John Minor (right) preached the final sermon in his full-time ministry career on Sunday, June 27. Minor had served at Woodland Baptist Church in north Wichita for 17 years. The service also marked the end of Woodland’s 45-year history. Woodland passed on its building and property to Iglesia Bautista Nueva Vida. The Hispanic congregation had been sharing the Woodland facility since December 2007. Carlos Carreón (left) is Nueva Vida’s pastor. His wife, Vicki, serves at his side. She served as translator for the bilingual service on June 27.

WICHITA, Kan. (BP)–As the upbeat praise service began, John Minor stood in the back of the auditorium with Bible in hand and a contented smile on his face.

Minor was waiting to preach the final sermon as pastor of Woodland Baptist Church in north Wichita, Kan. The June 27 service also marked the end of Woodland’s 45-year existence as a church.

Although some tears were shed, the service was not a funeral. Instead, Woodland passed the ministry baton to Iglesia Bautista Nueva Vida. The Hispanic congregation had been sharing the Woodland facility since December 2007 right after it constituted.  Abraham Arevalo, the longtime pastor of Nueva Vida, began working as the Hispanic church-planter strategist for Heart of Kansas Southern Baptist Association in 2008. As he settled into his new role, Arevalo began preparing Nueva Vida for a new pastor. The two-year process of finding that pastor ended in January 2010 with the arrival of newlyweds Carlos Carreón and his wife Vicki. The alumni of Rio Grande Bible Institute in Edinburg, Texas, previously served as summer missionaries in Kansas. Carlos Carreón led the June 27 service in Spanish with his wife at his side translating his words into English. After the music and offering, Minor stepped behind the pulpit, with Vicki Carreón translating the sermon into Spanish.

The day was producing “mixed emotions,” Minor admitted as he began his sermon. There was sadness because Woodland’s 45 years of service was coming to an end. But there was joy knowing the church would live on through the ministry of Iglesia Bautista Nueva Vida. “God has placed you in a community to reach people in a way that Woodland could not,” Minor told the Nueva Vida congregation. He cited challenges that Nueva Vida will face. Among them: raising money to construct a new building — the Woodland facility is already too small for the Hispanic congregation.

When Minor came to Woodland 17 years ago, “I had great visions that we would grow a big church.” But things didn’t work out the way he planned, Minor said. Instead, God sent Iglesia Bautista Nueva Vida “to carry on the work. We have the promise that He’s going to accomplish what He set out to do.” As Minor closed his sermon, he asked Carlos Carreón to join him on the platform. Minor then presented Carreón with the keys to the church building.

Then Nueva Vida showed a video called “A Legacy of Faithfulness” about Woodland’s history. A plaque in honor of Woodland also was presented. It will be displayed in the entryway of the new multipurpose building that Iglesia Bautista Nueva Vida is planning to construct on the property. Although Minor was retiring from 40 years of bivocational ministry, he intends to keep serving the Lord through supply preaching and disaster relief. He retired from a 31-year career with Cessna on May 3. “He’s just a wonderful, faithful servant,” Abraham Arevalo said of Minor.

As Arevalo told of how God is working, he said, “What the Lord is doing at Nueva Vida is amazing, absolutely amazing.”

For us, church planting is an integral part of the Great Commission.  Would you consider making this an even bigger part of our association by helping to start these new churches?  Please call Mark, 316-214-3647, for ideas about church planting or Loren, 316-706-8406 to discuss outreach.

How often is the real spiritual work of God hindered because we are unwilling to forgive?  Has there been unkindness or worse done toward us, and we are unwilling to forgive?

Would you consider forgiveness?

The Call for Forgiveness

We all know that forgiveness is called for by the Lord.  In the Sermon on the Mount, as Jesus was giving foundational instructions for those who would follow Him, we are told to forgive.  We pray, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  Then Jesus says, “If you forgive men when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

The Reason for Forgiveness

Even when we know that we are called to forgive, we often struggle to make sense of it.  Making sense of forgiveness requires the realization that deserved forgiveness is just another name for justice.  If forgiveness is earned, it cannot be given.  You pay what is owed, you can only give what is not earned.  You pay a salary, you give a gift.

Making sense of forgiveness also requires us to remember how much we have been forgiven.  In Matthew 18 Jesus speaks in a parable to teach us how we are to deal with those who are indebted to us.  “Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had mercy on you?”  “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” Matt 18:35

The Selfish Side of Forgiveness

We can understand that we are called to forgive.  And we can know that we have every reason to forgive after all that God has done to forgive us.  But for many people forgiveness is still slow in coming.

Forgiveness is not only called for by God, and a reasonable response.  Forgiveness is also good for us.  Hebrews 12:15 says, “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”  Failure to forgive infects the one who harbors the un-forgiveness.  Un-forgiveness becomes bitterness, and bitterness eats away at the life and joy of the believer.

I recently talked with a man who owns his own business.  He told me of a person who brought their car in for repairs, asked him to do the repair, and then never bothered to come back to pick up their car.  They decided to go out and buy another car, rather than pay the repair bill.  In the end, the business owner loses money.  This was not the first time this had occurred.

The interesting part of this was that the business owner said, “I just do what I need to do to handle the matter, and then I forget about it.”

Whether we are in need of personal spiritual renewal, or corporate church health, the giving of forgiveness may be the place we must begin.

Golf Tournament

Charley Powell, Tournament Director

Saturday, October 9, 2010 – Hesston Golf Park

Tee Time: 1:00 PM (check-in 12:00 – 12:30)

Cost $40.00/person

(includes: golf, cart, range balls, prizes & food afterwards) Flighted by score – approx 8 teams/flight – Following golf there will be an awards ceremony & food – No speaker and maybe a few door prizes)

All entries (with payment) must be received in the HOKSBA office by October 1, 2010

Late entries accepted on a case-by-case basis only

Contact Charley Powell at 650-1959 (c), 977-0675 (w) or xtremegolfer2@cox.net with any questions

Player 1_____________                   Player 2_____________

Church__________________                       Church __________________

Phone___________________                       Phone___________________

E-mail___________________                       E-mail___________________

(personal data will be used for golf tournament contact only)

I don’t have a partner – please assign one to me.

Note: Per KSHSAA rules, high school golfers are not eligible to win prizes in this tournament.  Please identify any high school golfers.

Make checks payable to HOKSBA Golf and mail entry form to: HOKSBA

Attn: Golf Tournament, 3474 S. Meridian, Wichita, KS  67217

GOLF TOURNAMENT

HOKSBA will be holding the Fourth Annual Fall Two-Person Scramble Golf Tournament at Hesston Golf Park on Saturday, October 9, 2010. See registration for more details. You are encouraged to sign up as a team, but if you can not find a partner, we will try to find one for you.  Each team will be paired with a team from another church.  This is a much lower key golf tournament than the Spring Fellowship Golf Tournament.  We will have a lot of fun and fellowship.  You may obtain an entry form by downloading it from www.hoksba.org.  Many of you will receive an entry form by e-mail as well.  We hope to see you in Hesston on October 9^th!

About the tournament:

• Cost = $40.00/person ($80.00/team) includes: golf, cart, range balls, prizes, and food
• Location: Hesston Golf Park, Hesston, KS
• Date:  Saturday, October 9, 2010
• Time:  1:00 PM shotgun  – Check-in: 12:00 – 12:30 (remember – range balls are included)
• You can sign up as a team or as an individual. Your partner does not need to be a member of a SBC church
• No prizes at registration
• No program other than recognizing winners and handing out prizes (short)
• No speaker
• We will eat while the results are tallied up
• Each team will be paired with another team from another church (Fellowship is the goal!)
• It is open to men and women as well as youth (KSHSAA rules prohibit golf team students from receiving prizes)
• Yes a husband and wife can be a team, two women can be a team.
• Each player receives two mulligan’s
• Entry deadline of October 1, 2010 is pretty firm
• Late entries will be accepted only on a case-by-case basis.
• Direct questions to Charley Powell at 650-1959 (cell) xtremegolfer2@cox.net

Upcoming wMu meetings:

September 11, 2010, wMu Council Meeting at Metropolitan Baptist Church, Room 307 from 10am-Noon. All wMu Directors and Women Ministry Directors come and help us plan. See you at the meeting.

The Baptist Women’s World Day of Prayer is on November 1, 2010 with the theme “In Step with the Spirit”. This will be held at Sharon Baptist Church in Wichita, Kansas. Come and join us as we pray and fellowship with other Baptist Women across Wichita. Contact Carolyn Loop for more information. Fliers will be out soon.

Remember our missionaries as you pray. Pray for our mission offerings coming up. We have the Viola Webb State Mission Offering from September 20-26^th and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering from November 28 – December 5^th. If you need help with any of these wMu Activities, we are here to help.

As I have mentioned before, an intricate part of the Set Free ministry is to have a discipleship “ranch” to take people to after they come in off the street. They would stay there sixty plus days. The property needs to be a good distance from town, but close enough for churches to help with Bible Studies and other volunteer ministries. An ideal location would have an old farm house and about 5 acres, either donated or have a reasonable long term lease. Please keep this in prayer and let us know if you know someone who could help with this.

Please continue to pray for this ministry and your involvement in it by donating your time or providing funds for Bibles and other needs. In particular, we need youth pastors and workers who could give a Friday night every few months or so to help in JDF. This would give a connection for them to continue being discipled after they are released. Some of these kids have never really had someone who loved and cared for them and they desperately need that.

Over the last several months I have been meeting with a small group of men who are concerned with the lives of these kids when they get out of the facilities. Many do not have a good Christian influence and go back to their old lifestyle. There is a real need for Christian men to mentor these youth. Donnavan Karber, formally of Youth Horizons and now of Christian Association of Youth Mentoring, has offered us a real opportunity to be trained in setting up a mentoring program. The training will be October 8^th and 9^th and the cost will be $75 instead of the normal $200 per person. I will be sending out more information on this. Please pray as to how God wants to use you in the lives of these youth.

If you have any old backpacks that you would like to donate to help kids who are going back to school, please give me a call. As winter is around the corner we will soon be needing men’s jeans, coats and socks.

Also, we have found a building to use for a shelter for single woman/mothers. We could use your prayers as well as financial support for this ministry.  Please call Deborah at 316-204-9517 with any questions about this ministry.

FATHER/SON CONFERENCE

FINDING JOY IN CRISIS – God’s Help & Direction for Husbands, Fathers, and Sons

Saturday, October 23 at CABC

5:00 – 7:30 p.m.

Guest Speaker:  Brad Russell, author of Proud of Me?

Lessons Learned from a Father of a Special Needs Child

Cost:  $10.00

Family cap: $15.00

Children 12 and under: $2.00

Cost includes dinner and book for each family

Please contact Country Acres Baptist Church by October 15 @ 316.722.1239 or lborofsky@countryacresbaptist.org.

Sunday – Day 1 – Read the Scripture references to be used in the lesson. Allow ample time to also read the context in which these passages were written. If various Bible translations are available, read the focal Scripture passages in several translations. Pray for your class and your study of the lesson. Prayer for yourself, your students, and the lesson should be a daily priority in your prayer time.

Monday – Day 2 – Read the student quarterly for the upcoming week’s lesson. You may discover some thoughts which are emphasized in the student materials that are not highlighted in the teacher resources. Make note of questions the student is asked to consider and any other preparation which is expected of the learner.

Tuesday – Day 3 – Scripture study – use Bible commentaries and other resources available to you to do a thorough study of the Scripture references. Utilize these resources before you begin to read your teacher quarterly.

Wednesday – Day 4 – Read the teacher quarterly for the upcoming lesson.

Thursday – Day 5 – Begin planning your lesson. Consider if you will recruit a class member to assist you with any portion of the lesson and if so, contact these individuals and request their assistance. Consider other resources that you will need for the lesson and make arrangements to have these supplies available.

Friday, Day 6 – Write out a step by step teaching plan. While a plan may be provided for you in your teaching quarterly – do not feel that you have to follow it exactly. Be specific as you plan – making note of: Scripture passages to be read and discussed; questions to be asked; individual or small group involvement; etc. Include a time-line with your teaching plan so that all components can be included in your allotted class time.

Saturday, Day 7 – Review the step by step teaching plan. Pay special attention to issues of application. Bible study is essential and yet the students need to understand how this teaching should shape their attitudes and actions.

Sunday, Day 8 – Review your teaching plan, set-up your room & resources, and pray for God’s leading as you teach His Word to your students.

We still have our 40 day prayer plan available and this Bigger Breakfast would be an excellent way to start the last quarter of 2010.

On October 15 and 16 our fifth annual Men’s retreat will be held at Webster Conference In Salina. The keynote speaker for the retreat will be Bob Mills our KNCSB executive director. This year’s theme will be “Band of Brothers.” These meetings have been a source of encouragement. Plan to be a part of the retreat.

Three of our churches who witnessed this ministry asked to be able to do it for VBS and block parties. I was able to find and purchase anvils, stamps and hammers so we can continue with this ministry. If anyone is interested in this ministry please contact Loren at 316-943-3446.

Some of the symptoms to look for:

• Becoming increasingly defensive about time and money
• An increasing lack of money while having the same income and expenses as before
• Savings and assets mysteriously dwindling
• Becoming increasingly desperate for money
• Unexplained loans or cash advances
• Increase in Credit Card debt
• Valuables easily pawned start disappearing
• Constantly needing to borrow money

One person in CR testified that their credit card maxed out so they got more credit cards. Each time one maxed out they got another one. A different person testified that they had lost their house, furniture and everything worth anything. Today, God is working in their lives through CR and enabling them to overcome with the grace of Jesus Christ. Jesus still delivers when one comes to Him in Humble confession and repentance.

The choices that Jesus gives for His disciples are only two.  Either we will pray, or we will give up.  Either we will pray or we will faint.

Prayer connects us to our Father in heaven.  Jesus prayed throughout His time on earth.  He rose very early in the morning, He left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed.  When it was time for Jesus to select the 12 who would be His disciples, Jesus spent the night in prayer.  As Jesus spent His last time with the disciples we have His recorded prayer in John 17.  When Jesus was facing the cross, He prayed in the Garden.  And even as Jesus was nailed to the cross, Jesus prayed.

Do we pray?  Do we pray as we ought?  If Jesus gave His time to prayer, to spending time with the Father, do we think that our lives will matter for the Lord and His kingdom when we fail to pray?

As an association of churches, we need the power of prayer.  That is why we have made prayer our first strategy.  Without prayer we will be like an army in the desert without water.  We can have all the weapons, we can have all the strategy, we can even have all the best soldiers.  But without the power of the Lord through prayer, we will never prevail.

How can you pray?  We have resources on the HOKSBA website, www.hoksba.org/prayer, to assist you in praying for the churches of the association.  There you can download a Prayer Guide and connect with a prayer list that will send you the needs of the churches of HOKSBA as we are made aware of them.

The Lord Jesus prayed and taught us to do the same.  Do we think that we can get by without prayer?  I don’t know why our prayers matter to the Almighty Sovereign God of heaven.  But His Word assures us, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

Will we pray?

Moved by the desire to fulfill the Great Commission and a clear awareness of the changes in the community, Woodland BC has decided to offer its building to Iglesia Bautista Nueva Vida, a Spanish speaking church so they can continue the task of sharing Christ with people in north Wichita.

On July 27^th, after a beautiful message, Pastor John Minor from Woodland BC handed the keys of the building to Carlos Carreon, pastor of Nueva Vida. The emotion and meaning of this moment is difficult to explain. After the service, the two churches had a great time of fellowship. Throughout the celebration God received all of the honor for His faithfulness and His work in the north part of our city.

Woodland Baptist Church is an example of lives totally submitted to God and a total commitment to the proclamation of the gospel. We thank God for each member of Woodland Baptist Church and their great gift they have made to the Hispanic community in Wichita.

The speaker this year will be Dr. Thom Rainer, president of LifeWay. Formerly He was the Director of the Billy Graham School of Evangelism at South Baptist Seminary. Dr. Rainer has written many books on evangelism, discipleship and church planting. Please come and join us for this inspiring meeting.

It is not too early to start praying about going on an evangelistic mission trip next year. Each year we take a group to an evangelistic event the day before the Rose Bowl parade. We usually leave on December 30^th and return January 1^st. Each year we see numerous lives changed and many people touched by the Gospel. Also, in mid February we take a group to New Orleans to do street evangelism at Mardi Gras. We hand out over 50,000 tracts each year and share the Gospel with many people. This is a very important mission field that we need to reach. We usually leave early Thursday morning and return late Sunday afternoon.

The Midtown Good Neighbor center is temporarily closed. Richard and Sam Simmons have decided to leave that ministry and concentrate on Harmony Baptist Church where Richard has been called as the pastor. Victory Baptist, under the leadership of Pastor Jermaine Pennington, is going to start a church there and very soon restart the Good Neighbor Center.

Several churches in Arkansas have been bringing food up with them when they come for mission trips which has been a great help to all of our GNCs.

Please continue to pray for this ministry and your involvement in it by donating your time or providing funds for Bibles and other needs. In particular, we need youth pastors and workers who could give a Friday night every few months or so to help in JDF. This would give a connection for them to continue being discipled after they are released. Some of these kids have never really had someone who loved and cared for them and they desperately need that.

In the last couple of weeks we had a mission team from Arkansas work at the Set Free house and got a good start on the electrical installations. They bought ceiling fans for all the rooms and got most of them installed. They also installed most of the electrical outlets. This team contacted Mark after they got home and want to come again and do more toward finishing the building.

We still need work groups from our churches to finish up the drywall and painting. Over 95% of the drywall is hung and the second floor has been painted. Once we finish hanging the drywall and painting, we can start the flooring, cabinets and finish carpentry. Please contact Loren Phippen at HOKSBA with questions.