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PLYMOUTH – Each person’s story of that journey is distinct but shares the common foundation of our loving God sending His Son to die for our sins, being raised, and is now in heaven with His Father interceding for us. He wants a relationship with us. I’m humbled by that truth. My story of coming to know and accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior is the bedrock of my life. I am a Michigander and my family lived in Swartz Creek. I grew up in a home where we prayed before meals, attended church every Sunday (morning and evening) as well as Wednesday evening. My dad worked for General Motors, and my mom stayed home with my 6 siblings and me. My connection with the church was more important to me than the friends and classes at school. From a young age, I loved to hear preaching from the Bible, singing hymns, and being part of the discussions in Bible studies. At nine years old, I asked my dad what people whispered in the ear of the pastor when they went to the altar at the end of service. He explained the Gospel to me and seemed so happy that I asked. The next week, I went after service to talk with the evangelist, Sam Cathy, who had me repeat a prayer of salvation. Shortly afterwards, I was baptized. I tried to live a clean sin-free life, but I found it more of a struggle than it should have been since I was professing to be a Christian. I noticed how others seemed to have a vibrant personal faith whereas I felt like I was part of a church culture instead of having a real relationship with Holy God. I watched how my dad was moved by people’s testimonies, and how he would stay up to take us to church on Sunday mornings after having worked all night. His prayers seemed to come from his heart. His faith felt real. Mine didn’t. As a young teen, I remember that service so clearly. An evangelist came to our church. He explained the rebellion and ugliness of sin, and how it separated us from God. Our only chance to be freed from the penalty of that sin-guilt was by believing in His Son, Jesus Christ. My head and heart exploded! For the first time, I saw my real need for a savior. All my clean living wasn’t going to earn my way to be in God’s presence. My heart was broken. I prayed and asked God to forgive and save me. I told Him how I believed that His Son died for my sin, was buried, and rose again after 3 days. Jesus Christ was the perfect sacrifice for my sin. He saved me! I was so filled with peace and joy. I no longer felt like I was playing the part of ‘Christian’. I had an inner transformation that changed my point of view on everything. Since I had been ‘baptized’ at 9 years old, I thought I didn’t need to tell anyone that I had just become a new believer at age 13. After having spiritual doubts at 18 years old, I spoke with my pastor, sharing with him that I was truly saved at age 13, but wasn’t growing in Christ as I should. He walked me through Scriptures and told me that being baptized was an act of obedience as a believer. I came to realize that I had never been baptized as a follower of Christ. Being baptized was an amazing experience to show the world that I was dead to my sinful way of life, and risen with Christ to a new life and commitment to follow Jesus! After my baptism, I began to grow with leaps and bounds in my Christian walk! My perspective had changed. I was looking at life, my life, its purpose, and my part in God’s plan through a whole new lens. I was married the next year (age 19) and continued my intentional journey to grow in maturity and sanctification in Christ. Serving and loving God and His Son Jesus Christ is the best privilege of my life. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jamie works as Executive Assistant for the Baptist State Convention of Michigan. Her greatest joy is serving Jesus Christ. Her husband, Tony, their three children, and nine grandchildren are gifts from God that fill Jamie's life to overflowing. Mentoring young women in the Lord is a ministry of delight. Jamie and her family served 13 years with the IMB international mission work in Niger Republic, West Africa, and Paris, France. #APRIL24

The Baptist State Convention of Michigan (BSCM) wants to welcome the new pastor and his family to The Valley Church in Saginaw, Michigan. On March 10, 2024  Jason Craver accepted the call as Pastor to The Valley Church in Saginaw. He & his wife, Rachel and their 3 daughters, Julianna, Aria and Kaylee live in Breckenridge, Michigan. We are very excited that God has provided the man who shares our hearts in serving our community. We are looking forward to working alongside Jason and his family. God has truly blessed The Valley Church (TVC). #APRIL24

HOUSTON (BP) – In an unassuming office on the campus of Rice University, you can often find professor James Tour on a Zoom call. Is he chatting with other scientists around the world about his groundbreaking research in nanotechnology? Maybe. But more often than not, he’s talking with a stranger about the resurrection of Christ. Whenever he has the opportunity – on his website, at a lecture or at the end of one of his many YouTube videos – Tour invites anyone who doesn’t believe in the resurrection to talk with him about it. Seekers connect with him from all over. The only stipulation to receive an hour of one-on-one time with one of the world’s leading scientists? You must be curious about the resurrection. “You need a quiet location, a Wi-Fi connection and a camera turned on,” he tells them. “When they agree to that, I meet with them.” Tour, who calls himself a Messianic Jew, teaches chemistry, computer science and nanoengineering at Rice. He has received his share of accolades, such as being named “Scientist of the Year” by R&D Magazine in 2013 and being inducted into the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2020, just to name two. He holds more than 200 patents. But he’s a lot quicker to mention another number – the 107 people who received Christ last year after spending an hour with him. Tour has a “burning desire to see people saved,” he told Baptist Press. “As Rachel cried out, give me children or I die. Lord, give me children, or I die,” he said, quoting Genesis chapter 30. Not all of Tour’s resurrection conversations are on Zoom. Many of them are at his home on Sundays. For 25 years, he has taught a Sunday School class at West University Baptist Church near the Rice campus. He and his wife invite the class – which can number upwards of 80 people – to their home for lunch after church. Many seekers accept the invitation, where they hear Tour share the Gospel by way of the resurrection. Tour often begins by using the illustration of a bridge – man on one side, God on the other, a chasm of sin in between. “But I always funnel it right into the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” he said. “The last verse that I share is Romans 10:9. ‘If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that He’s risen from the dead, you shall be saved.’ This is exactly where the Scriptures lead us to. It is not Jim Tour’s prescription. It is exactly where the Scriptures lead us to.” The resurrection forms the foundation for the other crucial doctrines of the Christian faith, he believes. “We do not have to convince them of the Trinity,” he said. “We do not have to convince them of the virgin birth. We do not have to convince them of the Noah’s Ark story. None of that. That’s never on the table for me. “It is those two things – the lordship of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And I go right after the resurrection, because once the resurrection is established, the lordship is clear.” He lays out all the evidence for Jesus’ literal death and bodily resurrection. The fact that Roman soldiers were skilled in the practice of crucifixion, so there was no way Jesus was still alive when he was placed in the tomb. The fact that Thomas was able to feel and see the wounds in Jesus’ hands and side. The fact that Jesus appeared to more than 500 people after the resurrection and that He even ate with them. The fact that secular historians of the time affirm that Christ’s followers were willing to die rather than deny the resurrection. “I would die for what I believe,” Tour said. “But these men and these women were not dying for what they believed to be true. They were dying for what they knew to be true. Because they saw it with their own eyes. They saw Jesus risen from the dead. And nobody dies for what they know to be a lie.” Tour goes through this narrative with different people each week. Most of them are highly educated, he said. The conversation takes 30-40 minutes. “I see people go from not believing in the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ to believing in the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ based upon this 30-minute conversation…,” he said. “I think why they come to believe, to embrace the resurrection is truth, is because the truth of the resurrection was already written on their hearts,” he said. “It’s already there. I’m just bringing them to a point to confess to what’s already there.” Tour then leads the person in a prayer patterned after Romans 10:9. “Once they have prayed that prayer,” he said, “it’s like a seed that’s sitting here in your heart. That seed opens. Now, when you pray that prayer, now something is gonna start growing.” Tour reassures each new convert that their faith doesn’t have to be very big. “I don’t have a hundred percent assurance of anything in this life,” he tells them. “I don’t believe anything a hundred percent. For all I know, we are living in a matrix.” He then tells the story from Mark 9 about the man who asks Jesus to heal his son. Heal my son “if you can,” the man asks. “And Jesus says to him, ‘If you can? All things are possible to him who believes.’ “And the man says something very profound,” Tour said. The man says, “’Lord, I believe, help my unbelief’ … meaning that I do believe, but you know, I’m not a hundred percent. … “Jesus didn’t say, ‘Well, you go away; when you’re a hundred percent, come back, I’ll heal your son.’ Jesus immediately healed his son. “I don’t know what percentage belief you have in the resurrection. Maybe it’s only 20 percent. That’s good enough. The Lord’s gonna help your unbelief.” Tour then assigns homework to each person who prays to receive Christ – 15 minutes of Bible study and meditation each morning. He has them start in John 1. He tells them to be prepared for a change in their life and behavior. Paul asserts in 1 Corinthians that the resurrection is the most important thing, Tour said. That’s why he believes it should be ground zero for any conversation about the Gospel. “This is God’s prescription for salvation,” he said. “Why wouldn’t you use it?” ABOUT THE AUTHOR Laura Erlanson is managing editor of Baptist Press. #APRIL24

GATLINBURG, TN (BP) – “If you have a boyfriend that wants to have sex (but are) scared to say no and just break up, what do you do?” The teen’s question, submitted anonymously via an app, was read to 100-plus of her peers and their parents. “You need to be focused on God’s plan for your sexuality,” her pastor, Nick Moore, replied. The boyfriend “doesn’t sound like the kind of person who is pursuing that same design.” “Eventually he will break you down,” Moore’s wife Kyndra added, commending the teen for “trying to do what is right.” Agree with God in prayer “that sex is for marriage,” she counseled, “(and that) ‘I believe you have a man for me who will love me and cherish me and take care of me.’” The Moores led a Wednesday evening session on “God’s design for sexuality” – and Satan’s “war on sex” in his hatred of God – at First Baptist Church in Gatlinburg, Tenn., where Nick is the lead pastor. Sexuality is a topic that has become “more and more neglected,” Nick said. Talking about it can be awkward, and in a church it can carry “a condemning tone.” But what’s needed, Nick said, is a God-focused “Kingdom mindset.” A ‘spiritual’ reality “If there’s any place you should be learning and growing in your knowledge of what this topic is about, it should be in the church,” he said. “What we’re dealing with is not just a biological reality. We’re dealing with something that is deeply spiritual. … It’s part of who you were created to be … something that goes to the core of our being.” God’s design for the “one-flesh union of marriage” began with Adam and Eve, Nick noted in the mid-February session, and is evident throughout Scripture in such passages as 1 Corinthians 6 stating that “the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. … Don’t you know that your bodies are a part of Christ’s body … that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? … So glorify God with your body.” “There is no such thing as casual sex,” Nick stated, noting that the one-flesh union of a husband and wife reflects Christ’s union with the church, which the apostle Paul described by writing, “This mystery is profound” in Ephesians 5 in the New Testament. One teen posed a question on the app: “If we’re sexual beings and were made to be that way in God’s image, does that mean God and Jesus are also sexual?” ‘Oneness’ of the Trinity “God created sex,” Kyndra volunteered, “so that humans can work toward experiencing the oneness … in our marriages that is modeled in the Trinity between the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, that nothing they do is apart from each other. “Everything Jesus does is for the glory of the Father. Everything the Father does is for the honor of the Son. Everything the Spirit does is to point you to both,” Kyndra said. “Sex is part of getting to that oneness. I don’t know if that means God is sexual, but he created sex as a reflection of that oneness.” And the bond of marriage, Nick said, is the framework for God’s childbearing instruction to Adam and Eve to “be fruitful and multiply,” as well as providing for the physical and moral protection of each family member and for pleasure between a husband and wife, which is celebrated in the Old Testament’s Song of Solomon. ‘Not hearing the truth’ Sex is “a good gift” that “God has given to his children,” Kyndra said, “but you guys are being lied to and you’re being stolen from because you’re hearing all the lies about it and you’re not hearing the truth. “I would venture to say that most of what you think about sex is a lie,” she continued, “because where are you getting it from? You’re getting it from your friends who know nothing about sex. You’re getting it from TikTok … from Snapchat … from Instagram … from pornography. “Guess who’s behind all of that? Not the God of wisdom,” Kyndra said. God’s design for marriage “brings life and it brings joy. It doesn’t bring STDs and abortion and broken marriages.” From “the earliest pages of Genesis” continuing throughout the Bible, Nick noted, “Satan and his demons (have been) making war against God’s design” because the one-flesh union is “such a beautiful picture” of God’s redemptive purposes. Satan’s hatred is manifested by stirring people into “pornea,” which Nick explained as the New Testament Greek word for both fornication prior to marriage and adultery after marriage, and into rape, incest, homosexuality, prostitution and polygamy. Repudiating God’s design Pornea before or outside of marriage, or even sexual sin that stops short of intercourse, is “a repudiation of (God’s) design,” Nick stated. “If you are a man or woman created in the image of God, you are destined for either marriage, which is the general rule, or celibacy, which is an exception to the rule,” he said. “Either of those things pornea breaks. You’re breaking the vow of your future marriage or you’re breaking the life of celibacy that God has called you to.” If, for example, “you had a friend who you thought was a Christian, was baptized, maybe a member of the church, and all of a sudden that friend started saying something like, ‘Jesus Christ doesn’t really save you. Jesus Christ isn’t really God. Jesus Christ really can’t forgive you of your sins,’ you would be worried about that person on a spiritual level,” Nick said, “because that person is saying something that is not true about God and about the gospel.” By engaging in pornea outside of God’s design for marriage, “we are doing the same thing,” Nick said. “We’re saying something that’s not true about God and not true about the gospel – only louder because we’re using our bodies to do it. We are blaspheming God’s truth through our actions.” ‘Saturated by porn’ Asked via the app about pornography, Nick described it as “the same kind of sin as fornication and adultery.” Today’s culture, he said, is “saturated by porn,” distorting “our view of women, our view of men, what relationships should look like, how we should behave.” Many teens’ first encounters with sex, he lamented, come through pornography “objectifying people” not just in sexual intercourse but violence such as choking and other abnormal forms of sexuality. “Is masturbation a sin?” another teen asked via the app. “Does it make you feel ashamed?” Kyndra asked. “You know in your heart that something is wrong with that … because that act and that feeling were made for somebody else. You’re stealing from your future spouse what was made to enjoy in the context of marriage.” Self-gratification is contrary to the concern God expressed in creating the world that, “It is not good for man to be alone,” Nick responded. Lust is a universal temptation but it needn’t turn toward sexual immorality when a teen is diligently asking, “What do I need to be doing to minimize my temptation to lust?” ‘Not too late’ The Gospel, Nick stated, is “the answer to our sex issue” – “the good news that Jesus, the Son of God, came to this earth and lived a perfect life, never sinning, being tempted in every way that we are. … He died a sacrificial death on the cross for all mankind that all of our sins can be paid for … not only paid for in terms of guilt, but we would be set free from (sin’s) slavery and delivered to newness of life.” “Some of you,” Kyndra said, “have already started down the path” of sexual immorality and shame, yet “it’s not too late. … That’s the beauty of following Jesus, that you don’t have to stay where you’re at.” God has “good plans for you, and they’re within his design and in (his) season.” Willpower alone will not deter sexual sin, Nick said, underscoring the importance of engaging one’s faith by “putting protective measures in place.” “If you are a 16- to 19-year-old young man in a car alone or in a basement alone or in any context where you are unsupervised with a young lady, there is no sermon series … no Bible study … no memory verse … that is going to keep nature from taking its course. The battle was lost when you put yourself in that situation.” Nurture a “countercultural” mindset, Nick advised, by giving thought and prayer to such questions as, “What am I watching? What kind of situations am I putting myself in? What are the ways that I’m thinking about the opposite gender that are not in line with God’s Word, that are leading me in a path of lust? And how do I guard against those things?” In seeking “a new heart and a new mind” for God’s design for sexuality, Nick said, “You can be united with Christ. … You (can) be given his righteousness before God, and he will begin to cleanse you from the inside out.” Nick and Kyndra were International Mission Board missionaries in Zimbabwe from 2015 to 2021 with their seven children (three boys and four girls, now ages from 9 to 18.). ‘Increasingly burdened’ The couple recounted via email their motivation for addressing sexuality. Since returning from Africa, Nick said he has been “increasingly burdened by the state of marriage and family in the U.S. Marriage rates are slowing down and delaying. Birth rates within marriage are plummeting,” The statistics are little different among professed Christians, he noted. “The church must present a counterculture particularly in these areas if we hope to be salt and light along with our gospel preaching,” Nick said. “We have four, almost five teenagers and I am working in the public high school,” Kyndra said, “so the challenges our teenagers face in 2024 have fallen right in my lap.” Social media is having a “profound impact on the way they view the world, themselves, others, work ethic, emotions, money, and specifically sex. Our kids are being indoctrinated by the lies that surround them and they do not have the discernment yet to know truth from error. “It seems the light is cowering to the darkness, staying quiet on issues where Scripture speaks boldly,” Kyndra said. “Sex is in their faces every day, and they are learning about it everywhere except the places where they need to be learning about it – the home and the church. “The only way to set these things straight is to confront them head on, talking honestly, openly and unashamedly” to counter “the lies of Satan that seek to destroy them,” Kyndra said. “If we do not speak out clearly …. they may never have a chance to repent and turn to our King who has wisdom and life to offer.” ABOUT THE AUTHOR Art Toalston is a writer based in Nashville and a former editor of Baptist Press. #APRIL24

Laura Martinez’s letter to her supporters in Mexico is reminiscent of New Testament letters. Recently, she wrote about adapting quickly to the culture, climate, geography and gastronomy of Colombia. She enumerated the differences in seasons and interpretations of certain Spanish words, and she was pleasantly surprised the quality of water in Colombia is higher than where she’s from in Mexico. More importantly, she expressed her great joy for participating in the Great Commission task. Martinez is a global missionary partner who serves on an International Mission Board team in Colombia. She was sent out from Dr. G.H. Lacy Baptist Theological Seminary in Oaxaca, Mexico, a seminary founded by IMB missionaries. GMPs are financially supported by their sending church or organization and serve with IMB teams. Amanda Davis, director of globalization at the IMB, said through the GMP program, IMB can partner with institutions like the seminary to offer students a place to serve in semester-long internships in cross-cultural missions. “This is a win-win opportunity for both [the seminary] and IMB. The students get to serve on an established team with veteran IMB missionaries,” Davis said. Students receive experience and training on these teams. “Our missionaries receive more laborers for the harvest field, more gospel witnesses, and get the opportunity to pour into the lives of young seminary students, who will become the next generation of international missionaries,” Davis continued. Short-term, high-impact After orientation with IMB GMP trainers, Roy and Dirce Cooper, Martinez now serves with IMB missionaries Brian and Ronda Massey. She works among the Zenú, an Indigenous people group in Colombia. She ministers on a reservation and to children and youth in a local church. Her role includes working with IMB missionaries to design oral materials for discipleship and training local believers in two Zenú churches and a church plant. “My desire is for the families of these groups to be reached and discipled for the glory of God,” Martinez wrote to her supporters. The team recently celebrated the baptism of new believers. “I hope I can convey the joy that is in my heart for what the Lord is doing among this people,” Martinez penned. “God has really used her in the short time that she has been here to make an impact for His kingdom,” Brian said. “Laura has such a sensitive heart to the Lord and has been used to minister on several occasions to Zenú kids who have had different types of trauma in their past.” Martinez recently planned, organized and led a Vacation Bible School and trained Zenú Christians. Several children made professions of faith and brought their parents to church. “[The seminary] has done a great job of preparing her for transcultural work,” Brian said. “Her expertise is exactly what we needed on our team.” Martinez wrote, “I am so happy and grateful to the Lord for giving me this opportunity to serve Him in Colombia, also for the grace that He gives me, for His care, for His provision [and] for His inexhaustible love.” Roy said Spanish-speaking missionaries, especially the seminary students, are highly effective. “They already know that part of their role is to understand the new context and to adapt to reach the people where they are. Their preparation as well as their coming from Latin America are tremendous helps,” Roy said. In a letter to Roy and Dirce, Dr. David Tamez, seminary president, expressed his gratitude for the IMB’s support and dedication to the seminary’s students. He said the Coopers’ assistance has been “crucial in the ministerial preparation process of these servants who are poised to extend the gospel through global missions.” He said, “One of the most encouraging aspects we consistently hear from our global missionary partners is the transformative impact of cross-cultural engagement. Many share stories of building meaningful relationships, witnessing positive changes in the communities they serve and experiencing personal growth through the challenges and joys of mission work.” “The program not only equips students for international missions but also empowers them to serve in a variety of capacities, both globally and locally,” Tamez continued. Dirce hopes serving as GMPs will confirm students’ calling, whether that takes them to an international or local mission field. “As they work on our IMB teams, we pray that God will speak to them about His specific call for each of them because that is what they want to know: ‘What does God have after this, after I graduate from the seminary?’” Dirce said. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Tessa Sanchez writes for the IMB. #APRIL24

Culture eats strategy for breakfast. – Peter Drucker. You may be able to rightly divide the word of God. You may lead people, teams and organizations. You may care well for those in your congregation. However, without understanding your surrounding context, it will be difficult for you to connect with your people. Bob Bumgarner, guest on the “Replant Bootcamp” podcast earlier this year, said, “Listening to the field will lead you to the future.” This statement emphasizes the importance of cultural exegesis – paying close attention to the culture surrounding you and being able to use that to minister wherever God has placed you. If you are involved in a replant or revitalization of any kind, cultural exegesis will be critical to consider, and there are several tools to help you in that effort. Here are four ways to be more intentional about your surrounding context, ranked from least to most important. 1. Study your demographic In episodes 86 and 89 of the Replant Bootcamp podcast, Josh Dryer helped us understand demographics’ vital role in your ministry. When I began working with churches at our association, we used a resource called Mission Insite to provide a detailed report of demographics in our area. Using those reports, I created customized demographics for all our churches and began speaking on Sunday evening services, doing a presentation called “Who’s My Neighbor?” While “demographics” sounds boring to some people, this presentation helped our churches understand what were the most significant ministry needs in their area. Part of cultural exegesis involves thinking missiologically. If you use demographics to pull income information, average age, ethnicity and family structures, ask yourself, “Does my church look like my community?” Demographics paint a picture with broad strokes to help us recognize how God wants to use our churches most effectively. 2. Be in your community Another way to “listen to the field” is by being active in your community. As a replant or revitalization pastor, you will do yourself a favor by being as active in the community as possible. Some of the most helpful conversations I have been in have been at the coffee shop, a football game or a city council meeting. Please forgive me for quoting a Johnny Cash song instead of a theological book. Still, in the song “No Earthly Good,” Johnny says: “The gospel ain’t gospel until it is spread, but how can you share it where you’ve got your head? There are hands that reach out for a hand if you would, so heavenly minded, you’re no earthly good.” In the podcast, Bob said, “You can’t exegete your community from your desk.” Don’t forget that as a shepherd, you need to smell like the sheep. Be where your people are, and use your insight from the surrounding community to help you minister to their needs. 3. Listen to your people The best way to learn about your community and surrounding culture is to listen to your people. What do they fear? What do they value? What is essential for your church in this community? After doing a “Who’s My Neighbor?” presentation, one of our churches recognized the need to focus outwardly on their low-income neighborhoods. So they consulted an agency to do food drop-offs and started doing a bi-monthly food giveaway. On the second Saturday of those months, I drive through their town and see cars lined up for miles. With each bag of food, they give away tracts and invitations for people to visit their church. It all started with a pastor asking his congregation, “What do you think are major needs in our community?” Don’t forget that those congregation members have likely been in your town longer than you and will be there long after you are gone. As they listen to you preach the Word, listen to their needs and let them lead their engagement in the community. 4. Be led by the Holy Spirit Mentioned in this episode was Henry Blackaby’s classic work, Experiencing God. In the book, Blackaby suggests that we should look around, see where God is at work, then join him in that work. Blackaby would say we need to be led by the Spirit if we are seeking to engage our communities. The Holy Spirit’s work involves prompting, convicting and leading. If we are walking by the Spirit, expect to think of prompted ways you can understand and minister to your context. Karl Barth once said we should “have the Bible in one hand and a newspaper in another.” Use Scripture to exegete your culture. One example given was in Acts 6, where a need arose among the apostles. The widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution. The word of God continued to spread when the apostles addressed the need, listened to the people and met the community’s needs (Acts 6:1-7). My encouragement to church leaders is to not be tone-deaf to the culture but instead be good students of it. While the gospel’s message never changes, ministry opportunities sometimes change around us. If we study the people and listen to them while we are in the community, the Holy Spirit will lead us to minister effectively for the glory of God. This post originally appeared on the Replant Bootcamp blog. #APRIL24

EUHARLEE, GA (BP) – It was a hot day in September 2021, and Vanessa McWhorter jostled with a sweaty toddler in the football stands watching her son push other boys around on the field. Unlike her son, though, the child she held didn’t share her DNA. Vanessa and her husband, Josh, had already adopted a little girl into their family. The one in her lap would follow about six months later. In earlier years, the McWhorters were about as set as a family could be. Josh was, and still is, a respected businessman in the community who volunteered a lot of time to coaching youth sports. Vanessa was involved in numerous volunteer opportunities. They had two kids, a daughter and son, who were molds of their parents. Things were lined up for a picture-perfect life. But through their volunteerism, Josh and Vanessa saw kids in harder circumstances. That, plus watching other families foster and adopt children, prompted them to do the same. There was a different path to take. It would converge with the still-growing young man on the football field burying one defensive lineman after another. Just as adoption impacted him, those experiences would one day prompt him to bless other families. Making the most of an opportunity His birth certificate says “Joshua Alan McWhorter, Jr.” Vanessa, who grew up in South Carolina rooting for the Gamecocks, attempted to use his birth name. It would be futile, as Josh and his family of Bama fans established a different name early and often. It became a self-fulfilling prophecy. When you grow to 6’4” and 297 pounds by the time you’re 16, “Joshua Alan” just doesn’t fit the script the way “Bear” does. With two years of ball left for Cass High in White, Ga., Bear continues to collect scholarship offers (27 and counting) even after the 4-star recruit made a verbal commitment to Arkansas last fall. When the state of Georgia approved Name, Image and Likeness deals for high school athletes last fall, it opened up opportunities for players like Bear to reap a windfall that has now come to be associated with highly-recruited teenagers. For Bear, though, there was a different path to take. Father and son spent many weekends on recruiting trips. The prospect of NIL money became part of those discussions. One day Bear floated the idea of using it to help offset adoption costs for families. That led to steps currently underway to establish the Brother Bear Foundation. “I’ve wanted to have a way to help others any way I can,” said Bear. “Adoption completely changed my life. When I started getting those opportunities, I knew it was time to do something.” “We were talking about different ways to use NIL to help others,” said Josh, who played a little college ball himself as an offensive lineman at Furman. “But he kept coming back to adoption. He and his sisters have a special relationship.” Big changes, big blessings Olivia, 11 years old, joined the family when she was almost five. Four-year-old Lydia was four months. In addition to serving as foster parents as needed, the McWhorters have also provided respite care for foster families. The family attends Cartersville (Ga.) First Baptist, where Josh has served as a deacon and Bible study leader. Vanessa teaches 5th grade Sunday School and chairs the benevolence committee. “Obviously, it doubled the size of our family and spread us a little more thin,” said Vanessa. “But I wouldn’t change anything. Bear has a heart for adoption. Lily (who will begin attending Arkansas in the fall) wants to be an elementary teacher and has told me she wants to be an adoptive mom.” Because of the stories they’ve heard in their own home, Bear and Lily intuitively know and gravitate toward the kids at school who are living in extended stay hotels or dealing with similar difficulties. That awareness follows to the cost of others wanting to help. “Hopefully, the foundation will lead families who are in position to welcome kids into their home for adoption,” said Bear. Some people take a different path. They may also create them for others. “When it came to the opportunities through NIL, we wanted him to think of what was important to him,” said Vanessa. “We didn’t want him to look back in ten years and wonder what happened with it. “We want him to be a difference-maker.” ABOUT THE AUTHOR Scott Barkley is national correspondent for Baptist Press. #APRIL24

Southern Baptists, let us not give up on prayer. Despite the monumental issues we face, we must not forget that, in God’s heart, prayer is far more monumental. Even with the temptation to feel downtrodden or hopeless about the SBC in the past few years, let us not forsake the foundational, enlivening element of prayer inherent in our faith. Let us go to Indianapolis in prayer for our Annual Meeting. And let us move into the months and years ahead making intercessory prayer a vibrant, organic yearning in every realm of Baptist life. The apostle Paul’s prayer in Philippians 1:9-11 can be a clear starting point in rejuvenating our prayer: “And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that you may approve the things that are superior and may be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.” None of us can know how God may respond to the courage and resolve for engaging in intercessory labor – whether with mercy, with power, or by allowing tumult and godlessness to take their course. But if we proceed without intercession, we can be certain that our troubled circumstances in the SBC and in the world around us will become all the more dire. There is so much to be thankful for in our Baptist heritage. We hold to the Scriptures as God’s inspired revelation. Multitudes of people throughout the world have been saved from spiritual darkness and lostness and are joyous citizens of an eternal heavenly home. We have helped people experience Jesus’ love through devastating losses or personal crises. We have made strides against racism and prejudice – and strides for inclusiveness – such as the 1995 resolution repenting of our convention’s complicity in the stain and inhumanity of slavery. And just recently, thanksgiving is in order for the election of the next president of the SBC Executive Committee, Jeff Iorg, outgoing president of Gateway Seminary. Regarded as a person of integrity and vision, we must continually undergird him in our prayers as a highly influential leader among our churches and a highly visible representative of Southern Baptists in the media. Further, for a fresh awareness of the person and power of Jesus Christ in our churches and throughout the SBC, consider: First and foremost, prayer for Great Commission missions continues to be vital, reaching to the furthest regions of the world as well as our neighbors next door. Let us pray for our international missionaries and those across North America – and us, as members of our churches – that we may unashamedly help people with empty souls gain freedom in Jesus from the weight and guilt of their separation from God. Let us help them enjoy the Spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, as described by Paul in Galatians 5:22-23. We need God’s guidance in how our churches determine the roles and nomenclature for men and women in the body of Christ – whether we can find a unifying accord or possibly find ourselves entering an era of schism, yet doing so with grace toward one another. We must not be prayerless about the heart-wrenching scars of victims of sexual abuse and their families as well as horrified members of unsuspecting churches. We must not lose sight of praying that our churches will put vigilant measures in place to protect vulnerable children and youth. We must relay appealing teaching about God’s intent for the power and purity of sexuality. And we must pray that justice for perpetrators will be carried out. Let us pray for our historic, fruitful cooperation among the entities of the SBC, particularly our mission boards; our 41 state/regional Baptist conventions; and our hundreds of local associations of churches. Let us pray that we as Southern Baptists may provide the intercession, wisdom and resources necessary for the optimum operation of our Baptist work. Let us pray that our convention leaders, our pastors and church staff – and our laypeople – will be people of integrity, shunning the temptations of immorality, callous leadership and illicit gain which, at times, have tarnished the witness of faithful Southern Baptists to a watching world. And as we engage in this year’s political process, may we seek the “wisdom from above,” which is described in James 3:17 as “first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without pretense.” Prayerfulness versus prayerlessness – it’s a sobering choice, one with night-and-day consequences for our souls and our witness. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Art Toalston is a writer based in Nashville and a former editor of Baptist Press. #APRIL24

CHICAGO (BP) – It started as a weekday worship service to their community, then it exploded as migrants arrived in Chicago. “We’re riding the wave,” Uptown Baptist Church Pastor Nick Kim said of the swell of new residents who turned out for a Wednesday morning service. Kim referred to the surfing language used by famed pastor and church planter Henry Blackaby to describe a move of the Holy Spirit in his Canadian community. Uptown had a similar surge when the city suddenly became home to migrants from the southern U.S. border, and many showed up in his lakefront community. Two years earlier, a Spanish-language congregation that had been gathering in the neighborhood lost its meeting space. Their pastor approached Uptown about using its facility, a stately Gothic building on the corner of West Wilson and North Sheridan in a historic neighborhood. With a neon sign outside and colorful banners with the name of Jesus in many languages inside, Uptown has unique structure – the building has a dividing wall between the sanctuary and the fellowship hall that opens to double capacity. That became important when one weekday worship service became two – one in English and one in Spanish. At the peak more than 500 people packed the space for many weeks. “It was more than our building could handle,” said Kim, formerly a leader in the local Baptist association who was called to pastor the church three years ago. “The number was overwhelming. At the same time, the Lord reminded us about the need for discipleship.” Kim knew that their opportunity to reach migrants might not last “because they are transitory.” “We knew we could share the Gospel and plant the seed and prepare them to grow as disciples later on as they moved on,” Kim said. “While they were here living in shelters for about six months, they were hearing the Gospel.” That was the church’s intent from the beginning. As associate pastor Mark Jonesdescribed it, Kim and the elders were clear that the ministry must be a work of Uptown, not merely offering meeting rooms to a church planter. “Our church members now have ownership of this new work of God,” Jones said. “Initially, our members didn’t understand this service was an extension of UBC, but now they do. We have between 12-15 of our members attending and serving at the service each Wednesday.” At its peak above 500 in January, the church was giving fast food gift certificates to every attender. Even on snow days when kids were out of school, the church building was packed for the services of teaching and worship and testimonies. Uptown’s ministry has shifted now, offering a noontime meal five days a week for about 100 people, and a bilingual seminary student, Ariel Heredia from Logan Square, teaches messages heavy on discipleship. “We may disagree how migrants got here, but they’re here and they need the Gospel,” said Kim. “And that’s who we are – a church that accepts everyone.” As the Uptown neighborhood sees a simultaneous wave of gentrification, Kim is looking to reach young professionals who are moving in as well. “We know how to reach the hungry who understand their need, but we have to reach the people who don’t know they have need because they have stuff,” Kim said. “They need the Gospel too.” This article originally appeared in the Illinois Baptist. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Eric Reed is editor of IBSA media. #APRIL24

PLYMOUTH – After nine years of faithful service to the Baptist churches of Michigan, Pastor Timothy Patterson will be retiring as the Executive Director/Treasurer of the Baptist State Convention of Michigan (BSCM) at the end of 2024. Pastor Patterson has spent this last decade, alongside his specifically curated team, rebuilding and unifying the great churches in Michigan. He has brought the state convention back from the edge of certain death by establishing healthy leadership within the state office, pouring into long time pastoral leaders, and developing over 115 new church plants! The growing number of church plants have led to a renewed excitement, evidenced by a rise in Cooperative Program giving and reported baptisms. After several years of declining giving and baptisms, the trajectory is climbing under the leadership of Pastor Patterson. With all that in mind, the family of churches that forms the BSCM has turned its attention to Pastor Patterson’s successor. The search is on for someone to fill the big shoes that will be left behind. It is an exciting time in the life of Michigan Baptists. We are experiencing an extremely fruitful season of Kingdom work throughout Michigan and the next Executive Director will join hands and hearts with men and women who are committed to The Great Commission, which has always been the aim of Southern Baptists for past two centuries. If you are a member of a Michigan BSCM cooperating church, please take a moment to help our Search Team to better understand the needs and priorities of churches in Michigan as we search for the next Executive Director of the BSCM. Please fill out the survey at bscm.org/survey If you are interested in applying for the position of Executive Director/Treasurer of the Baptist State Convention of Michigan, please go to bscm.org/search to fill out the application and upload your resume. The Search Committee will accept resumes until April 30, 2024, at 11:59 pm and no resumes will be accepted after the deadline. All applicants will be contacted no later than May 30, 2024, informing them if they have been selected to progress to the next stage of the application process, or not.  If you have any questions, contact the search committee admin at questions@bscm.org. As a new era begins, we ask you to join us in prayer as the God of all wisdom reveals the next leader who will shepherd this great state to new heights for God’s glory! #MARCH24

A stab of hunger pain — it’s hours until Iftar, the meal when the fast is broken. A dry, scratchy throat, raspy for a drink of water. Saliva will have to do unless you are very devout and don’t swallow your spit at all. From sunrise to sundown, Muslims fast from food, drink, smoking and sexual relations during the holy month of Ramadan, which this year lasts from March 11 to April 9. This physical pain and thirst indicate devotion, submission, and a desire for acceptance. This aching hunger for acceptance and intimacy propels us as Christians to share we are loved and accepted not by what we do as humans but because we are made in His image. Hope is within hand’s reach. Pray they will hunger and thirst no more and find their worth and value in their Creator. Download this 30-day Ramadan guide and join us in daily interceding for the 1.8 billion followers of Islam. #MARCH24

NASHVILLE (BP) – A special-called meeting will take place March 21 for SBC Executive Committee members to consider the nomination of Jeff Iorg as the next EC president and CEO. The vote will take place in executive session at the Grand Hyatt in the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. Iorg has been president of Gateway Baptist Theological Seminary since 2004, when it was known as Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. In 2016 he oversaw the completion of the seminary’s move from Mill Valley to Ontario, Calif., and the launching of an online campus while continuing to grow the endowment from $16 million to $60 million without incurring debt. “Jeff Iorg is who we have been praying for,” said search team chairman Neal Hughes, director of missions and executive director of the Montgomery (Ala.) Baptist Association and MBA Community Ministries. Hughes noted that Iorg’s “calm demeanor, communication skills, executive administrative ability and thorough knowledge of Southern Baptist life will be a God-send to the SBC.” EC chairman and search team member Phillip Robertson said he was “beyond excited” at the news and called Iorg “a leader that all Southern Baptists can unite around.” Other Southern Baptist leaders noted Iorg’s longevity in denominational service and the relational capital it brings. “Jeff Iorg is one of the most respected leaders throughout the Southern Baptist Convention,” said R. Albert Mohler. Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. “He combines character with great ability and incredible commitment to the SBC and its churches. He is exactly what we need as president of the Executive Committee at this historic moment.” “I have known Jeff Iorg for more than 25 years. During that time, I have observed, with keen interest, how he has grown into a stellar leader among Southern Baptists,” said Rick Lance, executive director, Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions. “He has earned the respect of our Baptist family from across the landscape of SBC life. Personally, I believe Jeff is in the top tier of statesmanlike leadership in the SBC.” Iorg’s tenure as head of a Southern Baptist entity on the West Coast brings its own considerations in terms of leadership. “Jeff Iorg is loved beyond measure in the West,” said Tony Dockery, lead pastor of St. Stephen Baptist Church in San Dimas, Calif., and EC vice chair. Daniel Atkins, pastor of Taylor Road Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala., and a Gateway trustee, called Iorg “the leader the SBC needs for today and the future.” Former Northwest Baptist Convention associate executive director Stan Albright referred to the “high expectations” Iorg has for staff while exhibiting “great faith in their performance.” “He is confident, yet humble; focused, yet aware of his challenges; and a vision-caster, yet a team player,” Albright said. Before becoming the president at Gateway, Iorg, as executive director of the Northwest Baptist Convention, led churches to increase Cooperative Program giving by 30 percent. Iorg was a children’s minister before becoming pastor at Green Valley Baptist Church in St. Joseph, Mo. The church saw growth in attendance and staff as well as financial viability during his tenure. Iorg moved on to plant Pathway Church in Gresham, Ore. After leading as pastor for several years and raising up his replacement, he continued to serve for 10 years as a lay leader. Last October, Iorg asked Gateway trustees to begin the process of initiating a transition plan to find the seminary’s next president. A magna cum laude graduate from Hardin-Simmons University with a Bachelor of Arts in Bible and a minor in Psychology, Iorg continued his education at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, earning a Master of Divinity. He received a Doctor of Ministry degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, with a project focused on developing effective listening skills for evangelism. He and his wife Ann married in 1980 and have three children and five grandchildren. He is the author of eight books on biblical leadership, character development, evangelism, marriage and leading through change. If elected, Iorg will replace previous EC president and CEO Ronnie Floyd, who resigned in October 2021. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Scott Barkley is national correspondent for Baptist Press. #MARCH24