Launching out and catching men

just another 3 Nikkel s Worth Online Edition March 2017 Volume 33 Issue 1 2017 EVANGELISM CONFERENCE Launching out and catching men Dale Bascue The 2017 Wyoming Southern Baptist Convention Evangelism Conference was held at College Heights Baptist Church in Casper on January 24 and 25, 2017. Despite the challenges of extreme winter weather and closed highways in parts of the state, seventy people registered their attendance. The Conference featured both nationally known speakers and pastors from churches in our state. The music was provided by a praise team made up of talented musicians from Casper area churches under the direction of Rick Muchow. w FYI The Conference featured both nationally know speakers and pastors from churches in our state. The theme of this years conference was taken from Luke 4:5, where Jesus tells Peter to launch out into the deep waters and prepare for a great catch of fish. He then says, From now on you will catch men. Speakers reminded the attendees of the photo provided Rick Muchow led breakout sessions as well as worship times with the assistance of a praise team consisting of several local worship leaders. need to go where the people are, cast their nets, be persistent, and work together to bring people into the Kingdom of God. It was a great time of encouragement and challenge. Dale Thompson, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church, Worland, opened the conference. He was followed by a message from Dr. Thomas Johnston, evangelism professor from Midwestern Baptist Seminary in Kansas City. Dr. Johnston s wife, Rachelle, was also part of the conference by providing special breakout sessions for the See CONFERENCE on pg. 2

2 news CONFERENCE continued from pg. 1 women present. On Monday evening David Burton from David Burton Ministries of Florida brought the message. The evening ended with a concert from Rick Muchow and his praise team. The music was inspiring and encouraging. The second day of the conference started out with Wyoming speakers. Shane Stone, pastor of Wright Baptist Church started off the day with a challenge to be like Jonah, but don t be like Jonah. He was followed by David Schroeder, Missions Strategist and South Region Missionary for the WSBC. The afternoon session had messages from Evangelism Strategist and West Region Missionary, Dale Bascue, and Craig Cagle, pastor of Memorial Baptist Church in Wheatland. The evening session featured messages from Dr. Johnston and David Burton. It finished with a time of prayer for the staff of the Wyoming Southern Baptist Convention. There were three times for breakout sessions. Breakouts were led by Thomas and Rachelle Johnston, David Burton, Rick Muchow, and Church Planting Strategist Don Whalen. The evaluations show that the breakouts were not only informative, but inspiring and practical. The 2017 Evangelism Conference was the first event planned with the help of new Ministry Assistant Wendy Nikkel. Wendy was responsible for organizing the display area and the meals sponsored by the Evangelism Department for the conference personalities, and the Disaster Relief lunch hosted by Mission Strategist David Schroeder. A new system of evaluation is being used this year. All attendees will be receiving a survey by email. The surveys are specific to certain positions held in the church. The information gathered from the surveys will hopefully help determine if the conference has helped people better understand evangelism and how they will evangelize in practical ways. Dale Bascue serves as the Evangelism Strategist & West Region Missionary with the Wyoming Southern Baptist Convention. TOP: David Burton led breakout sessions as well as brought an evening session message during the Evangelism Conference. MIDDLE LEFT: Shane Stone, pastor of Wright Baptist Church was one of the speakers during the Evangelism Conference. MIDDLE RIGHT: Pastor of Memorial Baptist Church, Wheatland Craig Cagle brought a message during the Evangelism Conference. BOTTOM RIGHT: Thomas Johnston, Evangelism professor brought a message as well as led breakout sessions. March 2017

March 2017 3 NEWS just another nikkel s worth I ve got this Have you ever heard someone say, I ve got this.? Maybe you have said it yourself, I got this!. Did you know that if you Google I ve got this, you find multiple links to various dictionaries and other sources? Yes, from the Cambridge English Dictionary to the Urban Dictionary, and everything in between. What does it mean to say, I got this! Well, in general terms it means that you can handle something, that you will take care of something, or just to say that you have things under control. Really? The problem is, most of the time when we say that, we probably don t mean it, and even if we do mean it it s probably stretching the truth. We all know that life is stressful these days, and there is no shortage of things that we must deal with that range from a little irritating, all the way to being completely overwhelming. But, when it comes to what we tell others it s kind of like when we ask each other at church, Good morning, how are you? And we slip up the mask to say, I m fine. when we re not fine at all, it s a charade! The longer I live, the older I get, the more of life I experience I realize that I don t got this. I m not OK or fine, I don t have things under control much of the time, and there actually are things in my life that I can t handle and I can t take care of. And, I don t think I nikkel am alone. But also, the longer I live with Christ, the older I get in my walk with the Lord, and the more of life s experiences I take to Him I hear God say to me when I am at the end of myself, I ve got this!. I love how the psalmist says it in Psalm 121 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. Thank you, Lord, for the precious promise that you are with us, that you never leave us, that you would never forsake us, that you are at work in all things for our good, and for the good of your Kingdom! By your Spirit s work within us, remind us of this every day, and in every situation, and for all the challenges we face. Remind us to lift up our eyes toward you, and thank you that you are our keeper, our shade, and our protector. In Jesus name, Amen!

4 News March 2017 God s Confidantes Zachary Edwards Proverbs 3:32 is one of my favorite verses, For the devious are an abomination to Yahweh, and the virtuous are his confidantes. How exciting, the virtuous are His confidantes! I want God to confide in me, at all times, about all things! As I reflect on these verses, I think about what it means to be a confidante. After eighteen years of ministry, I know a lot of sensitive things about the many people I serve. With all this information, I could be one of the biggest gossips around! Wise people carefully choose with whom they confide. Their deepest thoughts and feelings are precious to them. Prov. 3:32 says God is also selective with whom he confides. Those who fear and trust in God gain wisdom s virtues, qualifying them to be His confidantes (Prov. 3:1-32). How exciting! God has precious things He wants Edwards to share with you, His son or daughter. However, He protects His thoughts and will not share them with those who deviate from His way. The key to interpreting and applying Prov. 3:32 is our identity in Christ. In Him, we are sons and daughters of our Good Father. We live in the realm of loving discipline instead of wrathful punishment (Heb. 12:6; Prov. 3:12; Rom. 6:23). Therefore, we take this proverb from our Father as an encouragement and a warning. It is an encouragement because it calls us to embrace wisdom s virtues and become the God has precious things that he wants to share with you, His son or daughter. kind of person in whom God wants to confide. On the other hand, this proverb is a warning to heed the discipline that comes from not being able to hear God speak. In Christ, we do not experience God s wrathful punishment like those who are without Christ. Yet, for discipline s sake, God allows us to experience the consequences of foolish living (Heb. 12:5-6). If we do not hear His voice, maybe it is because He knows our under-developed ears will not do anything with the application of His Word that He wants to communicate to us (Matt. 7:6). It is a wake-up-call to become the God-fearing and God-trusting people in whom He will confide. God s primary message found in the Bible (both Old and New Testaments) is His mission to redeem a rebellious people and set them a part for His glory and purpose (Gen. 12; 2 Sam. 7; Is. 53; Luke 19:10; 2 Cor. 5:21; Phil. 2:13; Rev. 7:9-10). Our role in this mission is simple: to become disciples of Jesus, and in the power of His Spirit, make others into disciples (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8). This disciple-making process is to continue as Jesus-followers multiply into many generations of disciples, leaders, and new churches. This glorious multiplication is God s design to adopt a people from every tribe, tongue, and nation (Rev. 7:9). Our lives and churches must be engrossed around this central focus of God. As a New Testament believer challenged by Proverbs 3:32, ask the following questions to determine what God says to you. As His confidante, what is He saying about my specific role in the disciple multiplication process (Matt. 28:12-20; Rom. 12:3-8)? Who are we specifically called to evangelize and disciple (Acts 16:6-10)? How should we proclaim the Word and create a multiplying movement of evangelism and discipleship in our community (2 Tim.4:1-4)? Does a nearby place need a church like ours that will evangelize and multiply disciples (Mark 1:38-39; Acts 13:1-3)? Will I do my part to see that church planted (Acts 13:1-3; Acts 16:11-15)? God is multiplying disciples, and His new churches are sprouting in places like Cokeville, Star Valley, Gillette, and Casper because His confidantes are listening and obeying. It takes all of us to see Wyoming come to Jesus. May God bless you as you pursue a relationship with Him has His confidante. * Translation from Longman III, Tremper, Proverbs in Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms, (Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing Group, 2006), 143. Zach Edwards serves as Church Planting Catalyst with the Wyoming Southern Baptist Convention. 2017 Preacher School April 28-29, 2017, at Emmanuel Baptist Church, Rock Springs, WY, we will hold our 4th Annual Preacher School. This training opportunity is designed to help develop the preaching skills of lay leaders, potential pastors and future church planters. This year we will have two learning tracts. Track One is the Basic Preaching Track for first time attenders and will cover the following: Learn how to more effectively study the Bible Deepen your scripture interpretation skills Work through the nuts and bolts of building sermons from preparation to presentation Track Two will be an Advanced Preaching Track for those men who attended Preacher School training in the past. This track is designed to provide leaders with additional sermon preparation and delivery skills. Because of the generosity of the training partners and the faithful Cooperative Program giving of our Wyoming churches, the training is offered FREE for leaders from our WSBC Churches! Training materials, meals and a library of preaching resources will be provided at no cost. Lodging at the Rock Springs Comfort Inn will also be provided (two men per room). Single rooms are available, but will be self-pay. To arrange registration and lodging, please contact the WSBC Office (307 472-4087) by April 19, 2017. Your help in pre-registering attendees will be essential, as we will need an accurate count for the free preaching library, training materials, lodging and meals.

March 2017 news 5 calendar of events March 2-4 Church Planter and Wives Retreat, Lander, Holiday Inn Express 8-9 Mountain Region 2 Day Assessment Retreat, Idaho Falls, ID 9 South Region Executive Board Meeting, Location TBD 13-16 WSBC IN OFFICE WEEK 20-22 Guidestone Business Officers Meeting, Dallas 24-25 Youth Evangelism Conference, Casper, Ramkota 27-29 Church Planting Week SWBTS/ Partner Development 27-29 Guidestone Business Officers Meeting, Dallas april 4-6 Western SDOE Fellowship, Gateway, Ontario, CA 16 EASTER 17 WSBC Office Closed (Easter holiday) 20 Administrative Team Meeting, WSBC Office, 3:00 pm 8:00 pm 21 Executive Board Meeting, WSBC Office, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 21-22 BCM Directors Planning Retreat, Casper WSBC office 21-22 Vacation Bible School Clinic, Casper, Hilltop Baptist Church 24 June Horizons deadline (June, July, Aug) 26 Support Staff Appreciation Day 28-29 Preacher School, Rock Springs MAY 1 West Region Executive Board Meeting, Location TBD 13 Gateway Seminary Graduation Denver, CO 14 Mother s Day 15-18 WSBC IN OFFICE WEEK Summer Missionary Orientation, Casper, WSBC Office 19-20 NAMB / SEND Conference, Texas 23-25 Hispanic Family Camp 29 Office Closed, Memorial Day june 9-10 SBC Crossover, Phoenix AZ 11-12 SBC Pastors Conference 12 WMU SBC Meeting 12 SBC Committee Meetings 13-14 SBC Annual Meeting, Phoenix, AZ 2016 WSBC Cooperative budget update

news 6 March 2017 Winter Vacation Bible School Pastor Trent Boulineau On January 7 & 8 Bridger Valley Baptist Church in Lyman held its first Winter VBS. The Campout themed two day event was a great success even by summer VBS standards. Rotations included music, projects, picnics, games, and Bible study with the offer of a real campfire outside if classes wanted to go outdoors. Classes were available for all ages; babies thru adults. The event ended with a fellowship meal of hotdogs and chips for all participants and workers. The campout theme made planning and decorating easy and inexpensive. The church borrowed tons of camping gear from members and decked out the sanctuary, social hall, and classrooms. Snacks were typical camping grub including the hotdog and oven cooked s mores. All games were inside but still had the camping spirit as everyone had a great time playing beanbag toss and pool noodle sword fighting. Camping crafts were a hit, even with the adults. The first night they made lanterns from tea light candles, clear plastic cups, and tissue paper and the second night they made binoculars from construction paper. Even the adults asked the age old craft question while making their stuff will we be able to take it home today? The biblical theme for the weekend was Jesus is the light of the world; let your light shine too. The first night we looked at John 13 when Jesus washed the feet of the disciples. Many of the classes including the adult class washed feet that night and partook in the humbling experience. The next night classes focused on the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus from Luke 2324. It was a wonderful time of offering the truth of the gospel to many who knew it and some who didn t. The church decided to offer classes for all ages and it was a great decision. A nursery was photo provided by church Crafts at Bridger Valley VBS. offered for the children of workers and participants alike. The sizes of the children s classes were about what the church hoped for and the adult class had 8 or 9 each night. The adult group had a great time doing the exact same things the kids did and many of them kept say I don t know when I have done this. If you have ever considered opening VBS to all age groups and have the workers to do it, go for it, it will work. A college group from Williams Boulevard Baptist Church in Kenner, Louisiana came to help with the weekend. The 8 students attend NOBTS, UNO, and LSU and they were a huge part of the success of the weekend. Most of them had never seen more than a few inches of snow or single digit temperatures, but they handled the Wyoming winter very well. Host homes housed the group and different church family provided many of their meals which allowed for better fellowship with church members during their stay in Lyman. A special treat for the participants was the exhibition of henna during the hotdog supper. As with the crafts, the adults enjoyed hearing the death, burial, and resurrection account through the unique drawing as much as the kids. Overall the event was a great success because the church tried something different and worked together and the truth of God s Word was put forth. On a different level it was successful because 44 people participated in classes from 4 months old up to 87 years old. 21 people worked in different areas of the event and even though the weather was less than desirable, it was a winter VBS the church will remember for some time. Hilltop Baptist Church, Casper Begins 2nd St and Pennsylvania Ave. Friday at 5:30 pm with dinner at Hilltop BC Concludes Saturday at noon Vacation Bible School is one of the most effective evangelistic events your church can have and we want to help you get ready! This year s theme hopes each child who attends will encounter the Creator of the universe and be amazed at the wonderful things He has done for us! This clinic will give you hands-on training in crafts, music, and age level conferences. The will be back this year! So bring your team and have a blast! For more information contact Beth Williams 307-472-4087 or bwilliams@wyomingsbc.org

March 2017 news 7 David Schroeder Where are you on mission this year? Jesus came to this broken world to seek and save the lost. He came and ministered locally, village by village. He drew disciples to Himself, and took them out spreading the news and mercy of the Kingdom. Other times, He sent them on their own. Twelve were sent out, then seventytwo. The ministry ranged farther. They went up and down the Holy Land. When the work of the Cross was finished, from the eleven disciples down to us today, Jesus commissioned His followers to make disciples of all nations. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, the mission continues, locally, regionally and globally. schroeder Making disciples anywhere and everywhere is a large Task! It is our ongoing call until Jesus returns. While true what some people say, that Mission begins at home, it does not stay there, even for a season. It is tempting in time of church difficulty to suspend mission until the church is stronger. But the principle Jesus spoke in Mark 8:35 applies to churches, too. Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. No one has seen a church work itself to death, but some rest themselves to death. We are to be simultaneously on mission locally, regionally, and globally. Unceasingly so. This is so plainly expressed in the Bible that only one conclusion is possible those who are His Church are on mission. Those who stop doing the worldwide work of Jesus cease being His church. They ve become something else. Mission work is not what we do. It s who we are. The beauty of our identity as Southern Baptists is that we are motivated and mobilized to mission anywhere and everywhere. We are to give serious gifts above our tithes to support mission work near and far. We educate our children in missional values and commitments. We hold in high esteem the call to mission service. We teach evangelism and mission as an integral part of the life of every disciple and every fellowship of disciples. Years ago, a Swiss theologian reacting against the liberalism of his day said it this way: The church exists by mission as fire exists by burning. Making disciples anywhere and everywhere is a large task. It is our ongoing call until Jesus returns. How does this play out in the present, among us? The most active season of mission work for Wyoming churches is just around the corner. A great deal of planning is already taking place. Some mission work is done in state by out-ofstate teams that come help us reach communities. Various Wyoming teams go to most every inhabited continent. It is a happy part of my work to coordinate churches wanting help with teams that feel led to come to Wyoming. Last year, a letter was sent to all churches asking of any desire for a mission team. That request form resulted in a response from a good number of our churches. Consequently, several mission teams are being formed to come to Wyoming this summer. As you might anticipate, we have more requests for help than mission teams to go around. But that provides opportunity for u s also. Why not have Wyoming mission teams serve other churches locally, right in our home state? Some advantages quickly come to mind. The expense of travel to a faraway state or country is reduced by a lot. The time it takes to travel (drive to New England, anyone?) is chiseled down. A one-week mission trip is actually do-able. The need for language or translators is removed. The pleasure of growing relationships and ongoing partnership is much more likely to occur. Both blessings and benefits are enjoyed here, furthering the cause of Christ. If you or a group from your church would like to go on mission to a sister church right here in Wyoming, I d love to hear from you at schroeder@wyomingsbc.org! Now is the time to sign on to mission work for summer. wdavid Schroeder serves as the Mission Strategist & South Region Missionary with the Wyoming Southern Baptist Convention. PRAY for the harvest Pray for churches seeking God s direction for a new pastor. David Shroeder South Region Bairoil Community Baptist Church, Bairoil First Baptist Church, Saratoga Sunnyside Baptist Church, Cheyenne New Hope Baptist Church, Rock Springs Yellowstone Baptist Church, Cheyenne* Wamsutter Baptist Church, Wamsutter* Fred Creason Northeast Region Iglesia Bautista Principe de Paz, Casper Evansville Baptist Church, Evansville* Dale Bascue West Region First Baptist Church, Big Piney* Mountain Grace, Dubois First Southern Baptist Church, Worland *Served by interim pastor.

8 news March 2017 rendering by nasa A NASA rendering depicts what the surface may look like on one planet in the newly discovered TRAPPIST-1 system. Rendering from NASA Planets discovery said to incite misplaced hope David Roach NASHVILLE (BP) -- At least some of scientists enthusiasm over discovery of seven potentially habitable planets seems to reflect the misplaced hopes of a secular worldview. That is the assessment of a Union University physicist and a Gateway Seminary Old Testament professor following NASA s Feb. 22 announcement that astronomers have detected the first known system of seven Earth-sized planets rotating around a single star. Bill Nettles, chair of Union s physics department, told Baptist Press the excitement among some scientists over the possibility of extra-terrestrial life simply confirms a longstanding assumption that surely life must exist somewhere in the universe. That assumption has been a theme of writers for centuries, and we shouldn t expect it to wane. Yet for Christians, there is already a hope that there is life elsewhere, but we don t need to find it in some other planet, Nettles said in written comments. It is found in the promises of God, revealed in the human-divine person of Jesus of Nazareth. The discovery of other planets around other stars should be no more surprising to us today than the discovery of rocky planets in our own solar system centuries ago, Nettles said. The Bible begins with the creation of the heavens and earth. These discoveries do not dispute that. The newly discovered planetary system, located some 40 light-years from Earth, is called TRAPPIST-1, named for the Belgian-operated Transitioning Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope that first detected some of its components. Read the rest of the story here: http:// www.bpnews.net/48398/solar-speculation-planet-news-meets-profs-biblicalworldview Churches on mission Riverton Hillcrest Baptist Church has really appreciated their Youth Group this past year. They have helped out in so many of the outreach programs. The church wanted to thank the ones that had been so involved this year that they hosted a Youth Appreciation Banquet on November 17, 2016 There were 15 Youth and sponsors and four adults that hosted the event. Fred & Lori Mitchell are the leaders for these young people. Most Wednesday Evenings they have over 20 youth. Bob Connelly and Mike Smith are co pastors. Torrington Cody (and Kim) Dyer is the new pastor at Lifeway Church. Cody served as associate pastor there and was mentored by Marty Rostad who planted the church. Fort Laramie Marty (and Nancy) Rostad is now pastoring the new church plant at Fort Laramie. Danny Francis, who had served previously at Big Horn Baptist Church in Buffalo passed away late December. Danny had been living in Texas for the past several years.