April 24, 2024
Numerous groups will be meeting in conjunction with the SBC annual meeting held this June in Phoenix. For full stories and details of the gatherings go to Baptist Press at bpnews.net.
Ministry updates from church planters are on tap when the Chinese Baptist Fellowship of the United States and Canada gathers June 13 during the Southern Baptist Convention 2017 Annual Meeting in Phoenix.
Chinese Southern Baptists are continuing their focus on church planting in an attempt to reach a goal the group set in 2010 to plant 600 churches in the U.S. and Canada by 2020, Alan Chan, one of two vice presidents of the fellowship, told Baptist Press.
During the meeting, stateside church planters from East Asia will share testimonies of God's work in reaching Chinese in the U.S. and Canada, and representatives from the International Mission Board and the North American Mission Board will also provide updates, Chan, pastor of church ministry coordination at mandarin Baptist Church of Los Angeles in Alhambra, Calif.
There are more than 300 Chinese Baptist churches in the U.S. and Canada.The Chinese fellowship conducts its business at its biennial meeting, with the next gathering set for Los Angeles in 2018. There, the fellowship will mark its 40th anniversary.
The election of an executive director and receiving a report on church planting progress will be among the highlights of the Filipino Southern Baptist Fellowship of North America's annual meeting in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Phoenix.
The theme of the Filipino Fellowship's meeting is "multiply," in keeping with the focus on church planting.The "biggest emphasis" of the meeting will be a recommendation by the officers of a candidate to serve as the fellowship's first executive director, fellowship president Peter Yanes said. The executive director will serve on a volunteer basis initially, with hopes of funding the position in the near future.
The gathering's church planting emphasis will include a report that the Filipino Fellowship is on pace to plant 100 new churches between 2015 and 2020. Achieving that goal would bring the total number of Filipino congregations in North America to more than 300, said Yanes, a North American Mission Board church planting catalyst and ethnic strategist for the Baptist Convention of Pennsylvania/South Jersey.
Equipping evangelists to minister in the 21st century will be the focus when the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists gathers in Phoenix in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting.
An evangelists' retreat and business meeting June 9-10 at the Arizona Biltmore will be followed by a Sunday worship service hosted by Southern Baptist evangelists June 11 at First Southern Baptist Church in Phoenix. A "Southwest Supper Sing-A-Long" June 12 will give pastors an opportunity to connect with evangelists.
The emphasis on evangelists' work in the 21st century will include discussion of mentoring a new generation of evangelists and using technology to facilitate Gospel witness.
An evangelists booth in the SBC exhibit hall will help Southern Baptists understand the work of evangelists internationally and in North America and allow convention attendees to meet Southern Baptist evangelists.
Evangelicals interested in ministering among Native Americans across North America are invited June 10-11 to a two-day conference entitled "Dimensions to Native Ministry."
The conference, hosted by the Fellowship of Native American Christians (FoNAC) is to be hosted by and at First Indian Baptist Church in Phoenix, where Shaun Whitey is pastor.
Native American church plants or restarts are appearing sporadically in states across America, including one in the heart of Minneapolis, where there is believed to be the highest density population of Native Americans in any city across the nation.The United States has 567 federally-recognized Native American tribes; Canada has 634 federally-recognized First Nations groups.
The salvation assured only through faith in Jesus will be the focus of the Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Leaders as they meet June 11–12 in Phoenix in advance of the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting.
With the theme "Jesus Saves," the SBCAL will offer sermons and workshops aimed at preparing associational leaders to share God's Word effectively, grow disciples and lead successfully. SBCAL events will be at the Westin in downtown Phoenix 9:45 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Sunday, June 11, and 8:45 a.m.–11:20 a.m. Monday, June 12.
Key speakers will include Robby Gallaty, senior pastor of Long Hollow Baptist Church in Hendersonville, Tenn.; Jeff Iorg, president of Gateway Seminary in Ontario, Calif.; Johnny Hunt, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Woodstock; and Byron Paulus, president and CEO of Life Action Ministries in Buchanan, Mich. and OneCry, a nationwide call for spiritual awakening.
Discussion on major changes to the constitution and bylaws of the Council of Korean Southern Baptist Churches in America will be among top agenda items during the fellowship's annual meeting, Executive Director Chongoh Aum said.
The Korean Council's annual meeting is set for June 12-14 at the Arizona Grand Resort Hotel in Phoenix.
At least 800 Koreans are expected to participate in their fellowship's three-day annual gathering.
PHOENIX (BP) — The National African American Fellowship (NAAF) has suspended its June 11 worship service in Phoenix preceding the Southern Baptist Convention 2017 Annual Meeting to allow members to attend the SBC Pastors' Conference and the Harvest America Crusade.
NAAF wants to encourage the leaders of small- and average-size churches scheduled to preach at the event, NAAF President Byron Day said, and wants to encourage evangelism in Phoenix through the crusade.
"Most of our African American churches also fall into that category (small- and average-size) and so we wanted to encourage our churches to attend the Pastors' Conference this year," said Day, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Laurel, Md.
The Pastors' Conference opens at the Phoenix Convention Center June 11 from 6-9 p.m., which overlaps with the time NAAF's annual worship service would normally be held. Harvest America is scheduled June 11 from 5–7 p.m. at the University of Phoenix Stadium, with gates opening at 2 p.m. The preceding Crossover Phoenix events June 9 and 10 are related to the crusade.
NAAF's Sunday worship will likely return to the group's lineup at the 2018 annual meeting in Dallas, Day said.
NAAF will recommend re-election of the current slate of officers. In add
Newly-elected president of the Asian American National Fellowship Ted Lam addresses the group's inaugural meeting in conjunction with the 2016 SBC annual meeting in St. Louis. JOHN STROUP/BPition to Day, they include vice president Marshall Ausberry, pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Fairfax Station, Va.; secretary Bucas Sterling III, pastor of Kettering Baptist Church in Upper Marlboro, Md.; treasurer Frank Williams, pastor of Wake-Eden Community Baptist Church and Bronx Baptist Church in the Bronx, N.Y.; parliamentarian Erik Cummings, pastor of New Light Baptist Church in Miami, and historian Robert Wilson, pastor of Light of the World Baptist Church in Atlanta.
The National Asian American (NAA) Fellowship representing eight Asian nationalities will announce in June a new Southern Baptist group for second-generation Asian Americans, those born in the U.S.
The NAA Fellowship will work cooperatively with the National Asian American Second-Generation Fellowship, helping members of the new group navigate the Southern Baptist Convention and guiding them into leadership posts, said Paul Kim, Asian American relations consultant for the SBC Executive Committee.
NAA Fellowship President Ted Lam will announce the new group during the fellowship banquet June 12.
Frank S. Page, SBC Executive Committee president, will bring greetings as will Gateway Seminary President Jeff Iorg.About 1,900 Asian American congregations in the U.S. are Southern Baptist, including Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Hmong, Japanese, Korean, Laotian and Vietnamese churches.
Those who attend will be encouraged to identify defining moments that affect and inspire their missional journey during the Woman's Missionary Union (WMU) Missions Celebration and Annual Meeting, June 11–12, in Phoenix.
Defining Moments will be a consistent theme of featured missionary speakers, including Kelly and Brandi Parrish, church planters serving with the North American Mission Board in Denver; Jacob and Jessica Dahl, church planters serving with NAMB in Washington; and Ross and Dena Frierson, International Mission Board. Focused times of prayer will be led by Carlos Ferrer, executive vice president and chief financial officer NAMB; Edgar Aponte, vice president of mobilization for the IMB; and Ken Weathersby, vice president for convention advancement for the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
Onsite registration opens at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 11, with conference options beginning at 3 p.m., including 10 speed conferences that run 20 minutes each in length.
Jewish and Arab believers will celebrate their common faith in Christ at the Southern Baptist Messianic Fellowship meeting in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting in Phoenix.
SBMF members and guests will convene Sunday, June 11 at First Arabic Baptist Church in Phoenix. A worship service at 11 a.m. will be followed by a potluck "oneg" (Hebrew for "delight") meal and then a business meeting. The fellowship – which is comprised largely of Messianic Jews (Jews who follow Jesus as Messiah) – will gather around the theme "disciples making disciples who make disciples."
Though media portrayals often depict conflict between Jews and Arabs, the meeting's location at a church that offers worship in Arabic will highlight reasons for Christ-followers from both groups to partner in evangelism, said SBMF President Ric Worshill.
