Since 1976, the number of Christians in

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1 INSIDE: God s Call to 8 IM Missionaries in Europe Autumn 2011 GLOBAL FOCUS: Africa, Europe and the Middle East IM Missionaries Answer God s Call to Serve in the Democratic Republic of Congo by the Rev. Charles Jones, Area Director for Africa, Europe and the Middle East Since 1976, the number of Christians in Africa has increased by more than 300% to 390 million! Projections made by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity indicate that by 2024 Africa s Christian population is likely to grow by another 200 million. No wonder that the call for International Ministries (IM) missionaries to go to Africa has not only continued but changed shape more than a century after the first IM global servants responded. American Baptist work in Africa began in 1821 with Lott Cary s arrival in Sierra Leone and his move the following year to Liberia (see page 2). Then in 1884 the Livingstone Inland Mission felt it did not have the capacity to manage its growing work in Congo. As a result, it invited the American Baptist Missionary Union (now known as International Ministries, IM) to assume full responsibility of its work there since American Baptists had an excellent reputation based on our mission efforts in Burma and India. After hundreds of missionaries and multiple country name changes, IM continues to serve God and the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in partnership with the Communauté Baptiste du Congo Oest (CBCO, the Baptist Community of Western Congo). Over these years, IM missionaries have ministered in the DRC as: evangelists, church planters, theological educators, pastors, teachers, medical doctors, nurses, agriculturalists, development workers, musicians, administrators, pilots and more! These servants of God have ministered in difficult, even dangerous situations, including civil war, mandatory evacuations and lootings of personal property. The result has been decades of Christian growth and meaningful service that continue with the nine IM missionaries now serving in the DRC. Wendy Bernhard teaches at the Bible Institute of Kimpese, 120 miles southwest of the capital, Kinshasa. Some of her students are now pastors of CBCO churches. Wendy also works with doctors, pastors, and lay people, holding seminars for young people, advocating a return to biblical principles of sexual behavior as part of the fight IM missionary Miriam Noyes, Raymond Mafuta (trainer) and presiding District Pastor Kasiala present an adult literacy teacher s certificate to a successful trainee who now teaches village reading classes in central Bandundu province. against HIV/AIDS. An extension of this ministry is a radio program, Youth: A Jewel and a Treasure, a reminder to young people of their infinite worth in God s eyes. For more information about Wendy s ministry, go to: Glen & Rita Chapman serve at the Kikongo Pastor s Institute, training Congolese couples for ministry in rural churches and villages. Glen is professor of Old Testament, African religions, and Baptist distinctives; Rita directs and teaches at the Women s School. Glen and Rita s students become effective pastors, and their spouses become able participants in their ministries. For more information about the Chapmans ministry, go to: Mike Lowery also serves at the Kikongo Pastor s Institute, as New Testament professor and administrator. Jill Lowery works with the women of CBCO locally and nationally. As a result, CBCO women manage the Mitendi Center, which provides literacy and life skills training to unwed and at-risk young mothers. Mike and Jill also provide pastoral and youth ministry leadership at the International Church in Kinshasa. (See how God called the Lowerys, page 5.) Wayne Niles works with Interchurch Medical Assistance (IMA World Health), serving as IMA s in-country liaison officer for finance and accounting. One IMA project rebuilt and restored more than a thousand health facilities, trained more continued on page 4

2 Called to Carry the Great Secret Executive Director s Message by the Rev. Dr. Reid S. Trulson As we look at God s work through missionaries in Africa, Europe and the Middle East, this issue of International Ministries ON LOCATION gives special attention to their experiences of being called to mission service. Our director for this geographic area is the Rev. Charles Jones, who shares the details of his own call on page 6. The Liberian roots of his story take us back almost two centuries to another story that also relates to Liberia. Son, you will grow strong. You will lead many, and perhaps it may be you who will travel over the big seas to carry the great secret to my people. Those words, spoken by his grandmother, Mihala, were part of God s call to Lott Cary, a man born into slavery in the newly formed nation of the United States. As an enslaved young man, Lott Cary (c ) was hired out to a tobacco warehouse in Richmond, Virginia. After his conversion, Cary had a deep sense of call to share the gospel in Africa. Cary knew he needed to prepare himself in order to follow that call. While learning to read at a night school for African Americans, he worked to buy his freedom by saving whatever he could, including earnings from selling the tobacco sweepings from the warehouse floor. Finally, in 1813, he had enough money to buy freedom for himself and his children. Sadly, his first wife had already died while still enslaved. In spite of obstacles, Cary pushed on to follow God s call. I feel it my duty to go, he said, and I very much fear that many of those who preach the Gospel in this country will blush when the Savior calls them to give an account of their labors in His cause, and tells them, I commanded you to go into all the world. Where have you been? Have you endeavored to the utmost of your ability to fulfill the commands I gave you, or have you sought your own gratification, and your own ease, regardless of my commands? In 1815 Cary helped organize the Richmond African Baptist Missionary Society. In 1817 that Society urged the General Missionary Convention (now American Baptist International Ministries) to start a ministry in Africa. Having begun mission work in Burma with Adoniram and Ann Judson just three years earlier, the Convention lacked sufficient funds. However, the Convention and the Richmond Society found a solution by forming a three-way partnership with the secular American Colonization Society. This brought together the financial and logistical resources needed to send Lott Cary and his new wife, as well as Collin Teague and his wife, to Sierra Leone in The following year they moved to the new colony of Liberia, fulfilling the call to serve. The pioneer efforts of these former slaves began American Baptist mission work in Africa. Great Britain France Italy Poland Czech Republic Romania Bosnia & Herz. Serbia Bulgaria Albania IM Ministries Multiply in Europe through Christian Partnerships American Baptist International Ministries (IM) works with more than 200 partner organizations globally, e.g., churches, hospitals, schools/seminaries, national church bodies and other mission agencies, including the following in Europe: Azerbaijan: Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of Azerbaijan leadership development Bosnia and Herzegovina: Christian Baptist Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina winter relief Bulgaria: Baptist Union of Bulgaria agricultural development and Roma (Gypsy) ministry Czech Republic: European Baptist Federation, International Baptist Theological Seminary, Czech Baptist Union theological education, church leadership development and the Indigenous Missionary Project, which supports evangelism and church planting by nationals France: Federation of Evangelical Baptist Churches of France evangelism and church development Russia Georgia Georgia: Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia discipleship, economic development, conflict transformation, relief & refugee ministries Great Britain: Eastern Baptist Association of the Baptist Union of Great Britain outreach to & ministry among Portuguese-speaking immigrants Italy: Christian Evangelical Baptist Union of Italy church leader development, ministry with at-risk women, integrating immigrant churches into the Union Poland: Baptist Union of Poland Diamond Christian Centre, a holistic ministry to children and youth Azerbaijan Romania: Baptist Union of Romania Project Ruth, an educational ministry among poor children, particularly from Roma communities Russia: Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of Russia Moscow Theological Seminary Serbia: Union of Baptist Churches in Serbia theological education, church & leadership development 2 Vol. 3 No. 4 Autumn 2011 To subscribe to this newsletter, send your name & address to: On Location International Ministries P.O. Box 851 Valley Forge, PA 19482

3 CALLED TO EUROPE by the Rev. James G. Layton, Senior Writer/Editor You Can Depend on God s Promises! In 1991 Jorge and Hermelinda Damasceno responded to God s missionary call by leaving Brazil to serve in Albania. When the 1997 civil unrest began in that nation, they were forced to live for a year in the United Kingdom. One day Jorge heard God s voice, saying, This is the country where your future ministry will be. His immediate reaction was, How come, God? We haven t yet finished the ministry in Albania! He heard a clear answer, In my time. Nine years later, sensing their work in Albania was coming to a close, they prayerfully asked God about their next ministry. Jorge says, My wife and I were considering going back home to Brazil to minister there. It would be great to be close to family and friends, and we d be using our Portuguese Jorge (right) helps conduct a baptismal service for people from host English-speaking churches and migrant Portuguese congregations. language. Then we remembered God s promise of nine years earlier. But how could we serve in the UK? They don t speak Portuguese there! Unknown to them, British Baptists were then seeking a couple who could help their churches minister to the growing population of Portuguesespeaking migrant workers in the North East area of the United Kingdom! Jointly appointed in 2006 by International Ministries and the cross-cultural mission agency of the National Baptist Convention in Brazil, the Damascenos now help local English-speaking Baptist congregations develop their own strategies for reaching out to the Portuguese community. For more information about the Damascenos ministry, go to: Former Volunteers Are Called as Missionaries to Serve Today s Volunteers Based in Prague, Czech Republic, Nora and Pieter Kalkman minister through International Ministries with the European Baptist Federation as coordinators of volunteers. The Kalkmans met in 1997 through mutual friends and began sharing their dreams in seminary while car-pooling. Both had early volunteer mission experiences. And even though each felt called to become a missionary, both favored serving where they had already been Nora in Latin America and Pieter an ocean away in Africa! After they were married, IM told them of an opportunity in the Czech Republic. Following a period of serious prayer, the Kalkmans accepted God s call to serve in a priority mission field where, according to a recent study, more than 70% of Czechs identify themselves as atheist, agnostic or non-religious. Nora describes how they are convinced of their call: We both served as volunteers in different countries, in different settings and with different theological backgrounds. Those unique experiences have been clearly used by God as we ve guided and placed short-term volunteers throughout Europe for the past eleven years! One of those recent volunteers is Susan from California. Her more than thirty-year career in finance did not prepare her for teaching English to nearly a hundred children in five levels during a camp and Vacation Bible School in Poland. Yet she did, using these opportunities to openly share her faith. She reflects on this experience, saying, My undisputed testimony is that my work as a volunteer proved itself to be a divine appointment because God orchestrated all of this to happen as if I had already been doing such work for years. For more information about the Kalkmans ministry, go to: To prayerfully consider volunteering, learn more at: God Calls a Child and a College Student Jim and Debbie Kelsey assist the Evangelical Christian Baptist Union of Italy in ministry to English-speaking immigrant, particularly African, congregations. Their calls to become missionaries came at different times in their lives. Debbie says: When I was still at the age of making mud pies, God called me as I was rolling around on the lush green carpet under the back pews at my church in Warwick, Georgia, while my mother participated in the women s mission group up front. As I grew up, God called again through the world map at church and said, Your home is not just a town of 450 people, but my big world. God called me through my parents as they served their neighbors and let me help them serve. God also spoke through the voices of missionaries who introduced me, through their stories, to the people to whom they ministered. I am thankful that I still hear the call when I lead women s group and continued on page 4 3

4 Called to Europe continued from page 3 another child is playing in the back of the room! Of his call Jim says, I sat in the college auditorium contemplating my future as the crowd filtered out. I had just listened to a retired missionary share the memorable details of his vital ministry. He looked tired but satisfied. It was my senior year, and I had firm plans to begin my post-graduate education. I felt blessed by those opportunities that lay before me. But I was not excited. As I sat there, I became aware that I wanted to be that old man used up in ministry, tired but satisfied. I realized that desire is one of the ways God guides our lives. People talk of surrendering to the ministry. I did not surrender. I ran gladly! People at that time and others along the journey have confirmed my calling. Sometimes when it is difficult, I think about that old missionary s worn but peaceful face, and I know that I am on the right road. For more information about the Kelseys ministry, go to: The Hand of God Provides Perfect Guidance Terry and Tom Myers are International Ministries missionaries in Bulgaria. Tom uses his agricultural background to work with the Baptist Union of Bulgaria to develop long-term solutions for families facing economic difficulties. Terry works with a literacy program through the Sofia Baptist Church, which reaches out to poor Roma neighborhood children. Tom says: Our call to missionary service came as a surprise. Our original plan was to stay on the family farm in Center, Colorado and raise our children. But God s hand was at work long before we realized where we were headed. As they were considering selling the farm, Terry attended a regional meeting of American Baptist Women s Ministries, where an IM missionary told of his work. Terry explains what happened next: When I came home, I asked Tom a simple question, Do you think we could do missionary work? Since God s plan is perfect, we wanted to follow it. Step by step God s guidance led us to Bulgaria. Tom & Terry celebrate with one of the families Tom has helped through animal projects in Dolno Ceroveney, Bulgaria. Tom and Terry have continued to be open to changes in their call. Tom has begun a master s program in economic development, and Terry is now addressing the problem of human trafficking in Bulgaria. Tom says, God s calling often leads us into uncomfortable situations, but when we step out in faith, our apprehension gives way, and we experience God at work in new and exciting ways. We then can celebrate with the Psalmist (139:5), You hem me in behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. For more information about the Myers ministry, go to: IM Missionaries Answer God s Call continued from page 1 than 33,000 health professionals and vaccinated millions of children. Katherine Niles works with Congolese Christian health professionals to train urban and rural community leaders to promote health in their communities. She also coordinates the distribution of White Cross supplies in the DRC. (See how God called the Niles, page 5.) Ed Noyes works with CBCO s Community Action for Integrated Development, which serves 250,000 people. Ed works with farmers to plant disease-resistant manioc resulting in dramatic increases in crop yields, more food for their families and increased income from their harvests. Miriam Noyes collaborates with church members to train and supervise adult literacy teachers. She also advises Baptist Pygmy evangelism efforts, helps develop and print training materials for rural pastors and lay leaders and is part of the leadership team for women s ministries in the Vanga area. For more information about the Noyes ministry, go to: We celebrate these colleagues who have said yes to God s call to missionary service in the DRC, and we thank God for their faithful laboring as co-workers in God s vineyard! Are you or someone you know considering a call to long-term missionary service? In the DRC there is need for: assisting in evangelism and training for church leadership instructing medical doctors and nurses facilitating evangelistic outreach, including to the growing Chinese community in Kinshasa helping with literature development, printing and distribution providing administrative and practical support to missionaries and their families The call of God to the DRC is as strong today as it has ever been. Congo calls to us! God calls us to serve in Congo! To discuss your call to become a long-term missionary, contact: Jim Bell, IM s Director of Recruitment at or Jim.bell@abc-usa.org 4 ON LOCATION Autumn 2011

5 A Congo Ministry that Lives Beyond Death Miriam Fountain, ( ) served from 1961 to 1996 as an International Ministries (IM) missionary nurse in Africa with her husband, Dr. Dan Fountain. Dan shared the news about her going home, saying: As a little girl in Congo, Miriam learned a hymn her mother taught the whole family; it became one of Miriam s favorites. The last phrase is: My heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus, when Thou comest and callest for me. At 4 p.m. on Friday, March 4, Jesus came and called her home. She is now free. Her struggles, suffering, confusion and this long darkness are over. She is rejoicing in the light of eternity and in the presence of Jesus and a multitude of others. In 1961 Miriam, Dan and another IM missionary, Virginia Nickerson, developed the concept of the Vanga School of Nursing. As a result, more than one thousand well-trained nurses and midwives have functioned in church-based, government, or private health programs in the western part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In recognition of her dedicated service, the Congolese leaders at Vanga have renamed the school The Miriam Fountain School of Nursing. Although Miriam has completed Miriam stocking shelves in the Vanga pharmacy, 1964 her earthly pilgrimage, the ministry to which she devoted 35 years can continue through the Miriam Fountain Fund. Monies from the fund will be used for the Miriam Fountain Nursing School s capital investment buildings, equipment and teaching materials. Dan explains: We are establishing the fund to strengthen nursing education in Congo. Miriam has been a powerful model of compassionate service of people for the glory of God, and we want her example to inspire many during the coming generations there. It is not Miriam we glorify. It is the Living Lord, who dwelt in her and with whom she now lives and continues her service. We simply celebrate her life as a servant and as a model for others of a life lived with Jesus and for Jesus. May he receive all the glory! If you wish to give to the Miriam Fountain Fund to help expand the Miriam Fountain Nursing School at Vanga, please write Miriam Fountain Fund in the memo section of your check and mail it to: International Ministries / P.O. Box 851 / Valley Forge, PA How Did We Ever Get Here in Congo? God s call to missionary service for each person is as unique as a fingerprint. Jill and Mike Lowery, who work with the Congo Baptist Community (see page 1), attest to that fact. Jill was inspired during her formative years by the story of Brother Andrew, who smuggled Bibles into communist countries during the Cold War ( ). Her participation in several mission trips to Mexican orphanages during her teenage years clarified her call. I have always felt that Christ s call to make disciples was God s personal call to me, explains Jill. Mike became a Christian when he was 19. The friend who led him to Christ accompanied him to a mission conference, where several International Missionary Kids Say, Yes! to God s Call Jill (left) shares sewing class instruction with Mama Jackie at the Mitendi Women s Center. Ministries (IM) missionaries spoke. Mike says, I felt a tug at my heart then to give my life to reaching others who had little opportunity to hear about Jesus. The Lowerys were married in 1986, and ten years later God opened the door for them to serve as IM commissioned missionaries in Congo. Mike observes: We re amazed at how God has led us to this fulfilling work. We have faced many difficult times in Congo, but we have reminded each other that the same God who did many miracles to bring us here is always with us! For more information about the Lowerys ministry, go to: For Katherine and Wayne Niles (see page 1) God s missionary call came through the skills and dreams they had as children of missionaries and through the prayers of their parents, Donald & Bernice Niles and Daniel & Miriam Fountain. Katherine asks, How many teens speak three languages, enjoy caterpillars and hamburger equally well, make do because it s satisfying and learn to serve by their parents example? Katherine and Wayne grew up in different parts of Congo, where their parents served for 35 years beside Congolese Christians evangelizing, healing and proclaiming the Kingdom. Answering God s call meant building their childhood talents into adult careers in agriculture, technology, health and rural development. They developed a friendship in their 20s, which led to their marriage in The Niles were commissioned as International Ministries missionaries at the 1989 World Mission Conference in Green Lake, Wisconsin. It was a deeply moving service since both sets of parents participated. Wayne says, What a privilege for us to receive the charge from our fathers and mothers, and have them pray over us with joy! For more information about the Niles ministry, go to: 5

6 I Wanted More than to Follow in My Father s Footsteps by the Rev. Charles Jones, Area Director for Africa, Europe and the Middle East Because I was born in Liberia, I have a strong connection to Lott Cary, the first missionary who sailed from America to Africa (see page 2). My earliest awareness of what I now understand to be God s calling on my life came as a child. I often heard, You will follow in your father s footsteps. My father was an evangelist, church planter, pastor and musician. When I was a teenager considering what to do with my life, I struggled with the idea of going into Christian ministry. Although I thought highly of my father (and still do!), I did not want to enter the Christian ministry just to follow in his footsteps! However, when I was a high school senior, I decided to yield to God s call to ministry. For me, this was the result of analysis: I reasoned that the very best use of my life would be to proclaim the good news of salvation to help people address ultimate questions and the matters of eternity. So, it turns out that I am following in my father s footsteps, but for reasons beyond my love for him. My deepest desire was, and is, to follow our Triune God in the will of the Father, in the way of the Son, and in the power of the Holy Spirit! I remain being amazed at God s continuous calling and leading, including the wonderful privilege of serving through International Ministries and being part of the missionary circle with Lott Cary! A U.S. Geophysicist and a Banker Are Now IM Missionaries in Africa Charles and Sarah West, serving as International Ministries (IM) missionaries with the Baptist Convention of Zambia since 2006, began their IM work in 1997 in South Africa. A dozen years previously they were married in Lafayette, Louisiana. Charles was a geophysicist for an oil company and Sarah worked for a savings and loan institution as well as at a local television station. God s call on their lives, which started long before they met, was to change their work and their location! Baptized at nine years of age, Charles grew up to be chaplain of his college fraternity and his local Kiwanis Club. He says: Many people called me Rev. West long before I prayed with my pastor about my call to ministry. As an exploration geophysicist, I spoke at churches about the Bible and God s plan for the earth, and during my lay ministry years I was involved with youth, singles and married couples ministries. Sarah reflects on those years: Charles felt a call to pastoral ministry; my calling was to work with young pregnant adolescents. We opened a shelter for these girls in Opelousas, Louisiana. I remained there as director while Charles went to Pennsylvania to earn his degree at Eastern Baptist Theological (now Palmer) Seminary. Upon Charles graduation in 1993, the Wests moved to Belmont, New Hampshire, where he became the pastor of the First Baptist Church. During that time they prayed about God s next step for them. As far back as I can remember, Charles says, I operated in multicultural environments during all my school and oil industry years. I believe God used that background as we answered the call to serve with the Baptist Convention of South Africa. Those were the early post-apartheid days when racial segregation between blacks and whites was changing. Results of their present ministries in Zambia show how God is affirming their calls. For instance, Sarah reports: Through our WellSpring of Faith and Hope Community School (WOFAH), which serves a rural area, we have seen boys no longer get into trouble and girls are not becoming pregnant. They now have high hopes for their future. WOFAH has also opened up opportunities for us to minister to people who don t have regular church contact but who need the love of Christ. For more information about the Wests ministry, go to: The Gospel and Medicine Combine to Do God s Will in South Africa 6 ON LOCATION Autumn 2011 What we do requires such a unique combination of gifts that it s like a baroque chamber orchestra. That is the description given by International Ministries (IM) medical missionaries Drs. Anita and Rick Gutierrez, who serve in partnership with the Baptist Mission of South Africa. Anita and Rick, who were married in 1990, had been physicians in the U.S. before they heard God s call to become missionaries. Anita, the daughter of Hungarian Baptist immigrants, became more devoted to Jesus in her early thirties when their baby boy died at birth. She chose to go to South Africa because she had a vision of an important healing ministry there. Rick became a Christian at 22 and then nine years later something happened. One day, he says, I saw God s bigger picture. I was taking care of a drunk-raving man who had pneumonia and a dental abscess, and he was withdrawing from a narcotic pain reliever. My heart cried out, This man needs Jesus. I realized then that the gospel and medicine must be combined. Their shared call was fulfilled in 2002 when Anita and Rick went to South Africa where they now train Christ s followers to be effective health promoters and disciple-makers. For more information about the Gutierrez ministry, go to: Flanked by Anita & Rick, 29 joyful women graduated as Health Builders last September in Zululand.

7 Morocco Algeria Tunisia Libya Turkey Cyprus Syria Lebanon Israel Jordan Egypt Iraq Kuwait Afghanistan Iran Qatar God Provides Ways for IM to Expand Its Ministries Saudi Arabia U.A.E. Oman International Ministries Is a Trusted Mission Partner in the Middle East by the Rev. James G. Layton, Senior Writer/Editor The Middle East is a relatively new area of cooperative mission endeavor for International Ministries (IM). Unlike IM s partnership in a place like the Democratic Republic of Congo, which dates back to the nineteenth century (see page 1), our work in the Middle East began toward the close of the twentieth century. Seeking to partner with a mission organization in 1998, the Lebanese Society for Education and Social Development (LSESD) chose IM because of its positive reputation. Around the world IM is known for: 1. Acknowledging that God has already been active in a host country before IM s arrival 2. Taking partnerships seriously by entering a specifically-defined work at the invitation of Christians already in a country 3. Approaching specific ministries in true partnership, showing respect by having a coming-alongside rather than a we-must-take-the-lead attitude The first IM activities through LSESD occurred at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary (ABTS) with the appointment of Dan and Sarah Chetti. What gratifies my heart about our work with the seminary, says the Rev. Charles Jones, IM s Area Director for Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, is that it reaches out Commemorating ABTS 50th anniversary in June 2010 were (left to right): LSESD Executive Director Nabil Costa, Rev. Jones, ABTS President Elie Haddad and IM missionary Dan Chetti. to the whole Arab world. Ministering there means we are being used by God to expand our efforts exponentially. The graduates, from nine countries in the Middle East and North Africa, return to their homelands as dedicated, capable leaders having been strengthened through IM s cooperative efforts there with our partners. IM has also had contact through LSESD with the Beirut Baptist School and Dar Manhal Al Hayat Publications (meaning House of the Source of Life ). When other specific needs have arisen, IM global consultants Dan Buttry, working with peace and refuge issues, and Walt White, dealing with sustainable evangelism, have served with our partners. To learn more about Dan Buttry s ministry go to: for Walt White s, go to: Sudan Yemen Photo by Tino Qahoush has been a partner of SAT-7 since the early 1990s when IM this ministry was founded. SAT-7 is a Christian satellite station run by and for the people of the Middle East and North Africa, providing inspirational, informative and educational programming. SAT-7 reaches people from large cities to remote areas. Some viewers live in Bedouin tents, using gas generators or car batteries to power their TVs and receivers. The broadcasts provide instruction and encouragement to followers of Christ and vital information for those who want to find out more about the teachings of Jesus and his followers. Last February IM capitalized on another partnership opportunity. The agreement with the Convention of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Lebanon, composed of 21 congregations, outlined four priorities: 1. Building a relationship/friendship 2. Leading people to faith (evangelism) 3. Working toward peace and offering refuge 4. Training church leaders To begin fulfilling these priorities the Rev. Charles Jones, IM s Area Director for Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, is hoping to lead a group of pastors and American Baptist denominational leaders for a visit to Lebanese convention congregations in IM also has partnerships in Israel and with Palestinians. Through the Association of Baptist Churches in Israel, Bethlehem Bible College and Christian Mission to Gaza, there are vital ministries of peace and refuge, church leadership training, theological education and relief. Missionaries in Lebanon Open to God s Leading Dan and Sarah Chetti, born in India, originally felt called to serve Indians in South Africa. From 1860 to 1911, many Indians were taken to South Africa as indentured laborers by the British. The Chettis initially applied to IM to become missionaries in South Africa to serve those workers descendants. In one of his earliest visits there Dan heard Indian congregations sing hymns composed by his late grandfather, which tuned him in to their needs. But God opened a different door. In June 1998, they accepted an appointment as the first IM missionaries to the Arab world. Dan became a professor at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary and Sarah was the seminary s first trained librarian. To learn more about the Chettis ministry go to: teams/chetti 7

8 American Baptist Churches USA P.O. Box 851, Valley Forge, PA Dr. Bill and Ann Clemmer are pictured in After a period of difficulty, their missionary service in Congo took a surprising turn. The Result of Staying True to God s Call by Dr. Bill Clemmer Ann and I set out to serve in Africa nearly twenty years ago in response to a call and desire to make a difference. The early years of our work in Congo were memorable...until a series of civil wars began. The dark years of the late 1990s were marked by rebel invasion, pillaging, destruction and the flight of many national health care workers. Ann and I were separated for nearly a year when our hospital fell behind rebel lines. Thankfully, our mission board had the foresight to evacuate all women and children a week earlier. Those months were the lowest of my career. I had done my job; let another take the mantle, I thought as I returned to the U.S. in Yet God brought us back to Congo less than a year later, though I wasn t sure why. Within days of returning I was approached by a Christian medical organization, IMA World Health, and was asked to head up a nationwide relief effort to help rebuild, replace and retrain not just what was lost in our American Baptist hospitals but hundreds of others. I shudder when I think back to how I had contemplated not returning to Congo ten years ago and the opportunities I would have missed. The primary factor in our lives is not always what we want to do, but rather a humble surrender to God s will, enabling us to do what God has planned in advance. American Baptist International Ministries (IM) is a Christian mission organization connecting U.S. churches and individuals to holistic missions around the world. Organized in 1814, IM is the first Baptist mission agency formed in North America. IM serves more than 1,800 short-term and long-term missionaries annually, bringing U.S. and Puerto Rico churches together with partners in more than 70 countries to tell the good news of Jesus Christ while meeting human needs. Mark Your Calendar Our Biggest Mission Event in a Decade! Speakers include Dr. Tony Campolo PLUS Christian band Jars of Clay in concert! MISSI N Hear the Call May 18-25, 2012 Green Lake Conference Center Green Lake, Wisconsin Celebrate the 1812 sailing of Ann & Adoniram Judson Meet dozens of missionaries serving today Consider how God is calling YOU 3 tracks 1. Missional involvement in your community 2. Pastoral ministry 3. Cross-cultural global mission service Per person program fee for all week: $149 Portions of week: May 18-20: $79; May 21-24: $99 Housing & meals are additional, for details: phone: ON LOCATION Autumn 2011 I375.PUB.11/11 For more information contact: Karen.Mason@abc-usa.org; 800-ABC-3USA, ext To register go to: