GALLUP, N.M. (ABP) — A nation at the crossroads just got another traveling companion.
Two Texas Baptist churches and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship recently entered into a partnership covenant with Calvary Love Ministries (CLM) of Gallup, N.M. The agreement “calls us into the heart of Christian ministry among the Navajo,” according to Tom Ogburn, CBF's associate coordinator for volunteer and partnership missions.
“We [Navajos] are at a spiritual crossroads,” Calvary director Andrew Begaye said. “We have to answer the question, 'What is Native American Christianity?' and we have to answer it soon.
“For too long, and still too often, our people are told that if you become a believer in Jesus you have to become like the white man,” Begaye continued. “Somehow, despite that, God's mercy has taken place and faith has taken deep root into many hearts and minds. But young people are asking, 'What is truth and what is religion?'”
Begaye, an Athapascan Navajo, spent 20 years evangelizing his people as a missionary with the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. He founded CLM in 1997 to coordinate outreach to the residents of the Navajo reservation that spans New Mexico, Arizona and Utah.
Now CLM, which helps plant four to five Navajo churches a year, is, in Begaye's phrase, “an interdependent and cooperative fellowship of churches” working with American Indian, Hispanic, Asian and Anglo churches from five major denominations, three para-church organizations and seven independent ministries — plus CBF.
The Texas congregations — University Baptist Church of Houston and Broadway Baptist Church of Fort Worth — brought CBF in to expand their already-existing partnership with the Navajos. The churches had been bringing groups to the massive reservation — which is the size of West Virginia — for years.
Now they will serve as ministry models for other CBF-related churches that want to be involved, said Ogburn, “focusing on leadership training, church construction and holistic ministry endeavors — including home renovations and community empowerment activities.”
“Andrew is a rare human being,” said Claudine Marion, the Broadway Baptist staff liaison to CLM. “He is committed to the idea that Navajo culture can be incorporated into Christian faith, and other Navajos have great respect for him because of that.”
Broadway tries to take people from other churches each year, hoping they will begin annual trips by their congregation. University Baptist, which has built one Navajo church building a year for the past 15 years, also involves other churches from as far away as Kansas and Colorado — including non-Baptists — in their trips.
“Our intent is to make it possible for the Navajo Christians to sustain the work,” said Wally Long, a University Baptist member who heads up its projects. “Navajos can share the gospel with other Navajos much better than we can.”
“We go to work with them, not for them,” Marion said, “to encourage their community church outreach.”
The formal agreement pledges CBF to contribute $4,000 in 2003-04; $3,500 in 2004-05; and $3,000 in 2005-06 to the CLM operating budget. It also pledges the Fellowship to:
— Promote and fulfill volunteer needs for CLM ministries and programs — Receive and distribute contributions — Provide prayer support — Inform CLM of training and network connections that could strengthen its ministry
The two local churches will provide annual contributions of $4,000 to the CLM operating budget in addition to continuing their volunteer participation. University has additional responsibility in church construction.
Potential projects include construction of a discipleship and leadership training center on CLM's 100 acres outside of Gallup, N.M.
— Photo available from ABP
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