Encouraging and Equipping Churches in New York

Through the grace of God and His word, the redemptive works of Christ, and the sanctifying efforts of the Holy Spirit, we encourage and equip the body of Christ in order to ensure its members, both near and far, are enduring in the lifelong work of glorifying God and discipling faithful men and women who will be entrusted to continue this work until our Lord and Savior returns.

Our Calling

Encourage:
We encourage our sister churches in Central New York, and beyond, and come alongside our brothers and sisters to spur them on in the faith.

For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Hebrews 10:23-25

Equip:
Thanks to God's grace, we equip the local church to (1) worship God in spirit and in truth, (2) involve everyone in the process of discipleship in our church bodies, (3) have gospel-rich relationships with the lost, and (4) conduct ourselves as good stewards of our time, talent, and treasure.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. Ephesians 4:11-16

Entrust:
This is accomplished through multiplication - entrusting the faith from one generation to the next.

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. 2 Timothy 2:1-2

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:5-9

Endure:
We do not grow weary or fainthearted in our faith, but we endure and grow in spiritual maturity until our Lord returns or He takes us home to be with Him in Heaven.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2

Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 2 Timothy 2:10

Our Path

We moved from Ohio to New York in 2016. God had been working in both of our lives prior to this. Whenever we would travel home to visit Steve's family in Central New York, our hearts would be burdened with the state of the local church. Many churches were closing, dying, or not thriving. We had been seriously praying about and considering moving our family to New York. 

In 2018, our church family at Faith Baptist Tabernacle (FBT) in Sherburne partnered with Jon Jenks of Baptist Church Planters and we began the Intentional Discipleship Ministry of Leadership Journey. Through Jon’s ministry, Steve and three of our church leaders were discipled and grew in our walk with God.  God then guided us to cause the same in others in our church body, and begin to accomplish Christ’s gospel mission through His church. In a few years, our church family began to come alongside sister churches and partner with them to experience the same growth through discipleship.

In 2020, our church partnered with a Baptist Church Planters’ missionary to pilot a discipleship program for our teachers called Teacher Journey Training. TJT equips teachers to be disciplers in their classrooms and help them disciple their students with a one-on-one mindset. After completing TJT ourselves, we then led four of our teachers through TJT, and are continuing to disciple others in our church.

It is our time serving in our local church that has led us to prayerfully considering God’s calling to full-time vocational ministry. We have a heart and passion for the local church. We understand the importance of discipleship and its role in church restoration and revitalization. 2 Timothy 2:1-2 says “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.” We understand the importance of passing down our faith, through discipleship, to the next generation with the mindset of multiplication. If the process stops along the way, we can see from this passage that our efforts were not true discipleship. 

We also understand that this is only possible through the Grace that is in Christ Jesus. Colossians 1:28 says “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.” We, the body of Christ, are all charged to help one another grow in spiritual maturity as we look forward to the day when we will see Christ face to face. Finally, 2 Timothy 4:3-5 says “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” We have witnessed firsthand the tragedy of those we thought were in the faith walk away due to their own passions and itching ears, taking them away from sound doctrine and true worship of God.

We have a passion for coming alongside pastors and church leaders and helping them see what is critical to God in their ministries and obediently discipling their members to live accordingly. Since January 2022, we began serving at Constantia Center Baptist Church (CCBC) in Bernhards Bay. What began as a monthly outreach class and filling the pulpit, quickly turned into a full-time ministry opportunity. Steve left his job at Colgate University to begin serving as CCBC's missionary pastor in August 2022. Being that our family was not yet at 100% financial support, Steve also began serving as FBT's associate pastor - serving at both churches part-time. This temporary arrangement benefitted both churches - providing much needed revitalization and pastoral care at CCBC, and additional oversight and shepherding at FBT.

With Constantia Center Baptist Church now being healthy (while they continue to search for their next head pastor), our family is beginning to transition away in the coming months and look towards the next church we will serve at. BCP leadership has identified a few churches that we could begin serving at, Lord willing, in fall of 2024. In August of 2024, Steve will end his associate pastor position at FBT and we will officially be full-time missionaries. FBT is currently developing a plan to have a pastoral residency. We desire to equip pastors to serve in revitalization churches in Central New York.

We have loved our ministry at Faith Baptist Tabernacle. It’s why we moved back and we are humbled by the grace of God and how He has blessed our church. There is excitement and spiritual growth, and it is contagious. We desire for Central New York, and beyond, to be filled with churches that are healthy as they worship God, are obedient to the Scriptures, disciple one another, and share the gospel with the lost.