Following Jesus Vol 1 No 4 - Frazer United Methodist Church

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C H U RC H
FOLLOWING
JESUS
T
H E M
CHILDREN’S MINISTER
Theresa
Reiter
A G
A
Z
I N E
J O N A ND D I A NE K L A A REN
ORDINARY
PEOPLE
PAG E 11
PAGE 40
THE WORK OF
AN EVANGELIST
PAUL AND DIAN SIMS 18
BULLETS TO BLESSINGS
INTERNATIONAL CLASS 26
PLUS GIRL’S MINISTRY • MOLDOVA • PERU • EASTER EVENTS • MORE
FOLLOWING JESUS
|1
FOLLOWING
JESUS
VOL. 1 NO. 4
SPRING 2014
Published by
Frazer Memorial United
Methodist Church
6000 Atlanta Hwy.
Montgomery, AL 36117
Printed in USA by
Publications Press
Editor & Layout
Ken Roach
Editorial Coordinator
Amy Presley
Writers
Amy Presley
Alexia Scott
Ken Roach
Photographers
Lori Mercer
Lee Werling
Suzanne Williams
cover image: Theresa Reiter
with some of Frazer’s children.
Photo by Lori Mercer.
©2014 Frazer Memorial United
Methodist Church. Limited permission is granted to reproduce
articles in their entirety for the
purpose of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ without commercial gain.
APPLY TO BE A
VOLUNTEER WRITER
OR PHOTOGRAPHER.
CONTACT AMY
PRESLEY, AMYP@
FRAZERUMC.ORG
334.495.6436
The Good News
about the Good News
WHEN DOES EVANGELISM NOT LOOK LIKE
EVANGELISM? Evangelism is a churchy word,
so perhaps everyone doesn’t know what it
means. It comes from the Greek roots “eu”
meaning good and “angelium” meaning “news”
or “message.” So, literally, it means the process
or result of sharing good news.
Let’s be honest, though: for many Christians (and non-Christians),
evangelism doesn’t sound like good news. We tend to picture street
corner preachers calling hell-fire and brimstone down on intimidated
passers-by, or socially awkward conversations with people who seem
to force every topic to be about religion instead of letting relationships
build naturally. Mentioning the word can cause unbelievers to be
turned off to the church, while believers often become filled with fear,
anxiety, or guilt for their perceived failure to fulfill Jesus’ command
to “go and make disciples of all nations.”
Sometimes, however, evangelism looks a little different. It might look
like a man accepting Christ precisely because he discovered a group
of Christians who seemed perfectly normal to him (see the Klaaren’s
story, p. 11). It might look like someone who is chosen to head up the
evangelism committee, only to discover that he himself doesn’t know
Jesus (see the Sims story, p. 18). It might look like a Children’s Minister
making every child feel loved and worthy (p. 40), or a Student Minister
inspiring girls to find their confidence and self-worth in Christ (p. 7).
It could be a husband who goes on a mission trip just to protect his
wife, and ends up falling in love with the children in an orphanage
(p. 32), or a Sunday School class that takes in refugees fleeing from a
brutal dictatorship and builds lifelong friendships with them (p. 26).
Don’t get me wrong. There will be times when sharing our faith is
difficult, and even offensive to unbelievers. Jesus warned us that the
world had rejected him, and it would also reject his people at times.
Nevertheless, the good news about the good news is, when you
become filled with the love of God, nothing is more natural, or more
fulfilling, than having the privilege of sharing that love with others.
I hope you’ll see that as you read through the stories in these pages.
Ken Roach, Communication Director
Frazer United Methodist Church
FOLLOWING JESUS
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Easter Events 2014
#GUILTYGOD TEACHING SERIES | MAR. 16-APR. 20
Our pastors continue their study through the Gospel of
John with this sermon series exploring the week humanity
put Jesus on trial, and what it means for us today.
EASTER EGGSTRAVAGANZA | SAT. APRIL 12
Celebrate the true meaning of Easter together as a family.
Fun for children up to 5th grade from 9-11 a.m. in the
Frazer Atrium. Egg hunts, games, crafts, and inflatibles.
AWESTRUCK AT THE CROSS | SUN. APRIL 13
Palm Sunday night of worship featuring Frazer’s choir,
orchestra, and praise band. A time to remember and praise
the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for us. 6 p.m. in the
Sanctuary.
STATIONS OF THE CROSS | WED.-FRI. APRIL 16-18
An interactive prayer experience that carries you on a
journey through the last steps of Jesus to the cross. Open
in Wesley Hall 5-8 p.m. Wednesday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday,
and 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday of Holy Week.
GOOD FRIDAY WORSHIP | FRI. APRIL 18
A solemn service of darkness, reenacting the day Jesus
died through song, word, and the extinguishing of candles.
7 p.m. in the Sanctuary.
EASTER SUNRISE WORSHIP | SUN. APRIL 20
A victorious celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ
outdoors by the lake at Blount Cultural Park. 6 a.m. Bring
a blanket or lawn chair. Rain cancels.
EASTER FAMILY WORSHIP | SUN. APRIL 20
Worship together at one of our six morning worship
services—Contemporary or Sanctuary at 8, 9:30 or 11
a.m. Celebrate the turning point of all history, and the hope
of every future—the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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| FOLLOWING JESUS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Share the Love
We didn’t intend for this issue
of Following Jesus to focus on
evangelism, but it turned out
to be a common thread in all
of our stories. As you read
these stories, think about the
diverse and unique ways in
which people are sharing the
love of God and the message
of Jesus with others; then, take
a moment to pray and ask God
to use you to do the same.
7
26
Confidence
in Christ:
Brittany Finch
Bullets to
Blessings: Frazer
International Class
11
32
Ordinary People:
Jon and Diane
Klaaren
Moldova Feels Like
Home: Brian and
Kathryn Jones
18
40
The Work of an
Evangelist: Paul
and Dian Sims
16 Missions Update: Peru
Greenless
No More:
Theresa Reiter
38 Photo Farewell: Brian Word
FOLLOWING JESUS
|5
APRIL 25-26 CRAVE ROOM $40
DEADLINE TO SIGN UP
APRIL 9
STUDENT
MINISTRY
CONFIDENCE IN
Christ
Frazer Girls’ Minister Brittany Finch helps girls find
their self-worth in a relationship with Jesus »
FOLLOWING JESUS
|7
BY KEN ROACH | If I told you a story about a grandchildren’s lives. “He took care of us and stayed
girl that starts with “my father left us when I was with us. He’s a very strong Christian man, whom I
two years old and I don’t even know what he looks could look up to in every way.”
like,” you might expect that story to end with a
Brittany’s mother remarried when she was in
woman who was troubled, confused, or insecure. the fifth grade. Her stepfather, David, she describes
Statistically, that would be a safe guess. But that’s as her “real dad.” Although there were challenges
not who walks into the conference room when I with blending a family—David brought two stepinterview Brittany Finch, Frazer’s Girls’ Ministry brothers into Brittany’s life as well, and adjusting
leader. Instead, Ms. Finch exudes confidence—even to all the new relationships was not easy—she says
command—as she sits down and begins to walk me that through those hardships she has learned that
through her journey of following Jesus.
change can be good. “We became a better family in
It’s clear from the beginning that a powerful the long run,” she observes, “which has helped me
force in her life is her mother, Donna. “She is amaz- to be open to change and to see the good when the
ing. She battled
Lord wants to do
through school to
something new.”
take care of us,
Meanwhile,
getting first her
the church was
teaching degree
playing a formaand then her mastive role in Britter’s at AUM. We
tany’s
growth
had no money, but
as well. She was
she did whatever
very involved in
it took to take
her youth group
care of us. Yet I
at Heritage Bapnever felt like she
tist of Prattville,
was too busy with
and she credits
work to take time
“healthy friendfor me.” Brittany
ships” she made
admires Donna’s ABOVE: Brittany Finch on a mission trip to Haiti. Wherever she goes, there with keepdrive and ambi- girls are drawn to Brittany. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
ing her out of
tion, noting with
trouble as a young
pride that her mom is now an assistant principal, person. I ask her if she went through a period of
but even more important noting that Donna is “a doubting God, as many teens do, but she is firm
strong Christian.” It was her mother who helped in saying “the Lord showed me that He was real.
Brittany begin her faith journey. “My mom led me to I was aware of what he was doing in my life. I
the Lord when I was 7 years old,” Brittany explains. was so plugged in to church and youth group that
While her mother was the driving influence, I didn’t really struggle with my faith.” In fact, she
Brittany also credits several men who stepped up sees regular church attendance as a discipline too
in leadership roles in her life. She describes hav- many Christians are losing. “It frustrates me how
ing a “special relationship” with her grandfather, flippant people are about church. it’s important to
whom she worked alongside for a while in the fam- be consistent.” That discipline for Brittany includes
ily business, a carpet company based in Prattville. not only being in church weekly, but also spending
Her mother made sure they were involved in their time daily in God’s word and in prayer.
PREVIOUS PAGE: Brittany Finch joined Frazer’s Student Ministry staff in 2013. P HOTO BY LORI MERCER
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| FOLLOWING JESUS
LEFT: Brittany with friends at First Baptist Church, Montgomery, where she got her start in Student Ministry.
RIGHT: Brittany with her mother, Donna Finch. P
HOTOS CONTRIBUTED.
Heritage was also shaping in Brittany a passion
for missions. The church offered missions conferences and missionaries often stayed in her house. Her
youth pastor eventually went into full time mission
work, as well. From them she caught a glimpse of
a life filled with loving people, helping and serving
them, and telling them about Jesus. Over the years
she went on mission trips to Haiti, the Dominican
Republic, the Bahamas, New York City and Atlanta.
Four trips to Nicaragua culminated in a six week
stent in that nation, doing everything from serving
in the feeding kitchens, to setting up churches for
worship, to assisting the missions staff with bookkeeping. Once again she was inspired by a strong
single woman, this time the missionary she served
in Nicaragua. Despite the challenges for a woman
on the mission field, Brittany felt called to go into
full time international missions when she headed
off to college at AUM.
That trajectory was changed—or rather, took on
new dimensions—through her church experience
while in her college years. So many of her friends left
the area to go to school, but Brittany found herself
seeking out Christian community, and moved to the
larger fellowship of First Baptist Church, Montgomery to find it. Instead, she found herself increasingly
taking on ministry roles, volunteering in the youth
ministry there under Student Pastor Stuart Davidson.
Simply through being faithful to serve as the Lord
called her, she was unknowingly developing the heart
and the skills that she is using in her job today.
She also discovered the Nehemiah Project (a
local urban ministry program at FBC similar to Frazer’s Transformation Montgomery project in Garden
Square). There Brittany worked with children in
after school and summer camp programs, tutoring
them and offering GED preparation, and being a
mentor to young mothers. The experience opened
BELOW: Brittany at the Nehemiah Project, an urban
ministry initiative similar to Frazer’s Transformation
Montgomery project. P HOTO CONTRIBUTED.
FOLLOWING JESUS
|9
her eyes to the opportunities for local missions, and
the possibility that her calling might not be overseas
but here at home.
On the other hand, college was also a time of
testing for Brittany. She did not particularly enjoy
her Business Major class work, although education
was an important value in her family. Then, a long
time relationship with a boyfriend also came to a
painful end. “My family said he was trouble, but I
thought he was great,” she confesses. “He wasn’t.
It took a long time to realize they were right and I
was wrong. I was stubborn.” She faced a great deal
of loneliness after the experience.
However, Brittany’s foundations were not shaken. Her favorite verse is Isaiah 40:31: “but those who
hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They
will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and
not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
Brittany says, “when you hope in the Lord, he is
the one who will sustain you. He’ll take you farther
than you can go on your own.”
Now, she is sharing that message with the
young women of Frazer’s Student Ministry. “Being
a girl today has crazy challenges,” she says. “My
message to them is to know where their image
comes from. So many have no self esteem because
their image comes from boys, school, or activities,
and they end up empty. But when you find your
image in Jesus, He will fill you, protect you, give
you self-esteem and self-confidence. That’s easy to
say, but it took me years to learn.”
Confidence, indeed. Brittany Finch has that in
spades, for this is a young woman who truly knows
who her Heavenly Father is.
BELOW: Participants in “Draw Near,” an overnight event for girls in grades 6-12. Frazer’s Girl’s Minister, Brittany
Finch, organizes events like this to help young women become rooted in Christ. P HOTO BY FRAZER STUDENT MINISTRY
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| FOLLOWING JESUS
DAILY WALK
ORDINARY
People
God
EXTRAORDINARY
Jon and Diane Klaaren demonstrate what it
looks like to follow Jesus in everyday ways.
BY KEN ROACH | Jon and Diane Klaaren are the
kind of Jesus-followers I love to interview: they have
absolutely no idea why I want to talk to them.
They consider their story completely normal, perhaps even boring. Yet, anyone who has met them
is bound to sense the presence of Christ radiating
from both of them, in Diane’s joyful smile and in
Jon’s sincere devotion. I made it my goal to find
out how, and why, two people came to be so full of
God’s presence, even if they don’t think their story
is much to write about.
The Klaaren’s are a classic example of the two
paths to walking with Jesus: the gradual awakening, and the sudden conversion. Diane was raised in
the church. Her parents went regularly and ensured
that she was involved in her youth group. There, she
came to know Christ as her savior during a summer
camp. “It was the ‘70s,” recalls Diane. “It was all
about love and peace—Godspell and Jesus Christ
Superstar,” for those who remember the times.
Nevertheless, an early marriage for Diane ended
in divorce, and by the time she met and married
Jon, who was not a believer, God was still in her
life, but much of her devotion to Christ seemed to
be in her past. “We were good, responsible people,
but faith was not really a part of our daily lives,”
they explain.
In contrast, Jon’s father had reacted against the
FOLLOWING JESUS
| 11
strictness of his father’s Dutch Reformed upbringing,
and turned against God, so he did not pass on a faith
to Jon. Jon’s parents divorced when he was seven,
and he has only vague memories of occasionally attending an old, formal Presbyterian church in downtown Dayton, Ohio. “My primary impression was that
it was cold, the building and the people” Jon says.
He went to church some with his mother after the
divorce, but the church youth program was weak. At
age 16, his parents let him make his “own decisions
about religion.” Once or twice he attended a youth
group with friends at another church, but although
he knew there was a God, he was not a Christian.
Nevertheless, to Jon and Diane, life seemed
good. They had one daughter, Suzanne. Jon had
a successful career in the U.S. Air Force. Life was
about working hard, getting promotions, and enjoying parties on the weekends. The occasional professing Christian they met seemed “weird” to them; they
thought of them as “Bible thumpers.”
BELOW: Jon and Diane Klaaren with grandchildren Ella, Anna and Hudson. P HOTO BY SUZANNE WILLIAMS.
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| FOLLOWING JESUS
Life began to change when the Air Force assigned Jon to Maxwell AFB in Montgomery in 1992,
the first of three assignments in the city before the
couple eventually retired here. They made their way
to Frazer and began attending under the ministry
of Dr. John Ed Mathison. Diane’s faith began to
reawaken. “I knew I was a believer. The Holy Spirit
began nagging me about my walk, and I began to
read my Bible and pray more.”
For his part, Jon was intrigued by John Ed’s
preaching. It seemed down to earth and comprehensible in contrast to the formal, high-brow sermons
he had been used to in Northern churches. The
couple also met numerous believers through their
Sunday School class who struck them as ordinary,
regular people—not weirdos. Seeing others who had
a genuine faith walk with Christ, but who were not
prudes or self-righteous, opened their hearts to the
possibilities of exploring their faith more.
Jon especially remembers the influence of Jim
Salminen, a fellow USAF vet, and the teacher of
their Sunday School class, who broke the stereotype Jon had held that a Christian man would be
“weak, judgmental, and unreal.” Jim was none of
those things. Others who stood out included their
neighbors, Braxton and Katherine Webb, who first
invited them to Frazer, and the late Earl Andrews,
Frazer’s former pastor of Congregational Care, who
modeled being a godly man through his soft-spoken,
warm and loving lifestyle.
Meanwhile, God was preparing Jon for a turning
point at work. From 1992-93 he had been a student
at Air Command and Staff College (ACSC), and the
following year he was called on to turn around and
immediately become an instructor in the program.
Previously he had been a “flier,” not a classroom
instructor. His workload was heavy, he was under
significant stress, and he was losing sleep at night.
For perhaps the first time in his life, God was showing Jon that he could not handle life completely on
his own.
Around the evening of March 20, 1995, Jon
awoke in the middle of the night in a cold sweat,
finally overwhelmed. He knew in his spirit he could
no longer keep doing life on his own. He knelt down
beside the bed and accepted Jesus as his Lord and
ABOVE: Jon in uniform just before his retirement from
the USAF. He flew 30 combat missions during operation
Desert Storm as well as serving as an instructor,
curriculum developer, commander, and academic
administrator before retiring as a colonel. However,
perhaps his greatest rank to date is that of “PopPop.”
PHOTO BY SUZANNE WILLIAMS.
Savior. “I know it sounds like a cliché,” Jon remembers, “but when I got back in bed I had a sense of
peace, and I got up the next morning with a new
spring in my step.”
Jon did not tell Diane immediately what had
transpired in the night, but as fate would have it,
they were scheduled that weekend to pick up their
daughter from a choir trip she had been participating
in with the church under the ministry of Amis Sellers.
When she got in the car, Suzanne told her parents, “I
became a Christian!” Jon’s reply: “So did I!”
The weekend was a turning point. As Diane
notes, so often in the church, when you reach the
father, you reach the whole family. Her own faith
began to grow much more rapidly now that Jon
was sharing the journey. “We had never had problems in our marriage, but now it became even more
solid,” she says. They began reading their Bibles on
FOLLOWING JESUS
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Initially, their volunteer
service took the form of what
they call “non-sacrificial ways”
with limited commitment, but
over the years it has grown to
be a bigger and bigger part of
their lives. Recently they took
courses to be certified as foster care parents so they could
assist younger foster families
in the growing OneFamily
ministry of the church. Jon,
an amateur musician, plays
the guitar frequently for the
chapel worship services at the
Air Force base. The Klaarens
have also taken over leadership of the Alpha Course, an
outreach program, and are
considering how they can
take the next steps in develABOVE: Diane with her mother and sister. P
HOTO BY SUZANNE WILLIAMS.
oping a small group to mentor
younger couples.
In the area of giving, the
a regular basis.
Klaarens have attempted to apply biblical principles
Suzanne remembers the difference in her par- of money management so they can be free to inents before and after that time in their lives. “They vest in the lives of others. Applying his military
were always great parents, but before then, church discipline, Jon created a spreadsheet to track the
was not a priority in our lives,” she recalls. “After- couple’s progress out of debt so that they would be
wards, all of our priorities just seemed to shift. financially free to tithe.
Prayer became part of our daily lives, and we were
Perhaps closest to their hearts, their walk with
in church every week.”
Jesus has subtly shifted the priority they place on
She especially remembers how loving her father family. Jon was a likely candidate for eventual prowas towards her after she made some mistakes in motion to General in the USAF, which would have
life in her college years and realized she needed to been a great honor, but the Klaarens also knew it
come back home. “He showed so much grace and would move them away from their children and
forgiveness to me. I don’t know where I would be grandchildren and take up most of their time with
if he had responded differently,” Suzanne says.
work. Instead, he retired to a civilian career, and
Jon says accepting Christ was also the begin- they are able to invest their time with daughter Suning of a journey that has carried them away from zane, son-in-law Keith Williams, and grandchildren
a life concerned with accumulating possessions, to Ella, Anna and Hudson. Diane has also recently
one in which they find their greatest satisfaction in taken on the role of assistant in Suzanne’s photogserving others. Inspired by testimonies they heard raphy business so she can spend even more time
from other couples in the church, they signed up to with her grandchildren.
give and serve through Frazer’s In His Steps ministry
Keith says he has been significantly influenced
(now known as Followership).
by the Klaarens’ example, especially his father-in-
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| FOLLOWING JESUS
law. “Sometimes I ask myself, WWJD—what would
Jon do?” laughs Keith. “He is a man of such complete integrity, and yet amazing humility, I want to
be more like him.”
Suzanne notes the impact of her parents example
on her own family. “We are raising our children completely differently now than we would have. They
have shown me that life is not divided up—certain
parts ‘Christian” and other parts not—it’s a total incorporation of the joy of Christ into all that they do.”
Diane has also taken on the role of primary caregiver to her aging mother. Her older sister lives in
South Dakota and is unable to be directly involved,
so the burden of almost daily care falls to Diane.
Here again, following Jesus has been formative in
Diane’s heart attitude. “It’s hard. I love my mom, but
it can still be difficult,” admits Diane. However, she
believes God put her in a position to serve her mother
so she would learn what true service is about. “He
showed me to just keep serving and to love her with
no strings or conditions attached.” The result is an
unexpected joy even in the hardships.
Sustaining their ongoing growth in Christ for
both Jon and Diane is a regular daily practice of
Bible reading. Jon typically rises between 4-5 a.m.
to set aside time for reading, prayer, and reflection
before he takes his morning run. He uses the GLO
electronic Bible resource and the My Utmost for His
Highest devotional classic.
Diane served for a time on staff at Frazer, as
assistant to former Minister of Discipleship Shane
Segars and also as assistant to Teaching Pastor Patrick Quinn. She credits Shane with discipling her
on the importance of a daily time with God, and for
modeling what a real and authentic Christian walk
looked like. Her down to earth understanding of a
walk with God was a great asset to Frazer’s contemporary worship team while she served with Patrick.
Before retirement, Jon attended base Bible studies and Officers’ Christian Fellowship breakfasts, but
he did not always feel free to share his faith openly
in the military environment. Now, Jon is in a civilian role at Ingram State Technical College, working
as Dean of Administration. All students are convicted felons currently serving out their sentences,
who have earned the privilege to participate in the
ABOVE: The Klaaren’s daughter, Suzanne Williams, with
husband Keith and their children. P HOTO CONTRIBUTED.
technical classes offered at Ingram. Jon considers
it a ministry, working to bring the transforming
influence of Christ to these men and women so
desperately seeking a new start in life.
In fact, Jon and Diane make it their goal to share
Christ in some way in every aspect of their daily lives.
Jon admits he is uncomfortable approaching people
in an overt way to evangelize or proselytize them, but
he strives to be an example in the way he lives and
the way he makes decisions, and by sharing his own
faith story when the opportunity arises. Diane notes
that they have friends who went through a difficult
time in their marriage and asked, “what is so different
about you and Jon?” Her response is simple: “We are
following Jesus now.” She says, “everything about us
is who we are in Christ. In every interaction we try
to put others first. The reason why we’re left here is
to introduce others to Him.”
Perhaps Jon and Diane are living “ordinary” lives
for Christ, with no dramatic highs or lows. However, it was just such “ordinary” people who showed
them that Christianity did not have to be weird and
opened the door to their own faith journey. Now,
in the lives of prisoners, and foster children, and
aging parents, and precious grandchildren, they are
making an extraordinary difference in that same
quiet, ordinary way.
FOLLOWING JESUS
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MISSIONS
Moving Mountains
Martin Reeves is thankful for Frazer’s support as
he celebrates 10 Years on mission in Peru
An
Martin Reeves’ newsletter:
Thank you for your partnership with
us in making disciples in Peru.
Thank you from the 700 children,
youth, and adults who heard the
Gospel message and received hot
chocolate and fruitcake during our Christmas outreach.
Thank you for paying the medical bills for Cesar and
Eva who miscarried Dec. 23. Thank you from the 500
children learning about new life in Christ during three
weeks of VBS in February. Thank you for making an
eternal difference in the lives of the Peruvian people
through your partnership with us in ministry.
We first arrived in Peru 10 years ago February. By invitation of the District Superintendent
of Northern Peru, my primary task was training
Methodist lay pastors and Christian leaders. After
16
excerpt from
| FOLLOWING JESUS
training dozens of leaders, in 2007, God gave us a
clear vision of planting churches, evangelizing the
lost, equipping believers to be disciple makers, and
ministering to the spiritual, physical, and emotional
needs of the Peruvian people. Since then, through
the power of the Holy Spirit and God’s amazing
grace, we have planted four churches, trained dozens of leaders, and baptized over 40 new believers
in Christ Jesus. Each week, we minister to over
300 children, youth, and adults at our five primary
worship services. In addition, we have a dozen
discipleship groups meeting on a regular basis.
This past year, we have been busy working
alongside the Holy Spirit building God’s Kingdom in
Peru. Our youth group presented an Easter drama
in a public park, we planted a new church, hosted
a mission team from Frazer UMC who ministered to
PICTURED: Machu Pichu, Peru. GETTY IMAGES.
over 1,100 people, prayed with dozens of people to
trust in Christ as their personal Savior, and purchased
land to build the first of three churches and family
centers. While I am here in the States, the ministry
in Peru continues on under the leadership of our Peruvian team. Peruvians have taken ownership of the
ministry, compelled by Christ to make disciples. After
10 years of building relationships and sharing Christ’s
love through word and deed, we are witnessing an
incredible outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
This past year, we have experienced many emotional highs and lows. We have seen God heal broken relationships through repentance and forgiveness. We were blessed to play a role in the lives of
many people who came to faith in Christ as their
Lord and Savior. We have grieved with three couples
who lost their babies through miscarriage. We were
there to baptize a 10-month old baby hours before
he entered the presence of his Heavenly Father and
to pray and grieve with his heartbroken parents.
We have fought alongside those battling demonic
oppression and have seen them set free through
the blood and authority of Jesus Christ. We have
borne witness to God instantly and miraculously
healing three people.
I am truly humbled by our loving heavenly
Father who allows me to participate with Him in
transforming lives for eternity. We look forward to
another 10+ years of ministering alongside the Holy
Spirit in making disciples of Christ in Peru. We give
thanks to God for each and everyone of you who
have partnered with us prayerfully and financially
in fighting the good fight of faith.
—Martin Reeves
FOLLOWING JESUS
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WITNESS
THE WORK OF AN
Evangelist
Paul and Dian Sims have spent
nearly 40 years finding platforms
from which to share the good
news of Christ with others.
“But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do
the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
–2 Timothy 4:5 NASB
BY KEN ROACH | When I sit down in
the living room of Paul and Dian Sims,
he is in between chemo treatments for
lymphoma, a few weeks after having a
mass removed from his sinus area. However, you wouldn’t know it from Paul’s
joyful spirit. He and Dian welcome me
into their peaceful home with beautiful smiles and warm hugs. Paul’s just
excited that he hasn’t lost all his hair.
It’s not like the Sims are unfamiliar
with serious illness. When he retired after 18 years in a staff role with Frazer’s Congregational Care Ministry, Paul had visited thousands of
people in and out of area hospitals and treatment
centers. Dian herself has been through two different
bouts with cancer. To fully understand their joy in
the midst of trials, you need to go back
to the beginning of Paul and Dian’s journey of following Jesus—one that begins,
interestingly enough, in a hospital bed.
The year was 1973. Dian was facing a potentially life-threatening illness.
She had been married to Paul for several
years and they had one daughter, Paula,
who was in first grade at the time. They
attended church, but Paul was not a believer. Although Dian had been raised by
parents who took her to church, Sunday
School, and Vacation Bible School regularly, her relationship with God was only head knowledge.
OPPOSITE: Dr. Tim Thompson honors Paul Sims at his retirement. Paul served for 18 years in the Frazer Congregational
Care Ministry. P HOTO BY LEE WERLING. ABOVE: Dian Sims volunteering for Vacation Bible School. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED.
FOLLOWING JESUS
| 19
Lying in a hospital bed, gripped by fear and lism ministry. So, in an effort to figure out what
desperation, Dian cried out with the simplest of ‘evangelism’ was all about, he and Dian attended a
prayers: “God help me.” That three word ‘sinner’s Campus Crusade conference where Paul was introprayer’ began a journey that would last a lifetime. duced to the Four Spiritual Laws (a simple way of
By praying that, Dian “acknowledged God and that presenting the good news of Jesus to those who
I needed Him in my life,” she explains. “Changes don’t know Him). Conference attendees then went
began to take place and I knew I was different.”
out door to door, practicing their skills by sharing
At the same time, Frazer member Linda Suttle Christ with others. Instead, Paul found himself realwas teaching the Sims’ daughter Paula at Trinity izing he needed to know more about Jesus himself.
Presbyterian School, and she began to come home
That seed planted by the Holy Spirit grew in
and discuss what she
Paul’s heart, watered
was learning from the
by Dian’s prayers, and
Bible with her parents.
in February of 1976
That led Dian to begin
at a Sunday night
reading her own Bible
worship service, Paul
in earnest. “I had an incame forward and
describable hunger for
knelt at the altar in
God’s Word and would
Frazer’s East Sanctusit for hours reading it,”
ary to accept Jesus as
she recalls. “I couldn’t
his Lord and Savior.
believe how relevant it
Like Dian, Paul imwas to daily life.”
mediately felt a hunger
After about a
to learn more of God’s
year Dian joined a
Word, now that he was
Frazer women’s sharfollowing Jesus. He
ing group and began
was connected with a
to grow rapidly in her
Bible Study being led
Christian life. Sylvia
by John Riley at the
Baldwin led the group.
Holiday Inn. Starting
“She made me hungry
with 11 members, the
for Jesus,” says Dian.
study eventually grew
“I saw in her something
to more than 400 meetI wanted in my own
ing at the Civic Center
life, an assurance of
and was influential in
God’s love and provishaping the faith of
sion.” She also credmany in our city. At
its her friend Nancy
the same time, Paul
James, among many others, with discipling her to wanted to be part of a small group, and reached
understand the scriptures. Desiring to share her out to Andy Harris. Andy soon started the Saturday
wonderful new life with her husband, Dian and her morning men’s group that has been meeting ever
group began to pray for Paul’s salvation. Two years since (see the Summer 2013 issue of Following Jesus).
later their prayer was answered in a unique way.
Every night at home Paul was reading his Bible
Like many church members who are not actu- as well, a practice he continues today along with
ally followers of Jesus, by 1975 Paul was “going and Dian. They use a variety of devotional materials,
giving” enough to look the part of a church leader. some printed and some delivered electronically to
Ironically, he was elected to head up the evange- their computer or Kindle devices. Both speak highly
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| FOLLOWING JESUS
of the impact of the daily devotions written by
Frazer Pastor Tim Thompson for the past couple
of years on their lives. Dian uses a prayer system
called the 29:59 Plan that helps her focus a daily
devotional time with a different prayer focus for
each day of the week. She also maintains a running
prayer journal that lists all the requests people have
shared with her, which she continues to pray over
faithfully until she is able to write in that the prayer
has been answered.
Those daily devotional habits prepared Paul and
Dian for uncertain days ahead. Paul’s first career
was with an electrical contractor, he was succesful, becoming president of the corporation. In 1980
when the economy took a downturn, the owner
decided to close the company. The Sims found themselves without income for an extended period. Yet
time and again, the Lord provided just what they
needed, when they needed it.
One day, Paul got a call from a former employee—
remarkably, one whom he had fired. “He started
by saying that getting fired was the best thing
that could have happened to him,” Paul recalls. “It
helped him become a better person. Then he went
on to tell me about a job opening with the Blount
company.” Paul ended up working for Blount for
the next 10 years.
In 1993, it happened again; an economic turn
that spelled the end of that line of business for
Blount. Paul had already scheduled a trip to the
Holy Land before he lost his job. While in Israel, he
remembers thinking, although there was not much
likelihood of him finding another job in his field
in Montgomery, “I ain’t leavin’ my church.” Shortly
after he returned home, Earl Andrews, who headed
up Frazer’s Congregational Care Ministry at the
time, approached him about coming on staff with
the church.
“I didn’t even like going in hospitals,” Paul admits. But he agreed to pray and seek God’s will. The
next week, he rode with Earl on some visits. Paul
says, “I knew then it was the right thing. Sometimes,
you have to go through the door before you know
where the Lord is leading you.” It’s an indication of
how right that decision was that, since his illness,
Paul has been flooded with cards from around the
TOP: The Sims with their 4th Grade Sunday School
class in 1976. Today, they still faithfully teach the next
generation of 4th graders. P HOTO CONTRIBUTED.
ABOVE: The Sims enjoy a family vacation with
daughter Paula and granddaughter Elizabeth. PHOTO
CONTRIBUTED.
world. People from Italy, Korea, and China, and all
over the U.S. are extending well wishes to the man
who ministered to them over the years.
When he looks back on his years visiting hospitals, it’s clear that although Paul’s job title may
have been in Congregational Care, he was truly
continuing that first job of being an evangelist. The
memories that stand out to him the most are the
times he had the opportunity to share Christ with
someone in need.
In one case, a doctor stopped him in the hall
and asked him to look in on a girl whose family had
FOLLOWING JESUS
| 21
cut her off because of her lifestyle. Paul shared the
gospel with her, and she prayed to receive Christ.
Later he took her a Bible, which she began to read
eagerly. The next week, she died of a hemorrhage.
But Paul still has a letter she wrote to him, telling
of her joy and sense of new life after receiving
forgiveness in Christ, and how she had reunited
with her family. “You just can’t do that kind of job
in your own strength,” Paul explains. “You have to
be sensitive to the little nudges of the Holy Spirit.”
The work of an evangelist hasn’t stopped for
Paul. He speaks of the Montgomery Cancer Center, where he receives his treatments, as “the most
loving, caring place.” Then he mentions several opportunities he has had to pray for others in need
whom he has met there. Going through lymphoma
is simply another platform for Paul from which to
share the good news of Jesus.
Even before Paul’s work at the church, God
was using the Sims to share Christ through words
and actions. As Frazer grew from a church of about
350 to more than 4,000, they served in almost every
area of ministry, from working in the nursery, to
delivering Meals on Wheels, to serving on stewardship campaigns and finance committees. However,
one area of service particularly stands out for Dian.
It started with a tugging on Dian’s heart to
serve with children, such that she took vacation
time off from her job to volunteer in Vacation Bible
School. She remembers praying, “Lord, if I’m supposed to be in Children’s Ministry, give me a sign.”
Later that day, she came across Mabel Robinson,
who was Children’s Director at that time, broken
down by the side of the road. As she stopped to
help her, she knew she had her sign. Since then,
Dian has served in a variety of ways including being
the director herself for a time, and the couple have
taught 4th or 5th grade Sunday School together
with only short breaks for almost 40 years.
“We chose that age because it is such a formative year, before they go off to the Student Ministry,” explains Dian. The influence of their class has
been amazing. Former students now serve as missionaries and pastors, professionals and corporate
presidents all over. Perhaps most importantly, the
Sims were able to teach their daughter Paula at that
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| FOLLOWING JESUS
age, and later teach their granddaughter Elizabeth
at the same age.
That sharing of Christ with family is one of the
Sims greatest joys. They recall fondly how Paul’s
father, who had been “more committed to golf than
to church,” saw a difference in Paul and Dian’s lives
after they became Christians that drew him to the
Lord. At age 70, he gave his heart to Jesus. “It was
a wonderful experience they were able to share for
the last 13 years of his father’s life,” Dian recalls.
While I am interviewing the Sims, their granddaughter Elizabeth drops in after school. It’s clear
she spends plenty of time here as she helps herself
to some of Mrs. Dian’s poppyseed chicken casserole
and makes herself at home in the living room with
us. I can’t help but think of the generational impact
the Sims will have for many years to come, if the
Lord tarries—from the lives they touched going to
door to door with the Four Spiritual Laws even
before they knew for themselves what the gospel
meant, to the people touched by Paul’s hospital
ministry, to the scores of children who have come
through their Sunday School class, and to the investments they have made as parents and grandparents
in their own family.
Perhaps this is why his cancer seems like such
a small thing to Paul; he is still thinking about the
bigger issue of how to share the gospel. He asks
me sincerely during our meeting, “how do we reach
this new generation for Jesus, Ken?”
I fumble over the answer at the time. That’s a
big question, one we wrestle with every day in the
church world. But I’m pretty sure a big part of the
answer is, we’ll reach the next generation through
the witness of men and women like Paul and Dian
Sims—faithful believers who hunger for God’s Word
daily, and who are willing to give their whole lives
to doing the work of an evangelist.
OPPOSITE: The impact Paul and Dian have had on their
granddaughter is evident. Perhaps not seen this side of
eternity is how great their impact has been on the many
spiritual “children” and “grandchildren” they have led to
the Lord and discipled. P HOTO BY KEN ROACH.
FOLLOWING JESUS
| 23
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| FOLLOWING JESUS
I hope
you
dance.
SENIOR PROM: In December of 2013, Crave Student
Ministry students got dressed and put on their dancing
shoes for a Senior Prom—Senior Citizens, that is. They put
the dance event on for residents of an area assisted living
home as a way to show the love of Jesus to those who
might feel lonely or forgotten during the holiday season.
The event quickly become a lifetime memory—not just for
the residents, but for the students who participated. One
young man (not pictured) posted on Facebook, “Tonight
I danced with an elderly woman who hadn’t walked
in years. I honestly think it’s one of the most touching
moments in my life that I can remember.” Sometimes,
following Jesus means walking in his footsteps; and
sometimes, it means dancing in his dance steps.
PICTURED: James Djamba. P HOTO BY CRAVE STAFF
FOLLOWING JESUS
| 25
SMALL GROUPS
Bullets to
Blessings
International Class celebrates the joy that
is in Christ despite a history of harrowing
escapes from Communist dictatorships.
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| FOLLOWING JESUS
A SONG TO SHARE: Seng-In Hsiao (Ivy) speaks about the
International class during morning worship June 16, 2013. The
group loves to sing together as an expression of their love and joy in
the Lord. PHOTO BY LEE WERLING
FOLLOWING JESUS
| 27
BY ALEXIA SCOTT | To see her surrounded by her the night, then handcuffed them and shot them to
beautiful family, enjoying a picnic at the church death. Her husband, Bounk, witnessed the execuon a sunny autumn day, you would never know tions of friends and their children.
what Tang Sisavath went through when she was
So, in 1981, when life had became practically
14 years old.
intolerable, with no work and little food on the table,
To escape the dangers of Laos following the B and Bounk, with five children in tow and another
withdrawal of American troops, she left her home on the way, climbed into a little boat and warned
country and her family and headed for an unknown the children to be very quiet.
destination. Luckily for us, she ended up at Frazer.
As they set out across the Mekong River, they
After the North Vietnamese invaded and seized took gunfire from the communists, but they manthe country in 1975, many of the Hmong, Khmu, Lao aged to escape to the relative safety of the refugee
and Mein people of Laos battled genocide, starva- camps in Thailand.
tion and cultural oppresFor their final destision as punishment for
nation, they were able
having sided with the
to choose from among
Americans. Kidnappings
a group of friendly counfor the slave trade were
tries. B says that the
all too common.
only thing she knew
Tens of thousands
about the United States
of Laotians managed to
was that Apollo 11 had
escape to Thailand, and
landed on the moon, but
many of those eventually
clearly that was enough,
resettled in the United
because they chose the
States. A dozen or so
U.S. as their new home.
of that number, includFrazer’s Roy Cox
ing Tang, journeyed to
Sunday School Class,
Montgomery, and finally
along with Morningview
to Frazer.
Baptist Church, sponAlong the way, some
sored the family, and
of them dodged gunfire,
B and Bounk became
hid their families in
regular members of the
boats to cross the Meclass. About 1997, the
kong River, and traveled
pair joined the church.
9,000 miles to their new
She beams as she says
ABOVE: Cindy Alsabrook teaches the International
homes.
she “thanks God for beClass. PHOTO BY LORI MERCER
During the multi-siding here at Frazer.”
ed Laotian civil war, the
At a time when peocountry had suffered some of the worst bombings in ple didn’t know whom to trust, Tang trusted God.
the history of warfare, and the aftermath, although She still gets emotional when she thinks about how
different, was no better. The “Secret War” saw un- she left Laos so many years ago.
provoked attacks on villages, human trafficking, and
Tang said she learned that when you find yourshifting loyalties among the various groups.
self alone and “in the dark,” you have to remember
Bounnhong Detamphayvanh, who goes by “B,” that God is still in control. She says that the friendis a devoted member of Frazer’s international group. ships she made at Frazer, with Cindy Alsabrook
B says that, back in Laos, the communists dragged (teacher of the International Class) and others, have
innocent people out of their homes in the middle of meant everything to her.
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| FOLLOWING JESUS
BELOW: Tang and her family at a recent picnic held by the International class. Pictured are Tang, Savay, Tony, Rocky
and Angie Sisavath and Ericka Zachery. PHOTO BY ALEXIA SCOTT.
“We thank God for blessing us,” said Tang. She
and husband Savay have been married for 26 years,
and they have three children. “God is awesome.
He saved my life. Sometimes I felt like no one else
understood–only God.”
In 2010, out of a passion for serving this extraordinary population, Seng-in Hsiao (who goes
by “Ivy”) and Cindy Alsabrook organized the group
and held their first Sunday School class. Both have
devoted countless hours to serving the international
community here at the church.
Cindy said, “I was always intrigued with
how people from other countries came to know
Christ when it was not always part of their culture
and especially when they were threatened.”
Jian Jun Tang (“Jun”), originally from China, has
been coming to Frazer for about 5 years, and she
said that she appreciates all of Cindy’s volunteer
work, adding, “She takes care of everybody.”
Several churches supported our international
friends over the years. Ivy said, “I thank God for
blessing me and keeping me through Morningview,
First Baptist and Frazer.” You could say that the
Chinese class is well-traveled. It got its start at First
Baptist Church, then moved to Vaughn Forest, and
now has found a home here at Frazer.
Cindy Alsabrook and Daniel Soohoo teach the
International Sunday School class. Recently, Daniel
spoke to the group of about 18 members on how
to lead a balanced spiritual life, and on witnessing
about Christ to others.
Although Daniel and Cindy teach the Bible
study in English, class members use Bibles in their
native languages—Chinese, Laotian, and Thai. Despite the language differences, the common ground
of God’s Word ties them together. Jun, who had
invited a friend, also used an electronic translator
to help her guest follow along.
Darrin Adams has set up a Facebook Page for
the International Ministry. They also have a singing group, which earned a standing ovation at the
FOLLOWING JESUS
| 29
church on Sept. 29, 2013. Savay takes care of the
sound equipment for the singing group.
Of the international ministry, Darrin said, “History’s being made—it’s just something we’ve never
had here.”
If you would like to visit the group, they welcome everyone with open arms. The International
Sunday School is open to all. Jun adds that they
would love to have another volunteer to teach the
Bible Study, or to help the children with learning
English.
Taught in English with members following
along in Bibles in their native languages, the Bible
Study meets at 9:30 a.m. Sundays in Room 3214.
Ivy teaches in Chinese at the same time. On Fridays, a Laotian Bible Study meets at 6 p.m., with
a Chinese Bible Study at 7:30.
At a class picnic this past fall, Tang and her
husband wore shirts bearing scripture. The verse
describes how the Lord can lead even entire nations
out of the darkness into the light. From Isaiah 60:1-3:
“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and
the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth, and
thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord
will arise upon you, and his glory will
appear over you. Nations shall come to
your light, and kings to the brightness
of your dawn.” (NRSV)
BELOW: Cindy Alsabrook leads Bible Study for the International Class. Although the class is conducted in English,
members follow along with Bibles in their native languages. PHOTO BY DARRIN ADAMS.
30
| FOLLOWING JESUS
The Mighty One, God, the Lord,
has spoken, and summoned the
earth from the rising of the sun
to its setting. –Psalm 50:1-3
DANIEL AND
KEIKO SEXTON
MISSIONARIES
TO JAPAN
FRAZER
KOREAN
MINISTRY
FRAZER
CHINESE
MINISTRY
JEFF AND TRUDY
MCFARLAND
MISSIONARIES
TO NEPAL
JIM AND APRIL
JURGENSON
MISSIONARIES
TO INDIA
JOHN-MARK &
SUSAN BRABON
MISSIONARIES TO
TAIWAN
DOUG AND
NANCY TURMAN
MISSIONARIES
TO BURMA
KATIE AND MARK
FRIEDRICK
MISSIONARIES TO
HONG KONG
BRAD AND
JOYCE HAZLETT
MISSIONARIES TO
THAILAND
INTERNATIONAL
CLASS MEMBERS
FROM THAILAND,
LAOS, VIETNAM
ADDITIONAL
MISSIONARIES
TO EAST ASIA
(FOR SECURITY REASONS
LOCATION NOT SPECIFIED)
BETH GRISWOLD, SCOTT AND CATHERINE
LITTLEPAGE, JACK AND CELESTA REA,
JONATHAN SMYTH, JOHN AND
SANDY TRZCINSKI
FRAZER’S MANY CONNECTIONS WITH
EAST ASIA
FOLLOWING JESUS
| 31
MISSIONS
Moldova
FEELS LIKE HOME
Brian and Kathryn Jones discover a deep love for
the children of a nation half a world away.
BY AMY PRESLEY | The first time Kathryn Jones
heard Phillip Cameron speak on the radio in 2008,
she knew nothing about the country of Moldova or
the growing human trafficking crisis taking place
in the Eastern European nation.
“I had never even
heard of Moldova before that day but I
knew the things he
was talking about
sounded very sad
and very scary and
I wanted to learn
more,” she said.
As she listened to
the founder of Phillip
Cameron Ministries
and Stella’s Voice
share about the unspeakable crimes being committed against children
and young adults in Moldova, God was already at
work in Kathryn’s heart, placing a burden He would
continue to nurture over the next few years. About
a year after she first heard Cameron’s message on
the radio, Stella’s Voice came to Frazer and by that
32
| FOLLOWING JESUS
time, Kathryn said, “I was determined to go on a
trip there.”
In all of Europe, no country attracts more opportunities for human trafficking than Moldova, and
young women who have aged out of the state-run
orphanages are the primary victims. At age 16, they
are forced to leave, and when many go to the city to
look for work, they disappear into the night and are
never heard from again. Stella’s Voice is a ministry
that developed out of a calling to help orphaned
girls escape the horrors of human trafficking, and
works tirelessly to share the love of Christ and give
hope to orphaned children and young adults in this
dark nation.
STELLA’S STORY
Stella was an orphan who was sold, used and
abused and died from AIDS at age 19. Phillip Cameron Ministries recognized the dire need of creating safe houses for these vulnerable young women
who have aged out of state-run orphanages. Stella’s
Voice provides not only a safe place to live but also
a beacon of hope and transformation in the lives of
these young people. Today, there are two Stella’s
Houses that provide a loving home for about 50
ABOVE: Frazer members Joy Ohme (left side), and Kathryn and Brian Jones (right side) sit overlooking the Moldovan
countryside with two of the girls from Stella’s Voice (center). PHOTO CONTRIBUTED. OPPOSITE PAGE, PHOTO BY LEE WERLING.
young women who have aged out of the system.
Here, they have an opportunity to complete their
education, learn life skills and grow in a loving Christian environment. Two more Stella’s Houses are
currently under construction, and these will house
a larger facility to be used as a church, and provide
a home for 75 more girls. Simon’s House, a separate
home for boys, currently houses 16 young men. In
2011, the Moldovan government allowed Stella’s
Voice to open and run Providence Orphanage, the
only Christian orphanage in the country. The organization restored the buildings and turned it into
a home where children will feel loved, instead of
rejected and despised. Providence cares for around
40 children ages 3 to 16 plus many children from the
surrounding village, many who lived in unfathomable poverty and suffered abuse and neglect before
finding a home and a family at Providence.
A GROWING BURDEN
Kathryn, a special education teacher and her
husband Brian, a quality engineer, continued to
learn more about the ministry taking place in Moldova and in 2011, they had the opportunity to organize and lead a mission trip to the country, where
they spent much time with the children at Providence in Cupcui, and worshipped with the girls of
Stella’s House.
The couple admits they had differing opinions
leading up to the initial trip. While Kathryn was
ecstatic about the opportunity to share Christ and
“love on” the children and teenagers they would be
serving there, Brian admits he was nervous about
their adventure.
“I’d never been to a country where English is
not the primary language, so I guess my main motivation at the time was to go and look after Kathryn,”
he said. “I didn’t figure out until later that in reality,
it’s God who is keeping us safe, not me!”
Kathryn had been feeling the burden on her
heart to help the children of Moldova growing stronger, and once they arrived, she said it was like a
FOLLOWING JESUS
| 33
whirlwind as they tried to figure out exactly what
God wanted to show them.
“We had some really cool God moments there. I
felt like my prayers were much more fervent there,
too. I cried out to God every night, ‘Please show
me what you want me to do. Please use me,’” she
explained. “But we also thought God was going
to give us some big revelation, like we had it all
figured out.”
That wasn’t the case. Though God was working
both in and through them, the couple were not yet
certain about their greater purpose with this ministry. Brian added that, with all the excitement and
activity each day, they didn’t have any down time to
discuss with each other their personal experiences.
Once they returned home, however, God began to
gradually reveal His plans to them as Kathryn and
Brian tried to sort out their feelings and process all
they had experienced during their mission.
“Any time you go on a trip, you have that ‘mountain-top experience’ but it only lasts a few days,”
Kathryn said. “When we got home, I felt like I was
just moping around, lost. I didn’t feel like I was
where I was supposed to be at all.”
FEELS LIKE HOME
Despite all of the darkness that exists in Moldova, both Kathryn and Brian were feeling that was
exactly where God wanted them to be: “Moldova
is not nearly as comfortable as life is here. It can
feel scary, but it also feels right. It feels like home.
I was ready to go back right away,” Kathryn said.
“But neither of us would really say what we were
feeling out loud because it was scary.”
They felt God pressing them to become more
involved with the ministry in Moldova, though they
still weren’t exactly sure where His plan would lead
them. They just knew that even things in their every day lives were pointing them back there. For
example, Kathryn shared that, soon after they returned, they read the book, The Dream Giver, by
Bruce Wilkinson. The author talks about identify-
BELOW: The young women of Stella’s Voice sing and share “cardboard testimonies” of how Jesus has changed their
lives during a Frazer worship service. PHOTO BY LEE WERLING.
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| FOLLOWING JESUS
ing and overcoming the obstacles that prevent us
from fulfilling our God-given destinies, and seeking
Him to help us step out on faith instead of being
overcome by fear of the unfamiliar and uncomfortable. For Kathryn and Brian, maybe this unsettled
feeling was God pushing them to step outside of
their comfort zone even further with their ministry
to Moldova, she said.
Even Sunday morning worship was filled with
messages the couple felt were God speaking directly to them: ”Every sermon we heard after that
was related to what we were thinking and feeling,”
Brian said.
MEETING ‘QUEEN ESTHER’
One sermon in particular, about Queen Esther,
reminded them of a friend from Moldova whose
story had a profound impact on Brian and Kathryn. They first met Galina in 2011 during their first
trip to Moldova. They had the opportunity to get
to know Galina, and she shared her heartbreaking
story with the couple.
“She shared about her horrible upbringing.”Kathryn said. “She was one of five children, and
sadly, she was the one her family chose to send to
Cupcui Orphanage. She was treated very badly by
her teachers and the other adults in her life until
she met the Cameron family.”
Back then, Cupcui Orphanage (the building
that later became Providence) was a filthy, desolate
place, and Galina told them how she vowed she
would never return there once she aged out of the
system. But through God’s grace and the ministry
she encountered through Stella’s Voice, Galina now
runs operations and cares for the children currently
living at the orphanage.
“She was mistreated by everyone in her life, but
God’s love healed her heart and now she cares for
the children in the very place she experienced so
much pain and suffering,” Kathryn said.
Brian noted, “She didn’t realize all those years
that God was really preparing her to return there
one day and take care of the children.”
In the book of Esther, we learn that she, too,
was an orphan, struggling to understand why
God had placed her in difficult circumstances that
ABOVE: Brian and Kathryn share God’s love with
orphans in Moldova during a summer mission trip.
PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED.
threatened not only her life but her family and the
entire Jewish nation. Galina could have maintained
her resolve to turn her back forever on the place that
caused her so much pain, to remain silent against
the suffering that countless children continued to
endure. Instead, she chose to return to a place that
once represented darkness and death and help fill
it with laughter and life. She lives out Esther 4:14,
“perhaps you were made queen for just such a time
as this?”
“Galina is like Queen Esther,” Kathryn said.
“She’s our hero.”
FOLLOWING JESUS
| 35
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED.
ROOTS IN CHRIST
High school sweethearts Kathryn and Brian met
at Benjamin Russell High School in Alexander City,
where both were involved in the marching band.
The pair has been together almost 19 years, married 11 of those.
“We’ve been together longer than we’ve been
apart,” Kathryn noted.
Kathryn was raised in church, and cites her
grandparents for having a major influence on her developing faith. “They were such followers of Christtheir lives were always the example,” she said. She
recalls the time her grandfather took her on her first
mission trip with Carpenters for Christ, outside of
Louisville, Ky., where Kathryn had the opportunity
to participate in inner city mission work. “It was
my first real experience following Christ. My grandmother knew my heart and that I would want to
connect with people.”
Kathryn said she considers her classroom her
mission field, using her passion for teaching and
caring for children as an outlet to share the love of
Christ with the students and parents that she works
with each year. It’s no surprise that her heart is
bursting with love and concern for the orphans of
36
| FOLLOWING JESUS
Moldova, and that God has opened a door for her
to share her love for Christ with these children she
has come to adore.
Brian also grew up in church, accepting Christ
as a teenager but “I don’t know if I was really following Christ,” he said. It was after he and Kathryn
were married and joined a Sunday School class at
Frazer, he said, that they really started connecting with others and their relationships with Christ
began to flourish.
“We’ve had so many great teachers and met a
bunch of people over the years who have helped
us grow. I feel like if we had never had those experiences, we’d never be where we are today, or
even have had the opportunity to serve in Moldova
now,” he said.
Where Brian is more reserved and prefers
quieter settings, Kathryn thrives in a crowd. She
enjoys living in the moment while he is more pragmatic. Their personality differences complement
one another, though, and it is evident that theirs
is a relationship that has withstood the test of
time, even as they are continually learning and
growing together. Each would rather talk about
their other half, than themselves. Most of all, they
both prefer to share about the new friends they’ve
made in Moldova and how God has brought all of
them together.
“Throughout this entire process of seeking
His will and His plan for us and the children of
Moldova, God has shown me so many beautiful
things—tears turning to smiles on the faces of
children coming to know Jesus, young children
caring for their even younger brothers and sisters
with such attention and care, orphans leading
other orphans to Christ, elderly neighbors in the
village inviting us in to share what little they
have,” Kathryn shared. “But the most precious gift
God has allowed me to see is my husband ever
growing in his faith. I see him leaning on our
Savior more and more and truly casting his fears
upon him daily. This experience has stretched
our faith so much and I know it will continue to
stretch it even more. I am so thankful that my
best friend is a part of this with me, every scary
step of the way.”
THE GIFT OF HOPE
A few years ago, the couple had the opportunity to help Stella’s Voice provide Christmas for
the children at Providence Orphanage. With the
help of friends, co-workers, Sunday School classes and even other churches, Brian and Kathryn
were able to sponsor several children and bless
them with Christmas gifts of toys, clothes and
other needed items. This past October, they once
again were able to work alongside friends and
co-workers to shop for the children in Moldova
for Christmas, a project that brings them great
joy each year.
“We’ve seen God multiply those efforts over
the years, through the relationships that have
been built, even among the people here who are
getting involved, and definitely through the kids
there whose lives are being changed,” Brian said.
“It’s been so neat to go over there and see those
children, and how the gifts changed their lives.”
In a country as full of despair and darkness as
Moldova, Brian said they have been so encouraged
to see the difference that is being made through
organizations like Stella’s Voice and others. Lives are
being transformed as the children and teens experience true love from their Heavenly Father and can’t
wait to share what they have found with everyone
they meet. For example, the girls at Stella’s House
started a church and each week they invite their
siblings, friends, classmates, cousins and anyone
they can think of to join them in worship.
“The teenagers we know in Moldova are the
light in their community. They are bringing their
friends to church,” he said. “They have the hope
that no one else in their nation does.”
“These kids are so amazing. If they had half the
opportunities we have, there’s no telling what they
could accomplish. They have so much potential. I
never would have thought five years ago that we’d
even have a chance to meet some of these amazing
people,” Brian said. “ We feel so honored and blessed
that these awesome young people seem to actually
want to be friends with us, even though we’re not
really anything all that special.”
Kathryn shared that Brian has a love for all
things math-related, and some of his favorite ex-
periences in Moldova include time he spent helping their new friends at Stella’s House and Simon’s
House study for the math portion of their high
stakes graduation test.
“He had the biggest smile on his face the whole
time he was helping them,” she said. “It melts my
heart.”
ONE PERSON AT A TIME
On their summer mission trips, the Frazer team
has been involved with a summer camp for the
children at the orphanage and in the surrounding
village. The summer camp is run by the young
people from Stella’s House and Simon’s House.
“That may be the only chance these kids have
to hear about Jesus,” Brian said.
“I can’t imagine how hard that must be to first
grasp the concept of a Heavenly Father when you
have no father figure,” Kathryn said. “But these kids
just love Jesus. Orphans ministering to orphans—
that’s a phenomenal and beautiful thing to witness.”
Still, it can be so overwhelming to know where
to begin in helping pull so many from a life of
despair. “I’m reading Kisses from Katie (by Katie
Davis, an advocate for orphans) and she describes
it as trying to fill the ocean with an eye dropper,”
Kathryn explained. “You want to save them all but
don’t know where to start. I have to think about how
Jesus helped people. He did it one person at a time.”
Brian said he remains amazed that God has
given them such an incredible opportunity to serve
Him.“Even though we aren’t Bible scholars or anything
like that, He gives us a chance to be part of His plan.
And I’m thankful for Kathryn leading us on that first
journey, even when I was slow to respond,” he said.
As the couple continues to seek God’s will for
their lives and their involvement with ministry
in Moldova, Kathryn said she’s learning daily to
trust God and His timing, resting in the assurance that His plans and purposes are greater
than our own.
“I’m so thankful that God reveals His plans for
us, even if it’s not always all the pieces that I want
to hear when I want to hear them. I am incredibly
blessed,” Kathryn said. “Being part of His plan and
His people gives us the chance to bring joy to others.”
FOLLOWING JESUS
| 37
TOP TEN LESSONS I LEARNED
FROM BRIAN WORD
In February, Frazer Student Minister Brian Word
moved on to follow God’s call as a pastor at Biltmore
Baptist Church in Asheville, North Carolina. In their
seven years here, Brian and his wife Leslie made
an indelible impression our church, not only among
students, but also in the OneFamily Ministry that
Leslie launched, and in the example of Christ they
modeled every day. As a fellow staff member and a
friend, Brian also taught me some personal lessons
on how to follow Jesus that I’d like to share as a
tribute to the Words and an encouragement to us
all. —Ken Roach
1
Impact with others starts
with time alone before God.
2
Invest in future leaders.
Someone invested in you.
3
If you’re going to play,
play to win.
5
Do sweat the details.
Details make the difference.
38
| FOLLOWING JESUS
4
You don’t have to have a BBQ,
but if you do, make it awesome.
6
Make everyone feel like
they count. They do.
7
Don’t just preach
a sermon.
Be a sermon.
8
You are only
as good as
your team.
9
Don’t take
yourself too
seriously.
10
Fight for love.
PHOTOS: TJ DAVIS, LORI MERCER, CRAVE STAFF, CONTRIBUTED.
FOLLOWING JESUS
| 39
CHILDREN
Greenless
No More
40
| FOLLOWING JESUS
Children’s Minister Theresa Reiter models Christ for
children through a faith forged in both good times and bad.
BY KEN ROACH | They say many of the great comedians come out of painful childhood backgrounds.
It seems that tears are a particularly fertile soil for
laughter. Perhaps the same is true for Children’s
Ministers. Theresa Reiter, who joined Frazer’s staff
in 2013 overseeing all ministries to children up to
5th grade, certainly brings a great deal of laughter
to our halls. In Frazer’s Lead Team meetings (which
Theresa and I both sit in on along with pastors
and senior ministry leaders), Theresa has quickly
become known as the “cut up,” sometimes disrupting
our “progress” with a joke or humorous side-story.
Church Business Administrator Rev. Rusty Taylor has
jokingly suggested she not be given anything with
caffeine to drink, since she is rambunctious enough
with just her natural energy level. However, as we
talk it becomes clear that behind her fun loving ways,
Theresa has also seen her share of tears in the course
of her journey to follow Jesus.
Theresa did not grow up in a church-going
home. Her childhood home was spent in a government-housing-project apartment that was often
without adequate heat in the cold mountain winters
of Western North Carolina. Her family was poor
and mostly without a high school education, experiences that marked her. She remembers going to
school after the Christmas holidays and pretending
to have gotten a long list of items from Santa, so she
could feel like she fit in with others. Although she
loved her parents and knows they did the best they
could, in hindsight she says she would have to label
some of their behaviors as abusive, although she
didn’t know that at the time. “That’s how they were
raised,” she explains. “They weren’t mean people,
but they were dysfunctional.”
To illustrate how she felt as a child, Theresa
pulls out a poem by Ann Weems entitled “Greenless
Child:”
ABOVE: Theresa with husband Craig and son Alex. P HOTO
CONTRIBUTED
I watched her go uncelebrated into the
second grade, a greenless child, gray among
the orange and yellow, attached too much
to corners and to other people’s sunshine.
She colors the rainbow brown and leaves balloons unopened in their packages. Oh, who
will touch this colorless child? Who will plant
alleluias in her heart and send her dancing
into all the colors of God? Or will she be left
like an unwrapped package on the kitchen
table— too dull for anyone to take the trouble?
Does God think we’re her keeper?
If Theresa was a “greenless child,” she found in
the church many who were willing to show her “the
colors of God.” She went to Vacation Bible School in
the summers and experienced God’s love in tangible
ways. Church was a happy place for her. Later a
schoolmate who rode the bus with her saved her
a seat every day, and every day she would quietly
but persistently ask Theresa if she wanted to come
OPPOSITE: Theresa Reiter embraces a group of children in the Frazer courtyard. Theresa joined the staff as Children’s
Minister in 2013. P HOTO BY LORI MERCER.
FOLLOWING JESUS
| 41
to church with her. Every time her answer was ‘no,’
but eventually she agreed to go with her.
She remembers in particular a sermon she heard
on a youth trip in the ninth grade. The speaker
made the statement, “if you were the only person
in the world and had committed only one sin, Jesus
would still have died for you.” “For a child with poor
self-esteem, that was extremely important,” Theresa
recalls, “to think that God would love me personally
that much. I knew I wanted to follow Him.”
Those early encounters with Christ still form a
key role in shaping her understanding of God as a
God of grace—as pastor Tim Thompson frequently
says, a God who loves all of us ‘messy mortals.’ “I’m
a messy person,” Theresa says. “My house, my car,
my office are messy, just like my life. My family is not
perfect either, although we adore each other. We go
through the same struggles as any other family. So,
I may not be someone’s portrait of what the ideal
church staff member should look like. However, I
do strive to be authentic. It takes too much energy
to be inauthentic. And you won’t find anyone who
will love your child more.”
Now, Theresa loves seeing children grasp the
same amazing grace that gripped her. “I love seeing
the teaching of grace ‘click’ in a child’s heart—when
they realize they don’t have to be perfect, that we
become perfect through Jesus.”
Sharing that grace started early for Theresa. She
became a Youth Director at age 17, and spent the next
27 years in youth ministry, until more recently entering into Children’s Ministry 7 years ago. Although
she never felt “religious” or “spiritual enough” to be
in ministry, when she realized she could help other
people find hope in the midst of pain, it just came
naturally for her. And because God has chosen to
use her, she finds great joy in helping others discover
their own gifts for ministry and equipping them to
pursue those gifts. More than 100 youth who came
up under her ministry are now in full time ministry
themselves, from Youth Pastors to Music Ministers
CONTINUED PAGE 44
BELOW: Theresa leads children in a dance game at Wednesday Night SPLASH. P HOTO BY LORI MERCER.
42
| FOLLOWING JESUS
FROM RESCUER TO REACHER
THERESA SHARES HER THOUGHTS ON HER ROLE AS CHILDREN’S
MINISTER AND WHAT’S NEW FOR CHILDREN AT FRAZER
BY AMY PRESLEY | During her years as a youth
minister, Theresa said
often times parents were
wanting her to help “rescue” their teens, to encourage them to get
more involved. “I often
felt if only they could be
reached as children, then
they wouldn’t need to be
rescued,” she said. Now
as a children’s minister,
she explains, “I feel like a
‘reacher’.”
Her experience working with teens has helped her
understand the best way to help mold and shape children into becoming the people God designed them to
be, and to know how to prepare them to enter youth
ministry.
“I’m like the ‘fun aunt’ of the youth ministry,” she
explained. “It’s so neat to watch children grow and be
raised up to become disciples.”
She also stresses that her ministry extends beyond
what happens within the church walls.
“At schools, in the community, anywhere children are
involved, I want to be there for them and advocate for children at every level possible,” she said. “It’s so important
for children to know who is for them.”
Wednesday Nights Make a SPLASH
In the fall of 2013, Theresa introduced a new take on
children’s Wednesday evening programs with SPLASH.
SPLASH is all about Singing, Playing, Learning and Serving Him, and the program is designed to keep children
engaged and excited about getting to know Jesus. Children travel to various stations that offer learning in a fun
and interactive way. The program is broken down into
three 20 minute segments, including a hands-on, ageappropriate Bible lesson, time for group games and an
opportunity to serve Him by participating in a mission or
learning about one.
“There’s a lot of movement- we want to utilize every
second with these kids. SPLASH is very interactive and
volunteer intensive,“ Theresa explained. “It’s also very
exciting!”
Sunday Mornings Leap Forward
In December, the nursery and Children’s Ministry also
began a new curriculum, Grow, Proclaim and Serve, for
children age 2 through fifth graders. Theresa describes
the new curriculum as teacher-friendly with a focus on
strong biblical basics.
Part of the Children’s curriculum includes a visit to
“Leaper’s Point,” a video series with a regular cast of characters developed to introduce and reinforce each week’s
Bible lesson. The mascot for the series is Leaper, a frog,
who reminds children that a “leap of faith” is the beginning of a life of joy and purpose.
“We want to help the children understand why all
of the Bible is important in explaining who Jesus is,” she
said. “I think we will see tremendous growth for Sunday
School and Wednesday nights.”
VBS: Workshop of Wonders
Volunteers have already begun planning this summer’s Vacation Bible School, to be held July 14-18 with
the theme “Workshop of Wonders.” Children will learn
about the wonders of God’s creation, and at the same
time explore the wonders of their own God-given creativity.
Theresa is committed to maximizing the impact of
VBS, which is Frazer’s largest outreach to children each
year. For that reason, Frazer will implement incentives
for early registration, and conversely a resource fee for
late registration. “It’s critical that we have an accurate
count of children so that we can ensure there are enough
volunteers and resources for every child to have a safe, enjoyable, and Christ-centered experience at VBS,” Theresa
explains.
•••
Theresa shared that she is excited to be continuing
her ministry for children at Frazer.
“The love we have been shown here has been overwhelming. I feel blessed to work with an amazing team
and I love being involved with what the church as a whole
is doing. This church understands the value of Children’s
Ministry and how every aspect of the church has an influence on children, “ she said. “That’s been such an affirmation to me that I’m meant to be here.”
“I know the Holy Spirit is here, and everyone is going
to grow in their faith,” she said. “My job is to help equip
everyone to make it happen.”
FOLLOWING JESUS
| 43
ABOVE: Sometimes Children’s Ministry is “bananas.”
Laurie Shipp and Gayle Elmore are some of the key
members of the Children’s Ministry team serving
alongside Theresa. P HOTO CONTRIBUTED.
to directors of Foster Care houses. “It’s one of the
most satisfying things,” Theresa says, “to become a
‘spiritual grandparent.’ I think they looked at me and
said, ‘If Theresa can do it, I can do it.’”
Theresa nurtures her walk with Christ through
friendships, books, and journaling. Although it is
difficult for her to be a part of a regular small group
due to her ministry responsibilities, she has several
long time friends from previous churches she has
served who help to encourage her and hold her accountable. “Secure friends aren’t demanding,” she
says. “When you find people you can be yourself
with, and who can be themselves with you, the
friendship stays strong even when you can’t spend
time together as often as you would like.”
In addition to Bible reading, she finds courage and direction from grace-filled books like Mike
Yaconelli’s Messy Spirituality or Donald Miller’s Blue
Like Jazz, as well as poets like the aforementioned
Ann Weems. Keeping a journal of hand-written
prayers helps to focus her attention and gives her
a record she can look back at when she gets down,
to see how God has worked in her life.
That practice of “writing it down” has grown
into two books published by Thomas Nelson,
Nelson’s Youth Minister’s Manual and Nelson’s
44
| FOLLOWING JESUS
Children’s Minister’s Manual, sharing her ideas for
what has worked over the years as well as her
honest accounts of what has not worked so well.
She also helps to write Bible study curriculum for
children’s ministry. Writing is not something she
would have seen herself doing as a child, but it is
one more evidence of God’s grace. “My parents did
not have even a complete high school education,”
she says. “However, I had high school teachers who
invested their time in me and taught me the value
of education. They set me on a different path. Now
I love to write because I can share what God has
done for me with others, just like a cook sharing a
favorite recipe.”
On a personal level, Theresa was not done with
the ‘school of suffering’ once she became an adult.
“I’ve lost two sisters, my mom and dad and a I’ve
been through deep valleys of grief,” she reflects. “I
think I’ve got suffering down.” However, she believes her experiences have given her more empathy
for others, as well as a greater appreciation for the
joys in life when they come. “As a minister, I’ve
had to hold a child who is in the hospital, or who
has lost a parent. I never feel closer to God than in
those moments of serving others.”
When Theresa met her husband, Craig Reiter,
they felt an immediate bond. “We knew on our first
date that we would get married,” she recalls. Craig
works for an IT company but also frequently volunteers alongside Theresa in ministry. They became
a great team, each bringing unique gifts to their
marriage and ministry together.
While the couple were grateful to God to have
found one another, for 15 years they struggled with
the burden of infertility. “The worst part was when
my friends were having children, and I couldn’t feel
their joy. I wanted to celebrate with them, but it was
very difficult.” The experience has made Theresa
more sensitive to the hurts of those in the church
who are unable to have children.
Then came what Theresa calls “the greatest
miracle of our lives” when son Alex was born to
Craig and Theresa after so many years of waiting.
A teenager now and active in Frazer’s student
ministry, Theresa considers Alex her first ministry.
“I try not to let church work consume me. I am
most accountable to God as a mom. I try to be very
present when I am at home, not treating home as
an extension of the office.” Theresa also tries to
weave her understanding of grace into the way
she parents. “Life can be hard for the child of a
church staff member,” she explains. “I don’t want
Alex to feel like he can never make a mistake or
he’ll be embarrassing me. It’s not about me, it’s
about his relationship with Jesus. I want him to
understand he’s not special because he’s a child of
a church leader, he’s special because he belongs
to God, and nothing can change that.”
All of her experiences—a difficult childhood,
years of fruitful ministry, the ups and downs of family life—come together in Theresa’s picture of who
Jesus is. “I know him as powerful but humble, full
of wisdom, yet not boastful. He was a quiet, gentle
teacher and teller of stories, but yet he challenged
everyoneRegistration
to become the better person God made
Complete
them to be. I think people would be surprised if
they met Jesus—we want him to be like us, to love
who we love
and hate who we hate—but the real
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Jesus is more compassionate than that. It’s not his
miracles that surprise me, it’s his compassion.”
Reflecting on a life of following this Jesus,
Theresa says, “the greatest thing about the Christian life is that there can be a lot of grief—and
yet complete joy. It’s not mere happiness. We go
through suffering, but Jesus is always able to restore our Joy.”
Perhaps that’s why our children are so drawn
to “Mrs. Theresa.” She is full of laughter and fun,
yes. She makes church a happy place, yes. But most
importantly, she shines with the grace and love and
joy of Jesus Christ. The “greenless child” now shows
others all the colors of God.
FRAZER UNITED
••• METHODIST CHURCH
Editor’s Note: Since this story was completed,
Theresa and Craig have signed up for Foster Care
training at Frazer. It would seem that God is calling
them to minister to the “greenless” children of the
world world in even deeper ways.
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CAMP
at Camp Chandler
CAMP SONSHINE
Rising 1st-3rd Graders
June 9-11
3 Days 2 Nights $150
CAMP CHALLENGE
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June 9-13
5 Days 4 Nights $275
Boys and girls, join us for an unforgettable week as we practice following Jesus
and learn “His Story” in the midst of fun outdoor experiences including swimming, fishing, horseback riding, crafts, and more. Worship led by Rev. Patrick
Quinn. Frazer Children’s Ministry staff and parents will serve as camp leaders.
Registration Deadline: May 9. Late Registration Deadline: May 25 ($25 fee)
PICK UP A BROCHURE IN THE CHILDREN’S MINISTRY AREA
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FOLLOWING JESUS | 45
CAM P S O N S H I N E
rising
The Gospel of John Sermon Series • Part 3
M ARCH 1 6–A PR I L 2 0, 2 014
During the season leading up to Easter,
our teaching pastors continue to
preach through the book of John with a
look at the arrest, trial, execution—and
resurrection—of Jesus of Nazareth.
What does it say about humanity that
we put God himself on trial? What does
it say about God that he allowed us to
do it? And how does this gospel speak
to us today, when we long for hope
amidst the crushing weight of our own
guilt, shame, fear, and grief?
WORSHIP EXPERIENCES: Join us
Sunday mornings at 8, 9:30 or 11 a.m.
in our Sanctuary or Contemporary
Worship Services, watch us on
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frazerumc.org/media.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Before and after
worship, become part of the ongoing
conversation on Facebook or Twitter
by following @frazerumc and using
the hashtag #GuiltyGod.
“I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All
who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.” John 18:37
46
| FOLLOWING JESUS
HOW TO BECOME A
Follower of Jesus
1. REPENT | To repent means to turn around, to change your thinking and your direction and
go the other way.1 The Bible teaches that every person has a Sin Nature—a deeply ingrained
inner tendency to go our own way instead of following God’s way.2 When we follow our sin
nature, we violate our conscience and break God’s commands by not loving Him and not loving
our neighbor as ourself.3 The results are broken relationships, lack of peace, loss of purpose,
anger, worry, fear, frustration, and hopelessness. The ultimate consequence of sin is death.4
you can pray a prayer of repentance like this: “God, I admit that I am a sinner and I deserve to die. I
have broken your commands. I have not loved you as I ought to, and not loved my neighbor as myself.
I repent of my sins. I turn from going my own way to go your way and obey you as Lord.”
2. BELIEVE | The “gospel” (good news) of Jesus Christ is that we do not have to earn a relationship with God and pay for our sins by doing good deeds or religious rituals.5 Instead, God
Himself took the initiative to come to us, being born as a man, suffering on the cross and dying
in our place on the cross. He won the victory over sin and death by rising from the grave.6 God
promises a new spiritual birth to those who believe in Jesus, trusting Him by faith.7 This new
birth makes the believer a child of God, and begins a process of inner transformation8 that fills
us with His joy, peace, and love, and the hope of eternal life.9
you can pray a prayer of belief like this: “God, I thank you that Your Son Jesus died and rose again the
third day. I trust in him alone to save me from my sins and give me your abundant, new, spirit-filled
life to transform me now, and to give me the hope of resurrection and eternal life.”
3. COMMIT | The decision to follow Jesus begins with repentance and belief, but it is lived
out by a daily commitment to live according to the pattern of life and teaching Jesus showed
us.10 Some of the ways you can follow Jesus daily include:
• become a member of a local church. The church is the Body of Christ,11 the living expression of
Jesus on earth. Joining a church means more than signing up for a human institution. It
means you are committed to building authentic relationships with other believers for worship,
growth, fellowship, and service together.
• read and prayerfully reflect on the bible. God has revealed himself to us through the scriptures.12
The Holy Spirit uses the words of the Bible to give us understanding of who Jesus is and
how we can live like Him as we study it on our own and in community with other believers.13
• serve others in humility. We enter into the experience of Jesus’ death and resurrection by “dying”
to ourselves and our selfish desires so we can discover the joy of giving and living for others.14
1 Mark 1:15 2 Rom. 3:23 3 Mark 12:29-31 4 Rom. 6:23 5 Tit. 3:4-7 6 I Cor. 15:3-6 7 John 1:12-13 8 2 Cor. 5:17 9 John
3:16 10 Luke 9:23 11 Eph. 5:29-30 12 Heb. 4:12 13 John 14:25-26 14 Mark 10:43-45
FOLLOWING JESUS
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SHARE CHRIST
Socially
Like. Follow. Comment. Share. Join the conversation.
When you think about Social Media like Facebook
message of Christ if we all became intentional about
and Twitter, do you think of it as a mission field?
living out our faith in our online neighborhoods. Sign
Followers of Jesus at Frazer are already connected to
up, find Frazer at the accounts listed below, and start
over 88,000 people in the Montgomery area through
sharing the story of God’s love with others in your
social media. Imagine the potential for sharing the
social network.
Facebook “f ” Logo
CMYK / .eps
frazerumc
Facebook “f ” Logo
@frazerumc
CMYK / .eps
frazermethodist
@frazerumc
Questions about how to get involved? Email Ken Roach [email protected]
frazerumc.org