Talk to anyone involved in helping others trough crisis and they’ll relieve you of that illusion quickly. But the Bible gives us some aid.
       The pages of the Old Testament reveal not only God’s compassion for people — even if it comes across harshly at times in some of the stories — but also the lengths those who love him will go to bear his heart for them.
       In just about every instance, God accomplishes his work through people. So, the way we treat one another in life is important. Seeing people with the eyes and heart of God, and taking the time to express his love for them, has the potential for transforming communities in at least some small ways.
       In the routines of life, we can consider the opportunities for sincere and compassionate interactions as holy endeavors. Those encounters may be as simple as speaking words sincerely, offering to pray for them or treating people with the dignity they deserve because God created them and has loved them age upon age.
       We should never shrink from making larger global impact when those mission opportunities arise, but we must beware the temptation of visions for making grand impacts luring us away from the simple needs right in front of us.
       The Old Testament prophets remind us and Jesus commands us: “Let your light shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly father.”

Don't Miss the Northwest's Big Picture

2010-10-11T16:25:00.000-07:00

By Cameron Crabtree

       In discussing evangelistic burdens in the Northwest, conversations often turn quickly to the challenges of reaching a diverse and growing population. Inevitably, those discussions zero in on the major population centers of the Seattle and Portland metro areas.
       With well over 5 million people — roughly half the population of Washington, Oregon and north Idaho — it makes sense to think critically about using ministry resources in the most strategic manner possible.
       Thankfully, it appears the Northwest Baptist Convention’s primary mission partner — the North American Mission Board — is readying itself for renewed, long-term efforts aimed at impacting people groups in those areas where traditional ministries have struggled to have lasting spiritual effect.
       But to focus only on those two urban centers would result in missing the whole picture of ministry possibilities in the Northwest. Across the Northwest there are smaller metropolitan regions with significant population groups just as needy for the gospel message.
       Certainly, the influence of the populations around Seattle and Portland are noted during highly charged political seasons, but the Northwest is home to another 5 million people spread across massive geography. In fact, every region in NWBC has at least one metropolitan area, consisting of cities that are home to at least 50,000 people.
       A report compiled recently by NAMB leaders — using federal government statistics from 2009 — showed Washington as having 12 such metro areas, constituting almost 90 percent of the state’s population. Oregon, according to the figures, is home to six such areas, constituting almost 80 percent of the state’s residents.
       But to focus only on the statistics and their inherent challenges would also miss part of the picture — God cares about every single life counted in and asks each of us to share his love for them one life at a time. Here in the Northwest, there’s no end to the ways his church can express the good news.
       A book popularly circulating among pastors these days asks leaders to consider what their churches can do better than 10,000 other churches. The only real answer to the question, of course, is to care for the people who are already there and to demonstrate concern for the people they can influence through their relationships.
       God forms churches and calls their leaders in myriad places and to diverse groups of people. But together, we must develop a movement of “missionaries” committed to sharing Christ through new churches and to strengthening existing congregations in the Pacific Northwest to the point of renewed vibrancy. They go hand in hand.
       Without any doubt, ours is a spiritual enterprise. And it’s one of such magnitude and importance that we dare not neglect God’s power working through us as the only thing enabling us to shape our wills to the task ahead.

An offering that keeps on going ...

2010-09-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

by Bill Crews, NWBC Executive Director

     The catchy ad for the Energizer Battery is that “it keeps on going and going and going.” The annual Northwest mission offering, that we have named the Sylvia Wilson Mission Offering, is an offering that keeps going and going and going.
     When our convention was 1 year old, we received our first Northwest Mission Offering. The amount received in 1949 was $844. Every year since then, the amount of the offering has continued to grow and its effectiveness has increased. The largest amount received was in 2007 when $148,057 was given by the churches of the Northwest Baptist Convention.
     The 2010 goal adopted by the convention anticipates $120,000. Some may ask, “What’s the significance of that amount to a budget of $5,850,000?” This year’s offering, which will be utilized in the 2011 NWBC budget, is designated for two primary areas of ministry: 50 percent for church planting and 50 percent for leadership development.
     Let’s talk about church planting for a moment. Our convention’s goal is a net gain of 35 new churches added to our fellowship in 2011. That is an 8 percent net increase in the number of churches participating in our network of churches.
     If God were to honor our desire for an 8 percent increase in 2011 and a similar increase for the next 10 years, in 2020 there would be 969 churches affiliated with our convention. For that to happen, we will need to be passionate about and committed to planting many new churches across the Northwest.
     To plant those churches, available resources must be discovered and utilized. That’s where the SWMO makes a significant impact. Because of our partnership with the North American Mission Board, the Sylvia Wilson offering can be used to access NAMB funds.
     For instance: because of the 87-13 percent NAMB formula, the $60,000 to be received in 2010 (50 percent of the SWMO goal) could be used to provide $461,538 in church planting resources to be utilized here in the Northwest. This literally means that the $60,000 received from the offering is the equivalent of $461,538.
     This is a wonderful investment, made possible through the partnership with the North American Mission Board. The North American Mission Board funding comes from Cooperative Program gifts received from the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention.
     The other half of the SWMO will be used to provide leadership training for Northwest Baptist leaders, pastors and other church leaders. Some of these funds are also used to match NAMB funds.
     All of this is to say, the SWMO is extremely strategic to kingdom work here in the Northwest. I encourage you to read the SWMO materials provided to your church.
     The Northwest Impact Week of Prayer sponsored by the SWMO is September 12-19. A prayer guide provides an emphasis for every day of this special week and highlights the four major objectives for 2011: Spiritual Vitality, Church Planting, Evangelism and Church Health and Leadership Development.
     The specific goals growing out of these objectives were developed by the Regional Ministry Teams in the field and came from their visits and contacts with the church leaders in the regions.
     Join me in praying about making a significant gift to the 2010 Sylvia Wilson Mission Offering. It is one gift that will keep going and going and going.

Visions & Dreams

2010-08-03T16:16:00.000-07:00

By Bill Crews, NWBC Executive Director

“Your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.” (Acts 2:17b KJV)

It was the dawning of a new day, the public launch of a new way for the advancement of the kingdom of God. There was such evidence of the presence of God that the sermon by a fisherman attracted a large crowd. The response to that first gospel sermon was miraculous and overwhelming. The Holy Spirit did his work and thousands were saved and added to the church. Kingdom visions and dreams became a reality.

Facing the growing lostness of the Pacific Northwest and our world, we desperately need “young men who will see visions and old men who will dream dreams.” I believe God is building a fellowship of leaders, young and old, who passionately long to see God work His miraculous work of salvation in the neighborhoods, villages, towns and cities of the Northwest.

We are beginning this month the second year of the Strategy for the Renewal of the Northwest Baptist Convention. Our Regional Teams have visited all of our churches and engaged in developing regional strategies to carry out our mission of “encouraging and empowering the churches of the Northwest Baptist Convention toward a spiritual vitality that results in a growing Gospel witness and in the continuous planting of healthy, reproducing new churches.”

Toward that end, the Strategic Leadership Team, working with the regional teams, pastors and other ministry leaders, has developed four overarching goals for 2011 that focus on evangelism, church health, church planting and leadership development. These four goals rise from the strategies developed by the Regional Teams in the field and will be implemented by these Regional Teams. I wanted to share these four major goals with you and ask you to pray for the teams as they “encourage and empower” the churches of the six regions to see these dreams come true.

NWBC Ministry Goals for 2011

Believing our mission is to encourage and empower the churches of the Northwest Baptist Convention toward a spiritual vitality that results in a growing Gospel witness and in the continuous planting of healthy, reproducing new churches, we are committed to the following major objectives in 2011:

Spiritual Vitality

Through ongoing contact and support, we will see at least 25% of NWBC congregations engage annually in an intentional assessment of the spiritual vitality of their congregation and develop a specific response plan for the enhancement and growth of the spiritual vitality of the congregation.

Church Planting

We will involve 100 existing NWBC churches in partnerships that will result in the beginning of new communities of faith that will result in a net gain of 35 new congregations in 2011. This will mean there will be 485 churches in our convention at the end of 2011 (8% net gain).

Evangelism & Church Health

Believing church health and evangelism are two sides of the same coin, we will believe we will experience the following growth:

Baptisms: Our churches will baptize the equivalent of 10 percent of the average worship attendance of 2010 (This means our goal will be to baptize 3,115 new believers in 2011);

Worship attendance: Weekly worship attendance will increase by 10 percent to 34,290 in 2011.

Small group participation: Our churches will experience a 10 percent increase in small group participation ( 37,848 average Bible study/small group attendance in 2011);

Impact outside the church: Our churches will see an increase of 10 percent in ministry activities outside the local church (8,306 community/mission activities in 2011).

Leadership Development

Through direct and indirect projects, we will see a 10 percent increase in the number of pastors, church staff and lay leaders involved in effective leadership development activities.

These are challenging goals, all focusing on penetrating the lostness of the Pacific Northwest and the world. I know you will join us in seeking the face of God, asking Him to do through us what we cannot do on our own.

Great Commission Resurgence & NWBC

2010-06-21T16:50:00.000-07:00

by Bill Crews
NWBC Executive Director

More than 11,000 messengers gathered in Orlando in mid-June to conduct business of the Southern Baptist Convention. The business receiving most attention was the report of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force, a group authorized last year to make recommendations “concerning how Southern Baptists can work more faithfully and effectively together in serving Christ through the Great Commission.”

After more than two hours of debate, a large majority of messengers adopted the group’s report and recommendations. Many people are now asking, “What happens now?”

The report and seven recommendations were referred to the SBC entities for their consideration and action. In all likelihood, these agencies will report their response to the report and recommendations in Phoenix next June when the convention meets again.

What would it mean for the Northwest Baptist Convention if the recommendations were implemented as presented in the GCRTF report? Perhaps some informed predictions could help, though are not guaranteed.

At the heart of our interest is the report and recommendations concerning the North American Mission Board. Our relationship with NAMB and its predecessor has been a partnership enabling and empowering the NWBC to plant hundreds of churches and assist even more churches in evangelism development.

A major portion of the NWBC budget is affirmed and enlarged by the partnership with NAMB through “Cooperative Agreements” and “Cooperative Budgets.” The contribution made by NAMB to our mission effort is almost $2 million dollars each year. We would not be where we are today apart from this partnership.

But, what about the future?

The GCRTF report calls for the phasing out of “cooperative agreements and cooperative budgets.” However, the task force’s report clearly suggests to NAMB that there be a focused, continuing partnership with state conventions.

On page 11 of their report, in large, bold letters, this statement is highlighted: “We call upon NAMB to penetrate lostness in partnership with state conventions located in the most unreached and underserved populations of North America.”

With Oregon, Washington and Idaho among the most unchurched populations of the United States, we believe some type of partnership will replace the cooperative agreements of the past and will further strengthen our efforts to reach the Northwest with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

When will this happen? No one knows for sure, but we do know NAMB needs to elect a new president and allow sufficient time for the new leader to develop the plan to establish this partnership in cooperation with state conventions like the NWBC.

All Northwest Baptists should join in praying that the NAMB Presidential Search Committee find their new leader, elect that leader and move with him and God’s plan for penetrating the lostness of our nation and world.

What effect will the Great Commission Resurgence have on God’s work in the Northwest? We took a step in a new direction when the NWBC affirmed the “Strategy for the Renewal of the NWBC” in 2008.

We re-positioned the resources God had placed in our hands to do two things: help our churches attain a spiritual vitality that resulted in an enlarged evangelism and in the planting of many new, healthy, reproducing new churches. These themes are identical to the direction the GCR Task Force report and recommendations.

God has led us in the right direction and I look forward to being encouraged in our journey by future actions of our partners at NAMB.

Church Planting Project in Portland

2010-06-18T11:17:00.001-07:00

Learn more about the Portland Parachute Project for Church Planting.

Portland Parachute Project - Ep. 1 - "The Beginning" from Wade Patterson on Vimeo.

Portland Parachute Project

2010-06-01T15:46:00.000-07:00

Welcome interns from across the U.S. to our Portland Parachute Team: Wade, Matthew, Callie, Austin, Ashley and Robyn. They will be immersing themselves in the urban center of Portland. Pray for them as they try to learn the rhythm of the community and discover persons of peace. They will gather critical information for a potential church plant. On site from June 1 - July 31.
- Wes Hughes, NWBC Church Planting Strategist

NWBC exec supports GCR report

2010-05-24T09:02:00.001-07:00

By Bill Crews, NWBC Executive Director

My first exposure to a Southern Baptist Convention-wide emphasis was “A Million More in 54,” an effort by SBC churches to enroll 1 million people in Sunday schools. The emphasis was on reaching people.

Other significant emphases have been “Bold Missions Thrust” and “Empowering Kingdom Growth.” Each of these has been our denomination’s attempt to focus on fulfilling the Great Commission by reaching more people with the gospel, at home and around the world.

The latest emphasis began last year when the convention authorized appointment of a “Great Commission Resurgence Task Force” to bring a report and recommendations “concerning how Southern Baptists can work more faithfully and effectively together in serving Christ through the Great Commission.”

The task force’s final report was released April 26 and will be presented to SBC messengers in Orlando, Fla., June 15-16.

When the task force released a preliminary report in February, some among us had serious concerns with certain proposals in the report. Since the task force emphasized the “preliminary” nature of their report, I felt it wise to seek ways to address these serious concerns and attempt to influence the drafting of the final report.

Working with other concerned leaders, we met with task force chairman Ronnie Floyd and other members of the task force to find ways to support of the final report when it is presented in Orlando.

I believe we were successful in realizing significant changes in the preliminary report that will facilitate the aim of the task force to assist Southern Baptist churches in Great Commission cooperation.

Although still concerned about some elements of the final report, I fully support the majority of the report and recommendations. Following are some of the reasons:

First, it is built on a “Theology for Great Commission Faithfulness.” At the heart of this theology is the belief that the gospel of Jesus is the only remedy for the growing lostness in our nation and the world. The success of our missiology rests on the rightness of our theology. Because Jesus is the only hope for a lost and dying world, faithfulness to the Great Commission should be the primary focus of every believer and every church.

Second, the GCR report properly focuses on the centrality of the local church in carrying out the Great Commission, which was not given to a denomination, but to the local church. The SBC and the Northwest Baptist Convention exist to encourage and empower the churches toward faithfulness to the gospel and the reaching of the lost.

Third, the report challenges the SBC entities and each cooperating church with a missional vision to “present the gospel of Jesus Christ to every person in the world and to make disciples of all the nations.” Every one of us should greet this vision with enthusiastic acceptance.

Fourth, sharpening of the focus of the North American Mission Board to a priority of evangelism and church planting with an emphasis on the reaching of the cities and underserved regions and people groups of North America is long overdue and necessary.

While the recommendation for eliminating the development of cooperative agreements has caused concern among many, the ultimate aim of the recommendation is that NAMB develop new partnership agreements with state conventions, especially those conventions in the underserved and unreached areas of our country. These new partnership agreements will be more sharply focused and accountability for progress made will be welcomed.

Ultimately, our challenge as a denomination is a heart challenge. The answer will begin when we fall on our faces before God in humility, repentance and prayer and a re-commitment to the passion and heart of our Savior when he said, “As you are going into the world, make disciples of all peoples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you, even to the end of the age.”

It is now time to stop our talk and start our walk of obedience to his commission — the Great Commission.

Move now for the next generation

2010-05-20T11:22:00.000-07:00

By Wes Hughes

Church Planting Strategist, NWBC

I just facilitated a gathering of 40 young leaders where I was the old man in the conference room at 42. I was surrounded by 20-somethings who minister on college and university campuses across the Northwest. They were full of youth, passion, energy, enthusiasm and the Spirit of God to influence their world.

But their world is glaringly absent from most our churches and from our influence. That reality affirms a LifeWay Christian Resources study showing 72 percent of Millennials, the generation between 18 and 30 years old, are not attending our worship services, not praying, not reading scripture.

There are those who disagree with Lifeway's research. Beliefnet.com found nearly half the teens it polled felt they were more religious than their parents' generation. Beliefnet argues young people are seeking truth online and not just in the traditional way of "going to church" and listening to a pastor speak from a pulpit.

Maybe it’s semantics.

Looking to the future is the challenge. Many religious organizations are realizing that to shepherd the Millennial flock, they must meet them where they live — online. Facebook, Twitter, podcast, and video-cast might become a church’s best “friend.”

Here is the challenge? If they do connect with the church online, what will they find if they come to the physical door of your church building? I may be getting older, but I know this. If we plan for who we already have, we will never reach those who may come.

One church began planning for the future by rethinking its worship gathering. In the effort to plan for those who were not there, the Millenial generation, they lost 200 members in the transition. But because the church was focused on those who may come, they grew by 700 20-somethings.

Here is a simple test for you and your church. If you are over 40 and you really like what is happening in your worship gathering, you probably won’t reach the next generation. That may be okay, but I would love to talk with you about planting a church to reach the next generation.

It’s time for our region to consider how we are going to influence the 60 million members of the Millennial Generation — my kids, your kids and our grand-kids. By the way, in the Portland metro area, the number of well-educated young people grew by 50 percent, roughly five times faster than the nation as a whole over the past several years.

This "old man" would really like to see a future for his three Millennials in the church. And, I’d like to be considered an "elder statesman" when we gather for our convention’s annual meeting, instead of being "the young guy" at 42.

Region 4 Associations Going Strong

2010-05-14T09:34:00.000-07:00

By Danny Kuykendall

Region 4 Team Leader

When our convention chose to go to our new regional structure there was a fear associations would dissolve. That has not been the case in Region 4. In fact, our associations may be stronger. Churches and pastors have rallied and united in a strong fellowship of churches, providing shared leadership to their respective associations and ensuring their work goes on.

The NWBC Region 4 team appreciates how leaders have partnered with us in the area of church health and evangelism, and starting healthy churches. Our team desires to work hand in hand with each of our churches as well as our associations in those three areas. There are things the Region 4 team will not be able to do that only associations can accomplish. Decisions related to fellowship as churches, camps and retreats, collegiate ministry, age-group ministries, funding new works and many others will be greatly impacted by working together as an association of churches to accomplish those things.

For most of our associations, moderators have carried a strong role of leadership in the absence of directors of missions. Thank you Rickey Scott from Willamette Valley Baptist Association, J.L. Coffey from SW Oregon Baptist Association, Ron Lloyd from Siskiyou Baptist Association and James Reed from Coast Baptist Association. Your work goes beyond your pastoral responsibilities is appreciated.

A big thanks also to Patti Wells, ministry assistant for Willamette Valley and Nancy Goss, administrator for Siskiyou for all you do that strengthens the churches. And thanks to all of the pastors, staff, and lay leaders who serve on committees and teams that keep your associations strong.

Our prayer as a team is that the associations and churches of our region will continue to thrive. We look forward to the days ahead as we partner in God’s work. May we be blessed with creativity, inspiration and resources beyond our imagination to reach and disciple the unchurched in Region 4.

Celebrate, equip lay leaders in ministry

2010-05-07T15:25:00.000-07:00

By Cameron Crabtree
May 7, 2010

A story from my father-in-law’s life made me laugh a little and think a lot about all the ways God works through ordinary folks doing everyday kinds of things to accomplish his work in the world.

Don is a retired iron worker who for years was occasionally involved at an established church. Several years ago, a group of his friends sensed God leading them to start a new work in their growing city. The adventure intrigued Don and he eventually became part of the effort’s setup team, loading and unloading a trailer each week with all the supplies that go with a portable church situation.

The woman in charge of the hospitality table dutifully keeps the coffee she makes off limits from them since it’s for visitors. So, Don arrives a little earlier than the rest to brew his own special blend for the set up team. When the weekly setup labors are complete, the crew spends a few minutes around Don’s pickup truck enjoying a cup waiting for services to begin.

Vignettes like that are repeated each and every week in thousands of churches across the country. And all of them point to the important contributions of lay leaders, church members and attenders make in keeping ministries going and growing in their respective communities.

Throughout the Northwest, many churches have capable leaders who carry the day-to-day burden of helping their churches reach people and growing the ministry. They deserve prayer, encouragement and support. Many Northwest Baptist Convention resources and training efforts aim to do just that. But let’s never forget the biblical admonition about the leadership task — “equip the saints” for ministry.

Church leaders often can forget amid the urgent evangelistic and ministry needs around them that the church can rightly be viewed as a band of missionaries possessing extensive relationship connections within the church and across their communities.

Preachers routinely urge church members to “get outside the four walls,” sometimes forgetting the people already spend more time away from church buildings than in them. Thus, one key to more effective ministry may lie in finding a way to empower church attenders for faithful service among than people they already know.

Whether it’s reaching out to children through a Vacation Bible School or sports camp, serving the community through clean-up days or food distributions, sharing God’s good news through special evangelistic events, educating families about positive ways to build relationships or starting a church, lay people are critical for carrying out the Great Commission in the Northwest and throughout the world.

I’m looking forward to our next vacation to my home state. It’d be fun to accompany Don early one Sunday morning to the site of the church plant to help set up. Surely, we’ll get done early enough to hang out at the back of truck enjoying a cup of dark coffee. And I’ll just sit next to Don on the tailgate, quietly celebrating all God does in the world through the lives of ordinary folks like him.

Making disciples part of the fundamentals

2010-04-28T15:02:00.000-07:00

By Phil Peters
Team Leader, Region 2

Having a 15-year-old student driver in your household brings clarity to the rules of the road. It means paying more attention than usual to the fundamentals. That’s a good thing.

Regardless of our experience, attention to fundamentals is essential in all disciplines. When a college football team begins spring practice it’s an opportunity to focus on the basics. For years, I’ve seen churches full of experienced members who know how to do church, yet we have few maturing disciples.

Without question, we are always in process, always a work in progress. Just as attention to the fundamentals sharpens the veteran baseball player, attention to fundamental practices of faith sharpen and grow the Christ follower.

What is fundamental for the church? Making disciples. Jesus left us with the command that as we go we should make disciples. I recently sat with church planters in a retreat setting and was encouraged by the stories they shared of disciple making in the culture. I heard stories of transformed life as people have embraced Jesus and dramatically changed their lifestyles to conform to Christ.

As you evaluate activities in your life and in your church, how do those activities help you accomplish the fundamental task of making disciples?

Region 1 team fostering urban focus

2010-04-26T15:13:00.000-07:00

By Ron Shepard
Team Leader, NWBC Region 1

Prayer and training events are forming new partnerships in NWBC Region 1. When people within a church, or churches in a local area, join in united, prayerful and biblical ministry, God resources that ministry. History reveals God can be counted on when his people, the church, do their part.

As a result of “Great Commission Initiative” training, we have surveyed about 30 communities in the Puget Sound metro area. Our regional staff continue going with pastors and church members in to communities where we have not been before.

As a result of Natural Church Development training, 14 coaches have been trained to work with churches to improve church health. Gifts to the Cooperative Program and to associations are making this possible.

Changes are coming in the area of young adult/collegiate ministry. The Purple Door (a ministry facility near UW Seattle) will be used as a launching point to develop a network of campus based groups designed to become young adult-focused churches, on multiple college campuses.

We are beginning to see new momentum in the larger cities. Church planting efforts are taking place in Tacoma and Seattle. Several regional staff members are making radical missionary commitments to become catalysts in the cities, not just around the cities.

Contrary to what some believe, the people in Seattle and Tacoma are open to and hungry for true spirituality. The lean economy and uncertain national political climate have opened the eyes of many urban residents. Cities are known for many things, including their ability to meet needs without much divine consultation. It appears that more are realizing that they cannot trust in the cities alone. A clear gospel witness is needed and, in my opinion, wanted.

Region 3 Team helping churches with Vision Weekends

2010-04-22T12:27:00.000-07:00

“Where there is no vision the people perish.”

The Region 3 team serving churches in the Portland metro area, from Mt Hood to the Coast, has put together a process called Vision Weekend to assist churches needing to take a fresh look at their mission and ministries.

What’s involved?

Preparation: We help you do some reflection and gather information through surveys, assessments, interviews, discussions and gathering the history of the church. We spend Friday night, most of the day Saturday and Sunday morning leading the church through the following process:

Look Back (History), Look Up, (God’s Mission), Look In, (Passion), Look Out (Community) and Look Forward (Vision).

To follow up, the Region 3 team will assist churches in developing clear assignments in order to put the vision in place. These are some of the following steps that are a part of the process of turning vision into reality: coaching, team-building, strategy training and development, presentation to the church body, implementation, evaluation and adjustment.

If you are interested and want to know more, contact our team:
Tom Vance: Tvance650@live.com
Millie Burkette: millieb@nwbaptist.org
Ken Harmon: kenharmon@hotmail.com
Rob Pengra: robpengra@hotmail.com
Wes Hughes: wes@nwbaptist.org

NWBC trying to get first step right

2010-04-21T15:14:00.000-07:00

Northwest Baptist Convention staff turned one corner after the first of the year following completion of personal visits with leaders of each of the convention’s 420-plus affiliated congregation. The face-to-face conversations were among initial priorities of a reorganization of staff assignments, changing the way convention leaders related to churches and ministry leaders.

One of the next crucial steps emerging from all the dialogue is development of broad strategies and specific practices aimed at helping churches reach greater levels of health and growth in order to increase their community witness and start churches where there are such needs.

In hearing various members of each regional team and the resource staff based in Vancouver reflect on the last several months, one thing stands out clearly — these are men and women who clearly appreciate the need for personal and corporate spiritual renewal to undergird all that is done to help churches greater levels of impact.

Much of the focus is upon leaders of local churches, with the importance of a spiritual vitality in their lives highlighted as a priority. One regional team leader has rightly stated: “Ministry is about producing his result though his leaders, with the result of spiritual transformation among individuals and the corporate church.”

That the regional teams see spiritual matters as foundational comes as no surprise. But in a day where skill, technique and practice are often so highly promoted and emphasized, it’s important to affirm that reality in practice. That’s not to say those other elements are unimportant — they may, in fact, be more critical than ever — but it’s good to start with the right first step.

If there is a down side to such an emphasis, it’s in trying to characterize exactly what we mean by “spiritual” things. Certainly we have the Spirit to guides us as we examine Scripture to discern such meaning, but we in our Baptist tribe are notorious for dutiful participation in religious observances and thinking as a result that we’ve actually obeyed God’s call to make the world different.

We should also take care not think of the more practical matters as lacking “spiritual” aspects. Inherent in our assumptions about the importance of getting the spiritual part right is that it shows up in the lives of those around us.

Princeton professor and author Cornel West, who is in no danger of becoming a theological darling of Southern Baptists, has noted: “Justice is what love looks like in public.” To express God’s love and concern for what’s right in such a way in every community is a great aspiration for every congregation.