SPOTLIGHT ON MISSIONS: Michael & Laura Beth • Minneapolis, Minn.

I am excited to share with you what God has been doing in Minnesota. When we started out planting, we had a God-given vision and a strong and growing conviction to plant a biblically faithful church that would be the start of a church planting movement in Minnesota and to the ends of the earth. God has been with us every step of the way, and in all of it, He has been growing our faith. He is planting that church.

You might not know it, but we work primarily in “Pioneer Context.” You might think that’s odd since we are in the United States, but it’s true. As a result, we knew it would be hard, and it would likely take a bit longer than conventional church planting methods say it should take. Minnesota is harder ground than you might think, though many of you have seen the state and its leaders on the national stage in recent years. The state boasts a 63% Christian population, but that is only a bit of the story. Over 22% of that number is made up of people who identify as Roman Catholic or with one of the cults (Jehovah’s Witness, Mormon, Metaphysical Family, etc.). The mainline groups make up another 22% of that number and include denominations that are clearly standing against biblical Christianity. Minnesotans who identify as “Evangelical Protestants” are only 20% of the population, with Baptists making up 2% of that number. In a state of over five million souls, that’s a pretty low number.

Even at 63% Christian, which is likely closer to 20-25%, the numbers in Minnesota are rapidly declining. In 2008, 84% of Minnesotans identified as Christian. By 2014, that number was down to about 75%. So, in less than 20 years, there has been a drop of 21%. There is a great need for the gospel in Minnesota. As a Baptist, we are severely underrepresented, and the doctrine we hold dear is not the doctrine we find present in most places, especially when it comes to the authority and role of Scripture, the deity of Jesus Christ, the need for regeneration, justification and the contents of the message of the gospel itself.

The gospel, the true gospel, is not a welcome message here. Some might accept it on the surface, but once you make it clear that God only saves wicked people who cannot be good enough to deserve His love or His grace, you can become an enemy real quick. The stench of death fills the nostrils of its hearers right before your eyes. Despite that, we are seeing month after month and now year after year that God is not only saving people, but He is growing them in some pretty significant ways. We are starting to see the work that God has been doing underground. The soil is good, and the vine is bearing beautiful fruit.

In our last update, we discussed the metrics or measurements most mission organizations and churches use to measure progress. This month, I want to talk about some of the measurements God has allowed us to see in the people we are serving and raising up in Christ when we get up close and personal with the disciples here:

• Gratitude — God is creating genuine gratitude in our people.

• Gospel-Rooted Change — We see God transform our people with the gospel as they seek God’s glory by loving and serving others with all they have.

• Compassion — God has revealed a growing compassion in our people toward each other and those they come in contact with throughout their normal, (now) quiet lives.

• Faithfulness — The metrics for attendance and giving show some consistency, but beyond those two metrics, we are seeing them give more often and beyond standard giving, whether it be their time, their talent or their treasure.

This season calls for me to focus on investing most of my time in a few faithful men and showing signs of a calling on their lives. We are looking and praying for leaders to take over the reins of the church plant, but we want to heed God’s calling to be careful and slow in whom we lay hands on and ordain. We need time to test and affirm what God is doing so we build God’s way. We are also reaching out to young men interested in attending college to devote their lives to gospel ministry.

This is our second church plant here. The first was Near North Community Church. That church dispersed when COVID hit in 2020, and this new work, Freedom Minnesota Baptist Church (FMBC), began to take form early in 2021. We are already planning and assessing other neighborhoods and cities. God is opening a door to the gospel so that we can plant churches in the future. I am also working with Larry Barker to set a time to work with him to find that next site to begin work.

We are planning on working on two core items to complete our calling this quarter and beyond — spiritual maturity, which produces stability and overall health, and spiritual fruit, including evangelism.

We have three specific goals for the next few months:

• Discipleship Process — We hope to revise, record and launch FMBC Class 401 and complete Good Soil Evangelism’s “The Story of Hope” with several groups and individuals.

• Remove Cultural Roadblocks to Growth

• Create New Relationships — As we expand into surrounding communities, we want to find new connections with people.

Please pray about the following items to partner with us in making an eternal impact:

• New prayer partners to join the work,

• New financial partners to commit to finishing our current building project as well as support for purchasing some land and a trailer or building and

• Wisdom and help from someone who has experience with planning for buying property in light of longer-term growth plans.

I would also ask you to consider partnering with us for the long-term. We are passionate about spreading the gospel, making disciples and forming leaders who will plant and pastor churches. We desire to do this work for the rest of our lives. We will be in a continual fundraising cycle because we are called to plant multiple churches. Please pray about supporting us in the years to come. If you would like to talk about visiting or having me come and visit your church to share what we are doing, please let me know. I would love to talk with you. My email is mike@nnccmpls.com. If you would like to give a one-time gift or set up a recurring gift, go to tiny.cc/BMAGlobalStrong or contact the BMAA office. Thanks for your prayers and partnerships.

One additional opportunity for you, your group or your church to partner with us in the coming months is to consider joining us for a short-term mission project this year. We could use a team for a Vacation Bible School project, one for surveying neighborhoods and sharing the gospel, one for a Back-To-School outreach and one for a basketball camp. You might not have a whole team, and that’s fine. If you would like to come out and see what God is doing, there is a great opportunity coming up this summer. STM Team Leader Tim Nix is working to gather a team. You can contact Tim by phone at (870) 703-3314 or by email timnix2001@yahoo.com. Come and see what God is doing, and please pray for us as we press ahead.