Vince and Jessie Rediger are getting ready to plant a new church. But they aren’t looking to sow the seeds of a new congregation on the other side of town or even a few cities away: they are moving nearly 1,000 miles away to a place that in many ways might as well be a different country all together.
“We just have a heart for Utah County,” said Vince. After hearing about the lack of churches in the second most populous county in Utah – less than 1 percent of residents can be considered Gospel-believing followers of Jesus – Vince and Jessie felt burdened for this place that was not their home and for a people who were not their immediate neighbors. Simultaneous to this God-given burden, a number of other people in their lives asked them if they had ever considered planting a church. Sensing God’s leading, they began digging into what God was doing.
Vince said, “I couldn’t shelve what God was laying on my heart for Utah County.”
Church planting is at the heart of who we are as the North American Baptist Conference, and has been from the start. When you give to the Ministry Resource Fund, you are supporting this kind of Kingdom work. Your generosity allows church planters like Vince and Jessie Rediger to receive the training, resources, support, and care that are crucial to reach places like Utah County with the Gospel of Jesus.
NAB End Goals Video Series
In the first of five videos, NAB Executive Director Harry Kelm talks about the importance of the End Goals in the overarching mission and efforts of the NAB Conference.
Check out the first video at the link below.
Ken Solberg Retires
After serving in as the regional minister for the Saskatchewan Baptist Association for over a decade, Ken Solberg will be retiring at the end of October. The following are a few words he wanted to share:
As we are reminded in Ecclesiastes 3, “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens.” The end of that season for my ministry as regional minster will be October 31, 2022. I will continue to serve on the Governing Board as a Member at Large and look forward to serving the NAB until my term is completed.
I served for eight years as pastor at Melville Baptist Church and was blessed by the love and desire for spiritual growth that was evidenced among the people of God. For eleven years and eight months, Marlene and I have had the joy of serving God’s people here in the province of Saskatchewan. We have been blessed to see God move among the churches as the desire to reach out to impact their communities with the Gospel has been evidenced in a variety of ways.
We have wept and laughed together through times of joy and times of sorrow. And God has been faithful through it all. On a personal level, I have been impacted, encouraged, and challenged by the faithfulness of the pastors in the SBA. The perseverance and dedication to their ministry during the trying times of the last couple of years has been a testimony to their love of God and their calling to ministry. To each of you I say, “Thank you, and well done.”
Marlene and I have been blessed with the many friends we have made among the RMs and the Governing Board. Your dedication and love for God and his people has inspired and challenged us to living with a greater missional mindset in our own lives.
This will be our prayer for the SBA and the NAB in the days ahead: “The LORD bless you and keep you, the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you, the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
If Ken has impacted your life, either as a pastor or a regional minister, we invite you to share with him a memory or a word of encouragement. If you have something you would like to share with Ken and Marlene, please send an email to Christine Okken.