Georgia minister has "Idaho" on his mind (and heart)

Coeur D' Alene is situated in the panhandle of Idaho about 30 miles west of Spokane, Wash. The July 2004 issue of Atlanta's Points North magazine stated, "Idaho is known as the Gem State and Coeur D'Alene is perhaps its prize jewel." This sparkling gem is bordered on the south by Coeur D'Alene Lake, known for its pristine serenity and heralded as one of the five most beautiful lakes in the world.

Huckleberry products can be found everywhere in Coeur D'Alene. There is huckleberry syrup, huckleberry jam, huckleberry jellybeans, huckleberry dressing, huckleberry milkshakes and huckleberry cobblers. In fact, the city is a haven for huckleberry hounds.

The people of the city are extremely friendly and it is not unusual for gift shop personnel to offer hot chocolate or apple cider to extend hospitality to weary shoppers. Yet, 80 percent of the residents of Coeur D'Alene are unchurched.

Tim Clark, executive director of the Utah/Idaho Baptist Convention and Jim Myers, associational missionary of Whispering Pines and Silver Lakes associations, had been praying for God to send someone to help start a church in Coeur D' Alene.

Mike Palmer, pastor of Salmon Valley Baptist Church in eastern Idaho, began to talk to a friend, Scott Hanberry, about coming to Idaho to start a church. Palmer had known Hanberry from their days as students at New Orleans Seminary. In fact, Palmer had worked for Hanberry at Providence House, a seminary guesthouse.

When Palmer began to urge Hanberry to pray about coming to Idaho, he was serving as the manager of the LifeWay Christian Bookstore at the New Orleans Seminary campus. He was also being called upon to preach often in Louisiana and Mississippi churches. Hanberry's wife, Stephanie, was a tenured public school teacher in Louisiana. They were serving God and secure with the quality of life they were privileged to enjoy, but God began tugging at their hearts.

The Idaho church planter recalled, "The text for my first sermon was John 3:16 and I can promise you that when I proclaimed, "For God so loved the world ..." I never thought of Idaho. I was counting on being called to a church in the southeastern part of the country."

The call to plant a church in Idaho was clear and the Hanberrys began to contemplate a move. Eastside Baptist Church in Marietta, wanting to enhance the Utah/Idaho partnership, provided the money for the Hanberrys and their daughters, Hannah, 9, and Haley, 8, to fly to Coeur D'Alene for their initial visit.

Subsequently, the Hanberrys packed their belongings and headed to Coeur D' Alene in September 2003. Stephanie reminisced, "The trip we made in the U-Haul was not as far as the distance God moved us in our hearts to a place of complete trust and dependence."

Hanberry explained, "It has been good for our girls. They love it here; and they have learned in all of this that when God speaks we must obey."

Joining in planting

Now, Tom Magee, who resigned his position as minister of music at First Baptist Church Cumming this summer, has joined Hanberry in the planting of the Coeur D'Alene church. Magee's wife, Fondra, and sons, Mason, 6, and Carson, 2, settled in quickly and at last sighting were enjoying the season's first snowfall.

Magee left a vibrant, growing church averaging more than 1,200 in worship to minister to a fledgling congregation averaging less than 60. Many would question the wisdom of such a decision.

Magee explains, "God started warming my heart toward a ministry in Idaho almost four years ago. I traveled to Meridian, Idaho to Central Valley Baptist Church to explore the possibilities of a ministry there and although the timing was not right, God would not let me forget about the possibility of having a ministry in Idaho."

"My perspective on ministry has really changed," Magee admits. "I realize that I have become more people-focused than program-driven. I have come to realize that it is all about people and building relationships for the sake of God's eternal kingdom."

The Hanberrys started their ministry in Coeur D'Alene by having a home Bible study with another couple. But now the church has a name, NorthStar Baptist Church, and a beautifully renovated facility.

Decisions for Christ

In July NorthStar had its first baptismal service with three new converts baptized in Lake Coeur D'Alene. Hanberry and Magee are constantly reaching out to the community and their most recent convert, as of this writing, accepted Christ on Dec. 1.

The Hanberrys have done many things to attempt to make the church visible to the area where 90,000 people live within a ten-mile radius of the church. Early on they hosted a gumbo dinner for their neighbors and fed 26 people. In the summer they gave out Frisbees inscribed with the gospel to people in a local park.

The NorthStar pastor has also volunteered to serve as a chaplain at the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department. He and NorthStar have also partnered with the Northwest Baptist Convention to start a Baptist Student Union at North Idaho College in Coeur D'Alene, a junior college of approximately 5,000 students.

Last January NorthStar Church gave out hundreds of cups of hot chocolate at the Polar Bear Plunge when hundreds of people rushed headlong into the icy waters of Lake Coeur D'Alene. Hanberry joined the throng of adventurers who endured the frigid waters on a day when the temperature reached a high of 19 degrees Fahrenheit.

Next month Hanberry, as senior pastor, has promised to give Magee the privilege of aptly identifying with the panhandle populace who dare to risk safety and sanity with the annual plunge into the icy cold lake.

Then the pastor stated, "Tom, I won't let you do it alone. I will take the plunge as well."

Magee has not reluctantly responded to the challenge and says, "Working with Scott has been a blast. It is amazing to see how God has brought two southern guys to Idaho to plant a church."

The official church launch will take place on Palm Sunday, March 20, 2005. Hanberry urges Georgia Baptists who are interested in the Utah/Idaho partnership to pray for their ministry in Coeur D'Alene. He explains, "Prayer not only connects us with an omnipotent God, but helps connect us with those who pray by developing relationships."

Building Georgia partnerships

Obviously, there are physical needs - chairs, tables, a copy machine, nursery equipment, gift bags for outreach projects, Bibles - and financial help can meet those needs.

Hanberry emphasizes that churches can help by sending people who can train the NorthStar members to minister. He explained, "We don't want to be a mission church; we want to be a church on mission." Those who wish to partner with NorthStar may contact Hanberry at www.NorthStarChurch.us.

Interestingly, Pat and Lila Tatum, members of NorthStar, joined with a team from Wrens Baptist Church to minister in Gulf Breeze, Fla. in the wake of the devastating hurricanes that bombarded the state in August and September.

Instead of just leasing a building, the NorthStar fellowship looks forward to having their own facility one day. Jim Myers, along with others, spearheaded a move to purchase three acres of prime property for the NorthStar church plant. There were times when Myers found it necessary to use his own personal resources to make some of the monthly payments on the land. His vision and sacrifice typify the spirit of those who minister in the Northwest.

J. Gerald Harris

Tom Magee and Scott Hanberry have done anything but stay still in attempting to reach out to the 90,000 people who live in a ten-mile radius of NorthStar Church. The church has held gumbo dinners, handed out Frisbees with the plan of salvation printed on them in the park and given out cups of hot chocolate to participants in the annual Polar Bear Plunge into Lake Coeur D’ Alene. In addition, Hanberry volunteers as a chaplain at the Kootenai Count Sheriff’s Department.

J. Gerald Harris

Tom Magee, left, and Scott Hanberry, right, currently serve as music minister and senior pastor, respectively, of NorthStar Baptist Church in Coeur D' Alene, Idaho. Prior to moving to Idaho, Magee was minister of music at First Baptist Cumming and Hanberry manager of the LifeWay Christian Bookstore on the New Orleans Seminary campus.

J. Gerald Harris