and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of

American Baptist Association
SUMMER 2014
MissionsNews s Views
“..... and departed,
being recommended by the
brethren unto the grace of God.”
ACTS 15:40
Recommended
by the Brethren
Acts 15:40 states, “And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto
the grace of God.”
According to the Mission Policy of the American
Baptist Association, the definition of a Missionary is,
“A God-called, church ordained preacher endorsed by
the church of his membership to do mission work.”
Under the Policies for the missionaries you will also
find that “Each missionary must have an endorsement from the church of his membership,” and “Missionaries must be recommended as requested by the
endorsing church or not recommended.”
Why are these terms used so frequently throughout
our mission policy? Because it is the biblical way!
In Acts 13, the church at Antioch laid their hands
on Paul and Barnabas and sent them away. This was
a mark of confidence and fellowship. In Acts 14 we
are told that Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch
to rehearse to the church all that God had done with
them. “And thence sailed to Antioch, from whence
they had been recommended to the grace of God for
the work which they fulfilled”(Acts 14:26).
To endorse means to sanction, approve or support.
To recommend means to entrust, to suggest favorably
as suited for some position. Before a missionaries
picture appears on the Missions Poster, there is a
process of endorsing and recommending that takes
place. The sending church recognizes the calling of
God upon the Missionary and then endorses him to
do the work that God has called him to do. If the
sending church desires financial assistance from the
association of churches in the sending of their mis-
sionary, then they would submit a Missionary Recommendation Form to the office of Secretary-Treasurer
of Missions. These forms are then gathered and
mailed to the members of the Standing Missionary
Committee. This committee meets 30 days prior to
the National Messenger Meeting. Many hours are
spent reviewing these forms by the committee to
make sure that each form complies with the Mission
Policy that has been adopted by the churches. At the
National Messenger Meeting, these forms are once
again reviewed by the Missionary Committee before
going to the Messenger Body for final approval.
What a privilege to be endorsed by a local church
and recommended by the brethren to do the mission
work that God has called the missionary to do. What
a tremendous encouragement to the missionary to
know that God’s people are partnering with them
through their prayers and financial support.
In this addition of the Mission News and Views,
we wanted to capture some of the highlights of our
recent Messenger Meeting that was held in Grand
Rapids, MI. There are also a couple of articles written by one of our recommended Missionary Helpers,
and the wife of one of our recommended Interstate
Missionaries, that will bless your soul as we see what
God can do with a person that will make themselves
available and use what they have for the glory of
God.
On the last page we have listed all the names of
our Recommended Missionaries and Missionary
Helpers. Please continue to pray and support these
missionaries and their families.
Bryan Sellers
Please let us know of any address corrections, additions or deletions that need to be made to this mailing list.
Contact us by sending an e-mail to
[email protected]
G
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Missionary Share
Time
Annual Sermon
Mark Clements,
Pastor-New Liberty
Baptist Church
in Garland, TX
Missionary Sermon
Philip Wysocki,
Missionary Pastor
Anchor Landmark MBM,
Interlochen, MI
From the humble beginnings of a silent movie
camera to the now ABAmedia Studio located in Texarkana, TX, Jerry Smith embodies the term, surrendered servant. As with many of our missionaries I
love hearing how they got started doing the work
God has called them to do. It’s a testimony of faith
to be shared, and Jerry’s is no less encouraging and
emotional. This man who was employed as a welder
wanted to be used of God, but in his mind he wasn’t
a preacher, or a song leader or a missionary to Africa,
so what could he do? With that humble heart and
a movie camera in his hand, he prayed. “Lord, it’s
yours if you will use me.” If you or your church has
ever seen a video about a missionary in the ABA, you
know how God is using Jerry Smith. If you attended
the annual messenger meeting in Grand Rapids, you
saw a sample of the work that is ABAmedia during
the Wednesday night mission presentation. God has
truly blessed this ministry.
When you ask Jerry how many states he has
traveled to in behalf of a missionary or how many
countries he has been in to film, he can’t tell you.
He can’t even get the timing right on certain trips.
(Thanks Susan for the accurate information of a
timeline!) Why? Because that is not what he is
about. I realized it wasn’t about him, and he doesn’t
like the attention, it is about the work God has
opened up for him to do. I will probably be asked
why I put his picture at the top of the page.
Jerry’s enthusiasm is contagious. As we spoke
about the past and how God has worked in his life,
guiding him to where he is now, you feel his passion.
You tear up when he tears up. And you definitely
laugh when he realizes it’s getting too serious. But,
you see his faith. That is what brought Jonathan
West, “Dub” as he is called, to work alongside of
Jerry. Dub will tell you, what God did in building
that studio, confirmed to him what he needed to
be doing with his life. Like Jerry, Dub says he didn’t
know where he fit in to God’s plan for his life. While
he didn’t understand it at the time, his training from
a prior employer was truly a gift from God. With that
training he is able to assist Jerry as well as take on
solo filming projects and he does a lot of what it takes
to have a completed project. He and his wife Joni
were in Africa for months filming seminary classes in
Swahili so they can be used in other places in Africa.
Jerry and Dub are currently involved in many projects that will benefit our missionaries and churches
and their work is extraordinary. With the addition of
the studio, more opportunities have been made available. Along with seminary classes in Swahili, they
have filmed “Treasures of the Bible” a 6-part series
with Victor Guzman, a 21-part series on “The Lamb of
God” with Juan Gallegos, “The Way to the Abundant
Life” in Japanese with Tim and Ernie Lawson, and
“The Doctrine Project: a 21-part series on what we
believe and why.” This project will have workbooks
and video that can be used as a teaser, a lead-in to a
class or used as the class alone. The first lessons will
be released later this year.
Many missionaries traveling through Texarkana
have been able to film projects and view all of the
wonderful artifacts and gifts that Jerry and Susan
have obtained over the years in this ministry. Almost
every item has a story and you can believe that Jerry
tells that story with the excitement he had when he
first obtained it. Of course he has to get the year
information from Susan.
What started out as a 5th Quarter fellowship of showing Friday night football highlights has grown into an
international connection with our missionaries, first through videos and now through a new site, ABAconnect.
org. This new social media site is designed to be an avenue of real time communication among our churches and members with our missionaries. This vision of ABAmedia is now up and running and ready for you to
become a part. As with any other social media site, it needs your involvement for it to be successful. A few of
our missionaries and ABAer’s have tested the site so now it is ready for you to sign up and become connected.
The potential for this site is unlimited, but we need you to connect. It is similar to other social sites in that you
need to be a member. To do so, go to ABAconnect.org and create an account with a user ID and password so
you will be able to login. Once a member, you can connect with other churches, members, pastors, and missionaries. You will have your own wall to post information, photos, and videos all to further our associated
work and the Kingdom of God. This tool can keep us connected, encouraged and motivated in the work of our
Lord. The site will also have links to other sites already being used by our associated work. So it is designed to
do exactly what it says, Connect! If you have any issues with signing up, please e-mail [email protected] and
let them know. It is exciting to be part of something new! So Connect!
Jerry’s prayer has always been that his life will bring some sort of Kingdom Value to God’s work. He may not
be able to preach, and I haven’t heard him sing, but I do know that being submissive to use the talents that
God has given you is a special ministry that does honor and glorify God. Amen Jerry, Amen!
Jill Sellers
The Schoeff journey in full-time ministry began
in 2004. We had just moved into our dream home.
There were still boxes to be unpacked, pictures to be
hung and landscaping to be decided upon when my
husband came home one night from work and appeared physically ill. He informed me we would have
to sell our home because we could no longer afford
the payments. No, he had not been fired, he had
finally decided to follow the call upon his life from
which he had been running for ten years, and he was
going to surrender to be a missionary. Contrary to
what you may be thinking, I did not get upset; I merely told him it was about time. Everyone in the world
but Alan knew God had called him to mission work.
So in 2005 Alan began seminary and we began
praying as a couple where God would have us to
serve and I had already been praying about what God
had in store for my life. While God certainly placed
me where He did to be Alan’s help meet I believed
I should also use the knowledge and gifts God had
given to me to honor and glorify Him. The problem
was that I certainly had a different set of skills. I did
not have a musical bone in my body, I was not gifted
with teaching or other tasks associated with a typical
missionary or pastor’s wife. I had worked in the eye
care field for many years and many times employers
and supervisors would tell me in reviews that I had a
gift for taking care of my patients. How could this be
used to glorify and honor God? God finally revealed
to me how that gift could be used to honor and
glorify Him and grow His Kingdom. In 2005 the Eyes
on Christ vision care ministry grew from that simple
idea.
Eyes on Christ
The Eyes on Christ vision care ministry is modeled after the way Jesus ministered. We are given many
examples where Christ would enter a town and heal people physically; reveal who He was spiritually and then
disciple the people. At the invitation of a missionary, Eyes On Christ will travel to remote areas bringing equipment, glasses, medications and set up an eye care clinic. We will perform frontier eye care while the missionary and evangelistic teams share the gospel one on one with the people. When the eye care team is done we
often leave the missionary with contact information for hundreds of people who are hungry for the Word of
God and can now see well enough to obtain a job, better perform daily tasks and more importantly see to read
their Bibles!
Currently, I am planning the next steps for the
Eyes on Christ ministry. A big leap of faith began last
year when I quit my secular job to return to school
to complete my doctorate work. The sad reality is
that Eyes On Christ is a ministry that is greatly underfunded and that more resources, both personally and
corporately, will be available if I have my doctorate.
There have been many opportunities for the Eyes
On Christ ministry that passed us by because we did
not have a doctor “on staff” such as donations of
medications and equipment from ophthalmic companies. There have also been many opportunities
that have passed us by because we did not have the
funds available to take advantage such as purchasing supplies or equipment at a greatly reduced cost
when a doctor’s office closed. After much prayer and
consideration I put the ultimate decision to return to
school in God’s hands. I was sitting at home one day
recuperating from major foot reconstruction surgery
and prayed “God, if this is your will, open up a door
to allow me to return to school.” That afternoon I
called the admissions office of my alma matter, Indiana University, and ask what it would take for me to
return to school. I was told “once a graduate, always
welcome” and within twenty minutes I was enrolled
in classes to refresh my knowledge in certain science
areas and had an appointment with the dean of the
school to discuss best strategies for completing my
doctorate! We pray that doors will open and scholarships will be available to limit the student loan debt
this step will require.
I am also trying to work out plans and funding for
upcoming mission trips. The Eyes On Christ ministry
has far more requests by missionaries for help than
funds available. My heart breaks every time I have a
missionary that describes how their ministry would
benefit by providing eye glasses and we can’t go.
Many of these missionaries request that we come
as quickly as possible and the answer is always the
same. The only thing that is standing in the way is
the funds to get the glasses to the people. As I am
explaining this to the missionary the image of my
basement with nearly 13,000 pairs of glasses just
waiting to be placed on a person’s face comes to
mind and grieves my heart. A tremendous amount
of work has gone into obtaining glasses and getting
them prepared for a trip to only find them sitting in
a basement in Sheridan, Indiana. The burden it has
placed on my heart and the inability to help is the
greatest cause of frustration, tears and even depres-
sion in my spiritual walk.
In the summer of 2016 we will be undertaking
what will be the biggest challenge we have faced so
far with the ministry. We have been invited to work
with Chase and Kelli Reynolds in bringing a literacy
program to the Yetfa people. I was approached the
last time they were home on deputation and asked
if I would be interested in helping when they introduced the literacy program to the Yetfa people. The
people are likely unaware that they have a need for
reading glasses since they have no real experience
reading small print. Chase expressed his concern
that the people will become frustrated and abandon
the program if they cannot see clearly. This is where
Eyes on Christ can step in to help a missionary bring
the gospel and discipleship to the people groups they
serve. We will travel to this remote village and make
sure the people have the proper glasses to study
God’s word! We are very excited about this unique
opportunity.
Alan and I are so thankful that we are blessed to
work with a group of people who love the Lord and
support not only the Sheridan First Baptist Church
mission but also the Eyes On Christ ministry. We love
to tell people how God is moving through both of
these works. If you have any questions or would like
to know more please contact us!
Julie Schoeff
Sheridan First Baptist Mission
Alan Schoeff is an Interstate missionary on Salary
sent out by Landmark Baptist Church in Anderson, IN.
Landmark also sponsors the Eyes on Christ ministry.
Support can be sent to Landmark Baptist Church
1924 Cross St
Anderson, IN 46011
email: [email protected]
From Our
Missionaries
Philip Wysocki
Missionary to Michigan
June was an AWESOME month for Anchor Landmark! After three years of diligent work on the field,
we had our first seed sprout! The SECOND lady we
came to know here in the Traverse City area accepted the LORD Jesus Christ as her Savior! We rejoice
greatly! Then, two ladies from our Monday Bible
study agreed to receive Scriptural Baptism. God also
blessed me with the opportunity to address the National ABA meeting as the Missionary Sermon speaker. (That was just “frosting to the cake of June”)
Our attendance numbers jumped quite a bit. We
had a high attendance of 26 on the 15th. A good
number of these were visiting brethren for the
national meeting. On the 29th, however, we had a
Sunday morning attendance of 22 without folks from
Sister churches.
God is GOOD and continues to Bless Anchor
Landmark!
Thanks for the Prayers and support!
Bro. Philip
Rusty Denny
Missionary to Navajo Nation
We had an outstanding VBS with over 50 Navajo of
all ages attending each night. We also accomplished
work projects in the area that will open doors for
Spiritual growth in the future. Pray for us.
Rusty Denny
Justin Ray
Missionary to Georgia
June kicks off a BUSY summer! I am very happy to say
that we are not going into this busy summer in a building
project. We passed our final inspection on June 13. There
is still work to be done, like some trim work and landscaping, but we are excited that 98% of all that needs to be
done (as far as this project is concerned) is completed.
In order to complete the work that needed to be done,
we had to borrow $50,000.00 from the ABA Credit Union.
We have 5 years to pay it off, but our goal is to pay it off
in 1 year. We know that we cannot do this on our own.
We need help! We are asking everyone to pray about this
need. I call it a need because if we grow just a little in
attendance we will need more Sunday School space. That
means another building project or the purchase of a small
double wide that could be used as classrooms. I have
presented faith promise giving to our people. Any offerings sent in will go toward the principle of the note and
not toward our monthly payment. We will be responsible
for that. If you can help through financial support, checks
should be sent through our sending church.
Poplar Head Baptist Church, c/o Tommy Ray, 709 E. Simon
St, Glennville, GA 30427. Or they can be sent to us directly,
Woodbine Baptist Church, 990 E. 10th Street, Woodbine,
GA 31569
I mentioned in the opening of this letter that we have
a busy summer. We will have Kids Camp, Macedonian
Trips will be helping us knock on doors and hold a VBS, our
building dedication and a Teen Camp. Then July 25 and 26
is the Georgia State Association Meeting held at Hillcrest
Baptist Church. While this is going to be an exhausting
summer, I pray that each of these activities bring glory to
God and that we see many souls saved.
One last note, we were able to attend the Messenger
Meeting in Grand Rapids, MI. I was approved for salary
for another year. Praise God! It was a great meeting, and
there were wonderful messages and devotions. It was also
encouraging to hear the reports from other Missionaries.
Justin Ray
Jim Smith
Jon Lowe
Missionary to Nevada
Missionary to Indiana
We had a great Vacation Bible School with 4 saved.
Visitation has been slow because it is just to hot to
get out and walk the streets with temperatures of 115
to 120. We went to camp with Lone Mountain MBC
in AZ. We has a great camp with 11 salvations and 6
re-dedications.
God bless all those who gave to IMD fund, we were
very blessed to receive it for the 2nd quarter.
Please pray for us as we Labor for The Lord.
Another great month! We’re super excited to
see what the long term effects of CityReach will be
once everything settles down and school is in full
swing through the month of August. Please keep
us in your prayers over the next few months as we
attempt to plug in as many as possible that were
reached through the week of CityReach.
Thanks again for your continue support, prayers,
and care.
Zonnyfin Lesigon
Missionary to the Philippines
Greetings in the name of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. Praise God for
His undying love and faithfulness to us.
I thank the Lord that I am now alright. I was sick for 3 days after I arrived
home from our mission trip to San Carlos. But I praise
God for the victory and blessings in the work there. The
mission work is growing with new prospects and Bible
studies and I baptized two young people. After asking them about their testimonies of salvation and why
they wanted to be baptized, I found out that they were ready since they really understood the scriptural way
salvation and baptism. Let us pray for their growth and that they will be instrumental in reaching out to their
friends and relatives as well. Their parents are already attending our services and hopefully they will also
surrender totally to the Lord.
Our weekly activities and schedules in our other missions and in FMMBC-Lapulapu are going well too.
Please continue praying for Alexia Gonzales for her chemo therapy. We have been conducting bible study in
their home weekly. They are one of our prospects in the church and so far the response has been good and
I hope that they will really commit to Christ. Lastly, thank you once again for your prayers and love for the
Lord’s work here in the Philippines. May God bless you all.
Least among God’s servants, Bro. Zonnyfin “Mike” Lesigon
Josh Hargis
Missionary to Illinois
1250 church invitations were handed out at our local
homecoming parade.
1250 church invitations were delivered as a newspaper insert.
Our church was represented in 6 parades in our local
homecoming festivals.
Our new member is our song leader.
God is so good to us!
Marlou Tagulob
Missionary to the Philippines
Greetings from Cebu, Philippines.
Thank you for your continued prayers and support.
We had a wonderful fellowship during my birthday and
baptized 3 candidates for baptism. Still we pray that
we can buy permanent Lot for our mission in Cebu.
Our Bohol Mission is doing great and we have prospect for Baptism. Our Mission Worker in Bohol, Bro.
Jonathan Alvarez, really needs a co-sponsoring church
to help him in prayers and financial needs in a growing
work. The mission in Bohol also has outreaches and sends two of their young men to study in the Bible School.
Their chapel now is taking shape and is needing finishing touches. Offering will be sent to our sponsoring
church. At least $475 is needed for the iron grills to complete for Bohol Mission.
We are now extending the back of our meeting place in Cebu to accommodate visitors and the members
also involved in this project but we still need $250 to complete it.
Continue to pray for us and the needs of the mission. Bro. Marlou B. Tagulob
Missionary
Randy B. Sacala
Missionary to the Philippines
The good Lord has answered our prayers that we can start a campus ministry in the high school classes.
Sister Casido informed me that I have been given 40 minutes to have a Bible study with the students every
Thursday afternoon.
By August 3, the church here will be hosting a 1 day fellowship which will be attended by 4 churches. Bro.
Gerry Calba from Copenhagen MBC will be the one to speak to us since that will be the time wherein his
family will be visiting their relatives here in our place. The participants will be bringing their own food for
lunch and in the afternoon their will be a “Gospel Tracts distribution” that will be done by group so that
each individual members can observe. Pastors and deacons will be the one to lead each group so that by
next fellowship all have to do soul winning. Please do continue to pray for this activity. God bless!
From Our
Missionaries
2014-15 ABA Missionariess
Interstate Missionaries Justin Ray
Kevin Amburgey
Paul Armstrong
Chris Bocklage
Scott Bourland
Rodney Burdette
Edward Michael Byrnes
Christopher Cartwright
Lavern Clark
Marcial Cubas
William Davenport
Rusty Denny
George Dever
Clyde Duncan
Walter Emry
Martin Ferguson
Danny Fudge
Ernesto Gallegos
Juan Gallegos
Mario Gamez
Jay Gibson
Joey Grappe
Don Hagen
Joshua Hargis
Francisco Hernandez
Delmer Hume
George I
Mike Jones
Jerry Jorolan
Jonathan Lowe
Bryan Wayne Marler
Albert Millirons
Danny Piper Sr.
Kevin Pruitt
Robert Randolph
Gabriel Sanchez
Juan Santoyo
Alan Schoeff
Brian Semsem
James Smith
Jack Spencer
John Steich
Kelley Stringer
David Tierce
Jeremy Valladares
Howard Vogan
Michael Weiler
Kim Williams
Philip Wysocki
Foreign Missionaries
Damien Austin
Joseph Barker
Jim Black
David Bostick
Jimmy Cabrera
Jason Clark
Gheorghe Cormos
Chuck Fernandez
Jared Gaboriault
Gene Gabrielson
Juan Gonzalez
Walter Goulding
Ernie Hopper
Clayton Howell
Kevin Hutcheson
Ernest Lawson
David Manary
Temple Meek
Lynn Raburn
Darrell Roberton
Mike Rogers
Jay Ross
Justin Ross
Steve Rutherford
Timothy Sims
John Strader
James Taylor
Rusty Teer
Jeffrey Thomas
Hans-Dieter Fraund
Roberto Gados
Manuel Garcia
Victor Guzman
Marel Hernandez
Ibrahim Imseeh
Edwin Jardinal
Shin Kamoda
Michio Kawahara
Youngbae Kim
National Missionaries Bartolome Labajo
Jesus Lansangan
Eddie Abaja
Zonnyfin Lesigon
Sonny Agot
Honorato Macan Sr.
Carlos Angulo
Eduardo Magana
Juan Angulo
Alwin Malaza
Julio Anzora
Miguel Martinez
David Bazaldua
Carlos Mendoza
Jose Bernado
Jesse Mercado
Kennison Bogador
Javier Moreno
Abel Bonilla
Victory John Brilliantes Ricardo Muller Salas
Allan Nacanilao
Johnny Camahay
Roldan Namion
Yolita DeGracia
Joel Nepomuceno
Mark Deleverio
Marcus Nyenehtue
Eliseo Deligero
Fernando Pangilinan
Josue Diaz
Eddie Panlilio
Abel Dimatulac
Renald Paracueles
Adonis Dimatulac
Jaime Pardo
Joel Dimatulac
Daniel Perez
Romeo Dizon
Dan Pettersen
Miguel Escobar
Gilberto Pinzon
Jamie Espina
Willie Puerin
Candelario Espinosa
Jose Pulido
Daniel Estrada
Guadalupe Ramirez
Roberto Euceda
Boyet Ricafrente
Sergio Rodriguez
Renejohn Rombaoa
Brent Rosendal
Randy Sacala
Jacinto Sahagun
Asheervadam Sankya
Gregorio Sibug
Noel Sison
Errol Solis
Erley Sovalbarro
Marlou Tagulob
Josias Tejada
Romeo Tobias
Noah Travilla
Solomon Travilla
Adalin Tulcey
Omar Vasquez
Job Villasor
Nector Warguez
Marcelino Zabala
Jose Zamarripa
Ben Zozobrado
Missionary Helpers
Holly Couch
Ed Crain Sr.
Jim Mattingly
Vernon McNully
Marion Reed
Jerry Smith
E Wayne Stringer
Gary Weidenbach
Jayleon Weidner
Richard Wharton
Thanksgiving Mission Offering
November 23, 2014
Goal : $350,000.00
Please be in prayer that our associated work will rally together to meet this goal.
Secretary-Treasurer of Missions
American Baptist Association
P.O. Box 1050
Texarkana, Texas 75504-1050
PHONE: 903.792.2312
NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATION
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
TEXARKANA, TX
PERMIT NO.406
PLEASE SEND MISSION OFFERINGS TO:
SECRETARY-TREASURER OF MISSIONS • AMERICAN BAPTIST ASSOCIATION
PO BOX 1050 • TEXARKANA, TEXAS 75504-1050
Email: [email protected]