For the week of April 10, 2003
Cooperative Program
Gifts through the Southern Baptist Cooperative Program totaled
almost $14.2 million, an increase of $133,401 (1 percent) from the previous
March. Halfway through the Southern Baptist Conventions fiscal year, gifts
total $93.1 million, an increase of more than $1.3 million (1.5 percent) from
the same time last year. The total also is more than $4.6 million (5.2 percent)
ahead of budget at this time. Meanwhile, designated gifts totaled $18.4 million,
a drop of more than $2.1 million (10.5 percent) from previous March. For the
year, designated gifts total some $101.7 million, a decrease of almost $3.4
million (3.2 percent) from the same time last year
Missionary death
A Christian missionary in Central America was shot and killed
March 28 during a robbery. Todd Fields, 41, had been a missionary for 13 years
with Global Outreach International of Tupelo, Miss. His parents are Bob and
Edwina Fields of Mount Vernon, Ky., who are retired Southern Baptist missionaries
to Israel. Fields was serving as a missionary in Honduras and was driving middle-and
high-school students to a retreat when a group of robbers shot him to force
the van to stop. Struck twice, Fields was able to pull over without wrecking.
The five robbers pushed Fields into the aisle and drove the van into a wooded
area where they tied and robbed the riders. The events unfold just weeks after
Bob and Edwina Fields were sent by the Southern Baptist International Mission
Board to help counsel missionaries after a shooting at a hospital in Yemen.
Drawn closer
The capture and rescue of Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch has served
to bring her hometown closer together and closer to God, a Southern Baptist
pastor from the area said. Lynch had been listed as a prisoner of war following
a firefight in Iraq on March 23. But on April 2, military forces launched a
nighttime raid to rescue the 19-year-old private. Lynchs family lives
in Palestine, W.Va. – and the turn of events has impacted the area, said
John Watkins, pastor at Southern Baptist Fellowship Church in nearby Elizabeth,
a church the Lynch family has visited. Watkins led prayer vigils on the courthouse
steps in Elizabeth when Lynch was missing and again the night she was found
alive. Elizabeth is the county seat. “The most encouragement that I have
had through this was seeing that people, in times like this, knew where to turn
to get help,” he said. “They turned to the Scriptures.”
Whereabouts unknown
A soldier known for his deep Christian faith and involvement
in his Southern Baptist church is among a group of American soldiers whose whereabouts
are unknown. Nolen Ryan Hutchings is a member at Northbrook Baptist Church in
Boiling Springs, S.C. The private was among seven Marines who were involved
in operations on the outskirts of Nasiriyah in Iraq on March 23. Three of those
soldiers have been confirmed dead. Hutchings, 20, is listed as “whereabouts
unknown.” Northbrook Baptist Church pastor Wayne Dickard said, “If
he is alive – and we hope and pray that he is – then our prayer is
that he will be returned to his family.” Ralph Brown was pastor at Northbrook
when Hutchings accepted Christ as a teenager. “He loved the Lord Jesus
Christ,” Brown recalled. “He loved to worship. He was a Bible-carrying/believing
young man. He loved to talk about his Lord.” Brown said he and his wife
prayed with Hutchings just before he was deployed to Iraq. “We all held
hands and prayed for his safety – for the Lord to watch over him and take
care of him,” he said. Since news of Hutchings has been received, members
at Northbrook and at Browns new church have engaged in prayer for him.
Homosexual defeat
A “sexual orientation” anti-discrimination bill has
been defeated in Nashville, Tenn., eliciting celebration from opponents but
caution from those on both sides who say the issue will resurface. The proposal
to ban employment discrimination based on “sexual orientation” within
the city government – thus covering all public schools – lost 19-18
in the metro council when the vice mayor was forced to break a tie vote. The
dramatic ending capped 60 minutes of debate. Afterward, one council member called
the vote a “victory for Nashville, a victory for the children, a victory
for the Lord.” Southern Baptists who live and work in the area had been
among the leading opponents of the measure. Southern Baptist Convention offices
– as well as offices of various agencies – are located in Nashville.
Seeking missionaries
Southern Baptist missionary Dwight Huffman has issued a call
for a different kind of missions worker – ones with ties to the petrochemical
industry. Huffman served in the Northwest Territories of Canada. He recently
noted that Southern Baptists who work for oil companies could transfer to the
area and help strengthen Southern Baptist churches. The primary companies in
the area are Conoco and Phillips. “People especially from Louisiana could
transfer to northwest Canada and be of great help to the Baptist work there,”
Huffman said. “These folks could move here and help us start Bible studies
in their homes. They could be invaluable to the Baptist work here.” Huffman
can be reached by mail at 208 Sunterra Views, Cochrane Alberta T4C 1W8 Canada
or by phone at (403) 851-1240.
Plans for relief
Plans by which “aid can be channeled deep inside Iraq”
are being put in place by Southern Baptist workers in the region. In days to
come, volunteers from a range of fields will be needed in delivering the relief
aid, a Southern Baptist International Mission Board spokesperson said. “Church
leaders have issued a call for hundreds of evangelical Christian volunteers
to be preparing to come on short-or long-term assignments to help meet urgent
food and medical needs and help rebuild Iraqs weakened infrastructure,
…” board correspondent Mike Creswell said from Amman, Jordan. “All
kinds of helpers are needed.” The opportunity is an important one for Christians
– Iraq largely has been closed to evangelical presence for years, Creswell
noted. He also said workers are asking for concentrated prayer by Christians
around the world. “It will take a lot of prayer to meet one of the biggest
challenges ever for evangelical Christians in this troubled part of the world,”
Creswell said.
Iraq-related Web site
The Southern Baptist North American Mission Board has introduced an “Operation
Prayer Cover” Web site to assist Christians praying for those involved
in the war in Iraq. Located at www.namb.net/iraqprayer,
the site features resources that have been made available during the past several
weeks. These include a prayer guide to help Christians pray for all aspects
of the war, daily devotionals from a variety of Christian leaders, published
reports from military chaplains, video clips designed to assist with sermons
or worship, a photo gallery depicting the ministry of Southern Baptist chaplains
and four short video clips encouraging prayer.
Demonstrating Gods love
In the rugged desert on Jordans border with Iraq, a tent city has been
set up for refugees fleeing hostilities in Iraq. Baptists and other evangelical
Christians are there, ministering to the needs of Sudanese, Somalians, Egyptians
and others who left the country with only the clothes on their backs. Baptist
worker Charles Browning says ministering to cold and hungry refugees not only
demonstrates Gods love in a practical way but also gives workers the opportunity
to share the gospel. “If you tell somebody, Go in peace and
God loves you, but you dont feed them or clothe them, then
really, what does that mean to them?” Browning said. “They just say,
Oh, they dont care for us! So, by helping these areas, it
starts a basis for sharing the complete gospel to them and what we believers
are about. And that is the whole person and not just one part of a specific
individual.”