Missions Reports

From Our Mission Director….
I read the sad story the other day of a 26 year old flight attendant who was fired from her job for posing for Playboy Magazine. What was interesting was the reason for doing something that would cost her job. She stated that she had a lung disease that would require surgery and that the outcome was not good. She decided to pose for the magazine so the world would remember her.

The world is filled with people who desperately wish to be remembered. Many are inclined to build monuments to themselves in one way or another. This is why the account of Babel, found in Genesis chapter 11, is so important for us. It exposes the underlying cause for building monuments.

And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” Genesis 11:4
What lessons are in this story for us today?

1) Man’s plans will never thwart God’s purposes.

God had commanded mankind to “fill the earth.” Man preferred to cloister rather than to comply with God’s command to spread out. In spite of man’s greatest efforts, God’s purposes prevailed.

2) Unity is not the highest good, but purity and obedience to the Word of God.
At first glance, we may commend the people for wanting to be of one voice and to be together in one place. Unity is a great virtue. Psalm 133:1 states, “ BEHOLD, HOW good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity”

This is a good thing, but the Bible also says: in Amos 3:3, “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” Ecumenism is the watch word of religion today, but it is a unity at the cost of truth. Some regard unity as a goal worthy of any sacrifice. God does not.

3) The Word of God, and not the works of our hands, is the only thing worthy of our faith.
The men of Babel began to look at work as the cure rather than the curse. They believed that the work of their hands could assure them of some kind of immortality beyond the grave. Here, I suspect, is the driving force behind many a workaholic. He cannot ever rest because he (or she) is never certain that a large enough monument has been built. Human endeavor is never satisfying, never fulfilling. Only work which is done for the Lord and in His strength brings lasting satisfaction.

The work of missions and church planting is labor that can bring satisfaction to our hearts for we know it is the great burden of our Lord. When we give of ourselves to the cause of sharing the gospel with the world, we are content with making our Savior famous and the Kingdom of God larger.

by Danny Kirk

In the past few weeks, it has been my joy to preach at First Baptist of Potosi, MO, Friendship Baptist at Caseyville, IL, Berean Baptist in Fetus, MO, Friendship Baptist in St. Clair, MO and my home church of Bethany, St. Louis. With the exception of Friendship in St. Clair, all these churches are seeking God’s will in finding a new pastor. Please be in prayer for these congregations as they continue their search.

Our Mid Year Meeting and Mission Symposium will be held at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Popular Bluff on May 15-16, 2015. Pastor Matt Johnson and I have been working on the Mission Symposium program and I believe that it will be an excellent investment of your time. Scott Attebery, Director of DiscipleGuide and Pastor Todd West are going to be our speakers on Friday evening. I hope you are making plans to attend.

Please check out our BMA of Missouri website at www.bmamissouri.org. Bro. Brad Miller has done an excellent job in organizing the site and keeping it current.

There you can keep up with the upcoming events and organizations in our association such as the WMA, Camp, and Brotherhood. If you have misplaced your copy of the Missouri Baptist, you will find past issues of the paper for downloading. If you have something that you would like to see on the calendar, please contact Bro. Brad at: cheops123@sbcglobal.net

by Danny R. Kirk

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?” After a time of reflection, 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…
6. Victory over sin and true repentance?
7. God’s presence and peace?
8. Hope for the future?
9. True friendship?
10. Growth in character and integrity?
11. Grace and forgiveness?
12. What sins do I need to confess?
13. Whom do I need to forgive?
14. What difference did I make this past year?
15. What would be worth repeating in the new year?
16. 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. A honest appraisal and a devoted heart can make 2015 our best year yet for spiritual growth!

Our partnership work with the Meramec Association and the BMA of America continued this year as we graciously extended our financial support to church planter Jamie Jones and the North Lake Church at Smithville, MO. God blessed the congregation with a larger and more visible facilities to meet in this past year. We rejoice with the folks at North Lake as several more people were saved and baptized this past year. With the addition of 17 souls this past summer, the church is well on its way to being firmly established. This past year, the BMA of America continued their financial support of an associate missionary for North Lake, Jared Kathcart. Jared is doing a great job hosting a small group and working with the youth at the church.

I was very happy that Larry Barker, John Herring, and Jamie Jones spoke at our annual Mission Symposium last May. Many of you shared with me that you really enjoyed the panel format and Q&A discussion that we had with the three missionaries on the blessings and challenges of planting a church in today’s culture. This year the mission symposium offering was designated for the Missouri Baptist Paper. Individuals and churches gave a gift of over $4400 to keep the paper solvent this year. Thank you! On a sadder note, it seems that attendance at the mission symposium continues to drop each year and we may need to make some determination in the near future concerning its effectiveness and its continuation.

The new church plant at Nixa, MO continues to flourish under the leadership of John and Alisha Herring. Our association provided a $1000 love offering last year to this project. Thank you for praying and for supporting this fine couple!

Thank you for allowing me to serve you as your Director of Missions for the past year.
Respectfully submitted,
Danny R. Kirk

It was my joy to preach this year at the Meramec Association Jesus Camp. The weather was beautiful and over 250 campers came together for the full week of camp. We know of at least 12 professions of faith and hope there were others made as the kids returned back to their homes. Once again, the Camp Committee did a great job of putting the camp activities together.

I was able to attend the annual district meeting of the BMA of Southwest Missouri at the Oak Ridge Baptist Church near Cassville, MO. Bro. John Herring and Matt Barker shared about the work at Nixa, MO and Pastor Larry Henbest delivered the annual message.

September 12 and 13, I will be hosting a Coaching Workshop at Friendship Baptist Church in St. Clair, MO. The training will begin at 9 a.m. each morning and end at 4:30 p.m. Cost is $25 to cover the cost of the student manual. If you are a pastor, a lay leader, or just someone who wants to help people to move forward in their goals for life and ministry, then this training will really help you. You will have the opportunity to learn the following skill sets:
1. How to listen actively
2. Ask powerful questions
3. How to draw out insights and discovery
4. How to set up SMART action steps that lead to ownership and success.

If you have questions about this training, please contact me at danny@youneedcoaching.com or call me at 314-265-6265. This training will change how you minister and serve others.

Recently I traveled to Conway, AR and attended a coaching training for Church Mobilization sponsored by the BMA Missions Department and DiscipleGuide. Church Mobilization is an intentional coach-driven process intended to increase the health and mission of congregations.

All churches over time will experience difference phases or stages of the Church Lifecycle. The Church Lifecycle can be considered in three primary stages. Incline is the stage of church lifecycle when the ministry capacity of the church is increasing. Over time, the church is doing more and more ministry and the quality of that ministry is better and better. Incline is a strong stage featuring health, growth, and multiplication.

Recline is the stage of church lifecycle when the ministry capacity of the church levels off into plateau. Over time, the church is doing the same ministry over and over at more or less the same level of quality. Recline is a tepid, tread water stage featuring ministry management by routine, filling in the blanks.

Decline is the stage of church lifecycle when the ministry capacity of the church is decreasing. Over time, the church is doing less and less ministry and the quality of that ministry is more and more compromised. Decline is a weak stage featuring decreases in membership, attendance, giving and overall impact in the community.

It is most helpful when a church does not wait until they are in a steep decline before they choose to change course. With a deep decline comes also a great loss of vitality and resources to turn things around. Preemptive mobilization makes the most sense and creates the greatest probability that growth can occur once again.
So what can Church Mobilization do for our church? To help you to understand how this process works, I have included the following introductory statements which come from the Church Mobilization Toolkit:

A Coach-Driven Process
Each participating congregation will have a professional ministry coach who has been equipped to guide the leaders of the congregation through the mobilization process. This will require the congregation’s willingness to change and the leadership’s willingness to follow and complete the process of each phase. Pay particular attention to necessary outcomes required to move to the next step in the process.

The majority of the work will be accomplished by the Church Mobilization Lead Team. There will be an open meeting for the congregation as part of each step in the process to keep the congregation informed and involved. This meeting should be led by the pastor with the assistance of the coach as needed.

Coaches will be provided with a toolkit including a large variety of tools for use with leaders and congregations. Tools will be used at the coach’s discretion. Not every tool will be used in every congregation.

If you or your congregation would like to know more about this process, please contact me at: danny@youneedcoaching.com or at 314-265-6265 and I will be glad to set up an appointment and explain further how this may be the very thing that will help your church move forward and begin the incline once again!

My wife and I recently moved our church membership to Bethany Baptist Church in St. Louis. We have really enjoyed the fellowship of the church family at Bethany and the wonderful pulpit ministry of Pastor Hoffmann. After serving this church faithfully for over 26 years, Bro. Hoffman is making preparations for retirement in the near future. Please pray for the pulpit search committee and the church as they seek God’s man.

I was privileged to be asked by the National GMA to attend the GMA Encampment at Daniel Springs Camp near Gary, TX this past month. I did a brief coaching workshop with the Counselors over two days of the camp. I had an enjoyable time making new friends and visiting with old acquaintances. The campground has really changed since I last visited there back in 1984…and all for the good!

If you are interested in a full day Coaching Workshop that will help you to be a better counselor and leader, then I have good news for you. Friendship Baptist Church in St. Clair, MO will be hosting this workshop on Friday and Saturday, September 12-13, 2014. It will begin at 8:30 AM each day and end at 4:30 PM. Cost is only $25 and this covers the cost of the student handbook. Reduced lodging will be offered at the Budget Lodging in St. Clair. Please mark your calendars for this important workshop!

Contact me for more information and to register.

Danny Kirk

I am very happy that Bro. Larry Barker, John Herring, and Jamie Jones could come to our Symposium this year and share with us the work of missions. Several of you shared with me that you enjoyed the panel discussion with the three missionaries and that much was learned about church planting through this format. Our attendance was somewhat lower than last year, so if you enjoyed the Symposium, please encourage others to attend next year.
Bro. Jamie has come to the end of his 5 years of support and the mission will soon organize into a New Testament Church. North Lake Church has just recently moved into bigger facilities that also provides more visibility to the community. Let’s continue to pray that God will give North Lake great success in the years to come as they strive to win the people of Smithville to Christ.

John and Alisha Herring are doing a great work in Nixa, MO. Currently they have three life groups meeting each week, have held monthly preview services, and they will be hosting two worship services per month beginning in June. I believe they have between 50-60 people in attendance in their worship services. They are gearing up for this summer with several mission teams coming to help them. If your church would like to send a mission team, I’m sure that Bro. John would love to talk to you.

I also want to extend my appreciation to the churches that brought an offering for the Missouri Baptist Paper. At the time of this report at the Symposium the offering total was $1499.00. The financial report states that in this fiscal year we have received $23,397 from the churches. This is a decrease of $1,448 over the same period last year. Our expenses have been $27,264; a slight difference of $153 more than the same period last year. If you look at the record of offerings provided by the churches, you will find that 12 of our churches have not sent a offering for many months. I would ask that you prayerfully consider adding the BMA of Missouri missions to your budget.

Thank you again for allowing me to serve you!
Danny Kirk
Director of Missions for the BMA of Missouri

Within the past couple of months, many of our BMA of Missouri churches have received a letter from one of our churches that has expressed dismay at the number of churches planted in the past decade or so. I, too, wish more churches had been planted and that the attempts that were made had been successful. I asked a missional leader about how we could intensify our efforts. He followed up my question with another question: “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 churches involved in the process, the greater the momentum and growth. Churches plant churches…not missions directors, nor missions department.
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 sole 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 and we are finding great success! 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.

I have been in contact with a young man who is seeking God’s will about getting a new church planting effort going in the southeast portion of the state. I do not have his permission to share his name, but I would like for you to pray for him as he begins his first Bible studies with a group of people this month. It may be the beginning of a new church.

by Danny Kirk