Articles

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

How quickly this associational year has passed! It should remind us that what we are going to do needs to be done NOW and not put off to a “later date!” All of us have friends who are lost and need to hear the Gospel. Let’s not wait till it is too late!

Churches need to revitalize their methods and update their outreach. Someday it will be too late! God is patient and kind
but soon His wrath will be poured out against sin and evil. What are we doing to avoid that! May we start this new associational year with a greater desire to be busy about our Father’s Business and may we be able to say at the end of this new year in the Lord’s work that we have been faithful and can rejoice in the fruit of our labors.

We are blessed in many ways and should share the Good News of Jesus every opportunity we have. People are searching for answers and we know WHO has THE answers we need so we can look forward to eternity. God has blessed us with the funds needed to do what we had planned to this year. He will be faithful to provide more funds and the personnel to do the things He want us to do in the year ahead.

Let’s work together to do more for God and reach the lost in the days ahead. We need each other’s support, encouragement, and help and with it more will be accomplished. We are not in competition with one another, but we are encouraged to work together for God’s honor and glory.

That’s what being associated means. It’s part of God’s plan that we help one another in life through our homes and churches. Let’s renew this spirit and let God show what He can do in each of our localities. Continue to pray for God to call men into the ministry who will make the sacrifces necessary to lead our churches to greater heights of labor for the Lord. Look for ways you and your church can help others accomplish God’s will in their lives and ministries.

Thank you for your words of encouragement and for your support of the work of the churches of the BMA of Missouri Missions. There is no limit to what we can do as we follow God in our lives. I have started trying to attend more local association
meetings in an effort to get to know more about what is going on in our churches and to get better acquainted with our people. If you would like for me to visit your annual meetings please let me know ahead of time when your meeting takes place and I will try to come. I look forward to the opportunity.

by James Hoffman

By the time most of you read this we will be half-way through our fnal month in this associational year. The new associational year begins October 1st and all departments of our work will give their annual reports summarizing what we have done this past year and presenting recommendations for your consideration about what we plan to do in this new year.

Please pray that we will be sensitive to the needs and to God’s plan for meeting those needs. Our host pastor for the annual meeting in October, Ben Kingston, has invited Bro. Gene Hankins to preach in our worship service and I am looking forward to hearing him preach and to visit with him at this meeting. Bro. Hankins is a successful pastor and is also the Missions Director for the BMA of Oklahoma. He has led his church and the BMA of Oklahoma in church planting and I look forward to what he can share with us that might spark a fire of planting churches in our churches here in Missouri.

We continue to pray for churches in Missouri that are searching for pastors and hope God will burden more preachers to get involved in pastoring and not be satisfed with just “preaching” when the opportunities arise. Brethren, we need a burden
for ministry if our churches are going to grow and plant more churches!

Please pray for me as I try to encourage churches and preachers who are discouraged and who are searching for God’s leadership in their ministries. We serve THE MIGHTY GOD and need to give Him our best e?ort in all we do! If there is anything I can do for you please let me know.

If you have any ideas that will help us in the work in Missouri PLEASE share them with me or with any member of our Special Missions Committee so we can consider them when we meet before the annual meeting to formulate recommendations about the work in 2018 – 2019. This committee meeting will be taking place within the next few weeks so we need to hear from you as soon
as possible.

The members of this committee are: Ben Kingston, Chairman; Dan Wisely, Clerk; Claude Evans, Russell Chitwood, Dale Fish, Don
Burke, and Brian Meade. These men would welcome your input and help in doing the work the association has given us to do. If you need to meet with the committee that can be arranged if we know of your desire early enough to make the arrangements.

I look forward to working with you and enjoying your fellowship at our annual meeting at Bethel Baptist Church, Lonedell. Let’s pray that the year ahead will be a great year of seeing souls saved, preachers encouraged, and churches growing!

We continue to have several churches without pastors and it seems there is a shortage of preachers to call upon in times of need. That gets discouraging. At the same time we are hearing that some of our churches are growing and souls are being saved and that is encouraging. We need to remember that God is a loving and gracious God and that He is pleased when we are willing to do our best for Him. As someone has said, “The greatest ability we can have is our ‘availability’ to God. To be available to God and faithful to follow Him is the best we can do.

God is blessing our work and we need to remain faithful to Him until the Lord comes and takes us home. Let’s encourage one another as we work together for His honor and glory. God blessed us with another great camp with the lost being saved and the saved being revived. Remember to mark your calendars for the Annual Meeting of the BMA of Missouri that will take place October 27, 2018 at Bethel Baptist Church in Lonedell. The meeting starts at 9:00 a.m. Pray for a harmonious meeting where we can renew our determination to do God’s will. Pray for our churches to have the leadership they need to fulfill the commission our Lord gave us to go into all the world with His message of salvation. If I can be of help to you or your church please let me know. We can encourage one another and increase our effect on those around us. Remember, it is not “my” work or “yours” but God’s.

by James Hoffman, Mission’s Director