March 2015
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#GivingTuesday: A Message of Thanks from BWA General Secretary Neville Callam
#GivingTuesday: A Message of Thanks from BWA General Secretary Neville Callam
CONGRESSCongress
21st Baptist World Congress (#BaptistCongress15)
21st Baptist World Congress (#BaptistCongress15)

Movements and ChangesMovements

Let us know of changes in leadership in your convention or union at the levels of president and general secretary 

In SympathySympathy

To Ratna Bahadur Rai, president of the Nepal Baptist Church Council, on the passing of his mother, on January 16.

BWAIDBWAid  
The following are disbursements by Baptist World Aid during the month of February. Unless otherwise stated, amounts are in United States currency.

Asia Pacific
India
Living Water Project
$4,250.00 
   


 

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From the General Secretarygs

Priceless Value No Matter What

By Neville Callam

Neville Callam

A three-month long conference took place in Berlin, Germany, which had a significant effect on the future of Africa. It started on November 15, 1884 and ended on February 26, 1885. Fourteen powers were represented: Portugal, Germany, Great Britain, France, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, Russia, Sweden-Norway, Turkey and the USA. The conference provided a forum for the discussion of how to regulate the colonization of Africa, establishing boundaries for the relative spheres of interest of the participating countries.  

Member Bodies in Actionmba

Baptist Convention of Tanzania

Baptist work in Tanzania started in earnest in 1956 in Dar es Salaam, the capital. The Baptist Convention of Tanzania (BCT) was formed in 1971.

 

An aggressive church planting program has seen growth in the number of churches affiliated with the BCT, which reports some 490,000 members in about 3,100 churches.

 

Baptists in the East African country has engaged in significant mission work, especially in relief, development, education and healthcare.

 

In Arusha, the International Baptist Theological Seminary of Eastern Africa was opened n 1962 and has since evolved into the Mount Meru University, gaining full accreditation in 2005. Mount Meru provides education to students from other countries in East Africa such as Kenya and Uganda, including the theological education and preparation of pastors. In addition, there are a number of Bible schools, primary and secondary schools, as well as other educational institutions and programs.

 

The Kigoma Baptist Hospital serves residents in the towns of Ujiji and Kigoma. It is a referral hospital for much of western Tanzania for organizations such as the International Red Cross and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

 

Kigoma has been the site of one of the largest refugee populations in the world and was the logistics hub for several refugee camps within a day's drive from the city. These camps at one time housed as many as 500,000 refugees from past conflicts in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

 

Kigoma Baptist Hospital has also been heavily involved in HIV and AIDS counseling and prevention.


Church Spotlight Church


Ash Creek Baptist Church (ACBC) was established in 1871 in Azle, Texas, in the United States. ACBC sees its primary functions as worship, proclamation, teaching, ministry, including the care for families and individuals within the church and the community who have physical, emotional and spiritual needs, and mission, through mission awareness, involvement and support on the local, state, national and overseas levels.

 

Its overall aim is to glorify God through service, obedience and worship.

 

Ask Creek has founded other congregations, including establishing and sponsoring a mission in the Eagle Mountain community of Fort Worth in 1950. This mission has since grown to become Eagle Mountain Baptist church.

 

The Ask Creek congregation, a Baptist World Alliance Global Impact Church, has focused much on children. Its Pre-Kindergarten Program is dedicated to creating a positive learning experience for children in a loving Christian environment where they engage in age appropriate activities designed to provide educational preparation for kindergarten, enriching social experiences and spiritual foundation building.

 

The Mother's Day Out Program is a two-day a week early learning program for preschoolers ages 1-5 years old, providing a loving caring atmosphere for children to grow physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually through age appropriate activities.

 

In Girls in Action, girls in grades in 1-6 learn a biblical worldview with an emphasis on mission learning and missional living, develop leadership skills to serve God and share God's love with others, and grow spiritually in their understanding of God and God's mission, including how they are a part of God's plan.

 

Royal Ambassadors, a mission discipleship organization for boys in grades 1-6, offers hands-on activities that encourage spiritual growth, games and sports, and mentoring relationships with Royal Ambassadors leaders.

 

There are programs for youth. Wednesday night "Refuge" events for youth in grades 7-12, provide time and space for youth to share fellowship, participate in activities, and engage in praise. DNOW is a three-day event in which students worship and go through intense Bible study led by a guest group leader. Summer Youth camp is the main activity for this age group. It is an occasion where significant numbers of youth come to faith in Christ.

 

In MemoriamMemoriam
  

Aleksandar Birvis, former president of the Union of Baptist Churches in Serbia, died on February 1. He was 87 years old.

 

Birvis was pastor of the Baptist Church in Novi Sad from 1957-1959 and of Belgrade Christian Baptist Church from 1970-2001.

 

He was professor of Old Testament and church history at the Baptist Theological School in Novi Sad and several other evangelical schools in the former Yugoslavia. From 1989 to 1991 he served as academic dean at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Osijek and in the 2000s at the Novi Sad Faculty of Theology.

 

He was president of the Union of Baptist Churches and of the Yugoslav Association for Religious Freedom in the early years of the 21st century.

 

Birvis was a linguist and Bible translator, working with the London Bible Society, Serbian division. His most well known Serbian translation was the rhythmical translation of the Psalms. He also did translation work on Genesis, Lamentations and Hebrews.

 

He was the author of several books and a great number of articles in Baptist, evangelical and secular magazines.

 

Birvis earned degrees and diplomas from the University of Belgrade and the Theological Faculty of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Belgrade. In 1991 he received an honorary doctoral degree from the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in the United States

He is a former member of the General Council of the Baptist World Alliance.

 

Funeral for Birvis was on February 4, in Novi Sad.

 

In MemoriamMemoriam

G�nter Hitzemann, former president of the Union of Evangelical Free Churches in Germany from 1973-1975 and 1981-1989, died on January 20, in Hamburg. He was 85 years old.

 

Hitzemann was a well-known Free Church theologian and social welfare expert in Germany.

 

Through an initiative led by Hitzemann, German Baptists apologized for the role and the behavior of German Baptists during the Nazi regime. "We pray to God that we may learn from this part of our history, so that we may be more alert in regard to ideological temptations of our day," Hitzemann said on the occasion of the apology at a meeting of the European Baptist Federation in 1984. That year also marked the 150th anniversary of the founding of Baptist work in Germany.

 

Beginning in 1954 he was, for 14 years, pastor of the Evangelical Free Church in Hamburg-Altona, before moving to Diakoniewerk Bethel, a social welfare organization in Berlin, as managing director in 1968, from where he retired in 1992.

 

Under his leadership the Diakoniewerk expanded into various social outreach ministries, including training for unemployed youth, the running of the Bethel retirement home and construction of the Welzheim district hospital.

 

Through Diakoniewerk, Hitzemann also helped to found a housing project for students in Vienna, Austria. Walter Klimt, general secretary of the Baptist Union of Austria, said "G�nter Hitzemann gave this project his very strong support and encouragement from the beginning. He was, until the end, a prayer supporter and a financial supporter of the Baptists in Austria. I am very grateful to him."

 

From 1982 to 1984 Hitzemann served as president of the Association of Evangelical Free Churches and was a longtime vice chair of the Diaconal Conference of Germany's Protestant churches.

 

During the 1970s, he was a member of the Budget Committee of the Baptist World Alliance.

 

He earned diplomas and degrees from the Theological College Bethel-Bielefeld and the Evangelical Free Church Theological Seminary Hamburg-Horn.

 

In 1989, he was presented the crown Cross in Gold. In 1990, he was honored by the president of the Federal Republic of Germany with the German Federal Cross of Merit.

 

He was predeceased by his wife, Ingeborg, in 2012. He leaves daughters Dagmar, Ulrike and Andrea

 

Funeral service was held on February 1 at the Evangelical Free Church Hamburg-Altona and burial on February 2.

 

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