May 2, 2008
Karen Thomas Smith and Jean-Luc Blanc speak to members of Lexington Avenue Baptist Church in Danville about Morocco.
Members of the Eglise Evangelique Au Maroc (Evangelical Church in Marocco or EEAM) traveled around the state of Kentucky sharing news of the partnership between the Kentucky Baptist Fellowship and the EEAM. At the annual KBF Spring Gathering held at Highland Baptist in Louisville, Fellowship churches were delighted to welcome and hear from Jean-Luc Blanc, president of EEAM and pastor of the Protestant church in Casablanca, Morocco, and Karen Thomas Smith, Christian Chaplain at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco, and pastor of the Protestant church in Ifrane.
The purpose of their trip to Kentucky was to continue the conversation began last year between Kentucky churches and the EEAM. Last year, Kentucky Baptists traveled to Morocco to assist in the repair and painting of the church in Fez. More importantly, though, the group became an essential piece to the beginning of building bridges between cultures for relationships between Americans and Moroccans, Christians and Muslims, and people of the east and people of the west. What began in 2007 has blossomed into a wonderful partnership, as many Fellowship churches can attest to through their own experiences.
Jean-Luc and Karen visited a number of churches across the state sharing their story with your stories. Some of the churches they visited were Immanuel (Frankfort), Central Baptist (Lexington), Third Baptist (Owensboro), Living Faith (Elizabethtown), and Lexington Avenue (Danville). Their presentation consisted of sharing the ongoing work provided by the EEAM among the people of Morocco, who are composed of so many cultures and ethnicity’s due to the influx of refugees and migrants who travel hoping to find work and sustainable income in another land. Each of the churches who have partnered with churches in Morocco were featured on a slide show given by Karen and Jean-Luc which they used as a visual aid to show how Kentucky Baptist have helped to build lasting relationships with people on another continent.
The hope for the Kentucky Baptist Fellowship and for Jean-Luc and Karen as they return to their places of ministry in Morocco is that we here in Kentucky will continue to pray for these who we are partnering with across the world as well as to determine in what ways we are able to give to this necessary partnership. Our relationship is only now beginning; we are only now attempting to understand them as they are attempting to understand us. May we seek to listen to our Moroccan brothers and sisters as we struggle to bridge the gaps that divide us geographically, culturally, religiously, and economically. Pray for Jean-Luc and Karen as they return home and minister in their country. Pray for the next Moroccan team from Kentucky that will travel in June to further our partnership in person. And pray for yourself, asking how God can use you to continue our efforts through the Kentucky Baptist Fellowship to minister with and be ministered to with the Eglise Evangelique au Maroc.
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March 30, 2008
On March 29, 2008 the Coordinating Council of Kentucky Baptist Fellowship, meeting at Highlands Baptist Church, Louisville, voted to hire Joshua Speight as the new Associate Coordinator for Missions. He begins work April 25, 2008. Speight will coordinate missions efforts on a statewide basis with a focus on Mountain Hope, the rural poverty initiative in Eastern Kentucky.
Joshua Speight, new Associate Coordinator for Missions, and Becky Caswell Speight, visit with John Lepper, Coordinator and Alice Mull, Moderator
John Lepper, Coordinator of Kentucky Baptist Fellowship said: “Josh has the gifts and energy to lead us to sustain the good programs we already have in place. Many of these missions initiatives were begun or enhanced by Rhonda Abbott Blevins, the first Associate Coordinator for Missions of the Kentucky Baptist Fellowship. Speight brings with him the ability and vision to take us to the next level as we seek to actively engage Baptist Christians and churches in mission action, education, and support.”
Speight currently serves as Associate Pastor of North Riverside Baptist Church, Newport News, Virginia. He has been at this church since 2005. In addition to his role as Associate Pastor, he also served this church as Interim Pastor for nine months. He served two summers with Passport, Inc., one summer as Bible Study Leader and another summer as Missions Project Coordinator.
Speight’s interest in missions began when he was a student at Georgetown College. Although he resisted the call to full-time ministry, several people throughout his college and seminary years recognized his aptitude and talents for ministry and encouraged him to listen for God’s call. Josh studied chemistry and worked as a chemist, but as he worked in this secular field the call would not go away; eventually, he responded to God’s leading to full-time ministry.
In thinking about serving in this new role, Speight said: “Missions participation begins and ends with the local church. It also begins by supporting the foundation already laid by KBF, the work of Rhonda Abbott Blevins, as well as other leadership throughout the state.” In speaking of missions participation and education, Speight said, “It is about leading churches and individuals toward a greater awareness of their surrounding community, to understand their responsibility for this place which God asks each of us to be gracious stewards during our lifetime.”
Josh is a graduate of Georgetown College and Truett Seminary. He and his wife Becky Caswell Speight and their daughter Ainsley will make their home in Louisville.
Formed in 1991, Kentucky Baptist Fellowship is one of 18 state and regional affiliates of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. The Kentucky Baptist Fellowship is a fellowship of churches and individuals who share a commitment to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. The mission of the Kentucky Baptist Fellowship is to equip and empower Kentucky Baptist churches and Christians, cultivate partnerships, and engage in missions.
Click here for pictures of Joshua Speight and Council meeting in which he was elected.
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March 8, 2008
See the article in “Coordinator Chat” about the Mountain Hope conference at Nada.
John’s Coordinator Chat
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February 16, 2008
Make plans now to be part of Extreme Build 2008. The lead team has been hard at work behind the scenes to prepare for another great experience. We have purchased property near the site of last year’s build and the family has been selected.
Join us on July 13 for Registration, Cookout and Rally. We begin building on July 14 and anticipate completing construction on July 19.
We need skilled and unskilled volunteers. A new feature this year is our call for special teams. Charlie Gatton, our construction leader, hopes to utilize the skills of special teams to help us build the house in a week.
Special Teams Needed:
• Concrete finishing
• Roofing
• Drywall finishing
• Laying flooring
• Landscaping
See the updated registration forms and flyer at: Extreme Build
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February 4, 2008
At least 25 Kentucky Baptist churches were represented at the New Baptist Covenant Celebration in Atlanta, January 30-February 1, 2008. For news articles and streaming videos, click on the following link: New Baptist Covenant.
Editor’s Note: For responses from several KBF participants to their New Baptist Covenant experience, click, “Read the rest of this entry” below.
An Honor to Attend the New Baptist Covenant
By Drew Prince, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Shepherdsville
The positive feeling of inclusiveness was as real as the building in which we met. I have never been more excited about the future of Baptist life than I am right now. The first thing that I noticed was the embrace of diversity. Baptists come in all kinds. There were over 30 North American Baptist groups in attendance. All came to widen our circle. There was no hint of conflict among this gathering of believers.
Baptists no longer have to be known for what they oppose. This was not an attempt to create a denomination. It was an effort that was started by those who wanted to protect historic Baptist principles and to collaborate on what we can do together. It was an effort to concentrate on what Jesus said was important. This was all done by widening our circle.
One of the most basic aspects of the ministry of Jesus was a focus on reconciliation. This meeting seemed to do just that among all of these wonderful Baptist groups. It was as if all of the people, regardless of race or gender, we able to come together as equals. We all know in our hearts that this was the intention of Christ all along.
It seems clear to me that we have started something that has taken us a step closer to our Baptist roots. We are unique as individuals and individual groups. But we can come together in an effort to take seriously what Christ took seriously. Politics was not a part of the equation. But the words of Jesus were. And there is nothing more basic to Baptist principles than putting those words above all others.
Many questions remain about where to go from here. But there is one answer that seems obvious to me. The gatherings that follow will emphasize what we have in common and what we can do together. And we will continue to widen our circle because of it. It is a natural consequence to holding the words of Christ up first and putting everything else aside. We all know in our hearts that this was the intention of Christ all along.
Come and Go with Me
by Bill Shoulta, Pastor, Melbourne Heights Baptist Church
What a joy to be a part of a meeting about Baptists unity rather than focusing on what is wrong with everybody else. I experienced meaningful worship in a variety of ways. I was inspired by everything from a concert violinist to hip hop music with a deep Christian message; from a speech by a soft spoken white Republican Senator to a fiery alliterative sermon from a black preacher. Read the rest of this entry »
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