The Vision Of Missions Continue - Louisiana Baptist State Convention

The Vision Of Missions Continue
Matthew 28: 18:20; Matthew 25: 35-30
Louisiana Missionary Baptist State Convention Foreign Mission Department
ISSUE 02 NOVEMBER 2012
This Issue
LMBSC Missionaries Minister in West Indies
Louisiana Missionary Baptist State Convention
Mission Team Travels to Dominica
Dr. C.S. Gordon, Jr
2
Rev. Gary Curtis
3
Tennis Shoes Drive
4
Dr. Tammy Mitchell
5
Pastor Lester George
6
Sis. Jacqueline Wesley-Spring
7
First Phase Completed
8
Financial Report
9
History of Calibishie, Dominica
LMBSC Missionaries Minister in the
West Indies
By Jimmy R. Stevens
On August 11th - 16th , 2012, twenty-four missionaries from the Louisiana Missionary Baptist State
Convention, Dr. Chris S. Gordon president, ministered on the islands of Dominica and Antigua led
by chairman, Rev. Jimmy R. Stevens, executive
secretary Rev. Gary Curtis, and evangelism chairman Rev. Milton Ceasar. The missionaries ministered in four different villages in Dominica: Calibisie
at the Calibisie Baptist Church, Woodfordhill at the
Woodfordhill Baptist Church, Portsmouth at the
Olivet Baptist Church and Wesley at the Marathana Baptist Church. The team ministered in four
areas; first a medical triage, led by Dr. Tammy
Mitchell and nurse Jamie Stevens, second, Vacation Bible School led by Brother Tyrone Davis and
sisters: Faye Norton, Jackie Spring, Delores Stewart, Roseland Jackson, Elvert Bijou, Naomi Green,
Elvenda Bonds, Evelyn Competon, Sherronda
Butler, and third, Christian leadership school and
fourth, revival services where sermons were
preached each night by Ministers: Gary Curtis,
Louis Guy, Shun Hartley and Desmond Wallace.
Evangelism chairman Milton Ceasar ministered on
the island of Antigua. Rev. Ceasar has now experienced three missionary trips to the West Indies. He
has ministered on three different islands in the
West Indies: Antigua, St. Thomas Virgin Island and
Dominica. Congress State President, Dr. Jessie
Billsberry led his 20th delegation to the West Indies. Members from the Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church
of Baton Rouge accompanied him and ministered
in the village of Grand Fond, Dominica at the
church that Dr. Billberry founded, Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church of Dominica. Our executive secretary of
Foreign Missions Rev. Gary Curtis participated in
his sixth trip to the West Indies and remains in love
with the people of Dominica and committed to
seeing the believers in Dominica discipled and
matured in the faith. His passion to see his pastor's
legacy of a thriving Baptist Church in Portsmouth is
apparent by his leadership and the faithful followship of the members of Second Zion Baptist
Church (number one) of New Orleans who accompanied him. Second Zion will be celebrating their
100th Year Church Anniversary in 2013.
On Wednesday night, many of the missionaries
attended the ordination and installation services of
Bro. Lester George, ordained and installed as the
Pastor of the Woodfordhill Baptist Church. The
services were led by island coordinator of the
Back
National Baptist Sunday Publishing Board, Dr.
Thomas Bentley, Pastor of the Bethel Baptist
Church of the St. Thomas Virgin Island. Dr. Bentley
preached from I Timothy 5:17-20, “Let the elders
that rule well be counted worthy of double honor,
especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle
the ox that threadeth out the corn, and the labourer
is worthy of his reward. Against an elder receive
not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses. Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear."
Dr. Bentley emphasized the necessity of the
churches in the West Indies of financially supporting their churches by paying their tithes and offerings to their local churches. Then he encouraged
the churches to take their pastors off their jobs and
financially support their pastor in full-time ministry.
The new pastor of Woodfordhill Baptist Church
succeeded his father, the late Rev. Ned George.
Rev. Lester George is a graduate of American
Baptist College of Nashville, Tennessee.
(Continued on Page 2)
Dr. C. S. Gordon, Jr., President of the Louisiana
Missionary Baptist State Convention
LMBSC Missionaries Minister
in the West Indies
By Rev. Jimmy R. Stevens
(Continued from Cover Story)
The Louisiana Missionary Baptist State
Convention November Quarterly Conference 2012 will be meeting in New
Iberia, Louisiana November 6-8, 2012
hosted by the Union Sixth District Baptist Association, Rev. Norman Stovall,
Moderator.
serves as Moderator, Baptist Pastors
Conference of Greater New Orleans
and Vicinity and President, United Baptist Association, Inc.. Gordon previously served as the General Secretary
for the LMBSC under Immediate Past
President.
President Gordon’s vision for the
LMBSC includes a life of service by the
power of The Holy Spirit and one which
embraces all constituents of Louisiana.
He is committed to the mission of the
NBCUSA, Inc. and continues to work
diligently throughout our convention
having held several leadership positions. Presently, Dr. Gordon serves as
the Second Assistant Secretary and
Board Member for our national convention. Dr. Gordon is entering his twentyfourth year as the Pastor of New Zion
Baptist Church and continues to inspire
NZBC to support our state and national
conventions, respectively. He also
President Gordon’s two new initiatives
for the convention are: Dr. Harry Blake
Boys Academy and the Foreign Mission outreach to Dominica.
The Second Zion Baptist Church of Portsmouth was visited and damages were assessed to the building that was destroyed by
Hurricane Dean in 2008. The Louisiana
Baptist State Convention has made a com.mitment to rebuild Second Zion that was
founded by the late Dr. Matthews McGary in
1984. The rebuilding project will be done in
five phases: clean-up phrase, roof beams
phrase, roof completion phrase, painting
phrase and the furnishing phrase. Funds
have been received by the convention members, churches and associations of approximately
$ 15,000.00 to begin renovations on the
church. Also our State Convention members
contributed 125 new pairs of tennis shoes for
the children in Portsmouth to begin their new
school year.
We are so thankful and proud of the commitment and dedication of the Louisiana Baptist
State Convention missionaries to foreign
missions. Your faithfulness, love and obedience to the Great Commission of Jesus
Christ, "Go ye therefore in all the world and
teach all nations. Baptizing them in the name
of the Father, and the Son and the Holy
Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things
in which I have commanded you. And lo, I
am with you always. Even unto the end of
the world" and the network of our sister
churches have helped to spread the light of
Christ and strengthen the faith of many of
the believers in the West Indies. Many of us
traveling to the West Indies for the first time
found the believers of the West Indies to be
sincerely in love with Jesus and they received us with open arms. Many hearts were
touched, new relationships established, the
word of God taught and an indelible print has
been impressed in the sands of time.
2
Rev. Gary Lee Curtis, Pastor
Second Zion Baptist Church, No. 1
New Orleans, La
Foreign Mission Executive Secretary
Louisiana Missionary Baptist
State Convention
Matthew 28:18-20
great expectation of serving our sisters and brothers of the Island.
Again, I wish publicly to thank this
convention and its many supporters, along with our President, for
allowing us to serve in the area of
foreign missions. To God Be The
Glory For All The Great Things He
Has Done!
“And Jesus came and spake unto
them saying, All power is given
unto me in heaven and in earth.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father, and of the Son and of
the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to
observe all things whatsoever I
have commanded you: and, lo I am
with you always, even unto the end
His Humble Servant
of the world. Amen.”
Pastor Gary Lee Curtis
In our recent travels to the Island of
Dominica, ministering Kingdom’s
service to the islanders, we were
truly blessed in the Lord. The Mission Trip was a rewarding and uplifting experience. We wish to thank
all that accompanied us on the trip.
We, thank Almighty God, for truly
His Great Grace was upon us. I
would like to thank our Convention
President, Dr. C S Gordon, Jr., and
our Director of Foreign Mission, Dr.
Jimmy R. Stevens , Delegates and
Convention Supporters, for foreign
mission initiative.
What we intended to accomplished
on this trip, was truly a blessing to
all. As we, continue the vision and
work of Foreign Missions in the
West Indies, we look forward with
3
Dominica Tennis Shoes Drive
The missionaries of the Louisiana Missionary Baptist State Convention was able to send the children of Dominica 103 pairs of new tennis
shoes for the new school year. Because of the generous donation of
members of the convention across the State these teens’ shoes were bought and shipped to
our sister churches on the island! Working with the Women Missionary Union presidents of
our convention made this effort possible.
Dr. Thomas Bentley, Island Coordinator made sure that the tennis shoes were distributed.
On next year 2013 we would like to ship at least 200 new pairs of tennis shoes! Sis. Verda
Anthony, President of the 7th District Baptist Association WMU auxiliary is the contact person — cell (337) 884-6662 or home (337) 478-9818.
PICTURES FROM DOMINICA TRIP
VBS STUDENTS & MISSIONARIES
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Missions Perspective
from a Doctor
By Dr. Tammy Mitchell
Dominic is a tropical paradise which is
well-preserved and it sits along the
eastern seaboard of the Caribbean
Sea. I along with Jamie Stevens, the
licensed practical nurse who assisted
me, had the privilege of serving the
people of two villages, Wordfordhill and
Calibishie. I also was able to serve by
teaching the teen class during our Vacation Bible School at the Wordfordhill
Baptist Church. The teens were very
eager to learn and it was interesting to
learn that they enjoy social media sites
such as Facebook as much as teens
here in the United States. As a medical doctor, I must say that I was very
impressed with the overall health of the
people of the island. Since the island is
very underdeveloped, one would expect
the overall health of the individuals to
be very poor. Of the individuals which
we saw, the most common diseases
identified were hypertension and diabetes. Of those with these diseases, they
were already treated and on medications. They had a health center in their
prospective villages which they can go
to and have their blood pressure and
blood glucose levels checked regularly.
I noticed that the locals eat lots of fresh
fruits and vegetables in their diet. In
speaking to one who was practicing
nurse on the island for over 30 years
stated “We eat what we grow and we
grow what we eat.” So you don’t find
many on the island desiring takeout or
fast-food. I think it is not very difficult
when you live on an island that has a
vast array of fruit trees such as coconut, guava, passion fruit, mangoes, papaya, avocadoes, oranges, grapefruits,
limes and bananas. I noticed the locals
served fresh juices made from these
fruits. The guava fruit has 4 times the
fiber and 19 times the vitamin C than
what is contained in an apple. Coconut
oil is used often on the island and
known for its antibacterial and antiviral
properties and one of the healthiest oils
on earth. I also heard multiple complaints of joint pain, primarily of the hip.
I feel this is likely common because
many people on the island walk most
places and the terrain there is very
mountainous and hilly. I did not see
many obese people in the villages
which we served. The island is also
home to over 365 natural rivers, hot
springs and waterfalls which are important sources of fresh water.
Even
though there are many mosquitoes on
the island, there does not appear to be
any recent epidemics of mosquitoborne illnesses. There is also a medical school called Ross University on the
island in Portsmouth which good because the medical students provide
care to people in the villages which increases their access to medical care. I
feel honored to serve the beautiful people of this wonderful island and to God
be the glory for the things He has done.
I would like to thank the Louisiana Baptist Association Department of Foreign
Missions and Rev. Jimmy Stevens for
affording me the privilege.
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Pastor Lester George
Woodfordhill Baptist Church
Woodfordhill, Dominica
Lester George was born in Goodwill, Dominica in
1983. He grew up and was spiritually nurtured in
the Calibishie Baptist Church in Calibishie, Dominica. He graduated from St. Andrews High School in
Wesley in 2000. Lester received his call to the gospel ministry in 2004 and preached his first sermon
in January in 2005. He moved to the United States
in 2003 under the mentorship of the late Dr. John
Rouse, past chairman of the National Baptist Sunday School Publishing Board and past pastor of the
Mt. Zion Baptist Church of East St. Louis, Illinois.
Lester attended and graduated from American
Baptist College in Nashville, Tennessee with a degree in Bachelor of Arts. He stayed in the United
States for six years being exposed to the American
culture, higher education system, music, technology and ministry of the Black Baptist Church. But
after graduation, Lester felt an inspiration to return
back to Dominica and impart the knowledge that he
had gained at American Baptist College and mentorship from Dr. Rouse. So in 2009 he returned
home and began working at the church that his late
father, Rev. Ned George had labored in for several
years in Woodfordhill. In 2012 Lester was called to
the pastorage of that congregation. He was ordained and installed as the pastor of Woodfordhill
Baptist Church in Woodfordhill, Dominica on
Wednesday, August 15, 2012 by Dr. Thomas Bentley. His wife is Jermimah Xavier George.
Now with a young, energetic and trained Baptist
preacher ministering in that village there is new
spirit of excitement that fills his congregation. The
Woodfordhill Baptist Church turns a new page in
their history with a new leader. With God's help our
prayer is that many souls will be won to Jesus
Christ and a village transformed through the power
of the Holy Spirit .
Calibishie, Dominica
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A DREAM COME TRUE
BY SIS. JACQUELINE WESLEY-SPRING
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ from
whom all blessings flow!!!!! For truly it has been a
blessing to be able to travel to Nature’s Island ,
Dominica. I would first like to thank my visionary
Pastor Dr. Rev. Jimmy R. Stevens for presenting
this vision to our church family which gave me this
opportunity of service unto God. It has always been
my dream and vision to do missionary work. I am
thankful to God for the trip to Dominica was truly
ordained as the “The Great Commission” states in
Matthew 28:19-20.
Dominica: God’s Place
Our team of missionaries got off the
plane at the airport in Melville Hall, Dominica. As we
got our luggage we also got the shock of our life!!!!
Our group from Lake Charles was not going to
Portsmouth, Dominica. Some of us were re routed
to Wesley, while others were going to Calibishie. At
first I was thinking we would see each other later.
After all, we did not get to say good bye, right?????
Well Sis Faye Norton, Bro. Louis Guy, and I got
sent to Wesley.( As I look back, I think about Paul in
the book of Acts drifting away from his original
planned trip because God had chosen the course
Paul would take. So it was with my trip to Wesley
instead of Portsmouth.) So as I’m on my new
course I asked the question” Why would God send
me to Wesley?” Wesley, Dominica is a place that
is hidden away from society. There are no hotels,
luxury beaches, or restaurants to write home about.
There are no tourist attractions, so why Wesley,
Dominica?? Psalm 24:1 says the Earth’s is the
Lord’s and the fullness thereof and they that dwell
therein. God’s people are everywhere and in spite
of voodoo and other idol worship God gave the
great commission Matt.28:19 20. God’s Word will
go forth. As a person who seeks the face of God,
wanting his best for my life, so it is with the people
in the village of Wesley. The people of Wesley
wants the best God has for their lives and it begins
with the Word. But why would God send me to a
place that has my maiden name”? Yes, I was born
Jacqueline Wesley and as I was enroute to the
guest house that I would be staying, I said to myself
“God has a sense of humor!!! “I felt like Alex Hailey,
the author of Roots……..”I found you”!!!
As I traveled about ten minutes to
Wesley from the airport, the surroundings looked
like a jungle, rough looking grasslands of palm
trees, and shrubs. It is clear there are not a lot of
commercial businesses. There is a lot of undeveloped land. Wesley is a mountainous region with
big houses, old and new houses side by side….It is
a village that has no subdivisions. The goats, chickens, little shacks, big houses are all together. After
getting over the shock of not going to the place I
had envisioned, I began to see the village of
Wesley as a place I was supposed to be. It was
then that I saw the beautiful tropical plants, and
green mountain ranges …. There are benches
along roadsides of Dominica---------not for bus
stops…..there is no bus transportation. The
benches are for “liming” a place where the locals
gather and socialize with each other. There are
signs on homes throughout the village that says “ice
sold here.” Some homes are used as restaurants,
while others operate as local corner stores .The
village of Wesley, Dominica is the most undeveloped, of the places where our missionaries visited.
There were limited fans, no air conditioning, and
there was no running hot water. Wesley, Dominica
is truly nature’s island.
The name Wesley already represents
family to me, since it was my maiden name. Being
in the village was a great connection of fellowship at
its best. As our team from Lake Charles arrived at
the guest house we were also teamed with a lovely
couple and granddaughter from Texas City, Texas .
Deacon Emile and Sherry Henry, along with their
granddaughter Tory also from Texas City. Deacon
Henry led our team in a prayer meeting every morning before VBS. Deacon Henry was a live wire and
assisted Bro. Guy, Sis. Faye and I as new missionaries. Each morning, Pastor John would come and
pick us up for VBS. We would ride on the back of
his truck. It is custom for women to ride on the back
of the truck and the men ride in the front. As we
would ride to church, the people in the neighborhood were lovable, kindhearted, and grateful for our
presence. We were shown much love by the chil-
dren also. Each morning we were greeted by 70
children or more for VBS. Most of the students
would be in church anxiously awaiting our arrival.
They were so excited and I thought to myself, “We
are thousands of miles away, only to find that the
people of the village of Wesley wants what every
Christian wants, love and acceptance, as they study
the Word. They want a good education for a better
life, and as we fellowship we can share our testimonies of what God has done and what He will do.
The children were so excited to share in
the VBS theme “Heaven’s Kitchen-- Matthew 6:11
Give us this day our daily bread” . The importance
of VBS (August 12-17) week was to remind us
that although we depend on food to nourish our
physical bodies. God requires us to study the Word
of God daily for our spiritual food. Food is necessary for the nourishment of your mind, body, and
soul, but studying the Word of God keeps us from
being spiritually dead. As we study his Word, we
are receiving his spiritual daily bread, which nourishes our mind, body, and soul. Each morning our
VBS Director, Sis Sherry Henry opened our service
and Bro. Guy led prayer. Our praise and worship
leader was
Sis Faye. The children were so
charged up as Faye taught many new songs that
had them energetic and ready for the Word. Tory
worked with pre-K ages 3-5 with a total of 10 for the
week. I worked with primary ages 6-8 with a total of
21 for the week. Sis Faye worked with ages 9-12
and total of 31 students for the week . Deacon
Henry worked with the youth and had a total of 15
for the week. We also had Adult VBS each night
taught by Deacon Henry before night service. Bro.
Guy preached the nights of Monday and Tuesday.
We had a very rewarding week knowing that it was
God’s grace and goodness that would allow us the
opportunity to travel across the waters to share in
God’s work. As the island of Dominica is nature’s
island with natural resources, clear water, beautiful
mountain ranges, the Caribbean Sea, it all belongs
to God. As the words spoken from my mouth in
through the power of the Holy Spirit it all belongs to
God …..To God be the glory for all He has done for
Dominica and America and will continue to do all for
His glory.
7
FIRST PHASE
COMPLETED
Roof of Church after 2008 Hurricane Dean
Pastor Gary Curtis (left) & Pastor Jimmy Stevens (right)
First Phase Completed
Under the Foreign Mission initiative of our President, Dr. C.S. Gordon
the work on the Second Zion Baptist Church of Portsmouth, Dominica has begun. In 2008 Hurricane Dean devastated the island of Dominica. The Second Zion Baptist Church which was built by the late
Dr. William McGary in 1984 suffered extensive damage and the congregation has not been able to worship in their facility for the past
four years. This church located in Portsmouth was once a thriving
ministry reaching out into the community in worship, discipleship,
fellowship, ministry and evangelism. Each year this church hosted
the National Sunday School Board of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Incorporated under the leadership of island coordinator,
Dr. Thomas Bentley with a week of VBS, lectures, and preaching
from our missionaries from the convention.
The Clean Up Phase has been completed at a cost of $350.00. Bids
are now being taken for the second phase of the project which is the
rebuilding of the roof. The roof was completely taken off due to Hurricane Dean. With the sacrificial giving of the District Association,
Churches and individual giving of our State Convention, the Second
Baptist Church will soon be renovated and the members of this congregation will again be able to worship and minister in their church
building.
We encourage all to continue to sow into this mighty Foreign Mission
initiative of our President. We are committed as a State Convention
to making this vision a reality. We trust that in Pthe fall of 2013 the
Second Zion Baptist will be rededicated to the glory of God and the
missionaries and delegates our Baptist State Convention will again
worship on these sacred grounds.
Our Louisiana Missionary Baptist State Convention has received over
$ 15,000.00 from its members designated for this project. The renovation projection will be completed in six phases.
Clean Up Phase
Roof Rafter Phase
Roof Completion Phase
Electrical, Doors and Windows Phase
Paint Phase
Furnishing Phase
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Louisiana Missionary Baptist State Convention
President Rev. C.S. Gordon, Jr.
General Secretary Edward Alexander, Jr.
May Quarterly Conference 2012
Second Zion Baptist Church, Portsmouth, Dominica
Home/Foreign Missions: Finance Report
NAME
LITTLE RIVER BAPTIST ASSOCIATION- WOODROW PELLERIN
AMOUNT
$2,364.00
MODERATOR
NEW COVENANT FAITH BAPTIST CHURCH - REV. JIMMY STEVENS
1,600.00
WOODVILLE BAPTIST CHURCH –REV. DR. MARC NELSON, SR.
1,500.00
ZION TRAVELERS BAPTIST CHURCH– REV. DR. MAURICE WHITE
1,500.00
CENTRAL UNION ASSOCIATION– MARC NELSON, SR. MODERATOR
1,315.86
NORTHWEST 14TH DISTRICT BAPTIST ASSOCIATION– JAMES SMITH
MODERATOR
1,000.00
SECOND ZION BAPTIST CHURCH NO.1– REV. GARY LEE CURTIS
1,000.00
FIRST DISTRICT BAPTIST ASSOCIATION-REV. ROBERT TURNER,
MODERATOR
500.00
NEW ZION BAPTIST CHURCH—REV. DR. C. S. GORDON, JR.
500.00
MORNING STAR BAPTIST CHURCH— DR. THERON JACKSON
500.00
REV. DR. RAY CAPTAIN, LAKE CHARLES, LA
500.00
THIRTEENTH DISTRICT BAPTIST MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION—
ROBERT HUDSON MODERATOR
500.00
GREATER LIBERTY BAPTIST CHURCH– REV. DR. CALVIN W. WOODS, JR.
400.00
TUESDAY NIGHT OFFERING/CASH
221.00
MR. & MRS. MILLER TURNER
200.00
UNCLASSIFIED DONATION
200.00
SAINT JOHN BAPTIST CHURCH, INC., 0774—REV. BLACK MAGEE
100.00
GRAND TOTAL COLLECTED—05/08/12
$13,900.86
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THE HISTORY OF
CALIBISHIE, DOMINICA
CALIBISHIE COVE
Calibishie is one of several villages in beaches are truly part of what makes
Dominica that have retained their
it special.
original Carib name.
The area has palm-fringed beaches,
Located some 20 minutes drive from freshwater rivers with secluded bathboth Melville Hall Airport to the east, ing pools, tumbling waterfalls and
and from Dominica's second city of
dense rain forest with exotic birds
Portsmouth to the west, the coast
and lush vegetation. Visitors may
around Calibishie is a delight of sehike into the rain forest wilderness to
cluded, white sand beaches.
catch a glimpse of the colorful Jaco
parrot. Take a spin on a mountain
Calibishie is a town in Dominica. It is
bike or take to the sea for great snorlocated on the north coast of the iskeling and world-class scuba diving.
land, immediately to the east of the
village of Hampstead. The Calibishie
A wide variety of accommodation is
Coast Travel Area is thought by
many to be the most scenic and un- available along the coast, from simspoiled region of Dominica. Stretch- ple guesthouses to cliff side cottages
overlooking the sea to a private villa
ing from the rugged mountains of
perched on a mountainside. The loPennville, through the picturesque
cal population is very friendly and
fishing village of Calibishie, to the
crashing surf of the Marigot beaches, quite a few small, local restaurants
the Calibishie Coast is one of the few have begun to sprout up the meet
the needs of growing tourism to the
areas in the world where you can
travel from the seashore to rain forest area.
in little more than a mile. Calibishie is
also home to Dominica's best
beaches: Batibou, Hampstead,
Hodges, Point Baptiste, Turtle and
Woodford Hill Beaches. Lush, tropical, and secluded, the town's
THE VISION OF MISSIONS CONTINUE
CONTACT
Rev. Jimmy Stevens
337 436-8300
[email protected]
Rev. Gary Curtis
504 579-4279
[email protected]
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