June 2013 AMGP Newsletter:
Reflections on the Past, Prospects for the Future
If you were able to attend last year's meeting in Chicago at Judson University, you undoubtedly
experienced both a memorable and meaningful conference. The overarching theme was "Ministry Guidance for
the Next Mission Movement" in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the beginning of America's
contribution to the Modern Mission Movement with the departure of Adoniram Judson and seven others from
Boston in 1812. Jerry Cain and Tena Robotham, our hosts at Judson University, along with our Program
Committee did a superb job in planning and hosting the meeting. One of the highlights included a trip to the
Billy Graham Center for Evangelism.
We also visited one of Chicago's suburban megachurches, Willow Creek Community Church, where we
enjoyed a Wednesday evening meal together, followed by an informative meeting with one of the church staff
members and a meaningful worship service.
In contrast to Willow Creek, we saw missions from a different angle with our visit to Uptown Baptist Church
where we also enjoyed a delicious meal. The Senior Pastor, Rev. Michael Allen, shared about urban mission
perspectives related to his church's ministry in Chicago.
Of course, we also enjoyed listening to a number of excellent speakers and breakout session leaders in addition
to taking in a baseball game at Wrigley Field and eating some Chicago-style pizza at Gino's East.
This year's annual meeting will be held in the beautiful city of Nashville at Belmont University. The theme is
"Being About My Father's Business" (Luke 2:21-52) with a focus on the ways in which ministry guidance
relates to service learning. We'll be hearing from our good friend and excellent researcher, Ed Stetzer, as well as
James Casler of the J.V. Morsch Center for Social Justice, Christin Shatzer of SALT (Service and Learning
Together), and Tim Stewart, the Director of Service Learning at Belmont University. We'll also be hearing from
two of our own: Jeter Basden at the annual banquet and Clinton Lowin at a later plenary session. Please make
plans to join us!
Endowment Matching Gift Challenge: As you may know, we have been offered a generous matching gift of
up to $15,000 for any contributions to our AMGP Endowment Fund given between last year's meeting and this
year's meeting. As of today (June 6, 2013), we have received $11,624.11 in contributions to the endowment
since the ending time of our 2012 meeting. This means that we only have $3,375.89 in endowment
contributions to meet the $15,000 challenge. Thanks so much to each individual and institution that have made
contributions toward our goal. We have 54 days (until July 31) to raise the remaining amount. If you have not
yet made a contribution or you would be able to make an additional contribution, please join us in this effort.
Simply make your check out to AMGP and mail it to the following address:
Richard Faling
1010 Eagle Nest Ave.
Forney, TX 75126
Let Richard know that the contribution is for the endowment fund, and he'll send you a receipt for your taxdeductible gift. If we are successful in reaching our goal, we will have been able to add a total of $30,000 to our
endowment within a one-year time period. The endowment will eventually become a significant source for
helping to fund our future meetings.
Friends and Smiles: As we look forward to our meeting at Belmont, I leave you with a few pictures of our
group from last year's meeting—many thanks to Royce Rose for the great photos.
All the best and see you soon! Dennis Horton