SOUTH ASIA–At least one made a commitment to go but then lost his job when he kept that commitment. Another missed attending her niece’s wedding. All made sacrifices of some kind.
Jennifer Blanton, a member of First Baptist North Spartanburg, rocks a baby on the other side of the world. She was one of 118 volunteers who traveled from First North to minister to Southern Baptist missionaries who serve in South Asia.But ask them, and they will say that rocking babies on the other side of the world was worth it. Helping missionary kids make butterflies from paper, pipe cleaners and craft sticks was worth it. Letting youth douse them with Goofy String and shaving cream all in the name of fun was worth it. And leading missionaries in worship before the Lord, well, that was worth it.
“It has just been very meaningful for us, and we would do it again in a minute,” said Lou Lyn Turner, who coordinated the weeklong preschool ministry. “When the moms would come thank us, we’d start crying. That’s what tenderized our team ? seeing how grateful these missionaries are.”
This summer, 118 members of First Baptist North Spartanburg flew to Asia to minister to Southern Baptist missionaries and their families who serve in South Asia. The missionaries had gathered for their annual general meeting and for some fellowship.
“We wouldn’t be able to have AGM if it were not for North Spartanburg,” said Darren Cantwell,* affinity global strategist for South Asian peoples. “Thank you, guys. You’ve blessed our socks off.”
Forty to 50 of the volunteers were on their first overseas mission trip, and several traveled as families.
“When Pastor Hamlet first mentioned the trip, I thought, ‘I think I’d like to do that.’ Then I told my family, and they wouldn’t let me back out,” said Jennifer Blanton, a first-time overseas volunteer who ministered by caring for babies. “It’s been fun.”
Blanton’s husband and their daughter also joined her on the trip ? her husband teaching 2-year-olds and their daughter singing with the praise team.
Volunteers from First Baptist North Spartanburg help 2-year-old missionary kids make frames out of craft sticks. In all, 118 volunteers traveled from First North to minister to Southern Baptist missionaries who serve in South Asia.“God has changed us and has done some things that are really amazing,” said Mike Hamlet, senior pastor of the 125-year-old church in Spartanburg, S.C. “Before 10 to 12 years ago, we have no record of a single person ever being called to the mission field, and a lot of that was under my leadership. (Now) missions has become a major element in the life of our church.”
First Baptist volunteers came to minister to the missionaries as part of the South Carolina Baptist Convention’s partnership with the IMB’s South Asia Region that launched at the start of 2005. The partnership will officially end Dec. 31.
“It was very appropriate that First North Spartanburg led this AGM,” McDowell said. “Mike Hamlet and Al Phillips were leaders of the first vision trip at the beginning of the partnership and have been very involved each step of the way.?God has used them to impact the entire affinity group this week, and they will continue to be a part of the work among South Asian peoples in South Carolina and across South Asia. I know their involvement will also make a huge difference in their own church family.”
Many of the South Carolina churches that have developed partnerships with specific missionaries or people groups in South Asia will continue those partnerships beyond Dec. 31, McDowell said. Furthermore, beginning in January 2010, the South Carolina Baptist Convention will focus on a strategic relationship in a key megacity in South Asia.
“From January 2005 through July 2009, there have been 886 volunteers that we know of. For the remainder of 2009, there are at least seven more teams coming to South Asia,” McDowell said. “During the AGM time that celebrated the five-year partnership between South Carolina and South Asia, I had the vision of more than 900 volunteers standing on the stage. With them were hundreds of others on their support teams who have prayed and given financial support, representatives from insurance and travel agencies, health departments and doctors who have given immunizations, association and convention leaders, South Asia personnel, IMB personnel in the states, and national leaders. What an incredible team of people who have had their fingerprints on this partnership. And God’s handprints are on it all. The impact of this partnership will continue for eternity.”
South Asians number about 1.5 million in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives.
“You have a greater responsibility that comes with this region because of the task that God has set before you. God has set you on our hearts,” Hamlet said, committing to continue praying for the missionaries who serve among South Asians.
This year’s meeting was especially important to the missionaries. The International Mission Board has restructured to focus its church-planting strategies less on geographical boundaries and more on affinity groups. During the meeting, on July 1, the South Asia Region ceased and the Affinity of South Asian Peoples was launched.
“It’s been the greatest joy of our lives to serve our missionaries at this historic AGM,” said Al Phillips, First Baptist’s associate pastor. “We’re excited we had the opportunity to be a part of that significant change.
“Our people have given a lot, but they get so much more back. You can’t out give God,” Phillips said. “I’m very proud of our volunteers. They’ve worked selflessly and done an excellent job.
“The greatest desire of our hearts,” he said, “is that one day we will worship around the throne with every nation and language, all tribes and peoples, because of our service here.”
*Name changed. Goldie Frances is a Southern Baptist missionary serving as a writer in South Asia.
Editor’s note: Here are two events you might want to attend in South Carolina this fall.
Sept. 10-13 First Baptist North Spartanburg will host a Global Impact Conference called “Breaking the Missions Code: Unlocking the Secrets of God’s Plan for the Nations.” Come meet Southern Baptist missionaries. For more information, visit www.firstnorth.org/templates/System/details.asp?id=20797&PID=709692.
Nov. 2-4 the South Carolina Baptist Convention will host a Best Practices Institute to help South Carolina’s Baptists learn how to apply effective church-planting principles to reach the 3 million unchurched in South Carolina. For more information, please contact the convention staff at www.scbaptist.org.
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