The incident was typical of many encountered by Rob and Sandra Stip at the Pago Pago Seafarer’s Center. The incident was typical of many encountered by Rob and Sandra Stip at the Pago Pago Seafarer’s Center.   A ship’s owners had a reputation for having "never paid a penny to anyone - and when the crew complained they were thrown off the ship, arrested and deported," Rob Stip recounts.   But a group of the seafarers from the ship found shelter at the Seafarer’s Center and became involved in intense Bible Study and prayer. After 10 days, a fishing agent brought $35,000 to the center and paid the men, saying: "What is it with this God of yours? I can’t eat. I can’t sleep. ... What is it going to take to make you guys happy?’   As directors of the center from 1998 until early this year, the Stips learned their ministry would be much more than passing out Kool Aid and pool sticks to idle seafarers. Indeed, they say they soon saw how God had uniquely equipped them for ministry in ways they had never imagined.   The seafarer’s center in American Samoa has been operated by the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board and the Hawaii-Pacific Baptist Convention since 1995. It … [Read more...]

Isaiah Mejia understands the stakes are high in Las Vegas. Indeed, six-figure numbers race through his mind nearly every day. Isaiah Mejia understands the stakes are high in Las Vegas. Indeed, six-figure numbers race through his mind nearly every day.   However, one will not find Mejia pulling levers on slot machines, rolling a pair of dice in a game of craps or anxiously hovering over a spinning roulette wheel. "I can’t forget 777,000," Mejia explains. "I can’t forget that number."   That is the number of people in Las Vegas who profess no religious preference or affiliation whatsoever. "The only way that they know God is in a curse word," Mejia says.   Of the city’s 1.5 million inhabitants, only five percent claim to be Christians. About 1 percent are Southern Baptists.   However, as a Southern Baptist North American Mission Board missionary, Mejia still likes his odds. "Our churches here live on the cutting edge, meeting people where they are," he says. "It’s the law of survival - if you don’t, you die.   As a ministry evangelism specialist with the Southern Nevada Baptist Association, Mejia coordinates evangelistic outreach ministries at Las Vegas sites. … [Read more...]

Maria Teresa "Tess" Castaneda had plenty of cause to grieve in 1999. The United Nations employee suffered the death of her father and the loss of her possessions in an Manhattan apartment fire. Maria Teresa "Tess" Castaneda had plenty of cause to grieve in 1999. The United Nations employee suffered the death of her father and the loss of her possessions in an Manhattan apartment fire.   However, in December 1999, Castaneda accepted Christ after hearing the gospel at a special event for United Nations staff members sponsored by Christian Ministries to the United Nations Community. Now, she praises God for his mercy - not only her father before his death but also several family members in the Philippines have come to Christ.   "I know I have lost my home, but I still have a peace and joy that I never had when I had my material possessions," Castaneda says after a Bible study group session.   Such stories are part of what motivates Southern Baptist missionary Ken Welborn as he directs the Christian Ministries to the United Nations. Through special events and personal visits, Welborn helps present an evangelistic witness to the United Nations community - and through them, to the … [Read more...]

All across North America, Southern Baptists are working in order to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ - and they know their efforts depend on the prayers and gifts of others All across North America, Southern Baptists are working in order to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ - and they know their efforts depend on the prayers and gifts of others   Editor’s Note: March 4-11 has been scheduled as the 2001 Week of Prayer for North American Missions. The following articles focus on missionaries featured during this year’s week of prayer and giving through the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American missions. The theme of this year’s emphasis is "On Mission Together." The goal for the 2001 offering is $50 million.   Just one block away from New Orleans’ glitzy French Quarter district and glamorous Canal Street is the last place most thrill-seekers would step into when visiting the Louisiana city.   After all, this is "the city that care forgot."   This is where "laissez les bon temps roullez" ("Let the good times roll") is the death-defying guiding force behind the actions of some men and women.   Many come only to indulge themselves completely in this … [Read more...]

There is a favorite cartoon panel that shows a pair of spiders sitting near the bottom of a playground slide. They have constructed an elaborate web across the bottom of the slide and now are admiring their work.   One is turned to the other, offering an excited opinion.   "If we pull this off, we’ll eat like kings," he says. There is a favorite cartoon panel that shows a pair of spiders sitting near the bottom of a playground slide. They have constructed an elaborate web across the bottom of the slide and now are admiring their work.   One is turned to the other, offering an excited opinion.   "If we pull this off, we’ll eat like kings," he says.   Forgive Southern Baptists if they feel the cartoon panel sums up the challenge of reaching the United States with the gospel. In many aspects, it is as unlikely a task as spiders trapping a youngster in a playground web. After all, probably at least half of the nation does not profess personal faith in Jesus Christ. And no one can say modern culture is working in favor of the gospel.   But also consider that the cartoon panel offers a hint at how the task can be accomplished - by working together, just as … [Read more...]

When Jim Futral visited an adult mental facility near his chuch, he was taken to see certain patients, who could not see, hear or talk. When Jim Futral visited an adult mental facility near his chuch, he was taken to see certain patients, who could not see, hear or talk.   In the building where the patients with the most extreme needs were housed, Futral watched as a man – unable to do anything else but lay on his cot – had a seizure. A nurse knelt down beside the screeching and shaking man, took him in her arms and held him close to her, rubbing his back.   When the screeching subsided and the trembling stopped, the nurse helped the man back down to his cot.   "Not one person in this room can see anything, say anything, or get up and do one thing for themselves," the facility director explained to Futral, executive director of the Mississippi Baptist Convention. "They only know one thing ... they know that we love them."   The show of love was inspiring, Futral noted during a chapel address at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.   "When Jesus stepped down here out of heaven and came and sat down beside you in your pew and to walk with you and me, he came … [Read more...]

What better way to honor a hymnologist than to present him with a hymn written in his honor? What better way to honor a hymnologist than to present him with a hymn written in his honor?   Such was the case Harry Eskew, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary professor of music history and hymnology and music librarian. Eskew was honored during a recent banquet at First Baptist Church in New Orleans. The banquet was part of the seminary’s 26th annual Church Music Symposium - and it featured a hymn written for the longtime professor.   "Give Us Courage," was written by Terry York, associate professor of Christian ministry and director of the doctor of ministry program at George W. Truett Theological Seminary in Waco, Texas.   The hymn tune, "ESKEW," was composed by Benjamin Harlan, dean and associate professor of church music at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.   The song’s dedication described the professor as an esteemed teacher and an exemplary Christ-follower.   The words also celebrated Eskew’s willingness to follow the Lord.   "Give us courage, Lord, to learn, the courage to teach, the courage to move when you say, … [Read more...]

When asked recently to name the great Bible-teaching preachers of this day, Paige Patterson acknowledged he could identify only a few. When asked recently to name the great Bible-teaching preachers of this day, Paige Patterson acknowledged he could identify only a few.   "I was very hard-pressed to get past eight or 10, stretching it also then," Patterson said during a chapel service at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Patterson is president at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C.   "I’m not talking about great preachers in general. I’m not talking about great orators. I’m talking about great Bible-teaching preachers," Patterson explained.   In light of that, Patterson challenged members of the seminary community not only to raise up - but to become - great Bible-teaching preachers.   Citing Luke 24:13-35, Patterson described both the need and the model for such preachers in today’s churches. The Luke account tells of the disciples’ encounter with Jesus on the road to Emmaus, following the crucifixion.   Just as the disciples in the Luke account, the saints in today’s churches are confused, buffeted by the many and mixed … [Read more...]

He died in 1863, more than 160 years ago, having spent his life devoted to the cause of gospel missions.   His influence remains. He died in 1863, more than 160 years ago, having spent his life devoted to the cause of gospel missions.   His influence remains.   Indeed, denominations such as the Southern Baptist Convention and its missions agencies owe much to the groundwork laid by Baptist pioneer Luther Rice, Mark Terry said.   Rice’s contributions sometimes are overshadowed by those of other pioneers, including Adoniram Judson, noted Terry, professor of missions and evangelism at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.   However, Rice played a key role in the history of Baptists in America, Terry said.   "He led in the transformation of widely-scattered, disorganized churches into a true denomination. He envisioned and initiated programs of foreign missions, home missions, Christian education and publications which enrich Baptist life and witness today. ... He was a kind of catalyst for Baptists."   Rice and Judson began their missions service in India in 1812. "Their voyage to India has become famous to Baptists," Terry said. "The … [Read more...]

Often a forum for racy exchanges, the Internet became a symbol of purity February 14 as thousands of teenagers logged on to take an electronic stand for sexual morality. Often a forum for racy exchanges, the Internet became a symbol of purity February 14 as thousands of teenagers logged on to take an electronic stand for sexual morality.   In the 47 hours it took Valentine’s Day to rise in New Zealand and fall in Hawaii, 31,338 teenagers pledged to God and their future mates that they would abstain from sex until marriage.   "We were really pleased with the response from teens on this," said Paul Turner, spokesperson for the True Love Waits campaign. "On Valentine’s Day 2001, 31,000-plus students made a commitment to live a life of purity. A lot of kids’ lives will be spared much heartache because they have made that decision."   LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention sponsors the international campaign, which urges teenagers to choose a sex-free lifestyle until they enter a biblical marriage relationship.   Seize the Net represents the latest of several annual pushes to encourage teenagers in sexual purity.   This year’s emphasis called … [Read more...]