Tom Anderson understands clearly the importance of Southern
Baptist missions work among Native Ameri-cans.
He should – he is a product of it, coming to Christ as
a 14-year-old boy at a Southern Baptist revival service in his Choctaw Indian
village in southeastern Oklahoma.
Tom Anderson understands clearly the importance of Southern
Baptist missions work among Native Ameri-cans.
He should – he is a product of it, coming to Christ as
a 14-year-old boy at a Southern Baptist revival service in his Choctaw Indian
village in southeastern Oklahoma.
Now, Anderson has returned as a Southern Baptist North American
missionary to southeastern Oklahoma – to share the gospel and plant churches
among his native peoples.
The work has a number of challenges. Southeastern Oklahoma
is home to more than 250,000 Native Americans, 98 percent of whom are unchurched.
The Andersons minister among five Native American nations overall.
Anderson and his wife, Rhoda, put in a lot of legwork –
literally. Whether it is going door-to-door in an apartment complex, prayer
walking a neighborhood or driving 150 miles one way to preach and play the piano
at a worship service, church planting requires some long hours and a lot of
patience.
However, Tom and Rhoda Anderson insist they would not have
it any other way. “Im a product of (Southern Baptist) missions, and
I believe in it,” Anderson insists.
Anderson also is a product of his heritage – and understands
the Native American culture.
“The American Indian is a religious person,” he says.
“By that, I mean he has his own religion already. When you come to him
with the idea that Christianity is the better way of life and that you want
to start a church in the area to reach individuals, they have a fear of their
culture being lost.
“(But) We see the results of their religion, that it doesnt
bring joy or peace or any kind of security to them,” Anderson adds. “That
is evidenced by the fact that alcoholism is a plague that bothers our tribes.
Drug abuse is also very prevalent.”
And with the suicide rate among Native Americans four times
the national average, the eternal hope that comes through knowing Jesus Christ
as savior is a message desperately needed by the Native American community,
Anderson says.
Although Indians have increasingly assimilated over the years
into American culture, there is a widely-held misperception among Native Americans
that Christianity is still the “white mans religion,” Anderson
continues.
“When you first confront a Native American with the claims
of Christ on his life, theres a sense of distrust.”
That is one reason why Anderson says he senses a personal responsibility
for taking the gospel to his own people.
“I just use my own life as a testimony as I tell them
about Jesus, …” he says. “I simply share with them the way that
they can be changed. And thats not through rituals. Its not through
anything that man does. But its all through what God will do for you if
you by faith turn to him.”
Before coming to Oklahoma in 1995, the Andersons served as
church planters in California, Texas and Montana. Through the years, they have
helped start 12 new churches, nine of which are in Oklahoma. They have started
churches in homes, vacant fire departments, a chamber of commerce building and
even a storage facility used on a county fairground each fall to showcase live
chickens and rabbits.
Anderson also works with about 90 churches, assisting them
in church planting ventures and mentoring young pastors. His overall approach
and strategy is simple.
“Keep your eyes open, and when you see God at work, thats
your invitation to join him,” he says. “Basically, all through my
ministry, thats been my philosophy. God is going to reveal where hes
at work.”
Meanwhile, the work is hard – but hopeful.
At the beginning of a church service, Anderson presents a young
girl with her baptismal certificate. He says later that each time he baptizes
a child, he is reminded of Southern Baptists missions legacy among Native
Americans – a legacy he now works to perpetuate.
“Some of these youngsters that we minister to and that get saved may become
missionaries, preachers or lay leaders in their church,” he notes. “To
me thats worth it all.”