EWING – Missouri Baptists from Northeast Missouri churches gathered to perpetuate the work of Jesus during “On Mission Connection” (OMC), an event hosted by First Baptist Church here, March 21-23.
Fourteen workers representing the International Mission Board (IMB), North America Mission Board (NAMB), and the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) shared their stories at OMC, which was sponsored by the Mt. Salem/Wyaconda Southern Baptist Association. After a dinner at FBC, Ewing, these workers shared about their ministries to more than 100 people. Most of the workers also spoke at other churches during the weekend, as well.
“We hold this (event) so the local churches can have contact in their county with missionaries and learn how God works in different ministries around the world,” said Violet Brownell, missions team leader for Mt. Salem/Wyaconda Association, which serves churches in Lewis, Knox, and Clark Counties.
Brownell previously coordinated OMC in the association, in 2007 and 2011.
Included among featured guests at OMC were MBC staff members Ben Hess, church planting team leader; Jerry Field, support services team leader; Disaster Relief Strategist Dwain Carter; and David Hendrick, leadership development team member, who helps organize the MBC’s collegiate summer missions programs.
“We’re slated to have the largest group of summer missionaries in years,” Hendrick said. “We have 85 students across the state that have applied to be summer missionaries. We desire to get every student paired with a mentor. We want to build on their (mentors’) heritage and be missional on their thinking and get them to look at life that way.”
Northeast Missouri Baptists also welcomed guests from NAMB, including Gary and Beth Anderson of Limestone, Tenn., who coordinate the Church Renewal Journey (CRJ). CRJ involves lay-led, revival-type weekends where churches take a spiritual journey through Scripture to learn how they can be on mission with God.
“God is in charge of these weekends,” Beth Anderson said. “We’re showing the gospel anyway we can in awakening, equipping, commissioning, praying and sending people.”
“God already plants the seed of what he wants us to do. We pray the Lord gets us out of the way and lets His will be done,” Gary Anderson said.
During the event, David Wallace also shared about Shining Light in Charleston, which feeds 700-800 families each month, provides hot meals for children each Sunday, serves the meals for eight to 15 children/youth camps, and in 2014 distributed thousands of fresh produce and 3,000 school supplies at the start of the school year – all in the Missouri’s second poorest county.
“We’re the most successful church plant failure in Missouri,” Wallace said. “We lost our core group after a church plant and became more of an outreach center than a church. Are we successful? Four of the five graduates we’ve had are in college.”
One of those college students is Austin Hailey, a Culver-Stockton College freshman in Canton, who benefited from Shining Light’s ministries for three or four years before being saved.
“I’ve helped with food pantry, Vacation Bible School, passing out school supplies, a Christmas dinner, and food distribution to the elderly,” Hailey said. “I like helping others and being a good servant to God.”