Winter in Montana

Well, it has been three years since our family left Arkansas for the "last great place," Montana. Winter in Montana is not what most Southerners imagine, but don't tell them - they may want to come! I really do enjoy Winter in Montana. Snow, crisp mornings, the clearest of blue skies, and winter activities are awesome. Church work is not bad either. I grew up in the South, have spent most of my ministry in the South, so I know what many experience. If the weather man says on the Saturday evening news that it might snow, Sunday attendance will be low (even if it doesn't snow). In Montana, we have some of our best days with several inches of fresh snow on the ground.

Last Wednesday was a great "Winter in Montana" evening. The AWANA program at South Hills is in full swing. There were 51 kids involved in AWANA, and we baptized two of them!! Two young ladies who have been in our ministry for a long time. It really was neat to see 50 kids gather around the portable baptistry to see their friends publically proclaim Christ in Baptism.
Merry Christmas
Steve in Montana

SUMMERTIME VBS AND GOD'S BLESSINGS
My last post, May 8th, I wrote of God's amazing activity - activity that can only be explained as an act of God and not our plans or agendas. Well, God is still working! SHBF just finished VBS what a blast!!! Our church that averages about 100 in worship, averaged 95 in VBS students - about 160 workers included. Family night saw over 200! There were some saved in VBS, some families touched who need a church home, and the carry over led to some youth saved at a campout.
SHBF is privileged to have 2 NAMB supoorted summer missionaries. One of the reasons our church supports the Cooperative program and our missions offerings is the direct result we see. NAMB transports the missionaries to the field, provides insurance, and a small stipend. We could not have these guys without NAMB.
Here is praying that you see God working in your mission field this summer.
Steve in Montana

WATCHING GOD WORK

Just like the Christian life that others experience, the life of a Pastor has its ups and downs. Sometimes we want to quit. Sometimes we "grow weary in well doing." Sometimes we work very hard and see no results. Sometimes we just pray a lot. And sometimes God allows us to see Him work in our midst. It is all a part of the journey called "walking with God." One of my seminary professors, Dr. Steve Wilkes, told me one day "You can't plant a mega-church. God calls us to plant churches and in His plan and purpose some of them grow very large."

As a pastor, of course I want to see the church I serve grow. I want to see people enter the Kingdom. I want to see life change. Right now God is allowing me and the rest of South Hills Baptist Fellowship to see Him work. For five straight weeks we have seen people make public decisions - salvation, baptism, church membership in our Morning service. I wish I could give you our "Four Step Growth Plan," but I can't - I don't have one. I am not a better preacher now than the five straight weeks that no one walked the aisle. We do not have a new outreach plan. We have not saturated our community with a special blitz. We have prayed. We do not normally have evening services, but several weeks ago one of our church council members had a burden that we needed to pray for the body. We set aside a Sunday night for a concert of prayer. The body showed up in a big way. We prayed. And then it happened - God just started visibly working right in front of us.

It is exciting. I wonder what else God is going to do. I pray that I will not mess it up. And I am thankful for seeing people respond to God.

Steve

REVIVAL IN THE CHURCH

Our church - South Hills Baptist Fellowship just finished the last of four days of meetings with Evangelist Rick Ingle and Music Evangelist Phillip Willis. I know Revival will continue because of the faithfulness of God's people to respond to His blessings. A 17 year old young man and two children made public their professions of faith in these services. Many Christians came to the altar each service to pray, and many had invited friends. One young lady, who is new to the area, came at the invitation of a co-worker. She was so excited when she drove up and saw "Baptist" in the name because she was raised in a Baptist Church in Kansas. (Glad we had not taken it out of our name because she said she would be back.)

These days were a vivid reminder of God's plan. Some are retreating - "when you preach the truth, people leave, so we are satisfied with our Holy Huddle." Some have a persecution complex - "It is so hard in Montana." But God is true to His plan and promise. Everywhere, in every culture, in every time that the Gosple is faithfully preached some are saved.

I have personally been challenged to be more faithful in my witness. Bro Rick Ingle preaches the same message, in the same way, from the same Bible in pioneer areas as he does in the "Bible Belt." In recent years he has seen a greater response in pioneer areas than in the South. God help us all to trust Your powerful Word to build Your Kingdom.

VBS

Tonight will be night three of Saddle Ridge Ranch - VBS -! Last night we had 70 kids present and over 50 workers! Having a great time. We are also blessed to have our summer missionary (Trevor) and our 4 Associational missionaries helping. We will close out Thursday night. VBS is still something God uses to reach people for salvation. Want to know one reason VBS is successful? Look at my numbers above - no, not the 70 kids - the 50 workers. VBS is a good example of the body of Christ working together for a common goal, and when that happens God shows up. VBS is expensive, time consumming, tiring (exhausting!!!), and I love it.
Steve

SBC MISSIONS

I have just returned from an East Asia Summit sponsored by the IMB in Oklahoma City. I was there representing the Treasure State Baptist Association. Last Fall, we had two of our M's from East Asia at our Associational Annual Meeting. Out of that time, I felt our TSBA should consider how we could partner with East Asia. Our DOM, Steve Fowler agreed, and so we began to pray. A couple of months ago, Steve Fowler was encouraged by an M on the field to go to the Summit, and because he was to be out of State, I was asked. I want to share just a couple of thoughts I have had so far.
First, it may seem a bit audacious for a small association of small Baptist churches in a pioneer State to even consider a partnership. I felt that way. I was even thinking that way on my way to OKC, but it did not take long to realize it can be a perfect fit. I found that the preferred size of teams in East Asia is about 5-8. A group of two is great. I thought "Wow, we can do this."
Second, as I was growing up, even in college and seminary, the prospects of going to most of East Asia were very poor as Communism had slammed the curtain. Today there is a small window, but it is relatively easy to go anywhere in East Asia that God may lead.
Third, I am excited, EXCITED, about being Southern Baptist. I was able to meet a number of our M's at the Summit. I cannot tell you how impressed I was with them. They are worthy of our dollars, our prayer, and our partnertship.
Steve

HEALTHY CHURCHES

This last weekend I had the privilege of attending a pastors' retreat with my fellow ministers in the Treasure State Baptist Association in Montana. It was a good time of fellowship as well as being sharpened in ministry. Glenn Daman, author of several books, including Shepherding the Small Church, was our speaker for the retreat. I really enjoyed hearing from someone who had a passion for ministry to small churches in small areas.

Although I enjoyed Glenn immensely, there was a spirit in the discussion that caused me some alarm (and this was not Glenn's take on things). It seemed to me that many of the participants were applying the truths of a country song to the church, you know the one, "It's Alright to be Itty Bitty." It is alright to be small. I served in a church plant that had 12 charter members and met in a storefront. We were small. But God honored His Word. Wherever, whenever the Gospel is preached, God will save some and will build His church.

I believe that the pendulum has swung away from the excesses of the Church Growth Movement that placed more weight on pragmatism than on Scripture (a needed correction), and is now swinging to far. We live in a nation that is growing more lost every day - in this setting it is NOT okay for baptism's to continually decline. Montana is often listed as one of the least evangelized states in the country, so it should be ripe for healthy, growing churches. My goal is not a mega church. Dr. Steve Wilkes was my D.Min adviser at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. His second Doctorate was in Church Growth from Fuller Seminary. He was a church growth guy. He also said to me, "God did not call us to plant mega churches. He calls us to plant churches. Some of those may grow to be large churches, but it is a sovereign act of God when they do." He went on to say that the goal should be healthy churches and healthy churches will grow. A good book is Ken Hemphill's book, The Bonsai Theory of Church Growth.

It is okay to be a small church, a good thing since most churches are small, but it is not good to plan to be small. Being small is not a badge of honor (nor is it a dishonor). We all need to trust God's power to save the lost and build His church when His Word is preached. To do that we must make sure that there are lost people hearing our message, and that happens when we get out in the community. This is a challenge to my heart more than a challenge to anyone else. The Great Commission is a command to go - it is not a theology to be discussed behind the walls of the church, it is not a doctrine to be studied in order to gain a certificate, but it is a Christ given command that must be obeyed - and to obey we must GO!

Pray for me that I will GO this week.
Steve