The Ohio Independent Baptist, June 1991

ll . l . lf t ,rn ~ on1n1unit Bnpti "t , \l J . t,1ngl n urt I l u e. n Fri 11d Mr . France Griffi th we nt to be with the Lord April 6 . Fran and her husband , Walter, were ABWE sho rt-term missionaries to '" , pri l .. . rnany vi.. it r. j ir1ecl the bur h famil f r 011 altc11dan f 98. Banglade h from 1975 -77, and were active in Bapti ts for Life and Grace Baptist, Cedarville. r . R bcrt 1r ma k i i pa t r f the hur h. \l l1i b wa.. n year ld April 15. Havin Impac Ohio an on Larry Fetzer State Representative This month's column is written by Pastor Joel Harriman, New Richland Baptist, Belle Center. Harriman is the new chairman of the Task Force on Church Planting. H ow many new churches have been tarted in Ohio in the past two years? Four years? Six years? We ' ve talked about it a lot! Many of us have had good ideas and good intentions. So, why o few results? This is one of those things that is everyone s j ob and yet is nobody ' s job. All too often those good ideas and good intentions have just fallen through the cracks for lack of anyone to follow through. The Task Force on Church Planting has recommended that the Ohio Association ~ire a second man to develop and tmplement a church planting program that is local church generated and yet coordinated. At the OAR.BC Annual Conference in Chillicothe, our churches voted to allow the Council of Twelve to pur ~e the implemen.tation and financing of this recommendatton, and to present it for approval at the 1991 conference. The frrs t order of business is to determine a budget for the new church developer position. The budget, which will include both salary and expenses, needs to be modest enough to be reach– able, yet sufficient to get the job done. When a specific figure is approved by the Council of Twelve, the process of informing churches will begin . We hope to encourage churches to commit a significant portion of the needed money before our next annual meeting. Future articles will detail the need for church planting in Ohio and the approach a new church developer will take to accompli h his goals. 2 Hitching Post Welcomes Huntsburg's Amish Neighbors ~ ot every chur~h needs a hitching post. but Huntsburg . Bapttst does, according to its pastor, William Beck. Located 1n th~ h~art of Ohio' s l.argest Amish community, Huntsburg Bapttst 1s always looking for ways to reach its old order neighbors. By far the most effective is inviting Amish young people to use the church's gym. People at , : Huntsburg know frrst-hand about reaching Amish; nearly 75 per cent of the congrega- tion have Amish ties. And most of them were introduced to the Gospel when they were young. [See accom– panying story of Deacon John Miller's salvation] "You have to reach them when they're young," says Pastor Beck. "Once they join the Amish church, which they do in their twenties, it's very difficult." Beck describes the Amish as "good people, extremely loyal, with a strong sense of community." But, he says, believers either forget that the Amish are .lost, (' 'Theirs is a redemptive society-they believe if they stick to old ways, they might get to heaven."), or say you can't witness to the Amish because they won't listen. But little by little, step by step, Huntsburg' s sports outreach is sowing the seed of God's Word. The young people come to play basketball, some men from the church show up to play alongside, and the Lord opens the door for sharing about Christ. Huntsburg Baptist bas grown about 100 people in the past four years. ' 'You can see God is working in this community," says Pastor Beck. About that hitching post: "It probably won't get used that much," Beck reflects, "but it will be a sign to the Amish that we care about them.'' • • , John Miller grew up going to church every two weeks, as is the Amish cus– tom. But in all his years of going to church, he never heard about salvation or eternal security. At 18, John began drinking and staying out late. 'When I was 21 I got a car," says John. "It was against the rules, but my parents let me live at home anyway, hoping I'd come around. But I didn't. All I wanted to do was play ball, run around in my car, and drink. When I was 27 I met Karolyn, who was divorced with three children. After we were married, somebody invited her kids to Huntsburg Baptist. I didn't mind, but there was always something else for me to do on Sunday mornings. Then our oldest son was saved and started talking about getting baptized. I didn't like the idea of his joining a church I didn't know anything about, so one Sunday Karolyn and I went. I still remember the day Pastor Beck came to call on us. I had just come home from work and was all dirty and tired. He could see it wasn't a good time, and didn't stay long. But he said he'd be back. Well, I knew what the pastor wanted, and I knew what I had to do. And when he came back, I was ready. That night Karolyn and I trusted Jesus Christ to be our Savior. We've been married six years now, and we thank God every day for our salvation. It really hurts to think about the Amish being lost. They're such good people, but not many of them know the Lord as Savior. But some of my family have trusted Christ, and now they knowthey are going to heaven. The sports idea at the church is really a good thing. Some of them are going to get saved." •