The objectives of WMU are things that we want every Christ follower to do:
- Pray for missions
- Engage in mission action and witnessing
- Learn about missions
- Grow spiritually towards a missions lifestyle
- Participate in the work of the church and denomination

These objectives are not only for adults or those who have made professions of faith.  In reality, even people who are in the process of coming to faith, can be involved in praying, ministry to people in need, and learning about missions.  Teaching our children about missionaries can be a great time to explain the gospel since this is what a missionary goes to proclaim.  Engaging lost persons in community ministry or even taking them on a missions trip can be a time to share the gospel and why we do what we do in missions.

Focus on WMU is a time to celebrate the legacy of WMU in promoting missions, teaching tithing, raising millions for missions through the special offerings, and shaping the lives of children through missions discipleship in WMU organizations.  Focus on WMU is a time to say thank you to faithful women and men who have urged our churches to accept the challenge of the Great Commission and get involved in missions locally and globally.  Focus on WMU is an opportunity to invite others to join us.

Learn more about Focus on WMU .

The Eliza Broadus Offering has provided funding to a number of Crisis Pregnancy Centers, includings Applachian Pregnancy Care Center and A Loving Choice Pregnancy Resource Center.  Your EBO gifts make a difference in ministry to the unborn and to families. 

In a few weeks, the Kentucky WMU Finance Committee will be meeting to approve grants to a variety of ministries across Kentucky that have applied for funding from the 2011-12 Eliza Broadus Offering. The applications include eight crisis pregnancy centers in different parts of the state. Please pray for all of the ministries across that have applied for EBO grants. Pray that by February 1, the offering goal will be within reach so that Kentucky WMU can proceed with 100% of the Association grant funding of $35,000 and Special Ministry grant funding of $100,000.  As of December 31, the total EBO received stood at $928,309.  This is far short of our goal of $1,250,000.  Contributions for EBO are received year round and it is not too late to have a significant part in helping us reach the 2011-12 offering goal.

Learn more about the ELiza Broadus Offering and all of the ways the funds are used by the Kentucky Baptist Convention, as well for grants and the missions education work of Kentucky WMU.

It all begins with a chain reaction.  Start one today as you pray, give, and go.

Training for Minister’s Wives
July 4 – 16, 2012

Projected Trip Information (Schedule, cost, etc. are subject to change)
Cost: $3,000 (estimate – includes airfare, mission team insurance, in-country expenses for meals &  lodging). Participant will be responsible for meals enroute, souvenirs, and other personal expenses.
 
This team will teach a variety of classes for minister’s wives during their summer minister’s wives institute at the seminary.  Team members  are needed to classes such as: Bible (OT/ NT – specific books, topics TBA), Baptist Beliefs, Baptist History, Women in the Bible and what we can learn from them, Role of the pastor’s wife and family relationships, Christian Family Living, HIV & AIDS, First Aid, Cancer (especially cervical cancer which is the most prevalent cancer among women in Malawi), Child care / child development, Care of children – how to keep them healthy (hygiene, nutrition, diarrhea, pneumonia, etc.), sewing, crafts, cooking / nutrition (using foods readily available in Malawi), literacy, English, How to start RAs, GAs, and Ideas for missions groups.

Assignments for classes to teach will be finalized after team is enlisted in consultation with missionary and national leaders. Team members can also help with child care. There are usually anywhere from 10-15 children. If some want to help in the nursery and bring decorations and little toys, this would be greatly appreciated.
 
Application and deposit of $500 due by February 15, 2012. Payment of $2,000 due by March 31, 2012 and the Balance of $500 due by June 30, 2012.  For more information and a travel schedule:  WMU Team to Malawi

NOTE: An earlier post (which has been deleted) indicated that there would be two teams this summer.  Shortly after we posted that information, we learned that the request from Malawi had been modified for just one team.

The cost of this trip will be $3,500 (not including flights to/from the tour origination city of Atlanta.)  This price does include all meals and domestic flights in India. Please let the WMU Foundation know if you are interested in this trip by December 1.  Contact David George at dgeorge@wmu.org.

The Week of Prayer for International Missions is coming soon.  This includes praying for our missionaries, learning about their work, and challenging people to give to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions.   The date for the Week of Prayer is Sunday to Sunday, December 4-11, 2011.  The national goal for the LMCO is $175 million. There are many resources available from the IMB on line at www.imb.org.

You can download two different Lottie Moon videos from the Internet: “Legacy Alive” (2:00) and “A Life of Significance” (2:50). Download from this website: http://www.imb.org/main/downloads/page.asp?StoryID=8660&LanguageID=1709

For drama groups you can find ten different plays and skits about the LMCO on this website: http://www.imb.org/main/give/page.asp?StoryID=5537&LanguageID=1709

Want to bake some “Lottie’s Cookies,” a plain tea cake cookie, to promote the offering. The recipe can be found at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/downloads/recipe.pdf.zip

Would you like to buy LMCO Christmas ornaments for your trees! Cost is $6 each. Buy them here: http://imbresources.org/index.cfm/product/list/catID/128/deptID/1

Kentucky Baptists gave $4,929,074.81 last year for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.  That was just under our largest amount ever of $5,218,715.61 the prior year.   Can we top our largest amount ever and set a new record?  Will we give sacrifically to make the gospel known around the world?  We pray that the answer will be a resounding yes as we seek to do “More for Christ.”

The first conference for 2011-12 is October 13 at Crosspointe Baptist Church in Owensboro.  The conference is from 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. (Central time).  Advanced registration is not required.  Learn more about the event and get a map to the church at: http://www.kybaptist.org/kbc.nsf/pages/Understanding+Other+Beliefs+Crosspointe+BC+Owensboro+KY+10+13+2011.html

Participants in this Understanding Other Beliefs Conference can select from three topics:
“Understanding Cults ” led by Don Metcalf
“Comparing Mormonism and Christianity” led by Bill Ellis
“Understanding the Times” led by Dave Meredith.
Facilitators are certified in their areas of teaching by the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board.

A 2012 spring conference is set for March 20 at Edgewood Baptist Church in Hopkinsville.

The conference on bullying is designed to help preschool and children’s leaders with this problem. The conference will help participants understand the thought processes of bullies and offers constructive ways to help children deal with bullying. Participants will learn ideas for things they can do to introduce children to what makes people different, how to listen, and Bible stories about kindness.

With the transfer of Royal Ambassadors to WMU, there is an increased emphasis on starting and strengthening the RA ministry to boys.  With the growing number of single parent homes and various negative cultural influences on boys, the RA ministry offers a way to mentor boys and mobilize them in missions.  You are invited to attend the conference to learn more about how you can provide missions for boys in your church.

Leading our WMU conferences will be:
September 10, Lexington: Susan Bryant, WMU Overview; Joy Roberts, Bullying; Rick Gastineau, Missions for Boys
September 10, Paducah: Stacy Nall, WMU Overview and Bullying; Jon Auten, Missions for Boys
September 17, Owensboro: Joy Bolton, WMU Overview and Bullying; Jon Auten, Missions for Boys
Septmber 17, Prestonsburg: Susan Bryant, WMU Overview and Bullying; Johnny Webb, Missions for Boys

This is the 20th anniversary of Super Saturday in Kentucky.  The registration fee is $35 per person. However, an early bird discount is offered to those who preregister by the Monday before the event (extended to Tuesday before the 9/10 conferences due to the Labor Day holiday).  To register, go to www.kybaptist.org/supersaturday.  Click on the date and location that is best for you.

The retreat will be October 7-8 at Jonathan Creek Baptist Conference Center, Hardin, Kentucky.  Alicia Wong, nationally known speaker on women’s evangelism,  is our keynote speaker.   She has served with the North American Misson Board, on the faculty of Southeastern Seminary, and as a missionary in Venezuela and East Asia. 

The Friday/Saturday event includes a variety of workshops. Topics include: 
Making Missions Education Sparkle
Lottie Moon, Beth Moore, and Me!
Teaching Children about Human Exploitation
Crafts
Not in My Town – moving from disbelief to battle cry
And much more!

Nurses and other medical professionals are invited to participate in the Baptist Nursing Fellowship meeting which also includes a CEU track.  For more information about Kentucky BNF, go to www.kywmu.org/bnf

Cost of the retreat is$85 per person which includes linens, three meals, materials, and program costs.  For those who wish to commute, the rate is $40 which includes dinner on Friday, lunch on Saturday, materials and program costs.

The registration deadline is September 23, 2011.  You may also register online at www.kywmu.org/S2S.

Jon Auten, Kentucky WMU Royal Ambassadors/Challengers/Church Staff Relations Consultant

Jonathan Auten of Louisville is a new consultant for Kentucky Woman’s Missionary Union, focusing his efforts on missions education for boys.

 Most recently he served as pastor of Poplar Level Baptist Church in Louisville since 1995.

 In addition to his work with the two missions education groups for boys, Royal Ambassadors and Challengers, Auten also will help strengthen Kentucky WMU’s relationships with Kentucky Baptist pastors and other church staff.

 Kentucky Baptists can meet Auten July 29-30 at Excel, WMU’s summer training event, held this year at Severns Valley Baptist Church in Elizabethtown. At Excel, Auten will lead conferences on missions education for boys.

 “We believe this is a new day for involving boys in missions,” said Joy Bolton, Kentucky WMU executive director. “With the growing awareness of the need to mentor boys and help them grow into manhood, the renewed emphasis on gender-specific missions is very timely.”

 Auten said his interest in missions began early. “As a boy who grew up in RAs, I saw my parents take leadership roles in WMU, (Girls in Action) and RAs so that adults and children could be educated to the possibilities and power of being on mission with the Lord,” he said. “I know how vital the work of WMU is.”

 Bolton noted that WMU has “plans and resources already in place (so) churches can use gender-specific missions groups to accomplish both mentoring and mobilizing children and youth in life and missions.”

 Auten’s position as Royal Ambassadors/Challengers/Church Staff Relations Consultant is new to Kentucky WMU. Previously, missions education for boys was the responsibility of the Kentucky Baptist Convention Baptist Men on Mission Department.

 Bolton said the decision to transfer RAs and Challengers to Kentucky WMU was in progress when the announcement came in March that the North American Mission Board and national WMU were making the same move.

 “I saw this as a confirmation of the direction that Kentucky WMU and the Kentucky Baptist Men on Mission Department were already moving,” she said.

 It was national WMU that first organized Royal Ambassadors in 1908. Nationally it was transferred to the Southern Baptist Convention Brotherhood Commission, the predecessor of Baptist Men on Mission, in 1953.

 As part of the Kentucky Baptist Convention Missions Growth Team, the Kentucky Baptist Men on Mission Department coordinates such ministries as Kentucky Changers and Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief.

 Coy Webb, who will lead the Kentucky BMEN Department as of Sept. 1, said missions education for boys has been extremely important and rewarding for KBC, but he is confident that RAs and Challengers “are in very capable hands.

 “We believe that missions education is vital in the spiritual development of boys, and believe the creation of (Auten’s) position in WMU will strengthen and expand the ability to assist churches with missions education,” Webb continued. “We welcome Jon to this role and will work with him in the transition.”

 Since 2008, Greta Wilson, a Mission Service Corps missionary, has served as missions-education consultant in the Kentucky Baptist Men on Mission Department. Wilson has worked with missions education trainers around Kentucky, encouraged regional missions events for boys, and organized the annual Royal Ambassadors overnight camp event.

 She also began e-newsletters for Royal Ambassador and Challengers leaders, a Kentucky RA Facebook page, and the e-newsletter for Baptist Men.

 Bolton said Wilson will assist with the transition of the RA and Challengers program to WMU. She will continue in a part-time capacity with Kentucky WMU to sustain the e-newsletters. These will be adapted for a wider audience and continue to provide updates to missions education leaders.

 Begun in 1908 by WMU, Royal Ambassadors grew out of a need for Southern Baptist boys to learn that they are commissioned as Christ’s ambassadors to go into the world and tell the story of Jesus Christ. The work grew and the first convention-wide RA director, J. Ivyloy Bishop, was hired in 1943.

 The program was transferred to the Brotherhood Commission in 1953, and to NAMB in 1997. Kentucky WMU had three RA consultants, or secretaries, from 1944-56: John Wren, 1944-49; Glendon McCullough, 1949-50; and J.C. Ballew, 1950-56.

 More about Jon Auten

Auten, who became a Royal Ambassador at Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, said some of his RA memories include a 10-mile hike every summer for missions, reading missions books, going to RA classes and learning about missions in other ways.

 Auten’s father served in the Air Force. The family moved to Guam when the young Auten was in middle school. They attended a Southern Baptist church while there, an experience, Auten said, that gave him a great appreciation for SBC missions beyond mainland U.S. His dad is now a director of missions in Texas.

 When Auten was pastor of Poplar Level Baptist Church, his wife, Misty, started a Girls in Action ministry. The group was changed to Children in Action when a boy joined. As more boys became active, the church once again formed Royal Ambassadors and Girls in Action groups.

 Poplar Level has been involved in missions locally and also partnered as a sponsoring church in the Iglesia Bautista de Jeffersontown church plant and sponsored several vacation Bible school missions trips to Eastern Kentucky.

 In 2009, Auten was assistant coordinator for the Crossover evangelistic effort held prior to the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting in Louisville. He coordinated 24 evangelistic block parties around the city.

As association relations catalyst for the Long Run Baptist Association, Auten met with pastors and facilitated the formation of small groups for encouragement, support and prayer. He also was a member of the Long Run Association Finance Committee, and served as association clerk and secretary of the credentials committee. From 2002 until 2005, he represented Long Run on the Kentucky Baptist Convention Mission Board. 

Auten has served as a small-group facilitator for Formation and Supervised Ministry Experience classes at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, a chaplain for the Masonic Homes of Kentucky, and a summer missionary.

Release prepared by
Dannah Prather
Marketing & Media Relations Associate
Kentucky Baptist Convention

This summer, Kentucky WMU is offering the chance for you to do just that! No matter what age, size, or shape your group may be you will find ample opportunity to hone your skills, enhance your ministry, and reignite your passion at Excel—a  leadership development event designed especially for you as a missions leader.

The experience begins Friday, July 29, at Severns Valley Baptist Church in Elizabethtown, and continues on Saturday, July 30. Registration for the entire event is only $15; or register for sessions individually to fit your schedule!

For more information, including a schedule and workshop descriptions, and to register, visit www.kywmu.org/excel