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Giving Thanks

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Cornucopia comes from the Latin cornu copiae, which translates literally as “horn of plenty.”

Even though its origin is questionable, it first appeared in English in the early 16th century and a century later it developed the figurative sense of an overflowing supply. In I Thessalonians 5:18, we are admonished “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

As we enter the Thanksgiving Season each year we are reminded that we have every reason to give thanks to God all year around and can show that thankfulness through our words, actions, attitude, service, love for others, and many, many other ways. God is our “Horn of PLENTY” and we should Thank Him every day! May each of you have a Reviving Thanksgiving that will last until Jesus comes!

2019 Annual State Meeting

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October 12th forty-four messengers from fifteen churches of the BMA of MO gathered in Sikeston for our Annual Association. This meeting was earlier in October than our previous meetings due to Bylaw changes made last year.

Bethel Baptist Church and Pastor Billy Davis were gracious hosts for the Association’s 92nd annual meeting. After a morning devotional from John 14:6 by Bro. Troy Sisk, Moderator Ben Kingston called the business meeting to order.

Two churches re-petitioned into membership with the Association – New Testament at Sullivan, and Friendship at Caseyville. We welcome these congregations back into our fellowship.

Messengers approved the recommendations from the Special Missions Committee to amend the Association bylaws related to Associational officers (see September Missouri Missionary Baptist), and to purchase liability insurance for the Association. This policy combines the present insurance for Camp with additional coverage for other areas of the Association. Payment for the new consolidated policy will be divided as follows: 60% paid by Camp, 20% by Missions, and 20% by the Loan Association.

Other missions-related business included sending $3,000 to the BMAA Seminary (Jacksonville, TX), and continued support for Bro. Matt Barker in Nixa, MO. (Note: Since the meeting Bro. Matt Barker has resigned the work in Nixa.) See article on page 3.

The messengers also approved the Loan Association transferring the interest they receive this year to pay on the Camp Garwood loan. This will amount to approximately $900.

New committeemen elected to the various committees included:

  • Alive Committee – Bro. Brian Buckley (term ending 2023)
  • Publications Committee – Bro. Jim Ainley (2022)
  • Encampment Committee – Bro. Joe McElroy (2024)
  • Special Missions Committee – Bro. Ben Kingston (2026)

Additionally the following were appointed by the moderator:

  • Resolutions Committee – Bros. David Griggs, Billy Davis, Gary Longstaff
  • Enrollment Committee – Bros. Russell Chitwood, Dan Wisely, Matt Bolen

by Don Burke, Association Clerk

He Did It!! 100 Miles for Changemaker Missionaries

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After the ride of 100 miles!

Friday, September 20th, Missions Executive Director John David Smith rode his bike 100 miles to highlight ChangeMaker Missionaries that are the heart and soul of 70 years of BMA mission work. God has blessed our association of churches whose middle name – Baptist MISSIONARY Association – is “missionary.”

ChangeMaker missionaries are the result of generational efforts going back to 1950, but you probably will never see them here in the States. They need support through the Global Missions Fund, so please donate to ChangeMaker 100 and take advantage of the matching gift!
Yes, a generous donor has agreed to match whatever funds are raised! Your $100 becomes $200 . . . and missionaries all over the world are blessed!
Churches, Sunday school classes, families, individuals . . . Donate to ChangeMaker 100 and take advantage of the matching gift. Donations will be accepted until mid-October. Take the challenge!

Click here to give: https://bmamissions.org/changemakers/

OR send your check to

Missions at PO Box 878, Conway, AR 72033.

Baptist Publishing House Offers Videos

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The Baptist Publishing House has published a series of videos online to help our churches know more about our new curriculum and how to use it to its full potential. The videos can be found on our website: www.baptistpublishinghouse.com or on youtube.com (Just search “Baptist Publishing House”).

BMMI in the Jungles of Peru

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The Mighty Jungle.
There are no words to describe the beauty of it. As we traveled the Tambo River, I took a multitude of pictures, none of which truly captured the beauty of this place.

But the greater beauty came when we docked the boat and moved into the trees where the most beautiful people are found. You can’t see the villages from the river, but nestled behind the stunning trees, there is life.
The most recent Baptist Medical Missions International (BMMI) trip was to Peru in August. For the third year in a row, BMMI was invited there to set up four medical clinics in two new villages. In addition to making many new friends, we saw almost 500 patients with 111 professing Christ as their Savior.

But it’s not easy to get to the Ashaninkas. It takes three days to get there by plane, vans, and a long boat ride. But the travel is worth it because God is doing amazing things in this area, mostly due to the relationships Pastor Paul Tinoco has built with the village chiefs.

On our first visit three years ago, we were not sure how we would be received, but we were welcomed and invited back. Since that visit, the tribes have been meeting about planting the first church in this area, which is what Pastor Paul prays for.

It has been such a blessing for BMMI to be able to work alongside our national missionaries and help open doors for them. That is what BMMI medical clinics do: Open doors so that more people can hear the saving message of Jesus.

To God be the glory for what He is doing in the jungle of Peru. Please pray with us for the Ashaninkan Indian tribes!

by Angela Rice

From Our Moderator

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Dear state churches: Yes, the news about Dustin is less than encouraging from a Missouri missions standpoint. But we are grateful that a strong missions minded BMA church got the Pastor they desired. Now we must believe that with everything in place to hire a missionary that God will provide us with His man. Let’s pray for great commission success for First Baptist Magnolia and for God to give us His missionary in His timing. LETS KEEP MOVING!

Bro. Ben Kingston

September 2019 – Mission Director’s Report

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As I write my report this month it is with mixed emotions that I share with you the letter from Bro. Dustin. I am disappointed to know that things are not going as we were planning and I am thankful that Bro. Dustin is at peace about his decision, for God’s will is what we all want to follow. I am also encouraged to see how our people in Missouri have been working together to advance the cause of Missions in our great state.

As long as we are seeking and following God’s will in these matters we should all be excited about the future and challenged to do our best for God! Let’s look ahead with joy.

This issue of the paper has MUCH in it to help us prepare for our annual Associational meeting in October and I hope our pastors, messengers and all church members will read the recommendations and explanations and come to the meeting ready to make important decisions about the work God has for us to do.

You will see that I have notified the Special Missions Committee that if I am reelected as Director of Missions I will be resigning in October 2020 and we will need to have a new Director in place by the mid-year meeting next May in order to make a smooth transition. Please make this a matter of prayer.

I look forward to our meeting in Sikeston with Bethel Baptist Church and Pastor Davis as we seek God’s direction. I hope to see you there!

by Jim Hoffmann, Mission Director

A Letter to the Churches of Missouri

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Over the last year and a half I have been in talks with both the Meramec and State associations in Missouri about the possibility of planting a church in the state of Missouri. I had felt for a while that my time as a student pastor was coming to an end and I was approached about the possibility of partnering with the Missouri churches to further the gospel in the Columbia, Missouri area. My family and I pursued this perceived open door with the hopes of planting a church where a church is truly needed. First Baptist Church in Magnolia was in full partnership of the plant even to point of voting unanimously to send me to the mission field and be my supporting church. When I came to the associational meetings and shared my vision I referenced the church in Antioch in Acts 13 who sent out Saul (Paul) and Barnabas to spread the gospel. The reason for the church sending out those men was that she had a sufficient number of pastors for the church at Antioch. First Baptist Magnolia found herself in the same circumstance. A full pastoral staff and time to fill the student ministry position before I made the move in January of 2020. We were excited at the possibility of working with the churches in Missouri and furthering the ministry of FBC Magnolia (our sending church).

On June 23rd a curve ball was thrown into the process of planting a church. Our pastor at FBC at the time, Bro. Brent Summerhill, resigned as the primary preaching and teaching pastor because he felt that his time at First Magnolia had come to a close. This left our church in a little different position than when we first began the process to plant a church. My immediate plans were to stay on the initial time frame for planting the church and just step up to lead at FBC however I could until we moved to Missouri in January. However, as I sat and talked with the leadership at our church we began to pray about whether God was calling me and my family to stay at FBC and lead the church into missions efforts and in the preaching of the word as the Senior Pastor. For an entire year my heart and mind had been shifting to go and plant a church in Columbia, Missouri and in an instant it felt like my heart was now torn in two. I had a desire to go and make much of God’s name in Columbia, Missouri and I now had a heart to stay and pastor the people that I had been with for the last 12 years. I entered a season of prayer and fasting and sought the best counsel I could find which included pastors from Missouri, godly men from my church and even third party counsel that could be completely unbiased. As I prayed and led at FBC God began to grow a desire in my heart to stay and pastor FBC Magnolia. On Sunday September 8, 2019 our church voted to call me as pastor and I accepted that call. This was not something I did in secret. I had conversations with the committee chairs of the State and Meramec Associations along with Bro. Jim Hoffman, the Missions Director. These men along with so many others were vessels of grace during this decision. I want you all to know that I did not make this decision lightly. I still understand the need for the gospel in Columbia, Missouri and other areas of the state. That desire to see the gospel go to Missouri has not gone away simply because God has called me to serve in another place where the gospel is needed. I pray that in some capacity we will be able to help in Missouri’s efforts to plant churches in the future.

I would encourage you to continue with the plan to plant and revitalize churches together as two associations with the same goal of making disciples in Missouri. God has a man set aside for the purpose of going to the areas of Missouri where the gospel is not and making God known to those people. If anyone has any questions that they would like to ask me please feel free to reach out to me.

Lastly, I want to say thank you for the confidence that you as an association showed in me. I want to say thank you to the pastors whom I consider dear friends after the last year of conversations. I want to say thank you to Bro. Ben Kingston, Bro. Jamie Haguewood, and Bro. Jim Hoffman along with the rest of the State and Meramec Missions Committee members.
“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26
Dustin Wisely

2019 Ladies’ Retreat

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Wow! Just doesn’t describe the retreat this year. It was more than WOW!
The committee and others did an excellent job in planning the retreat and “working” behind the scenes. Deiatre Gillam led us in music worship throughout the two days. Becky Cate deserves a big THANK YOU for bringing and operating the sound system. Friday afternoon, Krissy Whitlock set the tone for the two days with an exceptional devotional.
Friday evening MO WMA President welcomed everyone and then blessed us with a very inspiring song.

Then Sabrina Clayton! I already knew she would be great and I’m so glad that other ladies from Missouri got the opportunity to hear her. She taught us from scripture, she inspired us, she encouraged us, she made us laugh and she made us cry. We are also glad she brought ten ladies from her church in Tupelo, MS with her. We hope that they enjoyed their visit to Missouri as much as we enjoyed having them here.

We were honored to have Bro. Jerry and Sis. Sue Kidd with us. Saturday morning he presented the National WMA Project “Missionary Care.” I had the privilege to introduce him. He and Sis. Sue have “worked” with missions for over 50 years. They both have a heart and love for our missionaries.
His presentation tugged at our heart strings in a way that I don’t think anyone else could. After his presentation we took an offering. It’s a Baptist thing! The ladies generously gave $900.00 for this project.

There were 99 in attendance! These represented 22 churches, 5 states and 1 foreign country. (Personal note: my sisters and I were blessed to have a cousin who is a “worker” in Bangladesh attend while she is on furlough.)

Now the BIG announcement!
Four Hundred Eighty items were donated to the silent auction. Someone commented, “You could set up housekeeping with all these items!” After counting the money and collecting a last minute offering, the auction made $2,025.50 for Camp Garwood! This includes some items from Camp that were donated and brought in $113.00. Also, some may be wondering about the quilts made with Camp Garwood T-shirts. Krissey Morgan Whitlock and Kari Hartlein took those quilts home.

Our Missouri ladies are generous and love Camp Garwood!
The other BIG announcement!!
Mark your calendars for
September 11 & 12, 2020!
Same location:
Drury Inn & Suites, Arnold, MO

Thanks to Janet Widger for the article on the Ladies’ Retreat and to Kathy Dollins Atkins for the pictures on Face Book

Homecoming Services

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Landmark, DeSoto • October 6, 2019 • Morning Message – Wayne Gibson
Lunch will be served.
Please bring a song or something to share with us in the afternoon service!
Bates Creek, Potosi • October 13, 2019 • Morning Message – Bryan Buckley
Noon Meal followed by Afternoon Singing
We hope YOU can join us!