Missions Reports

We rejoice with Lindsay Lane Baptist Church in Florissant, Missouri, as they have called Bro. Brian Meade as Pastor and he has accepted their call. We pray for God’s blessings upon them as they labor together. Our hearts are saddened as we think of many of our churches who are still searching for pastors. We need to pray for these churches as they go through the difficult time of being without a shepherd and we need to pray that God will call more men who are willing to pastor His churches.

Our main responsibility in these days is to stay faithful to God and do our best to follow His will. May we encourage one another and work together for His honor and glory and work hard to reap a harvest of lost souls before it is too late. Please pray for your Assistant Missions Director and the Special Missions Committee as we meet before our annual meeting to make recommendations concerning our missions program. We need your prayerful support as we seek God’s leadership in our work in Missouri.

Do you know of someone who feels led to plant a church in Missouri or do you know of an area we need to investigate concerning
the potential of planting a church? Let me or a member of the Special Missions Committee know and we will consider your suggestions. We will be glad to interview possible missionary candidates, investigate possible fields, or do whatever we can to plant new churches as God leads.

Thank you for your support of Missions in Missouri!

I was physically unable to attend the National Association this year but rejoice in the good reports I am hearing about the meeting. I hope you enjoy reading the report of the National Meeting that fellow editor Don Brown of Mississippi has shared with us. Excitement is building as we approach our Missions Symposium and Midyear meeting later this month. Pastor Claude Evans and Stony Point Church are making preparations and I know we will be welcomed and treated royally. Pray for Bro. Jeff Swart and come prepared to be informed, inspired, and encouraged by God’s Word.

As we gather for our Midyear meeting on Saturday may we do so with a prayer that God will revive His work in Missouri and that we will be sensitive to His leadership in the decisions we make. I look forward to fellowshipping with our brothers and sisters throughout Missouri in this meeting.

I have two SPECIAL REMINDERS for our readers this month.

The fist concerns our Mission Symposium and Mid-Year Meeting that will be May 20-21 at Stony Point Baptist Church at Mineral Point, near Potosi. I encourage everyone to attend the symposium on Friday evening starting at 6;00 p.m. Our guest speaker, Bro. Jeff Swart will bless and challenge us with the information he will share about Israel, the Bible, and how America fits into the picture. Attending this meeting should prepare us for a great mid-year business and worship meeting on Saturday.
The second reminder concerns the special offering we always have at the symposium. This year it is designated for the
Missouri Missionary Baptist paper and a goal of $5,000 has been set. If each church in our work would send an offering of $100 we would exceed that goal. Please prayerfully consider what God wants your church to do in this matter.

Please pray for the BMA of Missouri as we take care of business at our mid-year meeting. Each department will give a report and hopefully have some recommendations to consider as we seek to do God’s will.

I look forward to seeing you at Stony Point and working with our churches in the Lord’s service.

I apologize for not being present at the annual meeting as I had an unexpected twelve day stay in the hospital and am still
not up to par. The doctor said it will take at least 8 weeks for a full recovery. I do appreciate your prayers and calls.

It was great to hear the good reports from the meeting. I thank Bro. Don Burke for writing a summary of the meeting and sending pictures so I could get the report of the meeting in this edition of the paper.

Thank you for your confidence in me in selecting me to continue editing the paper and in selecting me to continue as
Assistant Missions Director.

Thank you also for the generous offering from the state to help us continue printing the paper each month. I pray this will be a great year in all the churches of our association as we work together reaching lost souls before the Lord returns.

Let’s follow the Lord’s leading in all we do.

Another month has passed quickly and I am learning more about how to do this job. I have not had the opportunity to visit any churches to present our State Mission work but I have an appointment August 30th to be with Bethlehem Baptist Church in Doniphan and look forward to this opportunity.

I was asked to speak at the SouthWest Missouri Association’s annual meeting August 15th but due to a previous commitment I will probably not be able to be with them.

I do look forward to visiting among our churches as opportunities arise.

Please pray for your Special Mission Committee as we meet sometime before the State Meeting in October. We hope to have some suggestions for our churches to consider concerning our Mission work at this meeting.

If you have any suggestions about directions we should go and plans we should make please contact me at 314-277-8644
or any member of the Special Missions Committee. Members are: Chairman, Wayne Gibson, Jerry Adams, Brian Meade,
Ben Kingston, Don Burke and Tom McCanless. We appreciate your input.

Prayers are needed as we have several churches who are searching for pastors at this time. Please encourage preachers who are not pastoring to avail themselves of the opportunities to let God lead them into productive work with these churches.

Prayers are also needed for God to lead us to areas where new works need to be started. The filds are white…we need to harvest!

If you know of someone who feels God is leading him to do mission work (or Pastor) in Missouri please have him contact me for more information.

This past month has passed fast as I tried to adjust to the added responsibilities of keeping books for the Missions account of the BMA of Missouri and tried to fit in a two week trip with some of our family.

When Bro. Danny and I talked of making the transition upon his resignation we decided to keep the Post Offie Box he had used in Florissant in hopes that it might make things a little less confusing for all involved.

That has not worked as smoothly as we had hoped. I had forgotten that he was also the Missions Director of the Meramec Association and their mail went to the same P.O. Box.

Bro. Johnny Dover is the Director of Missions for the Meramec Association and he has received some mail for the BMA of Missouri and I have received some mail for the Meramec Association. We have worked together forwarding those checks to the right Missions Account but we both feel that this confusion causes a delay in receiving and depositing your checks and that it would be best to close the P.O. Box and encourage our church treasurers to send the BMA of MO offerings to my address
and the Meramec offeringsto his address. Of course I will keep the P.O. Box open for at least two more months and give time for everyone to make the adjustments involved.

Please note that the checks and correspondence for Meramec Association Missions should be sent to:
Pastor John Dover
Friendship Baptist Church
630 N. Commercial Street
St. Clair, MO 63077

All correspondence and checks for BMA of MO Missions should be sent to:
James Hoffmann
176 Bear Creek Dr.
Wentzville, MO 63385

Treasurers who also send offerings to the Missouri Missionary Baptist Paper are encouraged to put both checks in one envelope and mail to Bro. Hoffmann at the address above. If you have any questions feel free to call me at 314-277-8644.

Thank you for your patience as we serve the Lord and His churches in Missouri.

Director’s Resignation….
The Mission Advisory Committee met in Perryville, MO this past month to prepare recommendations for our semi annual meeting. I informed the committee that the Lord had been preparing my wife and I for a new ministry adventure in the state of Arkansas. We are joining the staff at Grace Hills Church in Rogers, AR as their Community Pastor. Carolyn and I are excited about this opportunity and look forward to a very rewarding ministry. With this move in mind, I have resigned my position as Director of Missions effective May 31, 2015. Thank you for allowing me to serve you these past 15 years.

Symposium Program…
Friday evening, May 15, we will host our Annual Mission Symposium at Mt. Zion Baptist Church beginning at 6:00 p.m. Our special guests for the evening will be Dr. Scott Attebery and
Pastor Todd West. They will share with us a new initiative called “Activate” which is a
coach-driven program or tool to help churches to stop the decline and experience good
church health and growth. The following is a tentative schedule that we will try
to follow:
Worship in Song- Mt. Zion Baptist Church
Message- “The Importance of Evaluating Your Church” (Scott Attebery) 30 minutes
Break: 30 minutes
Training – “Introduction To Activate” a coach driven tool to help your church become more healthy. (Todd West) 60 Minutes

Cooperate Prayer Session – “Praying together for your church” (Todd West) 15-20 minutes
We have a lot of hurting churches within our state work and many of them can be described as “declining churches.” I hope that you will make a serious effort to attend the mission symposium at 6:00 PM on Friday evening. Pastors, please bring some of your lay people so they, too, can hear what is available to help them to stop the decline and once again dream of better days ahead!

I look forward to seeing you in Poplar Bluff!

Remember, the Goal for the Mission Symposium is the New Roof on the Tabernacle at Camp Garwood.

Bring a group from your church and a generous offering for Camp Garwood.

From Our Missions Director….
Pastor Matt Johnson and the good folks at Mt. Zion Baptist Church are planning a great meeting for our Mid Year meeting on May 15-16. We will start off Friday evening (6:00 PM) with our annual Mission Symposium. This year we will have two special guests in Pastor Todd West of the Oasis Church in Maumelle, AR and Dr. Scott Atteberry, the Executive Director of the BMAA DiscipleGuide Ministries. In a recent news announcement from DiscipleGuide, we were informed of a new ministry to be offered to the churches of the BMA of America. The following is a quote from that news release:

Todd West, Director of Church Solutions
According to DiscipleGuide Executive Director Scott Attebery, “Todd’s experience and track record as a pastor, church planter, and consultant have prepared him to serve in this role.” West’s role as Director of Church Solutions is a new position focused on DiscipleGuide’s new emphasis on getting personally involved with local churches.

Already, DiscipleGuide is working with several churches through the new Activate initiative, a coach-driven approach to helping hurting churches experience revitalization. Also on the horizon for the new Church Solutions division are much-needed resources such as an Intentional Interim program and a confidential Pastor’s Helpline.

According to West, “It will be an honor to serve pastors and churches who are seeking solutions to the challenges we face today.”

It seems that all churches begin with an upward incline as a mission church. Soon there is a church organization, a building program, and the addition of staff as the church growths. Yet within a few years, the church tends to slow down and assumes a “reclining position”. This reclining action soon turns to “declining” movement, where people, resources, and ministry comes to a crawl or standstill. Unless it is turned around, the church may soon come to believe that its best days are behind her.

We have a lot of hurting churches within our state work and many of them can be described as “declining churches”. On this Friday evening of the Symposium, these two men will help us to understand that there is both hope and help for churches who are experience a “decline” in their attendance, ministry, and overall, church health.

I hope that you will make a serious effort to attend the mission symposium at 6:00 PM on Friday evening. Pastors, please bring some of your lay people so they, too, can hear what is available to help them to stop the decline and once again dream of better days ahead! I look forward to seeing you in Poplar Bluff May 15th at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday May 16th!