Baptist Missionary Association of Missouri
JULY 25 – 29, 2022
Camp Theme: Forward in Faith 2 Peter 1:5-7
Dear churches,
It’s hard to believe, but here we are in the fifth month of 2022. In the state association that means Missions Symposium and the mid-year state meeting of our associated churches.
This year’s meetings will be held at Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Lonedell, MO on Friday, May 20 – Saturday, May 21. We cordially invite EVERYONE to worship and learn about our missions efforts abroad and here in the state of Missouri.
The Missions Symposium will begin Friday, May 20 at 6pm with worship in song, then Bro. Larry Wood will present his ministry, church planting in Ukraine, and his new efforts.
We will have a small break for refreshments, then resume with special singing and a report from Bro. Juan Fernandez on his work with Hispanics in the St. Louis area. Bro. Juan has been seeing wonderful seed planting and harvest.
We may have a surprise guest missionary speaker, then I will close out the evening with a report of the BMAMO efforts.
On Saturday, May 21 we will begin at 9am. Bro. Jerry Adams will lead our Association through the mid-year meeting and Bethel will provide a lunch for all attendees.
Please pray that there will be a sweet Spirit and the Lord will be lifted up in these meetings.
It’s my sincere desire to see us encouraged and challenged by what God is doing to reach a lost world to Himself.
Ben Kingston
A Summary of the BMAA Annual Meeting
by Jeff Herring, Executive Director Baptist Trumpet
The 73rd annual meeting of the Baptist Missionary Association of America met in Springfield, Mo., April 18-20. The theme of the meeting was “Preach the Word,” and I believe the entire meeting displayed a remarkable spirit of unity based on the preaching of the Word of God.
The meeting began with a welcome from Gary Longstaff, pastor of Grandview Baptist Church, which served as the host church for the meeting. Those in attendance also heard from Springfield, Mo. native and former US Attorney General John Ashcroft.
The opening session featured a message by BMA President Dr. Clif Johnson (See the printed sermon on page 1 or visit BaptistTrumpet.com/BMAA2022 for the complete video.) It was a challenging reminder to keep the Word of God at the heart of what we do and allow it to combat the hostile culture we are currently facing.
It was also a reminder that “preaching the Word” is not limited to preachers. All Christians have the responsibility to consistently live out and share the Word with those around them. He closed the session by inviting pastors who were 65 and older to come forward and step out in the aisles. He then encouraged all younger pastors to find an older pastor and spend some time praying for each other.
Tuesday began with the National Women’s Missionary Auxiliary Conference which met at Grandview Baptist Church and the National Brotherhood Meeting which took place at the convention center. There were also seven breakout sessions offered at 9:30 & 10:45 a.m. that attendees could choose to attend.
The Tuesday afternoon session began with the welcoming and seating of messengers from six petitioning churches:
After some associational business, those in attendance were able to hear from Jason Goodwin as he preached about the “Sufficiency of the Word.” Bro. Goodwin was asked to fill in since the planned speaker, Justin Peters, was not able to attend due to illness.
The session also included a time of worship in song led by Jack Daniels, minister of music at Garrett Memorial Baptist Church in Hope (where President Clif Johnson is pastor), along with Charlotte Ritchey and the praise band that volunteered their time for the duration of the meeting. The BMATS Singers (Dean of Students Dr. Phillip Attebery, Dr. David Hellwig and Administrative Assistant to the President Keri Southern) also shared some special music prior to the message.
After the Tuesday afternoon session concluded, the annual BMA Seminary Dinner was held and Richard Smith, lead pastor of Farley Street Baptist Church in Waxahachie was presented with the Kellar Award for 2022.
The Tuesday evening session began with the election of the associational officers as required by the Principles of Cooperation. President Johnson explained that, according to his understanding they were confirmed by the parliamentarians, since the current officers were not elected to the positions in which they are now serving, they are still eligible to be elected for the first time by the association. Dr. Clif Johnson, pastor of Garrett Memorial Baptist Church in Hope was elected to serve as president of the association and Charles Johnson, pastor of Rosewood Baptist Church in Gilmer, Texas was elected to serve as the first vice-president. Gary Longstaff, pastor of Grandview Baptist Church in Springfield, Mo. was elected as the second vice-president.
Randy Shepherd, pastor of Spring Lake Baptist Church in Texarkana, Texas, was elected to serve another term as recording secretary, with a term to expire in 2025. Jerome Cooper (term to expire in 2023) and Greg Medenwald (term to expire in 2024) are the other elected recording secretaries.
Richard Smith preached the annual message, entitled “Preach the Powerful Word.” After an introduction to the sermon, special music by Shelby Race, music minister at Calvary Baptist Church in Fairfield, Texas, was shared during the sermon. Bro. Smith then challenged those present from Ezekiel 37 concerning the “dry bones” coming to life as the Word of the Lord was shared. The challenge was to know the Lord and make Him known by preaching the Word to spiritually dead people so that the Spirit of God can move as only He can because He is our only hope. The video of the sermon can be found at BaptistTrumpet.com/BMAA2022.)
The Wednesday morning session was the time set aside to hear from all our departments about the work that God has been and is doing. A video of each department’s report from this session will be available as soon as possible at BaptistTrumpet.com/BMAA2022 in the next few weeks. Chairman of the Coordinating Council Jeff Swart presented the recommended changes to the Principles of Cooperation. They were approved, discussed and set aside to be voted on in the next session. Following the approval, Bro. Swart submitted his resignation as chairman of the Coordinating Council due to health reasons. He stated that Paul White, previous chairman and president of the association, has agreed to serve in the role. Jordan Tew was elected as the new executive director of Baptist Publishing House. All other department leaders were re-elected.
The Wednesday afternoon session began with a report from National WMA President Charlotte Johnson. She shared that they had 175 ladies attend the Women’s Conference on Tuesday morning and that they raised over $65,000 for this year’s project— the Darlene Carey Academy in the Philippines. BMAA Missionary Tammy Wood shared at the Women’s Conference about the relief efforts for the Ukrainian people and after she spoke, they collected approximately $9,000 for the BMA Ukrainian Relief Fund. The National WMA chose Daniel Springs Baptist Camp for this year’s project, with the goal of raising $60,000.
The second annual Legacy Missionary Awards followed, and President of Missions Dr. John David Smith shared that the main criteria for being chosen as a Legacy Missionary is to have served for at least 30 years in God’s global mission as part of the BMAA Missions team. Prior to the introduction of the Legacy Missionaries, he challenged the audience with the question, “How will you outlive your life?”
The following Legacy Missionaries were presented for 2022: John & Shirley Ladd, Marvin & Helen Lloyd, Dale & Barbara Thornton and the late Don & Linda Newsom.
Following the recognition ceremony, which included a time for the missionaries to share, John Michael Poulin (who serves as the field coordinator for Southeast Asia for BMAA Missions) shared a challenging message about taking “All the Word to All the World.”
The final session of the meeting was held Wednesday night, and it is always a highlight of the meeting as all newly elected missionaries are able to be presented. President of Missions Dr. John David Smith began the evening by giving his annual report. (He would normally present this during the Wednesday morning session, but his arrival at the meeting was delayed because his mother-in-law passed away on Sunday). After recognition of the newly elected missionaries, those that are currently serving, along with the missions office personnel were invited to come to the stage for the commissioning prayer that was led by BMAA Missionary to Ecuador Buddy Johnson.
Mission Symposium – May 20th 6:00 p.m.
Mid-Year Business Meeting –
May 21st 9:00 a.m.
at
Bethel Baptist Church – Lonedell, MO
Dear Missouri Churches,
What a wonderful men’s Renewal Retreat we had! Special thanks to:
Dr. Gavin Hooks, who was our speaker that spoke on his book ‘The Core Principle,’ which is love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.
Bro. Chris Polk and his crew for preparing and serving our meals – it was tremendous!
Every man that was able to be there just had an amazing time! I want to encourage you, men, please mark March 24-25, 2023 on your calendar for our next Renewal Retreat per approval at our semi-annual meeting and the Meramec annual meeting as they fund the event.
Our annual Missions Symposium is right around the corner – May 20 at Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Lonedell, Missouri beginning at 6:00PM. Bro.Larry Wood will speak to us about his missionary efforts in Ukraine, the three churches that have been planted there, and about church planting in general. Bro. Juan Fernandez will give a report and I will give a report as your missions Director. I’m so looking forward to this meeting. We will begin at 6:00 PM, take a half hour break at 7:00 PM and will end somewhere in the neighborhood of 8:30 p.m.
Please plan to come! There are two hotels in the area: Super 8 and Pinemark, where many of you stayed last year when the Mission Symposium was at New Testament. Please invite your church folks and let’s pack this event out for brother Larry and brother Juan. I know that you’re going to be blessed as we come and hear about missions and see how we can be more involved as a Church and as an association in our missions effort.
The semi-annual association meeting will also meet at Bethel church at 9 AM that Saturday, May 21.
If you have any questions about Mission Symposium, please do not hesitate to contact me 636-629-2526 and if you have questions about the semi-annual meeting on Saturday, Bro. Jerry Adams is our moderator, so he’s the one to contact about that.
I look forward to seeing you on May 20 and 21. May the Lord richly bless you!
Ben Kingston
“I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase” … 1 Cor 3:6 (KJV)
Home Bible Study:
Baby Isaac is here! Our friends Nahum and Ermelinda’s baby Isaac was born on 2/27 at 9:25 p.m. in the St. Mary’s Hospital in Richmond’s Heights, MO. He is 6 lbs7 oz. and 19 inches long. Very healthy and strong baby. He arrived 3 weeks early surprisingly for his parents and all of us. I met him 30 minutes after his birth and stayed almost until 2:00 am.
Bible Study in Misión Bautista Belen: Sunday 9:00 am starting this 3/6 is called Discovery Bible Group. We are promoting it on Facebook page “Misión Bautista Hispana” and with our many contacts we have made since 3/2021 We are hoping to practice hospitality and offering coffee and doughnuts those who arrive early… in our community we are known for always arriving late, so some encouragement here. We promote this event through our FB page so if you have a chance to hit like and share that will help to spread the word and this unity to share will be a blessing to others who don’t know about Jesus.
Evangelism:
We are so happy that spring is around the corner, also we are so thankful for this opportunity to say thank you for keeping me and my family in your prayers. We continue reaching out to Hispanic families and individuals in this area of Missouri, Harvest is plenty! Continue praying for more laborers. It is a privilege to bring you an update on how God is leading us.
Bible contacts, every Saturday from 9:00 to 11:00 am we are partnering with local business owner where Hispanic spend time shopping and hanging out to connect and offer time to hand out a Bible and go over the basics of the gospel. This has been a huge learning curve about our community. Many of the people contacted don’t have interest nor have heard about passages like John 3:16. Harvest is plenty!
Prayer:
Prayer Network: Follow us @Belenprayernetwork every day 12:00 pm. We read a passage of Scripture and pray for Salvation for each one of our contacts and special prayer request for health and wisdom while life happens. Wednesday at 7:00 pm in Florissant we continue recording a lesson of discipleship on Facebook live.
• Prayer walks: Every day from 2:00 to 2:45 pm we walk in neighborhoods seeking for open doors to share the gospel and pray for people in need.
Special Training this Month!
Aligning every believer with the mission of Jesus. The Multiplication Workshop a Missional Challenge by Dr. David DeVries. I pray and hope you have had the privilege of going through this amazing, effective practical tool for you and your ministry. I was able to join this training a second time last week in Conway Arkansas. Bro. Larry Barker, Elvis Garcia and Eli did an awesome job training us with real life experience and this amazing workbook.
Applying the WIN acronym:
What are we doing WELL?
What do I need to IMPROVE
and finally
What is Next?
I was able to redefine our Vision and core Values as well adjust our ministry timeline. In the last couple weeks, we have lost contact with two families who were already planning to join our church plant and becoming significant part of the core team. We celebrated 18 worship services, then they stopped coming and communicating…well God knows we did the best to equip them with the gospel. Now is time to go back to the basics: Prayer, Evangelism and Bible Study. We are excited to start a Discovery Bible Study this coming Sunday. If you have not gone through this workshop, I highly recommend it. It will encourage, will energize and help you define better your purpose and reason to serve the Lord Jesus.
“And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation”
2 Corinthians 5:18
Dios le bendiga! God bless you.
David Earl Griggs, age 70, of St. Louis, MO passed away Thursday, February 10, 2022. David was born September 29, 1951 in St. Louis, MO. Beloved son of the late John D. and Pearlie M. Griggs (nee Smith). Dearest brother of Delmar (Vicki) Griggs and Darran (Christine) Griggs. Loving uncle of Christopher Drysdale, Eric Griggs, Elizabeth Griggs and John Griggs. Our dear cousin, pastor and friend of many.
David pastored Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church in Lemay, MO for 35 years. Outside his loving family David was a dear cousin, pastor and friend of many. His personality is revealed by some of the comments made by those who knew him best.
A friend said, “Bro. David was a very special person. When he came to Emmanuel, he became part of my family. He was a blessing to all that knew him. I have many fond memories of Bro. David. Always there when you needed him!”
A relative said, “Uncle David was one of the most influential people in my life. He introduced me to GOD, he embraced me as his own nephew. This man was, and still is, the most pure Soul I have ever met!”
And still another friend said,” An outstanding singer, minister, and wonderful personal friend. He was in my college choirs and especially on several European concert tours.”
The funeral service was at Lakewood Baptist Church, near Potosi, MO February 16, with Pastor Mike Jarvis officiating. Interment was at Lakewood Baptist Church Cemetery.
Dear BMA of MO Churches:
Wow, we have two months in the book of 2022. The ole speed boat of life is barreling down the lake, that’s for sure.
We have been telling you about the Renewal Retreat for a couple of months, and now it’s decision time! I am asking all our pastors to prayerfully consider attending this special time. Please invite the men of your church also because this is for all the men of the association. This is a free event! Bro. Gavin Hooks will share in four sessions about the need of our churches and individuals to carry out ‘The Core Principle.’
You may ask, “What is the core principle?” Mark 12:29-31 KJV “And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”
This is probably one of the most popular or most well-known scriptures in the Word of God. In his sessions, brother Gavin will bring out the connection between these verses, America’s founding, and the desperate need today of the Body of Christ to continue to carry out this principle, which is to be the core of all we do.
Please pray that many of our pastors and men attend, and please pray that we hear from God on this most vital issue. I have had several indicate that they are coming, and I am thrilled and excited. If you could, let us know when you get this paper how many are coming from your church, then we can make food arrangements.
I continue to hear great things from the churches that are taking the benchmark assessment. If you don’t get the result you were hoping for, please don’t lose heart! Remember: this is a twice a year endeavor so please attempt to assess your church every six months. If you have any questions, please contact me. I would love to personally present Missouri missions to your church on a Wednesday night through the summer.
May the Lord richly bless you is my prayer.
Bro. Ben