Thanks for Being Our Samaria Partner!

Thanks for embracing the Acts 1:8 Challenge! Your church—along with more than 800 across the Southern Baptist Convention—have accepted our Lord’s challenge to be a worldwide mission center by strategically focusing on Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and ends of the Earth.

This is the first electronic update you will receive from the “Samaria Team” at the North American Mission Board (NAMB). It will make you aware of NAMB resources that will help your church plan and implement a strategy to be involved in reaching North America for Christ. To remove yourself from this list, please note instructions at the end of this e-mail.

Resources for Serving in Samaria
Following are some resources and suggested activities as your church seeks to serve Christ in its Samaria (North America):

Prepare: If you have not already, enlist your mission leadership team to lead your church’s Acts 1:8 effort. For resources in North America, visit www.namb.net. Consider initiating your involvement by planning and completing the 2005 doctrine study (details in this newsletter) and by reading Empowering Kingdom Growth: The Heartbeat of God by Ken Hemphill.

Learn: Encourage the spiritual transformation of Christians into on-mission Christians by using Mission Education organizations, resources, and events designed to awaken personal involvement in the Great Commission. Visit  www.SBCMissionEducation.com to learn more about resources available.

Pray: Lead your members to pray in one accord for revival and spiritual awakening in North America through a weekly prayer focus, daily prayer guide, inspiring articles, and current stories of what God is doing by visiting  www.oneinamillionprayer.com. Involve your church through the Week of Prayer for North American Missions sermons, prayer groups, bulletin inserts, posters, a promotion video, and other resources available. Do not forget to register at the above site to let us know you are linking arms with us in prayer.

Give: Many Southern Baptist churches are observing the North American Missions Emphasis now through Easter. It is not too late to get your church involved. Visit  www.AnnieArmstrong.com for resources to assist your church.

Go: Are you looking for a short-term missions opportunity or do you need short-term missions volunteers? Visit The Bridge: Connecting Volunteers With Missions for more information on opportunities for service and how to find mission trip sites and projects for this summer.

Tell: Have you had an opportunity to talk to a non-believer but did not know what to say? Learn how to provide intelligent answers in the comfort of your home watching quality DVDs on Mormonism, Islam, and others at  www.namb.net/interfaith. Free information is available at www.4truth.net.

Send: God may be calling out men and women in your church to reach the 235 million people in North America who do not know Jesus. There are numerous “pathways” to service through the North American Mission Board. Information is available at www.answerthecall.net.

Multiply: Is your church actively involved in starting a new church somewhere? There is a world of church planting resources available at the Church Planting Village. There , you will find information from “steps to church planting” to people group and language resources.

Opportunities Await in Vancouver
Vancouver is one of the Strategic Focus Cities for 2006. Vancouver is a city of growth and diversity. Annually, more than 30,000 immigrants move to Vancouver and most are from the Pacific Rim.
  
In the last census, 35 percent of the population claimed to have no religion at all. To reach out to so many diverse sectors of people, Southern Baptist churches are needed to work cooperatively by committing to pray and volunteer in this God-sized city-reaching initiative.

The vision of Vancouver Focus is to see 100 new churches in Vancouver and Victoria by 2010. Spiritual revival will not occur in the city without prayer.

Visit www.prayvancouver.ca to view specific prayer requests and to receive prayer newsletters and updates. Consider how your church will commit to pray, participate, and partner in reaching a city for Jesus! Visit www.vancouverfocus.ca for more information.  E-mail info@vancouverfocus.ca to request a Vancouver Focus promotional DVD.

ActsOne8.com Web Site Updates
If you have not already done so, go online and check out the many materials available in the Resource section at www.ActsOne8.com. Be sure to return to the Acts 1:8 Challenge Web site often for periodic updates. Several recent updates include:

• Acts 1:8 Challenge Leadership Guide—Embracing the Acts 1:8 Challenge: A Leadership Guide is designed to help churches implement the Acts 1:8 Challenge. It offers suggestions and worksheets to assist you in assessing a church's readiness to reach the four Acts 1:8 Challenge mission fields.

• Spanish translations of the Acts 1:8 Challenge brochure and registration form. Spanish and Korean versions of the Leadership Guide are currently in process.

• Link to the 2005 Baptist Doctrine Study— The study provides a biblical view of the Acts 1:8 Challenge and is an essential resource for every church that wants to implement an Acts 1:8 Challenge vision. The study may be purchased at any LifeWay Christian Store, ordered online at  www.lifeway.com, or through the catalog store by calling 1 800 448-8032. The study includes a leader’s guide and student workbook (purchased separately). 

• Teaching Aids for the 2005 Doctrine Study— Supplemental material for teaching the doctrine study is available online in the Resources section . Materials include handouts and PowerPoint presentations and cover all six chapters of the study.

Acts 1:8: A Challenge for Eternity
Rick Warren's first words from his popular book The Purpose-Driven Life are "It's not about you." While Bible-believing Christians around the world know this to be true, Warren's sobering reminder has helped transform and refocus the lives of thousands of believers around the world to be outward thinking rather than inward thinking. Read the rest of the Acts 1:8 Challenge article that appeared in SBCLife.
 

PRIVACY POLICY     |     CONTACT US     |     NAMB.NET HOME PAGE     |     REGISTER FOR WWW.NAMB.NET

A Southern Baptist Convention entity supported by the Cooperative Program and the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering®     ©Copyright 2005 North American Mission Board