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VSM Basketball Mission to Philippines Successful

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This year’s BMAA Volunteer Student Mission Basketball team included 8 members from 3 states.
The team worked with EIM missionary Jhun Santos in the Philippines who arranged great opportunities for the team to use its basketball skills to promote the Gospel and make the name of Christ known.
The team held 3 man tournaments, had several exhibition games, ministered in local churches, distributed over 300 Shepherd Bags to children is the mountain region of Negros Occidental and was interviewed for local newspapers and television broadcast. Another highlight of the team was hosting a dinner for all BMAA missionaries serving in the Bacolod region.
Plans for the Summer of 2014 are underway. Students who love basketball, but love God more are encouraged to apply for next year’s team by going to bmaamissions.org and filling out the basketball application in the VSM tab, or for more information call or e-mail Stan Scroggins at 870-234-3595 – stan@fbcmagnolia.com

September 2013 – Mission Director’s Report

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How a Coach Can Help You Move Forward

Imagine for a moment what it would be like if someone would come alongside you and tell you they believe in you and that they believe that God is at work in your life. This person would be skilled both in asking good questions and in listening to your answers. They would encourage you to listen to the Holy Spirit and discover what it is God wants you to do. The conversation would be about you, your needs, and your agenda. At the end of the discussion, you would have greater understanding and insight plus a step-by-step action plan to move you forward toward God’s goals for you. This person would certainly have great value in your life. Who is this person? A coach! The things I have described are what a good Christian coach will attempt to do with you in a coaching conversation.
Despite the benefits of working with a coach, there is often hesitation in getting started. One reason may be due to a misunderstanding of what happens in a coaching relationship. A coach is not a supervisor, a consultant, a counselor, a mentor, or someone who is an expert at telling you what to do. In the professional world, all of those roles exist and are needed. But a coach is none of the above. What, then, is a coach and what do they do? In my training as a coach, I have come across several good definitions of coaching:
“Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them.” — Timothy Galloway
“Coaching is the process of coming alongside a person or team to help them discover God’s agenda for their life and ministry, and then cooperating with the Holy Spirit to see that agenda become a reality.” — Bob Logan
“Coaching is an ongoing intentional conversation that empowers a person or group to fully live out God’s calling.” –Keith Webb
In these definitions, there are some key words that reflect the goal of coaching: empower, unlocking, learn, discover, cooperating, maximize, and process. The coach comes to the relationship realizing that each person needs to discover for themselves what God wants them to do. Coaches aid in that process, but it’s not about telling others what to do; it’s about helping them discover it for themselves.
When asked to explain what I do as a coach, I often reply that I help people discern where they are, where they want to go, and how they will get there. Everyone can identify with the need for change, the desire to improve, and the dream of moving forward under God’s leading and blessing. The power of coaching will help you accomplish your goals quicker, more efficiently, and with greater confidence.
There are other benefits to coaching that provide great value. Bob Logan, an experienced coach, states that coaching provides the following advantages:
• Provides encouragement for the journey
• Cultivates wisdom and strategic insights
• Discovers breakthrough opportunities
• Maintains focus on the truly important
• Transforms vision into reality
The bottom line is – coaching works. Do you have something that needs to get done? Do you feel stuck and want some forward movement? Would you like someone who believes that God can accomplish His will in you to join you in the journey? Consider getting a coach.
If your church believes that it could benefit from training its leaders to coach others, then I would be glad to come to your church and conduct a 2-Day Coaching Workshop. If you have more questions about coaching, go to my website at: www.youneedcoaching.com and check out the information provided on my links.

Camp Garwood 2013 Heroes of the Faith

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August 2013 – Mission Director’s Report

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I want to share with you this month an article that was written by one of our BMAA church planters in Northwest Arkansas. His name is Brandon Cox and he is planting the Grace Hills Church in Rogers, AR. He also happens to be my son-in-law, but despite that fact, he wrote a great article that really spoke to my heart. As someone who has recently resigned his church after 14 years service, I have wondered what I could have done better to help my church be all that God wanted her to be. After reading Brandon’s article, I realized that there were a number of areas that I should have protected and emphasized in my own life and ministry. I hope this article will help you, Pastor, as you lead your flock!

10 Ways to Raise the Spiritual Temperature of Your Church

By Brandon Cox
There is a cold, hard fact I remind myself of often as a Pastor. No one does more to determine the spiritual temperature of my church than me, the Pastor. It’s part of shepherding. I’m the lid. I’m the limit.

I define passion as the heated desire with us to do or to be something. Paul talked about being on fire (ready is prothumos or “on heat”) to preach (Romans 1:17) and told Timothy to “fan into flame the gift of God within him” (2 Timothy 1:6). I believe Pastors are the primary thermostat when it comes to the spiritual temperature of the church.

That doesn’t always mean a lukewarm church is led by a lukewarm Pastor. There are always exceptions. Sometimes passionate leaders lead apathetic people – just ask Moses. And sometimes apathetic leaders have passionate followers – but usually not for long. But since I’m writing to Pastors and leaders, I’ll simply say that if you’re frustrated that people don’t seem passionate and driven enough, you must start with a check of your own temperature.

When you find yourself in a spot where you’re leading a lukewarm body of people in a mission that demands passion, there are some things you must do to change the game. Fair warning – preaching at people out of your frustration isn’t one of them.

  1. Get alone with God. Absolutely nothing kindles passion within you like time with Jesus. He loves the church far more than you do – enough that He gave His life for it in a way that you never could. HE is the ultimate source of passion for ministry.
  2. When you get alone with God, repent of sin in your life. What I mean is, do a soul-searching, dark-dusty-corner-sweeping inventory of what might be distracting you from the main business of your calling. Whatever you find, repent of it.
  3. Pray more often, longer, and more personally than ever. I don’t believe God is offended by passionate praying. He is offended by flippant prayer that fails to recognize His supreme power and authority over all things. Go boldly and often!
  4. Talk to a mentor or coach. I’ve been encouraged through some of the darkest moments of my life in leadership by some of my greatest heroes on earth. Everybody needs models, mentors, and friends.
  5. Share your vision again… and again. Remember, vision leaks and the tank runs empty every six weeks or so. So cast your vision to key leaders individually, to teams collectively, and speak the language of your vision to the whole body regularly.
  6. Love people. If you don’t love people, you’ll get angry with them for letting you down and failing to help you accomplish your goals. But if you love them, it’s no longer about what they can do for you – you’re suddenly concerned for their own lack of joy and growth.
  7. Diagnose and remove leadership lids. One of the most important laws of leadership that John Maxwell has ever spoken about is the law of the lid. If you’re an 8 on a scale of 10, you’ll never lead others beyond a 7. So grow. Don’t be the lid.
  8. Go first. If you want people to have a servant’s heart, serve. If you want them to be people of prayer, pray. If you want bold evangelists, share Jesus. Never expect others to do what you as the leader have an unwillingness to go first in.
  9. Change the game. Change forces people out of their comfort zones and often provokes new growth, even when it’s painful. The moments when I’ve grown the most in my life have always been times of transition.
  10. Empower other leaders. Moses led well, but his leadership really took off when Jethro helped him get organized. Good churches are led by passionate leaders, but great churches are led by passionate teams of leaders.

It always starts with something spiritual – worship. Nothing stirs the fire of God in our hearts more than worship, praise, and prayer. The best place to start raising the temperature of your church is in your own heart, and the best place to start doing that is on your knees.

Jesus Camp 2013 Richwoods, Missouri

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July 21st – 27th, Jesus Camp 2013 will be held at the Meramec Retreat Center in Richwoods, Missouri. Junior camp will be 21st -24th then teens will come in from the 24th – 27th. The theme will be BEING REAL IN AN UNREAL WORLD.

We welcome you to attend. If you have not already registered please call Bethel Baptist Church in Lonedell at 636-629-2978. For more information visit here.

Please pray for this camp time that God will bless. A busy camp is being planned, May God Bless.

Camp Garwood 2013 is Almost Here!

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July 29 – August 2 is sure to be a great time of worship, fellowship and fun!

Our theme “Heroes of the Faith” taken from Hebrews 11:38 encourages us to live out our faith in trying times and find encouragement in the lives of those who have served before us.
We still need some teachers! Anyone willing to help with these age groups (0-2, 3-4, 5-7) please contact me ASAP.

Remember to select your Disciple In Training (DIT). Each church can send one youth as a representative. The DIT should be responsible, able to provide feedback, and accept responsibilities during camp week. The DITs will meet each night at 11:00 p.m. on the canteen patio.

T-shirts: The deadline for pre-orders is July 17th. Your church can e-mail, message me on Facebook, or call in your pre order. We will only have a few extra shirts made, so to insure you get one PRE-ORDER! T-shirts are $10.

Please go over the camp rules with your group before coming to camp. Be sure to stress modest clothing, including long shorts. You can also encourage your youth to wear a swimsuit under their clothes during recreation time if they intend to get wet.

I can’t express enough the need for your prayers. There is a short time to get things ready. It’s crunch time and we need all the prayers we can get: for energy, encouragement, remembering what we haven’t thought of yet, and for all the camp workers, sponsors, the lost who will be hearing the gospel and for laborers in the harvest and for the safety of the campers.

We are looking forward to camp week and hope you are too!

As always, we do not charge for camp attendance although the average cost per camper to host camp week is about $45. Any help in offsetting that cost is greatly appreciated. Campers can also support Camp Garwood by participating in the DEW program. DEW, Dollar Every Week, is a great way to support camp a little at a time. DEW funds can be brought to camp, sent in monthly, quarterly, or whenever the individual or church group is ready.

One thing every Christian can do for Camp is PRAY! We need YOU as a prayer warrior and need you to pray daily for Camp!

by Chris Polk, Camp Superintendent
P.O. Box 271 • Matthews, MO 63867
cpolk@cablerocket.com
573-380-1975

2013 Camp – July 29 – August 2

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at Camp Garwood, Garwood Missouri

Camp Theme: “Heroes of the Faith”
Hebrews 11:38 “… of whom the world was not worthy.”

Camp Evangelist: Wade Allen (missionary to the Philippines)

Camp Music Leaders: The Harper Family

Each church is encouraged to have one responsible youth (18 or younger) who is capable of fulfilling various roles around camp, and a member of a BMA Church, who will be designated as their Disciple In Training (DIT). First meeting of DIT’s will be Monday night at 11:00 (lights out time).

Remember to bring a filled out and signed “Medical Release Form” for each camper in your group. Sponsors keep the forms in case they are needed.

A packet containing sample medical release forms, Camp rules, Camp Schedule, and a message for all campers from Bro. Chris Polk has been sent to each church. If you need more information please call Bro. Chris at 573-380-1975.

REMEMBER: We do not charge a camp fee (we want everyone to come) but it does take money to operate the camp.
The average cost to have camp for 5 days is $45 per camper.

Please read the note from Bro. Polk and be familiar with the camp rules

2012 Minutes Available

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The electronic form of the 2012 Minute of the BMA of Missouri Annual meeting (PDF format) is available along with previous Minutes on the website.

Click here to go to the minutes page.

The new 2013 Annual Church Letter is also available to download and print.

Provided by Don Burke, Clerk

Reconciling Your Marriage

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by Travis Plumlee

The skills I will list in this article are not just for couples with hurting marriages. They are good skills for all married couples to employ to resolve issues that come up in the marriage. However, for a couple with troubles, these are the keys to helping you get your marriage back on track. The first thing you need to know is Luke 1:37. “For with God, nothing shall be impossible.” There is no problem that God cannot solve. He desires for all marriages to make it. All of heaven is pulling for you two. All the resources of heaven are at your disposal – Philippians 4:19. If both of you believe the bible and who God is; then you are going to be able to get through this. You will be able to be reconciled and restored. It is not too hard. Christ will give you strength – Philippians 4:13. If you don’t know what to do; ask God. He will give you wisdom – Hebrews 1:5. And you must never do what you think is best. You must do what God knows is best, and sometimes it won’t make sense to you. You may not even like what He leads you to do. But it will always be the right thing to do. Proverbs 3:5, 6.

Here are some things that couples can do to help improve their marriages.

ADDRESS all issues one at a time. We have to clear the air. We have to unpack stuff that has been in the marriage for a long time that keeps causing problems over and over again. As a couple, you may play like it is done. But then it keeps coming back doesn’t it? You have to solve all issues. Current ones, and those that are still lying there unresolved in the marriage suitcase. But don’t unpack the whole thing in one night. That’s an all-nighter to avoid. You need to work on one thing per week. Just discuss one subject at a time, and call each other’s attention when the conversation starts drifting to other subjects. One subject at a time. Don’t overload the plate. Communicate and negotiate a solution.

ADMIT attitudes and action that need to change. This is a difficult thing that most couples will never be honest about. It’s not always pleasant, but the alternative is to just live with irritability or pain the rest of your life. Let’s be honest. Grow up and speak the truth IN LOVE. Ephesians 4:15. You must both be humble and talk about very specific things to change. Clarify if you don’t understand. “What do you mean when you say that I nag too much? Or I put you down all the time in front of others?” Be specific with behaviors. I can’t do anything with the statement, “You make me so mad!” I can change a behavior. “You make me mad when you refuse to help me around the house.” That is specific, and we can negotiate how to deal with that. You are negative. That can be a specific attitude to work on.

APOLOGIZE. Seems simple and easy. But it is very hard for some people to ever do. If you can’t ever apologize, then you have some personal spiritual issues you need to grow through before we tackle the marriage issues. You may need to get rid of your pride. James 4:10. Or it may not be pride. You may have low self-esteem issues that prevent you from understanding that no one is perfect, yet you are still loved and accepted by God. You see everything that you must apologize for as a direct attack on your self-worth. You can’t admit mistakes or you will feel unworthy. So, you defend your fort at all cost. You need to study specific scripture and come to know who you are in Christ. Then, apologize as needed.

ACCEPT responsibility for your actions. The second part of this is to ACCEPT the consequences of your behavior. For example, if you lied to your spouse, then apologize, accept responsibility for it; and then understand that there will be consequences. You broke the trust bond. It can be re-earned, but it will take some time. You must show your mate again through actions that you can be trusted. This takes time. Do not make statements like, ”Well, I wouldn’t have done it if you would have…” That is what I mean when I say you are not taking responsibility for your actions. Your spouse doesn’t make you do wrong. You choose to do that in response to them. But it is still your choice. Own it.

ALTER your behavior. You have to actually change. All people can change. But lasting change requires it to be from the inside out. Not the other way. We can all change momentarily for a week to better behavior. But for lasting change, it requires the Holy Spirit. Ask God for change. You must mean it. He knows your true heart. You can’t just tell God to change you to make your partner happy. He knows if you are sincere. It will take time. You will mess up again, but keep moving forward. God can heal, change and grow all people. Seek God with your whole heart. Jeremiah 29:13. Finally, ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness is deeper than apology. And a good marriage is based upon two good forgivers. You must ask for it quickly, and you must always give it. After forgiveness, comes the work on your feelings. Just be obedient first, and then God will work on the junk in time. God bless you both on your journey.

Family Ark Ministries
Travis Plumlee, Director
P.O. Box 163 • Mountain View, Arkansas 72560
E-mail: kingofthemountain@mvtel.net
WebSite: travisplumlee.com

VSM Basketball Team Heads To The Philippines

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This year’s Volunteer Student Missions Basketball team will travel to the Philippines to work with Evangelistic International Ministries and local BMAA missionaries. The team will lead in 3 man tournaments, basketball camps for younger children, play exhibition games, lead in youth camps and youth rallies and speak in local churches. Each year the team prepares a service project to benefit the local mission. This year the team will distribute Shepherd Bags to local children. The eight member team finished a weekend of training in Magnolia which prepared them to lead in music, testimonies, evangelistic presentations as well as teaching various basketball skills.

Team VSM Philippines members are:
Back Row: (l to r) Tyler Brantley is a Sophomore at Central Baptist College from Mt. Union Baptist Church in Junction City, Arkansas. Tyler Sykora is a graduate of Southern Arkansas University from First Baptist Church in Magnolia, Arkansas, Zek Ross is a Senior from Majestic View Baptist Church in Kiowa, Colorado.

Middle Row: (l to r) Team Coach Jimmy Walker is Church & School Administer for Garrett Memorial Baptist Church in Hope, Arkansas. Team Leader Stan Scroggins is Music & Missions pastor for First Baptist Church in Magnolia, Arkansas.

Front Row: (l to r) Mason Moses is a Senior from Garrett Memorial Baptist Church in Hope, Arkansas. Caleb Smith is a Senior from Majestic View Baptist Church in Kiowa, Colorado. Seth Foster is a Senior from Garrett Memorial Baptist Church in Hope, Arkansas.

It is time to begin making plans for our team for the Summer of 2014.
Interested players are encouraged to contact Stan Scroggins at First Baptist Church in Magnolia, Arkansas stan@fbcmagnolia.com (870)562-9409.