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2008 Summer Issue 

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RENDEZVOUS

This issue's focus is the Mission's
Camp Elohim

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The backroads of the Bible

by Jim Carlson

Sometimes people are on the scene briefly, but leave tracks that long endure. “Traveling the back roads of the Bible” is an expression I once heard a preacher use, and those back roads have intrigued me for many years now. In the out-of-the-way places we meet characters both interesting and influential.

Consider, for instance, the Gerasene demoniac of Mark chapter five.

Imagine the turbulent life of this man: he once had a home and family, but somehow he became infested by hordes of demonic spirits. For a time his loved ones and neighbors tried to control him; maybe he grew worse gradually. Eventually even chains and fetters couldn’t restrain his extra-human strength, and he had to be kicked out of the house.

With nowhere else to go, the man went to live where the living weren’t welcome, among the caves and tombs of the graveyard. On self-destruct and miserable beyond words, this man “always, night and day, in the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out, and cutting himself with stones” (Mark 5.5).

Glorious indeed was the day Jesus made a special trip across a stormy Sea of Galilee just for this one man. After a dramatic exorcism and, despite his plea to be included with His disciples, Jesus sent the man home “to your house and to your friends” to tell them how marvelously and mercifully the Lord had treated him (verse 19).

“Home” for this man was known as the Decapolis (“ten cities”), a collection of communities in that area of eastern Palestine which had retained their Greek character long after the Greeks had yielded the land to the mighty Romans.

 A generation later, the Roman armies were ferociously warring against the Jews in what historians came to call the First Jewish Revolt. The one safe haven open to the scattered, fleeing Jewish refugees was among the cities of the Decapolis, where they were sheltered by Christian believers. Where had these Christians come from? Scholars can only speculate, but it seems there had been an influential evangelist who had traveled the area many years before, and the Spirit of God had left lasting fruit.

The demoniac doesn’t get much press in the Bible, but his legacy far surpassed that brief story.

I never had the privilege of meeting Clarence Kutz. He was promoted to Glory several years before I was a Mission summer worker in 1978. But I know several of his family who have served the Lord for decades in the Troy-Libby area. Faith Bible Church in Libby is there because of how God used Clarence Kutz, as is Three Lakes Community Bible Church. Serving for decades now at Three Lakes with Dave and Kathy (Kutz) Nelson are the Stewarts, the Sampsons, the Davises and many other faithful saints who can trace their roots in the faith to God’s working through Clarence Kutz.

A small piece of the story is told in this Rendezvous. To God be the glory; God is good, all the time!

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First Impressions

by Dave Simmons

Lloyd Ogilvie, for a time the chaplain of the United States Senate, told the story of a rancher from Montana who came to the church Ogilvie once served in Hollywood and lined up to greet the pastor at the end of the service. With a smile as big as Montana itself he declared, “I’ve come all the way from Montana to get my hug.” In the sign-off segment from the Hollywood Presbyterian Church telecast, the rancher had seen Dr. Ogilvie hug some parishioners as they were leaving the church, and now this rancher had come expecting his hug. And he got it.

Considerable discretion is needed in the use of human touch. The “holy kiss” or the hug is almost never appropriate in greeting strangers at the church door. Nonetheless, how can we follow Christ in befriending strangers who drive up to our own local church building for the first time? Jesus said in Matthew 25:35, “. . . I was a stranger, and you invited me in.” “Stranger” is at the heart of the meaning of the word “hospitality,” for the Greek term (philoxenos) that is often translated “hospitality” in the New Testament consists of philos (“loving”) and xenos (“stranger”) so that philoxenos literally means “love of strangers.” We see it in Hebrews 13:2, “Do not neglect to show hospitality [phileoxenos] to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (ESV).

How are you doing with the first impressions you provide strangers when they muster up the courage to drive to your place of worship on Sunday for the first time? I recently received a phone call from a lady (a Reformed Jewess) inquiring about how I was feeling. She had just heard of my short stay in the hospital. In the course of the pleasant conversation I told her about this present article I am writing. She volunteered that if someone personally greeted her when she came to the church door and went out of their way to introduce her to others, that would make the biggest impression on her. That’s good for me (us) to know, and is in accord with my reading that probably the most common fear people have is going to a party where they will be surrounded by strangers.

Let me encourage you to place yourself in the shoes of a visitor completely new to your church and view first impressions through their eyes. As the old saying goes, you never have a second chance to make a first impression.

I remember when my wife Kathy and I visited a huge church in Eugene, Oregon. It was raining heavily. When I pulled up to the sidewalk, there was a friendly man with an umbrella ready to usher my wife inside. What a nice, invited feeling it gave both of us.

There are a number of things we can do to make strangers feel welcome, even before they come inside. Here is a brief checklist:

  1. Do you need a parking space marked “visitor”?
  2. Is there a good sign indicating there is additional parking around the other side of the church?
  3. Do you have anyone with a friendly smile standing outside ready to help strangers in?
  4. Does the exterior appearance of your church building send a message to the community that the church is important to those who attend?
  5. Is it quite clear which of the several entrances to your church is the entrance to the sanctuary?
  6. What about your main entrance doors? Are they solid wood? Ideally, these doors call for lots of glass—the more the better. If possible, install solid-glass doors with lots of inviting light inside the foyer to help make the approach say, “Welcome.” Let strangers see what is going on inside the foyer. It is intimidating for the uninitiated to face a huge dark door and wonder what they might find on the other side.

Why is it important to do whatever it takes to reach strangers for Christ? Because God “wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (I Timothy 2:4).

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A dream and how it grew

by Bev Cox and historical records

Dreams last until the morning, sometimes beyond. Dreams shared may last a lifetime. Here is the dream that became Camp Elohim.

Ellis and Ida Stewart had a dream. (Related story on page 8.) So did Dave and Kathy Nelson. (Associated story on page 5.) In the Spring of 1978, many volunteers cleared and burned brush, and the dream began to materialize.. A concrete slab was poured and a kitchen/cafeteria was erected with homemade trusses. The roof was covered with hand-split cedar shakes donated by the Oakes and Rider families from the Sylvanite mill.

Tent sites were cleared, outhouse buildings were constructed, a wash stand erected, and an outdoor chapel was built into the hillside. Gale Fister wired the kitchen with an underground cable stretching from the highway clear up the hill to the kitchen.

The name selected for the camp comes from Genesis 1:1—Elohim—the Creator God. The first camp was held in July of 1978, directed by Dave and Kathy Nelson with other RMBM missionaries helping out.

Counselors came in June to teach Vacation Bible School in the area and then spent July at Bible camp, starting with a work week during which they prepared their lessons. Counselors taught the Bible classes each morning. Staff taught noon and evening chapels. Afternoons the campers enjoyed crafts, played sports on the recreation field and went swimming at Bull Lake or on a hike. Campfire each evening was and still is a favorite time of the day. Initially, there were only two weeks of camp for teens and junior- aged youngsters, but soon a third week was added.

A family camp was held in late August.

Head cook was Ida Stewart who is always best remembered for her delicious cinnamon rolls! Lots of food items were donated by people in the area. Ellis Stewart acted as camp caretaker.

A donated trailer house served initially as the camp book store, run by Irene Kutz, as well as a place for her to sleep during camp weeks!

Kit and Lorraine Hardy, another missionary couple with RMBM, donated a log camper which was turned into a nurse’s station, with Lorraine serving as the first camp nurse.

In 1983 the camp was turned over to be run by the Mission when Dave Nelson resigned to be the full-time pastor of Three Lakes Church. Ray and Jennie Calentine “were instrumental in keeping the Elohim ministry alive,” according to Jim Carlson, former RMBM executive director. They served Elohim in this way from 1983 to 1990. Calentines bussed leftovers from Utmost at the end of their camp season for use at Elohim.

In 1990 Clyde and Pam Miller became full-time directors of the camp until 1997. Ellis and Ida Stewart served as caretakers for a time. Bill and Linda Colson served as full-time cooks from 1993 to 2001 and filled in as camp directors for a couple of years. Warren and Michele Edson came as directors in 2000. Part-time help held it together until they arrived.

RMBM more than doubled the size of the camp property with proceeds from the sale of Pipe Creek Bible Church building. The camp site is now an L-shaped 19 acres with six cabins (11 rooms/94 beds), a chapel, a multi-purpose building, a shop...and wildlife still roaming the grounds.

(The site map -a PDF file- gives you magpie’s eye view.)

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Camp Elohim—rooted in love and care

by Kathy Nelson, Libby

Camp was held for the first time at Elohim Bible Camp in the summer of 1978, but it began the previous year as a dream in the hearts and minds of Ellis and Ida Stewart and RMBM missionaries Dave and Kathy Nelson, serving in the Troy and Libby areas. Since it was such a long way for campers to travel from the northwest Montana communities to Camp Utmost, the Nelsons approached the Mission with the possibility of beginning a camp in Lincoln County.

At the same time, the Stewarts, members of the recently formed Three Lakes Community Bible Church where the Nelsons pastored, sensed a need for a camping facility, and offered a portion of their own property for that purpose.

Permission was granted by the Mission, and as soon as the snow was gone in the spring of 1978 a gang of local Christians teamed up to clear the property and begin construction on the kitchen/dining facility. Other names that bring back memories include Erv and Linda Volkmann, Ray Sampson, Lou Auge, and Kit and Lorraine Hardy. Lorraine was our first camp nurse.

A trailer house, donated by a local couple Steve and Pam Rodgers, was used for the book store and craft center, as well as a residence for Irene Kutz, who along with her husband Clarence (who had passed away in

1975) were the first RMBM missionaries, and mentors for the Nelsons when they came on board in 1974. Mrs. Kutz went to be with the Lord in 1996.

The campers were housed in large, non-bear-proof Army tents. The counselors were recruited from Bible schools across the Northwest and Canada. Camp began in July of 1978 with 20-30 teens and about 50 junior campers. A movie night and a banquet night each week added variety to the routine. A family camp was also held in August.

The history is interesting and the statistics are important, but the most rewarding part of a camping ministry is the unique privilege of impacting the lives of the campers and staff during a concentrated block of time. The testimonies of the campers and counselors alike make all the hard work and long hours worthwhile. It has been impossible to keep up with all those who went through those tent flaps of long ago, but some of the early-year counselors are now missionaries with the Rocky Mountain Bible Mission or with other mission organizations around the world.

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When God calls, joy comes in obedience

by Michele Edson, Troy

The first time I saw the Troy- Libby area was in October 1997. Warren and I were on vacation, staying in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho for the night. The next morning we left Idaho and headed over to Libby, Montana to visit some friends.

My first thoughts were how spectacular the mountains are. They were topped with the season’s first snowfall. The weather was cool and maybe a little foggy too. The larch trees were turning yellow. We stayed one night and had a great visit with our friends, but left the next morning.

Two years earlier, in 1995, we felt God was calling us into full-time ministry. So we started the process of selling our house and stuff and getting out of debt. We were ready to go anywhere at anytime. We continued to be youth leaders for the junior high kids at our church in California. We organized our summer camps and winter camps. Warren also continued working as a general contractor, building custom homes. We continued with life and rented a house until God was ready to do something different with us.

It was March of 1998 that our friends, now living in Troy, Montana, asked us to be involved with them in a discipleship ministry. Warren and I prayed and made plans to go to Troy, this time with four of our kids.

We stayed about a week, looking around and praying a lot, asking God if this was where He wanted us. We knew it was, so we went back to Paradise, California where we had been living and spent the next several months getting ready to move to Montana. Wow! What a job!

While in Troy, we got to know the board of Elohim Camp and Retreat Center and some of the people of the Rocky Mountain Bible Mission. Camp Elohim had been without a director for a couple of years, and the executor director of Rocky Mountain Bible Mission (RMBM) asked Warren if he would consider being the director. We would have to apply with the Mission to be missionaries with them.

We felt God redirecting our path. Our time in ministry with our friends was coming to an end, so we applied with RMBM. After a long application process and a three-hour interview, we were accepted as missionaries with RMBM. Warren was to start as director right away. The 2000 camp season was about to start!

Elohim Camp and Retreat Center is located in northwest Montana, nestled at the foot of the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness. It is fifteen miles from Troy on Highway 56, also named Bull Lake Road. The camp is tucked under the trees; you can hardly see it from the highway.

Camp Elohim is a year-’round facility. The RMBM summer camps are in July. Fourth through 12th graders can come spend a week and learn about God’s Word. The camp also hosts weekend retreats for men’s and women’s church groups. The Rocky Mountain Bible Training Center (RMBTC Site/related article) is also hosted here. It is a three-year Bible program. Students come once a month for a weekend to take classes.

There have been some changes to camp since the early years. The kitchen was remodeled and expanded. The dining hall got a fresh coat of paint.

This fall the cabins got a face lift; walls were repaired and painted.

New buildings have been built on the grounds. There is a multi-use building with basketball hoops, new carpet ball table, and lots of room to play, especially when it is raining. A new shop has been built plus several storage buildings to hold various equipment.

We’re in place and excited about the future God has called us to share!

Come, join us!

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An update on the Colsons

by Linda Colson, Troy

The Colsons continue to lead an exciting, full and busy life.

Bill’s bad shoulder and neck finally caught up with him and he ended up having laminoplasty surgery on April 1st. Simply explained, he had bone added to his spine, held in place with three ornate bridge pieces and six screws. He will be off from regular work for up to eight weeks. He can move his neck very well, but gets stiff quickly. The morning of Bill’s surgery I called our Mission prayer partner, Connie Jefferson in Pennsylvania, because she has continued to be one of our most faithful prayer supporters and has prayed for his neck all these years. Praise the Lord, the pain is gone! But Bill lost his voice! He speaks hoarsely and will probably have to see another doctor about why­—from the surgery or recovery? We don’t know. He is very hard to hear, and this is a problem for us to talk and doesn’t work at all for his working situation.

Bill has been very busy the past few years remodeling our entire home.

All of the old mobile home is removed and we have a beautiful house.

Currently we are finishing up the spare bedrooms and bathroom. He has done a wonderful job with the help of good friends. During his recovery, Bill has learned that he does enjoy reading, especially books about the Civil War.

We are proud grandparents of four, enjoying the three Lucas children in Libby; Tyler (8), Ciera (6) and Savannah almost (3). I babysat Nattasha Dunbar in Kalispell the first two years of her life twice a week. This past month I have been thrilled to see her growth in wanting to pray and to repeatedly hear the “Sheepy” story, a child’s version I made up about the lost sheep who Jesus saves.

In June, our youngest daughter, Lisie, will be married to Ben Seymour, in Michigan. They will return to St. Mary, Alaska to teach.

I was teaching two adult Bible classes. I then went on a frenzy to change 38 years of albums into Creative Memory Scrapbooks. I made dozens of yarn hats for Lisie’s students. I substitute teach, lead an accountability book club and help with ladies’ ministries. I still dabble in poetry, music and photos for the church bulletin. Not as active in the church as I once was, but I truly believe that we are making a difference in our grandchildren’s lives. With maturity, we’ve learned what the Lord meant by “teaching them when you walk and sit,”

little details of daily living to show how much the Father loves us and want us for His own.

Lisie came home the end of May and we did a scrapbook bridal shower for her. We fly to Michigan June 12th to get to know Ben’s family, the wedding is the 2lst, so we’ll help with last details. Then we will sightsee a bit, money deciding how much, or just go to his brother’s in Wisconsin till July 2nd. We planned this trip back before the surgery became a necessity. We will do Gettysburg with the newlyweds a couple of days. Hope to see Niagara Falls too. We will have a wedding reception here the end of July. So we will continue to be busy, and Bill will stress about the work situation.

(I just finished reading Having a Mary’s Heart in a Martha’s World. JoAnn Weaver (I think) wrote it. It was great; a suggested reading for anyone who wants to draw closer to the Lord. Now I just need to apply it!)

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Elohim—rooted in Stewarts’ hearts

by Erika Mitchell, with Ellis and Ida Stewart

In 1970, Ellis and Ida Stewart took a tax assignment for $63.49 on a house that sat on thirty acres just off Bull Lake Road in Troy, Montana.

“The place was abandoned, and it had a bunch of broken windows and was in terrible shape,” recalls Ida. The Stewarts were told that if they paid the back taxes within a period of three years and contacted the owner, the property would belong to them.

“We had lots of kids, but we never had a lot of money,” said Ida, so they readily took on the assignment. Just before the three years were up, the owner arrived at their door and asked if they’d like to buy the place for $7,000. He wanted fifty dollars down and fifty dollars a month until it was paid off; the Stewarts decided to stay.

After Ellis and Ida gave their lives to the Lord, they decided they wanted to use a portion of their land for Him, too. “We prayed about how to use it. I was orphaned when I was eleven, and I wanted it to be used for children,” said Ida.

The Stewarts heard the Rocky Mountain Bible Mission was trying to start a Bible camp for kids in the area. Ida said, “We looked at each other and knew what [the land] was for.” At the time, they still owed money on the property. They both prayed a lot about the decision to give the land to the Mission. “Dad Stewart helped pay off the last $1500,” said Ida of Ellis’ father, “because he said, ‘You can’t give nothing to the Lord ‘less it’s paid for.’.”

That whole summer was a lot of work. They had the land for the camp surveyed and burned brush to make room for structures. “In one week, they poured cement and built the cook shack.” Ida remembers cooking for all the workers. Both Ida and Bertha Fanning were the camp’s first cooks and continued to cook for five or six more summers afterward.

I must have made thousands of cinnamon rolls. I used to make them at home and take them up,” Ida said. “That’s where I learned to cook. I cooked for 500 kids one time; I peeled 100 pounds of potatoes and fried them up.”

Someone else donated an old tin trailer that the camp used for a pop shack, book room and craft room. Workers raised two big army tents – one for girls and one for boys—and placed 2x4 mats on the ground for sleeping.

Many adults still have fond memories of the tents. Ida laughs that one of her sons says, “They ruined it when they built cabins.” Although this may be true for some, the girls who experienced the bears wandering in and out of those tents all those summers ago are probably relieved for their daughters and grand-daughters who now sleep in the nice, safe cabins.

Ida fondly remembers one particular young girl’s first time coming to serve. “Brenda James came in logging boots—Bertha and I convinced her to go to a children’s workers college in Missouri, and she’s still a missionary (with Rocky Mountain Bible Mission) today!”

During the late 80’s, the Mission found it was unable to service Elohim as well as they liked, and there was a lull out at the camp. Ida remembers it being a tough time for the Stewarts. Many phone calls and tears ensued, but except for two or three weeks of summer use, the camp sat still. Then one day, Clyde Miller called Ellis and Ida to say he was going to come out to run Elohim.

“I can still remember throwing my dish towel across the room and shouting, ‘Praise the Lord!’” Ida says.

The Stewarts worked as missionaries at the camp for three years under the directorship of Clyde. Ida watered the flowers and cleaned cabins after the kids left each week, while Ellis was the handyman and cared for the lawn.

“Ellis did every little job that needed to be done,” recalled Ida. “We both did it together.” Ellis not only acted as handyman, but ran the pontoon boat and took kids on hikes.

One large project which Ellis remembers involved bringing the boy’s dorm (cabin 5) from the train depot in Troy. It cost $200. The men in the church came and helped tear it down and rebuild it again where it still stands today. All of the cabin decks around camp were also constructed out of wood from the deck at the depot.

When thinking about what Elohim has become today, Ida smiles. “I’m really proud of it . . . the way it’s come ...we never could have done it on our own. I’ve had lots of grandchildren and great-grandchildren go there. I’m well pleased with what the Lord did. We never could have done that.”

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I remember

by Brenda James, Missoula

My roots in the Mission go ‘way back. Sam Gupton taught a Vacation Bible School in Libby that I attended when I was only five. I started attending camp at Elohim at the age of 19. With a large family, we couldn’t afford for all of us to go.

My first memory of Camp Elohim was sleeping in the large Army tents while the duplex was being built. I remember having to use the outhouse at night or walk across camp to use the indoor one at the end of the kitchen. I always thought of the wild animals that wandered around camp at night, so I would choose to take a friend with me!

I remember sitting in the dining hall and being able to see daylight through the cracks in the wall. I remember washing dishes in tubs and then running them through the sterilizer. This was my favorite time because we got to know our tentmates better, and we would sing our favorite campfire songs.

It was while I was at camp that summer of 1978 that I met my counselor Cindy Hockstetter. She talked with me about Bible school in Michigan.

After spending that week at camp, I went home and filled out my application for New Tribes Bible Institute and gave my two weeks’ notice at the Forest Service. A month later I was headed by plane to Jackson, Michigan.

I applied to the Rocky Mountain Bible Mission the last semester of school and came back to Missoula in December of 1985. I had worked at Elohim the summer during school but worked at Utmost the following summer, right after missionary orientation. I’ve been a children’s worker ever since.

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One hundred and two and still counting

by Edwin & Linda Grinder, Sand Coulee

Born February 4, 1906, in Roanoke, Indiana, Vesta O. Young has lived a full and rewarding life. She was the fifth child, born 15 years after her next oldest sibling. Vesta and her husband, Joe Cobb, raised six children, having lost one in infancy, through hard times and good.

Vesta’s family were members of the Progressive Brethren Church known to be very conservative—no card playing or dancing, holidays were never celebrated, no musical instruments in the church, women always wore head coverings, and no collars for men. None of these restrictions were ever questioned or made them feel deprived since Christians were to be in the world, but not of the world. Their faith became real because they practiced it! She recalls beautiful acappella singing before instruments were later added during worship services.

Vesta related that for a number of years they had sound teaching and preaching in their church. With hard times, there was often no strong biblical pastoral ministry, so for some six years her parents, usually her father, read their church Sunday School lessons to the family at home and then discussed the teachings. Vesta’s family always kept up with the Brethren publications. In addition, her father had an extensive biblical library in their home.

Sarah Merenz, Vesta’s daughter with whom she now lives, remembers her mother, with her feet propped upon the open kitchen oven door to keep them warm, reading the Bible to her children and often including friends of the children. Their home was always bathed in the reading of the Scriptures. Regardless of the financial condition, her mother always had coins for the children to use for their Sunday School offering.

During those early years, Vesta’s father regularly invited preachers, missionaries, and visiting speakers to their home for a meal and perhaps a place to stay. One notable guest, among many well known Christians, who periodically visited their church and stayed in their home, was Dr.

Alva J. McClain. He later became the President of Grace Theological Seminary and a member of the Editorial Committee of The New Scofield Reference Bible.

In relating incidents during her early childhood, Vesta recalls an eleven-year old child who rode a commuter train for ten miles to visit her grandmother on Sundays. She was allowed to walk to Vesta’s home and attend Sunday School with them.

This beautiful child, dressed in white, chose to follow the Lord and asked to be baptized. Some two weeks later she died of a little known disease of the time, appendicitis.

Much of her life, Vesta worked with children, teaching them from the Bible, Bible story books, and other Christian publications. She and her husband Joe moved to Montana in 1936 where he was employed in mining and construction work and would often be absent from the home for extended periods of time. The family lived in several central Montana towns, including Neihart and Belt. She, by default, taught children’s Sunday School lessons whether or not there was a church available.

Vesta graduated from Huntington College in 1928 and studied at Iowa State. She taught school before her marriage, so when her husband passed away, she attended the College of Great Falls to update her education.

Following graduation at the ripe young age of 61, she returned to teaching! After teaching in several Montana towns, she taught one year in a California Christian School and then returned to Montana where she taught in Helena for another five years.

For the past several years, Vesta and her daughter, Sarah Merenz have shared an apartment in Great Falls where an Emmanuel Bible Church Flock Group Bible study and prayer meeting has met in their home. Vesta participated until her hearing and health prevented her from attending.

She, however, always wants to know about the study and enjoys our visits following the meeting. She has grown closer to the Lord as she continues to study the lessons with her daughter. One of her favorite authors these days is David Roper, especially his book, Out of the Ordinary.

In her 102 short years, Vesta has experienced many changes in our society, became closer to her Lord, and never misses an opportunity to share the Gospel and the Word of God with friends and family who visit.

As part of her birthday celebration, she along with three of her daughters, a granddaughter and a great granddaughter, requested an anointing ceremony according to James 5:14-15.

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To BTC or not to BTC? That is the question

by Charles Avery, Superior

What is BTC? The answer is: "One of Rocky Mountain Bible Mission’s best kept secrets!" I’m the coordinator of this clandestine group of operators. For years now various pastors have been teaching small groups of men and women who have a desire to learn more about the Bible and how to be more effective Christians, especially in our rural environs or the mission field.

Up until June 2007 this effort was called BTCP (Bible Training Center for Pastors), but it was decided to let the teachers have more leeway in addressing the unique challenges endemic to rural RMBM churches and communities they serve. The change of the title to Bible Training Center (BTC) reflects the change in focus to make the course work more relevant to the RMBM’s purposes of planting rural churches and reaching rural communities with the Gospel.

 In a nutshell BTC is a part-time Bible school that is less intense than a Bible-college or seminary. It is designed so that people with jobs and families can get the Bible training they need or want. Classes meet one weekend per month (Friday evening and all day Saturday), the full program takes three years to complete (summers off) and are offered in two locations.

Frankly, we are looking to recruit and train church leaders or potential church leaders from adult Sunday school teachers, through deacons and elders up to and including pastors. Now don’t freak out! Not everyone who enrolls has to be a leader, although God may surprise you like he did me. I was certainly not thinking in terms of leadership when I took all those classes, but today I am serving as an elder in Superior Community Church and am the chairman (coordinator) for the steering committee of the Bible Training Center. The training makes much more sense to me now than it did when I was taking the classes.

There are three options the student can follow. Option #1 is to audit the classes. That means you want something more than a regular Bible study, but don’t necessarily want to do extra assigned reading, write papers (even short 1– 2 page ones) or take tests. Option #2 is the Certification program.

It is for those who are a bit more serious, may be in leadership or think they are headed that way some day and are willing to put forth a bit more effort to get more out of the courses. Option #3 is the internship program, which is an extension of the certification program, where the student works with a church leader in doing the things they are learning about in the courses (preaching, teaching, marrying, burying, counseling, etc). The internship program was developed for pastor candidates, but is valuable for deacons, elders or anyone interested in doing more than just warming the seats on Sunday. The cost is the same. Internship does not necessarily run concurrent with the classes and can be done any time after graduation.

Pastors, if you need help, send us candidates to train! People, if you notice your pastor is overwhelmed, sign up and learn how to lighten his load! If you just want more than you are getting in home or church Bible studies—here we are!

For costs, locations and specifics check out the RMBTC Website: www.rmbible.org.

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