Rogers Email Update – 12/19/2011

Missionaries – Barnabas Enrichment Ministries

Dear Friends,

Christmas is very much a time of celebration.  The Lord of Glory came to earth, suffered punishment for our sins in His death, and arose again.  No greater reason for celebration could possibly exist.  Yet our God gives reasons to celebrate even beyond this amazing truth each day as we serve Him.  Beabea and I have reason to celebrate in an additional area of our lives.  When our former mission board closed down on September 2^nd of this year, it did not seem a reason to rejoice.  Even now former EBM missionaries are facing continual challenges because of what happened.  Some of these challenges will stay with us for some time.  However, we are pleased to announce that after much prayer and research, Beabea and I believe firmly that the Lord would have us become a part of a small mission board called Barnabas Enrichment Ministries, started by a Baptist pastor, Tim Hewitt, a very good friend.  Our relationship with the mission was finalized December 12^th of this year.

The Vision Statement of BEM is “Our vision is to encourage pastors, churches, and missionaries through preaching, teaching, exhorting, counseling, and loving care.”  My understanding of missions is that it is the sharing of the Gospel (death, burial, and resurrection of Christ), discipleship and baptism of the saints, and biblical instruction of God’s truth.  This process involves church development (including initiating church plants as well as assisting and encouraging already existing churches), and leadership training and support.  On a world wide level, most missionaries today are not the pastor of the church or churches they are involved with.  Instead they operate in more of a support role enabling the national leadership to be the center of the developing churches.  This brings respect to national pastors and keeps the focus away from the missionary.  A second advantage is the national leader is more connected to his own culture and language.

Although BEM is not limited to North America, its primary area will be this continent, at least initially.  In North America there are many pastors of small churches and missionary pastors.  They often do not have the spiritual support and interaction with other leadership, nor are they able to get away for time off (either vacation or sabbatical) without doing damage to their current ministry and church.  Beabea and I will come along side them and help provide this as missionaries are doing with national pastors overseas.

Beabea and I will be doing with BEM what we were doing as Regional Coordinators with EBM, our former mission board.  With EBM’s permission, we were already helping and encouraging missionaries and pastors outside of the mission board (as well as EBM missionaries).  EBM recognized that North American ministry needed the same type of support that overseas missions needed.  With the close of EBM, we have had both EBM missionaries and non-EBM missionaries as well as pastors ask if we would continue this type of mission work.  BEM is the already in place framework that will help us do that.

It is interesting to note that when Tim Hewitt was starting to develop the idea of BEM, he approached me and EBM about ideas and even the possibility of doing the BEM ministry under the umbrella of EBM.  Together we considered this option and concluded that BEM might be more effective as an independent organization.  The other mission boards that were indicating interest in using BEM would probably feel more comfortable if it was not linked with a mission board.  (Although it is a mission board, BEM by the nature of what it does would not be a threat in regards to drawing missionaries away from other mission boards.)  Even though it was decided that BEM should not be directly connected to EBM, my former mission board still saw the incredible value the BEM ministry would have.  EBM put BEM on the home page of its website to help others be aware of the opportunity.

We have a great relationship with the Hewitts, and I have complete trust in working under Tim’s leadership.  I believe accountability is important and welcome having Tim in the position of Director.  Proper accountability is not hands on control, but helps ensure that the missionary is in spiritual relationship to God as well as fulfilling his God given responsibilities.  Part of the extensive process of interacting with Tim Hewitt over a period of time as well as a five hour meeting with the BEM board was to establish the framework of the ministry including its priorities.  I will be free to set my schedule as well as determine what ministries I will be involved in.  I know Tim well and am very comfortable with him as Director.  We relate well to each other and our philosophy of ministry is very much the same.  In Tim I have a director who is willing to come alongside me with the same type of encouragement and spiritual support that I will be giving to others in the ministry opportunities with BEM.

What are some of the ways we will be serving pastors and missionaries?

Pastoral/Missionary Refreshment

This valuable ministry gives missionaries and pastors (especially of smaller churches) an opportunity to have time off from their ministries to report back to churches, take a sabbatical, or enjoy a much needed vacation.  I, along with Beabea beside me, would assume the missionary’s or pastor’s responsibilities for an agreed period of time at their mission field or church location.  This would involve preaching, leading Bible studies, meeting with individual church members for counseling (as endorsed by the missionary or pastor), and any other tasks or projects the missionary or pastor might request that we are equipped to do.  We also would meet with the missionary or pastor and his wife for an agreed time before they left.  This would be for encouragement, counsel & prayer, as well as any calling they may want to do during this time.

Consulting and Evaluating Pastoral and Missionary Ministry

A high priority of our ministry at BEM would be a consulting, evaluating ministry especially for smaller churches under development as well as missionary field activities.  In regards to missionaries, all efforts will be done with sensitivity to their commissioning church and mission agency (if they have one).  This may involve conflict resolution as well as future strategies for the ministry being consulted with.  The consulting and evaluating may be done in a limited version through a brief visit or under a more complete analysis with an extended stay of several weeks.  (Note: We were already doing consulting and evaluating in our former ministry with EBM.)

Seminars and Conferences

Through the years this part of our ministry has grown through the recommendations many of you have given to others.  Some of the areas of instruction are seminars on witnessing, relationships, short-term missionary trip planning, and outreach opportunities as well as areas that may develop.  Of course there are always mission conferences that we have enjoyed being a part of.

Meetings in Churches

We will certainly need to continue to raise support as we step into our BEM ministry.  (Perhaps the most likely opportunities for support will come from BEM activities.  Churches and individuals support what they believe has value.  If they have benefited from our efforts at BEM, they will be more likely led to support us.)  We are at approximately 40% of BEM support requirements.  We plan to continue to raise support between ministry opportunities.  We have a lot of interest in this ministry from missionaries and pastors.  We are expecting our schedule to fill up quickly between ministry opportunities, presenting our ministry for potential support, and sharing with supporting churches about BEM.

It is important that we get back to our supporting churches in a reasonable time to present this new ministry.  That would need to happen no matter what ministry we were involved with and is a priority that will occupy a lot of this upcoming year.  We also need to continue raising support.  However, we have a huge interest in the BEM ministry, and we will start to fit those that we can into this year as well.  I have received quite a bit of interest in all areas of our new ministry but especially in the seminar and evaluation aspect.  I fully expect that within a few months our schedule will fill up.

We would like to encourage you to check out the BEM website for more additional information.  You can do so at www.barnabasenrichmentministries.org.  Thank you for your patience with all this information.  We wanted to share enough with you so you could be informed to pray well for us.  Starting January 1, 2012 our support should be sent to:

Barnabas Enrichment Ministries

PO Box 229
Elkhart, IN 46516-0229

As always the case with missionary support, make the check out to Barnabas Enrichment Ministries and on a separate paper or post-it note write for the “Rogers”.  Until January 1^st continue to send our support to: First Baptist Church, P.O. Box 296, Russiaville, IN  46979 designated for the “Rogers."  May the Lord of Glory bless you as you serve Him!

Finally note our new email address: jtrbem@gmail.com

Walking God’s trail that He has made for us,

John (and Beabea) Rogers