Life Can Be Strange
March 10, 2024
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,
Life can be strange, can’t it? How often do you stop and think to yourself, “how in the world did I end up here, doing this, at this point in my life?” If you’re anything like me, then you do this often. When I was eighteen and going to college for the first time, I never would have thought that at fifty-four I would be in Africa, teaching at a Bible college, and pouring my life into Bible students and future Kenyan ministers. Maybe you are where I was thirty-six years ago – not thinking about ministry work, not thinking about missions, not thinking about Africa – only thinking about finishing school, making money, and girls. Maybe the Lord will lead you in strange ways too. Maybe He will lead you to the mission field where you will be doing strange things as well.
I really do get to pour my life into future pastors and ministers. Lots of teaching, lots of mentoring and modeling, lots of counseling and guiding. But pouring into future ministers isn’t all study, teaching, and heavy theology. It also means some fun too. Last week I invited my mentoring-group of students to my house for the evening (see the picture I provided). This is a small group of students that I get together with a couple times every week to talk about their lives, their spiritual walk, practical ministry, and stuff. But the evening at my house was just for fun. You know – eat, play games, be goofy, relax, and get to know each other better on a personal level. Yes, missionaries and pastors can be goofy too. We ate a lot, laughed a lot, and played some games. We played a game called Snorta – a rowdy, raucous game involving quickly remembering another player’s animal and making their animal sound before they can make your animal sound. Sounds dumb, and it is, but it’s fun. I thought it would be easy, however, there was something about Kenyan guys that I didn’t know – they don’t have cutesy animal noises for animals. In America, we all know the cute animal sounds for various animals. Pigs say, “oink, oink.” Dogs say, “bow wow.” Ducks say, “quack, quack.” Frogs say, “ribbit, ribbit.” Mice say, “squeak, squeak.” You recognize all those, right? Well, in Kenya, as I found out, animals don’t say those cutesy sounds. So, my Kenyan men could only try and make the sounds that they actually hear the animal say. And, as I found out, they all sound the same. Kenya pigs say, “hurrrumph.” Kenyan dogs say, “harrumph.” Kenyan ducks say, “karrrumph.” Kenyan frogs say, “gggurrrumph.” And Kenyan mice say, “hurrrumph”…only at a little higher pitch. OK, it was crazy, it was fun, and we laughed at each other a lot. In the end I think God was pleased with our little get-together as He was probably laughing at us too. These are good men that I have the honor to spend time with and help shape them for their future ministry of spreading the gospel and expanding the kingdom of Jesus. Life is strange. Who knew part of my ministry in this world would involve sitting around a table with eight Kenyan guys making strange and funny animals sounds.
Not so strange is the activity I will be involved in tomorrow (Sunday). I will be taking another group of students (different from my mentoring-group) to a town about an hour from here, called Kinoo. We will be preaching and ministering there in Kinoo for the day. I will be preaching and one of my students who will be graduating in July will also be preaching. He has the great, Biblical name of Abednego. He is the only “Abednego” I have ever met in my life. You can’t pray for us for tomorrow as you will not get this newsletter until much later, but you can pray that the results of the gospel message and the proclaiming of the Word of God would be far-reaching and enduring for all those who hear it.
Blessings to all,
Roger, Julie & Chloe
CONTACT INFO
Roger & Julie Tate
Moffat Bible College
P.O. Box 70
Kijabe, Kenya 00220
rojuta@gmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
Building a Leadership Team
October 21, 2022
Dear friends,
Thank you for your financial and prayer support. We could not make it without you holding the ropes and encouraging us to keep pressing forward in the calling God has placed in our lives.
Family News
Laura completes her cochlear hearing therapy in November and is currently able to hear clearly through the cochlear implant in her left ear. I underwent a three-hour surgery on my right shoulder last week to address four issues on my rotator cuff and will be in an arm sling for 6 weeks. Next week I will undergo surgery on my nose to correct a breathing concern. Everyone is doing well in school as we plan to transition back to Brazil in the middle of the academic year. We are excited to return.
Ministry Testimony
Over a year ago, the Lord placed Pastor Sílvio in my heart as I noticed how the pandemic crippled his ministry and church. He was saved under my grandfather John Hatcher’s work in Paraná, called by God into the Gospel ministry, and mentored under him. He has always been resilient in ministry, but the struggle was more challenging than ever before. We sponsored his family (wife and three young adult sons) to participate in the church ministries conference at Nova Baptist Church in Manaus that occurred last August (a travel distance of 3k miles by plane). They returned home revitalized and with a renewed passion for ministry. The Lord has opened the doors for a weekly 15-minute radio spot on three different regional radio stations and various new bridging opportunities. Please, see the pictures of Pastor Sílvio and Kelly at the radio station and Kelly sharing the Gospel message at a school. Even while Stateside, we continue to encourage and mentor fellow laborers in Brazil. Through your financial giving and prayers, we can assist leaders and their churches in reenergizing and mobilizing strategically for the Gospel.
Kelly sharing the Gospel message at a school. 
Jud’s surgery 
Casa da Familia Baptist Church 
Pastor Sílvio & Casa da Familia Baptist Church 
Pastor Sílvio and Kelly at the radio station.
Considering our ministry strategy, I desire to share (and inspire you) how we go about building teams for church planting. We aim to recruit, train, place, and network leaders for church planting and disciple-making in Brazil. This is part of the training framework I use:
Building a Leadership Team
When building a team, a Christian leader must rely on Divine wisdom, trust in the sovereignty of God and be passionately committed to the vision and mission. Notice the instructions given to Jeremiah in the Old Testament, where God provides a visual aid for the prophet to understand His sovereignty in how He chooses to change the world through His chosen people, the Israelites: “So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel (Jeremiah 18:3-6).
Furthermore, in the New Testament, we read about clay and its usage in 2 Corinthians 4:7-9 where the Apostle Paul writes: “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” God is in control.
Thankfully, in all circumstances, including team building, leaders can have the same confidence in God’s choice and plan for His people. Notice where Paul expounds on God’s lesson to him “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-11). It is not about the power that a team or a leader has, but rather the power He retains yet chooses to dispense through ordinary people. Once understood that all things reside in the hands of God, a leader can begin to build a solid team. Trust in God and proceed with the vision He has given you.
Building a solid team is a foundational step to moving forward with the vision God has given a leader. First and foremost, the criteria for selecting a team member requires a personal relationship with the Savior and personal integrity – this is paramount at the beginning and throughout any endeavor!
I have always seen the importance of having a variety of personalities and team member profiles as part of the leadership team, which included extravert personalities, such as sanguine (i.e., Peter) and choleric (i.e., Paul) and introverts, such as phlegmatic (i.e., Luke) and melancholic (Moses). After reading Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point” (2002), I narrowed it down even further. So, what are the necessary people for a core leadership team? Gladwell posits that team composition is foundational for developing teams and proposes that a successful team must have a connector, a maven, and a salesman. Connectors are the individuals in a community who have befriended or know vast amounts of people and make it their habit to make introductions and feel comfortable building connections with people. Mavens are information specialists; the team relies upon this person to connect them with new information and insights. Mavens are an excellent source of knowledge because they love to stay current on various subjects and are typically well-versed in numerous fields. Salesmen are persuaders, highly charismatic individuals with incredible communication skills. They have a way about them that draws people in beyond mere words, which inspires others to want to follow and agree with them. Salesmen are typically very likable individuals. (PS. None of these individuals substitute the work of the Holy Spirit in making disciples, each one is simply a jar of clay in the hands of the almighty God.)
Once the core leadership team is assembled, the following steps are: 1) getting to know one another and continually developing trust as a team. 2) Define short, mid, and long-range goals based on the mission. 3) Establish team values and personal conduct principles 4) Establish and agree on individual roles. 5) Develop an accountability framework and plan. 6) Agree upon and commit to a team contract.
When building a team, a leader must rely on Divine wisdom, trust in the sovereignty of God, be passionately committed to the vision and mobilize a solid team to accomplish the mission at hand. I will continue in next month’s publication.
Grateful always,
Judson Hatcher
Contact Info:
Jud & Raquel Hatcher
São Paulo, Brazil
judsonhatcher@gmail.com
(872) 400-6522
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
