SEVENTH DAY BAPTIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY 129 Main Street #156, Ashaway, RI 02804

July 2016 April 1 – June 30, 2016

Vol. 72, No. 2 QTR. 2

Executive Director’s Report Clinton R. Brown

In This Issue

Executive Director’s

Report

Board of Managers

Qtly Meeting Minutes

President’s Report

Treasurer’s Report

Upcoming Scheduled Activities:

Aug 27 Shephard’s Fold Ministry SDB Church visit – Johnson City, TN

Oct 15 German SDB Church – Salemville, PA

Oct 23 Qtly Board of Managers meeting – Ashaway, RI (tent)

Nov 3-15 Central Africa visit (Congo & Tanzania)

Dec 17 Houston SDB Church visit – Houston, TX

Jan 19-31 SDB WF (Brazil) & Canary Islands visit

Apr 5-17 West Africa visit (Sierra Leone, Guinea, & Gambia)

Jun 18-29 Latin America visit (El Salvador & Ecuador)

Quarterly Office Communications Highlights:

3 Sabbath Recorder articles & 3 donor letter blurbs

607 Emails sent / 1580 ministry related emails read

5 Video Conferences

39 Ministry Project Money Transfers

Q uarter two of 2016 gave opportunity to visit some

of the southernmost African SDB conferences.

Traveling with Douglas Machado from Brazil, we

first connected with James Siwani in Port Eliza-

beth, South Africa. Here we visited the two sites

where World Federation SDBs meet, and spent time with

the congregation members and Siwani’s family.

We established that James Siwiani’s election to presiden-

cy of the conference in 1980 was with the support and

influence of the elder leaders of the SDB church. Soon

after, however, an opposition faction rejected Siwani and

forcibly claimed the property in Port Elizabeth. For the

next 36 years a major concern of our recognized SDBs

there has been reacquiring the property. The resultant

public legal disputing and negative publicity has shrunk the

congregations and their witness in the communities.

After South Africa, Douglas’ ability to speak Portuguese

came into play as we traveled over much of Mozambique

visiting churches building relationships with the SDB

leadership from Nampula to the border of Malawi. We

visited a dozen of their reportedly more than fifty congrega-

tions with total membership estimated at over four thou-

sand. Our New Zealand brethren communicated that there

may be that many again in Mozambique calling themselves

Seventh Day Baptists that are not affiliated with any SDB

Missionary Society recognized conferences.

Other than a visit to the Eastern Association Meeting in Ber-

lin, NY on May 14th, much of the quarter was spent or-

ganizing and participating in board meetings or committee

meetings, working with Garfield to coordinate the ministry

work going on with SCSC team in Jamaica, and TIME train-

ing teams in Zambia. The remainder was taken up with

organizing the new office space, working on the new web-

site, and communicating via email about support and evan-

gelism projects in the Congo, Burundi, Uganda, Nicaragua,

Liberia, Tanzania, India, et al. Throughout, God has been

gracious, and I am optimistic about SDBs in the global mis-

sion to bring the glory of Jesus, our Savior, to all peoples. Meeting with James Siwani in S. Africa

Mozambique SDB Church Visits 2016

July 2016 MISSIONARY REPORTER

Seventh Day Baptist Missionary Society

2nd Quarter 2016 - July 17, 2016

Board of Manager’s Meeting Minutes

The meeting was called to order at 13:08 by President, Dan-ny Lee. Pastor Gordon Lawton opened the meeting with prayer.

Present at the office: Clint Brown, and Julianne Grove.

Also present via GoToMeeting (Video Conference): Gordon Lawton. Alicia Mosher, Craig Mosher, David Thorngate, Andy Samuels, Danny Lee, Miriam Berg, and Bethany Chroniger.

Guests: Randi Gammons and Dustin Tio – SCSC Workers from Texarkana, AR and New Auburn, WI, respectively.

Standing Agenda:

Quarterly Reports:

Treasurer’s Report – No Discussion. Motioned, Second, Carried

Director’s Report – No Discussion. M/S/C

Investment Informal Report – $23,124.64 income from investments

President’s Report – No Discussion. M/S/C

New Business:

Budget for 2017: We will vote on the Budget during the Octo-ber meeting.

Project Proposals:

Burundi Roof Project – Requests for Roofing (2-3 churches requested). Clint advised him to choose one church that we would consider helping with the metal roofing and nails. Mo-tion: To support resulting single church project for $1,000 USD for metal sheeting. M/S/C

Widow Aide – Mading’s Sister, relocated to S. Sudan, would like help with her fields and assistance so her children can return to S. Sudan. In the past we have turned to the Confer-ence to send funds to assist, as opposed to sending money through MS. Mading has given all he has to his family mem-bers and he is falling behind on his own bills because of this. Motion: MS would pray for Mading’s Sister, but we will not send funds. Clint will search for individuals connect-ed with Mading who are willing to assist him financially. M/S/C.

Kids Ministry Project – Children’s Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) After-School Programs. $2,000.00 monthly from MS. Not trans-cultural or trans-association work. Tom is a trained leader for CEF. He has to raise his own funds for the youth work in CO. MS also requires people who are travelling to raise their own funds. Boulder SDB Church has not made any official commitment for support. We could also contact Steve Osborne and get his take on the project. We need some more information. Clint will follow up with Steve at Conference. The motion should remain the same. Motion: Communicate with Tom and refer him to John Pethtel as this is more of a Church Development Project and we will promote this project among our Missions Advocates if appropriate after consultation with Boulder SDB leader-ship. M/S/C.

Hunger Crisis in Malawi – A drought has hit Malawi and is affecting the country quite dramatically. They are requesting that we share their need, pray for them, and assist financially if possible. All Pastors in Malawi are paid through offerings to the Conference and the churches also support Widows within

their churches. The price of corn has tripled due to the drought. This issue is bigger than money. If we break up our giving then we can be sure that he is able to purchase corn. If he is unable to purchase corn then we will not send any more money for that purpose, but look for other support avenues. Motion: Send $500 now and get a report back as to how the money was spent, pending the report, send another $500 next month. We will also pass this along with the General Conference. M/S/C.

New Business / Information:

Garfield Immigration / Position: We have received some com-munications from immigration and sent it to the lawyer. The majority of information requested was already sent to the office of Immigration. We will provide information necessary to complete the report. The deadline for submission is Sep-tember, 12th.

Zambia TIME Program: A new group has arrived to Zambia. They are working on some ideas for environmental projects / microloans such as Chicken Farming. We are looking for a report for the Sustainability Project.

Visiting Conference – Dignitaries: Quistin Chalwe from Zam-bia will be visiting Conference this year. He has obtained his paperwork, visa, plane ticket, and has registered for Confer-ence. Francis Mattia from Sierra Leone has an appointment with the Immigration Office this week and we are hoping he would be able to come to Conference. Francis has been told to bring $500 with him to the Office and his request would be approved. When he attempted to fulfill the inducement with only $200, his request for a Visa was denied. Perhaps in the future we should have a “back-up” who could travel to Con-ference.

Conference Program / Reception / Race: Reception: Thurs-day Night – board members are encouraged to send ideas / suggestions to Clint.

5K Race: Table will be at Conference Registration for Race Registration. We are looking for volunteers to man the Race Registration table. The race will be held on Friday morning.

General Conference has made available a list of general questions for people to ask the Executives when they are in the “Conversation” sessions.

Subcommittees:

Vision Statement Committee – A revised Purpose State-ment very similar to the previous version was introduced. The most recent version had been combined into a single state-ment. There was much discussion on the inferences and intent in using “All Peoples” in the purpose statement, who falls under the focus of our ministry work, and the challenges of using the terms “National” and “International” when com-municating our ministry calling. Motion: This item will be ta-bled until the next Quarterly Business Meeting in Octo-ber. M/S/C.

Continuing Education Committee – The committee recom-mends that the Missionary Board adopt some, if not all, of the continuing education/ professional development options listed below:

a. Receiving monthly or biweekly emails on Biblical Mis-sions (free)

…. (Continued on Page 3)

July 2016 MISSIONARY REPORTER

b. Viewing a video on Missions to facilitate discussion for 30 minutes before every meeting (free)

c. The Board will commit to work through one new book every year with the goal to be completed be-fore the Annual Meeting

d. Each member of the board take perspectives certifi-cate level within the next two years ($295 for new students)

Motion: Move to accept recommendations A, B, C, and D with the amendment that D say we will “Encourage” Board members to take Perspectives within the next two years. M/S/C.

The committee recommended that the Missionary Board posts other mission resources on the website as well as communicate to other denominational leaders and church-es. This list can be updated when additional resources become available. Motion: Clint will add the Missions Re-sources at the bottom of the document to the space he allotted on the new Missionary Society Website. M/S/C.

Evangelism Committee – pending Garfield’s presence at the meeting in October.

Leadership and Development – pending Dave’s pres-ence at the meeting in October.

Fundraising Committee – Two main methods of fund raising discussed; Large Scale and Small Scale.

Large Scale: It was suggested that we create a sepa-rate internet site that would target an audience outside of SDBs, like Go Fund Me projects. Also discussed how we can encourage fellow SDBs to encourage oth-ers (friends and family members) to donate. Matching Funds with Christian companies like Dominoes, Forev-er 21, Hobby Lobby, Chick Fil’A, etc.

Presidents Report Second Quarter 2016

Well it has been a fun first quarter, a lot is going on and I much appreciate the work of the various committees this quarter. We have established some exciting committees and I really believe we are going to come up with some great ideas and plans for the future. I was thinking the other day how blessed we truly are to be a part of such a great organization. I am impressed by the commitment of so many individuals who make sure the gospel reaches the world. I am also blessed to have such a quality and diverse group of Managers on the Board of Missionary Society.

Things that I was fortunate to be a part of and several meetings attended on behalf of the Missionary Society.

Fund Raising Committee meetings

Worked with group in Re-write of the Vision Statement for proposal at July meeting

Review of all proposals for our July meeting and Agenda

Development of template for committees to use as appro-priate and distributed

Much mission research in many areas to bring myself up to speed on what other organizations are doing, what their web pages look like, who are their key leaders

Prepare for 2nd quarter meeting coming up in July

Discussions with Clint

Areas that I plan to accomplish in last half of the year.

Attend and participate in SDB conference in New York

Speak at local churches on “Mission Society, Role and Vi-sion” as travel permits (Denver CO, Daytona FL, Boulder CO, Riverside CA and Milton WI)

Attempt to meet and have lunch with Dave Platt, Southern Baptist Missions President/Author

Continue work with Fund Raising Committee

Work with other Committees as needed

Complete one Mission trip

Visit with Rob Apple on SDB overall Vision and Purpose

Reach out to Large outside organizations for Donations to meet our Vision

Respectfully submitted,

Danny Lee

president@sdbmissions.org

Board of Manager’s Meeting Minutes (Continued from Page 2)

We considered two main times for SDB Fundrais-ing: Christmas fundraising and April Fundraising (Tax Time), we could have a competition among the churches.

Clint is working on a Prayer Calendar for the “200 Club”. We could also have a “365 Club”.

MS has a “Christmas Wish List” every year. We could give a small globe ornament when an amount of $50 or greater is given towards the “MS Wish List”. The globe would be sent directly to the individual or to whom the donation was made on behalf.

Regardless of whichever avenues we pursue for fund-raising, we need a plan. The group will continue to in-vestigate the “how’s” surrounding large scale, crowd funding and the possibility of reaching out to people outside of SDB.

We will plan to be ready for people to place orders in October for Globes.

Motion: We will authorize Clint to continue working on the Prayer Calendars for the 200 / 365 Club. M/S/C.

Other Business:

Sale of Missionary Society Building – $187,000: August 31st Closing Date pending the Inspection.

Motion: Secretary and Director approve the Minutes. M/S/C.

Closed with Prayer by Pastor David Thorngate.

Meeting Adjourned at: 16:10 July 17, 2016.

Respectfully Submitted, Alicia L. Mosher, Assistant Secretary

July 2016 MISSIONARY REPORTER

Contact Us

SDB Missions

129 Main Street #156

Ashaway, RI 02804-1703

(401) 596-4326

info@SDBMissions.org

Visit us on the web at

www.SDBMissions.org

Seventh Day Baptist Missionary Society

PO Box 156

Ashaway, RI 02804-1703

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Treasurer’s Report July, 2016

Our budget this year, as in past years, does not begin in balance. Our desire to do

missionary service exceeds our identified streams of income. By carefully manag-

ing expenses, and more generous than anticipated donations, we have managed

to end most years without withdrawing from our endowment to fund current opera-

tions. This year we will withdraw from endowment to fund our work.

This quarter we experienced the final planned reduction in support from the Memo-

rial Fund, which makes current year funding more challenging. Please keep the

society and our ongoing operations in prayer. A committee has been actively look-

ing at ways to increase funding and rebuild our endowment so missions work can

continue to expand.

At mid-year, our expenses exceeded our income by $7,972.

Our donations for specific mission projects is $58,656 and we were able to spend

$84,490 at mid-year. The largest projects are TIME Training in Zambia, Ethiopia

Short-Term Missions Trip and Jamaica SCSC. We have a balance of $35,774 for

designated projects.

Respectfully Submitted,

Mark D. Lewis, Treasurer