Haiti Volunteers

by Mark Morris on February 6, 2010

Thank you (from Baptist Global Response)! All of you are playing a crucial role in the Haiti relief effort: praying, giving, going, staying informed – and telling others how people who care are helping people in need.Thank you! Remember: If you do not wish to receive e-mail alerts from BGR, you can click on the “Manage your subscription” link at the bottom of this e-mail.

Haiti volunteers making the difference – even in U.S.
Feb. 5, 2010

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Volunteers are making a profound difference in the lives of Haitians who survived the catastrophic Jan. 12 earthquake – from medical professionals and disaster relief experts who are using specialized skills to relieve suffering, to the multitude of lay people who have been fervently praying and generously giving for the past three weeks.

While medical teams from Kentucky, Mississippi, Florida and South Carolina have been joined in Haiti by a leadership coordination team from the North American Mission Board, a Feb. 10-11 meeting in Atlanta will chart the course for the long-term response and involvement of general service volunteers, said Jeff Palmer, executive director of Baptist Global Response. Additional medical teams from Oklahoma, South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee, a multi-state water purification team, chaplains, and a volunteer coordinator from Florida will be among the volunteers leaving for Haiti over the next four days.

But volunteers also are playing a crucial behind-the-scenes role in Haiti earthquake relief from right here in the United States – multiplying the effectiveness of full-time staff by catching phone calls, answering e-mails, and processing contributions, noted Megan Stull Riel, associate director of Baptist Global Response’s U.S. office.

For the past two weeks, a steady stream of volunteers from Brentwood Baptist Church near Nashville has given the small staff in BGR’s U.S. office the breathing room they need to focus on urgent issues of coordinating response to the disaster.

“We couldn’t have done it without them. We have one person in our office to handle donations on a daily basis – and that was probably only for about an hour a day,” Riel said. “The earthquake greatly increased the number of donations we received. In all of last year, we processed 400 to 500 donations; after the earthquake, we received more than 500 donations for Haiti in one day. Besides that, the number of phone calls increased dramatically. Before the volunteers came in, the only thing we were doing the whole day was answering caller questions. We weren’t able to get to anything else.”

Scott Harris, the associate pastor at Brentwood who focuses on hunger and relief ministries, knew BGR’s Nashville staff was limited in number and would need help responding to a crisis of this magnitude.

“As soon as we heard about the earthquake, we called BGR,” Harris said. “We knew we could assist by offering prayers and financial assistance, and, in time, long-term involvement. But we also wanted to aid BGR in more tangible ways.”

Harris offered to make office space available at the church and asked if they could send volunteers to help them in the Nashville office. In two weeks, 20 Brentwood volunteers provided 150 hours of donated time.

“We were able to send rotating shifts of volunteers to help process donations and help with other tasks,” Harris said. “Our people continue to volunteer at BGR’s facilities.  It instills such confidence in our people to see the character and competence of the BGR staff up close and personal.”

Brentwood Baptist first became acquainted with Baptist Global Response through BGR’s promotion of the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund. The church hosted BGR’s first official event, a world hunger summit in the fall of 2007. Harris is glad they have the opportunity to lend a hand with the office tasks.

“We are blessed to have BGR in our own hometown. Through our relationship with BGR, we are able to touch the world right where we are,” Harris said. “Global missions can indeed be local.”

Local office volunteers make an important difference as BGR’s stateside staff focuses on preparing the way for the larger volume of general service volunteers that will be flowing into Haiti in a few weeks, said Jim Brown, director of BGR’s U.S. office.

“Our role in sending volunteers to Haiti is the role of facilitator,” Brown said. “We work with partners like the North American Mission Board, International Mission Board, Florida Baptist Convention, and other state conventions to find appropriate places for volunteers to serve and facilitate logistics to make that happen. This is not an easy task, considering our small personnel resources in the Nashville office. Volunteers make an enormous difference.”

A lot is at stake in designing an appropriate response to the earthquake that doesn’t create Haitian dependence on American resources, Brown added.

“BGR’s goal is to focus on both short- and long-term disaster response efforts that work through the local church – helping Haitians to help themselves – in a sustainable way that minimizes the challenges related to dependency,” Brown said. “This will be a huge challenge the longer we are there, as the response moves from the initial disaster relief stage to rehabilitation and then on to development work.”

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Medical teams to lead Haiti response

by Mark Morris on January 31, 2010

Medical teams to lead Haiti response
Jan. 26, 2010
By Barbara Denman

HIALEAH, Fla. (BP)–The joint Southern Baptist response to the Jan. 12 Haiti earthquake will launch in the coming week with four “strategically selected” medical teams, leaders of the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Network decided Jan. 26 at the Florida Urban Impact Center in Hialeah, Fla.

Plans to respond to the urgent, intermediate and long-term needs in Haiti were addressed by assessment teams that had just returned from the quake-ravaged nation, along with representatives from Baptist Global Response, the Southern Baptist international and North American mission boards, the Florida Baptist Convention and other Southern Baptist disaster relief representatives.

The group wrestled with logistical arrangements and how to send mission teams and respond to needs in a country where transportation and in-country support for teams is practically impossible. Access to airports and shipping docks are extremely restricted, the teams reported.

“At this point, all we can sleep safely in Prince-au-Prince is 55,” said Cecil Seagle, director of the mission division of the Florida Baptist Convention.

The group decided the next step will be to send four “strategically selected” medical teams through the Dominican Republic to Haiti next week, along with two representatives from the Florida Baptist Convention, who will continue to make arrangements for trained disaster relief teams to travel in and out of the country.

Another meeting to discuss the logistics of getting additional response teams into Haiti will be held Feb. 11-12 in Atlanta, the group decided.

“Once we get the mechanisms in place, we will have numbers of teams in there, week in and week out,” said Mickey Caison, who directs disaster operations for the North American Mission Board.

“One of the things I am very excited about is that the four entities came together around Southern Baptist disaster relief to develop plans to respond to the disaster in Haiti,” Caison added. “I believe God is going to do something very good through all of us working together in Haiti. Through it all our efforts will be touching lives, changing lives and giving hope. Our purpose is to carry the message of hope found in Jesus Christ.”

The group acknowledged that Southern Baptists are passionate about responding to the immediate needs in Haiti.

The group hoped to reassure Southern Baptists that the response in Haiti will be long-term, but in the meantime they can minister to Haitians in their own communities and pray for people in Haiti, who are afraid to return to homes that are still standing because of the danger posed by aftershocks.

The group pled for patience as they try to solve logistical nightmares.

Southern Baptists will be asked to purchase and contribute “Buckets of Hope” to send to Haitian families – five-gallon buckets packed with rice, cooking oil, black beans, flour, sugar, spaghetti noodles and peanut butter. Even after Haitians use the supplies, the bucket can serve multiple uses for a family.

While Southern Baptists will mobilize to meet urgent needs, they also will be very focused on long-term assistance to help Haitians rebuild their lives and communities.

“Other relief agencies in Haiti are running a 100-yard dash; we are running a marathon,” said Fritz Wilson, disaster relief director for the Florida Baptist Convention.

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Barbara Denman is director of communications for the Florida Baptist Convention (www.flbaptist.org).

A downloadable bulletin insert raising awareness about relief needs in Haiti is available at gobgr.org.

To donate to BGR’s Haiti disaster response fund, click here.

Follow BGR on Twitter @GoBGR

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Haiti Conditions – Relief Pipeline Opening

by Mark Morris on January 21, 2010

Please help us spread the word! Do you know other believers who care about helping people in need? Why not forward this e-mail and encourage them to subscribe by visiting gobgr.org!

Haiti conditions bad, but relief pipeline opening
Jan. 21, 2010

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Conditions on the ground in Haiti are very difficult, a member of Southern Baptists’ joint assessment team reported from Port-au-Prince Jan. 20. A U.S. military commander, however, said important progress has been made on enlarging the conduit for relief shipments into the quake-ravaged island nation.

“We’ve seen quite a bit of damage – more so toward the center of the city,” reported Jim Brown, U. S. director for Baptist Global Response, in a terse e-mail sent from his cell phone. “We’ve helped with a couple of deliveries. Helicopters everywhere. People still being found alive!”

In another report, relayed to a meeting of the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Network, team member Bruce Poss indicated that traffic in Port-au-Prince is terrible and milling crowds are making travel and security serious concerns. He reported seeing 5,000 or more people lined up outside the US Embassy in the capital.

The five-member team delivered relief supplies – water, plastic sheeting, bottled gas, beans, rice, eggs, diesel fuel, canned goods – to a couple of churches and orphanages, Brown said. They were planning to connect with a Florida Baptist assessment team later in the day.

A U.S. military commander said the flow of relief supplies into Haiti would be helped by the opening of three new airfields and the country’s seaport, news services reported. Gen. Douglas Fraser, who heads the U.S. Southern Command, told the Miami Herald newspaper the capital’s seaport would reopen Jan. 21 and could accommodate about 150 shipping containers per day. The port’s capacity is expected to grow to 250 containers per day by Jan. 22.

The main airport in Port-au-Prince, which has one runway and one loading ramp, has been a bottleneck for the arrival of humanitarian aid, even after it was reopened. A total of 1,400 flights are backlogged to land at the airfield, Fraser said. Because congestion on the roads has been hindering delivery of relief supplies, 63 U.S. helicopters have been dropping water, food and medical supplies into the most inaccessible areas, he told the newspaper.

The U.S. Military has distributed 1.4 million bottles of water, more than 700,00 meals, and about 22,000 pounds of medical supplies directly to people in need, Fraser said.

As many as 2 million Haitians are homeless because of the Jan. 12 earthquake, relief officials say, with vast numbers of people living in makeshift tents made of sheets and sticks. The estimated death toll stands at 200,000, but humanitarian medical groups warn that number will continue to grow as people die of untreated injuries and disease that infects the ramshackle camps, news services report.

Southern Baptist medical personnel who are willing to help in the relief effort can e-mail haitiresponse@imb.org to register their availability. Baptist state convention disaster relief offices also will be organizing teams of volunteers to help once the assessment teams have returned with strategic recommendations for the response.

The Southern Baptist relief effort, like the one mounted after Hurricane Katrina and the South Asia tsunami, will be focused on the long term, Mickey Caison, who directs disaster operations for the North American Mission Board, told the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Network Jan. 20. Previous strategies have focused on short-term help for people being missed by large-scale humanitarian projects and a long-term emphasis on helping people rebuild their lives and communities.

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To donate to BGR’s Haiti disaster response fund, click here.

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Haiti Team Update – Major aftershock hits Haiti

by Mark Morris on January 21, 2010

Do you know other believers who care about helping people in need? Why not forward this e-mail and encourage them to subscribe by visiting gobgr.org!

Major aftershock hits Haiti
Jan. 20, 2010

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The five-member BGR assessment team is on the ground in Haiti, driving toward Port-au-Prince. They are accompanied by Mark Rutledge, who has 26 years of experience serving as an International Mission Board worker in Haiti. The team will be connecting with Haitian Baptist leaders, surveying earthquake damage, and delivering relief supplies.
A strong aftershock measuring 6.1 in magnitude struck Port-au-Prince at 6:03 a.m., Jan. 20, according to news reports. The shock sent people scrambling for open ground as buildings damaged by last week’s quake shuddered and rubble began falling to the ground. Eyewitnesses said people already traumatized by the horrors of the past week cried and screamed at the new tremor. More than 40 significant aftershocks have hit since the Jan. 12 quake.

Members of the assessment team reported they did not feel the aftershock at their base in the Dominican Republic. However, Steve Leach, a member of Round Grove Baptist Church in Miller, Mo., who operates an independent hospital in northwest Haiti, reported the aftershock “brought down some of the damaged buildings that were still standing and will keep anyone from going back to what buildings are still standing for many days to come.  With so many severe aftershocks over the last week and now another new quake, who knows when people who have a place to go will feel safe to return there.”

Leach said about 1,200 refugees have come to the hospital for treatment and he has been sending trucks into the capital to look for survivors with family who live near the hospital.

“We live in a place that is about as far from the capital as you can get and still be in Haiti and yet we have watched these very poor people trying desperately to figure out a way to get their family members out here so they can take care of them,” Leach said. “The truck drivers are less and less willing to [drive into the city] as the situation in Port deteriorates.”

Relief efforts are struggling to get essential relief supplies to hundreds of thousands of desperate people, but destroyed infrastructure and disorganization are hampering the effort. Officials are concerned that the desperation people feel will boil over into violence. Looters by the hundreds have been fighting each other with broken bottles, clubs and other weapons over whatever goods they can still find in damaged stores.

“Pray specifically for God to give those in control wisdom to direct the relief effort,” Leach said.

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What is Your Church Doing About Haiti

by Mark Morris on January 19, 2010

So…what is your church doing about Haiti?

Here’s what our small, 1 year old church did.  We are mostly and African American congregation with about 40 solid members and about 80 in attendance on a good Sunday.  Our offerings will vary from $400 to $1000 on an given Sunday.  We don’t have a lot of expenses compared to other churches our size – we just don’t have all the frills of large churches or most churches of our size that have been around a while.

All that said, we’re grateful for $4oo on Sunday and we used it all for God’s glory.  That said, it was an extremely meaningful and powerful decision for us to give our entire last Sunday’s offering to the Baptist Global Response, Disaster Response offering.  Knowing that 100% of each dollar of the Disaster Response fund goes directly to meet needs is important to a small church like ours. We don’t want 10% or 20% going to administrative overhead.

Our little part is not a sacrifice compared to those who lost their lives and property in Haiti.  Our little part is costly to Christ Fellowship of Memphis – an entire Sunday’s offering is a lot.

Nevertheless – it was a joy for all of us to give this Sunday entirely to the needs in Haiti and to do so through a trusted source.

So…what are you doing about Haiti?

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Haitian Pastor Among The Dead

by Mark Morris on January 19, 2010

Haiti pastor among the dead

Baptist Convention of Haiti vice president reports Bienne Lamerique, pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Port-au-Prince, died after house collapse.

Haitian Baptist pastor reported victim of quake

By Maria Elena Baseler

RICHMOND, Va. (BP) — The devastating earthquake that shook Haiti Jan. 12 has claimed the life of a leading Haitian Baptist pastor in Port-au-Prince, according to reports received from the vice president of the Baptist Convention of Haiti, located in the northern Haiti city of Cap-Haitien.

Bienne Lamerique, 56-year-old pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Port-au-Prince, died of injuries sustained when his house collapsed. Several Haitian Baptist pastors buried him without a coffin — because none was available — Jan. 14, according to e-mails received by Mark Rutledge, IMB (International Mission Board) missionary to the Dominican Republic on stateside assignment in Richmond, Va. He and his wife, Peggy, work among the Haitian people and served within Haiti for 26 years.

He was “one of our best pastors,” Pastor Gedeon Eugene, vice president of the Baptist Convention of Haiti, wrote in an e-mail to Rutledge, who is from Murfreesboro, Tenn.

“Haiti lost a godly man,” Peggy, from Glendale, Calif., said in a Jan. 15 interview from the IMB’s International Learning Center in Rockville, Va. “Pastor Bienne did everything with his whole heart. … He had a heart for people and for reaching people. He planted more churches than any other pastor I know in the convention. We loved him dearly.”

When the Rutledges became career missionaries in Haiti in 1987, they were part of Lamerique’s first church-start in a small house in a Port-au-Prince slum.

“To me personally … he was a real encouragement,” added Mark, who traveled to Port-au-Prince Jan. 17 to translate for a Southern Baptist team. “He was one who raised up and grew leaders and started new churches. He also was one to take churches that had stagnated and begin to work with them to renew them and get them on course again. He had a tremendous impact on multiplication of churches like no other pastor I’ve experienced since we’ve been in Haiti.”

Lamerique’s congregation met in a building that once was a vehicle-repair garage for the United Nations, Peggy said. It is located about a mile from the U.N. building that collapsed in the quake.

IMB missionary Dawn Goodwin, who works with Haitian immigrants in the Dominican Republic, visited Lamerique’s church Jan. 16 with Dominican Baptist leaders who traveled to Port-au-Prince to assess needs of quake survivors. The sanctuary sustained significant damages but was still standing. Some church members were living in the churchyard, Goodwin — who earlier served 17 years in Haiti — said in a Jan. 17 phone interview.

“We prayed with and encouraged them and their associate pastor,” said Goodwin, who is from Jefferson City, Tenn. The team also left supplies, including tarps that church members planned to use to shade themselves from the sun during worship services.

First Baptist Church of Port-au-Prince, located downtown near Haiti’s collapsed presidential palace, also sustained damage but was still standing, said Goodwin. She and the Dominican delegation — which included Carlos Llambes, IMB missionary in the Dominican Republic — also visited Concord Baptist Church in Port-au-Prince, which escaped damage. Llambes is a native of Cuba from Hialeah, Fla. The pastor’s wife, a nurse, is treating patients in her home and soon will be setting up a first-aid clinic at the church, Goodwin said.

In other developments, on Jan. 17 Goodwin and IMB missionaries Sam and Delores York, from Midwest City, Okla., and Abilene, Texas, respectively, began helping at a medical clinic in Jimani, Dominican Republic, on the border with Haiti. Delores, a nurse, is caring for patients who have undergone amputations at the clinic. The Yorks served nine years in Haiti before moving last year to the Dominican Republic to work with Haitian immigrants.

In addition, a team of Haitian Baptists and a missionary from another organization traveled Jan. 15 from Cap-Haitien to the capital city of Port-au-Prince to deliver supplies to the disaster zone and to minister to Haitians.

“A lot of [Haitian Baptists] are now homeless,” Eugene wrote. “They spend [the] night in the streets. They are starving. The pastors want us to come very quickly.”

Former IMB missionaries to Haiti and their colleagues are grieving the death of Pastor Lamerique — and they fear there will be more grief to come as reports of more casualties trickle in.

“There has just been so much devastation in Haiti,” Peggy said. “It’s going to take God to bring people through. Just pray that God will open the doors to reach people and to be able to help people, because this is beyond what any one organization can do.”

While Haitians have been physically devastated by the quake, “they have been equally devastated spiritually and emotionally,” she said. “Pray that God will bring the right people in to minister to Haitians in more than just material ways.”

-30-

Maria Elena Baseler is a writer for the IMB in the Americas.

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Two Earthquakes Tajik and Haiti

by Mark Morris on January 13, 2010

First the January 2nd earthquake in Tajikistan…now a 7.0 earthquake in Haiti. Devastation – destruction – the need for a response.

Having been on the ground within the first week after the Tsunami in Sumatra, I know the feeling of helplessness combined with an overwhelming compulsion to act.  Thank the Lord that Christians see such desperation and are moved to act. Unfortunately there’s a dilemma. The need is urgent, overwhelming and immediate.  The capacity for response is painstakingly slow and frustrating.  I’m certain that thousands of Christians would board jets, bring their own tents, and pockets full of money, crates of medicines and food and much more – and they would leave tomorrow or today if possible.

The facilitating agencies just now are trying to get on the ground and make assessments, report back on needs and organize response plans.  All the while, people are dying and suffering.

So, what does one do?

First and foremost pray and seek direction from the Lord. I’ve been in situations where all I could do was pray and send money. During the big Tsunami, God made it clear that I was to lead our church to do something much more tangible and perhaps fool-hearty.  I asked several hundred people to pray, told them I was leaving for the area, and  handful of us got on a jet, took some cash, made some phone calls, and just went.  We were prepared for anything or nothing and we pretty well got what we expected.  Along with a number of churches we worked with local partners to coordinate an immediate response.  Some criticized our impatience.   That’s ok.  Many were grateful for an avenue to jump in and serve.  The Indonesians whose lives were touched by numerous teams that followed us from a variety of churches and organizations were blessed and lives were saved and some were impacted for eternity.

No doubt – if God leads you to go early in such a situation – you must fall under a strong partner or prepare for trouble, and criticism but also know that there will be blessings.

So my strongest advice in times like these  – pray, seriously, pray and ask God to show you what to do because He does want you to respond.  Some of you are going to do the fool-hearty thing of jumping on a jet and just going.   Amen.

Some will send money to anyone who says they are doing something in the earthquake affected areas. Be wary of   sending your money to just anyone.

Others will put themselves completely in the stead of a trusted partner who will manage resources and possibly facilitate volunteers in the area.  Now is not really the time to figure out where to send your money.  Now is the time to send your disaster response money to a trusted partner who knows about disaster assessment and rapid response as well as long-lasting impact on rebuilding community.  I recommend BGR because I know and trust them. I’ve seen their capability of responding in times of crisis.  I participated in the training that they provide to thousands of volunteers that serve during such times. I also know that 100% of the dollars given for disasters go directly to the disaster and ZERO Dollars goes to overhead or administration of any kind.

So how do you respond?  It all begins with prayer...seriously…not prayer between pass the rolls and thank you for the food. I mean…prayer…in the sense of crying out and laying yourself on the throne. Be available to go and be ready to give and be actively praying and and investing in God’s response to this urgent need.

For more information check out Baptist Press Updates.

see full article below…

Haiti relief assessment under way

Posted on Jan 13, 2010 | by Mark KellyPORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (BP)–Southern Baptists are mobilizing to assess disaster relief needs after the largest earthquake in more than 200 years rocked Haiti the evening of Jan. 12.

The initial Southern Baptist disaster relief effort will be led by Florida Baptists, who have had ministry relationships in Haiti for more than 20 years and currently have six staff members who live and work in the country, said Jim Brown, U.S. director for Baptist Global Response. The Southern Baptist International Mission Board does not have long-term personnel stationed in the country.

The North American Mission Board’s disaster relief office is organizing an emergency consultation with state disaster relief directors to coordinate response to the catastrophe, Brown said. Disaster relief teams in Mississippi and Kentucky are on standby for immediate response.

An assessment team is being organized by Baptist Global Response, International Mission Board, North American Mission Board and state convention disaster relief directors to enter the country as soon as possible, Brown said. They will work with Haitian Baptists to identify immediate needs that must be addressed and will draft mid- and long-term plans for an ongoing relief effort.

Initial funding for the relief effort will come from the International Mission Board’s disaster relief fund. Contributions toward the relief effort also can be made at gobgr.org.

The 7.0 magnitude tremor hit 10 miles from the center of Port-au-Prince, the nation’s capital with a population of 3 million, at around 5 p.m. Jan. 12, according to news reports. One source said the quake could be felt more than 200 miles away. The earthquake triggered a tsunami watch for Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Cuba.

Multiple strong aftershocks continued to rock the country after the initial tremor, said David Brown, who with his wife, Jo directs Baptist Global Response work in the Americas. Reports from inside the country indicate infrastructure and many buildings suffered catastrophic damage. The main airport is closed; power and communications are down; and security is a serious concern. Specialized search and rescue teams and military units from several countries are being rushed into Haiti to help secure the situation and begin relief efforts.

Apart from donating to the disaster relief fund, concerned individuals can help greatly by joining in focused prayer for Haiti’s 9 million people, more than 80 percent of whom live below the poverty line, David Brown said.

“Please pray for us as we assess and monitor the situation in Haiti after the 7.0 earthquake and subsequent aftershocks this evening,” Brown said. “The initial information indicates 2 million people in Port-au-Prince are directly affected. Please pray for victims and their families. Pray for wisdom as responses are initiated.”

The situation in Haiti is very fluid and additional information will continue to flow in on a daily basis, Brown said. Updates will be released as new information becomes available.
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Mark Kelly is an assistant editor with Baptist Press.

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Films as Mission Tool (Urbana Report)

by Mark Morris on January 9, 2010

The following article highlights the increasing role of film in connecting a younger generation with global missions.  Some of the films featured at Urbana include the following.

Missionary Films
“Li Yang”
Missionaries working in China’s underground church – 6 feature films
deidox.com

“The Last Letter”
Missionaries working in Burma, Nairobi and Memphis – six short films
thelastletter.org

“Hearing Everett”
A missionary family educates deaf children in Mexico
hearingeverett.com

“The Prosperity Gospel”
A look at the “prosperity Gospel” at work in Ghana
vimeo.com/7196941

“Kavi”
One boy’s escape from bonded labor in an Indian brick kiln
kavithemovie.com

“As We Forgive”
An examination of the possibility of forgiveness in postgenocide Rwanda
asweforgivemovie.com

See full article below or go directly to the story.
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
01/03/2010

ST. LOUIS — Three hundred evangelical Christian college students sat in a dark, packed downtown hotel ballroom Monday, the projected glow of a movie the only source of light.

At least that’s the way it looked to an observer. The students in the room would have argued that the real sources of light were the movies’ subjects: missionaries bringing the Gospel to what they believe to be the darkest corners of the world for Christians — China, Burma, India, Africa.

In watching examples of such films, these missionaries-to-be were participating in an artistic renaissance of sorts within the Christian community. The potential of narrative filmmaking as an evangelical tool has grown rapidly in recent years, as the technical tools used to make movies have become cheaper and available to more, and younger, people.

“Film is ingrained into our culture, and Christians are using it more and more for God’s kingdom’s purposes,” said Drew Mason, a 19-year-old sophomore film major from San Diego State University who attended the film screening.

That screening was part of last week’s “Urbana ‘09″ conference, the largest gathering of mission agencies in the world. Its purpose is to connect more than 16,000 young, idealistic, energetic students with the 280 mission organizations and seminaries that staffed booths for the five-day event at the America’s Center.

Urbana is organized by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship USA every three years to take advantage of the typical four-year college cycle. The conference moved to St. Louis in 2006 after nearly 60 years on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

But this was the first year that Urbana organizers decided to tap into the younger generation’s interest in film in a big way.

“At Urbana ‘03, there wasn’t a peep about film or filmmaking, and in ‘06 there were two discussions that brought in about 50 people,” said Nathan Clarke, 34, a documentary filmmaker with Fourth Line Films who organized this year’s Urbana Film Festival and Forum.

This year, organizers devoted three formal sessions to the subject, screening six films. The festival drew more than 1,000 students to the sessions, and also to smaller workshops, round tables, lectures and one-on-one meetings in which students could get critiques on their film pitches.

“Today there’s a community of Christian filmmakers out there who have access to the technical tools, but many of whom need to learn how to tell a story,” Clarke said.

Probably the most popular evangelical film ever made, known as the “JESUS” film, was produced 30 years ago by Bill Bright, co-founder of Campus Crusade for Christ International. The two-hour movie features the familiar story of Jesus’ life as told in the Gospel of Luke, and according to its website, has been translated into 1,000 languages and has been seen by 6 billion people.

But younger filmmakers are turning away from using their craft as an element of the conversion process itself. Instead, they are taking the skills they’ve learned in film schools and using both documentary and fictional narrative techniques to change the direction in which their movies find an audience.

Rather than making a movie that shows the story of Jesus to a Third World nonbeliever, as the makers of the “JESUS” film did, today’s Christian filmmaker might target an American audience and dramatize the dangers for those leading the underground church in China, or examining the role of the prosperity Gospel in Ghana.

Christian movie director T.C. Johnstone, 36, screened part of his movie “Hearing Everett” at the Urbana film forum last week, and explained to the audience afterward that the movie’s genesis was as a promotional video for Rancho Sordo Mudo, a home and school for deaf children in Mexico.

But what began as a simple fundraising tool eventually became a feature-length telling of the story-behind-the-story — part documentary, part narrative history — of how an American missionary family left the comforts of home and began teaching deaf children in the Mexican desert.

Churches are the intended venue for free “Hearing Everett” screenings (it’s also available for individuals to buy online) after which members may take up a collection for Rancho Sordo Mudo.

But for Johnstone and, increasingly, other Christian filmmakers, the screening itself isn’t the end of the movie experience. “Hearing Everett” ends with an “action step” directed at the viewer. Pastors who choose to can request a “tool kit” that includes a “small group study guide” that Johnstone hopes will lead others toward church service projects.

Other Christian filmmakers have become activists for social justice issues that both make good sources of drama, and mesh with the tenets of their faith. They are unsatisfied just telling a story of injustice and letting an audience decided how to act. For many, their faith propels them to set up nonprofit organizations.

“There’s a level of responsibility,” said Clarke. “If I’m just putting a movie out there, am I really answering the call?”

Like Johnstone, Gregg Helvey did not rest after the final edit of his 19-minute film, “Kavi,” that was screened at the Urbana film forum. The film is a fictional narrative about a boy who is forced to work as a slave in an Indian brick kiln.

Helvey, 30, made “Kavi” as his thesis film at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. In an interview, he said he is exploring partnerships with anti-slavery organizations to ensure the message of “Kavi” lives after the theater lights come up.

Last month, “Kavi” was short-listed by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences for an Oscar in the “live-action short films” category. From that list, three to five films will be nominated for the Oscar.

Helvey’s goal, he said, was “to do something more than tell a story, but to raise awareness, leave the world a better place and play a small part in giving voice to the voiceless.” In partnering with anti-slavery organizations, “Kavi” “can lead to action by channeling audience members to the anti-slavery organizations that are actually fighting this,” Helvey said.

Urbana students also learned of an emerging group of Hollywood production companies such as Walden Media, which made the “Chronicles of Narnia” series, that specialize in family and often Christian movies.

Kurt Tuffendsam, 30, a Christian producer who has worked on mainstream Hollywood fare such as “The Job” and “The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call — New Orleans,” told the students in one session that production companies like MPower Pictures have successfully figured out “how to represent Christ to the mainstream.”

MPower Chief Executive Steve McVeety produced the Mel Gibson blockbuster “The Passion of the Christ.” MPower’s “As We Forgive,” a documentary about reconciliation between victims and perpetrators in postgenocide Rwanda, was screened at the Urbana film forum.

John Shepherd, president of MPower and producer of last year’s controversial “The Stoning of Saroya M.,” said a new generation of Christians is embracing the arts in a way their parents never did.

“If the body of Christ doesn’t get involved in film as a mission field, it’s missing a phenomenal opportunity to have their message heard by the world,” Shepherd said. “And this young generation gets it. The church had abandoned the arts, but young people are taking it back.”

At one of Urbana’s film forum sessions, director T.C. Johnstone spoke directly to his young audience about their potential as both Christians and filmmakers.

“What has God placed in your hands to work through you?” he asked them, then answered his own question: “It’s a camera.”

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Avery Willis Diagnosed with Leukemia

by Mark Morris on January 6, 2010

Avery Willis, giant of Southern Baptist missions, diagnosed with leukemia Print E-mail By Bob Allen Wednesday, January 06, 2010 BELLA VISTA, Ark. (ABP)

– Avery Willis, a former Southern Baptist missionary and administrator best known as developer of the MasterLife discipleship materials used around the world, has been diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. Willis, who retired in 2004 as senior vice president of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, said in a Jan. 6 prayer newsletter that a doctor told him he likely has one of two types of the disease. Depending on which type, he said, the average life expectancy after diagnosis ranges from six months to four years. Avery and Shirley Willis reside in retirement in Bella Vista, Ark. Willis said doctors planned additional DNA testing on a bone-marrow biopsy taken the week before to determine whether to proceed with treatment for chronic monocytic leukemia or the more problematic chronic myelomonocytic leukemia. Willis, who lives with his wife, Shirley, in Bella Vista, Ark., now works as executive director of the International Orality Network, a partnership of mission organizations using oral methods to evangelize and disciple the roughly 70 percent of the world’s population that is functionally illiterate. An Arkansas native, Willis served as a missionary in Indonesia for 14 years before returning to the United States in 1978. While serving as president of the Indonesia Baptist Seminary, he created an intensive small-group discipleship study process named MasterLife. During 15 years he worked as head of adult-discipleship programs for what is now known as LifeWay Christian Resources of the SBC, MasterLife became a staple of Sunday-night and midweek study groups in Southern Baptist churches. It also was translated into 50 languages and used in 100 countries around the world. In 2008 Willis was one of six candidates nominated as president of the Southern Baptist Convention in an election won on the first ballot by current SBC President Johnny Hunt. Hunt himself is scheduled soon to undergo surgery for prostate cancer. Willis recently was invited to give input to a Great Commission Task Force appointed last June by Hunt to study ways to make the SBC’s church-planting and missionary efforts more effective. Willis said his doctors have been trying for six months to discover what caused a low white-blood-cell count that spiked to 10 times what it should be. In his regular January 2010 prayer letter, he reported excruciating pain in the hips that had been going on for three weeks. He is seeking admission to M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston for treatment. Willis asked supporters to pray for his healing if that is God’s will, and for a successor at the International Orality Network and other causes with which he is involved. “In the midst of your concern for me I want you to compare my situation with the 4 billion oral learners who haven’t heard and don’t understood the Words of Life,” he concluded. “At least 1.5 billion people have never heard of Jesus. They are the ones who need our attention and prayers.”

-30- Bob Allen is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.

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Links In The Chain

by Cindy Morris on November 17, 2009

A study shows that Muslims typically encounter Christian influence (a person, a Bible truth, an answered prayer, a dream, a need met) 36 or more times before choosing Christ.  Which of those encounters might you and I make?  How can we be effective “links in the chain?”

Ministry to Muslims is not new.  Recognizing the sacrificial service of generations of Christian witnesses and the great grace of God, we approach humbly.  It is always and altogether His work before it is ours.[i]

1. Nourish your own walk with God (Jeremiah 15:16).  Am I currently a student of God’s Word? Feed on a paragraph of Truth daily; the book of John offers a good starting point.
2. Do I take time to commune with my loving Father often in prayer?  Pause and Pray (Ephesians 3:14-21). Does my prayer life include worship, confession, asking God for my needs and others’? Do I pray regularly for lost people near and far,[ii] that they might find freedom from sin and new life in Jesus?
3. Am I living for things that count for eternity? Self-evaluate  (Psalm 139:23-24).  Surrender and realign your will with His (Philippians 2:1-13). “Trust God and do the next thing.”[iii]
4. Nurture your particular, God-given skills/gifts (II Tim 1:6,7).
5. Ask God to cause your life to intersect with Muslims.  Place yourself in the path of Muslims—in class, at the gym, at work, etc.  Ask the Lord for wisdom and ways to befriend and help Muslims; woman to woman, man to man.  Pray for increased compassion and courage (II Corinthians 2:14-17).
6. Learn from seasoned, humble “veterans” of Muslim evangelism and ministry (II Timothy 2:1-3).  Regularly read about Islam.
7. Be intentional about relating to your Muslim friend.  Make that call.  Write that card.  Go to that location.  Bring a few others along. Take advantage of their holidays and yours.[iv]
8. Make regular visits:


Practical Tips: Dress modestly. Take shoes off at the door.  Bring family photos (No beach pictures!) and small gifts of food, etc.  Don’t be in a rush.  Expect to sip tea and stay an hour. Formality is key; learn greetings and appropriate gestures.  Women concentrate on women and men with men.  Find common interests, issues.  Ask questions that lend themselves to cultural and spiritual conversations; be a listening learner. Don’t be afraid of silence. Seek to understand current needs.  Find simple ways to help and be helped.  Eat the food. Have fun! Relax.

Witness: Over time, share the content of the gospel.  Be patient and sensitive to the nudging of the Spirit. Pray for spiritual hunger, along with opportunities to share Truth. Tell Bible stories.[v] Paint word pictures.[vi] Revere holy books; don’t leave the Bible or Koran on the floor.  Counter the reputation that Western Christians are immoral; become known for godliness.  Be real and give credit to God for His work in you.   Testify of answered prayer.  Don’t be shy to ask to pray out loud for the food or for spoken needs; Muslims live out faith in public.  Prayer is a teaching tool.  Pray “in Jesus, the Messiah’s name.” Ask to show Christian films together and discuss. Wait for the day when your friend(s) places allegiance in Jesus. Remember that when a Muslim chooses Christ, he/she will lose family ties.  Be family to your new sister(s)/brother(s).  You will never be the same.

[i] Adeney, Miriam. Daughters of Islam. Intervarsity:  2002, pages 9-11.
[ii] Imbconnecting.org and thelastletter.org
[iii] Chambers, Oswald.  My Utmost for His Highest.
[iv] Crawford, Trudie. Lifting the Veil. Apples of Gold:  1997, pages 25-30.
[v] Crawford, Trudie. Lifting the Veil. Apples of Gold:  1997, pages 1-25.
[vi] Adeney, Miriam. Daughters of Islam. Intervarsity:  2002, pages 150-170.

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