MBC church planter resigns, joins Blue River-KC Association
By Staff
April 19, 2005
KANSAS CITY – A Missouri Baptist Convention church planting specialist has resigned and accepted a call to become an associate director with the Blue River- Kansas City Baptist Association.
John Mark Clifton’s new ministry will include church planting, ethnic church ministry, urban ministry, church revitalization, missological research, community ministry, assisting churches with staff/pastoral vacancies and assisting churches with field interpretations and the design of appropriate mission strategies, according to an association press release.
In a unique partnership with the Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptist (KNCSB) Clifton will assist up to 20 hours per month the churches in the Kansas-Nebraska Convention on issues of core city ministry. In turn the KNCSB will contribute a portion of the salary and ministry support for this position. This partnership will permit both Associations to approach the city core, Kansas City, Mo., and Kansas City, Kan., with a unified strategy for ministry to the homeless and neglected in our region, the press release stated.
“As a friend, as a fellow Missouri Baptist and as a co-worker in church planting, my heart’s desire is to cooperate with you and your team in my new role,” Clifton said.
Prior to his work with the MBC, Clifton was a North American Mission Board (NAMB) national missionary to Canada during which time he lived in Montreal and planted churches in Quebec. From 1990 to 2000 Clifton served as the state director of extension mission for the Kansas-Nebraska Convention. He was on staff of the Home Mission Board (now NAMB) in the late 1980’s directing church planting projects. Clifton has planted more than a dozen churches in the last 20 years. His first church plant, the Castleview Baptist church in Blue Springs, took place in 1983.
Clifton grew up in Independence, where his father, Harry Clifton, was pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church. He graduated from William Jewell College and Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is married to Jill and they have two sons, Jordan and Trenton.
“Clifton has a passion for and an understanding of the greater Kansas City region that combined with his more than 25 years of SBC mission leadership will make him a real asset to the churches in the Blue River-Kansas City Association,” the press release stated.