First Tipton bears fruit in missions, prayer
TIPTON—Reaching people for Christ is a vital mission for Baptists. One church that has a deep understanding of this is First Baptist Church of Tipton.
First Tipton was organized in 1865 in a school building on West Morgan Street. The first building was erected in 1866 and in 1872, the old site was vacated and a new house of worship was built on East Morgan Street. The present building was erected in 1898 on this same site.
Bro. Paul Posey is the pastor. He talks about the church’s mission.
“The mission of our church is to reach people for Christ, disciple them and also to find them a place of service,” he said. “Right now we are working on getting our people to love God through worship, love each other through fellowship and then to lead each other in discipleship. Those are our main three goals for 2007.”
One way that First Tipton has been reaching people is through a week-long local mission trip called 3MT (Mid Missouri Missions Team). Posey talked more about the concept, which is in its third year.
“We cooperate with Fortuna Baptist Church and other local churches and out-of-state churches,” he said. “They all come together for a local mission project.
“(It) has caused our people to go from thinking about giving to missions to being involved first-hand in missions. People are starting to see that God can use their skills on the mission field as cooks or painters or other talents including just having a loving heart. 3MT has also opened eyes to what the mission field can be, specifically in your own backyard.”
Posey said 3MT can be a valuable asset for local churches as well as churches throughout Missouri. He also talked about the importance of prayer.
“Prayer is a form of communication from us to God and from God to us,” Posey said. “It is a time when we pray through the direction of the Holy Spirit and we speak to God and through the Holy Spirit. If we are listening to the Holy Spirit, we know how to pray and so it is not just going down a shopping list of things that we need but actually communicating with God. A prayer, I believe, involves us praying to God and also, maybe more importantly, us listening to God. So those kinds of prayer and meditation are quite important to the believer.”
First Tipton recently held a four-day prayer conference, led by Mike Burris. The conference focused on studies about prayer—its aspects and importance. First Tipton is also partnered with a church in El Salvador.
“In all my messages on Sunday morning and Sunday night, I emphasize that goal of loving God,” Posey said. “As Rick Warren would say, our main purpose is to glorify God and to lift Him up. Our times of fellowship and ministry apply those teachings.”