JEFFERSON CITY – Newly seated trustees for The Baptist Home gathered at the Baptist Building here in a historic meeting April 4-5. It was the first time in nearly 17 years that this vibrant ministry to senior adults came under the governance of a Missouri Baptist Convention-elected trustee board, and the plenary session of the meeting was marked with thanksgiving and graciousness among MBC leaders.
Trustee chairman Ken Parker, pastor of First Baptist Church, Kearney, opened the meeting on Friday morning, welcoming trustees and guests, many of whom were staff members from The Baptist Home.
“It’s a new day,” Parker said, “and we can commit to be kind and gracious to everyone who has been affiliated with The Baptist Home on every front, and in so doing we honor the Lord Jesus in the process. … We’re going to be wise, but we’re going to be winsome. We’re going to be compassionate and kind on every front. We’re going to function as if we actually believe the words of the apostle Paul in Romans 12:18, where he says, ‘If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.’ …
“We’re going to work together,” he added. “We’re going to serve together. We’re going to honor the Lord Jesus together. And we’re going to preserve the wonderful legacy of The Baptist Home together.”
MBC Executive Director John Yeats also welcomed trustees.
“We really are excited about this meeting,” he said. “This is the final piece of the puzzle of Baptist life over the last 16 years – 16 years and 7 months, I was reminded last night. Now it’s the time to welcome one another home, and let us rebuild those great ministries that God has been doing through Missouri Baptist life. Not that this ministry has not been flourishing, but we are very grateful that now it has returned to proper governance.”
Yeats encouraged trustees to visit The Baptist Home’s various campuses around the state and to meet staff members and residents. He also urged them to learn and share The Baptist Home story, as well as to show their commitment to the ministry by financially investing in The Baptist Home.
During the meeting, Baptist Home President Steven Jones pledged his loyalty and the loyalty of staff “to you as trustees and to the ministry of the Baptist Home.”
“As trustees, I want you to know that we are very transparent,” Jones said. “We don’t hide anything. You are welcome to come to our facilities anytime, and you can ask any question, and we would be glad to answer your questions and be as forthright with you as possible.” The only exception to this transparency, he noted, regarded the personal, medical condition of residents – which Baptist Home staff members are bound by law to keep confidential.
During their meeting, trustees also learned about the ministry taking place on the four Baptist Home campuses in Arcadia Valley, Ashland, Chillicothe and Ozark. They also heard how The Baptist Home is taking its ministry to senior adults across the globe through its Global Aging Missions department.
To learn more about The Baptist Home, visit their website at https://thebaptisthome.org/.