Duane and Marcia Binkley -- who have served over 15 years in Thailand through International Ministries (IM) of the American Baptist Churches USA -- will be reassigned to serve in the United States and Thailand. The Binkley's are being jointly appointed by IM and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. National Ministries (NM) and the Office of the General Secretary (OGS) of the American Baptist Churches are also partners in the new assignment. Effective July 1, the Binkleys will work with the tens of thousands of Karen refugees who are coming to the U.S., having worked with Karen refugees along the Thai-Myanmar border.
"U.S. policy has changed recently to allow upwards of 60,000 Karen ethnic people from Myanmar, better known as Burma, to leave refugee camps in Thailand along the Myanmar border and resettle here," said Stan Murray, IM's area director for southeast Asia and Japan. "Duane and Marcia, who worked in those refugee camps for years as American Baptist missionaries, felt a strong call to now help here in the U.S., because of the historic connections American Baptist have with the Karen."
The mission launched by Adoniram and Ann Judson to Burma in 1814 became the basis for the formation of a Baptist mission agency, which today is known as IM. The Judsons worked for nearly 40 decades in Burma to plant Baptist missions, and the Karen were some of the most receptive persons in the country to the Gospel. Today, the Myanmar Baptist Convention claims over 1.2 million baptized converts, many of them Karen believers. IM missionaries have not served in Myanmar since the 1967 due to a military government.
"We often hear the world is at our doorstep," said Duane Binkley. "But the Karen coming to the U.S. for resettlement illustrates the point, especially for us in the Baptist churches."
Binkley's point is highlighted by dozens of Karen refugees showing up at Kenmore Baptist Church in Buffalo, NY in the winter of 2006 with little more than the clothes on their backs. Kenmore is pastored by Rev. Ray Schooler, the president of the IM board, showing him first hand the relevance of the work of American Baptist churches. "Our church at first did not know what to do. Could we be the church and welcome these persons so different from us culturally and ethnically, but yet our Baptist brothers and sisters? We decided yes, it was our calling to receive them." The Kenmore case illustrates how the Binkleys will go about their new task. Kenmore consulted with the American Baptist regional executive, National Ministries Asian church strategist and IM to gain skills and resources to minister to this new component of their community. And Schooler took a mission trip with IM to Myanmar last fall.
The Binkley's plan to work with regions and churches around the country to equip them in the refugee resettlement process and to make the Karen -- who often know early Baptist mission history in Burma better than most American Baptists -- feel welcomed by those who brought them the Gospel nearly two centuries ago.
"With Duane and Marcia's expertise in their mission work among the Karen refugees in northern Thailand, National Ministries is confident the Karen, who have been impacted by the Judson legacy, will find a church home in the ABC family, and also assistance in adjusting to their new lives in this country," said Florence Li, national coordinator for intercultural ministries, Asian churches strategist for NM.
The Binkleys served in Thailand from 1982 until 1993, and again from 1998 until 2006, when they returned for US/Puerto Rico assignment. The Binkleys provided leadership to the Thailand Baptist Missionary Fellowship (TBMF) for several years during their most recent service. They coordinated the work of six international mission agencies and many mission partners in Thailand through TBMF, and worked in Karen refugee camps.
IM is a Baptist mission agency, established in 1814, which serves the more than 5,800 churches of the American Baptist Churches USA. Globally, IM relates to more than 500 educational institutions and 125 hospitals and medical facilities. Missionaries work in partnership with some 15,000 trained national workers, who serve about 22,000 congregations and nearly 3,000,000 baptized members.