Last month, my church hosted an event called “Together for the Nations” put on by the International Mission Board (IMB). The purpose of this event was to introduce churches to the work of the IMB and encourage them to consider ways to join these mission efforts around the world. Several topics were addressed at this event, but the one from which I gleaned the most was about mobilizing God’s people for mission work. For pastors, few things are more exciting than mobilizing God’s people on a … [Read more...]
Working together to reach the multitudes
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) was founded in 1845 with the intention of “combining and directing the energies of the whole denomination in one sacred effort, for the propagation of the Gospel.” From its inception, the heartbeat of the SBC has been about reaching as many people as possible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and this one sacred effort has fueled millions to collaborate and cooperate so that people will have access to the Gospel all across the globe. Though … [Read more...]
The power of a personal invitation
I felt my call to vocational ministry back in 2005 during a revival service at Union Hill Baptist Church in Holts Summit, Mo. Shortly after that, I began looking at colleges to attend in order to begin the preparation process for this calling and I was connected to Dr. Tom Hufty who, at the time, served as Vice President at Hannibal-LaGrange College (now University). I’ll never forget my first discussion with him as I was explaining my call to pastoral ministry and how he looked me in … [Read more...]
Loving the lost
There are a lot of things that call for our attention in this world. A few things that come to mind are family, friends, vocation, health, and hobbies. Life is full of good things that we should give time and attention to, however I have found that the bulk of our time and attention tends to drift towards the things that we love the most. If one loves to fish (and I do!), that person will be intentional in finding time for it. If one loves his family, that person will make time to be … [Read more...]