Summer is the time many of our churches begin to plan for their fall stewardship emphasis. A new resource you might want to consider is called "New Love New Mercy" produced by the Ecumenical Stewardship Center.

The Rev. Dr. Dee Dee Coleman, pastor of the Russell Street Missionary Baptist Church (RSMBC) and RSMBC Mission Ministry chairperson, Clara Maravin, had a dream to bring together their Mission Ministry members and mission-minded folks from sister congregations for a weekend of American Baptist mission education and celebration.  Their dream became reality when more than seventy participants from twelve congregations gathered Saturday, May 30 for an all day training event. The mission training and celebration continued Sunday morning with the wider RSMBC congregation followed by a luncheon and commissioning service.

by the Rev. Jon Good. Pastor, Covenant Baptist Church, W. Bloomfield, Chair, Congregational Ministries and Missions Team (CMMT) of ABC-MI

It’s amazing what can happen when you partner with friends to join in God’s mission. You might have heard about an event called the Evangelism Conference, right here in Michigan! This is the fourth year that several ABC-MI churches have come together to plan an event designed to deepen our passion for evangelism. The idea for this emerged when we shared our common passion to make a significant impact for the Kingdom of God. 

The first Burmese Youth Retreat in Michigan took place at Camp Lael May 23-25, 2009. Seventy-two Burmese youth (high school-aged through young adult) came to the camp from the Lansing, Battle Creek and Grand Rapids areas. Keynote Speaker, The Rev. Dr. Van Li of Dallas, TX encouraged the youth around the theme of “Contemporary Issues and Our Fight.”

Pastor Van Thawng Lian of the Chin Baptist Church in Battle Creek summarized the weekend focus stating, “God has given each one of us the ability to achieve our goals, but we need the help of God. We trust in God and we trust in ourselves.” Dr. Michael Williams, ABC-MI executive minister, challenged the young people, during their Saturday evening worship, to see themselves as “missionaries to American youth bringing the good news of Jesus Christ to their American peers.”

The First Baptist Church of Battle Creek recently celebrated the the granting of a Religious Worker Visa to the Rev. Dr. David Laisum. Laisum first came to the United States in 1988 on a student visa to pursue a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago Divinity School. He undertook doctoral studies to become a more effective teacher at the Myanmar Institute of Theology. Before completing his degree, he returned to Burma in response to the dire need for teachers. However, as hostilities increased towards Christians, particularly those who were developing new leaders in the faith, Laisum made the courageous decision to return to the U.S. with his family to complete his studies, to freely practice his faith, and to seek asylum.

ABC-MI is partnering with ABCOPAD (American Baptist Churches of Pennsylvania and Delaware) and Eastern University to offer an exciting on-line Youth Ministry Training program. Students who complete the program will receive a Certificate in Youth Ministry from Eastern University and ABC-MI. Starting in the fall of 2009, the program will involve 20 on-line classes on successive Monday evenings as well as four weekends in which the students will meet with each other and the course instructor. The instructor, Rev. Eric Kraihanzel, is the Student Ministries Coordinator for ABCOPAD, teaches courses in Youth Ministry at Eastern University, and has over 18 years of experience in youth ministry. The cost of $2400 covers all the on-line sessions, the weekend training events and the Certificate in Youth Ministry. For more information, see Youth Ministry Certification under the navigation bar to the left or contact Rev. Pat Hernandez (phernandez@abc-mi.org).