Celebrating Small Victories

If you follow this blog, then you know of the ministry in the Navajo community of Nahodishgish (if you are not, you may want to review my previous entries). God is clearly at work, but as I learned last night He is working at his own pace - not mine.

God has answered every prayer for this ministry, from raising up a team to serve there to the great harvest we experienced during their visit. He has even answered our prayer for the old church building. We have free access for as long as we want! And he brought a good number of people for our first two worship services. It's been amazing.

Then came last night... a storm the likes of which I have not seen in New Mexico (not that I've been here long)... and only three children and two youth coming out for the service. This on a night when I had brought some friends from our home church whom I had hoped might sign on to help us. Wanting to show my friends just how the Lord was working, I was disappointed with the rain and light attendance. I guess I thought that the Lord wasn't with us this night.

But then, as we took our seats for Bible study, God revealed himself in a rather subtle way. As I called out the text to be read, one of the teenagers with us left the building. Before I could wonder where she went, she returned... with her Bible. Knowing it was time to study God's word, she wanted to be ready. And so we proceeded with our study, with this young lady intently following everything I said.

As I pondered this girl's actions, God made His point perfectly clear. With the quick and near miraculous response to our efforts that we had seen to date, I had expected that we would launch this new church on short order and with little effort. But genuine church planting is never quick nor easy. God is blessing our efforts, but it is going to take time for this ministry to get off the ground and grow into a healthy Navajo church. It will happen in His time, not mine.

In the mean time, we are to praise Him for even the small victories. And really, what better sign that God is blessing our ministry here than seeing a young girl develop a love for His word. In many ways, this small victory means more than all the others put together.

To His Glory!
Bro. Jim

Family Matters

One of the best things about our present ministry is how involved our family is in it. Not that they haven't been in the past. Karen, Lizz (I still call her Elizabeth, but she prefers the other), Lydia, and James have always been involved with the churches I've served. And it's harder for Lizz to be real involved, given that she is off to college. Still, I praise God that our work in New Mexico is truly a family affair.

Karen, for you who may not know, serves as my ministry assistant. Aside from that, she feels a special call to encourage our pastors' wives. Last Saturday she held what should be the first of many ministers' wives events designed to encourage and uplift them as they serve beside their husbands.

Lizz, though not with us, is our number one prayer partner. We hope to bring her down for a few weeks this summer. We miss her, but she is at an age where we must send her off to follow the Lord's plan for her life. Her mom and I are very proud of her. We look forward with great anticipation to see how God uses her.

Lydia and James are both very involved in our work. They both joined me in supporting our team at Nahodishgish. Lydia did some marvelous ministry. And even though he's only 9 years old, James too has become quite the missionary (ask him about dog duty). Lydia accompanied me last week for the first Bible study in what we hope is a new church start at Nahodishgish. Many kids get to help with VBS and other mission projects; but, how many 14 year old church planters do you know? Well, that's what she's doing. She has committed to teach children while I work with adults as we plant this new work.

I am so grateful for the family God has blessed me with. Please keep us all in your prayers as we work in a most diverse and unique mission field. Pray that our Lord would hold Lizz close to Him as she starts college at University of Wyoming. Pray that Lydia would continue to grow in her service to the Lord as she transitions from Middle to High School. Pray for James that His love for the Lord grow and that his parents would be able to keep up with him. And pray for Karen, that the Lord would continue to lead her in her work with ministers' wives. Finally, please pray that all we do would bring a smile to the Savior's face and glory to His name.

To His Glory!

Bro. Jim

It Keeps Getting Better

What a wonderful God we serve. Just when you think you've seen it all, He does something even greater.

So what's up? Well, as I write I am catching my breath from three consecutive weeks working with incoming mission teams. The first brought 107 persons to work at eleven Navajo sites. The next week, beside World Changers in Gallup, we had the long awaited team working at Nahodishgish. And finally, we had the team from First Southern Baptist, Hutchinson, Kansas, working with Bro. Aaron Jim at Tohatchi. Add to these the teams working with Bro. Mark Chandler at 1st Indian in Gallup or Jack Foster at Wingate, and you can see there has been a lot going on. And summer's just begun.

I have yet to receive complete reports on these projects, other than that some great ministry was done in the name of Christ. I cannot wait to bear testimony to it all as reports come in.

But I can report on the work at Nahodishgish. I've shared in previous posts how God has been moving there. This is a community hungry for the gospel. Well, I worked closely with the team from Trinity Baptist Church, Dayton, Texas, ministering there last week. By the end of the week 28 persons came to faith in Jesus Christ! And better yet, we have an open door for a new church start - an answer to our prayers.

The independent group holding the lease on the church building there restarted their work three weeks prior to our arrival, but last Sunday no one showed up to lead worship. I've offered their missionary my support and promised to do nothing that might interfere with his work. But he admits that some of his parishioners will not accept those reached through our efforts (let's just say that there are various "clan issues").

In meeting with some of the Navajo at Nahodishgish, we decided that we would have our worship on Sunday evenings. Besides avoiding any conflict with my independent brothers and sisters, this will preserve my availability on Sunday mornings for the 24 other churches I serve. I hope to involve a couple of families from my home church, First Baptist, Grants, to assist. Anyway, a Navajo community that four weeks ago lacked any gospel witness now has two. It just keeps getting better.

Please pray for the new work at Nahodishgish, that God would mold them together as a church family. Pray that our Lord would grant me wisdom as I work with them. And pray that He would raise up a leader to whom I can pass primary responsibility in due time. And continue your prayers for the various ministries going on in Western New Mexico through the remainder of the summer. Your prayers really do make a difference.

To His Glory!
Bro. Jim

Praise God!

Greetings all!

In a couple of previous posts I shared about the Navajo community of Nahodishgish, which is actively seeking a new church. There is a church building there, closed at the time. I've been praying that God would deliver this building to us for our new work.

Well, it isn't ours yet; but, the people who hold the lease on the property have given it to me for the week of June 13-19. Then a team from Dayton, Texas, will lead VBS and conduct some community service projects. This is the first obstacle that had to be overcome. But praise the Lord! He did it.

Please pray now that, as our team serves, we will cultivate some relationships leading to a core group for our church plant. And continue to pray that God would give us the building for the new church. Pray also that He would raise up someone to lead this new work.

Thanks for your prayers. They really do make a difference.

To His Glory!
Bro. Jim

Christ arose... and So Has Virginia

As I write, it's Easter - Resurrection Sunday! I love to preach any time, any place. But there's something special about presenting the gospel on Easter.

Which is why Bro. Mark Chandler didn't have to twist my arm too hard in getting me to preach for him as he and his family took some vacation. I quickly accepted his invitation, agreeing to spend the day in Gallup, with First Indian Baptist Church.

Worship was great! Karen, the kids, and I even learned a couple of new hymns in Navajo. You'd have to ask the congregation what they thought of the message, but the invitation was wonderful. Several people came forward for prayer: three for their family as they grieve the death of a brother; two confessing sin, rededicating their lives to the Lord. God was clearly at work as people expressed needs and others prayed for them.

As we closed the invitation, I made one final gospel appeal. "We may be closing the service," I said, "but this doesn't mean your opportunity to receive Christ is over. We're about to pray, then share a meal together. So, if at anytime you want to speak about trusting your life to Jesus Christ, just come to me and say, 'Jim, I need Jesus.'"

Well, after the potluck, just as I was saying goodbye, Virginia approached me. "Jim, I need Jesus." That's all she needed to say. I called one of the women from the church to join me. We found a corner. And I shared the gospel with Virginia. Right then and there she trusted Christ as her personal Lord and Savior.

So this Easter we commemorate two resurrrections: Christ's, through whom we have salvation, and Virginia, who placed her faith in Him, thus gaining hers.

Pray for Virginia as she begins her new life in Christ. Pray for Beverly, Renee, and the women of First Indian as they minister to her. Pray for Pastor Mark Chandler as he leads the church. And pray for me, as I seek to encourage and resource them, that Christ would be glorified among the Navajo people in Gallup.

To His Glory!

Bro. Jim

Update on Crownpoint Area and Nahodishgish

In a previous post I mentioned an area where God is opening the door for ministry, just west of Crownpoint. The community is Nahodishgish, in the Navajo Nation. God is moving there in such a way that the people are asking for a church.

I knew when I began this assignment that church planting would be a priority, but I was thinking of places where we saw the need. In most of these places, people aren’t lining up asking us to come in. But at Nahodishgish, this is what’s happening.

It began as I was following up with a family to whom I was introduced back in November. A relationship with them led to an invitation to a chapter meeting, where I sought approval to bring in a summer mission team. Well, when the people voted on my request they went far beyind granting approval. They asked if we could open the abandoned church building in the chapter. As is stands now, they intend on approaching the current leaseholder about reopening the church. If they cannot do it, then the people want the chapter to reclaim the property and make it available to our association.

Nothing is guaranteed yet, but God is clearly at work here. We will know more after the team's work this summer. Still, pray for this community. Pray that God would deliver this church building to us for a new church start. Pray also for Him to raise up someone to sheperd this new congregation in His name.

To His Glory!
Jim

Homegrown Leadership

Last night Karen and I attended revival services at Gateway Community Church, in Window Rock. Gateway is a growing church whose mission field includes the capitol of the Navajo Nation.

The service was wonderful, but what blessed me most was the preacher. Evangelist Chris Boyd was saved and discipled through the ministry of Gateway. After sensing God's call to ministry, he and his wife moved to Ft. Worth, Texas, where they are students at Southwestern Seminary. Their intent after graduation is to return home and lead healthy, reproducing churches, to the glory of Jesus Christ.

What an answer to prayer! Even though I am an outsider, I have long believed that the key to reaching Native Americans for Christ is discipling and engaging them in ministry. I may reach a few, but when those I reach go out in His name... well, this is when whole communities will come to Christ.

Please pray for Chris and his wife as they complete their seminary studies. May our Lord raise him into a powerful communicator of the gospel. Pray for his pastor, Doyle Hales, that Chris will be one of many who through his ministry become missionaries. And pray for me, as I cast a vision for developing homegrown leaders across the Mountain and Western Baptist Associations.

To His Glory!
Bro. Jim

Diverse People... One Lord

Of all the places within our mission field, Socorro best represents its diversity. Karen, the kids, and I worshipped with First Baptist Socorro last Sunday. Pastor Bob Farmer, his wife Jenny, and the entire church family are always a blessing. This weekend was no exception.

But back to the diversity: Socorro sits at the heart of the old Spanish territory of New Mexico, right along El Camino Real. Many residents here are of Castillian heritage, tracing their ancestry to the conquistadors. They are the most unreached people group in New Mexico.

Then we have persons of Mexican background -- some of whose families have been in the area for generations; others who are new arrivals.

With the Alamo Navajo reservation to the west, many Native Americans call Socorro home. Add to that descendants of Anglo settlers and others, and you have quite a mix.

But it doesn't end there. Socorro is home to the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, aka New Mexico Tech. Let me just say that Tech is a community of very smart people: mechanical engineers, nuclear physicists and the like. As operation center for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (the Very Large Array, itself located 50 miles west) Tech hosts its share of astronomers and astrophysicists too. This group as a whole tends to be hard to reach with the gospel. Still First Baptist is quite active with the campus ministry. Many members of the NMT community call First Baptist their church home.

And then there are the Chinese. Chinese students make up the largest group of international students at NMT. Under the leadership of missionary Anna Tai, new students are drawn by the hospitality shown by their Christian colleagues. One result: our thriving Chinese Bible study is growing into a new church plant (you can read about Grace Chinese Fellowship in a previous post).

A community of about 9000, Socorro is illustrative of the diversity found across the Mountain & Western Baptist Associations, and for that matter across New Mexico. Such diversity presents a great challenge as we seek to communicate the gospel with each group. As different as they may be, they all need Jesus Christ. On the other hand, there is great joy in serving such a diverse mission field. It reminds me of what heaven will be like: people of different races and cultures, bound together in love and surrender to the same Lord. I can't wait for that day! "For we are all one in Christ Jesus," (Gal. 3:28b).

Join me in prayer for the staff and members of FBC, Socorro. Pray for the Lord to direct their ministries and empower them with His Spirit. And pray for Karen and I as we serve them, that the Lord would show us how to penetrate each of these people groups with His gospel.

To His Glory!

Bro. Jim

The More Things Change....

... the more they stay the same. I cannot shake this thought since returning from a recent meeting. During one particular session, the presenter noted how the models for helping churches have changed. He said that we've moved from talking about church growth to church health, and now to the missional church.

Now I've read the books and understand what he was saying. And there are certainly differences in emphasis among the models. But there is also a sense in which the better books on these models have really said the same thing. Church growth books spoke of engaging the unbelieving culture around us in order to present the gospel. Authors writing on church health described how healthy congregations do just that. Ditto now for proponents of the missional church. So I'm just wondering if we've merely been saying the same thing in different ways, even as our actual outreach diminishes. Are we giving so much effort to how we describe ministry that it's taking from our effort to do ministry?

Regardless of which model is used in describing a ministry (growing, healthy, missional, or whatever comes next), it seems to me that we're really describing a simple process. God's people must engage and build intentional relationships with unbelievers. They must then present the gospel. And those who respond must be connected with the local, New Testament church for discipleship and for engagement in Christian life and ministry. I concede that how we do this among diverse cultures in a changing world is a challenge. But the principles are no different than they were 20 years ago, or for that matter 2000 years ago.

It's just a thought.

May God grant us His wisdom and power for doing these things wherever we may serve.

To His Glory!
Bro. Jim

Count Your Blessings

Six months. That's how long Karen, the kids, and I have been on the field in New Mexico. Not long ago one of my Regional Advisory Team members (we call them RATS, but they're really quite nice) said, "Jim, make sure to take some down time. Don't try to get everything done at once." And he's right. Most of our challenges have been brewing for a while, and it will take time to properly address them.

Still, in six months God has done some remarkable things. So in praise to Him, let me share just a few of them.

• Reserve Baptist Church recently called a new pastor. Not long thereafter, in partnership with the State Convention and Mountain Association, they held a concert / evangelistic outreach. It was a way to tell the community that the church was alive and engaged. Well, so far, one family has returned to the church and three others trusted Christ for salvation last week!
  
• First Indian Baptist, Gallup called Mark Chandler as pastor. In six months they have gone from being nearly bankrupt to being self-sufficient. Soon a couple will move from Georgia to Gallup to serve as community missionaries. The vision is for the church to become a 7 day a week ministry center.
  
• Old Fort Wingate is soon to become a youth ranch / retreat center, reaching the Navajo for Christ!
  
• Two men in First Baptist Grants have approached me about God's call to ministry. One in particular, the son of missionaries to the Navajo, believes God is calling him to serve Native Americans!
  
• Four new ministry partnerships are confirmed, with another working! And this does not count the teams recruited through Durk Lynch (WBA Missions Development Dir.), Jack Foster, or First Indian / Church Rock.
  
• God has opened a door for a new ministry serving the Crownpoint area.

Again, this is not a complete list. To whatever extend God has used Karen and me as catalysts for these and other things, I am grateful. Most of all, I stand in awe of our wonderful Lord who is always at work redeeming a lost world unto Himself.

Join us in praising Him for these things! Keep us in your prayers as we seek to follow Christ further in our new mission field. If He's done all this in a few months, I can't wait to see what he has in store for the coming years.

To His Glory!

Bro. Jim

The Fields Are Ripe for Harvest

Last week I was given a tour of the Crownpoint area by Daniel Clymer and his father, Richard. Daniel pastors at Jemez Pueblo and serves as the Native American Consultant for the Baptist Convention of New Mexico. Thirty years ago Richard served as pastor at Crownpoint. They wished to familiarize me with the area, in the hope of soon beginning a new church there.

Back when Bro. Richard served there, the Crownpoint church was at least as strong as other Native American churches in Western Association. But as often happens among God's people, a series of unfortunate events led to the collapse of the ministry. Today I pray for a new start. Given Crownpoint's size (appx. 3000 population) and role (home to offices for the Eastern Agency of the Navajo Nation), this community is a priority site for new work.

Church planters will tell you that starting a new church anyplace is tough. My observation is that starting one in a Native American community where our previous work has died is even more so. As Henry Blackaby says, it's a God sized task.

But on this visit I saw how God was already at work, making a way for our new church. Bro. Richard introduced me to two sisters whom he baptized three decades before. Still remembering his ministry with them, they welcomed him as if he had never left. More pertinent to my purpose there, they welcomed me. And I learned they they would welcome a Bible study for their community, even hosting it in one of their homes.

There is a long way to go before we have a new church at Crownpoint. God must raise up a church planter who can serve there long-term. And there is more prospect discovery to be done and resources to be found. But God has given us some persons of peace. There is an open door to open hearts. This leaves me with little doubt that, as Jesus said, the fields are ripe for harvest (John 4:35).

Pray for Crownpoint... that God would raise up a church planter... that we would see His provision... and that a new church would emerge there faithfully calling people to faith in our risen Lord.

To His Glory!

Bro. Jim

Congratulations Bro. Garland Moore

Western Association's Garland Moore was elected 1st Vice President of the Baptist Convention of New Mexico at the Convention's annual meeting, Oct. 28-29. Working as closely as I do with Garland, I can see in him what others do. He exemplifies my favorite Bible verse, Hebrews 13:7, "Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith."

I didn't have the opportunity to nominate Bro. Garland; but, had I done so, this is what I would have said:

"Mr. President. I wish to nominate for 1st Vice President Bro. Garland Moore. It has been said that one cannot lead others where he himself has not yet gone. Effective leaders have done and are doing what they call others to do. If this is true, than Garland Moore is definitely an effective leader, faithfully performing the most crucial tasks of a pastor.

"Garland is a pastor, faithfully serving the Immanuel Baptist Church. He is an evangelist. I've seen him linger at an intersection to witness with a highway worker. He is a missionary, having traveled oversees and across our nation to bring Christ to others. He is a church planter, leading his church in sponsoring two church-type missions as well as the Community Outreach Center in Grants. And he is a proven disciplemaker. Two men discipled under his ministry pastor those two church plants, while another serves in the local Truck Stop ministry, and many serve the Outreach Center. Most of all, he is a prayer warrior. I love to pray with Garland. It's obvious that, even as the prayer begins, this isn't the first time he's met with God today.

"When I consider all that any pastor need be, I see these qualities. And the fact that Garland so humbly displays them suggests to me that he is an appropriate role model and leader for our Convention. Thank you."

I certainly do not want to embarrass my brother; but, we can all learn from his testimony. So, to my friend and partner in ministry I say "Congratulations!" To the rest of us, let's consider the outcome of the way of life shown and imitate the faith propelling it, that our Lord would be glorified in all we do.

To His Glory!
Bro. Jim