Sam Porter, Oklahoma Baptists’ Disaster Relief Director, receives $100,000 check from Cynthia T. Canevaro of the Houston Texans, who gave the money to support the relief work Oklahoma Baptists are doing in Moore. (Photo: Bob Nigh)

MOORE, Okla.—Houston Texan owner Robert McNair announced Thur., May 23, his foundation, the Robert and Janice McNair Foundation, has donated $100,000 to the Oklahoma Disaster Relief mission of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma (BGCO).

“We are humbled by the generosity of our neighbors from south of the border,” said Sam Porter, BGCO disaster relief director. “All of these funds will be used to assist in relief of the victims.”

The NFL team’s owner helped surpass the giving total of $700,000 toward Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief since the May 20 tornado struck the city of Moore.

McNair said, “It’s just an unbelievable situation and we just wanted to say: ‘We’re sorry they’ve had this disaster and hopefully this will help a little bit.’”

The BGCO Disaster Relief provides hot meals, debris removal, counseling from chaplains and more.

For more information or to make a donation to Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief, visit www.okdisasterhelp.com

MOORE, Okla. – With Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief teams already responding to severe weather from Sunday, May 19 in several locations, including Shawnee, Edmond and Little Axe, Oklahoma Baptists are today assisting with recovery efforts from the devastating tornado that hit Moore, Okla.

“Within moments of hearing of the destruction in Moore, we put together a rapid response volunteer team to help with the clean-up and recovery efforts,” said Sam Porter, Disaster Relief director for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma (BGCO). “Our teams are on-the-ground now surveying the area and helping where we can be of most assistance.”

Since Sunday’s storms, at least 80 volunteers were deployed, including a mobile command center, a mobile kitchen and feeding units, chainsaw teams to help residents clear trees and debris, and about 10 chaplains on-the-ground to help victims with emotional trauma.

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Falls Creek begins each year with a children’s camp that will exceed 6,000 campers. At the same time, children and sponsors will attend the new CrossTimbers Children’s Missions Adventure Camp for the inaugural summer. Untold hours of work by volunteers and Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma (BGCO) staff have gone into preparing the CrossTimbers grounds. I have every reason to believe that this camp will become the premier children’s mission camp experience, second to none.

CrossTimbers will be led by Glenn Barber, childhood ministries specialist. Glenn led a very successful children’s ministry at Moore, First, before joining the BGCO staff this year. He was recommended to the BGCO by Mark Jones, who was the catalyst in the significant growth and impact of CrossTimbers.

Falls Creek Baptist Conference Center has been in a constant metamorphosis over the last few years. Since the opening of the new tabernacle in 2007, many new cabins have been built and several others refurbished. These improvements translate into a better experience for those attending. Recreation continues to expand, making Falls Creek a very fun place to be.

One of the new features this year will be the opening of the new high road. The old road, which was marked by hairpin turns and narrow passageways, has been replaced with a brand new, wide, and much straighter, highway. The state of Oklahoma built this road, and we do give thanks for this provision.

However, the success of these camping experiences is not dependent upon facilities. They do make for a more enjoyable experience without a doubt, but we all know that the success of the camp is not measured by worldly measurements. The impact of Falls Creek and CrossTimbers is calculated by transformed lives. While our desire is for each person to have a wonderful time at these camps, our greatest desire is for the Gospel of Jesus to penetrate their souls. When we evaluate our camps, we look for souls saved and individual responses to the call of God to missions and ministry. Our goal is for every person who attends to do business with the God of Heaven.

We are well aware that when we have done everything to plan and prepare the facilities, all of that is useless if the Holy Spirit does not fall. It is for this reason that I renew my yearly call for us to pray as God’s people for fire from Heaven to fall upon the campers and leaders. Pray that the singers will sing with anointing and the preachers will preach with Holy Unction. Pray that the Gospel will be laid bare and that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, convictional work will be done.

Falls Creek and CrossTimbers have been mightily used of God across the years. Yet, we must not become presumptuous. Our Father delights to hear and answer the prayers of His people. So it is simple. WE MUST PRAY.

The grounds have been groomed. The staff has been hired and trained. The bands are ready to lead worship, and the preachers are ready to preach. The camps will swell with the sounds of children and teens. Our God leans over the portals of Heaven to listen for the prayers of His people. Join me in praying for a mighty move of God.

Movie reviewers say that while much of the film’s dialogue is based on the original novel, the underlying message of the book is different. While Fitzgerald’s aim was to decry decadence in America, the new modern movie seems to revel in the parties and affluence.

It comes as no surprise that our society would misinterpret such a message and further entrench materialistic attitudes in the minds of movie goers. If only such attitudes were limited strictly to the box office on Saturday evenings, we might still be OK as a country. Unfortunately, many pulpits throughout the country are preaching a similar message on Sunday mornings.

It is no longer just the televangelists who preach the gospel of prosperity. Traces of materialism can be found in the most mundane churches. Fortunately, Oklahoma Baptists have been largely spared from this move. Other denominations and faith groups, however, have been less fortunate.

People desire Heaven too soon, as author John Piper has stated, and the true Gospel gives way to a health and wealth motivational message. What evidence of this is there? A recent George Barna survey found that 72 percent of Americans believe that people are blessed by God “so that they can enjoy life as much as possible.” Another element showed that Americans believe that God “helps those who help themselves.”

Let’s also follow the money trail. Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:21). While giving to charities is up, giving to churches is down. Moreover, among the most popular Christian booksellers are titles like Your Best Life Now.

Meanwhile, Jesus’ strongest “woes” in the Sermon on the Mount were reserved for the rich. While most people do not self-identify as being wealthy, a non-biased survey of history and worldwide landscape shows that the ordinary American is wealthy by any standard of measure.

It should come as no surprise that Christians would be tempted to seek temporal well-being. Who among us would not want good schools for our children and a trip to Disneyland? Yet the uncritical embrace of the “American Dream,” I am afraid has opened up believers to a love of money. And we all know what the Bible says about the love of money.

We Christians are very good at recognizing the shamefulness of sexual sin and dishonesty and cowardice. It can be harder to detect, however, the sin of greed.

What, then, is the cure for our modern materialism? As with most problems, our Christian forefathers would tell us we must return to our first-love, Jesus and follow His humble example (Eph. 5:1). We must be generous to others and spartan on ourselves. We must pray God would keep the love of money far from us (Eccl. 5:10). And we must remember to store up treasures in heaven, not Earth (Matt. 6:20).

In doing so, we may not have the momentary thrills of a Gatsby-style party or lavish living. Yet, we know that eventually the party music stops, and each of us must face the hour of judgment as we step into eternity and stand before Christ.

Until that time, may God help us to be faithful with each dollar He entrusts us. After all, the integrity of our Gospel witness depends on it.

Some of these encounters come in bits and pieces, much like a 1,000-piece puzzle. Almost all the pieces are the same color, size and shape, but eventually, you get them put together and are amazed at the puzzle’s beauty.

Did you know God works in your life and mine to piece together His perfect will? He gives us one piece today and another one years down the road. Sooner or later, the picture begins to come together. That’s one of the advantages of growing older. In our later years, we have more pieces of the puzzle than, as my grandmother would say, “you young whippersnappers” do.

One of my puzzle pieces came when I was attending Bible School. I had to take a class taught by Richard Land called “Christian Milieu.” At that point in my life I barely knew what “Christian” meant, let alone “Milieu.” Anyone who has ever sat in Land’s class for a semester has an inkling about what it will be like to stand before the judgment seat.

He began to teach us about the interaction between culture and Christianity. I was mesmerized as he used Francis Schaeffer’s book, How Should We Then Live? No another class so impacted my life and kick-started my thinking process. I would never have written my book, Rite of Passage Parenting if it weren’t for this class. Land gave me a piece of the puzzle.

Fast forward 19 years to another piece of the puzzle. I was boarding an overnight flight from Memphis to Amsterdam. As I settled into my seat, an elderly lady walked by and took the seat directly behind me. She had on a wide-brimmed white hat, white gloves and a classic, stunning dress, the kind you would have seen women wearing to church during the 50s. A young man, whom I guessed to be her grandson, was helping her place her luggage overhead. She smiled at me, and I smiled back. Then came all the announcements about being buckled in and oxygen masks falling out of the ceiling.

As the plane took off, I looked back, and she was sound asleep. Not long afterwards, I followed suit. When we finally landed and taxied up to the gate, we all tried to gather our belongings. I leaned over the seat to tell her how nice she looked and how I wished today’s women would learn to dress in such a regal style.

She stood up and told me, “Young man, when you get off the plane, wait for me at the head of the jetway.” She spoke with such confidence that I wondered what she could want.

After I left the plane, I stood waiting for her to come up the ramp. When she stepped into the terminal and saw me, she gave another command: “Get on your knees. God has told me to pray over you.”

I dropped to my knees. She laid a delicate hand on my shoulder and prayed one of the most powerful prayers I’ve ever heard. I didn’t even notice the other passengers walking around us, nor did I care. I was caught up in her prayer. I could tell by the way she prayed that she had spent a lifetime before the Father. The intimacy with which she addressed Him was so real. I don’t know how to describe it, but I felt her prayers connecting me with the heavenlies.

When she finished praying, she started to walk away. I stopped her and said, “Ma’am, thank you so much for your prayer. If it would be all right, may I ask your name?”

“Edith, Edith Schaeffer.”

I took a step back, almost in shock. “The Edith Schaeffer, wife of Francis Schaeffer?” She nodded to the affirmative. I told her how much her husband’s writing and teaching had changed my thinking and shaped my life.

I was honored to have the chance
to meet her. And without much ado, she walked on past me to catch another plane.

Today (March 30, 2013), I heard that at the age of 98, Edith Schaeffer went home to her heavenly Father. I feel empty. I had only one brief God-encounter with her, but it was like a shift in the wind. It set my sails in another direction, and I have done as she did and prayed over people in the most unlikely places.

Dr. Schaeffer, you touched my mind, but your wife touched my heart. A blessed homecoming to you both!

“I actually was in a volunteer missions meeting in Enid when the first storms started to hit,” said Sam Porter, Disaster Relief Director for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma.

Porter put “rapid response” volunteer teams on the ground in every area affected by the storm.

“We are assessing each area the storm passes, and we will send in chainsaw and relief workers as well as feeding units,” said Porter, who has led Oklahoma Baptist Disaster relief volunteers to help in the wake of disasters in Oklahoma, across America and throughout the world.

“Rapid response teams will be making assessment to see how relief teams will be put into play the rest of today and after,” he said.

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“The guilty verdict of Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell is a just conclusion to heinous crimes against the unborn, newly born and women,” said Dr. Anthony L. Jordan, Executive Director-Treasurer for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. “Abortion and infanticide come to the same end—death to babies. We pray that the grace and love of God will surround the families impacted by these crimes, and we hope those involved in criminal acts will seek forgiveness from God.”

-Dr. Anthony L. Jordan, Executive Director-Treasurer

Kermit Gosnell

WASHINGTON (BP) — A Philadelphia jury has found Kermit Gosnell guilty of the first-degree murder of three babies killed outside the womb at his abortion clinic.

The jury returned the verdicts Monday afternoon (May 13) after deliberating for nearly two weeks. Among more than 250 charges, Gosnell faced four counts of first-degree murder of children who were born after induced delivery.

The panel also found Gosnell guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the 2009 death of a Virginia woman during an abortion. Prosecutors had brought a third-degree murder charge against the doctor in the death of Karnamaya Mongar, 41.

Gosnell, 72, could receive the death penalty for first-degree murder.

Pro-life organizations welcomed the verdicts. Anna Higgins, director of the Family Research Council’s Center for Human Dignity, said they bring “a just conclusion to a horrific case.”

The jury returned to the courtroom with the verdicts after informing Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Jeffrey Minehart Monday morning they were deadlocked on two counts. Minehart encouraged the jurors to continue working, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Gosnell initially faced seven counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of viable babies outside the womb, but Minehart dropped three of the counts after the prosecution rested its case.

The trial began March 18, and the prosecution closed its case April 18 after five weeks of testimony, much of it from former Gosnell employees who recounted the killings of babies struggling for life outside the womb and the horrible conditions at the West Philadelphia clinic. Attorney Jack McMahon called no witnesses in Gosnell’s defense.

The babies involved in the first-degree murder charges were only some of hundreds at least six months into gestation who were killed outside the womb after induced delivery at Gosnell’s clinic, according to a 281-page grand jury report in 2011. Gosnell destroyed records for the others, the grand jury reported.

After delivery, Gosnell — or another staff member — would jab scissors into the back of a baby’s neck and cut the spinal cord, witnesses and the grand jury reported. Gosnell called this method of killing “snipping.”

The gruesome details of the death of babies still in the womb are part of Live Action’s undercover investigation of clinics that perform late-term abortions. As part of the investigation, pregnant women wearing hidden cameras and microphones go inside the clinics and ask about obtaining an abortion, although they have no intention of getting one.

The latest videos are the third and fourth ones released as part of a series dubbed “Inhuman.”

In one video, a woman asks late-term abortion doctor LeRoy Carhart — well-known nationally for his defense of late-term procedures — details about the abortion. He explains that a needle is inserted “through your tummy, into the fetus.” The woman is at 26 weeks.

A baby born in Florida at 22 weeks survived in 2007. Infants who go to full term are born between 37 and 40 weeks

“We do a shot into the fetus to end the pregnancy the first day,” Carhart says. “If everything works out,” he explains, “you just deliver” an intact, but dead, baby. But if “for some reason that doesn’t happen, then we have to take them out in pieces.”

He tells the woman, “The heart slows down, and then it just stops.”

“Within an hour of the injection you shouldn’t feel it moving anymore,” he says of the baby.

The woman then asks if a baby at 26 weeks could survive outside the womb, if not given the injection.

“If it came out?” Carhart asks. “Oh yeah, it probably could. It would be a 50/50 thing, probably.”

Only four doctors nationally perform abortions at 26 weeks or later, he tells her. The week the video was made, he had seen four women wanting a late-term abortion.

Carhart then explains that after the baby dies from the injection, the baby “gets soft” and “mushy.”

“So what makes the baby ‘mushy’” the woman asks.

“The fact that it’s not alive for two or three days,” Carhart responds.

“Oh,” the woman says. “So I’ll have a dead baby in me?”

“For three days, yeah,” Carhart says. “It’s like putting meat in a crock pot, OK? … It gets softer.”

When the woman wants reassurance that the baby won’t be delivered alive, he tells her, “I’d have better luck standing in front of a train and getting hit and surviving — [with the train] going 100 miles an hour — than the baby will.”

In Live Action’s other new video, a woman at 23 weeks talks to late-term abortion doctor Laura Mercer in Arizona.

“We do the injection, which is a quick poke through your belly, and that stops the fetal heart, so that makes it so, if you were to deliver, there shouldn’t be movement,” Mercer says, describing a procedure similar to the one done in Carhart’s office that stops the baby’s heart.

The woman asks Mercer if the procedure is “guaranteed.”

“Yes we induce a demise — an intrauterine demise,” Mercer says.

“What does ‘demise’ mean?” the woman asks.

“Death,” Mercer responds.

Asked if the baby will come out whole or in pieces, Mercer says, “It’s more common that it comes out in pieces.”

“We use a combination of suction and then real instruments to, literally, go in and grab and pull pieces out,” Mercer says.

Later in the video, a counselor is seen talking to the woman, who is told she does not have to use the injection, which utilizes a drug known as digoxin.

“If they don’t use the digoxin, they’ll just suction the baby and it’s possible … that there may be movement as they’re taking out the fetus,” the counselor says.

“Like, movement after?” the woman asks.

“Mm-hmm,” the counselor answers affirmatively.

“And then what happens?” the woman asks.

The counselor tells her, “Well, then, usually it stops on its own.”

The counselor explains the procedure: “They use suction, plus they use instruments. And sometimes the fetuses don’t come out — you know, it’s not complete.”

The woman asks, “Will they resuscitate it? Will I have to take care of it?”

“Uh-uh,” the counselor says, shaking her head.

The baby will be pulled out in pieces, with or without an injection that kills it, the counselor says.

“The digoxin is probably the best thing for it,” the counselor says. “That way there’s no suffering, OK?”

The 65-member Oklahoma Baptist Symphony performs during its 20th Anniversary Celebration Concert May 4 at Oklahoma City, Southern Hills. (Photo: Bob Nigh)

As the final note of “Majesty” rang through the worship center at Oklahoma City, Southern Hills the evening of May 4, a throng of more than 350 worshippers rose to their feet in appreciation of the conclusion of the 20th Anniversary Celebration Concert of the Oklahoma Baptist Symphony (OBS).

The event marked the passage of “time” over two decades which has included hundreds of hours of rehearsal, thousands of miles of travel and countless prayers by and for the only state convention full symphony existing in the Southern Baptist Convention.

The celebration, which featured a specially-commissioned arrangement of the hymn, “Amazing Grace,” by Dan Goeller, also brought back three former conductors of the group to hoist the baton once again and paid tribute to  six late members.

Trumpeter Preston Collins, one of nine charter members of the orchestra, served as narrator for the evening, which included baroque, classical, romantic and modern pieces. He referenced “time” in his narration throughout the evening, using Scriptural references from 2 Peter, Ecclesiastes, Revelation and the Gospel of John.

“As we contemplate our anniversary, God’s use of time is an important theme to consider,” Collins stressed.

As to Goeller’s arrangement, Collins said, “It is clear that God has bestowed His grace on this organization and the people in it time and again . . . . The members of the ensemble wish to offer this performance as a prayer that God will continue to bless our efforts to share His love, His peace and His grace with all who hear our music for the next 20 years and beyond.”

Past and present conductors of the Oklahoma Baptist Symphony, from left, include Bill Green, Ken Gabrielse, Keith Haygood and Mike Raiber. Not present was Jon Duncan. (Photo: Bob Nigh)

Other charter members present included Susan Cerny, flute; Linda Green, cello; Clyde Moore, trombone; Wendy Reed, clarinet; Tom Rye, bass clarinet; Charlie Shackelford, string bass; Paula Swing, viola and Joe Wilhelm, trombone.

Percussionist Jana VanderTook, a member of the 65-member group for 18 years, has served as its president this year.

Prior to the concert, she reflected on its significance and her opportunity to serve as OBS president.

“It’s an incredible honor. It is so exciting to be able to help plan everything that has led up to this weekend,” she said. “We have enjoyed seeing former members and conductors today, celebrating 20 years of incredible ministry and the grace of God that has followed this group for 20 years.”

VanderTook said she holds dear the personal stories of people’s lives.

“The people stories are what I remember,” she reflected. “We have had members who have gone through traumatic events, and we have been there to pray for them and lift them up, and it’s such a joy to see them tonight. But, also the little moments. Those musical moments where you know that the Spirit was in a place to such a degree, and your music helped lead people there.”

Former OBS conductors present included Bill Green, retired senior associate executive director of the Baptist general Convention of Oklahoma; Keith Haygood, associate pastor/minister of music at Edmond, First and Ken Gabrielse, dean of the Warren M. Angell College of Fine Arts at Oklahoma Baptist University. Unable to be present was the OBS’ first conductor, Jon Duncan, music and worship specialist for the Georgia Baptist Convention, who was expected to attend but was unable to do so at the last minute and delivered comments via a video.

Green and Duncan had the vision for the OBS two decades ago.

“I have to say that Oklahoma is very blessed to have so many wonderful musicians. The Oklahoma Baptist Symphony is still one of the most unique organizations in all of Southern Baptist life,” Green said. “In fact, still, the OBS is the only full symphony of any state convention in the Southern Baptist Convention. So, they have had a lot of wonderful years and continue to serve the local church and the constituency in the organization are all active in their Southern Baptist churches and great musicians, but great Christians.

Nine members of the Oklahoma Baptist Symphony have been there from the beginning. Charter members, from left, include Tom Rye, bass clarinet; Joe Wilhelm, trombone; Charlie Shackelford, string bass; Susan Cerny, flute; Paula Swing, viola; Wendy Reed, clarinet; Linda Green, cello; Clyde Moore, trombone and Preston Collins, trumpet. (Photo: Bob Nigh)

“It just blesses my life to be able to stand before them again. They have always been so precious to my wife and I. Of course, Linda is still playing. She was one of the charter members, so she has enjoyed her role all of these 20 years. But, to  come back and be able to lead them for a brief time tonight is a very delightful blessing for me.”

Green, recently honored along with his wife with the choir loft at the Falls Creek tabernacle being named in their honor, recounted how the OBS began.

“My heart, when I came here to lead the church music department, was to start an orchestra. After a year, Jon and I discussed it and we started the auditions and it began from there. That’s what has been such a thrill, to have that vision and  then to see it come to fruition. It has totally exceeded our expectations.

“But, the people were hungry. There were so many of the musicians who had not had an opportunity to play after college or high school or graduate school automatically had an opportunity to use their talents for the Lord, especially those in the smaller churches who didn’t instrumental programs and never were able to use their talents. So, this has been a great blessing and I think nationally it has gone beyond our wildest dreams.

Current conductor Michael Raiber, also director of the Worship Orchestra at Norman, First and associate professor of music education at the University of Oklahoma, said he counts directing the group as an honor

“I’m following in the footsteps of such great men. Not just great musicians, but great men who provided such an incredible mission that seemed so unlikely. Once a month, (we) drive hundreds of miles to put together an orchestral concert for people who just love to come and worship and celebrate the Lord. It is a dream that is just amazing to live.”

In a special time of remembrance, the OBS played “His Eye Is On the Sparrow,” to honor the memory of late OBS members Lewis Demand, cello; Richard “Dick” Frazier, string bass; Rayanna Hall, French horn; Don Linde, oboe and English horn; Conrad Smith, violin and Barbara Surface, violin.

Earlier in the day May 4, OBS members, their families and the former conductors attended a banquet luncheon in their honor.

Bob Mayfield leads discussion during a stop on the Re-Connect Sunday School Road Trip at Tulsa, South Tulsa in April.

From “Red Carpet Country” in the Northwest and Panhandle to “Green Country” in the Northeast, and from “Kiamichi Country” in the Southeast to “Great Plains Country” in the Southwest, the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma’s (BGCO) ”ReConnect Sunday School Task Force” has covered every area of the state on its recent 60-day “Road Trip.”

The series of events provided information, encouragement and a challenge to Oklahoma churches to participate in the BGCO’s new Sunday School initiative.

“Beginning last summer, we conducted a series of ‘listening sessions’ with Directors of Missions from Oklahoma associations,” said Bob Mayfield, Sunday School/adult discipleship specialist. “This road trip was an important extension of this massive effort to re-engage with Sunday School and small groups to share the Gospel and reach our communities.”

In the fall 2012, the eight regional listening sessions were attended by more than 100 pastors. In response to the listening sessions, the BGCO ReConnect Task Force recommended an ongoing strategy that will develop over the next five years.

“The ReConnect Road Trip began on March 7 in Kay Association in Ponca City as the first step in sharing specific plans for the new initiative with Oklahoma churches,” said Mayfield. “Since that time, Task Force members have been to 24 associations. They completed the Road Trip at a bilingual presentation at Guymon, First on May 7.”

According to Mayfield, nearly 200 Oklahoma churches have committed to be on the leading edge of the new initiative “to impact lostness and make disciples across the state.”

Participants at the Road Trip rallies heard about Oklahoma’s unique definition of Sunday School: “Sunday School (small groups) is the church’s primary strategy to connect people to Jesus, His Truth, His community and His mission.”

Attendees discovered some specific applications to each of the “four connections” in the Oklahoma Sunday School definition. Artie Hudson, pastor of Pawhuska, Calvary, commented, “The Road Trip Rally in Dewey stirred my heart,  and I have a new resolve to align our church’s ministries and events with our Sunday School.”

“At the conclusion of each rally, pastors were asked to make a commitment to three specific actions to help strengthen their Sunday School and make disciples,” said Mayfield.

“Pastors were asked to commit to Sunday School as their church’s primary strategy. Sunday school does not have to be your church’s only strategy, but it should be the primary strategy. Too many churches have a cafeteria approach to ministry instead of a specific menu with Sunday School as the main course. As a result, ministries begin to compete,  rather than complement each other.”

Mayfield added, “Pastors play a key role. People follow the actions of their leaders, so we encourage pastors to champion, join, and participate in a Sunday School group.”

Churches also were asked to make a commitment to start new small groups within their congregations.

“Each new group begun by a church reaches about 10 new people,” said Mayfield. “New groups create new opportunities for new people to connect with Christ and with the church.”

Cameron Whaley, pastor at Yukon, Canadian Valley, said, “Starting new groups in our church is a vital way to grow and connect to new people. At the rally, we committed to start two new groups this year.”

Chris Wall, pastor of Owasso, First said, “I am grateful for the ReConnect challenge because it is in small groups that our people find both the challenge and encouragement to stay connected to the Lord and our church. At FBC Owasso, we are striving to start 15 new groups this year.”

The Task Force’s final component related to the ReConnect Initiative is to equip Sunday School or small group leaders.

“According to Eph. 4:11-12, one of the primary roles of the pastor is to equip and train the saints for the work of the ministry and to build up the body,” Mayfield said. “We see this illustrated in 2 Tim. 2:2,  where Paul instructs Timothy to teach faithful men who will then teach others. This verse is an example of the role of pastoral equipping and how it applies to Sunday School.”

To assist local churches and to equip their leaders, ReConnect Sunday School offers training in three ways. Churches or associations may request an on-site training clinic for their leaders, and they may also obtain video training. As a final option, the BGCO has made an agreement with LifeWay Christian Resources to offer the “Ministry Grid,” a new online course resource for Sunday School leaders.

“We have been looking for a challenge and ReConnect is it,” said Comanche-Cotton Director of Missions Mike Tompkins. “As a DOM, it is exciting to hear our churches talking about starting new groups and reaching their neighborhoods with the Gospel.”

For more information about Oklahoma’s ReConnect Sunday School initiative, go to www.bgco.org/reconnectss.