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Six of our pastors met in St. Clair, MO for a joint prayer retreat between the BMA of Missouri Special Mission Committee and the Meramec Landmark Baptist Mission Committee. We discussed various facets of church planting and what steps we need to take to help our churches be more involved in the process. There is more work and praying for us to do, but the committees came up with the following action steps:
1. First Baptist, Potosi, will be hosting a workshop entitled, “Using Home Bible Studies to Plant Churches.” This workshop will answer the questions: Who can host a Bible Study in their home? What will he do? How can I facilitate a Bible Study? How does this kind of study lead to a new church plant? The date is Saturday, February 22 @ 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Lunch is provided.
2. Host a Coaching Workshop at Friendship Baptist Church, St. Clair on March 28-29, 2014. This workshop will equip lay leaders and pastors to listen better, ask the right questions, build awareness, and to move others forward in completing their goals.
3. In the near future (TBA), after a group of leaders are identified who are committed to beginning a new church plant, we will host a “Church Multiplication” training that will prepare them for the work and preparation of church planting.
Everyone is invited to attend any of these training and the committees feel that the trainings will help us to move forward in the planting of new churches.
We do have a change of location for our mission symposium and mid-year meeting in May. Pastor Justin Arender of Faith Baptist asked me to find another church for the meeting due to some concerns he had about the meeting dates and the church’s schedule. I asked Pastor Drew Sawyer and the Lindsay Lane Baptist Church if they would host the meeting, and they have agreed to do so. Thank you, Lindsay Lane, for stepping up at the last minute and serving our association! The dates are May 16 -17 so please mark your calendars.
I have a special prayer request. I will be traveling to Bolivia on February 24 – March 8 and making a 450 mile trip on the MSS Arrington River Boat. A group of 8 BMAA men are traveling to the River Bible Institute and will attempt to complete the construction of classrooms, kitchen, and dormitory space. We will host church services each night and I will serve as one of the evangelists. Pray for our safety, our labor, and for souls to be saved.

byDanny Kirk

The Special Missions Committee met at Perryville, MO last month and the meeting provided an opportunity for great discussion on current mission works and plans for the future of church planting in Missouri. Below is a synopsis of a few of the actions taken at this meeting:

1. An offering of $1000 was approved to be given to the Refuge Work Fund in Nixa, MO. All agreed that John and Alisha Herring are doing a great job in establishing a new work and our state missions program can and should provide financial assistance.

2. Our Mission Symposium emphasis offering is designated to the Missouri Baptist Paper. Our state paper is one of the finest within the BMAA and is in need of financial support if it is to maintain its current format. We hope every church will consider giving a special emphasis offering in May, 2014.

3. Our Missions Director will host a 2-Day Prayer Retreat with both the missions committees of both the BMA of MO and the Meramec Association. During the retreat we will consider and discuss the practical step-by-step plans for church planting found in the book “Missional Journey” by Robert Logan and Dave DeVries. Both of these authors are recognized experts in the field of church planting and now they have provided a wonderful guide on how to make disciples, that will in turn, plant churches. From this retreat, we will put together further action plans that move toward more churches being planted. Pray with us that God will provide wisdom and courage during the retreat: January 27-28, 2014.

I am very grateful to the pastors who serve on our missions committees. They tirelessly give of their time and energy to seek out new mission fields, assess worthy missionary candidates, and provide me with wise counsel. When I think about the past few years, I wish that more churches were planted. Yet I know that these men have followed God’s leading and have done the very best job with the opportunities that God has presented.

Danny Kirk