News & Reports – August 2021
The Online Edition of the August 2021 BFM News & Reports is available at the link below. Read how God is working through the lives of our faithful missionaries and continue to pray for them.
*Remember you can click on any headline to view the post/story on our website.
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Your New BFM Logo
We continue to make new on-going commitments to reach every person in our present generation with the message of the Gospel and to promote the interests of the missionaries whose support is administered through Baptist Faith Missions.
Sometimes that may mean adapting our most primary means of communications to reach the widest audience possible and make the deepest immediate impact possible.
So, we have re-branded our logo. Here it is. We hope you have noticed it, and if you are reading this at all, we hope we have engaged your interest.
Logo Evaluation Team
Before I tell you about how this logo came about, I want to recognize just a few of those who were most instrumental in its inception. When we started this process, we selected a Logo Evaluation Team. These team members would collaborate together to come up with a new visual ID and representation of BFM. Here they are:
- Lauren Pyles // pylesdesign.net : graphic arts designer and composer-in-chief [she is a member of Grace Baptist Church, Fairborn OH]
- David Pitman: he is pastor of Addyston Baptist Church, Addyston OH, and a Director of BFM
- Phillip DuBarry: he is Associate Pastor of Addyston Baptist Church
- Doug Brook: he is a member of Emmanuel Baptist Church, Bellbrook OH
- Sarah Wainright: she is a member of New Life Baptist Church, Lexington KY – and has served for the recent several years as our Media Services coordinator [website, Facebook, Twitter, newsletter, et al]
- Then lastly [and leastly], Yours Truly, Dave Parks: I served as a corresponding liaison between Lauren Pyles who was doing the designing and composing and the other members of the Logo Evaluation Team who were doing the evaluation, critiquing, and selection of the logo development as it progressed through its various stages and came together in the form we are presenting to you now.
Each and all of these team members are gifted and experienced in visual graphics and imagery in their own vocations and fields of communications, and their input was invaluable. And each one is faithfully serving in their respective local churches. I am so grateful to God for making each of them available for this ministry and for their willingness to serve as they did. We all served in the spirit of the promise God made in Exodus 31.2-4a: “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to design artistic works…”
Here, then, is how we arrived at YOUR NEW BFM LOGO.
We wanted a logo/brand that would meet these criteria:
- it would identify BFM by name in the logo icon
- it would portray also BFM’s purpose and mission
- it would be bold
- it would be simple
- it would be easily interpreted
- it would be unique and distinctive, one of a kind
- it would be interesting and intriguing
- it would be instantaneously recognizable
- it would command curiosity and pique interest – make people go “hmmm…”
So,
- we went back to our nickname and short-hand moniker: ‘bfm’ That’s what we all call our missionary fellowship. For all these years, we’ve been known as ‘bfm’
- then, we saw an opportunity for a graphic icon in the opening of the ‘b’ – to help us graphically portray our mission and activity: “What kind of ‘bfm’ are we?”
- so, we inserted the four points of a compass into the ‘b’ to emphasize our commitment to obey Jesus’ worldwide Great Commission mandate…
– And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature…” [Mark 16.15]
– “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” [Matthew 28.19]
– “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” [Acts 1.8]
– we are asking our Lord Jesus to fulfill that world-wide missionary outreach through the missionaries who partner with BFM - the arrow that is pointing East is actually breaking out of the ‘b’ to signify forward direction, motion, and dynamic activity – as does also the forward-leaning slash and “Baptist Faith Missions” – we are praying to Jesus Christ that He will use us to “send out laborers into His harvest…” [Matthew 9.38]
- even the form of the arrow we have chosen is the common icon for ‘send’ – you probably click or tap on this kind of arrow numerous times a day
- this is in keeping with BFM’s purpose: “Baptist Faith Missions assists Baptist churches to send God-called missionaries to fulfill ‘essential Great Commission church-planting missions’ in the nations of the world”
- even the primary colors we have chosen have significances – besides just being visually attractive
bfmnow.org
We have also changed our URL and website address to the simpler: bfmnow.org. The previous URL still works also: baptistfaithmissions.org – but the shorter address will be easier to remember and to enter.
Re-vamped website soon to launch!
And, speaking of our website! We are beginning in earnest also to totally re-vamp and re-build our website. But, we wanted to roll out our re-branding first since our website will be built around the new logo’s visuals and graphics. Keep coming back to our website and we’ll be letting you know when we launch it also!
@bfmnow is the tag and handle for our Facebook and Twitter accounts. You will be seeing @bfmnow or BFMnow across our platforms. This is our commitment to you to keep you updated with frequency and immediacy with what we are doing and what is going on in BFM now! And, we also want to express the urgency of the Gospel message our missionaries are communicating in the fields of service where they are ministering. We are asking you – if you haven’t already – to ‘like’ our Facebook and Twitter posts, follow us on Twitter, and share/retweet freely what we are posting about our missionaries’ activities.
Whatever day it is, it is always a bfmnow day!
And, whatever time of the day it is – it is always bfmnow time!
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Missionary Update: Odali & Kathy Barros in Brazil [January 2014]
Odali and Kathy Barros have served the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil together since 1987. They are currently in the process of transitioning to Manaus to start sharing the Gospel and planting churches in villages along the river.
Manaus, Brasil
January 2, 2014
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Hope each of you are doing well and that you had a wonderful time with your families during the holiday season. We had a wonderful time with our families. We spent time with my brothers and their families, and also with Kathy’s brothers and her parents.
We are slowly getting settled in. We are working on the house on some major things that needed to be done. Of course things are a little slow during the holidays. The Lord willing, we will have things finished soon.
Our boys are getting settled in and making new friends. We thank God that they are adapting well. They did not have much contact with the uncles, aunts and cousins that live here. It has been fun watching them get acquainted with every one.
I have been talking to my brother who is a pastor here in a town not far from Manaus. He mentioned how many new roads had opened and that there are many new villages. We plan on visiting these places soon to see how many people there are and if there are no Baptist churches.
While we are getting settled, we have been helping my brother at his church. They are building a new building. We have started to paint the trusses and will be putting them up next week, Lord willing.
We have had some pleasant surprises. For so many years we invested our lives in the lives of many children and teenagers. We have some scattered in many places. We have some here in Manaus also.
One of these young men was one of the first ones we worked with in Vera Cruz. They live not far from us. I went to visit his home the other day. While I was there he showed me his boat. Guess what he wants to use it for? That’s right!!!! River ministry!!!!!! A while back he tried to sell it but the sale fell through. So he decided he would use it for the Lord. What a blessing to have a helper with a desire to serve. Also we had another young man that came from Garca to help in the home here in Manaus several years ago. After the home closed, he and his wife continued in Manaus. He came over and fixed the air conditioner and our microwave. We are blessed to be part of their lives. To see what God has done in their lives is just a wonderful privilege.
On New Years, we had some teen boys to sleep over. During the evening I told one of our boys I loved him. One of the other boys looked at me and said, ‘‘My father never told me he loves me’’. Wow! How sad, but like him there are many others. Let those around you know you love them. God loves us so much. Let us show our love to God through others. May God richly bless each of you this year and may God’s will be the center of our plans.
In Christ,
Odali, Kathy
Titus, Jonas and Gabriel
Odali & Kathy Barros
odali_kathy[at]hotmail.com
Blog
Av. Victor Hugo Boaretto S/N
Garca, Sao Paulo 17.400,000
Brasil, SA
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Missionary Update: The Wacasers in Brazil [January 2014]
Bobby, Charlene, Jessie, and Brennen Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
January 10, 2014
Dear friends,
We were very grateful to the Lord for what He did through our youth ministry this past month. They spent many hours practicing for a dramatic gospel presentation during the Christmas holidays and their effort really paid off. The presentation went very well and we had a very good number of visitors present to receive it.
We are catching a plane in a few hours to return to Brazil. Charlene and I traveled to the US with our 16 year old son, Brennen, to leave him here to study. He will be living with one of my brothers, Terry, and his wife, Allison. We are extremely thankful for their willingness to take on this responsibility. The emotional aspect of not having him with us at home anymore has not hit us yet, but I’m sure that our 14 hour trip home will give us plenty of time to start taking it in. We ask for your prayers, both for him to do well here and for us as we learn to live with an empty nest.
I was very pleased to hear that a couple of our young leaders did well taking care of our ministries back in Brazil while we were away for a couple of weeks. The Lord has blessed us greatly with some talented and dedicated team members that increase our effectiveness and make it easier when we have to be out for any period of time. Also, these experiences help them get more prepared to become senior leaders too when we launch our next new works.
Our evangelism teams had some unique opportunities for ministry during this month. They were allowed to share God’s love at an art museum in the capital city of our state. Also, Izabele, one of our young women was a participant in a group that gave a presentation at the auditorium of a large company. Diego, our music minister, conducted an orchestra of beginner musicians in a community center for the public which was very well attended. These presentations opened doors of contact with the families of those youth who were involved, while at the same time increased the level of influence of our leaders in the lives of their students.
We are praying for great things of the Lord in 2014 and we expect Him to do great things for His glory through us. We hope that you, too, will be greatly used of God to make Him known in this new year. Thank you for your faithful prayers and support during 2013.
In Christ’s love,
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279-1
Sobrado 1, Bairro Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR Brasil
(813)436-9980
bobbymichael_1@hotmail.com
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Missionary Update: The Hensleys in Brazil [January 2014]
The Hensleys have spent nearly 15 years serving in Brazil. They run a vocational school and orphanage in Caraguatatuba and have also established a church and mission points throughout the city.
Dear Friends and Family,
December was an excellent (AWESOME) month to be working for the Lord here in Brasil. We had the pleasure of shopping for the children in our Church to be able to give a present to each one of them for Christmas. These children are from homes with low income. So when they received their gifts it was AWESOME to see their expressions and to just see the anticipation while they were waiting to hear their name called to receive a gift. We had one child who wanted to wait till Christmas to open his gift because he had never had a gift on Christmas Day, and he wanted to experience the Christmas Day experience. This plus the message of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ just made Christmas for me.
We had the privilege of taking our Sunday School to Mt. Zion Recovery center (on a small farm near our city) and presenting our children’s Christmas Cantata and the Christmas Story. This is the center for persons with alcohol and drug abuse, ages ranging from 18 to 55. Several of them were and are suffering from lack of visits (not any from family or from friends). And for the first 6 weeks they are not allowed any visits at all. We have been working with the men there and trying to help in any way we can. We will be teaching this group some vocational skills such as masonry, electrical, and carpentry. God is opening many doors. We preach once a week there and they are allowed to frequent our church on Wednesday nights. On Wednesday nights, they sing for our people. The men at our Church had a pizza supper for them and they could not believe that Church leaders would cook and wash dishes for them. There were about 30 plus people for this supper. We all had an AWESOME time, and the pizza that Pastor Rosevaldo made was very good also.
Along with about 60 other Pastors here in the region, we have been attending classes for Chaplains. This has been sponsored by several Churches in Sao Paulo city and was approved by the State. This will allow us (our Church Pastors) to visit inside prisons and hospitals that are State regulated. Also this makes it so that we do not have to do all those months of paperwork to visit in these areas. The graduation of the Chaplains will be held at our Church, IBC. AWESOME!!!
As a mission Church we will be celebrating our first year in January. God is so good to us. For our New Years Eve service at Church, we had a delicious meal and at 12 minutes before midnight we began to pray, and prayed the old year out and the new year in. It seems like the time is going by faster and faster.
We pastors (I, Jason, and our Brasilian pastor Rosevaldo) are working on our seminary that is planned to start on March 17, 2014. This will be led by Dr. Derick Coleman of Gardenside Baptist Church in Lexington, Ky. This will be to help our Brasilian Brother Pastors. The courses will be taught on a Master’s level. Pray as we are trying to increase training and education to further the kingdom of God.
Our Church are experiencing several medical problems; Mrs. Gloria is receiving chemo, and soon will add radiation to her treatment for her cancer, Kiser is suffering with heart problems, and we will take him to a heart hospital in Sao Paulo this month, Leo has stomach problems and has undergone surgery, Jandira is still on total bed rest with circulation and infection problems, Dameon is going for hearing surgery this month, Ma Evete has problems with her knees and is doing physical therapy, and Rosevaldo with joint problems and Cesar with back problems. Barbara is on the road about 2 to 3 days per week with Gloria running after blood tests and treatments and Dr. appointments. These problems are keeping us busy and on our knees. Pray for us as we minister to these in our Church. As in many Churches, there are always needs physical and spiritual.
We are planning another baptism in January. AWESOME! It is just great to see the Church growth and watch people begin to get involved in the ministry..
It looks like January will be a very busy month! Our grandchildren will be here after the 1st and they will bring their parents with them for a visit. Edson is here on break from college, and we have a couple from Cornerstone Baptist Church that are going to spend 3 months experiencing the mission field. PJ and Jenny Thompson will be ministering alongside of us here in Caragua.
Pray for the ministry of Igreja Batista Caragua, our church, as we begin a new year of reaching Brasil for Christ. In Feb we are planning a revival and evangelism outreach with Pastor Mike Dorough from 2nd Baptist Church in Warner Robbins, Ga. And the Seminary will start in March. So as you can see there is no lack of prayer requests for us here in Brasil.
Thanks to all who have helped and are helping and will begin to help in this ministry. It is all happening because you care enough to give of your finances and your prayer support. Again, THANKS SO MUCH!!!!
The year is just starting, and if you have not scheduled your visit to a mission field, the red carpet is out for you and your Church. Come on down and see your mission dollars at work. We will turn the bed down and put a mint on the pillow in expectation of your visit.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara Hensley
ajcaragua[at]gmail.com
Click here to give. | Like them on Facebook. (Their Facebook page has some videos of stuff they have written about!)
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Missionary Update: The Stantons in Peru [January 2014]
Sheridan and Anita Stanton have served the Lord in Peru since 1983. Their main ministry is church planting and they have helped establish churches all over the country. Sheridan also works to train pastors and Anita works with the ladies’ ministry and developing children’s material.
January 6, 2014
Dear friends,
Well we finally got the roof poured with concrete on the first floor of the new building for the Calvary Baptist Mission. It is in the curing process now for a few weeks. We rejoice in the Lord that He has provided up to this important point. Ebenezer (you Bible scholars will understand that one!). The biggest part of a building project is the first floor because you have to dig the footers and foundation, all of which takes a lot of hand-mixed cement. I sure missed my concrete crews from the States. You all know who you are! Building permits, architectural plans, electric and water connections – all done.
Any of you men in the States know how to hang drywall? It is a new building concept here in Peru and none of our people know how to do it. I’m hoping a small crew might get together in March and come down for a week to help and teach us how to hang drywall. It would also give you an opportunity to leave all that cold weather in the States right now! Temperatures average here in Huánuco between 70 – 85 degrees all year long. Any takers?
We are trusting the Lord that continued funds will come in to help us finish this building. At present we have spent all we had for this project. Every bit helps! The building is designed for four floors because the lot is relatively small. Each roof poured on each floor cost about $6000.00 and we are sure that the Lord will continue to bless with additional funds. Thanks.
We had one young lady accept Christ as her Savior two weeks ago and it looks like she will be the first baptism of 2014. We rejoice in all of God’s blessings upon His work here in Peru.
The mission works around the country are experiencing growth, both numerically and spiritually. Anita and I have the joy of supporting eleven national Peruvian missionaries. This is possible with the funds that we receive from you dear saints of God. We know times are rough in the States right now and we are very much aware of the many sacrifices folks from our supporting churches are giving. So many of the dear saints of God here in Peru also, give and sacrifice in the work of the Lord. Please know we love you all and thank God for you. Let us rejoice knowing that we all have our part in the spreading of the Gospel message and God’s love, throughout the country of Peru, and around the world.
With the blessings come the trials and Anita and I ask you to pray for us as we are experiencing an attack of slander aimed at destroying our ministry and therefore the work here in Huánuco. Our Heavenly Father protects us and strengthens us. However, Anita and I both have our moments of anger, depression and sadness. It has, however, been very encouraging to see, hear and feel the support of our brothers and sisters in Christ all around us here in Huánuco. Please lift us up in your prayers that the trials might soon be over. Thank you and may God continue to bless you all. Until next month.
Being “In Christ” by God’s grace,
Sheridan and Anita Stanton
Apartado Postal 140
Huanuco, Peru
South America
(614) 500-8823 – Internet Number
sestantonperu[at]hotmail.com – Sheridan
arstantonperu[at]gmail.com – Anita
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Missionary Update: Sheridan & Anita Stanton in Peru [November 2013]
Sheridan and Anita Stanton have served the Lord in Peru since 1983. Their main ministry is church planting and they have helped establish churches all over the country. Sheridan also works to train pastors and Anita works with the ladies’ ministry and developing children’s material.
November 8, 2013
Dear friends,
October was a very busy month for the Stantons here in Peru. I mentioned in my last letter being with the Central Baptist Church of Jauja, so I won’t go into details there; just that it was a great meeting where the Lord moved in the hearts of so many.
A group from South Carolina came to do some exploratory mission work and delivered some equipment for new endeavors.
On the 10th we received a small group of five from Columbia, South Carolina. These dear folks came down to some exploratory mission work up in the mountains about two hours out of Huánuco. We had the privilege to house them and feed them for the week they stayed with us. Anita and I enjoyed their fellowship very much. This group was also able to bring down a good supply of Bibles and also some of your video equipment we will be using for taping our Bible Institute Classes.
On the 15th I traveled to Lima to receive Pastor David Pitman and his dear wife Kimberly. For the first several days, they got to see some of the natural beauty of Peru. Then we flew to Huánuco where they were a tremendous help to us in our ministry. Pastor Pitman preached many times while here and also taught my Monday night Pastor’s class. Sister Kim also taught Anita’s Thursday Ladies Bible Study. We worked them pretty hard while here, and they were such a great blessing to us. The folks here are already asking when they will return to Peru!
The Stantons were blessed with a visit from the Pitmans!
On the 20th we were blessed to baptize two more into the fellowship of the Calvary Baptist Mission. This work is growing and showing good signs of spiritual maturity. The Pitmans also helped us decorate and prepare for a wedding I performed on the 26th.
I mentioned in my last letter that we had finally bought a piece of property for this work; attached are some pictures of the property being cleared. Next week we start construction. After all the estimates have come in we are still short about twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00).
A few churches shared with me while on furlough last year that they were happy to help us with the building cost. I told them I thought we had enough to buy the property and get it under roof. I was wrong! So I’m asking all of you to pray about helping us with this endeavor. The saints here are giving special offerings and donating a lot of the labor cost, but we still need help to get it under roof. When times are tough is when God’s people shine the brightest!
Until next month.
Being “in Christ” by God’s grace,
Apartado Postal 140
Huanuco, Peru
South America
(614) 500-8823 – Internet Number
sestantonperu[at]hotmail.com – Sheridan
arstantonperu[at]gmail.com – Anita
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Missionary Update: Jud & Raquel Hatcher in Brazil [November 2013]
Jud and Raquel Hatcher serve the Lord in Manaus, Brazil. They are part of the “SeedFactory” church planting initiative, which is a movement to plant churches in all 26 Brazilian capitals. Since 2006, 43 churches have been started in 5 states.
Dear friends,
We have great news about the church plant and some sad personal news. Please, pray for us as you read the remainder of this letter.
“UNFORGETTABLE” EVANGELISTIC COOKOUT
Our latest all-day evangelistic cookout was a great success with 240 people present and 6 salvation decisions. It was a day to remember. We wanted to impress our guests with the love of Christ. Upon arrival, everyone received a nametag, had their name entered into a drawing (this allows us to receive their contact info for follow-up), and an invitation to join us the next Sunday. We had three sport tournaments with trophies and medals, rappel, “rock wall” climbing, swimming pool, Brazilian barbeque, children’s games, puppets, children’s Bible story and I preached a 30 minute evangelistic message. We wanted our guests to have and unforgettable day, but most of all, an unforgettable, life altering, personal experience with the Lord. This type of event takes much planning and preparation work, but it is well worth it all. We have great responses from these type events, as the following weeks are full of personal contacts and home visits.
KID’S CLUB
Two weeks after our “Unforgettable Cookout” we had an all-day children’s evangelistic event with 44 kids present and 2 salvations. The children absolutely loved the day. On days like this, I get a major boost of encouragement. Especially, when we play soccer – everyone wants to be on the “pastor’s team”. I now have 5 “best buds” as a result of our soccer games that day! I am so glad they feel the love of Jesus through us. It is amazing to see how connecting with children brings us to close proximity with their parents too. We will not give up on reaching children and their parents for Jesus.
GROWTH AND RELOCATION
As the church has grown, we have developed into some space challenges. Parking is an issue every Sunday, as are the children’s classrooms. Our auditorium also serves as our fellowship hall. Lord willing we plan to relocate by the end of December. We are at the end of our building’s lease agreement, so this allows us flexibility to move into a bigger location.
FELLOWSHIP AND SPIRITUAL GROWTH
After worship services everyone stacks up their chairs against the wall to make room to eat and mingle with our friends and guests. We always serve finger foods to eat after our gatherings. This allows us to enjoy each other’s fellowship for an additional hour beyond the last worship song. Our fellowship has brought a unity amongst our people and our studies have rendered a spiritual awakening into Scripture with thirst for more. I am preaching a series entitled “Synopsis: A Bible Survey”. We have a lot of fun, I wish you were here to join in.
PASTORAL TRAINING
The Lord is working in the hearts of our men and already two of them have expressed a desire into pastoral leadership. The Lord is also working in the hearts of others within the church. I am passionate about pastoral mentoring and love every opportunity to develop new leadership.
PREGNANCY & MISCARRIAGE
A couple of months ago we discovered Raquel was pregnant with our fifth child. It was a complete surprise to us, as we had a surgical procedure done a year ago. We felt blessed the Lord had given us special gift according to His will. At 9 weeks, she flew to São Paulo to be with her father prior to his open-heart surgery. The kids and I remained in Manaus. On the day of her father’s surgery, she felt pain, went to emergency room, checked in, only to find out the equipment was broken. She rushed to the next nearest hospital and they too, had broken equipment. It was only at the fourth location and a few hours later, she received medical help. While her father was nearing the end of his 8-hour surgery, she received word of the miscarriage. Our hearts were heavy laden as we cried, but God’s grace comforted us.
Pray for church planting, evangelism opportunities, discipleship of new believers, pastoral mentoring and the search for a new location. We are grateful to you for the time and resources invested in our favor.
Thankful,
Jud & Raquel Hatcher
judsonhatcher@hotmail.com
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