I’ve enjoyed the honor of serving in my new role for two months now, and it’s been an absolute blessing to interact with many of our pastors and leaders throughout the state. I’m thankful for every opportunity to preach, I’ve enjoyed multiple times of meaningful fellowship, and I’m always excited to share my heart for the future of Missouri Baptists. As I reflect on my brief time in Missouri, a few observations surface rather quickly.
First, our pastors are striving to serve faithfully. As someone who served in a pastoral role for more than two decades, I love spending time with pastors. I love hearing about the churches they serve, the ministries the Lord has blessed, and their vision for the future. I can relate to the struggles, I know the heartache and difficulties, I know the joy and excitement, and I know full well the source of our strength and calling.
As I travel around the state, I’m overwhelmed by the giftedness, passion, devotion, sincerity, and commitment of our pastors. Missouri Baptist pastors love the Word of God, they love their congregations, they love their communities, but most importantly, they love Jesus! I’m honored to serve alongside such faithful men.
Second, our Directors of Missions care deeply. I’ve always appreciated the role of a Director of Missions (DOM), but in my new seat, I’ve gained an even greater admiration for how they serve. On a daily basis, Missouri Baptist DOMs are planning, collaborating, mentoring, teaching, encouraging, and praying. And they do this primarily in the background, receiving very little attention for their faithfulness.
But, based on my time with Missouri Baptist DOMs, they don’t seek attention or recognition; they desire for pastors and churches to reach their communities with the gospel. They care deeply about the local church, about the Great Commission, and about cooperation for the sake of the gospel. Again, I’m honored to serve alongside such faithful men.
Third, our Missouri Baptist staff supports the local church enthusiastically. Having never worked at a state convention, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. What would the culture of the MBC office feel like? What would people talk about in the hallways and in meetings? What would the focus be?
If you’ve ever wondered the same, I can tell you this – we focus on serving, supporting, equipping, and encouraging the local church. We focus on faithfully stewarding Cooperative Program dollars to reach Missouri and the world for Christ. We focus on supporting our MBC entities and promoting their ministries. And, your Missouri Baptist staff does this every single day with enthusiasm! Everyone in the building, as well as everyone in the field, considers it a great honor to serve the churches of the Missouri Baptist Convention.
Fourth, the harvest is truly plentiful. In just the past few weeks, I’ve been blessed to preach in three very different areas of Missouri – and I loved all three! The context of each church, though, was unique. The size of each congregation varied significantly, the worship styles differed, the buildings were architecturally diverse, the dress (more formal vs. more casual) was different, and the flow and feel of each worship service were unique.
Guess what didn’t vary. Guess what each community, regardless of context, had in common. Lostness was vast. The need for sinners to be saved by grace through faith in Christ was consistent in every town and in every community. This is why we must remain focused on the main thing, proclaiming Christ crucified and Christ resurrected.
I believe we do this best when we do this together – cooperating to reach our communities, state, nation and world for Christ.
I pray you enjoy a blessed Christmas! Thank you for supporting the Cooperative Program, and thank you for serving so faithfully!