Interviews with New NAMB President Kevin Ezell

Kevin Ezell, pastor of Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky., since 1996, has been elected president of the North American Mission Board. NAMB’s board of trustees approved the nomination in a special called meeting which took place Sept. 14 at an Atlanta-area hotel.

Below are links to a couple of recent interviews with Ezell:

Ezell interview from Baptist Press: Ezell Elected NAMB President

Ezell interview with Ed Stetzer of Lifeway: Interview with Kevin Ezell

Alabama Acts 1:8 Connections Events Set

Acts 1:8 Connections is an opportunity to learn how your church can develop a mission strategy and to hear about opportunities for missions service. These conferences will be held in 4 different locations across the state on Sept. 7 and 9. The Office of Global Missions, NAMB and missions volunteers will be sharing about future missions connecting points.

Join us Sept. 7-9 for an Acts 1:8 Connections event near you:

SEPT. 7, 2010

Morning Session The Morning Session will begin at 9 AM and end at noon with lunch provided by the Global Missions Office. Millbrook Baptist Church 3431 Browns Rd Millbrook, AL 36054-2417 (334) 285-4731 millbrookbaptist.org

Evening Session The Evening Session will begin at 5:30 PM and end at 8:30 PM, with a box supper provided by the Global Missions Office. Canaan Baptist Church 2543 Morgan Rd Bessemer, AL 35022-5036 (205) 425-4381 www.canaanbaptist.net

SEPT 9, 2010

Morning Session The Morning Session will begin at 9 AM and end at noon with lunch provided by the Global Missions Office. East Gadsden Baptist Church 211 North 6th Street Gadsden, AL (256) 543-7300 www.egbaptist.org

Evening Session The Evening Session will begin at 5:30 PM and end at 8:30 PM, with a box supper provided by the Global Missions Office. Lindsay Lane Baptist Church 1300 Lindsay Lane South Athens, AL (256) 232-0020 www.lindsaylane.org

Pre-registration is required.

To register or for more information, call 1-800-264-1225, ext. 298 or emailspoole@alsbom.org.

$5 Registration Fee per person can be mailed to:

Global Missions Office

Acts 1:8 Connections

P.O. Box 11870

Montgomery, AL 36111

For more information visit The Acts 1:8 Connections website.

Look for Acts 1:8 at SBC, Orlando!

For the fifth consecutive year, the Acts 1:8 Challenge will have a booth in the exhibit hall at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting. The meeting is being held in Orlando, Fla., June 14-16.

If you are a pastor, missions leader or church member attending the annual meeting, we would love to meet you and give a special gift from the Acts 1:8 Challenge team.

Just stop by our booth during regular exhibit times and tell us you read about the Acts 1:8 Challenge in the Samaria Update to receive your gift! It's that simple!

See you in Orlando!

A18C Podcast 66: The Association of the 21st Century

In this month's Acts 1:8 Challenge Podcast, associational missionaries Duane Kuykendall and Bobby Gilstrap discuss the association's role in assisting the local church fulfill the Great Commission.

Download the Acts 1:8 Challenge Podcast today at www.ActsOne8.com/podcastfeed or search for the Acts 1:8 Challenge on iTunes. Direct link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/acts-1-8-challenge-podcast/id262574135 or visit the Acts 1:8 Challenge website here.

Volunteer Missions: An Example of Cooperation

Here's a great article from the Georgia Baptist Christian Index by editor Gerald Harris about building partnerships through missions trip experiences. Harris interviews Mike Gravette, our Acts 1:8 Challenge coordinator in Georgia. An excerpt:

"According to Gravette the mission partnership concept allows the GBC to get the big picture from the various mission fields and put all the detailed pieces together like a beautiful mosaic of ministry so that the “house” (endeavor) is healthy, complete, and lacking nothing.

"Gravette’s description of partnership missions is similar to the intended design of the jigsaw puzzle. In a jigsaw puzzle each piece usually has a small part of the picture on it; when complete, all the pieces produce a complete picture.

"The combined instruments that comprise an orchestra present the same concept. Who would want to hear a cymbals solo or even a tuba solo? Yet, when all the instruments are combined together into one symphonic masterpiece the sound is incredible.

That is exactly why cooperation is important. We can do far more together than we can alone."

Read the entire article here.

A18C Podcast 64: Anticipating Crossover

In this month's Acts 1:8 Challenge Podcast, Victor Benavides, coordinator for metropolitan missions at the North American Mission Board, discusses opportunities to share Christ during Crossover in Orlando prior to the Southern Baptist Convention.

A18C Podcast 64 - "Anticipating Crossover," includes a host of information for getting involved in Crossover while in Orlando. The website for Crossover is: http://crossoverorlando.com

Download the Acts 1:8 Challenge Podcast today at www.ActsOne8.com/podcastfeed or search for the Acts 1:8 Challenge on iTunes. Direct link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/acts-1-8-challenge-podcast/id262574135

Guest Blog: Guilty of Distorting Acts 1:8

From the blog, Rankin Connecting by Jerry Rankin

I have been a part of crafting the Acts 1:8 challenge for the SBC. This grew out of some initial

efforts of the IMB to mobilize churches for personalized involvement in international missions. An SBC task force sought to strengthen the cooperation between various denominational entities and came up with the concept of Empowering Kingdom Growth.

Kingdom Growth is not just the reign of Christ in our lives, our churches, our communities and our nation; kingdom growth is also the geographic expansion of God’s kingdom through our mission efforts. The concept of the Acts 1:8 challenge was based on the fact every denominational entity exists not for its own program and purpose, but to empower churches through serving, enabling and facilitating them to fulfill the Great Commission.

Read more here.