Jonesboro Heights Baptist Church

by Richard Wood, Associate Pastor for Family Ministry

A long time ago at a church far away, picture a younger version of me getting up in front of a dozen or so teenagers getting ready to lead a Bible study.  “Turn in your Bibles to Philippians,” I said (note, I don’t remember if it was Philippians or not, but let’s use it for the purposes of this story).  One student would raise her hand and ask earnestly, “Is that in the Old Testament or New Testament?”  I politely mentioned that it was in the New Testament and went on with my Bible study not giving it a second thought.  The following week, I asked the students to turn to another book in the Bible and got the same question.  Again, I didn’t think much about it.  The next week, guess what?  I got the question again when I asked them to turn to a particular book of the Bible, and left church that night very concerned.

I believe that by the time you reach 6th or 7th grade, you should have a pretty good grasp on where each book of the Bible is located.  Some people have the books of the Bible memorized in the order that they come in.  I confess, I do not (those minor prophets trip me up!), but I do know enough that I don’t have to ask “Is that in the Old Testament or New Testament?”

As a result of my concern after three weeks of being asked that question by the teenagers of that church, I began working with our children’s and youth leaders in implementing a Bible Drill program.  We didn’t focus on the competition aspect of it at first.  We just tried to help those youth and children learn where the books of the Bible are located and memorize some key verses.  Several years later, that program has grown and some of the children there are now participating in the drills on a state level.

Bible Drill and the Youth Speakers tournament were an important part of the church I grew up in and I’m thankful to hear and see how much Bible Drill is a part of our ministry here at Jonesboro Heights.  Bible Drill has had a rich history here and we hope to continue that this year.

We'll be kicking off Bible Drill in October and the competitions on the church and associational level will take place in March here at the church.  As we get closer to those dates, you'll be hearing more information about it.

Belize Update—Classes Continue

Classes are continuing here at the Baptist Bible School of Belize.  We are very impressed with the students’ eagerness to learn.  Some of the concepts are difficult for them to grasp because they are so new to them.  But they have made significant sacrifices to be here, and they are trying to soak up as much as they can during this week.  Many of them work well into the night studying, reviewing, and doing assignments.  They are a hard-working and appreciative group.  In this particular group of twelve students, only a few are currently pastors.  A majority are lay leaders.  Once they complete this course of study, many of these lay leaders will be very well equipped!  While this type of trip does not present many opportunities for direct evangelism, what we are doing equips pastors and other leaders to lead their churches to reach out to the communities they are in with the gospel.

When you go to another country, when possible you want to take time to see some of the sites and surroundings.  Yesterday Jo Ann and I had the opportunity to go to Xunantunich, an ancient Mayan temple site.  Graham Hall, the driver for the week, took us, and we were accompanied by Hannah, the four-year daughter of the local lady who is our cook for the week (Hannah really seems to like Americans, and kept Jo Ann very busy on the van ride!).  I went with our group to Xunantunich when I was here in 2009, and wanted Jo Ann to see it as well.  Last time I climbed about three-fourths of the way to the top of the temple; yesterday we both climbed with our guide all the way to the top!  It was worth the effort, even for someone like me who has a fear of heights.  From there, we had a wonderful view of the neighboring country of Guatemala (the border was about two miles away).

In one way, it’s hard to believe there are only two days left in this session.  We’re looking forward to getting back home to our house and our church, but we are grateful for our time here and for the opportunity, as Paul put it in Romans 1, to be mutually encouraged in the faith.

Fellowship and Worship in Belize

After a couple of enjoyable days in San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, we took the 7:00 a.m. water taxi back over to the mainland, then a taxi back to the airport to meet the rest of our group.  As in many other countries, riding in a Belizean taxi will do something for your prayer life!  Drivers in Belize, taxi and otherwise, somehow find a way to make three lanes where there should only be two.  They pass pedestrians, bicycles and motorcycles much too close for comfort, and follow other vehicles much too closely!  Nevertheless, we arrived at the airport safely.  The side of the airport where we came in on Thursday had no air conditioning, but to our delight the side where the taxi let us off did (temperatures have been around 90 degrees during the day, but the humidity has made it feel well over 100).  We found a restaurant in the airport (also air conditioned—the one on the other side where we had eaten when we arrived wasn’t).  We ate a late breakfast, then looked around in some gift shops as we waited a couple of hours for the flight the others were coming in on.  The rest of the team finally arrived, and we were off to the Baptist Training Center in the village of Camalote in the Cayo District in the western central part of Belize.  We stopped on the way at a restaurant in a remote area along the Western Highway for lunch, unloaded at the camp and got settled, then went into the capital city Belmopan (about eight miles away) for dinner.

This morning, we went back toward Belize City (about an hour’s drive) for Sunday School and worship with the Sand Hill Baptist Church, where Rev. Henry Baizar is the pastor.  Henry, like virtually all of the other pastors, is bi-vocational.  He had a career in the army, then became the chief of firefighting services for the entire country (all their fire departments are under one centralized system).  Now, in addition to his pastoral duties, he serves as the Executive Director of the Baptist Association of Belize.  His wife taught the adults in Sunday School.  The worship service included a lot of singing, several testimonies, and a child dedication service.  Henry was one of the first graduates of the Baptist Bible School and a strong supporter of this work.  We were very warmly received by his congregation, and blessed by the Bible lesson, the sermon, and the service.  The Baizars then very graciously invited us to their home for lunch (six team members and one student!), and we enjoyed fellowship with them around the table.  Then we made our way back to the camp to rest, and enjoyed dinner in Belmopan again this evening.

Belize is a very diverse country.  There are three or four major ethnic groups, with several smaller groups as well.  This diversity is reflected in the churches and in the student population of the BBSB.  It is a developing country, what we used to refer to as a ”third world country,” so there is a tremendous amount of poverty.  Since their economy is tied closely to that of the United States (for example, the Belizean dollar is based on the US dollar, with $2.00 Belize equaling $1.00 US, no matter what the value of the US dollar), our recession has had a tremendous impact in Belize.  Infrastructure such as highways is not very good (there are four major highways throughout this country, and most of the other roads are dirt or gravel), and is getting worse as pavement on these roads is deteriorating and the money to repair or repave is simply not available.  Unemployment is high, and you see little makeshift businesses where people are trying to find a way to earn enough to make ends meet.

Yet despite the heat and the hardships, the Sand Hill Church, though a small (meeting in an un-air conditioned building), was full this morning, with a little over a hundred present.  Their worship was joyful, and testified to how God has worked and is working in the present.  The students who are coming in this evening and tomorrow morning will make great sacrifices to do so—most of them will have to take off work this week without pay to be here.

Pray for the students as we begin classes tomorrow, that God will give them understanding and determination as they study, and as they take exams from last session.  And pray for the team members—along with Jo Ann and me, Dr. Terry Eddinger (teaching Old Testament Exegesis using the book of Isaiah), Dr. Dan Robinson (teaching Evangelism), Dr. Bob Lamb (USA Director of the school), Rev. Antolino Flores (Belize Director of the school), and Mr. Graham Hall (a layman who has been at every session of the school except one, and serves as our driver, grocery shopper, and does whatever other errands need to be done).

To Sanford and . . . Belize!

During the week of August 15-19, Mark and Jo Ann Gaskins (Senior Pastor and wife) will be working at the Baptist Training Center in Camalote, Cayo District, Belize in Central America.  Mark will be teaching New Testament Exegesis using Paul’s letter to the Romans in the August session of the Baptist Bible School of Belize.  Jo Ann will be “invigilating” tests (proctoring) and helping with administrative tasks.  The Baptist Bible School of Belize is a partnership among the Baptist Association of Belize, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of NC, and the Cape Town Baptist Seminary in South Africa that offers basic theological education to the Baptist pastors and church leaders in Belize (our missions budget includes modest financial support for the school).  Most, if not all of the pastors are bi-vocational, and cannot afford a traditional college or seminary education.  The school meets for three intensive one-week sessions each year in January, May, and August.  During the week, three professors (usually active or retired college or divinity school, pastors, or missionary teachers) teach the courses.  Between the sessions, students complete assignments and work through a book on the subject that includes specific learning activities.  At the next session, the students take exams from the three courses from the previous session. 

While Mark and Jo Ann are in Belize, Mark will post several entries on this church blog.  Please keep them, the other teachers and leaders, and especially the students in your prayers this week.

Embodying the presence of Christ to Sanford and the world—that’s what we’re about as the Jonesboro Heights Baptist Church family.  This coming week for Jo Ann and me, that means Belize.

In 2009, I had opportunity to teach in the Baptist Bible School of Belize May session.  It was a tremendous experience.  When I was invited to teach again this year, I was very excited that Jo Ann would be able to accompany me this time.

Since she could come with me, we decided to come down a couple of days early for some R & R, and to experience a little of the country in addition to the Bible School.  After we arrived safely in Belize City yesterday, we took a water taxi (about an hour and a half boat ride) to Ambergris Caye (pronounced “key” like the Florida Keys), the largest of about two hundred islands off the coast of the mainland.  We are staying in a little cottage at “Steve & Becky’s Cute Little Hotel” in San Pedro.  We saw some of the town as we walked around yesterday afternoon.  Today, we took a tour on a small glass bottom boat along the coral barrier reef that runs almost the length of Belize (about 200 miles long).  It was incredible to see some of the coral formations that are just off the reef itself.  Another family on the boat did some snorkeling in what is called the “shark and ray alley” (the sharks are nurse sharks and are vegetarian).  Since I’ve never been much a swimmer, we didn’t take advantage of that opportunity, but enjoyed watching the sharks, rays, sea turtles, grouper, jacks, and various other fish swarm around the boats expecting a free meal from the tour guides.

Tomorrow we take the 7:00 a.m. water taxi back to Belize City, where we will meet the rest of our team at the airport.  From there, we’ll go to the Baptist Training Center in the western part of the country (Belize is roughly the size of New Jersey or Massachusetts with a population of about 250,000).  Our group will worship with one of the churches of the Baptist Association of Belize on Sunday morning, and the school will start Monday morning.

Throughout the week, I’ll try to share some of what’s going on and my thoughts on the week.

Please keep us, the rest of the team, and especially the students in your prayers.  It should be a great experience and a spiritually profitable week.  As they love to say here, “You betta Belize it!”