By Dr. Harry Kelm
Executive Director of the North American Baptist Conference
There is a quote posted in the Ellis Island Immigration Museum which goes, “I came to America because I heard the streets were paved with gold. When I got here, I found out three things: First, the streets aren’t paved with gold. Second, they weren’t paved at all. Third, I was expected to pave them.” This quote could have described my German immigrant parents. Undaunted, they were committed to work hard and to embrace the life God was giving them. They had experienced war, revolution, famine, death, poverty, pain, and brokenness in the old country. They came to North America because they desired a better life for themselves and their sons. This same desire is still the hope of most immigrants.
Canada and the United States have been blessed to be a place where many immigrants have found a home. I once had a neighbor tell me, “We are all from somewhere.” The powerful message of the Gospel is not limited by the boundaries of countries, ethnicities, and cultures. The cross of Jesus Christ proclaims freedom and transformation to all people. The way of Jesus is where we value God’s image found in every person – no matter where they are from – and seek God’s best for them.
The North American Baptist Conference is a bi-national conference of churches founded by German immigrants to make disciples of Jesus, raise up leaders, train pastors, plant church, and send missionaries. My parents found a home in an NAB church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where I grew up. I am German in heritage and bi-national by God’s leading. I have served the first half of my ministry in the United States and the second half in Canada. I have a deep love for both countries. At times, this is a challenge. There was a song in the late 1970s by Mary MacGregor that has a phrase in it that goes “lovin’ both of you is breakin’ all the rules.” I have felt this very acutely in the last few weeks. . . .
Every year, we invite every NAB church to set aside the Sunday before Palm Sunday as Spring Missions Sunday, a day to share stories of what God is up to through NAB International Missions and raise money to support NAB missionaries in fields around the world.
This year, Spring Mission Sunday is scheduled for April 6, 2025.
To help you and your church in preparation for Spring Missions Sunday (www.springmissions.com), we have made a few resources available for you to use, including a widescreen and standard slides, bulletin inserts, and even social media graphics and a variety of logos for this year’s Spring Missions Offering. Click on the links below to find the Spring Missions Offering and the Spring Missions Sunday resources.
Additionally, if you would like personalized resources, or can’t find something you think would be helpful for your church, reach out to us by next week, March 20, and we will do our best to get you what you need.
Spring Missions Sunday Resources
It’s not too late to register for the next Multipliers Summit or Bonfire, just two events taking place during Super Week 2025. Each year in the spring, a handful of key events for NAB leaders from across the conference take place all in the same week in Chicago, Illinois.
Be sure to join us April 27 – May 2 for Multipliers Summit and Bonfire!
Click on the link below to find out more details and register. (Cost varies depending on the events you attend and whether you pay by USD or CND.)
The Heritage Horizons newsletter is a product of the NAB Heritage Commission. The mission of the Heritage Commission is to manage the NAB Archives, including key historical documents and items related to the conference, as well as former missionaries and individual churches. At the link below, you can find the newest issue of Heritage Horizons, which includes a call to help preserve the story of God at work in the NAB and a profile of former NAB missionary Lenore Lang.