Friday, September 10 – Sunday, September 12

~ Schedule ~

Friday, September 10

5:15 pm    Dinner in Armstrong Hall (sign-up required)

6:00 pm    Conference Opening

7:10 pm    Breakout Session #1

Saturday, September 11

3:00 pm    Opening Assembly

3:25 pm    Breakout Session #2

4:30 pm    Breakout Session #3

5:30 pm    Dinner/Worship (sign-up required)

Sunday, September 12

9:15 am    Sunday School

Children, Adult 4, Adult 5 classes on normal schedule

Youth – Steve (Ecuador)

Adult 1/Adult 2 combined – Jeremy (Central Asia)

Adult 3/Fellowship Class/Singles – Ted (Central Asia)

10:30 am    Morning Worship

Global Missions Offering

4:30 pm    Meet and Greet the Missionaries

5:00 pm    Breakout #4

6:00 pm    Meet and Greet the Missionaries

6:30 pm    Evening Worship

Youth will attend Breakout Sessions with Adults.  Separate Breakout Sessions are planned for children ages K-6th grade.  Nursery available for children ages 0-4.
*** Call the church office to make your reservations for dinner and childcare.

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

Pastoral Training Resourses

Classic Christian books for pastors and leaders are one of the most important aspects of our Ecuador Mission trip next month. We’ve assembled a good set of solid biblical resources in Spanish that we feel will be helpful in encouraging and equipping the Ecuadorian pastors and leaders teach their families and lead their churches. We would like each of our Morningview families to look over the list of books below and consider giving to help provide these books for the pastors/leaders. Each ‘Pastor Training Pack’ contains key theological books, family shepherding books, and pastoral reference books in Spanish. The retail value for each packet is about $85.

Here are the books each pastor or leader will receive in Spanish:

For Biblical and Theological Training:

Finally Alive by John Piper

Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul

Let’s Study Ephesians by Sinclair Ferguson

For Biblical Pastoral Ministry:

Introduction to Biblical Counseling by John MacArthur

All Round Ministry, 2 Vols by Charles Spurgeon

The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges

For Biblical Family Training:

Strengthening Your Marriage by Wayne Mack

Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp

Please prayerfully consider how you can give towards a ‘Pastor Training Pack’ to help us provide these great resources to the church leaders in Ecuador. Each family may want to consider giving half of the cost of a packet, which is about $40. Sunday school classes can sponsor a pastor for $85; we’re training (30) pastors in total. Whatever part you can have in helping us will be greatly appreciated. These packets will be an excellent resource for the Ecuadorian church leaders for many years to come. Thank you church family for your prayerful support of this ministry. Please mark your giving envelope, ‘Ecuador Pastor Training Pack’.

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

Date of Trip:  June 18-26, 2010.

Costs:  $1380, plus spending money

Deposits:  $150 non-refundable deposit is needed by Sunday, April 11^th.  You are responsible for the remaining costs of the trip.  You are encouraged to begin now writing support letters to family and friends that would consider praying and financially supporting your mission endeavor.  The church will assist by paying (up to) 25% of the trip cost.

Who can participate:  Adults and students.  All participants must be members of Morningview Baptist.

Students must have completed the 10^th grade.

Is there an application for the trip? Yes.  Participants must turn in application wit deposit by April 11^th.

What is the main purpose of our trip? We’ll serve alongside with Missionary Steve Thompson at Camp Chacauco through pastoral training, bible clubs, and construction/camp work.

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

Ecuador Theological Seminary In-Gathering

Sunday, September 13

10:30 am

Missionaries Steve and Carol Thompson (our missionary contacts in Patate) have been serving faithfully in Ecuador for over twenty years. They have detailed plans to open a much needed theological Seminary in Patate by January 2010. They have secured the initial leadership for this Seminary and are ready to complete the first floor and phase of this pastoral training center.

At the recommendation of our Pastors body and the Missions and Ministry team, we want to help support the Thompsons by helping to fund this Ecuadorian Seminary. Please know how exciting this opportunity is for us and these Ecuadorian pastors.

There is no available conservative theological seminary in the entire country!

The Thompson’s camp (Camp Chacauco) already serves as a strategic base of operations for planting churches among unreached people groups. With the addition of this Seminary, by God’s grace, it could grow to become the epicenter for sound theological training for pastors and lay persons for decades to come. In some ways, the hope of training and sustaining pastors to continue to ‘preach the gospel’ to this entire country rests on the opening and operation of this Ecuadorian Seminary. What a glorious privilege it is for our church to give sacrificially to meet this need to continue allowing pastors to ‘preach the gospel’ in a spiritually needy place like Ecuador.

Approximate costs for the seminary

Level 1 *
Construction of the First Floor and basic facilities for Start-Up
This includes completion and furnishings of first floor of the building, including the Auditorium, Kitchen, Dining Hall and Library
A total of $ 24,000 is needed to complete this portion

Level 2 *
Construction of the Second Floor
This floor will include Classrooms, Administration areas, a Lecture Hall and the Main Entrance
A total of $ 45,000 is needed for completion of the 2nd Floor

Furnishings *
A total of $ 15,000 is needed to furnish the building for seminary use.

Total Funding Needed for Entire Seminary: $ 84,000

As you can see, the task of single-handedly meeting this need is far beyond the reach of the vast majority of us as individuals, but as a church (and especially one in the wealthiest nation on earth!) this is, by God’s grace, very attainable. For less than the cost of almost any one of our homes here in Alabama, an entire seminary can be built! What a privilege it would be for us to play such a part in impacting an entire nation with the Gospel!

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

As I said on Sunday morning, the reward for fasting and prayer is personal conformity to God’s will and person, a clearer picture of His splendor, and a stronger confidence in His sovereign purpose.  The model and teaching of Scripture is that fasting is an appropriate undertaking for any weighty circumstance or need:  as a sign of repentance, as an act of mourning, when in serious danger, when facing a significant transition, at a time of deep need, for the healing of loved ones, for wisdom in important decisions, and when seeking the specific will of God.

But in more practical terms, how do we actually “fast.”  FIRST, we need to be mindful and careful of our own physical limitations.  If you have any health reservation, check with your doctor before fasting; you may want to consider only a partial fast from certain foods or only fasting for very small amounts of time.  Even if you do undertake a full fast, be cautious of going any longer than a few days and do not abstain from water so that your body does not dehydrate.  A normal time range for a completely healthy person to fast from food consumption is anywhere from one to three days.

SECOND, understand that the purpose of your fast is to seek God in praise, confession, scriptural meditation, and supplication.  Thus, while a fast is technically only abstaining from food, I would suggest that you also abstain from other non-necessary earthly pursuits during this time.  You may need to go to work or take care of necessities with your family at home, but keep the TV off and avoid indulging yourself with other media (novels, movies, the internet, your iPod, cell phone, etc.).  Also avoid or limit your pursuit of extra-curricular involvements like sports, shopping, and events with friends.  The goal of this time is to make the absolute most of being on your face before God.

THIRD, have a plan for how you will use the time.  Prepare certain Scriptures that are appropriate for your concern to meditate upon and pray through as you fast.  Make a list of your specific supplications.  If you have children in your home, prepare some family devotions that will help them understand why you are fasting and how they can pray with you (and for you!).  If you are married, plan prayer times with your spouse.  If you have to work on days that you have designated for fasting, plan how and where to spend your meal-breaks so that those times can be used for prayer and Scripture reading.  You don’t have to have every minute scheduled, but a plan will help you to stay focused and it will help you to protect your time of fasting from the little things that “pop up.”

FINALLY, be prepared to obediently submit to God in whatever way He reveals Himself and in whatever course He chooses.  He may answer your prayers as you hope He will, and He may not.  He may give you a very clear leading or answer, and He may not.  Be content in His will, follow obediently where He leads, and know that He is God.  Whatever the outcome, you will benefit spiritually just by drawing near to Him and expressing your trust in Him through the disciplines of prayer and fasting.

Given all of that, what are some good immediate needs to consider fasting over?  I would first direct you to our Ingathering for the Seminary in Ecuador this coming Sunday.  We have an incredible opportunity to be a part of equipping pastors who lead and plant churches in that nation.  You might want to consider fasting and praying about how much of the Lord’s money you can give to this effort.

In October, we have a team of seven leaving on a Mission Trip to Southeast Asia.  We would greatly appreciate you fasting and praying for us as we receive offerings for our trip and as we prepare for the work.  Furthermore, my plan now is for our church family to follow that Acts 13 model where we will invite our whole congregation to fast and pray before we send out any mission team.  That opportunity will come early in October, so I hope you will plan to be a part of it.  You may have thought of other needs to consider as you have read this, so just trust Him and seek Him as He leads you.  I love you all!

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

Please be in prayer about what God would have you give to the Ecuador Theological Seminary In-Gathering on September 13.  As you consider how God would have you involved financially in supporting this ministry, consider the words of Randy Alcorn:

“The opportunities for using our financial resources to spread the gospel and strengthen the church all over the world are stronger than they’ve ever been. As God raised up Esther for just such a time as hers, I’m convinced he’s raised us up, with all our wealth, to help fulfill the great commission. The question is, what are we doing with that money? Our job is to make sure it gets to his intended recipients.”

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

Praise God for the great trip our team had to Ecuador.  I trust that you heard their wonderful report this past Sunday night.  Continue to pray for the church, the pastors, and the political situation in Ecuador.  Please pray that our church would have the Lord’s wisdom in knowing how we should be involved in the seminary project at Camp Chacauco.

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

Ecuador’s religious climate is one of syncretism:  a religious blend of pagan idol worship from long ago and Catholicism.  Most families are raised with the errant theology that Mary, the mother of Jesus, remained sinless her entire life and is the co-redeemer for salvation.  This Catholic theology is centered on man-centered works rather than biblical doctrine.   The Catholic church in Ecuador recognizes that authority is shared by a multi-faced panel composed of Jesus, Catholic tradition, the Pope, and, chief among these – Mary, the mother of Jesus.  Obviously, this is heretical and undermines the exclusivity of Christ for salvation and as our sole redeemer.

In this religious culture, our partners in ministry, missionaries Steve and Carol Thompson, have been serving for over twenty years.   They have helped start over thirty different churches, established a growing campground for conferences and retreats, as well as trained many faithful pastors to shepherd the churches throughout Ecuador.

Our team was fortunate to experience the fruit of Steve and Carol Thompson’s labor.  On just our second day in the country, we worshipped with a church that was founded in persecution.  During their initial evangelistic outreach in the town where they now worship, the believers were literally attacked by an angry religious mob and driven from the town.  Now, God has a faithful pastor and church family witnessing effectively in this community.  Many who are new believers in the church today were throwing stones as part of the angry mob just 15 years ago.  The dear Saint who sat behind us lost an eye that very day that the Gospel might go forward.  It was in this very town (Patate) that our team was privileged to lead a VBS in the local school where children heard that ‘Jesus is the true light of the world’ through Bible stories and other activities daily.  We pray some of these Patate school children will become devoted Christians and continue the evangelical growth in their community.

Additionally, our team led a four-day conference for about twenty-two pastors and some of their leaders.   The group of pastors were from diverse backgrounds, but shared a common faithfulness to serve Christ regardless of the cost.  Their gratitude to Morningview Baptist for your sponsorship of the ‘pastor’s packs’ of ten biblical resources was overwhelming.  Please know you provided a wealth of resources that will equip these pastors and likewise their churches to be healthy congregations for generations to come.  This never could have happened without God’s work through you.

Still, the needs and opportunities for support in the area of theological training are great in this country.  The new government leadership is requiring all pastors to be certified with a certain level of theological education within the next two years.  Failure to comply with obtaining appropriate theological certification can result in imprisonment of up to eight years on the first offense.  Sadly, in the mid-nineties our own International Missions Board redirected their resources and left the Ecuadorians with no seminary and no staff or funds to train pastors.  As a result, today about 95% of all Ecuadorian Baptist Pastors have no formal training and lack the resources to travel internationally to get it.

Thanks be to God, the Thompson’s have been working for many years to reestablish a seminary.  Steve and a team of five other godly leaders are committed to provide this necessary training.  The timing today is more critical than ever.  After much prayer, planning and work, their ministry center, Camp Chacauco, is almost ready to add a theological seminary on their grounds to train pastors for ministry.  What can we as a church do to help?  Pray, give and go.  First, pray for this theological seminary which will be only the faithful institution of biblical, conservative theology and essentially one of a kind in the country.  The seminary needs funding to the amount of $24,000 to complete the first floor of the building and begin enrollment in December of this year.  You can give to support the work of the seminary.  They are still enlisting staff, garnering resources to provide their seminary library and establishing curriculum for the theological students.  The total financial needs to start this work are about $84,000.   Pray about how your family can give towards this need.  In addition to giving, all of us can pray and many of us can go.  It is our hope and prayer that God will allow us to continue to partner with Steve Thompson and to play a key role in the advance of the Gospel among the vast numbers of the lost in country of Ecuador.  Please plan on coming this Sunday night as we share more of the incredible work that God allowed us to see and partner with there in Ecuador.  We believe that God has brought our church to this point for such a time as this and it is our hope and prayer that our work last week will be but the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship of taking the Gospel to those who have never heard.

Written by:  David Hardgrave & Randy Breedlove

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

Please be in prayer for our Ecuador missions team all week.  Pray for all of the people we sent to Ecuador: Randy Breedlove, Billy Cox, Emily Cox, David Hardgrave, Monica Lott, Tyson Lott, Caleb Quave, Erin Sellars, and Jaelyn Smith.  Be sure to keep your prayer guide handy and lift up their needs during your prayer time this week.

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

Part of the change involves the requirement that all ministers who preach or lead churches must be registered with and licensed by the government.  It is anticipated that part of the requirements for licensing will be some degree of formal religious training at the college or seminary level.  Unfortunately, 95% of the Baptist pastors in Ecuador have no formal training and are thus unlikely to secure proper certification status with the new government.

It is expected that these new restrictions will begin to be enforced within 2 years, after enough time has passed for the registration process to be completed.  After that, pastors who are caught preaching without government certification will be arrested and sentenced to 8 years in prison.  Right now, the Baptist network in Ecuador is working with the government in an effort to establish certification criteria that most Baptist pastors could achieve through training seminars and classes.

The good news is that the classes that our team will be leading with 22 pastors this week will count as credit toward their certification.  In terms of our future involvement, it means that the Pastor Training efforts we have initiated in Ecuador are now absolutely critical to sustain the preaching of a biblical gospel in that region of South America.

What can we do right now?  First, we can add this new development to our prayer list for our mission team that is on the field right now and for our missions ministry here at Morningview.  I have no doubt that God is using these political developments to create in us a sense of urgency that should guide all of our missions efforts.  Furthermore, we are privileged to see His providence at work through this situation.  He sovereignly put this burden to train pastors on our hearts long before we were ever aware of the needs resulting from this political shift.  What else might He providentially have in store for us?

Second, each of us should consider how we can help meet this need.  As Dr. Sills told us at our last missions conference, if you can teach Sunday School in the United States then you can train church leaders on the mission field.  Perhaps God would lead more of us to be invested in this work in Ecuador.  If we cannot go, there are also others ways to be of help.

One of the greatest needs that now exists for these pastors is the availability of training resources.  The average pastor in Ecuador earns only $200 per month, yet the books they need are the same price as they are here in the states.  It would take their entire monthly income just to purchase a dozen textbooks, leaving them nothing left with which to feed their own families.  Thus, one of the most immediate needs we can continue meeting is for theological books and resources in Spanish, like those we just sent with our mission team.

There will be other needs and ministry possibilities that arise from these developments in Ecuador, and I look forward to bringing them to our attention as our Missions and Ministry Team prepares to respond.  I truly believe that God has chosen Morningview to be in this partnership “for such a time as this,” and I am excited about how He will lead us and use us.  I love you all!

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church

We have arrived safely in Quito, Ecuador and tomorrow we will begin making our way to Patate where we will minister.  Everyone is in good Spirits and and we are grateful to God for giving us a seemless day of international travel.

We so appreciate all of your words of encouragement and your continued prayers.  We will especially covet your prayers for the week ahead, so please keep checking back with Morningview.org for updates as we have oppurtunies to send out word of our progress over the course of the week.

Pastor David for the Ecuador Team

Ecuador Team

SOURCE: Morningview Baptist Church