VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 10/15/13)—Sharon A. Buttry from Hamtramck, Michigan, has been endorsed by American Baptist International Ministries (IM) to serve as Global Consultant for Community Transformation. Sharon will provide consultation and training of community and conflict transformation at the request of IM global partners, in partnership with her husband, Dan Buttry, current IM Global Consultant for Peace and Conflict Transformation.
Sharon is an ordained American Baptist pastor and a licensed social worker. She currently serves with Acts 29 Fellowship in her hometown as interim CEO and Board President. Acts 29 Fellowship serves a diverse immigrant community teaching English as a second language, healing prayer, literature distribution, Shepherd on the Street and meeting critical needs of daily living. The Buttrys live and work in a two-square-mile immigrant city within the city of Detroit among mainly Muslim Bangladeshi and Yemeni ethnic groups. Sharon will serve part-time with IM and will continue her ministry in Hamtramck. Sharon’s home church is Genesis the Church in Royal Oak, Michigan.
When asked why she feels called to this ministry, she responded, “Followers of Christ must wrestle with what it means to be a faithful believer in all the complexities of life, including conflict and the challenging social issues that shape our world.”
“My ministry is one of engagement and education, bringing knowledge of the Scriptures alongside evidence-based community transformation practice skills,” she continued. “The goal is ‘community transformation’ guided by the Word, yielding positive impact for communities that, day by day, more clearly reflect the love and power of God at work in the world.”
As an endorsed Global Consultant, Sharon will be working in the months ahead to build her Mission Partnership Network. She will be inviting individuals, groups and churches to partner with her by committing to share the spiritual, relational and financial support needed to begin her ministry with global church leaders.
Please join IM in celebrating this new endorsement and praying for Sharon as she invites others to join her in “the journey to become all God has intended for us as Jesus’ disciples.” You may send words of encouragement and communicate directly with Sharon at sharon.buttry@internationalministries.org. Learn more about Sharon on the IM website: http://www.internationalministries.org/teams/629-buttry-sharon.
American Baptist International Ministries is a Christian mission organization connecting U.S. churches and individuals to holistic ministries around the world. Organized in 1814, IM is the first Baptist mission agency formed in North America. It serves more than 1,800 short- and long-term missionaries annually, bringing U.S. and Puerto Rico churches together with partners in over 70 countries to share the good news of Jesus Christ in word and action.
American Baptist Churches is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with over 5,200 local congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.