At our 2021 annual meeting in Branson, Missouri Baptists heard incredible reports, listened to wonderful Bible preaching, and participated in significant business. Our churches sent 1,194 messengers and 267 registered visitors, making our state convention’s meeting one of the largest in recent memory.
Behind the scenes, your Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) staff worked hundreds of hours to provide hospitality, sound, streaming, registration and everything needed to help messengers have a positive experience. They used bar-code scans, and over 500 messengers registered within one hour – and no lines! No waiting at our annual meeting – sorta like a scan and go!!
The exhibitor’s hall was busy all the time. There was a sweet spirit with the venders. The Minnesota/Wisconsin guys brought their cheddar cheese … NAMB’s Send Team was handing out portfolios … and breath mints were had by one and all.
As a special outreach to the next-gen pastor families, a Disaster Relief Child Care Unit of 25, led by Angie Hurd, cared for 58 children (23 were under the age of two and 16 were 3-5 years of age). Can you imagine the number of diapers changed over the course of two days? Incredible!
The generational shift occurring in our convention is good, and the trained childcare volunteers give to these young parents a sense of security and encouragement. And we learned of at least one next-gen young lady surrendering her life to Christ because of the witness of an MBC team member. Hallelujah!
A big shout out: “Thank You” to every one for their role in making the annual meeting one of our largest events in recent history. Sharon and I thank you all for honoring us for a decade of service. We cannot do what the Lord has called us to do apart from your support and intercession. We do not do our work alone; we serve with an incredibly amazing team of MBC missionaries.
On another note . . .
During the recent SBC Executive Committee squabbles, a friend asked, “How do you think the national decisions will impact your state convention work?”
Great question. While they are autonomous organizations, the Southern Baptist Convention and the state conventions are linked together by the common thread of the Cooperative Program, which has created the most formidable, multi-generational, multi-ethnic missional force in Christian history.
The insiders and arm-chair experts alike acknowledge funding for cooperative ministry could be impacted. It’s something we don’t know, and it is dependent on several factors. One factor is the number of litigators who file cases against the SBC Executive Committee and/or affiliated ministries. Of course, the public discourse could also have an impact on the source of funds and governance – the local church. This is during a time when some churches are coming back on line with redesigned post-Covid ministries. Some churches that were really struggling before 2020 may find themselves with even deeper struggles.
Since 1835, the MBC has existed to transform lives and communities with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ by working with cooperating Missouri Baptists to make disciples, multiply churches, and develop leaders in Missouri, the nation, and the world.
According to the MBC history I’ve read and experienced, Missouri Baptists always have been an independent bunch, upholding the Baptist distinctives of the infallibility and veracity of God’s Word, the believer’s priesthood, and the autonomy of the local church. In the midst of our deep history, we’ve learned the hard way that we can accomplish more for the kingdom of God by working together than we could ever accomplish alone.
Some have used the Acts 1:8 model to describe the state jurisdiction as a “Judea” ministry. A state convention serves to drill down into the cultural context of the state and then strategically and missionally serves with grass-root local churches and associations to spread the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ. The hope of our state missionary staff is for a movement of disciple-making through authentic ministry by local churches and associations impacting multiple cultures and multiple generations.
No national or global ministry can do comprehensively what the state convention does in Missouri. National and global partners assist the state convention, but they simply do not have the manpower to sustain the work independently of the state convention.
Paul Chitwood, International Mission Board President Paul Chitwood, a speaker at this year’s MBC annual meeting, wrote about the importance of state conventions in the Aug. 28, 2019 Pathway (edited):
“From my past experience as a pastor and state mission leader, I have seen firsthand the missional impact of state convention ministries. Ministries to refugees, migrants, and ethnic minorities are often led or assisted by state convention team members and resources. State conventions help facilitate church planting, church strengthening and revitalization efforts, as well as provide evangelism training and coordinate Disaster Relief ministry. . . .The lives of unborn children are being saved by crisis pregnancy centers that are often funded, in part, by the state convention. Across America, people are finding new life in Christ as churches work together through their state convention ministries.”
Do we need to evaluate our processes? Sure. We need to constantly evaluate our methodologies. We always want to do and be better at what the Lord has called us to do. But for a change to take place, we need good, civil discussion and solid research.
The beauty of Missouri Baptists is that, no matter the size, every church is valuable. Every association has worth. Every MBC entity has an immeasurable role to play in God’s kingdom. Our God is doing great and mighty things through His people living on mission with Him.