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A monthly newsletter to keep you informed about ABCUSA
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Blessings this Christmas Season - We hope you
enjoy our final ABCUSA News Update in 2014!
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| ABCUSA Invites Grant Entries for "Ministry Story Opportunity" |
Churches and organizations are invited to submit their own stories. Grants totaling $5,000 will be given to the top stories, and these will be celebrated at the Biennial Mission Summit in Kansas City in June 2015. The stories may be shared in either video or written (with photos) formats. A Transformed by the Spirit Ministry Story Opportunity booth will be set up as part of these events, and other forms of recognition and celebration of the stories will be shared at this booth and within conference communications. Learn more.
A selection process that leads to the top five videos and the top two written stories will culminate in the granting of monies to those ministries that are selected. Videos and stories may be submitted by local churches, regions, or entities within ABCUSA. Watch our introduction video to learn more, here.
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| American Baptist Leaders Call for Examination of U.S. Criminal Justice Systems |
In response to the Staten Island,  N.Y., grand jury ruling in the case of New York City police officer Daniel Pantaleo, 34 national and regional leaders of American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) have issued a statement calling for a national examination of the U.S. judicial system as well as the nation's criminal justice institutions. |
| FBC Jacksonville, Illinois, Responds to Personal Needs |
This story is written as a first-hand account by Kim Runkle, about a ministry of the First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Illinois. The church is a recent recipient of the Matthew 25 Grant, sponsored by ABCUSA.
FBC Jacksonville  has created a Personal Needs Pantry to address a need in the Jacksonville community. In addition to providing cleaning and hygiene items, the Pastor has made it a priority to meet with as many Pantry client families as possible to talk with them, pray with them and share the Gospel with them.
"It's our desire to help people going through tough times to preserve some personal dignity and to show our compassion for others through something as simple as a toothbrush. When Jesus washed the disciples' feet, he did it to set an example for his followers to serve others. We just want to live out that example with servant hearts." Learn more.
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| ABCUSA Calls For 2015 Luke Mowbray Ecumenical Award Nominations |
American Baptist Churches USA seeks nominations for the Luke Mowbray Ecumenical Award, which recognizes an individual for outstanding ecumenical work at the local, state, national or international level, either as a volunteer or paid professional. This award will be presented at the American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) 2015 Biennial Mission Summit, June 26-28, in Overland Park, Kansas. The award winner will be selected by the ABCUSA Committee on Christian Unity and Interfaith Relations. The deadline for nominations is January 30, 2015. Learn more.
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February 6 Deadline for Church Sponsorship
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 The Mission Summit is just over six months away! For the Biennial Mission Summit, June 26-28, 2015, in Overland Park, Kansas, churches are invited to register as sponsors. If a church registers as a sponsor for the Mission Summit, church members get a discount.*
The church will also be listed on the event website at www.americanbaptists2015.com and in the event program book. Sponsoring churches and regions will help to support the Mission Summit and make it a success. More information, including pricing and savings, can be found here. Don't miss the deadline for Church Sponsorship: February 6, 2015!
*If a church registers as a sponsoring church, members of the church can individually register at a discounted rate of $40 per person. If your church is not a sponsor, church members will pay an individual registration fee of $165.
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Prayer Time: New Associated Ministry Organizations, Chin Baptist Churches USA and Karen Baptist Churches USA
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On June 13, 2014, the Board of General Ministries voted to recognize the Chin Baptist Churches USA and Karen Baptist Churches USA as Associated Ministry Organizations of ABCUSA. We ask for prayers for these Associated Ministry Organizations, as they continue their ministry in local churches across the country.
"This is a remarkable time in our history," said Rev. Dr. Donald Ng, president of ABCUSA. "One cannot overlook the fact that we are revitalizing and becoming a more vibrant and missional focused denomination, when out of the Burmese that have come to the United States, more than 50% of them consider themselves American Baptists. I am very excited to be President of ABCUSA at this time and to be able to welcome our sisters and brothers from Burma to become a part of our family."
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Did you miss it? You can still watch "Inspired, Transformed...American Baptist Churches" online!
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 This film was shown in churches across the country and Puerto Rico. Haven't seen it yet? Watch it online now! Did you show the film or see it in your local church? Let us know what you thought, or how you used it! Take our survey here. |
| Final Days to Register for the New Baptist Covenant Summit |
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 American Baptists are invited to register now for the New Baptist Covenant Summit to be held January 14 and 15, 2015, in Atlanta, Georgia. Registration closes on January 5, 2015. The gathering will commission and celebrate "Covenants of Action"-or projects in which at least two churches from varying Baptist traditions cooperate to address a pressing community need.
Summit speakers will include American Baptists Rev. Dr. Amy Butler, senior pastor of the historic Riverside Church in New York City and American Baptist Home Mission Societies board member; Rev. Luis Cortéz Jr., president and CEO of Esperanza, the largest Hispanic faith-based Evangelical network in the United States; and Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock, senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, spiritual home of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Learn more.
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Where in the World is General Secretary Medley?
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General Secretary A. Roy Medley travels and represents American
Baptist Churches USA wherever he goes.
 On Sunday, November 23, Medley spoke at the Installation service for Rev. Dan Taylor at the First Baptist Church of Dover, Delaware. Following the Thanksgiving holiday, Medley traveled to India, where he met with representatives from partner Baptist and Christian organizations and visited the Manipur Baptist Convention. On December 12-14, Medley served as the keynote speaker of the Kuki Baptist Convention at its Centenary Celebration at Tujang Vaichong, Manipur.
Please continue to hold Dr. Medley in your prayers as he travels nationally and internationally, representing American Baptists wherever he goes.
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More Recent Highlights from the ABCUSA Website |
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