Helping churches Connect to their communities: Meet Ken Thomas!

Perhaps you have experienced it, perhaps your children have joined the happy throngs of giggling excited children arriving on an early summer morning to a horde of enthusiastic coaches and volunteers, bright welcome flags, and loud music to begin a week of sports themed day camp at a local church in your community. One of the men behind the dream that created WinShape Day Camps is Ken "KT" Thomas (UGA '94). That dream began in the spring of 2003 as an idea to help his church, Rolling Hills Community Church, in Franklin, Tennessee, meet people in their community and for the church to serve the people there with a fun community-wide event. Ken and his wife Norma joined the new church while Ken was working at LifeWay Christian Resources, the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention. Ken has always loved sports. He played college baseball at ABAC in south Georgia for two years before transferring to UGA. Using his passion to help his church connect to their community was a natural fit. Three years later Connect Ministries was born.

Ken grew up in Tifton, Georgia and was a member of FIrst Baptist Church. In college he was active in Baptist Collegiate Ministries, especially intramurals! He majored Science Education. After college he moved to Texas to attend Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He earned his Master of Divinity in 1996 (and later earned a Doctor of Education from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2004). He started working for LifeWay in January 1997 and continued there until August 2006. He did a brief sojourn (wandering in the wilderness for 6 months) as an Associate Dean at a college but returned to LifeWay after he realized his mistake. He started as an Intern at Lifeway, then served as a Consultant, then Coordinator, then Manager of Crosspoint and Centri-Kid Camps. He was in the Centrifuge Department (changed to Student Events) the entire time he was at LifeWay. He was responsible for overseeing the development, planning, training, recruiting, budget, staffing, operations, strategic plans for all Children camps there. Ken says his greatest achievement at Lifeway would have to be,

"having the opportunity to start Centri-Kid. From its most infant moment through the time I left in 2006 it grew from 0 campers to over 24,000 campers each summer. It was amazing watching God place his hand on a ministry and use it to reach thousands of people each summer."

Ken's partner in beginning Connect Ministries is fellow UGA grad Gabe Norris. Gabe and his wife Allyson moved from Birmingham to join the LifeWay staff also joining Rolling Hills. According to Ken, in the Spring of 2005, Gabe, who is also passionate about sports, "jumped right in to helping grow the basketball outreach of the church." A year later they left LifeWay to follow their growing dream of a new ministry.

The 3 on 3 basketball tournaments were the core of their venture in the beginning. Those first events events continue - this year they will do 4-6 big festival-like basketball tournaments in places like Boston, Houston, Athens, and Atlanta. The Connect team will also do several smaller events across the country. Since the inception of Connect Ministries the team has experienced incredible growth. They have had options to grow even more, but decided to remain focused on their core goal of connecting churches with the local community. In 2007 a partnership with the WinShape Foundation was created and the WinShape Day Camps were born. The first year they did two camps and had a total of 180 campers. In 2012 camps were conducted in 13 states with just over 14,500 campers!

In April 2010 the team also began to host 5K races. These too have been incredibly successful! In 2013 they expect to do 35-45 races with a total of 10,000-15,000 runners.

With the growth in ministry opportunities the office structure had to change as well. A few years ago the team decided to move south and relocated to Watkinsville, Georgia, just outside of Athens. There are 8 people working full time at Connect Ministries. They also have a “Leaders in Training” program for Apprentices and Interns, with another 10 people serving in those roles. Ken and Gabe have a vision for helping emerging adults discover their giftedness and to help them hone their leadership skills.

Ken and Gabe have been giving back to BCM as well. Early on they began to invest in our Men's Ministry, hosting events and covering expenses. They also have been assisting us with our leadership training events beginning with our August leadership retreat and continuing with special events throughout the year. Many of their interns come from UGA BCM as well.

You can find out more about Connect Ministries on their website or Facebook page.

From basketball dreams, to an SEC title, and now college ministry: MeetDavid DeWitt!

David receiving his SEC ring from Vince Dooley

David remembers lying in his top bunk as a middle schooler praying, "God please let me play college basketball!" About 10 years later as a college senior, coach Durham, the basketball coach at UGA, welcomed him to Bulldog team as a walk-on. That year UGA won the SEC in regular season play. David DeWitt now wears his championship ring to prove it!

David is from Savannah, Georgia where he attended Memorial Day School. His family has always been active in church. His dad was a deacon and his mom worked in women's ministries at Southside Baptist Church. His two siblings also went to UGA and, like David, were active in BSU (Baptist Student Union, now Baptist Collegiate Ministries or BCM). His sister Lacy is living in Savannah and is married to a pastor whom she met as a 2 two-year missionary (a Journeyman through the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention) to Paraguay. His brother Mark now lives in Atlanta and is a mortgage broker. After bouncing around to several different colleges David finally found a place where he felt he fit at UGA. He was active in Baptist Student Union while a student. He and campus minister Franklin Scott connected because of their similar competitive natures and love for basketball. Not surprisingly, sports began many of their conversations.

1990 SEC Basketball
Championship Ring

After more than six years in college David finally graduated from UGA in '91 as an Economics major with a minor in Greek. He took Greek because he had planned to go to seminary and wanted to get a head start on the difficult language. After college he returned to Savannah where he taught school for seven years, coaching tennis & girls varsity volleyball & basketball. He was working 70 hours a week, yet struggling to get by financially. Along the way he had a stint as a youth minister before finally finding his place in the world of insurance. He now works as an agent for Northwestern Mutual. David loves his job. He is good at it, it fits his giftedness and skill set, and it allows him to do ministry whenever the opportunity or need arises.

"If someone calls and asks me to chaperone a mission trip or a retreat I can go! It's great!

David met Elizabeth, a Texan and UT grad, when she accompanied a mission team from Savannah's Southside Baptist Church to Honduras. She served as the translator for the group. She had never been to Savannah before coming to go with the team. They began dating soon afterwards. Though he got cold feet a few years into their relationship, he finally realized what an amazing woman he had found (with the help of Dr. Alan Bosson, his pastor and mentor) after so many years of being single. She soon moved to Savannah and they were married soon afterwards. Seven years later the couple has two incredible children, Jasmine (5 years old) and Reed (3 years old).

Some men of Baptist Student Union at the annual formal.
David is on the back row, 5th from the right.

David and Elizabeth lead a collegiate Bible Study in their home on Tuesday evenings. They cook dinner for the crew, David teaches and leads a discussion, and then they all drive to Starbucks to hang out for a few hours. David sees the study as an opportunity to help students from lots of different churches in the area. Many small churches nearby (of all denominations) don't have the resources to have a college specific studies. David loves the great conversations the diverse group has each week.

Their eclectic home is the perfect setting for social gatherings, with an open floor plan, cool electronics, and lots of cozy seating. The house is a Pinterest dream home, with crafty designs, artfully displayed family photos, handy nooks for books and mementos, a huge kitchen island, and an expansive covered outdoor entertainment patio with a bigscreen TV, ping pong table, and picnic area. The couple is as welcoming as their home. They love inviting people in to be a part of their family life.

David is a natural encourager - he loves mentoring and challenging students to go to the next level in faith and life. I overheard him tell a young man on our mission trip, "I see myself in you. You are almost there, but there is something holding you back. I wish I could tell you what it is, but I can't; you have to figure it out on your own. I see incredible potential in you. You have amazing abilities that you can't see yet. When it hits you, when you figure it out, don't look back! Take a leap of faith. You will go far. I see it. I'm a pretty good judge of people. I'm going to be praying for you. Let's keep talking this week." A conversation ensued about ways the student could try to figure out his life plans, career choices, and areas of giftedness.

David & Elizabeth with Reed and Jasmine in 2012

David has learned to find ways to serve God through serving others. Through reflecting on the ways God opened doors for him through various relationships and opportunities, he seeks to do the same for others, particularly young adults who are still discovering their place in the world. David also wants to help as many students as possoble avoid making the same mistakes he made along his journey. He is a great example of the hymn line, "because I have been given much I too must give!"

Children are a gift from God: Meet Steve & Melissa

Melissa and Joannah, one of their adopted children

The occasions when I reconnect with alumni that have been gone from Athens for a while usually bring a broad smile to my face! It is absolutely wonderful to work with students during their years in Athens and then discover how they have faced life's challenges and opportunities many years down the road. Such is the case with Steve and Melissa. I have kept up with them via the wonderful world of Facebook, but only in a cursory way. I knew where they were living and basically what they were doing with their careers. I had heard from their peers that they had entered into the world of foster care and had adopted two of the children that had come through their home. However, I didn't know the half of it.

Steve and Melissa were both involved as student leaders in BCM while at UGA. They credit their time together then as foundational for their lives now. In BCM they learned what it meant to be Christian adults whose faith was integrated into all areas of life. Steve graduated soon after I arrived in Athens, but Melissa stayed on to finish her degree for a year or so longer. Steve got a job in law enforcement and was involved in training and getting accustomed to the work. They married in 2004 after she graduated and moved south. Melissa stays busy working part time as a speech therapist at a hospital and in private practice while managing their busy, and full house.

A few years into their marriage they bought a house that, according to Steve, "was too big for a young married couple so we decided to jump into foster care and put the 2 extra bedrooms to use." After they were approved by the state and got their foster care license they began to welcome children into their home. Before long they had to add on to the house, adding another bedroom.

Steve writes about their experience becoming foster parents:

"Our first placement was 3 young boys that were only with us for a week. I went out of town for work and when I came back they were gone and I never got to say goodbye. I was amazed at how attached I had become to them in just a short amount of time. After that, we had a brother and sister move in with us. They were babies at the time and we raised them for 2 years before they were reunited with their mom. After that, we had the awesome privilege to adopt 2 babies from our local community. We also fostered 2 teenagers from Africa. This was a tricky phase for us because the teenagers were new to our country and were just learning English and because their schedules/lives/needs were so different from our two adopted babies. 

The 18 year old graduated from high school and is now enrolled in college. We are still in touch with the 15 year old; however, our relationship now is more of a mentor type of a relationship instead of that of foster parents. In August of this year, we got a surprise phone call that our former foster kids (the 2 that we raised for 2 years) were back in the system and needed a place to stay. This time they had their little brother with them too. There was no doubt about what we would do; they moved in right away. 

So now we have a house full of little ones with a 3 three year olds, a 4 year old, and a 5 year old running around....and Melissa is due in July. Who knows what God has in store for us then. Depending on the foster care situation, we may have a house with 6 little ones or just 3 little ones. It's a bit overwhelming to us, but we know God is good and He hasn't brought us this far to forsake us now and leave us on our own."

Their church has been their support network since they have no family close by. When Steve has to travel or work late friends from church come over to help Melissa with the many tasks of caring for the five children. There isn't an organized program for this - it's just a "grassroots" thing that occurs in a church family, sharing the love of Christ in Christian community. Steve reflects that he, Melissa, and the members of their church are just doing what Scripture teaches:

"God makes it so clear that His heart beats for the orphan and the widow and those who are most vulnerable and we saw foster care as a way we could pursue God, do Kingdom work, and just live out our faith in a very real and practical way."

Join us as we continue to pray for Steve and Melissa as they share the love of Jesus with the kids they have invited into their lives and home! We thank God for them and the impact they are making in the world!

From Athens, to Africa to Mud Island in Mempus: Meet Barrett Bowden!

Barrett and Michelle Bowden

When Barrett Bowden was a student at the University of Georgia he made a tremendous impact on Baptist Collegiate Ministries. As a first year student he lent his talents for music to the Impact Band, playing keyboard as the group traveled around the state leading worship in various churches and for many retreats and events. As a second year student Barrett used his organizational skills to oversee the Impact ministry. He coordinated with churches to supply students for various events - from recruiting small group leaders for Disciple Now Weekends to sending the Impact Band to lead worship to finding speakers for different events. Barrett served as the worship team leader for his last two years, bringing creativity and knowledge of worship to the task that was very much needed. Barrett was very organized and brought an eye toward excellence to everything he did. 

I have always felt a kinship with Barrett beyond that of most students. I knew Barrett's dad and mom from when I was in school. While in High School Clay Bowden served as the youth intern one year at First Baptist Church of Statesboro, Georgia where my family attended. Clay was also involved in the Baptist Student Union (now BCM) at Georgia Southern. My dad was the campus minister there. I was in college with Rhonda, Barrett's mother. The first time Barrett stuck his head in my door and introduced himself I knew he looked familiar. When he told me who his parents were I was floored. We had many a laugh reminiscing together about his parents. 

When I began blogging about alumni from UGA BCM I thought of Barrett. I knew he was serving as the pastor of a church in Memphis (thanks to Facebook). But I did not have all of the details of his story since he left Athens. I emailed decided to interview him via email.

Nathan: We often loose track of students after they graduate. Fill in the gaps for me.

Barrett: After I graduated UGA, I (almost) immediately departed for West Africa. I served with the International Mission Boards short-term program for young adults - "Hands On." I was in West Africa among an unreached people group in the middle of the desert for about seven months. We served as English professors at a local university, focusing on building relationships with our students in order to share the gospel and see a church planted. Honestly, Nate, it was one of the most difficult and amazing experiences of my life. Why difficult? First personal - Well, for the first time in my life I felt completely stripped of everything comfortable and convenient.... no contact with family, no contact with friends, no electricity, no big Christian church to attend full of fellowship and lively worship, no one who knows you and thinks you're pretty great, no TV or internet to entertain or distract you, no food that appeases you, and on and on. In this environment, you come to know yourself and your sin in depths you never cared to know. I realized how reliant I was on so much apart from God Himself. I realized how shallow I was spiritually in so many ways. But, this leads to the amazing part of the experience. These months allowed an experience with God that I never thought imaginable, a new understanding of His amazing grace, and a new realization of how a real relationship and dependence and satisfaction in Jesus should flesh out in my life. When God is all you have, you realize God is all you need. The Lord broke me and grew me so much while I was there. I feel like Africa for me was like the Apostle Paul's Arabia - a place of learning, testing, receiving, understanding, growing, obeying, and preparation. 

Another reason it was challenging, but amazing - the whole time was oriented around missions. The challenge: I had no clue of how lost and broken the world was until God sent me to Africa. Every day, I was confronted with new degrees of blindness, brokenness (in every way), and feeling of despair. I watched young children die in their mothers arms because of lack of medicine readily available to us at Walgreens. I spoke with countless individuals who had never heard of Jesus, much less know anything about him. The people were hardened in their hearts, unwilling and bothered to listen of any truth outside that of the Islamic culture, yet empty in their hearts and eyes. Many nights, I went to bed in tears. How did I not know about this before? What was I supposed to do with this now? God, how will you save these people? God, how will you bring restoration to the broken, justice to the oppressed, help to the poor? Over months, my feelings about it all went from shock to sadness to frustration to burden to brokenness then to prayer. This where the amazing part of that journey came in once again. God was gracious to fill my heart with hope. God showed me His promises and taught me to pray them with faith. God gave me a willing heart, ready to play my role in His awesome plan of redemption. God gave me hopes and dreams for what He would do, and showed me that my life could be used as a part of the story. And, God gave us fruitfulness of ministry - we saw a few young men amazingly saved and changed by the grace of Jesus, a church started, and the beginnings of a movement among that people begin. God taught me in Africa that the world is about Him, not me; my role is to live for His glory among the nations. He is faithful.

I got back from Africa a different man. I knew God's call on my life was toward ministry. I knew the nations had something to do with it. The specifics, I had no clue. About this time, one of my best friends (and prayer partners for me in Africa), Michelle Roark, began to occupy my thoughts and steal the attention of my heart. She was a girl I had admired and respected for some time, but these intensified feelings of interest and desire were definitely new. Over the next weeks and months, I found myself pursuing and deepening relationship with her. Thankfully, she reciprocated the interest and feelings. God grew us together in love I had never before known. The rest is blissful history. One year after we began dating, I proposed. We were married in June 2010. She is everything I could have ever dreamed in a wife and best friend. Her heart for Jesus, people, the poor, and the nations is still an example and encouragement to me today. As my college roommates and I used to joke as we looked for girls - Michelle is a "triple G" : a Godly Gorgeous Girl. We often debated which G was most important... thankfully with her, it doesn't matter....she has them all.

During all of this romantic pursuit and marriage, after I returned from Africa, I began seminary at New Orleans in Atlanta. Interestingly, I returned to the marketing company I had worked for throughout college. But - I returned in a very different capacity (and this is the only reason I would have returned). The chaplain of the company died suddenly while I was in Africa. When I got back to the States, I had many messages from the owners of the company asking if I would consider returning to the company as the chaplain and personal spiritual adviser to them. I agreed. It was an amazing fulfillment of two areas of my life I never thought would collide: my marketing training and background/experience and my call to ministry. It was wonderful to serve in this capacity for several years while I was in Atlanta and in the beginnings of seminary education. God opened opportunities and doors for fruitful ministry within the context of a corporate that I never thought possible. (By the way - there is a huge need for more Christians to see themselves as ministers within their workplace! The fields are ripe!)

After several years of teaching school after her undergraduate education, Michelle felt a strong call to pursue a life of ministry through medicine. Thus, medical school education was necessary. She was accepted to UT Medical School in Memphis, TN. In 2009, we packed up and moved to Memphis. Honestly, I was not happy about moving to Memphis away from Atlanta but thankfully God knows best. Because of the move to Memphis, I transferred my seminary education to Mid-America Baptist Theological. I had the option of continuing with NOBTS online but that format of learning is just not for me. After many years of bi-vocational work/ministry and study, I completed my degree of Master of Divinity last May (2012). We have loved every moment of life and ministry in Memphis.

Nathan: What was the most profound experience you had while working on your degree?

Barrett: Well, honestly, what I loved most about the way God led me to complete my degree was that I was working in ministry the whole time I was enrolled in seminary. This afforded me something that enhanced the classroom experience more than I could have ever planned on my own: a bridge to real life and real ministry. In seminary, I was challenged to learn, explore, and grow in knowledge, understanding, and academics more than ever before. But, I was able to keep my feet on the ground because every day, I would be faced with the questions of our church members or lost friends: What does any of that do with me? Sometimes, conversations, ideas, or strategies in seminary got stuck in the clouds where the vantage point is helpful but the air is breathless. I enjoyed having opportunity to temper that discussion with a realistic view from the ground and experience in the daily battle. Because of my experience and involvement in daily church ministry, I was able to seek real application to the awesome truths and principles I was learning.

Nathan: What were some things you were involved in where you made an impact, but that also made an impact on you?

Barrett: Three things I think back on that made a huge impact on my life: First, my parents. My mom and dad, Clay and Rhonda Bowden, modeled godliness and contentment in the Lord in all circumstances. They taught me to love Jesus and His church. My dad is still the one I think about and turn to when I think of how a pastor should care for the church as a shepherd cares for His sheep. Second, BCM at UGA. Honestly Nate, BCM had a huge impact on my life. It was at BCM that I learned to serve the Lord, to lead in ministry, that God could use my unique S.H.A.P.E. for His purposes in a city, that the nations existed and God cared about them, and that you have to learn to find unity in the church amidst crazy diversity. It was also where the Lord affirmed His call to ministry in my heart. I am so thankful the BCM allowed me the opportunity to grow, explore, make mistakes, find real community, and lead. Third, my marketing experience. I am so grateful I had opportunity spend a few years in the "real world" working as "normal" people do. It has proven invaluable to me again and again. I don't have to wonder or assume I understand what people experience in the workplace..... I have actually experienced it myself! This experience and the stories/opportunities gained from it has given me points of relation to many in our community and church.

Nathan: How did you come to pastor Island Community Church in Memphis?

Barrett: If you had told me 5 years ago or even 3 years ago that I would be pastoring a church, I would have laughed. Never did I dream it, hope for it, or feel qualified to do it. Much less at this point in my life. And, after all, I am a PK. Though I always loved the church, I never intended to follow the footsteps of my dad (one of the best pastor/shepherds I know). I have found that the call of God supersedes all of our thinking and planning. The best thing (and only thing) to surrender to it.  When Michelle and I arrived in Memphis in 2009, we knew no one. It was a city unfamiliar to us and a culture similar but very different than the ones we came from. We didn't have any connections or relationships other than those provided through her involvement in the medical school. We moved into downtown Memphis into a community called Mud Island (literally a large island in the middle of the Mississippi River). A small, tight-knit community of 7,000 but honestly we still felt lonely and disconnected. We began to visit churches (most of them 20-30 minutes away from us in the suburbs) but were not really regular, committed, or involved anywhere. We wanted it but had not found (or worked hard enough to find) the right "fit." One day, we heard about this little church plant that was meeting on Mud Island - Island Community Church. We decided to try it out. We went the next Sunday and walked into find 20-30 people there in a small schoolroom for worship, fellowship, and Bible study. They were real and welcoming - most all of them from our community. They were genuine in their worship and desire to bless and reach the community. The Word was great. We surprised ourselves when we got in the car after the first Sunday of worship and lunch with the church..... "We loved it!" It looked nothing like anything we'd ever experienced but it was a real church! We were excited to commit to involvement and growth there. We did.

In the next months, we got involved.... very involved. With my training and call, I was willing and hungry to serve and learn in ministry. We helped to start Bible studies, lead in outreach, and volunteered on Sundays. The church continued to grow. One Sunday, the church came to us and asked if we'd be willing to take on some formal ministry responsibilities and accept some financial help with our schooling/pay. We were shocked and humbled, but said yes. The church continued to grow. The church came back and asked if we'd be willing to give more of our time. We said yes. This continued over the next two years. There were a total of four of us guys who served on staff as bi-vocational ministers.

About two years ago, our lead pastor at the time announced to us and the church leadership that he would soon be stepping down from church ministry to take on a more full-time role at the seminary as a professor and Chair of Missions Department. The church began a prayerful process of selecting the next pastor and helping with the transition. After a couple of months, the church came to me and called us to serve as lead pastor. Shocked, humbled, confident in the Lord's call, scared to death, and excited... we said yes and stepped forward in faith.

It has been an awesome experience, especially because (a) we had the joy of volunteering as a regular church member before we had the thought of serving as a leader (b) we had the privilege of being mentored in leadership and pastoring within our church before being called to pastor our church.

God's grace is so awesome to allow me and uphold me to serve as pastor of a church in this early season in life and ministry. It is a wonderful privilege and responsibility.

Nathan: Tell me a bit more about Island Community Church.

Barrett: Our church was planted about eight or nine years ago on Mud Island in downtown Memphis. The Island was developed in the 90's and is a planned community. Convenient enough, though, they did not plan for a church. God called a man to start a church on the Island in his home. He did. Initially, it was met with a lot of resistance (our community is not only uninterested but resistant to spiritual things and churches). But, he stayed and continued to share the gospel and invite people in. Over a period of several years, the church grew. People were baptized and changed by grace. They went out and shared with their friends and more came. More growth. More salvations. More change. The has been the cycle of the church over the last years. Today, we are about 160 people on an average Sunday.... many seekers, many new Christians, and lately many downtown Christians realizing they can worship and serve in a church near their home.

We are the only church actively reaching out to the Mud Island community of 7,000 people. We are one of a handful of evangelical churches reaching out to our downtown community of 30,000+. We are a very mission-minded church, both in our community and around the world. We want to share the gospel and live in out in our lives. 25% of our annual budget is devoted to ministries and missions outside of our church.

We are a young church (median age probably 30-35).... we reflect the age and diversity of our community. We have many internationals and professional students who are in Memphis only for a season. We are very relationally-driven rather than program-driven, again reflective of the nature of our community. We strive hard to contextualize the gospel and our ministry strategies to the unique nature of our downtown community. Service opportunities and relationship-building ministries are often our greatest bridges into people's lives, leading to more opportunities to move them deeper into involvement in the church and understanding of the gospel.

We are SBC in affiliation though we don't carry "Baptist" in our name. In our community, people are aversive to churches much less denominations. While we are happy in our Baptist beliefs and affiliation, we don't want that to be aversive to anyone in a community that simply needs a church. Also, we were not a plant of SBC or any other church. We have never received any outside support from outside organizations - we have always been self-sustaining.

Nathan: What is the most exciting thing God is doing in your church right now?

Barrett: One of the most exciting things that has happened to us in the last few months comes in answer to a prayer we've prayed for the last few years. As a church plant, we started in a living room. Then, as we grew, we moved to a school room (in the one school on Mud Island). The school was the biggest assembly space available to us on the Island. When we outgrew it, we moved just off of the Island to a hotel ballroom downtown. Last year, we began to reach maximum capacity again. We knew that each time we outgrew a space, God had faithfully provided. We waited, we prayed. We searched for available spaces in our area that could fit us.... everything was unavailable or out of our range of affordability. We waited, we prayed. Last summer, I received a call from the CEO of ALSAC/ St. Jude. He wanted to discuss something related to our church. I agreed to meet. When I got there, he told me that they had a property they wanted to loan us for the next ten years. It sits one mile from Mud Island on the main road through the area. It is an old warehouse (in need of renovation) but is 11,000 square feet! I asked the price: he told me he wanted to let us hold us for them for $1 / year. Then, "thanks for what you're doing for our community." WOW. Are you kidding me? Shock, amazement, then tears. God you are amazing! So... God has provided a home base for ministry for His church to continue to grow and outreach in our area for the next ten years. Amazing. We are actively fundraising now for renovations (feel free to help us spread the word)..... we have about $150k to go.

The building is really just an asset for ministry and doesn't really describe the core of our ministry itself. Perhaps one of the most exciting things we're seeing right now in ministry is the growth within our people to embrace missional living. God is transforming our understanding of life to be about what He is doing, not about what we are doing. Many people in our church came to Memphis thinking it was about some training or job and are now realizing it is about His work in Memphis and His desire for them to be involved in kingdom growth in our community and around the world. We are seeing huge percentage of the church choosing active involvement in regular community service partnerships (seven weekly or monthly partnerships) and also involvement in global missions. In the last three years, we have gone from no global missions trip to four global missions trips. We went from no one feeling called to missions to two individuals now embracing the call and moving overseas (one already there, another in process). As a church, we are supporting them both financially. This year, we will take four teams overseas to work with our missions partners (total participation in global missions this year is nearly 1/3 of our average attendance!). Honestly, it is amazing to see. For some reason, I never thought I would be able to live in the U.S. and reach the nations. I was totally wrong. God is using us in this season and allowing us to lead others to embrace God's missional heart for all people, everywhere.

Nathan: What can we pray about on your behalf?

Barrett: You can pray for the church and our effectiveness and fruitfulness in our community. Pray the the Lord would continue to draw the lost of our community to treasure and follow Jesus. The need is great. Pray our members would continue to find their identity and purpose in Christ, to live in love with His grace and live on mission for His people. Pray He would continue to provide for and protect the church. Pray we would see a gospel renewal in downtown Memphis that would restore, heal and change our broken city, and shake our world. We believe hope is on the horizon. We are praying that God's renewal will begin with us! You can also pray for Michelle and I and our lead team as we lead our church. It is an awesome privilege to serve and lead the church, but it also comes with burdens and challenges. Pray our faith would remain in the Lord (not ourselves), our identity in Christ (not what we do), and focus on His fruitfulness (not our manufactured measurements of ministry "success"). Pray we would seek and receive the rest God intends for us, protecting our hearts and relationships from overwork.

Wow, what a story of God's grace in the life of an a young man who has been open to his leading! You can get in touch with him on facebook, on the church website, or by following his blog. 

Teaching with heart and soul: Meet Paige Martin Robbins!

Paige Robbins (Blaine Marable photography)

In college UGA cheerleader Paige Martin Robbins graced the sidelines of Sanford Stadium to cheer on her beloved Georgia Bulldogs. It was an honor for her to be a part of this exclusive squad of athletes that supported the Georgia football team each weekend during the fall! But her greatest accomplishment was not what she did on the sidelines, but what she did with her teammates during the week. Paige, a special education major at UGA, joined with another cheerleader to start a weekly bible study for her teammates. That was her sophomore year. The following year was the hardest, as her two closest teammates did not make the team. She led the study until she graduated. She reflected, "God really showed me that he had placed me on the team not for myself and what I could gain, but how he could use me for his purpose."

Paige grew up in Savannah and was a member of Southside Baptist Church. She would return home each summer during college to help out with the youth group. She helped recruit Ben Robbins to come as a youth intern each summer. She and Ben were married just after graduation from UGA. One of the perks of being a UGA cheerleader is that sometimes special guests show up at important events - Hairy Dog joined in for the wedding festivities!

Now Paige teaches Special Education in Warner Robins. Her deep faith has given her great patience with her students. When I asked her about teaching she responded,

"My greatest joy as a teacher is to see my students learn. That may sound a little silly, but to see them make progress and become more independent makes me feel like I have made a difference. Sometimes it takes my students longer to learn a new skill, but I am so proud when they get it!"

Life has come full circle. Ben (and the staff of Longleaf) recruited Paige to work with the youth at the church. In addition to teaching school full-time  she is now employed part-time at the church helping with events and organization. What she learned while working with the cheerleaders continues to benefit now. She loves working with the girls in the youth group in discipleship, building relationships and teaching them about Jesus.

It has been so fun watching Ben and Paige take on this adventure called life. With faith being the foundation that drives all that they do I cannot wait to read the next chapter in their journey!

Back to the farm: Meet Jenny & Chris Jackson

Nestled just outside of Pine Mountain in Southwest Georgia, on short White Cemetery Road lies the quaint, four acre, Jenny Jack Sun Farm. On Wednesday the barn at the front of the property bustles with activity as people from the community drop by for fresh produce grown without the aid of pesticides. The farmers are UGA alumni Jenny and Chris Jackson. Jenny and Chris both served on the leadership team of Baptist Collegiate Ministries while in college.

According to Chris, Jenny is the brains behind the operation; he is the brawn. While Chris was obtaining an education degree at UGA, Jenny studied agriculture. She grew up on a farm, helping her dad with the endless chores while falling in love with the process of food production. In school she became enamored with the idea of sustainable farming. After graduating she and Chris moved back to Pine Mountain where she went to work in Mr. Cason's Garden at Calloway Gardens and Chris taught and coached at a nearby high school. After a year they decided to broaden their agricultural experience and moved to Hawaii as interns for two different farmers. They brought back deep tans and enough practical knowledge to begin their own small business. Conveniently, Jenny's dad offered her a portion of his property for their venture. He was nearing retirement and was thrilled to give Jenny and Chris a spot to carry on the family business.

Chris loves the work. Though days are long and sometimes the tasks monotonous Chris has found solace in contemplation. He says weeding rows of beans can be therapeutic. He has learned to allow the land to determine his daily schedule. When it rains he and the crew work in the barn, cleaning, organizing, preparing farm implements or gearing up for the farm markets. Like a younger version of Wendell Berry, Chris is also a writer who desires for Americans to slow down and notice where their food comes from. Chris composes weekly newsletters for the farm, eloquently describing the various chores that are being accomplished (complete with pictures of the crew at work) as well as giving a preview of the available harvest for sale at the on-farm-market and at local weekend markets. In an early winter newsletter Chris wrote,

"It seems a little early to think on strawberries. They’re a springtime treasure; a classic southern favorite, rewarding our steady diet of winter soups, canned tomatoes and sweet potatoes prepared every way possible. Come May they present themselves sweet and juicy, tasting perfect raw and right now without any process or rinse. Strawberries are the year’s first straight from the garden dessert, their deep red coat seems exotic and fascinating, unreal compared to the neutrality of static winter. The first one is a handshake, an open door, an anticipated introduction to warmth and intrepid flavor and a time of year full of pure goodness. How appropriate we celebrate this delicacy in the Spring, but the time to begin preparing for those satiated moments is now. This afternoon while I was steadily constructing a fence, Max, Molly, and Courteney were planting the 1500 strawberry plugs that arrived from South Carolina yesterday."

Farming has deepened Chris's Christian faith. The work in the middle of nature has given him opportunities each day to ponder God's goodness and God's creation. It has helped him let go of past ideas of satisfaction and given him a deep appreciation for simple things. Chris is an avid reader and deep thinker. He has introduced me to several authors who have become my new favorites. Two writers that have inspired him the most are Richard Rohr (Everything Belongs) and Wendell Berry (Jayber Crow, and others).

Like poet/farmer Wendell Berry, moving away from the city and learning to live in a small town has given Chris a greater appreciation for all people. Chris believes that everyone has something they can teach him; everyone is special and deserves to be respected and treated with importance. Our urban and suburban culture has not only disconnected us from the land and our source of food (most people don't even think about where the food they purchase at big box grocery stores was grown), it has also removed us from the many relationships that small town, agrarian life demands. Chris says he has learned more about Jesus' teachings about loving your neighbors and enemies since moving to the farm. He told story after story of the amazing people he has met while living in Pine Mountain. Some he knows he would have discounted as annoying in his previous life. But he says getting to know people below the surface has shown Chris that everyone is not only worth knowing, but everyone has experiences and knowledge that can enrich his life and work.

The couple loves small town life. They are involved a local church that is within walking distance from the farm. They also love monthly pot-luck dinners at the community center in Pine Mountain where they get to meet their neighbors around the table. Each dinner also features a presentation and discussion. Chris has made presentations on sustainable farming practices and on books he has read. Each time he participates his relationships with his neighbors is deepened, his mind is expanded, and his life is made more full.

Food has become much more important to Chris. He has always enjoyed eating, but being involved with agriculture has given the many Biblical passages about food new meaning. The simple act of dining with someone can be spiritual - enjoying the communion of fellowship over a meal can be a holy experience. Each summer Jenny and Chris partner with a local chef to host farm dinners. People drive hours to attend these communal events on the farm. Each dinner features food grown onsite and is served at one long table where everyone is seated together, family style. Watching diners share a laugh, get to know new people, all while eating amazing food and hearing about how it was grown gives Chris a deep sense of pride and satisfaction.

Chris and Jenny have also partnered with a local ministry that seeks to give former migrant workers a since of belonging while helping them feed their families. Reserving a portion of their land for the ministry, Chris assists folks with the process of growing and harvesting their own food. He gets a deep sense of satisfaction watching folks become more independent while learning more healthy eating habits.

You can find their produce at the on-farm market (707 White Cemetery Road, Pine Mountain, GA 31822) and at weekend markets in LaGrange and Columbus. They can be contacted at jennyjackfarm@gmail.com or 706-333-4479. This summer I encourage you to get some of their heirloom tomatoes - the best I've ever eaten!

From Mic Man to leader of the band: Meet Ben Robbins

Saturdays in Athens. There is nothing quite like it. Sanford Stadium comes alive with almost 100,000 cheering fans on game days in the fall. As a student, Ben Robbins helped work the student section into a frenzy. He was "Mic Man," a member of the cheer leading squad who stood on a platform just across the hedges, microphone in hand, guiding the standing collegiate faithful in support of the Dawgs.

He still stands on a stage each weekend, but in a much smaller setting, for a much different purpose. Ben is the worship leader at Longleaf church in Warner Robins. Prior to joining the team at Longleaf, Ben led worship for the contemporary service at Roswell Street Baptist Church. In addition to his duties on the sidelines during football games, Ben also led music at BCM. For two years he led the BCM Impact Band, traveling to churches to led youth events, DNow weekends, and worship services. His senior year he led the BCM House Band.

Not only is Ben an outstanding musician, he gets worship. He knows that he is not just strumming his guitar for a sing along, he carries the burden of leading the congregation to praise God each week. He works hard with his talented band members each week - most of whom have been with him since their BCM Impact Band days - to compose a musical set that fits the theme of the day, skillfully blending musical worship, scripture, sights, sounds, and textures to guide worshipers to the throne of God. He also writes and arranges music. Many weeks the songs performed by the band in worship have been written or arranged just for the occasion. Let year he released his first CD of covers and arrangements of popular worship songs. This year he will release his first collection of original worship tracks.

It is so satisfying as a collegiate minister to watch God at work in the lives of those who have come through the BCM! The day Ben received his first batch of CD's in the mail Franklin Scott and I were in Warner Robins for a collegiate minister's meeting. Ben brought one of the disks to us before we left town. Franklin and I listened - and worshiped - all the way back to Athens!

This summer Ben and his band will lead worship for the Merge and Superwow youth events sponsored by the Georgia Baptist Convention. I'm so excited for the opportunity for so many youth in the state to hear and meet Ben. Not only is he a great worship leader, he is an incredible man of integrity who seeks to live out his faith in all that he does. You can hear some of Ben's music by clicking this link

[Ben is married to the former Paige Martin from Savannah, Georgia. Read a post about her here! She is equally as incredible!]

Calling for a Radical Lifestyle: Meet David Platt

David was always a bit different than his peers when he attended UGA in the late 90's. Most collegians spend their free time on evenings and weekends going to parties, playing intramural sports, visiting Athens many bars or concert venues, improving their high score on video games, and perhaps studying a bit. While he was president of Baptist Collegiate Ministries (98-99), David Platt managed to find time to lead his peers while traveling to churches around Athens and surrounding towns preaching and teaching. Even then he had a remarkable ability for scripture memorization and storytelling. He made the Bible come alive. His passion for God's word was contagious.

It was no surprise when this popular, yet introverted student from Briarlake Baptist church in Atlanta graduated and headed to New Orleans to attend seminary. He quickly finished a masters degree and then a PhD. David did so well in his seminary endeavors that he was asked to stay and teach. He proved to be just as popular as a professor as a student. The floods from Katrina forced David and his family to leave the city. Like many other professors and students from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, they moved to Atlanta as a temporary home. Eventually he made a career change, becoming the senior pastor of the huge and affluent Church at Brookhills in Birmingham. He was still not yet 30 years old.

Along the way David has continued to travel as a popular speaker at conferences and in churches.
Along the way he went overseas to preach and teach. Always evangelistic, the opportunity to travel to places where the gospel was scarce provided a thrilling spiritual pull that deepened his faith and calling. Teaching pastors of secret house churches in places where the practice of Christianity is illegal changed David.
Along the way he came back home with a desire to introduce his parishioners to the experiences of worshiping in secret. The result was what he dubbed "Secret Church." David and the staff of Brook Hills invited members of the church to arrive at 6 pm for prayer and worship until late into the night (or the wee hours the next morning). At each occasion David would traverse the Bible from Genesis through Revelation, expounded on God's word yo our contemporary setting. The event was so popular that they did it again, and again, and again. Now the Secret Church events held in Birmingham are simulcast live around the world via the Internet by Lifeway Christian Resources.

As the pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham David continues to reject the status quo. He has called on his church to reject the American Dream and to seek to allow God to dream a new dream in their lives as Christian Americans who try to apply the challenges if the Bible to love simply while giving away more and more of their income to support evangelistic and justice needs around the world. He calls each member to voluntarily be radical, to live against the norm, to be willing to face the changes the gospel commands.

In the process, David and Heather also caught God's heart for adoption. They realized that their family and excess resources and could incorporate more members, so they brought two children who were living in orphanages in impoverished countries to live with them in Birmingham and to become Platts.

David has written a series of books sharing what he has learned about living a radical Christian life.

His best selling book Radical has taken the collegiate Christian culture by storm. And now he has added to the conversation by writing for churches to join the movement, challenging churches to change in order to meet the issues brought about by injustice around the world and here in America.

His book Radical is a call to be different. It is a call to take the scripture literally, listening to God's concern for the poor, for those suffering injustice by living more simply and by giving more and more of what we have away. It is a call to dissatisfaction with what is and a call to try to make the world a better place through prayer and action. David believes that Christians, those who truly seek to follow Christ more fully each day, cannot be comfortable with the way the world is now and will try to do whatever it takes to create change. He thinks Christians should be radical. He thinks that the message of the Gospel should not only save souls but also make the world a better place to live for all, bringing about the Kingdom of God that Jesus talked about so much.

I think he is right.

But I don't want to go to NYC! Meet Season Helms

When +Season Helms received news of her Send Me Now summer missions assignment in February 2012 she was not very excited! Like many folks, she was afraid of the big city, a far different place from the small north Georgia town of Trion! She had heard too many horror stories about the violent crime, insane transportation, and rude people! However, after being in the city for just three days she wrote in her blog:

"...I have fallen in love with the place. The bright lights, the hustle, the convenience of running to the produce stand just around the block, the parks, the river, the museums, and I’m sure there is even more that I haven’t discovered yet. It’s an experience like none other and I’m so blessed and fortunate to have the opportunity to spend the next 8 weeks serving here. Everyone here has a story and I’m learning a lot through them." (June 4, 2012)

Season in Central Park

In fact, Season had such a tremendous experience that after her term was over in August she went back for the fall, and has stayed on for the spring. Will she ever come back south? I'm beginning to wonder! When she was appointed to go to NYC I echoed what many of her friends had told her, "You will fall in love with the city and won't ever want to come home!"

A lot has changed for Season since leaving Central Avenue Baptist church in Trion to attend college in Athens. She got involved in BCM her first year, singing in the Impact Band and then House Band. She attended FBC Watkinsville as her college church. Eventually she served on the BCM leadership team as the Worship Team Leader. She has a remarkable voice and is skilled in playing keys. When watching her lead worship it is evident that she is not singing for the adulation of the congregation, but is personally praising God from the depths of her soul. Season's jobs have morphed and changed since she has been in NYC. Now she is serving as the Office Coordinator of the Metropolitan New York Baptist Association (MNYBA). She also spends time working with two of the Graffiti Baptist Church and Ministries on the lower east side of Manhattan. She attends the Wednesday dinner at Graffiti and has found deep pleasure and fulfillment in building relationships with some of the homeless men and woman who come for food and fellowship each week. Then on the weekends she leads worship at Graffiti 2 (a church plant in the Bronx). It's amazing how quickly this small town girl became a fan of big city life!

You can follow Season's journey on her blog. Lift her up in prayer as she continues to work across NYC over the next few months (or years).

Start spreading the news! Meet Kyle Herring

When +Kyle Herring boarded the Amtrak train with his peers from the Baptist Collegiate Ministries (BCM) at UGA for a spring break mission trip in March of 2012 he had no idea how much this trip would change the direction of his life. Kyle had never ridden a train nor been to the Big Apple before, so this trip to NYC was fraught with adventure! For me it was one of those wonderful occasions as a collegiate minister when I knew God was at work in Kyle's life in an almost miraculous way. Each day was revelatory to Kyle. The summer before Kyle heard a sermon at First Baptist Watkinsville, where he attended while at school, where the speaker talked about the great need for more Christians with an evangelistic heart to move to New York city. He began to pray for the city, thinking that he would be a prayer warrior and nothing more. When he heard about the spring break trip with BCM he was amazed that he would actually be able to go and prayer walk the city and perhaps, be able to help to make a difference in person. Meanwhile, Kyle began to hear more and more about church planting efforts and needs. The idea began to tug at his heart. He knew nothing about church planting. He was a musician, leading our worship band at BCM, majoring in finance at UGA, looking for a career in the business world.

He boarded the north bound train full of excitement. Each day brought about new ideas of how, perhaps, God might want him to move to New York after graduation. Perhaps to work on Wall Street? He had met some folks who said they could help him get an internship. Then he met some church planters. Somehow they heard of Kyle's two new interests - church planting and NYC - and they began to talk with him about possibilities for the future. The team Kyle was placed on for the week visited Queens - Astoria more specifically. Kyle fell in love with the people, the town, and more specifically with two church planters who were there to start Connection Church.

Kyle had only shared what was going on with him with a few folks, and few knew all of the details. As a result, after each new development, he and I would share knowing looks and smile. Eventually it became quite funny. It was as if this whole trip was just for him. It became fun watching to see what would happen next! Kyle boarded the train back to Atlanta believing that in a few short months he would probably be moving to NYC, at least for a few months.

That was almost a year ago. Kyle is now living in NYC, leading music at the Connection Church in Astoria, helping reach the city for Jesus. He is also helping to start campus ministry at a small college near the church. But that's not the end of it. As a finance major Kyle is putting his education to use helping with bookkeeping for the Baptist Association where he lives. He was just accepted as a student at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary that has an extension branch in the association building.

I love catching up with Kyle via cell phone. Usually he calls after grabbing a cup of coffee and heading down to walk along the Hudson River just down from the associational office. It's cool to see how God is putting the pieces together of Kyle's life; intersecting Kyle with the needs of NYC - with a young church that needed a musician to help with worship, with a campus with no existing Christian group, with a need for expertise in finance, and with someone else to drink coffee and love on the people in the largest city in our nation. I can't wait for the next part of his story!

If you are in NYC, check out Connection Church!

You can listen to and buy music from Kyle's album on Reverbnation or iTunes. You can also follow him on Twitter (@herringkyle) and Facebook. Most of all, pray for Kyle and the work that he is doing each day!

Faith can lead to crazy decisions: Meet Becca Stanley

When +Rebecca Stanley and her husband Adam announced that they were moving their young family to inner-city Atlanta, into the heart of poverty & in the midst of crime central, they got some odd looks and lots of questions. Lots of folks thought they were crazy. The decision was not made without a lot of thought and prayer. It was the result of years of working with inner city kids during the summer taking them away to camp, then returning them to the messy & complicated lives in Atlanta, and feeling that there needed to be a year-round ministry to offer hope, mentoring, and options for a better future.

In a sense, Adam and Becca decided to put their home where their heart was.

Lots of folks return from missions experiences with good feelings and tell folks, "that changed my life." For the Stanley's the summer work they did with they children of Atlanta really did change their lives. They fell in love with the children they met each summer. They sold their house in the suburbs and moved to live in the neighborhood where the children lived. The Stanleys see what they are doing as "incarnational ministry" - taking the Gospel that so changed their lives and living out their faith, grace, and love in such a way that it can make a huge difference in the lives of their neighbors.

When Becca was a student at UGA she was on the leadership team at the BCM. An amazing writer and story teller, Becca worked with our publicity, helping us to tell the story of BCM and to get word out about the various ministries we sponsored. Now she uses those same skills to report on the amazing work her family is doing as "urban missionaries." I encourage you to get to know The Stanley Clan by reading her blog, following their work, and praying for them in their mission field!

Perhaps more of us who follow Jesus will truly follow him with our whole lives - perhaps even to the extent of moving to a new place so that we can minister to those who need it the most. Heck, many of us just need to walk across the street to meet our neighbors where we live now! We need to allow the light and love of Jesus to penetrate the darkness all around us. We need to use the gifts, passions, and calling in our lives like Becca and Adam have done to make a difference, allowing our faith to guide us - to pursue God's dream - instead of the American Dream.

Missions can get into your blood: Meet Elissa Ewald

'Tis the season for missions around the office. We spent three days this week meeting with students for local interviews as a part of the Send-Me-Now collegiate summer missions process. Applicants from UGA have almost doubled over last year! +Jenna Huckaby and those who have served as missionaries in past summers did a great job telling their stories and recruiting students to apply.

This time of year is one of the best in the collegiate ministry world. I spent 9 years and 10 summers guiding the collegiate missions process through the Georgia Baptist Convention. We just called it summer missions back then. Though I missed the day to day contact with students on campus, that job was one of the most fulfilling I have had. I was able to work with the cream of the crop of students from around Georgia, those who were seeking to live their faith and who wanted to apply the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20,

“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

I loved seeing how a) God would use these willing, yet naive students, who didn't know the word "can't" to accomplish ridiculous things each summer, and b) how student's lives were changed in the process. I warned collegians who asked me about summer missions, "Careful, it will change your life."

Over the next few weeks I will be introducing you to some UGA BCM alumni who are taking non-traditional approaches to life after college. Each of them have chosen to spend time overseas as an outgrowth of their faith instead of simply getting a job working towards the American Dream.

Elissa Ewald (UGA 2011)

+Elissa Ewald graduated from UGA in 2011. As is the case with many of our students who graduate and head out into the big bad world, I was sorry to see her leave! It was my honor to work with Elissa over the past few years as she exercised her musical gifts. She grew up singing with her musical family and sang in our bands for most of her college career. He senior year she worked behind the scenes coordinating our worship services and working with various teams that lead in house as well as those that ministered in local churches. I came to rely on her skill, insight and wisdom! Elissa's knowledge of worship, music, and her wonderful people skills made her one of the best Worship Team Leaders I have ever had the opportunity to work with. I still love talking with her about worship planning! But now she has a new venture.

Elissa caught the missions bug many years ago. For some crazy reason she felt called to go to Kenya - even though she had never been there, never met anyone from there, and was studying a different language in college. After making a few trips over the past few years, she is heading off to Kenya in a few weeks to work at Camp Chemi Chemi. Elissa dropped by the office yesterday afternoon to catch me up on the whirlwind of life over the last several months. It was incredible to hear all of the stories of how God has been working in her life and in her experiences in Africa. You can follow her experiences on her blog. Elissa is a great writer - I can't wait to read the narratives that she will relate as she serves! She would appreciate your prayers as he goes to Kenya to work with a retreat center and camp for the next 6 to 9 months.