American Baptist Churches of Michigan
2014 Annual Report
Table of Contents
Page
Executive Minister’s Report 5
President’s Report 7
Contract Consultant for Urban Ministries (Rev. William Walker) 8
Contract Consultant for Discipleship & Stewardship (Rev. Dr. David Nichols) 9
Contract Consultant for Ministry Leadership Development (Rev. Dr. Kevin Turman) 10
Contract Consultant for Transitional Ministry (Ms. MaryBeth Robertson) 11
Contract Consultant for Congregational Health & Transitional Ministry Development
(Rev. Dr. John Landis) 12
Consultant for Women in Ministry (Rev. Laura Lee Strawser) 14
Consultant for Region Mission Trips to Haiti (Mrs. Lynne Punnett) 15
Administrative Ministries Team 16
Congregational Ministries and Missions Team 17
Leadership Ministries Team 18
Family Ministries Team 19
Endowment Fund Trustees 20
Commission on Ordination and Standing 21
Ministers Council 22
Camp Lael 23
Camp Lake Louise 24
Central Area 26
Great North Baptist Association 27
Metropolitan Detroit Association 28
Mid-Michigan Baptist Association 29
West Area 30
Friendship House 31
Campus Foundation-U of M 33
Michigan Baptist Scholarship Society 34
AB Women’s Ministries of Michigan 35
Annual Business Meeting (2013) 36
Professional Staff:
Mary Beth Robertson Rev. Dr. John Landis
Contract Consultants for Transitioning Ministries Contract Consultant for Congregational Health
& Transitional Ministry Development
Rev. Dr. Joseph Mortensen Rev. Dr. David Nichols
E-Link Editor Consultant Stewardship & Discipleship
Lynne Punnett Rev. Laura Lee Strawser
Contract Consultant for Region Mission Trips to Haiti Contract Consultant for Women in Ministry
Rev. Dr. Kevin Turman Rev. William Walker
Contract Consultant for Leadership Development Contract Consultant for Urban Ministries
Rev. Dr. Michael A. Williams
Executive Minister
ABC-MI Camps:
James Davis Bruce & Margaret Johnson
Resident Director, Camp Lael Interim Resident Directors, Camp Lake Louise
Support Staff:
Jane Gunneman Debbie Hart
Office Administrator Mission Assistant and Receptionist
Sheila Kaminski
Administrative Assistant to the Executive Minister
2014 Region Officers:
Rev. Edgar Owens Rev. Mary Fair-Matthews
President Vice President
Rev. Becky Hiebert Edwin Ritzler
Secretary Treasurer
We express our thanks to the Region Officers, Board Members, Ministries Teams, and related organizations who have contributed to this Annual Report. We especially express our thanks to the support staff in the Region office for the many hours they spent in preparing these reports for the Annual Meeting. Without the prayers, dedicated service of hundreds of volunteers, and financial gifts and donations, the mission work reported here would not be possible. We thank God for allowing us to share
in this way.
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE MINISTER
Rev. Dr. Michael A. Williams
Since the 2013 Annual Meeting, the work of our Region has, in large measure, been centered on the following items:
· Churches in Leadership Transition: Following the economic downturn in 2007-2008, we saw a significant drop in the number of professional church leaders moving or retiring. Whereas we used to say, prior to 2008, at any given time we had ten percent of our churches in the midst of transition from one pastoral leader to another, from 2008 until mid-2013 we had less than three percent of our churches in leadership transition at any given time. As I researched our professional church leader demographics in the summer 2013, there were more than fifty pastors whom could retire over the next three years. By Fall, 2013 the retirements began and we have had as many as twenty-four churches in the midst of transition in the time since our last Annual Meeting. This has kept our contract consultants and myself very busy resourcing church leadership and pastoral search committees. In 2014 we have welcomed twelve new pastors to our Region and at the time of this writing, we have eighteen churches in transition. I expect the percentage of churches in transition to remain above ten percent in the coming year.
· Newly Small Churches: We have congregations experiencing other types of transitions often coupled with the transition in pastoral leadership. These congregations might be termed “newly small congregations.” These congregations are addressing issues including: (1) size and organizational structure; (2) aging facilities; (3) changing vision; (4) finances. These issues are forcing difficult decisions. One of our congregations, First Baptist Church of Dearborn, recently voted to close at year’s end. While saddened by this reality, we thank God for this historic congregation and their significant ministries throughout the ninety-year lifecycle of their church. We have several additional congregations in the midst of struggle around these kinds of issues. I am grateful to Dr. John Landis and other contract consultants whom are working with these congregations as they prayerfully consider options.
· New Congregations: We welcome three new congregations into our family of churches this year. Galilee Baptist Church of Kalamazoo; Lansing Chin Baptist Church; Michigan Kachin Baptist Church of Grand Rapids.
· Clarifying Vision: Our ABC-MI Executive Committee entered into contract with One Brand Studio in 2013 to assist us in a process of clarifying who we are, what we do, why it matters. Mr. DJ Hurula of One Brand Studio held several listening sessions in 2013 among various constituencies of our ABC-MI family. During the spring 2014 Region Board meeting we received and approved a new logo and vision statement. A 90-second video highlighting our vision will be introduced at our Annual Meeting to be used in our churches as part of the Region Offering promotion process.
We continue to grow and mature our contract-consulting model of ministry. We currently have nineteen contract consultants working on behalf of the Region. Ten of these contract consultants serve as Peer Leaders for our Ministry Leadership Groups and the other nine contract consultants each provide some consulting hours in specialized areas including: (1) Region Mission Teams; (2) Churches in Transition; (3) E-Link Editor; (4) Women in Ministry; (5) Leadership; (6) Urban Ministries; (7) Congregational Health; and (8) Stewardship & Discipleship. Elsewhere in this booklet you will find reports of their work. I am grateful for their unique contributions to our life together.
If you are not a subscriber to our E-Link newsletter, I encourage you to become one. This is the best way, along with visiting our website (www.abc-mi.org), for you to stay informed of the ongoing ministries of our churches and Region.
Thank you for the privilege of serving as your Executive Minister!
Celebrating Our Vision
American Baptist Churches of Michigan is a family of churches committed to a common purpose. We exist to help God’s kingdom come in local communities throughout our state. We support our family by caring for pastors, identifying and training leaders, and by guiding churches in times of transition. We are urban. We are rural. And we are everything in between. We are free. We join together because we want to, not because we have to. The things we hold in common help us celebrate the things we see differently. We are inspired and informed by a history of justice and diversity. And while our roots keep us grounded, they don’t prevent us from breaking out in new ways. We are citizens of an ever-changing world. We strive to be a constant to churches navigating the sea of change. We don’t fear tough questions. And we admit we don’t have all the answers. Still, we keep seeking. We keep moving ahead. We are Baptist. We may surprise you because we’re a different kind of Baptist. We’re on a mission. We believe God intends to rescue the world and we won’t miss the chance to be part of the story, having been rescued ourselves. We are active. We are on the field, not watching from the sidelines.
We are loving God and leading strong. Together.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Rev. Edgar Owens
It has been my distinct privilege to serve the Region this past year as president. It has been a pleasure to work with Dr. Williams; Region staff and contract consultants; and representatives from churches around our state. The president’s task is to provide leadership for the Region Board and the Executive Committee. We function together to oversee the ministry of the Region as it seeks to serve the churches and assist in the mission we do best together.
Our normal tasks have to do with the stewardship of Region finances, recruiting capable people to serve; planning of our annual gathering; plus the work of various ministry teams. Some of the other work we accomplished together this past year was the One Brand project of developing a logo, new offering material and a promotional video which will be used to introduce our purpose as a Region.
It was also a privilege to work with our Areas / Associations in the process of preparing to receive three new churches into our Region. The West Area has spent the last year developing a relationship with Galilee Missionary Baptist Church in Kalamazoo (mentored by Second Missionary Baptist Church of Battle Creek) and the Michigan Kachin Baptist Church (mentored by Burton Baptist Church). These churches have participated in West Area events and become familiar with our Region through the assistance of Dr. Williams. The West Area has recommended to the Region to receive them into membership of the American Baptist Churches of Michigan.
The Central Area has also completed the process of mentoring a new church for the past year. The Lansing Chin Church (mentored by Judson Baptist of Lansing) has been recommended for membership as a church in our Region. The Executive Committee at their September meeting voted to receive all three churches into the American Baptist Churches of Michigan Region. What a joy it is to widen our fellowship!
Some of the Area/Associational Leaders requested Region assistance with exploring the future role and organization of Areas/Associations. I met with the Area chairs twice to discuss their organizational issues. Some of our Areas/Associations are stronger with greater participation than others. In the discussions the Area Leaders confirmed the value of building relationships between the churches. They also reaffirmed their desire to do ministry together. It was decided that to reenergize some of the Areas they may need to use some of their budgets to hire a very part-time consultant to work with the Area churches. We concluded our discussions with a renewed determination to emphasize the importance of neighboring American Baptist churches fellowshipping and ministering together.
Again, thank you for the opportunity to minister as the Region President. I pass the responsibility on to a very capable new President—Mrs. Mary Fair-Matthews. My hope is that our Region will continue to grow in the grace of our Lord.
CONTRACT CONSULTANT FOR URBAN MINISTRIES
Rev. William Walker
The urban area remains both a challenging and a rewarding context for local church ministry. I am constantly inspired by the faithfulness and witness of local church pastors and congregations as they serve God in this setting. Many suburban congregations also invest themselves in urban ministry particularly in the Metro Detroit Association (MDA). In addition to local churches the American Baptist Men and American Baptist Women connect suburban and urban congregations in programs and activities.
For the past year most of my time has been in the Metro Detroit Association where the bulk of ABC urban churches are located. On behalf of ABC-MI I relate to the MDA Board. Over the course of the past year three MDA congregations (FBC Detroit-where I pastored until April, 2014, Second Baptist of Detroit (the Rev. Dr. Kevin Turman) and FBC Birmingham (the Rev. Dr. Wes Babian) planned and held a series of prayer retreats for these congregants. The prayer retreats were well attended and people from the three churches developed relationships in the yoking of prayer with mission. This ministry proved a blessing in so many ways to all concerned. We hope to renew this effort in this next year. I am happy to share with any pastors our model and our method. Feel free to contact me if you are interested.
I also participated in a series of MDA sponsored meetings utilizing the video, “Beneath the Skin.” The video formed the basis for a discussion with African Americans and European Americans concerning racism. The Rev. Diana Thompson (FBC Dearborn) provided excellent leadership for the MDA committee.
I was involved in a church mediation over the winter. In addition I have contacted local church pastors, spent some time with folks one-on-one and began a part time interim at Wellspring Church in Farmington Hills.
CONTRACT CONSULTANT FOR DISCIPLESHIP & STEWARDSHIP
Rev. Dr. David Nichols
I am now in my fifth year serving as a consultant to American Baptist Churches of Michigan and in that time have had significant contact with 60 of our churches. Of that number, 10 churches have had pastors or key lay leaders involved in year-long discipleship groups I’ve led. Each of these is now in the process of utilizing the Following Jesus: Discipleship Manual within their churches as part of the ABCUSA Transformed by the Spirit initiative.
At various times during the past year I have sent out a devotional Bible study via email. Among the recipients are 73 people from 31 ABC-MI churches. These Bible studies led to the publishing of Learning to Love Your Neighbor: Finding Your Place in God’s Plan to Fix a Broken World. This small group resource is currently being used by several of our churches. Copies are available through the region office at a cost of $10 each. Complimentary copies are available to pastors on request.
A new discipleship initiative will begin this November involving up to eight ABC-MI pastors. The group will design and implement a missional outreach activity in their churches. Each activity will be developed as a unique opportunity for training in discipleship and evangelism.
This latest discipleship initiative will once again use a combination of face-to-face meetings and video conferences through the region’s GoToMeeting software. This approach has allowed pastors from throughout the state to connect with each other without spending inordinate amounts of time and money on travel.
Two of my favorite activities throughout the years have been participation in the Adult Jamboree at Camp Lake Louise each August and the annual Pastor’s Retreat at St. Francis Retreat Center in DeWitt. Both of these activities provide some much-needed relaxation and inspiration to all who are involved.
The Clergy Retreat for me this year was a special privilege, because I was given the opportunity to team with Rev. Dr. John Piippo of Redeemer Community Church in Monroe to explore the nature and mission of the Presence-Driven Church.
As a new year begins, my responsibilities have changed somewhat. I will continue to work with churches around issues of discipleship and stewardship, but will also begin to record stories of God at work in our midst.