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HIGHLIGHTS
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UPCOMING EVENTS
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For more updates go to:
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BWAID
Central African Republic
Training Center for Women& Girls Project $4,500.00
Democratic Republic of Congo
Tomato Project $2,092.93
India
Peace Building Seminar -$400.00
United States
Oklahoma Tornado Disaster Relief & 2014 Summer Youth Build $7,500.00
Philippines Typhoon Haiyan Relief $20,000.00
Special thanks to all donors who contributed toward disaster relief in the Philippines. You are still able to make a donation on their behalf here. |
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HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD
The BWA is receiving nominations for the 2014 Denton and Janice Lotz Human Rights Award. Further information can be had here.
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CONGRATULATIONS
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Scan Here for Mobile App
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From the General Secretary
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Harboring a Dream
By Neville Callam
In the limited time they had to develop statements responding to the passing of former South African President Nelson Mandela, many spokespersons struggled to find an adequate response.
The reason is that Mandela's life was so rich, his gifts so extensive, the lessons his life teaches so numerous, that it was hard to decide what to include in the limited space available. One thing is clear: Mandela taught us that it is OK to dream big.
This thought occurred to me when, a few days after Mandela's passing, I shared in an audience with Myanmar's Chief Government Negotiator, Minister Aung Min, who is leading the peace process currently underway in that southeast Asian country.
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Member Bodies in Action
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The International Baptist Convention (IBC) began in 1958 from a vision to reach primarily American military members and their families who lived in other countries, but has grown far beyond that. Today IBC churches are in more than 25 countries, reaching people from more than 120 nationalities through English-speaking churches in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.
More than one-third of IBC churches comprise mainly American military personnel, while others are made up mostly of international members who live outside their home countries. The word "international" is in the name of more than half the churches.
The churches are rich in diversity and strive for unity in Christ that is rooted in Christian love. Since English is the most widely used language in the Western world, English-language churches have a great opportunity to reach people from many nations with the good news of Jesus Christ. Every year people from around the world respond when they hear the good news of Jesus Christ presented by faithful IBC church members.
The IBC office is in Frankfurt, Germany, but the headquarters are in Madrid, Moscow, Dar es Salaam, Dubai, D�sseldorf, Heidelberg, Hannover and Hamburg, Hoensbroek, Buenos Aires, Berlin, Bitburg and Brasilia, Kaiserslautern, Cologne and Cape Town - basically wherever IBC churches are located.
Believing that working together can accomplish more than can be done separately, IBC churches cooperate in proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ, planting new churches, strengthening member churches, enhancing fellowship among member churches, supporting other Baptist groups and promoting worldwide Christian mission.
IBC member churches receive many benefits from working together as a family of churches. These include training of teachers and leaders; resources for searching, supporting, and relocating pastors and other staff; counsel and support in times of crisis and transition; partnerships with volunteer teams in construction projects; specialized seminars and outreach events; and financial assistance through grants and loans for building, remodeling and crises. IBC churches also engage in regular prayer with partners around the world through CareNet, IBC's weekly prayer network. There is also publicity for churches to people looking for English-language congregations; as well as opportunities for refreshment, ministry, and training through various conferences.
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Church Spotlight
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in the state of California in the Untied States was founded in 1885. It was the first predominantly African American Baptist Church in Southern California.
Second Baptist LA, a Baptist World Alliance Global Impact Church, describes itself as "a congregation of believers committed to making a creative witness to the Lordship of Jesus by developing our discipline, fostering our faith, growing our gifts and putting weight in our witness in the Greater Los Angeles community."
The congregation is committed to mission. It established shelters for homeless women and children; founded the Canaan Housing Corporation that provides housing located in the skid row section of Fifth Street; developed a seven-unit family housing complex located at the corner of 27thStreet and San Pedro; and initiated Forums in Black, a celebration of African American History Month.
The Second Baptist Endowment Fund provides opportunities for members to offer gifts in perpetuity that help to fund scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students and provide support for local, regional and national organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Legal Defense Fund, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Children's Defense Fund and other organizations and groups.
The Children's Center, licensed to serve children two to five years old from low income households, has been recognized for excellence in administration and programming. It offers child development services with a multicultural, bilingual/bicultural staff.
Senior Pastor William Epps, a BWA vice president, said "service is the price you pay for the space you occupy. We pay for the privilege of having a place in time and space by rendering service commensurate with our capacity. Life is truly precious and 'where much is given much is required.'"
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IN MEMORIAM |
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Mary Poythress,a BWA Ambassador, a member of the BWA Commission on Christian Ethics and the Promotion and Development Committee, died on November 22, 2013.
She was 87 years old.
Born in the state of Georgia in the United States in March 1926, she married Sam Poythress in 1946.
Poythress was an active member of the Tallowood Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. She supported Baptist mission activities and missionaries through her gifts, travels and other ways.
With her great love of flowers, she competed in, designed and judged a number of flower shows. She was chair of the Smokey Bear-Woodsy Owl yearly flower competition. Poythress was also an expert bridge player, participating in a number of tournaments, attaining Life Master Bridge player status.
Funeral service was held at Tallowood Baptist Church on November 30.
She is survived by sons Paul and Stephen, and daughters Debbie and Marianne.
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T.J. Jemison, longtime senior pastor of Mount Zion First Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in the United States, died on November 15, 2013, in Baton Rouge. He was 95 years old. Jemison came from a family of prominent Baptist pastors. His father, David Jemison, was pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church and a former president of National Baptist Convention USA, the largest historically African American Baptist church group in the country. A former civil rights leader, T.J. Jemison helped organize the Baton Rouge bus boycott in 1953, aimed at protesting segregated seating on buses that relegated blacks to the back. He supported the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955, led by Martin Luther King Jr. He was the first secretary of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a major civil rights group led by King. Crosses were burned in Jemison's yard and at the church by white supremacists. He became pastor of Mount Zion First Baptist in 1949, a position he held for the next 54 years. Like his father, Jemison served as president of the National Baptist Convention USA, from 1982-1994, and led in the construction of its headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee. He was a member of the Baptist World Alliance General Council from 1983-1994. Jemison earned degrees from Alabama State University, Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia, and New York University. He leaves daughters Diane and Bettye, and son Ted. Funeral services were held at Mt. Zion First Baptist Church on November 23 with interment in the Green Oaks Memorial Park in Baton Rouge.
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