The term Reached refers to an area where over 2% of the population are believers.  This term does not mean that the task of reaching people is complete, but it is simply a category that missiologists use to describe a population where the missionary task has surpassed the 2% mark and much of the focus is on discipleship.  Our Ecuador seminary partnership falls into this category.  Steve and Carol from Ecuador will be with us for our missions conference and you will have the opportunity to hear the latest about what is going on in Ecuador–specifically with the work at the Ecuador Seminary.

Another area of partnership is with the Unreached.  While there are many individual unreached people around us, including here in Montgomery, this category refers to a people group or ethnic group where less than 2% of the population are believers.  We have adopted an unreached people group in Central Asia, and our missions partner for our adopted people group, Ted, will be with us for our conference as well.

Our third missions partnership is with a Last Frontier group.  A Last Frontier group is the term used when there is no gospel witness among a particular ethnic or people group and there is no work being done to reach them.  Our Last Frontier group is also located in Central Asia, and we are partnering with Jeremy to reach them.  Jeremy will also be with us during our missions conference, and we will get to hear more about the future of our partnership with him to reach this people group.

Ken will also be speaking, and I know you will appreciate hearing from him once more.  There will be breakout sessions for adults, youth and children in K-6 grades.  This will be an exciting opportunity for our children to hear directly from the missionaries for whom they have been praying.  Childcare will be offered for those with nursery age children, but you must sign up for this.  There will be fellowship dinners on Friday (5:15 pm) and Saturday (5:30 pm).  Saturday’s dinner will be from Chick-fil-a and will also include a sampling of foods from the regions where our missionaries are serving.

This is an exciting time in the life of our church and we are blessed to have a senior pastor and staff who have a strong biblical understanding of missions and therefore have a passion for missions as well.  Please make our Third Annual Global Missions Conference a priority and set aside September 10-12 to be with us.    If you plan to attend either of the dinners or require childcare for the conference, please call the church office at 272-2304 to sign up.  I am looking forward to seeing you at the conference.

Jonathan

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