Life at MABTS

a glimpse into daily life at mid-america baptist seminary

Posts Tagged church planting

Bent Tree / Opening Nite

Apr 21

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I am in an amazing period of learning in my life. I get to sit under professors that guide me and challenge me for several hours in the morning and then in the afternoon put those things into practice as we work with Hispanics. One of those places in which we put into practice what we’re learning is Bent Tree.

Blog stuff

Bent Tree is an apartment complex in which we are working. We had our first service/interest meeting a few weeks ago. I was fairly certain no one would show up. I was envisioning us gringos staring at each other for the evening. I was wrong.

Five adults and five kiddos showed up. Three families were represented. It was a blast. We’ve had two more services since then and a few more come each time.

We’re working our way through Charles Brock’s Buenas Nuevas Para Ti.

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Bent Tree

Mar 23

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This evening we will be kicking things off at Bent Tree.

I have spent the past month getting to know the Latino families that live in the complex. There are several from Guatemala and Mexico.

Tuesday evening is kind of like an interest meeting. We’re not calling it that, but that’s basically what it is. It will help us to gauge if the families there are interested in God. It will help us to know if we should invest more time there with the goal of planting a church. We are asking God to use us to plant a church there.

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Daniel

Mar 11

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My wife and I served in Lima, Peru for two years prior to coming to Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. It was an amazing experience and God taught us a lot of things that continue to have an impact on our lives and ministry.

We did a lot of traveling in the Andes Mountains when we lived in Peru. On one of these trips we met a man named Daniel, a village doctor. Daniel seemed good-natured, but was very skeptical of who we were and what we were doing in Peru. The following day our team leader, Mike, visited Daniel again and gave him a New Testament. We assumed that was all we would hear of him, but we were wrong.

The next morning Mike returned from town with some exciting news. He told us that as he was walking through the village Daniel ran out to meet him. “His face was beaming!” Mike said. He told Mike that he had read through the New Testament the night before and realized his sin and need for Jesus. Daniel had given his life to Christ!! The team was pumped, but God wasn’t done yet.

That night we had scheduled town meetings in two neighboring villages. In these meetings we handed out New Testaments and taught people how to study God’s Word. Daniel, our new brother in Christ, came along with us. At the first village, Daniel shared his testimony and how God’s Word had changed his life. Twenty-five people put their faith in Christ!! At the second village, he shared his faith again and over twenty more people trusted Jesus!! God used the seed we planted by sharing his Word to bring over forty people into his kingdom!

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul said “My job was to plant the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God, not we, who made it grow. The ones who do the planting or watering aren’t important, but God is important because he is the one who makes the seed grow.” The Corinthians had made the mistake of forgetting that it was God who gives the increase. It is important that we recognize that we are simply vessels or tools that God uses. When someone builds a house, the hammer is not praised, the man who built it is. We are the hammer, God is the builder.

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José

Mar 10

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José jumped out of his vehicle and asked me if anyone answered the door. I had been knocking on his front door while he watched me from his vehicle. I had no idea he was there. As I turned to leave I noticed him talking on his cell phone. He seemed upset. I immediately thought that this might not be the best time to be at this home, so I headed straight for my car. That’s when he jumped out. I told him that no one had answered.

He picked up the phone and told the person on the other end that he would call them back. “Who are you looking for?” he wanted to know. I swallowed. “I am a church planter. I just wanted to meet you.” He looked at me and I could see that tears were filling his eyes. “There are no coincidences.” he said. “Ok.” was all I could muster unsure about what he meant. José began to tell me how he had just been talking to his mother trying to share Scripture with her to encourage her as she was having a very difficult time right now. He then told me that he had become a follower of Jesus, but did not attend a church. “Can you teach us the Bible?” he asked. “I would love to.” I said. He just stood there and waited. “You mean right now?” I asked. “Yes.” he said.

He gathered his family (3 generations) in their living room and set a swiveling desk chair in the middle of the room for me to sit in. We prayed together and applied Colossians 1:15-20 to our lives. The next day José called me and asked if I could come back every week. I will be meeting with José and his family on Saturday evenings. Please pray that José will continue to lead his family toward God. Pray that I will have wisdom in knowing how this family might fit into a new church plant.

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English

Mar 8

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María is one of the sweetest people we have met since we started church planting in Memphis. She is around 30-years- old and is struggling to raise Arlette on her own. Arlette just turned two, but is significantly behind where she should be developmentally. She doesn’t speak much. Also, she cannot use her arms or legs. She goes in regularly for therapy and has been undergoing a series of surgeries to help her begin to gain use of her limbs. It has been humbling to see Arlette begin to warm to us. She, at first, didn’t want anything to do with me. This probably had to do with the fact that she was suddenly separated from her father by something very much beyond their control.


(María babysits the girl in the photo during the day.)

María is one of the sweetest people we have met since we started church planting in Memphis. She is around 30-years- old and is struggling to raise Arlette on her own. Arlette just turned two, but is significantly behind where she should be developmentally. She doesn’t speak much. Also, she cannot use her arms or legs. She goes in regularly for therapy and has been undergoing a series of surgeries to help her begin to gain use of her limbs. It has been humbling to see Arlette begin to warm to us. She, at first, didn’t want anything to do with me. This probably had to do with the fact that she was suddenly separated from her father by something very much beyond their control.

Amanda has begun to meet with María at least once a week to study English. María is a very diligent worker and has a strong desire to better her English. She wants to understand what the doctors are telling her about her daughter.

María and Amanda aren’t only studying English, but they are becoming friends. Please pray that Amanda is able to share with María the reason that we love her. Please pray that María will open her heart to the One who turns ashes into beauty.

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[ to be filled ]

Feb 11

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My life feels like a process of losing myself, so I can find myself. Losing my life in order to find it . . .

I am giving up my rights, dreams, preferences, ambitions. Not just to be willing to surrender those things, but to actually do it.

Funny thing is when I empty myself of me I find myself being filled with what really matters.

Above all I am giving control of my life to God. He has ransomed me and has every right to move me, transform me, discipline me. Giving myself to him occupies the highest priority in my life.

I am also giving myself to my family. God has placed Amanda, Sophia, and Samuel under my watchcare. It is with them that I experience life, the simple and profound, the mundane and extraordinary. My whole life is completely wrapped up in them. Taking care of them is second only to walking with Jesus. The two aren’t mutually exclusive. They go hand in hand.

I am pouring myself out for my neighbor. In this stage in my life my neighbor lives 10 minutes away and speaks mostly Spanish. God has placed compulsion and call in my heart to make myself available to him to plant a Hispanic church.

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Neighbors

Feb 1

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People . . .

My new assignment has placed me smack-dab in their path. Yeah, I know. People are everywhere. But, what I do now puts me in an uncomfortable position. I engage.

I step onto a porch, knock on a door, look someone right in the eye, and engage. It’s exhausting and exhilirating.

Before, most strangers that crossed my path stayed at a safe and comfortable distance. Now, I seek out complete strangers to talk to (usually in Spanish).

It’s scary. “If knocking on a stranger’s door doesn’t scare you, then you’re not human.” a wise sage once said.

It is good. It’s good because it is a part of the journey that God has called us to live. Also, it’s good because I am learning to stop relying on myself and start walking in His Spirit.

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[ Forward ]

Jan 27

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I am a church planter.

I get a bit unnerved just saying that, but it’s true.

It’s not true because I decided that I should be one. It’s not true because an organization gave me that title. It’s not even true because I have planted a church before.

It’s true because that’s the job God has set before me. A church planter is what God has called me.

So, I’m learning to call myself that. It’s getting less and less strange to say because I am slowly becoming more and more confident in Him.

Needless to say, if I were depending upon myself to do this, I’d be in a hot mess.

This summer God used two experiences to begin a revolution in my heart and mind. I began to see myself fitting into God’s activity on earth in a whole new light. I felt compelled to get out in the community, start knocking on doors, walk with people through the truths of Scripture, and fold them into a congregation. I wanted to work with Latinos, but I didn’t know where or when or if I even should. But, this compulsion wouldn’t go away. I didn’t really want it to.

So, I started. I climbed into our 1994 Ford Aerostar and started driving. I had no idea where to go, but I couldn’t sit around any longer. I said “God if you want me to do this, you’ve got to show me where.”

He did.

I went down a street and came upon a small house that had a gaggle of kids playing in the front yard. They were Hispanic. It seemed like there were hundreds. It was like God said, “Start here.” I was 5 minutes from the front door of my apartment.

That was back in early September. Since then I have mapped over 100 Latino homes and visited more than 30. I have started two Bible studies in homes. And, I’ve learned a ton. The most important lesson? That I am completely and utterly dependent upon the power of the Spirit. Jesus is my sufficiency and motivation.

I am a church planter.

It’s been a long time since I have felt like this. God has asked me to do something and I feel completely inadequate and overwhelmed. Yet, I feel completely confident and hopeful. God doesn’t just call, he sustains and guides and empowers.

You’ll be hearing a lot more about this adventure. Feel free to email me if you have any questions about it.

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Last Act

Jan 21

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I spent last week traversing Memphis suburbs hanging posters. This is for an event called Soul Mate Live that Bellevue does every few months.

Hanging posters is one of my last acts as an intern at Bellevue.

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Mapping

Jan 18

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I have to keep track of where people are, who they are, what I know about them. It’s just a part of church planting. That takes a lot of organizational energy. One of the ways I stay on top of the game is by mapping Latino households. It helps me keep track of who is where and what contact has been made. It also helps me get an overview of the flow of people and response.

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