Missions Reports

Thanks to the hospitality of Pastor Wayne and Sis. Ruth Gibson, the good folks of Landmark Baptist Church, Bro. Je? Swart,
our Associational Officers, and the cooperation of all who attended we had a great Missions Symposium and Mid-Year Meeting in DeSoto. Thanks to everyone who was involved!

My wife and I attended the National BMAA meeting in Texas but had to miss the last day due to coming home for the funeral of
Bro. Terry Manning, a member of Bethany. It was a good meeting and we were glad to be able to enjoy some of it. The article below is printed to introduce you to a Missouri family that is working in Colorado with the Navajo Indians under the sponsorship of their home church, First Baptist of Bourbon. This family has been selected as a project by our State WMA for the 2017-2018 year. Read about them, pray for them, and support them through our WMA this year.

James Hoffman

I hope many of our readers and church leaders are making plans to attend the BMA of MO Mission Symposium and Mid-Year Business meeting at Landmark Baptist Church in DeSoto, May 19-20, 2017. This is a great opportunity for us to fellowship, learn, and participate in the wonderful work of God and we should take
advantage of the opportunity to get to know one another better. Landmark is eagerly awaiting our meeting with them and are making preparations to welcome us for these two days of joy and worship.

Our Special Missions Committee met April 17th and had a harmonious and productive meeting. The following members were present: Chairman Ben Kingston, Clerk Dan Wisely, Russell Chitwood, Dale Fish, Don Burke, and Brian Meade, As a result of this meeting there is an article on page 7 of this issue that calls for unity and cooperation in our work in Missouri. It is time to put the past in the past and go forward for the glory of God.

Please prayerfully consider this idea and consider leading your local and state associations to adopt a “statement of unity” in your annual meetings this year. I look forward to our next Renewal Retreat with the church sta?s of all the state and local associations together to learn more about one another and bond together as we work for the Lord. Bro. Ben Kingston is working on setting a time and place for this meeting and it will be announced as soon as information is available. Please make plans to attend.

Please join me in prayer concerning the planting of churches in Missouri.

by James Hoffman

The Pastor and Sta? Renewal Retreats at Camp Garwood and Richwoods Retreat Center were great and we look forward to combined Retreat sometime in the future. Please read the article about the Mission Symposium and Mid-Year BMA of MO meetings and make plans to attend all sessions and bring a generous o?ering to apply to our goal of $5,000.

Each pastor and church needs the support and fellowship of other pastors and churches and these meetings give each of us the opportunity to have many needs met, but we must attend and participate to get
the benefits we need.

I hope many go to the National Meeting in Arlington May 1-3 and the State Meeting in DeSoto May 19-20.

by James Hoffmann

Merry Christmas from the Kakilalas in the Philippines
“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” I Thessalonians 5:18.

Thanksgiving is not a Filipino holiday to celebrate but it truly is a beautiful way to usher in the Christmas season. The Conversational English class is learning some American culture to broaden their perspective on life. The Filipinos love to wear t-shirts with logos and saying. One popular design here
is the Nike symbol. The kids have learned that a common saying associated with the Nike symbol is, “Just Do It.” In the Bible there are many occasions when God gives a command and the people have a choice to make. Now the children are quick to say “Just Do it!!!” Another term the children have come to recognize is WWJD. The new converts are encouraged to ask themselves, “What Would Jesus Do?” We are trying to equip the children with things to help them in their daily walk.

Ministry includes so many things. It is being a broken vessel that God can use. He has given us the privilege to encourage a sister church in Bacolod on their Thanksgiving service. God gives us opportunity on a daily basis to help the children with physical needs by mending their torn clothes, giving new
clothes when needed, and also providing the children with snacks that they love. It is our joy to hear their voices sing out praise songs they learn that are sure to carry them through the hard times of life.

December 10th the Conversational English Class had a Christmas program to share with the parents the things they have learned in the last few months. Certificates were given to those who mastered the 10 Commandments and/or the Books of the Bible. Those who mastered both were also given a Bible. A Spiritual Birth Certificate was given to each one who prayed to accept Christ and now have two birthdays, their
physical birth and their spiritual birth!

Just recently a group of teens came to our house for a meeting as a result of their door to door caroling. This seems like a promising opportunity. We are hoping to yield fruit from the parents that came for the Christmas program. Please join us in praying that God’s Spirit will draw these people to the
precious gospel.

We truly appreciate all the prayers for our recent health concerns. We are still waiting for results.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT.

Servants of our Lord,
Fil & Lisa and Justine Kakilala

It was a joy to visit with and preach to the faithful folks at Berean Baptist Church in Festus the second
Sunday in December. They have been without a pastor for quite some time but are faithfully searching and praying for the man God has for them. Our hearts are stirred as we see churches struggling to find leadership in these days when it is so important. January 1st we were blessed to preach at Loyalty Church in Sparta, IL as Pastor Tom Foster was away visiting family over the holidays. It was great to meet
new people and to renew our fellowship with some of their members we have met a Camp Garwood in the last
few years. They are building a new house of worship and are trying to “pay-as-you-go” to avoid being in debt when it is finished. It looks great on the outside and they are trying to get the inside finished
as soon as possible. If you can do Sheetrock finishing, painting and other finishing work and could help them it would be greatly appreciated. I am sure they would accept financial donations for materials also!
It is good to read the reports of how God is blessing many of our churches and we need to encourage one another as we have opportunity.

Pray for Bro. Ben Kingston and help him in any way you can, as he plans the Renewal Retreat that will be at Camp Garwood March 17-18, 2017. I encourage all our preachers, pastors, and pastoral staff to make a special effort to meet at Camp Garwood for this special time that can and will make a difference in our ministries.

Watch for more details next month, but mark your calendar and be there March 17-18. There are no fees to pay, so money should not keep you away. There will be good food for all, so that should not be an excuse. There are comfortable accommodations available, just bring sleeping bags, covers, pillows, and linens, or let some of us know and we will bring some for you, so that should not be an excuse. The date is announced with plenty of time to set it aside and not let anything short of an emergency keep you from being there.
Don’t let any excuse keep you away Remember: an excuse is something you use when you don’t have a reason!!
We look forward to a great time of fellowship, challenge, inspiration, and many other things to enhance the work of our churches in Missouri!

During the month of November my wife accompanied me as I preached at two of our churches that do not
have pastors. It was a blessing to be with the folks at Bethlehem, Doniphan November 6th. These good folks
are a blessing as they continue to be faithful in the Lord’s work even though they have not had a pastor for quite some time. We were inspired by their hospitality and fellowship.

November 20th we were with Temple, Belgrade and were once again blessed with their fellowship and hospitality. These faithful folks are trying to carry on the Lord’s work under a heavy load as they have been without a pastor for a while and they lost a faithful deacon leader when God called him home in October. They need our prayers as they adjust to new responsibilities each week.\

We recently visited the morning service at Faith, St. Charles and enjoyed hearing Pastor Justin Arender preach. God blessed them with an entire family, plus two other young ladies, joining by baptism that morning. It was a blessing to be with them on this occasion.

That afternoon we attended the ordination of Bro. Brian Kingston at Ozark Heights and rejoiced when we heard that he had the privilege of baptizing three of his children that morning. When we returned home
that evening we heard the good new that a young man came for baptism at Bethany that morning. God is still working in the churches of the BMA of Missouri and we need to be rejoicing together and encouraging one another in His work.

Thank you for allowing me to serve in this capacity and thank you for the Christmas bonus. My wife and I
look forward to working with you and wish each of you a

Merry Christmas
and a
Happy New Year!

News from Todd & Tina Cox at StonePoint Church North GA

Summer is a Wrap and Fall is Here!!
Happy Fall everyone! It might be the season of Fall but in Georgia it is still 90 degrees. We have had a great summer and I wanted to take a minute just to share a few things with everyone and celebrate what God has been doing and ask for your prayers for our upcoming Launch.
This Summer we were blessed to host mission teams from Brister Arkansas, Sumrall Mississippi and Brownsboro & Canton, TX. Our last newsletter covered some of their projects and showed some great pictures but I wanted to just recap an
overview here quickly. These teams ministered to hundreds of families throughout North Georgia and the greater Atlanta
area. Here are some of the things they helped us accomplish this summer:

1. We were able to hand out goodies to fist responders and thank them for their service.
2. We volunteered over 100 hours to help an organization called SAFFT that helps support adopted and foster families.
3. We volunteered over 100 hours to help an emergency assistance and food pantry facility called Th Place of Forsyth.
4. We handed out over 500 door hangers to invite people to StonePoint Church.
5. We assisted Missionary Boris Lebedev with a Russian Rehab facility that helps those with drug and alcohol addiction to find Christ and over come their addictions as well as his radio studio project.
6. We were also able to help missionary Jamshad Hadyat with his Pakistani church (Veritcal Life Urdu) and their outreach to Muslim families.
7. One team also did a local missions project for a single senior from our church that needed help with lawn care, pressure washing and repair of a deck that was rotting.

We have also had 3 Preview Services this Summer Preview Services are simply a time we can invite people to come and check us out to see what we are all about and we can have a few dress rehearsals (if you will) to work out any of the kinks before our Launch. Our Preview Services were on July 10th, August 14th, and September 11th. We had new people at each one of our Previews!! Our latest bit of great news is that the new family I mentioned back in June that started coming and leading worship for us, Dan & Nikki Thmason, were just recently approved by the Missions Office and Advisory Committee as our Associate! We are so thankful for this and for all of your prayers through this process to find the family God was leading to us for this position.

We are feverishly getting ready for our upcoming Grand Opening/Launch Sunday October 9th. Please be praying for people to come and visit and that God would do great and mighty things through our mission here in North Georgia at StonePoint Church as we reach others for Him and continue to lead them to a deeper level of discipleship and relationship with Him. Also, the afternoon after our Launch services, we will be holding our fist baptism services at the lake. Praise God for all He is doing!!

We would also ask that you would prayerfully consider supporting our work here in Georgia monthly. We are still in need
of partners and every bit helps and is appreciated. Thank you to those who have been supporting us and have made it possible to minister to those we already have and we pray that God would bless you as you continue to pray for us and financially
support the work here in Georgia. I am anxious to write soon and give you an update on how the Launch goes and how God will provide.

Ways to give:
• Mail to:
  BMA Missions
  P.O. Box 878
  Conway, AR 72033
  Designate to Missionary Todd Cox – StonePoint GA
• Give Online at BMAA Missions website – scroll down and select Todd Cox
• Mail directly to:
  StonePoint Church
  PO Box 3029
  Cumming, GA 30028

Mission: Dominican Hales Family Happenings
On Furlough

I just wanted to send out a quick note to let you know that my temporary US cell # is (501)487-0115 and will be good
through December 30th. You can still contact me via e-mail at missiondominican@hotmail.com or through FaceBook. Our Skype number (501)499-6011 is also still good. We look forward to connecting with as many of you as possible over the next 3 months. Most of the time we will be based out of Conway, AR but we also have plans to travel through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, North and South Carolina. If we haven’t already been able to arrange plans to connect with you over the next 3 months please contact us. Thank you.

I enjoyed peaching the last two Sundays in October at Bethany and appreciate the good folks there for their support over the years. As you can read in their report they have called Bro. Nick Dunn and he plans to move on the fild soon. We lost a good friend in the Lord’s work in Missouri when Bro. Ronald Pierce was called home unexpectedly. Please remember his wife Roberta, his family, and his church family (Temple, Belgrade) in their loss. Bro. Ronald was truly a pastor’s friend and he and his wife were great hosts to visiting preachers when given the opportunity. I enjoyed the State Association meeting in Sikeston
this past month and thank you for reelecting me as Assistant Missions Director and also Editor of the Missouri Missionary Baptist paper.

Bethel Missionary Baptist Church welcomed the messengers of the churches of the BMA of Missouri and treated everyone with kindness and love. They also fed us a delicious meal. You can read about the meeting starting on page one in this issue but I want to call attention to one action the Missionary Committee took that can be a blessing to all our churches in the state.
Bro. Ben Kingston was elected to plan a “Renewal Retreat” for the pastors and staf members of BMA of Missouri Churches. The entire schedule for this time will be built around renewal of the Association. There will be no charge to attend. In the month of November, our churches will be sent some possible dates for this retreat and the date selected by most respondents will be the date set for the meeting. It is VERY important that each church respond so we can set the date that the most can and
will attend.

Please do your best to attend and let’s work at renewal our fellowship and cooperation and help each other in the ministry of the Word. We need to be planting new works for the Lord, but we also need to strengthen what we already have. We are all very busy and it is easy to skip these times that can benefit our ministries and that is exactly what Satan wants us to do! Let’s
determine to not let this happen when this meeting takes place. Let’s strengthen one another as God wants us to.

Please pray for our work in Missouri that we will know where God wants us to start a new work when He gives us someone to work it. Thank you for your support and prayers as we work for the Lord.

James Hoffann

My wife and I were invited to attend the annual meeting of the Baptist Missionary Association of Southwest Missouri
which met at Grandview Baptist Church in Springfield August 20th. We were warmly received and made to feel right at home.
Grandview Church has undergone renovations to their facilities and the result was beautiful, with inviting buildings and
grounds. Pastor Gary Longstaff and the church are to be commended for their hard work and investment in their facilities.
The meeting was well attended with representation from almost all of the five cooperating churches in the Springfild,
Cassville, and Carthage area.

The services were filed with friendship, love, spirit-filed singing and fellowship Bro. Steve Crawley brought an inspirational message on “The Grace of God,” which blessed us and challenged us to be thankful for the wonderful Grace of our magnificent God!

Thanks to all for a great day! We look forward to meeting others from around Missouri.

I enjoyed our annual Camp in July and rejoice to see so many improvements in the facilities. Each year just gets better
and better. We praise God for souls being save and many saved folks who are now walking closer to God as a result of our
Camp Ministry. Camp Garwood is a good mission outreach.

I plan to attend the annual meeting of the BMA of Southwest Missouri which meets at Grandview Baptist Church in Springfield August 20th. I look forward to getting better acquainted with our brothers and sisters in that area of our great state. As we approach our annual meeting in October prayerfully prepare for what God has for us to do.