Hospitality sites around the legendary Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha ministered to College World Series fans. This year marked the 10th year of ministry by 9th Inning Ministry during the College World Series.

By Jay A. Dess
President, 9th Inning Ministry
The 2009 College World Series was our 10th and finest year for 9th Inning Ministry. Several key statistics were:

College Baseball Breakfast
The Omaha Baseball Breakfast with Brian Hommel as the keynote speaker resulted in numerous decisions for Christ. His message was a great, impactful message of Adam and Eve and the power of Christ in our lives today.

We had about 400 folks attend and it was a great time. Prizes were given away, and two North Carolina players shared—Mike McKee, senior catcher, and Adam Warren, pitcher, fourth-round draft pick of the New York Yankees.

Chase Jones, North Carolina catcher, and Larry Gallo, North Carolina Assistant Athletic Director, attended and were also recognized with six other North Carolina teammates.

Andy Stankiewicz, assistant coach for the Arizona State team, introduced his eight team members attending. In an interview, he told of his better life since Jesus Christ. Andy spoke at our seventh annual Omaha Baseball Breakfast and instructed in the 9th Inning clinics. He spoke highly of the impact 9th Inning Ministry has made over the years and its major impact around the College World Series.

Also Khiry Cooper, Husker wide receiver and fourth-round draft pick in baseball to the Angels, was interviewed by John Knicely, WOWT Channel 6 anchorman, who has served as our emcee for nine years. John always does a great job.

Baseball Clinics
We held 4 baseball clinics and had over 413 in attendance—277 kids and 136 adults—at the clinics this year. God blessed with great weather both in Omaha and Lincoln. What a great time! Results were also very impactful with many of them accepting Jesus Christ. Brian Hommel, former Milwaukee Brewer pitcher for five years; Eric Christopherson, first-round draft pick of the San Francisco Giants and pro player for nine years; Bob Herold, former professional player and Kansas City Royals hitting coach and currently coach at the University of Nebraska-Omaha; and Eric Newman, Husker pitching coach, spoke to the kids/parents at the Zorinski clinic. All did a great job and great work for Christ.

Hospital visits
Brian Hommel, Eric Christopherson, and Bob Herold, all former professional ballplayers, visited 38 patients at University of Nebraska Medical Center and prayed with them and their parents. The patients were given autographed baseballs, testimony cards, and crosses. What a wonderful and faithful witness these professional ballplayers had on the staff at UNMC as well!

Hospitality sites around Rosenblatt Stadium
We had our five sites open during the entire College World Series. Thousands upon thousands received their bottle of ice-cold Thirst No More water® and had an opportunity to read the gospel message on every label. We handled over 60,000 bottles throughout the series. We will hand out water at Faith and Family night for the Omaha Royals’ game later this summer.

Volunteers:
This year was the year of new volunteers making the 9th Inning Ministry a success for reaching people for Christ and exhibiting the “Fruit of the Spirit.” We had several groups from outside the city and as well as from Omaha helping. They were: First Baptist Church of Elmhurst, Illinois; First Baptist Church of Leakesville, Mississippi; and West View Baptist Church of Paragould, Ark.

Omaha groups were: Life Spring Church; Morning Star Lutheran; Harrison Street Baptist Church; Chandler Acres Church; Calvary Temple; Westside Church; Grace Fellowship Church; and Children’s Square USA, Council Bluffs, Iowa.

More than 400 volunteers helped hand out water during the series and helped at the clinics. Grand total for all the volunteers this year was over 750.

“We are focusing on 2010 since one of our sponsors was not available in 2009,” says Lori Crawford, KNCSB director of innovative ministries.

In typical fashion, the Lindsays don’t want any fanfare, so there won’t be a celebration. However, Kansas-Nebraska Southern Baptists are invited to send them cards. Mail your cards to Peck and Sue at KNCSB, 5410 SW 7th St., Topeka, KS 66606.

The new retreat, “Built for Significance,” is a recent development by the North American Mission Board. The event will start at 6 p.m. Friday with dinner and conclude on Saturday at 5 p.m. with a worship-and-praise service.

Jim Burton, Mission Education Team Leader at NAMB, is the retreat’s developer. He describes it as a way to help men align with God’s mission in their life and family. It is an experience designed to help men answer the question, “Why am I here?”

Burton believes every Christian man should feel his life counts for something. “Do we men have a process to help us know that ‘We are built for significance?’ Well, I believe we are, but what does that mean? The ‘Built for Significance Men’s Mission Retreat’ is a three-session study on subjects concerning God’s call to men for missions.

In addition to the retreat’s three sessions, there will be three worship-and-praise services, 24 different classroom breakout sessions and a group prayer session. Each attendee will receive a workbook that will help him to discover why he is significant.

More than 200 men are expected to attend this year’s retreat. Evaluations and feedback from previous years has clearly indicated that men earnestly appreciate this event.

Jim Burton and a team from NAMB will lead the retreat itself, and another 24 presenters with knowledge and skill in various areas of ministry will lead the breakout sessions. Those men attending will discover what all men should know, “They are built for significance by God.”

This year’s event builds on last year’s retreat when men learned how God, through Christ, molds men into what they were meant to become in The Kingdom of God.

Some of the breakout sessions will cover these topics: Chaplaincy Ministry; Disaster Ministry; Being A Christian Man In Today’s World; Back To the Heart of Worship; Men In Prayer; Marriage and Communication In Marriage; Starting Men’s Ministry In the Church; Evangelism Training; How Men Deal With Conflict; Men Dealing With Emotions; Men Dealing With Grief and Loss; New and Exciting Ways To Do Ministry; and Meeting the Needs of Hurting People.

A mailing to all KNCSB churches will occur in July with registration information and breakout session selections. Friday, Oct. 2, will be the registration deadline.

Anyone wishing to have information on Baptist Men’s ministry may contact me at 800.984.9092, ext. 817, or send e-mail to lucas-john_kncsb@cox.net

Wayne Poling, Sunday School specialist with LifeWay, brought enthusiasm and a wealth of knowledge to the National Sunday School Directors Seminar in Omaha.

Sunday School should be a bridge that connects lost people to Christ.

A breakout seminar during the National Sunday School Director Seminar focused on “Connecting Your Sunday School with the Unchurched.” The event was held recently at Eastern Nebraska Baptist Association in Omaha.

Dean Abernathy urged the Sunday School directors to look at ways they can help their churches reach out through Sunday School. He is a Sunday School specialist at LifeWay Christian Resources.

Abernathy based his remarks on the book, “The Unchurched Next Door” by Thom Rainer, president of LifeWay.

A Profile of the Unchurched:

• The unchurched are not anti-church.
 
• Most unchurched persons believe in heaven and hell.
 
• Moments during or immediately after a crisis provide key opportunities to share Christ. “These crisis times are when a person is more receptive to hearing the truth,” Abernathy said. Churches need to minister during crises in order to earn the right to share the gospel.
 
• They are nervous but willing to discuss matters of faith.
 
• Most have a fairly high view of the Bible.
 
• Most would rather talk to a layperson than a minister about religious matters.
 
• Easter is still a key time to invite the unchurched to attend church.
 
• Many wonder why Christian neighbors/co-workers do not invite them to church.
 
• Most of the unchurched have a spiritual view of life.

10 Surprises about the Unchurched:

• Most prefer to attend on Sunday morning if they attend.
 
• Females are likely to be the most antagonistic or the most receptive to the gospel.
 
• Most of the unchurched feel guilty about not attending church.
 
• 82 percent are at least somewhat likely to attend church if invited.
 
• Very few have had someone share with them how to become a Christian—Christians are not particularly influential in their lives.
 
• Most have a positive view of pastors, ministers and the church.
 
• Some types of “cold calls” are effective; many are not.
 
• The unchurched would like to develop a real and sincere relationship with a Christian.
 
• Their attitudes may not be correlated to where they live, their ethnic or racial background or their gender.
 
• Many are far more concerned about the spiritual well being of their children than of themselves.

Peck and his wife, Sue, have shunned the spotlight throughout their time with KNCSB. But they have touched thousands of lives.
What are your memories of Peck and Sue? How have they touched your life or the life of your church? Send your tributes by July 18 to:

Jeff & Nancy Cokely
1463 Missouri Rd.
Iola, KS 66749-3948
Attn: Lindsay book

Volunteers are now being recruited for summer teams:

• July 5-11
 
• Aug. 16-22

Elijah “Touch” Touchton, an electrical contractor from Pittsburg, Kan., is team leader for KNCSB rebuilding efforts in the Ike zone. Under Touchton’s leadership, KNCSB teams concentrate on electrical wiring.

There is place for everyone on the teams, regardless of skill level. However, there is a continuing need for skilled workers to serve as team leaders.

For more information, contact Touchton at 620.230.9962 or

Hurricane Ike quickly faded from the headlines as attention turned to the unfolding meltdown on Wall Street.

KNCSB is working with Nehemiah’s Vision, a ministry of First Baptist Church, Vidor, Texas, 10 miles east of Beaumont.

WWW will be held Sept. 11-12 at Webster Conference Center, Salina, Kan. Kelly Minter will be the featured speaker. She is a worship leader, author, speaker, songwriter and musician. Visit her Web site at http://kellyminter.com/

“Always, Only” from Metropolitan Baptist Church, Wichita, Kan., will lead worship.

Kelly Gandy from Colorado Springs, Colo., will be the featured missionary. She and her husband, Bill, lead the Baptist Student Union at the Air Force Academy. The Gandys formerly served at First Southern Baptist Church, Pratt, Kan.

Aug. 11 is the postmark deadline for registration. Late registrations, at an additional fee, must be postmarked by Aug. 18.

Registration forms will be posted at http://kncsb.org/ministry/women

Lone Rock Baptist Church is located in a scenic area south of Mountain Home, Ark. A team from Covenant Baptist Church, Topeka, Kan., will be serving there in June, returning a favor from four years ago.

Four years ago Covenant Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., was nearing the end of a long period of church conflict. The members were weary and discouraged, but two events in June 2005 gave the church a major shot of encouragement.

The church called a new pastor, Casey Ingold from Texas. And a mission team from White River Baptist Association in Arkansas came to Covenant. Members of Lone Rock Baptist Church, south of Mountain Home, made up the backbone of the team.

The team led the way in remodeling the church sanctuary and doing some much needed maintenance on the building. At the end of the week, life-long friendships had been formed, and Covenant’s members were greatly encouraged.

Since then the Arkansas team has returned to Kansas each summer. In 2006, the team served at Riverside Baptist Church, Independence, Kan. The next year, the group worked at Webster Conference Center, Salina, Kan. Several members of Covenant participated in the 2006 and 2007 projects.

June 2008 saw a major push by Covenant to join the Arkansas team in southwest Kansas. The joint team worked at First Southern Baptist Church, Dodge City, Kan., and in Greensburg, site of the horrific tornado in May 2007.

This year Covenant is returning a favor and will be serving in Arkansas. The group will assist Lone Rock Baptist Church in constructing a new addition. This partnership is just one example of the impact of KNCSB’s partnership with the Arkansas Baptist State Convention.

Baptist Builders for Christ has chosen the Eudora church as a project this year. Eudora is in a rapidly growing area on the western edge of Kansas City.

Builders for Christ is a network of volunteer teams that “assist Southern Baptists in building Churches in locations which appear to be in significant need of evangelism,” its Web site says. 

Eudora Baptist is posting construction updates on its
Web site

Past projects by Builders for Christ in Kansas-Nebraska were at New Covenant Community Church, Lincoln, Neb., and a joint project at Louisburg Southern Baptist Church, Louisburg, Kan., and at nearby Pearl Street Baptist Church, Paola, Kan.

Parents of International Mission Board missionaries are invited to attend this gathering for fellowship, support and encouragement.

Having children and grandchildren who live and serve in another country provides both opportunity and loss. Only others who experience these same situations and feelings can truly understand.

If you know of parents living in Kansas or Nebraska that have children serving with the International Mission Board, please send their name and address to Priscilla Sapp at priscillasapp@gmail.com Please encourage them to attend this meeting. Sapp is leader of the KNCSB Missionary Parents Fellowship team.

Parents of these IMB missionaries will be staying at the Holidome at 6th and Fairlawn in Topeka. The meetings will be at the Baptist Building, just a short walk from the hotel.

All it costs you is $60, the price of the hotel room which includes a full breakfast. This price is the same for either single or double occupancy.

The meeting begins Friday, Aug. 28, at 7 p.m. with a desert gathering and goes through Saturday lunch, provided at the Baptist Building.

Mark Whitworth, IMB Global Membercare, will encourage the parents on how to maintain good relationships with their missionary children and handle the grief associated with their separation. Parents will also learn about “skype,” the IMB new re-organization, and hints on being long-distance grandparents.

To register, contact Heidi Nelson at KNCSB, (800) 984-9092, or send e-mail to hnelson@kncsb.org

The 2009 theme is “Living with Urgency; Built for Significance.”

“As you plan how you will honor the fathers in your church, plan to also focus on the role men play in your church’s efforts to reach the world for Christ,” the BMEN Web site says.

“While not all the men in your church will be fathers, all have had a father—and all have a Heavenly Father who loves them and wants them to follow Him.”

Many resources are available on the BMEN Web site including a sermon outline, a bulletin insert [PDF] and video segments.

• Find more information

A team of Kansas-Nebraska students and adults will return to Tokyo, Japan, to build relationships with the goal of sharing the gospel.

June 2009 will mark the second KNCSB mission team serving in Tokyo, the world’s largest city with a population of 33 million.

Evangelical believers comprise only one half of one percent of the population, said Terry McIlvain, KNCSB director of youth ministries.

This year’s KNCSB team will be comprised of approximately 40 students and five adults.

The project is a partnership with I Go Global ministries in cooperation with local International Mission Board workers. (Visit the I Go Global Web site at http://igoglobal.org/)

Team members will attend orientation June 7-8 at Webster Conference Center, Salina, Kan. They will fly to Japan on June 9.

While in Japan, the team will have full days of outreach activities, all designed to meet people and build relationships.

“We’re there to learn their culture, make friends, build relationships,” McIlvain said.

The Japanese are a “very relational people,” he continued. “They are not a fast-responding culture” to the gospel.

When a Japanese person makes a commitment to Christ, it will be “super serious. To choose to follow Christ is to pay a cost in family relationships.”

A typical day in Tokyo for the KNCSB team will consist of:

• Beginning the day with group worship.
 
• Going in groups to Tokyo neighborhoods along the subway. They will prayer walk, put tracts in mailboxes and invite people to lunch.
 
• The entire team will meet for lunch and fellowship.
 
• After lunch, they will go to subway stations and hold free 5-minute English lessons.
 
• They will then go to parks where they will try to build relationships with people.
 
• After arriving back at their lodging facility for the night, they will e-mail people they have met.

McIlvain asks Kansas-Nebraska Southern Baptists to begin praying now for the 2009 Japan team. Please pray for:

• Health, stamina and travel safety
 
• “Meaningful connections to be made and that they will be open to hearing the gospel presentation.”
 
• For the students to “capture the missional mindset and apply it when they get home.”

Members of Lenexa Baptist Church, Lenexa, Kan., celebrated the dedication of their new worship center on Sunday, April 26.

“I’m so grateful and overwhelmed at what God has done,” Pastor Steve Dighton said. Dighton is the church’s founding pastor and has served there for 19 years. He is the KNCSB immediate past president.

“Our church is not a building. We are the building,” Dighton reminded the crowd filling the 1,200-seat sanctuary. He used I Corinthians 3:9-17 as the text for his dedication message.

The dedication service paid tribute to the contractors, the church building committee and the church staff.

LifeWay Church Architects, Nashville, Tenn., designed the building after developing the master plan on the property in the 1990s. Pearce Construction Company of Kansas City, Mo., was the general contractor.

The church relocated in 2001 from a former office building at 8865 Bourgade its present location on 87th Street Parkway about a mile east of Interstate 435.

Lenexa Baptist’s story was featured in a special advertising supplement in the Kansas City Star on Sunday, April 26.

“Since Lenexa Baptist moved to its present location, the average worship attendance has increased from about 500 to 2,200,” an article in the supplement said.

(The church moved into the new worship center on March 1. Worship attendance on Easter was nearly 3,500 people.)

“In 2005, Thom Rainer (now president of LifeWay Christian Resources) named Lenexa Baptist one of just 13 `breakout churches’ in America in his book ‘Breakout Churches’,” the article continued.

“Two years later the church was recognized by LifeWay Research as one of 19 Standout Churches in the Southern Baptist Convention. The award was the result of a 10-year study on effective evangelistic churches.”

In 2011, Lenexa Baptist Church will play host to the KNCSB annual meeting. The 2009 annual meeting will be held Oct. 12-13 at Country Acres Baptist Church, Wichita, Kan. In 2010, the meeting will be held in Kearney, Neb., with the site to be announced.

• Visit the church’s Web site

The KNCSB Executive Committee voted on Thursday, April 2, to call Sapp.

Ken James, who now holds that position, is scheduled to retire on Feb. 1, 2010.  Sapp will train under James and fulfill his obligations with the International Mission Board. He and his wife, Priscilla, are in the United States on stateside assignment.

The evangelism director post is a North American Mission Board missionary position. So the Sapps will have to go through the NAMB appointment process.

On Friday, April 3, the KNCSB Mission Board affirmed the Executive Committee’s decision to call Sapp.

The Sapps are graduates of Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan. They have served in Africa since 1980. Sapp’s latest position was area director for Central, Eastern and Southern Africa.

“We’ve come to the point where it’s time to come home,” Sapp told the Mission Board.

The Sapps continue to be available to speak in churches. Their calendar is full through mid-summer. For more information, call them at (316) 633-4645 or send e-mail to jonsapp@gmail.com

• One large pulpit
 
• One Lord’s supper table
 
• Pews with arm rests at each end: four 10-foot long pews; four 8-foot-long pews; and two 4-foot-long pews
 
• Pews without arm rests: One 13-foot-long pew and three 12-foot-long pews

All the furniture is light oak finish and the pew upholstery is light blue.

For more information, contact Pastor Kirk Stricker at 785.827.9771 or at pastorkirk@belairbc.org

This home was only one of the hundreds of homes in Bridge City, Texas, that flooded during Hurricane Ike. KNCSB disaster-relief rebuilding teams are now serving in southeast Texas. KNCSB is working with Nehemiah’s Vision, a ministry of First Baptist Church, Vidor, which is 10 miles east of Beaumont.

KNCSB’s rebuilding efforts are moving into high gear in southeast Texas, where Hurricane Ike struck a hard blow in mid-September 2008.

The hurricane quickly faded from the headlines as attention turned to the unfolding meltdown on Wall Street.

KNCSB is working with Nehemiah’s Vision, a ministry of First Baptist Church, Vidor, Texas, 10 miles east of Beaumont. Elijah “Touch” Touchton, an electrical contractor from Pittsburg, Kan., is team leader for KNCSB rebuilding efforts in the Ike zone.

This effort comes after nearly a year of work in Greensburg, Kan., site of the horrific tornado in early May 2007. KNCSB rebuilding teams also worked in several small communities in Kansas that flooded during the summer of 2007.

In 2006 and 2007, KNCSB sent 14 rebuilding teams to New Orleans, working through the partnership with the Arkansas Baptist State Convention.

Under Touchton’s leadership, the KNCSB teams concentrate on electrical wiring.

The first KNCSB team went to the Hurricane Ike zone in February 2009. This team of 49 people wired the 10,000-square-foot multipurpose building at Liberty Baptist Church, Bridge City, Texas.

Bridge City sits on the west bank of Cow Bayou adjacent to Sabine Lake and the Neches River, the city’s Web site says. The 78-square-mile Sabine Lake is a saltwater lake that opens into the Gulf of Mexico. Only a few of the homes in the community of 8,650 people did not flood.

Liberty Baptist’s main building and its new multipurpose building took on about 3 1/2 feet of floodwater during the hurricane. Church members were constructing the new building as funds became available. So the new building had only been framed on the inside when the hurricane struck.

The work performed by the February team allowed Liberty Baptist to begin holding services in the multipurpose building while its main facility is being rebuilt.

KNCSB’s March and April teams did electrical wiring in a 10,000-square-foot building in Vidor, Texas. The former nursing home is being remodeled to serve as a volunteer center. It was abandoned after Hurricane Rita struck in late September 2005.

Two student groups joined the March team. One group came from Barton County Community College in Great Bend, Kan., and the other group came from Mississippi.

Touchton praised the students for their enthusiasm, hard work and eagerness to learn.

KNCSB teams will be serving in the Ike zone through December 2009. The dates are:

• May 17-23
 
• June 14-20
 
• July 5-11
 
• Aug. 16-22
 
• Sept. 13-19
 
• Oct. 18-24
 
• Nov. 8-14
 
• Dec. 6-12

There is place for everyone on the teams, regardless of skill level. However, there is a continuing need for skilled workers to serve as team leaders. For more information, contact Touchton at 620.230.9962 or t-dtouchton@cox.net

SBC Pastors’ Conference

The SBC Pastors’ Conference will be held at the Kentucky Exposition Center on Sunday evening, June 21, and all day Monday, June 22. Featured speakers will include SBC President Johnny Hunt and Mike Huckabee, former presidential candidate and host of “Huckabee” on the Fox News Channel.

WMU-SBC Annual Meeting & Missions Celebration

The WMU event will be held at St. Matthews Baptist Church in Louisville. Activities will begin at 4 p.m. Sunday, June 21, with registration and a missions fair. The WMU Missions Celebration will follow at 6:30 p.m., focusing on “Changing Lives in Kentucky.”

It will continue on Monday, June 22, from 8:45 a.m. to approximately 5:30 p.m. Activities will include an awards luncheon. Reservations for the boxed luncheon are required by June 10. Find more information
Meeting participants are encouraged to bring school supplies and backpacks for the children’s ministry at the Baptist Fellowship Center in Louisville.

SBC Ministers’ Wives Luncheon

The annual Ministers’ Wives Luncheon will be held Tuesday, June 23, immediately following the morning session of the SBC annual meeting. It will take place in the Kentucky Exposition Center South Wing C. The theme is “Quiet Influence: The Romans 12:1 Woman.”

A new feature this year is The Women’s Expo, starting at 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 23, in the room where the luncheon will be held. The Expo will feature exhibits and door prizes.

Free tickets are available to the wives of current seminary students. May 15 is the deadline for submitting a request.

A KNCSB conference took an indepth look at the four key needs of young adults. Jason Hayes from LifeWay Christian Resource led the event attended by a diverse group ranging from church staff members to grandparents of young adults.

Young adults have “great potential,” but churches may not know how to reach them.

A KNCSB conference on Tuesday, March 31, took an indepth look at reaching the 18-to-34-age group. The featured speaker was Jason Hayes, young adult ministry specialist at LifeWay Christian Resources.

Hayes, age 31, has served with LifeWay for nearly two years. Before that, he served as a church staff member for 10 years.

Seventy-four million people in the United States fall into the 18-to-34-age group, Hayes said, and that group is growing rapidly. He urged conference participants to look beyond young adults’ appearances and behavior to see their “great potential and great promise.”

LifeWay has conducted extensive research to “capture the voice” of today’s young adults, Hayes said. That research came up with their four key desires:

• Community—young adults want to be a part of small groups where they can have deep relationships. “The early church was all about community,” Hayes said, citing Acts 2:42-47.
 
• Depth—Churches need to provide small groups that allow young adults to explore the Christian faith. Christian young adults say they need to be equipped to stand for truth, he said. Those who are not Christians say that if they make a commitment to Christ, “it will be an informed decision.”
 
• Responsibility—LifeWay’s research shows a high percentage of both churched- and unchurched young adults “want to do something to change our world,” Hayes said. “We hear from a lot of young adults that enjoy difficult things. They want the bar raised.”
 
• Connection—Young adults want to learn from someone who has gone through what they are experiencing, he said.

For more information on reaching young adults, check out these resources:

• Hayes’ blog at http://jasonhayes.typepad.com/
 
• LifeWay’s young adult resources at http://threadsmedia.com/
 
• The book, “Lost & Found: The Younger Unchurched & the Churches that Reach Them,” written by Hayes, Ed Stetzer and Richie Stanley.

Construction on a new cabin is underway at Weir Baptist Camp, Weir, Kan. Local volunteers did the framing in the first part of March. A team from Arkansas was scheduled to come the last week of March. 

Camps play a major role in helping children and youth find a personal relationship with Jesus.

As spring officially arrives on the calendar, major efforts are underway at Webster Conference Center, Salina, Kan., and Weir Baptist Camp in southeast Kansas.

Workers at WCC are trying to finish the new multipurpose building in time for the summer camping season. At Weir, a new cabin is under construction. Volunteers from Arkansas will be working in both places.

Volunteers play crucial roles at both WCC and Weir Baptist Camp. There is a place for you, regardless of whether you can serve for a few hours or several weeks. Both camps have RV facilities.

To serve at Weir Baptist Camp, call Delbert Callaway, camp manager, at 620.396.8744 or 620.870.8834. The camp is approximately 1 mile west of Weir on Highway 103.

To volunteer at Webster Conference Center, call Bill Cooke at 785.827.6565 or send e-mail to bcooke@webstercc.org

Vacation Bible School enthusiasts from all over Nebraska and Kansas gathered in Salina, Kan., on Saturday, March 7, for the annual KNCSB VBS Jumpstart Clinic. The clinic featured breakout sessions in Spanish led by Francesca Bluvan (standing).

Vacation Bible School leaders in Kansas-Nebraska Southern Baptist churches took an imaginary trip to Australia during their annual training clinic.

The KNCSB Vacation Bible School Jumpstart Clinic focused on “Boomerang Express: It All Comes Back to Jesus,” the 2009 Southern Baptist VBS theme. The event was held Saturday, March 7, at First Southern Baptist Church, Salina, Kan.

“Follow! Worship! Live Through Him!” is the “Boomerang Express” motto. The theme Scripture is, “God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him.” I John 4:9 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

Each day is called a track, and the themes are:

• Track 1—“It All Comes Back to Jesus: Follow Him”
 
• Track 2—“It All Comes Back to Jesus: Worship Him”
 
• Track 3—“It All Comes Back to Jesus: Confess Him”
 
• Track 4—“It All Comes Back to Jesus: Serve Him”
 
• Track 5—“It All Comes Back to Jesus: Obey Him”

Clinic participants also had the opportunity to learn about Club VBS, the second line of VBS curriculum offered by LifeWay Christian Resources. Club VBS is a flexible format that can be used for church VBS, missions trips, and so forth. It offers a two-hour schedule for five days, or one hour for 10 days.

The 2009 Club VBS theme is “Truth Trek: Digging for God’s Treasures.” Proverbs 7:1 is the theme verse, “My Son, obey my Words and treasure My Commands.” (HCSB) Each day is called a “Trek,” which has a “Discovery:”

• Trek 1—“Loving God”
 
• Trek 2—“Loving My Family”
 
• Trek 3—“Loving My Friends”
 
• Trek 4—“Learning About Jesus”
 
• Trek 5—“Doing What the Bible Says”

The clinic also featured breakout sessions in Spanish, led by Francesca Bluvan of Sublette, Kan.

Bluvan already has been enlisted to teach Spanish sessions at the 2010 KNCSB Vacation Bible School Jumpstart Clinic, said Marie Clark. She is the KNCSB Vacation Bible School director. Clark encouraged this year’s clinic participants to enlist Hispanic churches in their areas to attend the March 6, 2010, clinic in Salina, Kan.

• Learn more about “Boomerang Express”
 
• Find more information about “Club VBS”

The surgery took place on Monday, Feb. 23, in Houston, and went very well, her husband, Nolen, reports. Her recovery is expected to take three weeks.

Before the surgery, Sheilah sent this e-mail update:

“I came through two surgeries last year and four chemo treatments, which were concluded in January with minimal difficulty. I praise the Lord for that and thank you for your prayers.

“As soon as I am well enough we will return to Brazil, hopefully at the beginning of April. We will return to Brazil to say our good-byes and prepare to move to Europe, most likely to Spain. Details are still being worked out.

“We are very excited about this new ministry! We are following the Lord into a new challenge of targeting South Americans who have migrated to Europe and other areas of the world. Please pray for us as we research, build a team and plan strategy for effectively reaching these people.

“Also please pray for us as we learn Spanish. We need to be fluent in both Spanish and Portuguese as a start.”

Contact the Pridemores at Sertanejos@aol.com

Viola Webb served as executive director of Kansas-Nebraska Woman’s Missionary Union, retiring in 1982. After her retirement, she continued to lead an active life until her health began to decline in the mid-1990s. Here, she spoke during a missions hike at the 1987 KNCSB Royal Ambassador Congress at Webster Conference Center, Salina, Kan.

Kansas-Nebraska Southern Baptists gathered Saturday, Feb. 21, to pay a final tribute to Viola Webb.

Mrs. Webb died on Wednesday, Feb. 18, at age 95. She led Kansas-Nebraska Woman’s Missionary Union for 25 years, retiring in 1982. After her retirement, Kansas-Nebraska Southern Baptists named their annual missions offering in her honor.

The funeral was held at First Southern Baptist Church, Topeka, where Mrs. Webb was very active until her health began to decline in the mid-1990s. It recalled her passions—“Jesus and Diet Dr Pepper.”

“That little frail body that couldn’t keep up with her mind is now the recipient of a new body,” said Clark Johnson, First Southern’s pastor.

Johnson recalled how Mrs. Webb was the chairman of the pastor search committee that brought him to Topeka nearly 20 years ago. The committee went to Phoenix, where Johnson was serving at the time, to meet with him. Johnson told how he had never dealt with a woman as the chairman of a pastor search committee.

“We spoke, and she said, ‘When are you coming?’ I got the feeling she was telling me to come. When I got here, I realized she was right.”

Johnson continued, “She was always supportive of her pastor ... That’s always a joy to a pastor.”

R. Rex “Peck” Lindsay, KNCSB executive director, told about two of Mrs. Webb’s major contributions to Kansas-Nebraska Southern Baptists:

• After KNCSB acquired Webster Conference Center in the early 1980s, she organized Kansas-Nebraska women to lead the way in raising money to develop the facility. “Viola opened the way for us to develop a conference center.”
 
• The Kansas-Nebraska missions offering. When such an offering was proposed in the 1970s, Mrs. Webb said, “I’ll get the ladies and we’ll start it.” That offering was named in her honor after she retired.

Mrs. Webb’s influence spread nationally through her WMU work and internationally through her short-term mission trips. During her first trip abroad—to Switzerland in the late 1960s—she experienced the feeling of being a stranger in a foreign country. That led her to begin ministering to international students when she returned home.
Mary Jo Troughton, a past president of Kansas-Nebraska WMU, said Mrs. Webb was “revered” by women in national WMU. “She had the spirit we all admired. She mentored many of us as young women.”

Southern Baptist missionary Jon Sapp told how Mrs. Webb encouraged him and his wife, Priscilla, before they went to Africa nearly 30 years ago. The Sapps are on stateside assignment in Wichita, Kan., for the next year.

“We had a meal at her table right before we went to Africa,” Sapp recalled.

Memorials have been established with the Viola Webb Missions Offering and Webster Conference Center in care of the Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists. Make checks out to KNCSB and mail them to 5410 SW 7th St., Topeka, KS 66606. Designate checks for either VWMO or WCC, as you feel led to give.

Send your tribute to Mrs. Webb to Eva at KNCSB.

• Read Mrs. Webb’s obituary

Kansas-Nebraska Southern Baptists descended on Webster Conference Center, Salina, Kan., in late June 1993 to celebrate Viola Webb’s 80th birthday. Part of the money raised from the Viola Webb Missions Offering that year was used to remodel the interior of the WCC chapel. Here Mrs. Webb (left) is pictured with the late Millie Stengl, who was president of Kansas-Nebraska Woman’s Missionary Union at the time.

Viola Webb died Wednesday evening, Feb. 18, at age 95.

She directed Kansas-Nebraska Woman’s Missionary Union for 25 years. After she retired in 1982, Kansas-Nebraska Southern Baptists named their annual missions offering for her.

The funeral will be 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, at First Southern Baptist Church, 19th and Gage, Topeka, Kan. Please note the service will be at 1 p.m.

Visitation will be 6-8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20, at Penwell-Gabel Midtown Chapel, 1321 SW 10th Ave., Topeka, KS 66604.

Memorials have been established with the Viola Webb Missions Offering and Webster Conference Center in care of the Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists. Make checks out to KNCSB and mail them to 5410 SW 7th St., Topeka, KS 66606. Designate checks for either VWMO or WCC, as you feel led to give.

• Visit the Penwell-Gabel Web site

The Sapps are on stateside assignment in Wichita, Kan., until March 2010. They serve in regional leadership in Africa. Call them at (316) 633-4645 or send e-mail to jonsapp@gmail.com

For more information, call Lucas at KNCSB, (800) 984-9092, or send e-mail to
lucas-john_kncsb@cox.net
KNCSB Baptist Men’s Softball Tourney
Aug. 15, 2009
Location: Rueger Park, Topeka, Kan.
Registration deadline: July 31
KNCSB Royal Ambassador Congress
Sept. 18-19, 2009
Location: First Southern Baptist Church, Hutchinson, Kan.
Registration deadline: Sept. 4
KNCSB Baptist Men’s Golf Tourney
Sept. 26, 2009
Location: Lake Shawnee Golf Course, Topeka, Kan.
Registration deadline: Sept. 11
KNCSB Men’s Retreat
Oct. 16-17, 2009
Location: Webster Conference Center, Salina, Kan.
Registration deadline: Oct. 2

Daily is known for presenting the gospel while training an unbroken horse to ride, all within two hours. With the techniques he uses, Daily is often called a “horse whisperer.”

The event will be held in the Saddle Club Arena at the Geary County 4-H Center, 1107 S. Spring Valley Rd., in Junction City. A cowboy dinner will be held at 5 p.m., and the training clinic will follow at 6 p.m.

First Southern Baptist Church in Junction City is sponsoring the event. For more information, call the church office at (785) 762-4404.

• Visit the Wild Horse Ministries Web site
 
• Visit First Southern’s Web site

Daniel Goombi ministers to young Native Americans on reservations in Kansas. He and his wife, Kimberly, are among the featured missionaries for the 2009 Week of Prayer for North American Missions. Goombi is the first-ever second-generation missionary to be featured in Week of Prayer. His parents are Ron and Alpha Goombi, who serve on the Native American Indian reservations in Nebraska. They were featured in the 2003 Week of Prayer. (Photo by Erik Stenbakken)

By Mickey Noah
Daniel Goombi is a full-blooded Native American of Kiowa-Apache heritage. He is proud of his heritage, culture and traditions.

As directors of Kansas Reservation Ministries, Daniel, 24, and his wife Kimberly, 23, share the gospel of Christ on four Native American reservations in Kansas: Kickapoo; Sac and Fox; Iowa; and the Prairie Band Potawatomi. The Goombis, based in Lawrence, are Mission Service Corps missionaries for the North American Mission Board and church planters for Kaw Valley Baptist Association.

Daniel and Kimberly are only two of more than 5,500 missionaries in the United States, Canada and their territories supported by the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions and the Cooperative Program. The couple is among the NAMB missionaries featured as part of the annual Week of Prayer, March 1-8, 2009. This year’s theme is “Live with Urgency: Sowing Together for Harvest.” The 2009 Annie Armstrong Easter Offering’s goal is $65 million.

As NAMB Mission Service Corps missionaries, the Goombis must raise their own support. Although they are self-funded, they also receive additional support—such as training, administrative support and field ministry assistance—from the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering.

Daniel is unique among all the NAMB missionaries honored as Week of Prayer missionaries in the past. He is the first-ever, second-generation Week of Prayer missionary in NAMB’s history. His parents, Ron and Alpha Goombi—who still minister on Native American reservations in Nebraska—were Week of Prayer missionaries in 2003.

The popular movie “Fireproof” is now available on DVD. Read more

LifeWay Christian Resources has released “The Love Dare Bible Study.” It is based around “Fireproof” movie clips and connects couples to The Love Dare journal during the session and throughout the week.

“It utilizes activities that explore and apply God’s Word and encourage dialog about life in a real marriage,” the LifeWay Web site says.

• Learn more about “The Love Dare Bible Study”
 
• Download free sample chapter [PDF]

Sheffield is a former pastoral ministries specialist with LifeWay Christian Resources.

He urges pastors to “study the life of Jesus and learn how He related to people. Re-read the gospel accounts that show how Jesus related to and worked with both followers and adversaries.” Remember:

• “You will not be able to get along with everybody all the time.
 
• “Everybody has one or more difficult persons in their lives.
 
• “You can’t change people; only God can. You will have to learn how to relate to people as they are.
 
• “People are not perfect and therefore will disappoint and even hurt you from time to time.”

Read more