Missions Reports

From Missionary Jones – April 2013

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Dear Friends,
God has been blessing North Lake. This last Wednesday night, during one of our LifeGroup meetings, I noticed that 7 out of the 12 people who sat in my living-room were new believers. He has plans for all 12, but it was neat to recognize those 7. Seeing how God has used them over the past couple of years has been enjoyable. We are looking forward to adding to that number of new believers in the near future.

The Youth at North Lake who did the service project

My new associate missionary, Jared Kathcart led a successful “Disciple Now “weekend this last month. Our youth partnered with another church to complete a service project for a daycare in town. They painted, rearranged an office space, and studied Romans 12:1. We are seeing some new teens and ask that you pray for the salvation and discipleship of these young people.
This past Sunday we celebrated Easter. Our attendance was up, as we were blessed with 10 guests. The service was lively and smiles were adorning the faces of people who experienced some great worship through music, preaching, and fellowship. We worshiped a King who is alive!
Thank you to all who keep up with us, pray for us, and support us. We are blessed! We would like to ask that you diligently pray for us over the next six months. God is moving us forward toward His vision for North Lake and we have set several goals.
• Please pray that God would use us in His process of saving souls here in Smithville.
• Please pray for spiritual passion to increase among our people.
• Please pray for our Sunday morning worship gatherings to increase in attendance and fellowship.
Thank you and God Bless!
Jamie Jones

April 2013 – Mission Director’s Report

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The other day I was in a conversation with a church planting strategist when he asked me a question about the number of churches we were planting in Missouri. I explained our past efforts, failures, and successes. His next question was this: “What do you need from the BMA of Missouri to start another church plant this year?” I had to pause for a couple of minutes and think about that question before I could answer. I responded with the following 3 needs:
1. I need a church planter and his family whom the association could recommend and approve of their election. I think it would really be great if we could raise-up a planter from our own BMA of Missouri “family.” They would already know the culture, the demographics, and the needs of our state. Less time would be needed for them to immerse themselves into the culture and community of the “Show-Me State.”
2. I need 3 to 4 churches who would serve as “partner churches” to the new plant. Of course we need a “Mother Church” or “Sponsor Church,” but we also need the extended family to come along side of and help with the initial start up efforts and costs. Partner churches might provide people, funds, equipment, prayers, mission teams, etc. The more involved in the process the greater the momentum and growth.
3. I need our churches to increase their missions giving. I have heard the argument that if we had more church plants going, then our churches would rise to the challenge and increase their giving. I don’t believe that is the reason for decreased giving. I do believe that many of our churches are in a “survival mode,” rather than a “let’s expand the Kingdom mode.” When churches begin to feel a financial crunch, the first thing that is cut out of the budget is mission giving. I would be hard-pressed to favorably explain that line of reasoning to the Lord (2 Cor. 8:1-5). We need more money to support planters!

As your state director of missions, I have prepared myself to assess, train, and coach church planters. It is my part-time job within the BMA of America missions department to do these things all across the world. I am ready and willing to do the same here in our state, but I need your help. If the above three things could happen, then we could get started with one more church plant this year.

Please pray with me to this end.

Bro. Danny Kirk

February 2013 – Mission Director’s Report

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Three Preachers at North Lake Church

It was my joy this past month to attend the morning services at North Lake Church in Smithville, MO. Pastor Jamie Jones reports that 2012 had been a good year for the church as they witnessed 12 salvaions and 10 baptisms. The new church plant has also been blessed in many others way with new Life Groups and leaders stepping up to serve. One of the greatest blessings has been the addition of a new staff member, Jared Kathcart and his wife, Nikki. Jared, while completing his seminary training this year, is doing a great work with the youth ministries of the church.

In addition to the above blessings, the North Lake church family witnessed a young man surrender his life to preaching the gospel. Matthue Parker, a 16 year old student, preached his first message on the Sunday morning that Carolyn and I were present. It seemed appropriate when Matthue preached his first message on the subject of “change.” Certainly the unchanging Savior is changing Matthue’s life in a wonderful way.

We mourn the passing of a great servant of God, Bro. Dale Blount. Bro. Blount was a preacher and pastor who exemplified a gentle and encouraging spirit. I have marveled at the strength and endurance that Bro. Dale enjoyed in the latter years of his ministry. He is now enjoying face to face fellowship with the Savior that he preached about so faithfully.

I enjoyed a great time of worship with Bro. Jim Ford and the good people at Charity Baptist Church in Columbia, MO. Pastor Neil Bowers preached a great message on the importance of finishing our race well. Bro. Ford allowed me a few minutes to share about the work of missions and they rejoiced with what God is doing in Missouri.

by Bro. Danny Kirk

January 2013 – Mission Director’s Report

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I hope you had a great Christmas celebrating the birth of our Savior and I hope you are looking forward to growth in your spiritual life in this new year.

This time of the year is always a time of reflection for me. I reflect on the past and wonder, “Did I represent the Savior well?” And of course, when I think about a new year, I have a great desire to doing a better job in the days and months to come.

My friend, Dave Devries, wrote a blog about reflecting on the old year and in his blog he asked some powerful questions to help anyone take an inventory of their life and to help move them forward to greater awareness of their life before God. I found them challenging, convicting, and helpful! Take a look at the questions below and give an honest answer:

  1. What did I do well?
  2. What habits have I maintained?
  3. Who have I influenced to follow Jesus?
  4. Where do I need to improve?
  5. How have I experienced…
    • • Victory over sin and true repentance?
    • • God’s presence and peace?
    • • Hope for the future?
    • • True friendship?
    • • Growth in character and integrity?
    • • Grace and forgiveness
  6. What sins do I need to confess?
  7. Whom do I need to forgive?
  8. What difference did I make this past year?
  9. What would be worth repeating in the new year?
  10. How did my life bring God glory?

I challenge you to take the next 10 days and journal your answer to one of these 10 questions. In your journaling,
look for scriptures that speak to the question and write them down. Ask yourself, “What do I need to do to obey this passage of Scripture?” And then write out a prayer committing yourself to action with God’s help. An honest appraisal
and a devoted heart can make 2013 our best year yet for spiritual growth!

December 2012 – Mission Director’s Report

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Last month I reported my resignation from Lindsay Lane Baptist Church as their pastor. The past 14 years of my life have been blessed due to the wonderful relationship that I have enjoyed with these people. Please pray for them as they seek a new shepherd and if you know of men who are available to fill the pulpit for them, please contact Mike Jenkins at 314-355-2859.

Due to my resignation I have a change of address for all mission offerings and correspondence. Please mail to: Danny Kirk, 224 N. Hwy 67, # 255, Florissant, MO 63031. Please let your church treasurer know of the new address.

When I moved to Missouri 14 years ago, I made a new friend with a fellow pastor, Mike Quillman. I found Bro. Mike to be a fierce warrior for the Lord and for the souls of men. Everywhere I traveled with him, Bro. Mike was faithful to share his testimony of knowing Jesus and he would then ask them if they had a saving relationship with Him. Bro. Mike was always encouraging to me and a great help in time of need. Last month, Bro. Mike finally made it to the Home he had preached about for four decades. I will miss him, but I know that there will come a glad reunion day. I wonder if he will greet me in heaven with the line, “Hello, Jesus loves you!”
Let’s be faithful to pray for his dear wife and family.

Bro. Danny

Mission Director’s Annual Report 2012

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October 27, 2012

This year we had some last minute speaker changes to our Mission Symposium plans. With a few minutes notice, Bro. Jamie Jones stepped up and did an excellent job in sharing his heart about the church planting efforts in Smithville. The Lord continues to bless the work with new leaders being raised up, new life groups started, and, in addition to a very public baptism of 10 souls in Smithville Lake. I spent a couple of days with the Jones family this month assessing a new associate, Jared Kathcart. I believe that Bro. Jared and his wife, Nikki, will be a wonderful addition to the staff at North Lake Church.

At the Symposium we received an offering from our churches in the amount of $2,397.58 to help the Abundant Life In Christ Baptist Church in Charleston, MO with their building fund.

The financial record will show that the offerings from the churches during the past associational year has continue to decrease from $42,648.14 to $39,829.36…a decrease of $2,800 for the year. I am very grateful for the 30 churches that continue to support the work of state missions and I want to encourage the remainder of our churches to please add state missions to their budgets.

A passion that has continued to grow within me is a desire to help our churches as well as our church planters. Of course, the energy and time this would require, has been hindered by my role as a pastor. I have been praying about my role as a Director of Missions and about my role as a pastor and what God would have me to do. Last week I informed the Lindsay Lane Baptist Church that I am resigning as pastor so I can give more time to the work of missions and offer my help to the churches of Missouri. Please pray for Lindsay Lane as they seek a new pastor and pray for me as I make myself available to our churches in the areas of church health, church planting, and leadership training. I am available to come to your church to preach and share about the work of missions.

Once again, I appreciate the opportunity to serve the churches of the BMA of Missouri.

by Danny Kirk

October 2012 – From Bro Jones…

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Dear Friends,
Last week we held our 2nd annual “campfire fellowship” on September 25th – 27th. Campfire fellowship consists of food, friends, fire, & lots of laughs. The food was great, the fellowship among friends was quite enjoyable, and the laughs were plentiful.

The best part however, was the engaging discussions. We chose to focus on faith and studied John 4:43-54, in which Jesus heals the nobleman’s son from a distance. The first night started with a question: “Where are you in your faith?” That may seem like a simple question, but it led to a great discussion and some honesty among friends. We learned that on a scale of 1-10, many were as low as 2, and some were as high as 9 in their faith. We also admitted/confessed that our faith often fluctuated with circumstances. It was a good evening that got better as the night was ending. Sherri, a newcomer to North Lake announced that she had made her peace with God and placed her faith in Christ on Monday morning. Prayers had been answered, as many had been praying for that very thing. Tears were shed and faith grew that night.

On night two of the faith discussion we asked: “What would it take for your faith to grow?” Many answer’s were given, but one sticks out to me, “Watching someone come to Christ.” No-one knew what was about to happen as a young teen named Samantha says’ “I’ve been listening to what was said tonight, and I want faith”. So, as the fire flickered, we shared the process of salvation with Samantha and watched as God changed a life right before our eyes. Our faith was strengthened by watching what God does best, change people.
You see, when God changes people it affects the faith of others. The healing of the nobleman’s son in John 4 affected a lot of people. The nobleman went to Jesus in faith, his son was healed, his family became believers, and no doubt many who were under the authority of this nobleman were impacted by the miracle Jesus performed. God can work through your faith to bring about amazing impacts upon others.

Now this is cool… Samantha is Sherri’s daughter. Samantha’s dad Mike, was baptized in July of this year. God had been, and is still, working in the faith of this family.

Enjoying watching God change lives,

Jamie Jones,
Smithville, MO

October 2012 – Mission Director’s Report

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This past month I was involved in a 3-day long assessment of 8 church planting candidates and their wives for the BMA of America. During the assessment weekend, the candidates are asked to share their vision, their plan for reaching the community, demonstrate an ability to teach God’s word, demonstrate evangelistic skills, and also speak to a counselor about the state of their marriage. The assessment team is made up of 8 or more individuals and the purpose of the assessment is to help each candidate to fulfill God’s calling in their lives. Recommendations always include further training and an assignment of a coach to help them to move forward. It has been shown that when a missionary candidate receives assessment, training, and assigned a coach, his success rate will increase from around 25% and up to 80%. As someone who has been involved in 5 different church plants, I can say it is a brighter day within the BMAA for those who want to plant a new church and desire help in doing so.

One of the candidates in the assessment weekend was John and Alisha Herring. Bro. John and Alisha have been on the pastoral staff for
10 years with the Oasis Church in Maumelle, AR. If the Lord wills, they have a desire to move to Missouri to plant a church near the Springfield area. God has blessed their prayers and already two families from Oasis Church are making plans to relocate with them to begin this new work. In the next few months the Herrings will be on deputation seeking financial support from churches and individuals. If your church has a desire to become personally involved in church planting and working with a great family, please consider helping the Herrings with your support.

by Bro. Danny Kirk

September 2012 – Mission Directors Report

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From Our Director…Bro. Danny Kirk:
The Special Missions Committee met with church planting candidates, John and Alisha Herring at Bethel Baptist Church in Sikeston, MO. The committee was impressed with the Herring’s vision for Nixa, MO and their prospectus outlining their plan on how they will plant a church. A final recommendation concerning this couple will come before the BMA of Missouri after they have completed assessment. John and Alisha will be a part of the BMA of America’s church planting assessment weekend in September and afterwards continue to raise partnership support.

I attended the annual meeting of the BMA of South Western Missouri along with John Herring and Jamie Smith. It was a delight to meet with these churches and pastors. They voted during their association meeting to continue their mission support of Jamie Jones and to begin support of the Herrings in Nixa, MO. I praise the Lord for their support of the Lord’s work!

I recently hosted a 3 day retreat for all the North American church planters at the Meramec Retreat Center in Richwoods, MO. Eighteen men from across the nation came together for a relaxing time of skeet shooting, golfing, team building exercises, and great food. A big “Thank You” goes to Pastors Ben Kingston, Brad Banderman, Johnny Dover, and Jamie Haguewood for serving and loving on these men who are serving on the front lines of building God’s Kingdom. These men went back home refreshed and ready to charge ahead for the sake of souls! Pray for all of our church planters!

Some of those who attended the Church Planter’s Retreat at the retreat center in Richwoods, MO.

August 2012 – Mission Directors Report

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Pastor Jamie Jones once again entered into the baptismal waters at Smithville Lake with 10 people in tow. That’s right…Ten more people were saved and baptized at North Lake Church. It is exciting to hear what God is doing with the Jones family in Smithville, MO. Please pray as they continue to raise-up new leaders and start new life groups in the homes of their people.

This month our Special Missions committee will meet with John Herring and discuss the possibilities of partnering with him to start a new work in Nixa, Missouri. I have visited this community and the potential is great for planting a new church. Pray that we have wisdom and clear direction as we seek God’s will in this manner.
Danny Kirk