Bakkan oil field fuels need for church plants in Dakota region

Posted on Oct 26, 2012 | by Diana Chandler/Baptist Press

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WILLISTON, N.D. (BP) -- Unemployment is nearly nonexistent in the boomtown of Williston, N.D., enriched by a flurry of drilling in the Bakken oil field that reaches into Montana and Canada.

"I believe God is moving us towards becoming a missionary outpost for this entire region." -- Pastor Ashley Olinger

Schools and the housing market are hard-pressed to accommodate the many families and workers the economy has drawn to Williston, where the estimated population of 30,000 is more than double what it was two years ago.

There's only one Southern Baptist church in town.

Ashley Olinger, its pastor, sees in the changing landscape an opportunity to plant churches but says he will need resources from across the Southern Baptist Convention to respond to God's call.

"I'm a truck driver from northern Canada trying to wrap my head around such a spiritual opportunity. I don't even know how to describe it," said Olinger, who pastors Cornerstone First Baptist Church in Williston. "It's daunting, exciting, and I guess my greatest fear is we drop the ball and miss the opportunity that God has placed in front of us."

Olinger's not speaking of a short-term evangelistic outreach but an opportunity to plant several vibrant churches in the area that will flourish from an estimated 50 years of Bakken drilling.

"I believe God is moving us toward becoming a missionary outpost for this entire region," Olinger said. "Ministry goes beyond chaplaincy to single guys, to family ministry, to youth ministry. Church planting and long-term discipleship is a huge, huge part of it.

"I believe that God will not only allow churches to be planted across this region, but those that are here temporarily, we'll be able to send back to wherever they're from, hopefully as missionaries back to their hometowns."

That's why the church planter who came to Williston from Canada more than two years ago is corralling support by hosting a Bakkan Oil Field Summit Nov. 12-14, hoping to attract partners and support for church planting.

"In our region, there are only two or three of our [SBC] churches located up here," he said. "The next closest one [to Williston] is 50 miles away, the church in Watford City. The next closest would be in Minot, which is 100 miles away."

Olinger presents Williston as a rich field for biblical harvest.

"The bars and the strip clubs in town are making an absolute fortune every night. The challenge is that is the only opportunity for social interaction that a lot of these guys -- that there is," he said. "Restaurants are closed early at night because they don't have staff, which, again, presents some unique opportunities."

Olinger is inviting to the summit anyone who wants to help the region minister to the growing population. In addition to church planters, he needs manpower for servant evangelism outreaches such as prayerwalking and hosting a Thanksgiving dinner.

"We're just trying to pull together people that are interested in helping us reach the opportunity that God has set in front of us. I'm pretty open to working with whoever wants to come alongside of us and help us ... deal with the influx," he said. "That's been a part of my passion for some time. I was a church planter in Canada. I see my role more as equipping God's people to becoming the missionaries He intended us to be, that together we might be able to reach out into this opportunity."

Olinger's congregation moved into a new building in July and has seen Sunday attendance double to about 230, he said, with 10-25 visitors each week. The church is adding a new weeknight worship service to accommodate shift workers and hopes to plant by January a church in Ray, about 30 miles from Williston.

"Our approach to it needs to be long-term. It needs to be far more comprehensive than putting a tract and a Bible in man camps," he said, referring to the temporary housing facilities built for the oil field crews. "It needs to be much more than that. And that's in part why I believe God brought me here when I already had a passion for church planting. And so I think it was a natural fit."

Olinger has the support of the Dakota Baptist Convention and the North America Mission Board, which already have cooperatively placed a church planter in the region.

"We've got a lot of people in our church that I believe over the next few years will end up leading some of these small churches as we plant them around the region," Olinger said. "I'm excited. The workload is huge, but I believe that He's got some phenomenal things in store for us."

Supporters may reach Olinger at Aolinger.fbc@midconetwork.com or at 701-572-2724.
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Diana Chandler is Baptist Press' staff writer. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress ) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp).

Families ‘on mission’ take a new look at neighborhoods

Oct 22, 2012 
By KRISTIN EASTERLING/FL Baptist Witness

SERVICE Debby Akerman, national WMU president and FamilyFEST volunteer from Ocean ViewBaptist Church in Myrtle Beach, S.C., served with Binghampton Community Church during a day camp for local children. She is assisting a young boy in sewing a pin on his new toboggan given to him by FamilyFEST volunteers WMU photo

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WMU)—In a unique mission opportunity, families from Florida joined volunteers from throughout the nation to serve side-by-side in projects designed to share the Gospel creatively this past summer. 

A Pensacola family reported a new awareness of the “mission field” that exists in each community—and opened their hearts towards other like-minded families they served with.

“FamilyFEST showed me the need out in the community that I normally do not see,” said Scott Miller, a missions volunteer from Point Baptist Church in Pensacola. “It opened up my heart.”

Miller, along with his wife, Valerie, and their three children ranging in age from 6-13, helped with backyard Bible clubs and community surveys throughout the week.

“FamilyFEST was an extremely positive experience for our family,” Valerie Miller shared. “It allowed us to minister as a family, meet and interact with other like-minded families, be fully focused on His work for one entire week, and truly made us realize that the ‘mission field’ is all around us.” 

The Millers served with around 200 volunteers from 15 states who ministered at 11 different project sites. States represented by volunteers were: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin.

EVANGELISM Brook Lovett, associate pastor of children and evangelism at Concord Baptist Church in Calera, Ala., was one of 200 volunteers who joined together in Memphis to share the love of Christ. WMU photo

Sharing the Love of Christ

“It was such a wonderful week, seeing people from all over, working side-by-side, and serving God’s people in Memphis,” reflected Cathy Chinn, regional coordinator for MRM. “It is a very unchurched area, and we are looking for creative ways to share the gospel.

“FamilyFEST was a week of people doing just that,” Chinn continued. “It was exciting to see various groups sharing God’s love in so many ways!”

Randy Pool of MRM of Tennessee added that FamilyFEST was a tremendous boost for several ministry sites in the Memphis area. According to Pool, some established works were enhanced by the presence of the volunteers while others were new church plants trying to make an impact in their community.

For example, Fayette Baptist Church is a new church plant in Memphis. The church was not yet open to the public during FamilyFEST, but FamilyFEST volunteers from the Boones Creek Baptist Association in Kentucky helped Fayette Baptist get their ministry started.

“We were asked to take information about the church and gospel tracts door-to-door for most of the week,” shared Todd Rader, a volunteer from Ephesus Baptist Church in Kentucky. “Two of our ladies baked over 300 cookies and we distributed them to local businesses. One morning we volunteered at a local thrift store. There have already been several individuals and families that have expressed interest in the church as a result of our outreach efforts.”

National WMU President Debby Akerman of Myrtle Beach, S.C., was among the volunteers and said, “The thought that comes to my mind and heart as I reflect on my week at 

FamilyFEST is ‘immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine.’ More than a thought, it is Paul’s prayer for God’s work through us for His glory.”

EVANGELISM Brook Lovett, associate pastor of children and evangelism at Concord Baptist Church in Calera, Ala., was one of 200 volunteers who joined together in Memphis to share the love of Christ. WMU photo

Akerman said it was a joy to serve alongside many of the volunteers delivering cookies, pulling weeds, sorting clothes, and packing lunches for the homeless, among other ministries. Her afternoons were filled with “serving during block parties and backyard Bible clubs, all clearly presenting the love of Christ and the plan of salvation.”

Bonnie Draper, FamilyFEST volunteer and youth director at Landover Hills Baptist Church in Landover Hills, Md., said, “Some of the children thought they had to pay for popcorn and snow cones at the block parties. We were able to tell them the food was free, but more importantly shared the free gift of Jesus Christ coming into their lives. We know of four that prayed to receive Christ and others were open to listening.”

During the week, teams also assembled and distributed more than 1,000 hygiene kits in the Memphis area. 

Beyond FamilyFEST

FamilyFEST volunteers came to be blessing to the community, but were blessed themselves as the prayers of the coordinators were answered, and then some.

“FamilyFEST not only had an impact on the community but on the volunteers as well,” said Denise Bronaugh, adult ministry and communication specialist for Tennessee WMU. “That was evidenced at the celebration 

dinner that was held on the last night of our week. From the 70-year-old man who confessed that this was his first missions trip to the 6-year-old who was excited she got to tell someone about Jesus, you could sense that their lives had been changed as well. Most volunteers said they wanted to go home and make an impact in their own community with what they learned at FamilyFEST.”

“God honored the fact that families came together to work in different neighborhoods of Memphis to share Jesus Christ,” said Sherry Hall, director of the Mid-South Baptist Association WMU. Since FamilyFEST ended, Hall said four groups of volunteers have already made plans to return in the spring and summer of 2013. 

“Every church should be involved in a family-oriented mission trip,” said Brook Lovett, associate pastor of children and evangelism at Concord Baptist Church in Calera, Ala. “FamilyFEST created a passion in our church for the work we need to do [at home] in Calera. It made our church family and the families in our church healthier and stronger.”

FamilyFEST in Memphis was a partnership between national WMU, Tennessee WMU, Mississippi River Ministry (MRM), and the Mid-South Baptist Association.

Kristin Easterling is a senior at Auburn University in Auburn, Ala. She served as an intern last summer at national WMU on the Corporate Communication Team. 

State-by-state advocacy of U.S. religious liberty launches

Tennessee, with its state capitol in Nashville, is one of nine states whose legislatures are forming religious freedom caucuses in a new nationwide effort to combat religious discrimination. Photo Terms of Use

Posted on Oct 16, 2012 | by Anne Reiner/Baptist Press

WASHINGTON (BP) -- Representatives from nine state legislatures have announced the formation of state-level religious freedom caucuses in a new nationwide effort to combat religious discrimination.

"There is a renewed interest in religious freedom in the country, and this growing attention is bringing together people of all religious faiths and political ideologies," Tim Schultz of the American Religious Freedom Program (ARFP) said during a teleconference Oct. 9. "Freedom of religion is a right that all lawmakers, and this includes state legislators, have a role in protecting and defending.

"This is not an issue just for the courts," Schultz noted.

With the assistance of a bipartisan group of more than 120 lawmakers -- 16 were present for the teleconference -- ARFP plans to inaugurate religious freedom caucuses in all 50 states by the end of 2013. The current states with caucuses are Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

The formation of these caucuses is based on two ideas, Schultz said: 1) Religious freedom is important to the majority of Americans from all faiths, and these individuals oppose "state-sponsored injury to religion" and 2) the free exercise of religion is a constitutional right that is foundational to all freedoms and must be protected by state lawmakers.

Schultz -- state policy director for the AFRP, which is an initiative of the Washington-based Ethics and Public Policy Center -- explained how the caucuses will function:

-- Even though these are the first state caucuses with a religious freedom agenda, they will work in a manner similar to other legislative caucuses.

-- Each caucus will consist of lawmakers who come together to discuss various public policy issues pertaining to freedom of religion both in their state and throughout the country.

-- There will be a multi-state information-sharing component to connect the caucuses across the country. This will help build legislative expertise beyond that of a single caucus in one state capital.

State Rep. Stephen Precourt of Florida said during the teleconference, "Religious freedom caucuses -- that is, legislators of all political and religious affiliations working together -- can work to help ensure the courts do not end up being the sole recourse for violation of religious freedom and, even better, to prevent the courts in the first place from being a means to push religious discrimination."

Ron Lindsay, president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry, which is affiliated with the Council for Secular Humanism, meanwhile expressed some skepticism about the effort in comments to Baptist Press.

"Freedom of conscience is a fundamental right, and any effort to strengthen that right should be welcome," Lindsay said. "Unfortunately, 'freedom of conscience' and 'religious liberty' are sometimes improperly invoked by those who seek to impose their religious views on others, directly or indirectly. Whether the American Religious Freedom Program will help strengthen the right to freedom of conscience or subvert this right largely depends on the understanding of religious liberty that will guide its activity."

Specific religious restrictions discussed in the teleconference were the removal of crosses from cemeteries in Tennessee and the Obama administration's abortion/contraception mandate.

In 2009, Tennessee passed its version of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, stipulating that the state must have a compelling governmental interest and has chosen the least restrictive option before passing a law that may infringe on an individual's religious freedom. As new attacks on religious freedom appear, it is the state lawmakers' duty to take the lead in battling these grievances, Tennessee Rep. Brian Kelsey told Baptist Press.

"We would hope that there would be no need to form a religious freedom caucus, but unfortunately there have been attacks on religious freedom that have stepped up in recent years, and that is the reason we are forming this caucus at this time," Kelsey said.

In early January Tennessee's seven inaugural caucus members -- four Democrats and three Republicans -- will meet to discuss their goals for the upcoming session.

"My hope is that we would get to a point where we wouldn't have to fight these battles on a yearly basis," Kelsey said. "I believe that all Americans cherish our right to exercise religion freely and want to protect that right as much as possible."
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Anne Reiner is an intern with the Washington bureau of Baptist Press. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress ) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp).

40 Days of Prayer - Bonus Day

Praise God for what He has done during these 40 days and for what He will continue to do in and through us! We desire to mediate on Your wonderful works. We know Your plan is to continue the work You have begun in us. We are humbled to know that You have chosen to work through us. Glory be to the Father, the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.

40 Days of Prayer - Day 40

True REVIVAL to continue past revival

Father God, Thank You for the privilege of bringing our Church, Our Leaders, Our Members, and Our Mission to You in prayer. May the joy and love we have felt continue to permeate our lives and our church.  May we continue to abide in You and nourish ourselves daily in Your word.  May we continue to exhort and lift one another up in prayer. May we continue in sweet fellowship with our Savior, Redeemer, and Friend. May we be found faithful until Your return!  Bless and sanctify us by the power of Your blood, Lord Jesus, AMEN!

40 Days of Prayer - Day 39

The Righteousness of the Lord to rain down

Lord Jesus, what precious love You show us! How amazing, how AWEsome, that You would call me friend! Lord forgive us our sins. Cleanse and purify us again so that we may not be ashamed at Your coming! Your word tells us we are imputed Your righteousness only through faith. Strengthen our faith and rain down Your righteousness on us. May we keep Your righteousness through holiness, sanctified and set apart for Your work! Through the name of Jesus Christ, Our Savior and Our Friend, AMEN

Spurgeon on prayer "In the Holy Ghost"

Mark the grand characteristic of true prayer--"In the Holy Ghost." The seed of acceptable devotion must come from heaven's storehouse. Only the prayer which comes from God can go to God. We must shoot the Lord's arrows back to him. That desire which he writes upon our heart will move his heart and bring down a blessing, but the desires of the flesh have no power with him.
Praying in the Holy Ghost is praying in fervency. Cold prayers ask the Lord not to hear them. Those who do not plead with fervency, plead not at all. As well speak of lukewarm fire as of lukewarm prayer--it is essential that it be red hot. It is praying perseveringly. The true suppliant gathers force as he proceeds, and grows more fervent when God delays to answer. The longer the gate is closed, the more vehemently does he use the knocker, and the longer the angel lingers the more resolved is he that he will never let him go without the blessing. Beautiful in God's sight is tearful, agonizing, unconquerable importunity. It means praying humbly, for the Holy Spirit never puffs us up with pride. It is his office to convince of sin, and so to bow us down in contrition and brokenness of spirit. We shall never sing Gloria in excelsis except we pray to God De profundis: out of the depths must we cry, or we shall never behold glory in the highest. It is loving prayer. Prayer should be perfumed with love, saturated with love--love to our fellow saints, and love to Christ. Moreover, it must be a prayer full of faith. A man prevails only as he believes. The Holy Spirit is the author of faith, and strengthens it, so that we pray believing God's promise. O that this blessed combination of excellent graces, priceless and sweet as the spices of the merchant, might be fragrant within us because the Holy Ghost is in our hearts! Most blessed Comforter, exert thy mighty power within us, helping our infirmities in prayer.

40 Days of Prayer - Day 38

An outpouring of the Holy Spirit power over all God’s people

Lord, You are the Living water and those who come to You will never thirst again.  We crave this Living water. Lord Jesus, we ask You to fill us with Your Holy Spirit! Lord in the scriptures whenever there was an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, men proclaimed Your gospel with power! We ask it Lord, so that we too would share Your gospel with power throughout our community. May we share Your love, joy, peace, and patience with those within the body and outside our walls. In the power name of Jesus, AMEN!

Former Sooner picks up where he left off

Posted on Oct 5, 2012 | by Chris Doyle/Baptist Press

Smokey Hurst with his family -- wife Meagan and children Darrick Jr., 5, Andee, 3, Michael, 2, and Samuel, 4 months.

NORMAN, Okla. (BP) -- He was a member of Bob Stoops' first recruiting class at the University of Oklahoma. He played in two national championship games, three Big XII championship games and four bowl games while at OU.

What he did as a Sooner football player he continues to do today -- not on the field, but in the locker room, dorm room, throughout the campus and even on road trips. Having an influence in people's lives is what Smokey Hurst is still doing.

While honing his athletic skills at OU, Hurst honed his spiritual strength through the Paradigm campus ministry (formerly Baptist Student Union, or BSU). And now he's back to help others do the same.

A Class 2A defensive player of the year as a high school junior at Beggs High School in Beggs, Okla., Hurst received multiple letters from college football programs. However, there was no doubt in his mind where he wanted to play.

"Living in Oklahoma and being the [OU linebacker Brian] Bosworth fan that I was, I was really interested in playing for the University of Oklahoma," Hurst said.

During the week after he graduated high school, Hurst headed to Norman to start spring training. He moved in with a guy named Pete whom he knew from Beggs.

"Pete introduced me to a college ministry at OU called BSU and a man named Max Barnett," Hurst said. "When a person meets Max, he walks away a changed person, and this is what happened to me."

Hurst had become a Christian during his high school junior year. The timing was perfect for this young "Timothy" to be discipled by Barnett, the longtime director of OU's BSU.

"I studied under Max the four-and-a-half years I was at OU, and it was during this time that my relationship with Christ began to blossom and grow," Hurst said. "I was challenged to live by a higher standard, follow hard after Christ and make disciples who could make disciples."

Hurst was determined to live the Christian life while playing football at OU. He experienced many challenges from his teammates, who often questioned him on the standards he chose to follow.

"I built upon my own convictions of why I didn't drink," Hurst said. "Some of them would say to me, 'You have the freedom to do what you want.'"

The conversations were frequent. His teammates continued to debate with Hurst about why he refrained from alcohol. Finally, Hurst took the opportunity to engage them about their constant prodding.

"I asked them, 'Why are you asking me these questions?' One of them responded, 'Because you don't drink.' So then I asked, 'If I drank, would we ever have these conversations?'"

His teammates realized they were confiding in Hurst. They had an appreciation for how Hurst lived his life, and soon they came to him for advice and for his perspective on challenging issues.

"I was able to share the Gospel over and over and over again without ever once having to say, 'Let me share the Gospel with you,'" Hurst recounted.

Teammates were not the only ones Hurst impacted. One day, a coach noticed Hurst carrying a small packet of Bible verses he used for Scripture memorization. The coach took the packet, pulled out a card and asked Hurst to quote the verse on the card, which he did word for word.

The coach asked if he could borrow the packet and make copies of the verse cards. Years later, when Hurst was visiting this coach in his office, he noticed the memory verse cards sitting on his desk.

Something that challenged Hurst as a player was how the team was constantly reciting the Lord's Prayer at various occasions. As a senior he decided to write an eight-page paper on the Lord's Prayer, and he gave it to Coach Stoops.

He told the coach he did not think the team realized the importance of the Lord's Prayer and wanted Stoops to read his paper. After that visit, instead of the team reciting the Lord's Prayer, Stoops always would call on Hurst to pray.

The team continues to follow this pattern. With the exception of game days when they still voice Jesus' model prayer, a player is now asked to say a prayer for the team.

Hurst married his longtime girlfriend Meagan in the spring before he graduated from OU. After graduation, he started a landscaping company that was thriving, and eventually he was able to hire 25 employees. Smokey and Meagan were living a very blessed life.

Then in 2008 he sold the business and moved his family to Fort Worth, Texas, to start seminary. After years of putting off the Lord's calling, Hurst surrendered his life to fulltime ministry.

"We have made a commitment to follow the Lord in obedience and faith wherever He leads us, regardless of what plans we may already have," he said.

The Hursts are back in Norman and serving at the Baptist collegiate ministry. Smokey, who raises his own support, is once again engaging student athletes and other college students in his way of doing relational ministry.

The Sooners have produced many popular and successful football players. Hurst may not be a player who comes to mind when recalling those who were a part of OU's national championship in 2000, but from an eternal perspective he definitely could be considered successful.

Instead of winning trophies, he is helping change lives, just like he was trained to do in college.
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Chris Doyle is development specialist for Baptist Village Communities in Oklahoma. This article appeared in The Baptist Messenger (baptistmessenger.com), newsjournal of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma.

40 Days of Prayer - Day 37

REVIVAL

Father, break our hearts over our sin; reveal any evil in us. Give us holy anguish so we confess and repent.  Grant us cleansing from all unrighteousness, so we may stand before You clean and pure. Lord, renew a right spirit in us so the eyes of our hearts would be opened and we would be filled with the light of Your presence. “You, O Lord, dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Praise You, Sweet Jesus, for Your Holy forbearance, AMEN!

40 Days of Prayer - Day 36

For our education programs

Lord, as children are important to You, may they be so to us.  As we are about the Father’s business, help us to be about the children as well. Continue to build our programs to be effective in bringing believers into Your kingdom at an early age. May our programs be so exciting our youngsters will want to invite their friends. May they be so excited learning about Your love for them they will share You with others. And Lord, through the children, may we reach lost parents...to the glory of God the Father! In the Name above all names, Jesus Christ, AMEN!

40 Days of Prayer - Day 35

Outreach programs and missions committees

Father show us plainly any areas where we need to adjust our work to make room for You to accomplish great things through us.  May we be attentive to Your leading and quick to make any necessary modifications.  Lord apart from You we can do nothing! As we make the adjustments necessary to follow You in Your work, may we experience You as You do great things through us...to the glory of God the Father! In the name of Jesus, AMEN!

40 Days of Prayer - Day 34

Add Prayer Warriors to our prayer room

Father God, may our prayers rise to Your throne as a sweet smelling incense. Speak to the hearts of Your people and raise us up to be a people of prayer. You command in Your word that we are to lift each other up in prayer. Father Your word tells us that if two of us agree on earth concerning anything we ask, it will be done for us by You in heaven. In boldness and faith we believe this to be already accomplished in You...to the glory of God. We ask it in Your name, AMEN.

40 Days of Prayer - Day 33

Lord to send laborers from our church

Lord of the Harvest, give us words to speak to the nations and to our neighbors. Lord, may we be sensitive to your call.  You ask, “who will go for us?” May we respond “I’ll go where You want me to go, Dear Lord, I’ll be what You want me to be.”  “I will go Lord, if You lead me, I will hold Your people in my heart.” Lord, may You find us worthy and willing to go for You...to the glory of God, the Father.  AMEN!

40 Days of Prayer - Day 32

Members share their faith

Lord, return us to the joy of Your salvation and the desire to tell everyone! May our joy be so palpable others desire to know the source, and may we point them to You! Fill us with Your spirit so we display the fruit of the Spirit that others may come to know and glorify You, by the word of our testimonies! Use this revival to rekindle this fire in us. Please prepare Your people to hear Your voice and respond. Prepare the circumstances of life so those who need to be here will not be hindered. Revive our hearts, Almighty God! AMEN.

40 Days of Prayer - Day 31

Salvation of the Lost

Savior, it is Your desire that all come to salvation.  Lord, give us Your heart for the lost. May we yearn to reach them as You do. Prepare the hearts of the lost to hear and receive Your gospel. Lord, prepare laborers from among us to deliver Your Word.  Lord, only You can produce the harvest, to the glory of God the Father. May we have the privilege of being about this work with You. In the Holy and precious name of Jesus, AMEN!