Missouri Baptists enjoy MBC training for missions
By Staff
March 22, 2005
JEFFERSON CITY – The Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) leaders are pleased with the debut of “Training for a Short-Term Mission Trip,” a one-day conference at the Baptist Building March 11 that helped train about 100 pastors, directors of missions and mission leaders in six different areas of ministry work.
MBC Partnership Missions Specialist Norm Howell was delighted by the positive feedback he received. He said this will become an annual event, held every March.
“As these leaders from our state were leaving, they were taking with them a lot of resource material on how they could lead teams personally from their churches or associations on a trip themselves,” Howell said. “They can train their own people now.”
Classes were taught in morning and afternoon sessions by five MBC specialists and one pastor—David Groves of Living Word Baptist Church, Poplar Bluff, who taught on medical missions. Howell taught on finance, and MBC State Evangelism Director Bob Caldwell taught on evangelism, with MBC State Church Planting Director Jerry Field also instructing on his specialty. Sondi Scroggins, MBC preschool/children’s specialist, did some training on children’s ministry, with Vivian McCaughan, MBC WMU/women’s missions and ministry specialist, teaching on women’s ministry.
Next year’s training event may include leaders from the International Mission Board and North American Mission Board, Howell said. Different types of training, including a session designed to help lay people, will be offered.
“We’re also going to be talking about how to prepare a church to do cross-cultural ministry,” Howell said. “A lot of our churches don’t know how to do that. We want to do something with youth next year. This year we worked with children, how we can teach children overseas. Next year we want to work with how we include our youth in doing some of this.
“Everything that was used could be used right here in the United States, in Colorado or anywhere else. All of it is very relevant to any type of mission work.”