Missions Reports

July 2020 – Mission Director’s Report

 150 150 admin
By:
0

October 10, 2020, We hope to be able to have our Baptist, Missionary Association of Missouri annual business meeting at Zion Missionary Baptist Church which will start at 9:00 a.m. Until then we need to be praying that all our churches will make plans to have three messengers attend this meeting to help make plans for the work we need to do in 2020-2021.

We need this time of planning, worshipping and fellowship to draw us closer as we face the year ahead determined to do our best for the Lord.

Among the business that day will be hearing the reports of our various departments, electing officers and other committee members, electing a new Missions Director, enjoying special singing and a special time of worship, and enjoying the opportunity to get to know each other better.

As you can see in the financial report for the month of June (above) our financial picture is good and from what various pastors are saying we are anxiously waiting to find the man the Lord has for us to plant a new church in Missouri and the surrounding area! Let’s pray that we can announce plans to get started soon!

Please let nothing you can help interfere with your being present at this meeting. Zion Baptist Church is located at 3485 Baumgartner Rd, St. Louis, MO 63129.

From Our Editor…
As we have started the last quarter of this associational year, we are somewhat disappointed in that we do not have anyone to nominate as a new editor, as we had hoped earlier this year. I have told the Publications Committee that I am willing to continue as editor at least for another year since no one else has applied. Let’s pray that someone feels God leading them to this ministry during the next year!

I call your attention to the Third Quarter financial report of the Missouri Missionary Baptist at the end of this page. It reveals the fact that we will be out of funds before July is over unless we get some Special Gifts soon!

Please prayerfully consider giving a special offering to the MMB this month or lead your church to start supporting the paper on a regular basis.

I realize many of our churches are having financial problems at this time and some may not be able to give any extra. But I encourage those who can to help us out.

We have many church reporters who are faithful to send their news reports each month and other pastors and leaders who contribute material for publication monthly or from time to time during the year and I appreciate all these who help in this way.

But if we do not have an increase in income we will not be able to publish the MMB for an extend amount of time.

The monthly average to keep this ministry going is nearly $ 1,600 so you can see that we are needing help soon.

Thank you who are supporting this ministry with your finances, prayers, encouragement, comments and suggestions. I am truly grateful for each of you.

If you have any ideas that can help improve this ministry please let me know and let’s work together to make it a project that will bring glory to God and strength and encouragement to each other.

May God bless each of our churches in the BMA of MO!!

March 2020 – Mission Director’s Report

 150 150 admin
By:
0

Missions:

It was a joy to be invited to be with the First Baptist Church of Matthews on World Missions Sunday and to also be able to join them for the Camp Garwood Breakfast Fundraiser that Saturday. It was a blessing to see several from other churches, even as far away as St. Charles, attend the breakfast which raised $1,704 for camp.

My wife and I enjoyed the fellowship and hospitality of the folks at Matthews and were impressed with their generous support of Missions as they gave their entire offering that day to BMA of America Missions.
I also had the privilege of attending the meeting of the Meramec Association missions committee at Westview Baptist Church in Jefferson City February 29th. Host Pastor Mike Hearst and the entire committee made me feel welcome and asked me to give an update on BMAMO Missions and the Missouri Missionary Baptist paper.

One thing that has been very noticeable as I have visited these meetings and filled pulpits over the last few weeks is there seems to be an increased interest in reaching others with the Word everywhere I go. Especially is this evident in various meetings among our churches in Missouri.

It was encouraging to sit in an impromptu meeting following the Meramec Association meeting in Jefferson City, about the possibilities of Bro. Matt Barker being led of God to plant a new work within our state in the near future.

Perhaps this is the year we will see a vibrant new work in our state! Everyone seems ready to see this become a reality.

In view of this, I encourage Pastors and Staff Leaders to make plans to attend the Renewal Retreat at Camp Garwood March 27-28, and the Missions Symposium and Mid-year meeting of the BMA of MO at New Testament Baptist Church in Sullivan May 15-16.
Each of these meetings can and will be used of God to increase our interest and burden to do more for God!

These are challenging yet exciting times in which we live and we should cultivate an attitude of joyfully serving God and looking forward with excitement about what He is doing in and through His churches around the world. Please pray that we will experience a revival among our churches and departments that will have a God-honoring effect in our State and bring glory to God for years to come!

The Missouri Missionary Baptist Paper:

When invited to speak about the paper at the meeting in Jefferson City I shared that our finances continue to be a great concern, but 3 different experiences this past month have given some encouragement.

• A church that has been without a pastor for a couple years sent 2 checks: 1 to missions and 1 to the paper. Each check was marked “offerings for 2018-2019. They had been setting aside their offerings while having no pastor and since they now have one they sent the entire 2 years at once!
• Another experience was a couple that live in the northern part of our state for the last 17 years, where there are no BMA churches, noted that they had not renewed their subscription since 2003 and sent a check for $170 to cover the 17 years they were behind.
• The special offering of the Meramec Association, for which I am deeply grateful, was another encouragement.

When I told this story using the first two experiences at the meeting in Jefferson City I ended it by saying, “Go thou and do likewise!”
I appreciate all the support that keeps this ministry going Thanks for supporting with finances, prayers, and actions!

December 2019 – Mission Director’s Reprt

 150 150 admin
By:
0

My wife and I wish each of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year as you serve the Lord and look forward to His blessings each day.
Thank you for your support of our Mission Program and the Publication Ministry of our association with which we have been associated for over 30 years.

Please join us in prayer as your Special Missions Committee searches for a new Missions Director and the Publications Committee seeks a new editor and as both committees seek God’s direction in planning the future of these departments.

Please pray for God to lay these opportunities on persons who are qualified and dedicated to the task of serving in each capacity. Remember – the deadline for receiving resumes is January 1, 2020! (Note the information on page 1 of this issue.) This deadline will only be a few weeks away by the time you receive this paper.

Our offerings for Missions are holding steady and are ample to cover the expenses as we are operating at the present, but we hope to have at least one missionary to consider supporting in the next few months and this will require additional funds coming in each month.

At this time we are barely keeping our Publication Funds in the black and if things do not pick up soon we will have to appeal to the churches with a “Special Emphasis” to build our bank account to be adequate for the transition to a new Editor. Please pray about helping with this need without us having to make a “special” appeal. Thank you for considering this.

Another matter of prayer that I call to your attention is the need of more preachers (pastors) coming to work with the churches in Missouri. It seems over the last several years we have had more leave our state than we have had coming to work with us. This is a cause of concern for many I have talked to this past year and we need to pray that God will lead some more workers to come and work with us. When we visit other states we need to let people there know we would welcome them to come and join us in this area.

As we look forward to the year ahead we should do so with anticipation about what God can and will do if we pray, seek His face, and do the work He has given us to do.

There are lost souls wherever we are and we need to ask God to make us “conscious” of the opportunities we have to tell them about Jesus. God is still saving souls and we are still commissioned to take the message to them, so let’s rededicate ourselves to carry out His program for reaching those who need Jesus before it is too late.

As we think of gifts at Christmas let’s remember that the greatest gift a person can receive is JESUS and the greatest gift a Christian can receive at Christmas is to know their family and friends have received the Gift of Eternal Life through Jesus!

September 2019 – Mission Director’s Report

 150 150 admin
By:
0

As I write my report this month it is with mixed emotions that I share with you the letter from Bro. Dustin. I am disappointed to know that things are not going as we were planning and I am thankful that Bro. Dustin is at peace about his decision, for God’s will is what we all want to follow. I am also encouraged to see how our people in Missouri have been working together to advance the cause of Missions in our great state.

As long as we are seeking and following God’s will in these matters we should all be excited about the future and challenged to do our best for God! Let’s look ahead with joy.

This issue of the paper has MUCH in it to help us prepare for our annual Associational meeting in October and I hope our pastors, messengers and all church members will read the recommendations and explanations and come to the meeting ready to make important decisions about the work God has for us to do.

You will see that I have notified the Special Missions Committee that if I am reelected as Director of Missions I will be resigning in October 2020 and we will need to have a new Director in place by the mid-year meeting next May in order to make a smooth transition. Please make this a matter of prayer.

I look forward to our meeting in Sikeston with Bethel Baptist Church and Pastor Davis as we seek God’s direction. I hope to see you there!

by Jim Hoffmann, Mission Director

A Letter to the Churches of Missouri

 150 150 admin
By:
0

Over the last year and a half I have been in talks with both the Meramec and State associations in Missouri about the possibility of planting a church in the state of Missouri. I had felt for a while that my time as a student pastor was coming to an end and I was approached about the possibility of partnering with the Missouri churches to further the gospel in the Columbia, Missouri area. My family and I pursued this perceived open door with the hopes of planting a church where a church is truly needed. First Baptist Church in Magnolia was in full partnership of the plant even to point of voting unanimously to send me to the mission field and be my supporting church. When I came to the associational meetings and shared my vision I referenced the church in Antioch in Acts 13 who sent out Saul (Paul) and Barnabas to spread the gospel. The reason for the church sending out those men was that she had a sufficient number of pastors for the church at Antioch. First Baptist Magnolia found herself in the same circumstance. A full pastoral staff and time to fill the student ministry position before I made the move in January of 2020. We were excited at the possibility of working with the churches in Missouri and furthering the ministry of FBC Magnolia (our sending church).

On June 23rd a curve ball was thrown into the process of planting a church. Our pastor at FBC at the time, Bro. Brent Summerhill, resigned as the primary preaching and teaching pastor because he felt that his time at First Magnolia had come to a close. This left our church in a little different position than when we first began the process to plant a church. My immediate plans were to stay on the initial time frame for planting the church and just step up to lead at FBC however I could until we moved to Missouri in January. However, as I sat and talked with the leadership at our church we began to pray about whether God was calling me and my family to stay at FBC and lead the church into missions efforts and in the preaching of the word as the Senior Pastor. For an entire year my heart and mind had been shifting to go and plant a church in Columbia, Missouri and in an instant it felt like my heart was now torn in two. I had a desire to go and make much of God’s name in Columbia, Missouri and I now had a heart to stay and pastor the people that I had been with for the last 12 years. I entered a season of prayer and fasting and sought the best counsel I could find which included pastors from Missouri, godly men from my church and even third party counsel that could be completely unbiased. As I prayed and led at FBC God began to grow a desire in my heart to stay and pastor FBC Magnolia. On Sunday September 8, 2019 our church voted to call me as pastor and I accepted that call. This was not something I did in secret. I had conversations with the committee chairs of the State and Meramec Associations along with Bro. Jim Hoffman, the Missions Director. These men along with so many others were vessels of grace during this decision. I want you all to know that I did not make this decision lightly. I still understand the need for the gospel in Columbia, Missouri and other areas of the state. That desire to see the gospel go to Missouri has not gone away simply because God has called me to serve in another place where the gospel is needed. I pray that in some capacity we will be able to help in Missouri’s efforts to plant churches in the future.

I would encourage you to continue with the plan to plant and revitalize churches together as two associations with the same goal of making disciples in Missouri. God has a man set aside for the purpose of going to the areas of Missouri where the gospel is not and making God known to those people. If anyone has any questions that they would like to ask me please feel free to reach out to me.

Lastly, I want to say thank you for the confidence that you as an association showed in me. I want to say thank you to the pastors whom I consider dear friends after the last year of conversations. I want to say thank you to Bro. Ben Kingston, Bro. Jamie Haguewood, and Bro. Jim Hoffman along with the rest of the State and Meramec Missions Committee members.
“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26
Dustin Wisely

June 2019 – Mission Director’s Report

 150 150 admin
By:
0

I am excited in the prospect of a new work starting in the Columbia, Missouri area and look forward to seeing God’s blessings upon our efforts in that part of the state. Please pray and encourage our works in that area as we see God leading in this.

Your Missionary Advisory Committee has prayed about expanding our efforts and believe this is God’s answer and that He will provide the workers and finances as we surrender to His will. Pray for Bro. Dustin Wisely and the First Baptist Church of Magnolia, Arkansas as they seek God’s guidance in this effort. And pray for all who are, and will be, affected by this mission effort. We have an awesome God who has given us an awesome task and will bless in awesome ways as we yield to His awesome
power! Let’s look forward to awesome things happening before Jesus comes.

by Jim Hoffmann, Mission Director

February 2019 – Mission Director’s Report

 150 150 admin
By:
0

Now that things are starting to thaw and most activities are getting somewhat back to normal things are going to be very busy among our churches in Missouri. It is exciting to hear that a couple churches who have been searching for pastors have found someone to lead them and a few are having preachers in view of a call so that this time next month more might have pastors. It is also encouraging to know that some searching churches have found men who are willing to serve as interim pastors to help them have some form of continuity while they search for the man God wants to lead them. Amidst this encouraging news we are brought back to the reality that a pastor or two has resigned and other churches are searching for pastors to fll the vacancies. Please keep in mind that as director of Missions I constantly get calls from churches that are in need of pastors or who are looking for someone to “fll-in” during their search. Therefore, if you are available to pastor or fll-in please let me know so I can give your information to those who contact me, and I can publish your availability in this publication.
The joint meeting of the BMA of Missouri Special Missions Committee and the Missionary Committee of the Meramec Association was very positive as both associations are interested in helping support the planting of new churches in our state. We met with a prospective church planter and his pastor and were impressed with what God has laid on their hearts concerning the work in Missouri. Both committees are working to see just how we can join in this e?ort and we hope to have some ideas to share at our mid-year meeting in May of this year. Please keep praying for this effort. We are still praying for God to open doors and provide church planters all across Missouri as we know we need to be reaching more with the Gospel before the
Lord returns. I encourage Pastors and Pastoral Staff to do your best to attend the “Renewal Weekend” that we asked Bro. Ben Kingston to plan.

It will be the last weekend in March and, as you see from the information on the front page, it should be very helpful to all who attend. This is a time to not only learn from experienced men but also a great time to fellowship and encourage one another in the Lord’s work. It doesn’t cost you anything but your time, and God has already given that to you!! So use it wisely!

by James Hoffmann, Mission’s Director

January 2019 – Mission Director’s Report

 150 150 admin
By:
0

Happy New Year from Mary and I. Thank you for allowing me to serve you in this capacity and for supporting the BMA work in Missouri with your prayers, finances and loyalty to God. Things are looking good as we enter 2019 as far as the possibilities of seeing churches find pastors and the potential of planting a new church or two.

Pray for the Special Missions Committees of our State Association and the Meramec Association as they will have a joint meeting before you get this edition of the paper to discuss the possibilities in
our state. We desire to be sensitive to God’s leadership in all matters, including planting new congregations and strengthening those who are struggling.

Our offerings continue to be sufficient to meet present needs, but if we start supporting a missionary or two the needs will be greater and more churches will need to send regular offerings. Please pray for our host pastor and myself as we plan the program for our annual Missions Symposium for this May. Host Pastor is Bro. Gary Longstaff of Grandview Baptist Church in Springfield and the date is May 17 for the Symposium and May 18 for the Mid-Year Meeting of our Association. Our annual meeting will be October 12 at Bethel Baptist Church in Sikeston.

I believe it is Scriptural for Churches to work together and God will bless our efforts if we are willing to cooperate with one another and support each other as we labor for the Lord. It seems to be an accepted practice today for pastors and churches to be self-centered and not put our much effort to work together. Let’s work to change this and see how God will bless if we let Him! If you have any suggestions for a program for the Missions we would love to hear from you, but we need your suggestions soon as we need to contact speakers and other who might be involved and give them plenty of time to adjust their schedules and prepare their parts. Hopefully, by February 15th we can have a program prepared and make the necessary contacts. Thanks for any input you can give us about this matter.

A Word About the Article “A Christmas Tie” I hope you have already read this article, if not stop and read it now. This came to me too late for the December issue so I have included it in this issue in an effort to inspire us to focus on the far reaching results of doing God’s will.

When I was a young boy Bro. W. S. Gordon was pastor of Chambers Park Church in St. Louis which is now Lindsay Lane Baptist Church in Florissant. Sometimes we forget we are involved in work that LASTS. Let’s do our BEST!

December 2018 – Mission Director’s Report

 150 150 admin
By:
0

I hope each of you had a blessed Thanksgiving and were able to take time to think of all the ways God blesses us as we serve Him. Giving thanks causes us to be blessings to others and help bring glory to God! As we approach the celebration of Christ’s Birth we are made to realize how thankful we should be for God’s mercy and grace as He sent His Son to provide the
way for our sins to be forgiven through His death and Resurrection.

This thankfulness should lead us to faithful service each day of our lives. My wife and I visited the morning service of Oak Hill Baptist Church in Alton, MO November 18th. We had never been to Oak Hill and enjoyed being there and hearing Pastor Edward Casey bring an inspiring message and getting acquainted with the good folks under his leadership.They are doing a great work there and are good supporters of our state work. We were impressed with their hospitality. We also visited the morning service at Stony Point Baptist Church in Mineral Point November 25th. You could sense excitement in this service as Bro. Claude preached a challenging message and the good people in the congregation paid close attention. They invited us to
stay for lunch and we would have loved to stay and enjoy their fellowship but we had a funeral to attend and had to leave right after the service was over. This church is also a good supporter of our state work and are reaching souls in their area.

I continue to work a Sunday or two each month with the Temple Baptist Church in Belgrade and are encouraged by the faithfulness of this small congregation as they seek a pastor. We appreciate the preachers who are helping out by flling the
pulpit each month and we ask you to pray for them as they seek someone to lead them on a permanent basis. Also remember to pray for all our churches who are searching for pastors.

Your BMAMO Special Missions Committee and the Meramec Association Missionary Committee are praying for God to lead someone
to plant a church in Missouri. There are some things happening that encourage us in this endeavor and we hope it will not be long until we can see God answering that prayer. You are encouraged to join us in praying each day for God to guide our associations.

Thank you for your support of Missions and for the encouragement you give us. May each of our Churches have a Blessed Christmas and experience growth in all areas of ministry.

by James Hoffman, Missions Director

November 2018 – Mission Director’s Report

 150 150 admin
By:
0

As I prepare the report for the November issue of the paper I am reminded of all the things for which I am thankful as I try to serve as your Missions Director. I am thankful that I can still serve the Lord even though I cannot be as active as I would like to be. I am thankful for the churches that support missions and have a desire to see more churches planted
in Missouri and for the faithful pastors who are working hard to grow the churches with which they are working.

I am thankful for the fellowship we enjoy in the Lord as we work our various fields seeking to do His will each day and encouraging one another to be faithful. I am thankful for the fnancial support of many churches who continue to give to Missions and have provided funds that are available when we start a new work and that enable us to help in areas of our work
when needs arise while we look for a missionary.

We should all be thankful for the opportunity to work together in the most important work of carrying out the Great Commission. Thank you for our cooperation and involvement in Missions. As you look at the fnancial report above I hope you
will stop and thank God for His blessings as He has enabled us to be an encouragement to various areas of His work.
We had a great annual association meeting this past month and as revealed in the report on page 1 God led us to help financially in a few important areas of our associational work.

Here is an explanation of expenses in the financial report above and how these expenses are helping in Missions:
1. We support BMAA Associate Missionary Matt Baker in Nixa, MO in the amount of $200 a month. This is a mission project of the BMA of America.

2. We had committed up to $2,500 to help the Abundant Life in Christ Baptist Church in Charleston, MO for their parking lot. They only needed part of that amount for their parking lot, so the messengers voted to go ahead and send them the balance for their building fund. This church was started as a mission project of some of our local associations a few years ago.

3. Camp Garwood added several improvements at camp before this years state camp and needed to borrow funds from the Revolving
Loan Fund. The messengers voted to send $ 5,000 to the RLF to be applied to that loan in honor of Camp Director Chris Polk and his family for their continuing dedication to the camp ministry. The camp ministry is a mission outreach of our churches where many souls are saved each year.

4. We also voted to send $3,000 to the BMAA Seminary to be applied to the project of putting new roofs on their buildings, The seminary trains pastors and missionaries who serve in the United States and around the world leading many people to
Christ each year and planting churches in new areas.

5. The messengers approved a raise in salary for the Missions Director which is now $650 a month and our by-laws provide that Department ofcers and committee members shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in performance of their duties. In this report the Special Missions Committee meeting expenses in preparation for the annual association and the Director’s expenses are combined. The Special Missions Committee meets a minimum of two times a year. The Director is involved in all aspects of our mission endeavors with the Special Missions Committee acting as advisors and assistants as needed and as directed by the Association.

If you have any questions about the above or any other work of this department contact me or any member of our committee. We are THANKFUL to serve.

James Hoffman, Missions Director