2017 Annual Report “Keep the Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace.” Ephesians 4:3 “Put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and is in all.” - Colossians 3:10-11 Table of Contents Staff Reports: 4. NOBA Staff Contact, Officers, and 2018 Meetings Schedule 5. NOBA Executive Director’s Report 8. NOBA Church Health Report 9. NOBA Community Ministries Report Ministry Partner Reports: 10. Baptist Community Health Services 12. Crossroads NOLA 13. Baptist Friendship House 14. Vieux Carre Baptist 15. Bethel Colony 16. NOLA Metro Baptist Collegiate Ministry 18. SEND New Orleans 19. Global Maritime Ministries 20. International Mission Board 21. Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission 22. New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary 23. Louisiana College 24. Camp Living Waters 25. Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home 26. Louisiana Baptist Convention Church Reports: 27. Celebration of NOBA Giving and Baptisms 28. Giving and Baptisms by Churches 30. Directory of Churches Front Cover Image Credit: Copyright by Soichi Watanabe and OMSC. “I Urge You... 3 NOBA Staff Contact, Officers 2018 Meetings Schedule NOBA Staff, Contact Moderator, 2016-17 Jack Hunter, Executive Director Page Brooks, Canal St. Church [email protected] Treasurer and Clerk Leroy Fountain, Church Health Strategist [email protected] Alex Brian, NOBA Alex Brian, Business Manager, Neighborhood Administrative Committee, 2016-17 Ministry Coordinator [email protected] Chad Gilbert, Chairman, Edgewater Baptist Fred Luter, Jr., Franklin Avenue Baptist Church Martha Castro, Hospitality Coordinator Geovany Gomez, Iglesia Bautista La Viña [email protected] Michael Carney, Calvary Baptist Church Larry Johnson, Crossroads Community Church Shayne Carpenter, NAMB Student Missionary Dennis Watson, Celebration Church [email protected] Anna Palmer, Crossroads NOLA Jay Adkins, FBC Westwego Office: 504-282-1428 joinnoba.com @joinnoba 2018 Meetings Schedule January 17,10am Executive Committee Meeting March 21, 10am Pastors’ Meeting (Executive Committee) April 23, 6pm NOBA’s Spring Meeting May 16, 10am Executive Committee Meeting August 15, 10am Pastors’ Meeting (Executive Committee) September 19, 10am Executive Committee Meeting October 22, 6pm NOBA’s Annual Fall Meeting November 14, 10am Pastors’ Meeting (Executive Committee) To Live a Life 4 New Orleans Baptist Association Jack Hunter, Executive Director 2222 Lakeshore Drive New Orleans, LA 70122 504.282.1428 Executive Director’s Report joinnoba.com This Year’s Theme Our fellowship of diverse churches shares a common identity in Christ that is expressed in fraternal love and mutual support. We treasure this unity as a gift from God, and are enthusiastic in support of one another and vigorous in defense of our unity. This is why, when the removal of Confederate monuments rekindled racial biases already heated by well-publicized police shootings and shootings of police officers, the Black Lives Matter movement, and political attempts to remove protections for “DREAMers,” undocumented immigrants brought to this country as children who have spent their entire lives here, we realized a need for broader conversation. Racism undermines our peace and would destroy our unity. What’s more, racist attitudes are ubiq- uitous. This belief is Biblical—at Babel, we see the beginnings of racism in man’s desire to make a name for himself rather than glorify the name of God. When God confused the languages, this sinful desire for the greatness of our name remained, only we had many names. That same brokenness has persisted to the mod- ern day, but the church is meant to be part of God’s redemption of this sin, and we see the Spirit at Pentecost restoring what man fractured at Babel. Like all sin, though, racism hides. Identification of racist attitudes within our own hearts requires vigilance. We must “put off” the race-based attitudes into which we were born, which were reinforced with a thousand winks and words, and we must “put on the new self” that is be- ing “renewed in knowledge” after the image of our Creator God (Colossians 3: 10, ESV). In this new self, there is no Greek and Jew, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, slave and free; but “Christ is all, and in all.” Renewal, this “putting off” and “putting on”, happens through knowledge. We need knowledge of others, their narratives, our Creator God, and ourselves, for without it we will never gain understanding. The pastors of the New Orleans Baptist Association wanted to share in Courageous Conversations about racism, because this is how we better attain to the unity that is ours in Christ. This afternoon, we have met around tables to hear each other’s story, allowing our attitudes to be reshaped by the experiences of our brothers and sisters, and this evening we gather for worship, celebrating the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace that is ours in Christ. The reports of the various ministries contained in this Annual Report represent your cooperative work through the New Orleans Baptist Association. My report will touch on just a few of the milestones achieved in 2017. Baptist Community Health Services During this past year, BCHS acquired two pediatric practices, one in the Upper Ninth Ward and one in Chalmette. Dr. Edwin Lin, a faithful member of the New Orleans Chinese Baptist Church and a pediatri- cian who has practiced in the Upper Ninth Ward for several decades, is now a leader at BCHS. The seed for this acquisition was planted years ago during a season of prayer shared between Dr. Lin and your Executive Director. The addition of these two clinics was the culmination of many prayers and much work on the part Worthy of the Calling 5 of BCHS and NOBA, and was made possible by the generosity of Baptist Community Ministries and NOBA. With the acquisition of the pediatric clinics, BCHS expects to have 14,000 patient encounters this year. With each encounter, BCHS is intentionally focused on moving its patients closer to Christ. The BCHS leadership team is composed of servant leaders who sense God’s call to serve Christ through the delivery of quality medical care to our neighbors in underserved communities. Because of their commitment and connection to our mission, the Association gladly commissioned the following BCHS lead- ers as urban missionaries at its Spring Meeting: Dr. Elizabeth Goodly, Family Practice Physician - Dr. Hannah Pounds, Internal Medicine Physician - Mrs. Carolyn Fountain, Human Resource Associate - Mrs. Faye Davis, Behavioral Health Therapist - Mr. Jeremy Simmons, Community Outreach Director, and - Mr. Shawn Powers, CEO of BCHS. We delight in holding these out as NOBA missionaries, and thank God for the bonds of mission and fellowship shared between BCHS and NOBA. Children’s Safety Committee Under the leadership of Dr. Brooke Osborn, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Counseling at NOBTS, NOBA formed a Children’s Safety Committee composed of mental health professionals, parents, children’s ministry leaders, youth ministry leaders, among others. Its purpose is to assist member churches in protecting their children through preventative training, development of policies and procedures, responsive counseling for staff and members, proliferation of reporting protocols, and response to allegations within the church body. Disaster Relief This year has brought a full measure of disaster, but an even greater measure of the compassion of God. NOBA has responded to the historic flooding in East Baton Rouge, Ascension, and Livingston Parishes, the tornado in New Orleans East, and the flooding in Southeast Texas caused by Hurricane Harvey. Following the Northshore flooding, NOBA received a grant in the amount of $150,000 from Baptist Community Ministries for the relief of individuals, $25,000 from St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston, and $13,772 from NOBA churches, individuals, and even non-NOBA churches. We issued checks in the amount of $1,000 to 135 persons who sustained substantial flood losses. Local pastors recommended each grantee, and every grant was given through local pastors—because, $1,000 isn’t enough to rebuild a home, but it is enough to show a family that the Lord and the local church care for them and will be beside them through recovery. The remaining $53,772 was either given directly to churches or used to deploy scores of volunteers into the flood zone to gut out flooded homes and churches. Before NOBA had submitted its final report to Baptist Community Ministries regarding the flood, a tornado touched down in New Orleans East, devastating the area and leveling the main building of Suburban Baptist Church. In response to our churches’ stewardship of their previous grant, Baptist Community Ministries awarded a grant to NOBA in the amount of $200,000 for the relief of individuals who sustained substantial loss due to the tornado. Again, $1,000 grants were given to individual families through our local churches. Of the $200,000 granted to us, $192,000 was given directly to affected families. The remaining funds were used on direct di- saster relief services provided to tornado victims. The BCM grant was limited to residents. It could not be used to repair Suburban Baptist Church, though Pastor Jeffrey Friend was able to recommend church members and many from his community as grant recipients. Baptist Builders carried the load in rebuilding Suburban Baptist Church. You Have Received 6 NOBA is grateful for their cooperation. NOBA churches sent volunteers to assist Suburban in its re- build, and NOBA directed volunteers from other church and non-church groups to assist in this effort. NOBA churches also contributed financially to the rebuild of Suburban, and NOBA directed individuals wanting to give toward tornado relief to give to Suburban. You contributed to Suburban’s rebuild, as well, through your Association’s direct contributions.