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Mutual Faith

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Romans 1:8-13
Paul’s sense of appreciation for the mutual faith between Paul and the church of Rome, his sense of responsibility to preach the gospel to all men, and the message which he preached gives us a source for evaluating our own lives, the ministry of our church, and our associational mission. Paul gave the church at Rome one of the greatest compliments that any church would love to receive. Their faith was known throughout the whole Roman Empire. The witness of this great church should cause us to ask the questions that would help us determine the worth of our witness. What do churches of like faith and order think of our testimony?

Paul prayed for this church every time he prayed. Paul knew that they could not do the work that God had called them to do without praying for God’s leadership. Do we pray for the leadership of the church that we are privileged to be a member?
Do we pray for the mutual witness of the churches in our local, state, national associations? Do we pray for the leadership of
these mutual works?

Paul wanted to bless the church by exercising his spiritual gifts. But he also wanted to be blessed by the spiritual gifts that God had imparted to the Roman church. The Lord’s churches need to be a blessing to each other. Do we feel an obligation to do what is necessary so that we can preach the gospel to the entire world? Because of our mutual faith do we see the need to pray for our church ministries and the ministries of the churches in our associational work? Do we have a sense of expectation that God is going to bless the mutual faith in our local church and the churches we fellowship? Do we show eagerness to share the gospel with others? Are we a blessing or a hindrance to others?

by Dennis Baker, Brotherhood President

August 2016 – Assistant Mission Director’s Report

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I enjoyed our annual Camp in July and rejoice to see so many improvements in the facilities. Each year just gets better
and better. We praise God for souls being save and many saved folks who are now walking closer to God as a result of our
Camp Ministry. Camp Garwood is a good mission outreach.

I plan to attend the annual meeting of the BMA of Southwest Missouri which meets at Grandview Baptist Church in Springfield August 20th. I look forward to getting better acquainted with our brothers and sisters in that area of our great state. As we approach our annual meeting in October prayerfully prepare for what God has for us to do.

Preparing for LifeWord Sunday

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Lifeword_WebLogoOctober 23 is 2016 LifeWord Sunday and we want all BMA churches to be involved in learning about, praying for and giving to Lifeword on that day. To help each church participate in this emphasis day, we will be mailing out what used to be called “walk packets” to all BMA churches. Each packet will include a letter from Executive Director Steve Crawley, a 2016 Lifeword video, two posters and a sample bulletin insert. (Order more inserts online when you order your T-shirts at lifeword.org/lifewordsunday/ or contact holly@lifeword.org. We want BMA church members to understand our unique ministry that uses media to spread the gospel even if their churches no longer hold a fund-raising event like Walk for the World. The short video and bulletin inserts will help to tell our story. Pastors who commit to participate in Lifeword Sunday by registering their churches will be entered into a December 12th drawing for a 60-inch TV. Other requirements for entry include the following: naming a contact person for Lifeword Sunday/Walk for the World and sending in contributions (marked “Walk” or “Lifeword Sunday”) by December 12.

To register your church or order T-shirts, go to lifeword.org/lifewordsunday/. In addition to being entered into the drawing, pastors and Team Lifeword leaders will receive free T-shirts just for registering.

Don’t forget to mark your church calendar, register your church, show the video, give out inserts, and send in your contributions to enter to win the TV. (Churches who have already registered will be included in the drawing.)

Another Great Camp!

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It’s hard to believe another year has come and gone. Several have been asking about camp numbers. So lets begin by looking at some numbers. Our 2016 camp saw 347 campers, including 118 adults.

    The class breakdown was:

  • Teen Boys with Joey Duckworth had 30.
  • Teen Girls with Diatre Gilliam had 55.
  • 10-12 yr. old boys with Don Burke had 38.
  • 10-12 yr. old girls with Ladonna Baker had 31.
  • 8-9 yr. olds with Sharon Lourance and Lisa Payne had 16.
  • 6-7 yr. olds with Kari Hartlein and Allison Bisher had 17.
  • I didn’t get a count of the 1-5 yr. olds with Robin Elsey.

The best I can tell we had between 10-15 professions, and a couple decisions to serve the Lord in specific areas of ministry.
The Harper family once again did an excellent job leading our worship services preparing hearts to hear the word. Bro. Steven was a real blessing. Everyone seemed to be engaged during the services. Camp week overall was a great week. It’s our hope that the campers returned home safely, tired physically and refreshed spiritually. From what I’ve seen and heard, “Mission accomplished.”

Here are some other numbers that may interest you about camp week. We ate $7,889.15 worth of food and burned about $ 1,000 worth of electricity. Camp has 330 bunks, we filed 288 of them. Of the 42 empty bunks only 12 were in the girl dorms. We have 21 camper sites and used 17. Here are yet more numbers to ponder: Camp has 9 buildings, 14 A/C units, 3 water wells, 6 septic systems, 7 electric water heaters, 3 LP water heaters, 33 toilets, and 32 showers. We have plans to add 1 building and two new septic systems this year. Along with more camper site improvements and some general grounds improvements.

We have collected $ 25,518.08 for the new dorm and spent $2,000 of that on the bunks to fill it. Also, in 2016 we collected
$4,049.65 in DEW funds. While camp has just ended for most of you. I see it as camp 2017 is just starting. I have already repaired some things that broke during camp this year. The mowing continues until fall. And we are already working on some camper site upgrades. I’m looking forward to Camp 2017 and hope you will join me in praying for our speaker Bro. Shawn Hammontree and our camp committee as we make plans for next year’s camp!

by Chris Polk, Camp Superintendent (and super worker!)[editor’s note]

Free course on Comparative Religions

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BMA Seminary has good news for those who want to explore the other religions and compare them with Christianity. Good news for those who want to learn to distinguish between Christianity and other world religions. This fall our free course will explore many of the new religious movements as well as the older world religions. This course compares tenets of Christianity with those of major world religions and domestic cults such as: Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Shintoism, Taoism, Judaism, Islam, Mormonism, Christian Science, Seventh Day Adventism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Scientology, and other religions both in
America and world-wide.

Dr. Tony Cleaver, professor
The course will begin on September 5th and last 8 weeks.

    Textbooks:

  1. The Holy Bible – Student selected English translation
  2. Handbook of Religion: A Christian Engagement with Traditions, Teachings, and Practices – Terry C. Muck, Harold A. Netland, and Gerald R. McDermott, Baker Academic (ISBN 978-0-8010-3776-4)

    3. Please follow the link below to fill out the registration form.
    http://bmats.edu/other-educational-opportunities/freecourses/

    Lisa Satterwhite, Dean’s Assistant
    Dr. Philip Attebery, Dean

The Ministry of Prayer

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Colossians 4:2-3
“Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:”

The ability to speak to God through the utterance of prayer is a gift from God that must be used as God ordains. Prayer and worship are perhaps the highest uses of the gift of speech. Paul was an apostle, but he needed others to support him and his ministry with prayer. If a great missionary like Paul was not afraid to ask others to pray for himself and his ministry, how much more do you and I need this spiritual support! Paul provides four important points that will help us in our spiritual prayer life.

Be Faithful
“Continue in prayer,” means “Be steadfast in your prayer life; be devoted; don’t quiet.” This is what the early church did
in Acts 1:14. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of
Jesus, and with his brethren. Unfortunately, many of us pray only occasionally, when we feel like it or when there is a
crisis. God’s command is for us to, Pray without ceasing,1 Thessalonians 5:17. The application is that we should be
constantly in fellowship with God so that prayer is as normal to us as breathing.

This does not suggest that God is reluctant to answer prayer and that we must “wear Him out” by our praying. God enjoys answering our prayers. But, He sometimes delays theanswer to increase our faith and devotion and to accomplish His purposes at the right time. God’s delays are not always God’s denials. As we continue in prayer, our own hearts are prepared for the answer God will give. We will fid ourselves growing in grace even before His answer comes.

Be Watchful
We must be awake and alert as we pray. The phrase “Watch and pray!’ is often used in the Bible. Nehemiah used the phrase when he was rebuilding the walls and the gates of Jerusalem. Nehemiah 4:8-9, “And conspired all of them together to come and to fiht against Jerusalem, and to hinder it. Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.” Jesus used the phrase, “Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is,” Mark 13:33. Paul used the phrase. Ephesians 6:18, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” Real prayer demand spiritual energy and alertness, and this can only come from the Holy Spirit of God.

Be Thankful
“Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.” Thanksgiving is an important ingredient in successful praying. Philippians 4:6, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God.” Sincere gratitude to God is one of the best ways to put enthusiasm into our praying. When we recall that Paul wrote this while a prisoner, it makes this emphasis even more wonderful.

by Dennis Baker, Brotherhood President

Washington County District WMA

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The Washington County District WMA met June 10th at Temple Baptist Church in Belgrade, MO. After the men left for their Brotherhood meeting, President Barbara Williams gave a devotional on “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” reading from Philippians 4:6-7. At the conclusion of business, the program on “Encouragement” was given by Connie Reifsteck. The next district meeting will be at Zion Baptist Church, St. Louis, MO Friday, September 2, 2016. The host church provided delicious refreshments as all met
in the basement for fellowship.
by Norma Womble, Reporter

BMA of MO Annual Meeting

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bmalogoMark your calendars for the upcoming meeting!
October 22, 2016
9:00 a.m.
Bethel Baptist Church
Sikeston, Missouri

July 2016 – Assistant Mission Director’s Report

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We rejoice with Lindsay Lane Baptist Church in Florissant, Missouri, as they have called Bro. Brian Meade as Pastor and he has accepted their call. We pray for God’s blessings upon them as they labor together. Our hearts are saddened as we think of many of our churches who are still searching for pastors. We need to pray for these churches as they go through the difficult time of being without a shepherd and we need to pray that God will call more men who are willing to pastor His churches.

Our main responsibility in these days is to stay faithful to God and do our best to follow His will. May we encourage one another and work together for His honor and glory and work hard to reap a harvest of lost souls before it is too late. Please pray for your Assistant Missions Director and the Special Missions Committee as we meet before our annual meeting to make recommendations concerning our missions program. We need your prayerful support as we seek God’s leadership in our work in Missouri.

Do you know of someone who feels led to plant a church in Missouri or do you know of an area we need to investigate concerning
the potential of planting a church? Let me or a member of the Special Missions Committee know and we will consider your suggestions. We will be glad to interview possible missionary candidates, investigate possible fields, or do whatever we can to plant new churches as God leads.

Thank you for your support of Missions in Missouri!

Teaching Children Transgenderism Is Normal Is Child Abuse

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By Larry Page, Executive Director Arkansas Faith and Ethics Council via The Baptist Trumpet

The American College of Pediatricians (ACP) has issued a warning to educators, policy-makers and others whose work involve children. The message is simple and straightforward — do not set policy and adopt curriculum that teaches the young that transgenderism is normal.

Transgenderism is defied as “a state or condition in which a person identifis with or expresses a gender identity that
differs from the one which corresponds to the person’s sex at birth.” Since the condition of transgenderism is classified as
a mental illness, to teach it as being normal and to promote it as being a healthy alternative is child abuse, so says the ACP.

In its report, the national doctors’ organization said that, “Facts — not ideology — determine reality.” The report further explained that “No one is born with an awareness of themselves as male or female; this awareness develops over time and, like all developmental processes, may be derailed by a child’s subjective perceptions, relationships and adverse experiences from infancy forward. People who identify as ‘feeling like the opposite sex’ or ‘’somewhere in between’ do not comprise a third sex.
They remain biological men or biological women.”

When an otherwise healthy child believes he or she is a member of the opposite sex, that indicates a psychological problem requiring treatment of the mind, not the body. In other words, it is a mental issue and not a physical one. The psychological condition is known as “gender dysphoria,” once called gender identity disorder. It has been recognized as a mental disorder by the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual.

Research shows that most children who are gender confused accept their biological sex after they pass naturally through
puberty transition. However, if prior to puberty, the gender confused children are given puberty blockers to help them
mimic the other sex, the gender confusion will not only likely continue but will be further reinforced with the introduction of
cross-sex hormones during later adolescence. Those misguided professionals who want to “help” those children find their “real” identities by providing them with cross-sex hormones are consigning many of them to a life of confusion, despair and serious consequences — both physical and mental. Cross-sex hormones, such as testosterone and estrogen, must be administered regularly if any semblance of being the other sex is to be maintained. Those drugs are linked to high blood pressure, blood clots,
strokes, cancer and other serious health conditions. Also, higher rates of suicide among adults, up to 20 times greater,
are associated with the use of crosssex hormones and so-called sex reassignment surgery.

Those facts underscore the reality that gender dysphoria is a psychological issue, not a physical problem. The ACP reiterated the main point when it said, “Conditioning children into believing a lifetime of chemical and surgical impersonation of the opposite sex is normal and healthful is child abuse.” (llp@arfaith.org)