Teamwork

      Noun 1: “the combined action of a group of people, especially when effective and efficient.”

      Note to our churches and their leadership: Nearly every year, we have churches come with a desire to be numbered among the churches of the BMA of Arkansas. Why? I feel they believe we can accomplish far more for the cause of Christ as a team than by going it alone. In fact, every church in the association at one time shared this same conclusion, but like most things, we have begun taking being a team member as more of an inconvenience than an avenue to further the cause of Christ.

      Please consider how much the association has done through the years and continues to do — from a Bible-based college, CBC; to the Baptist Trumpet, the only weekly BMA newspaper; to a growing youth department and presently, seven missionaries serving through State Missions. Together, we are proving there is strength in numbers. It is easy to let someone else do our job or to go in our place, but that does not make it right. There are important things to be considered and the scriptures bear witness to the need to get together. Proverbs 15:22 says, “Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counselors, they are established.”

Restore/Revive

      May this generation of churches and leaders be the ones to restore the needed revival concerning gathering for the good of all involved. Each church has been given the right to be represented at our associational meetings, regardless of size or location — each with the same number of messengers. Never forget that every messenger counts as one vote. So instead of saying my attendance won’t make a difference, I beg your pardon. Every election may not go our way, but at least we can say we tried.

      Consider making it a part of your church’s bylaws that your church should be represented at all local, state and national associational meetings. That’s not inferring that the pastor must attend because many simply cannot, but the church elects its messengers and, in doing so, should only elect those who can attend, be they ministers or lay members. In fact, lay members should outnumber the ministers nearly two to one.

      In closing, make it a priority to have your church represented. No doubt, some members would be happy to be their church’s representatives if only asked. Have a yard sale or bake sale to raise funds if needed for fuel or hotel rooms. I hope to see you in November.

From Our Missionaries

      • “Karina Rodriguez, the mother of Marlon, one of the young people who plays guitar in the church band. She began meeting with us when her two children began attending church after Vacation Bible School around five years ago.

      • “Adriana, a nine-year-old girl whom I had the opportunity to present to the Lord, now God gave me the blessing of baptizing her.

      • “Daniel is a 20-year-old young man who recently made his profession of faith after listening to the Sunday message.

      • “Denzel, 28, who recently began meeting with us, made his profession of faith in August in a Sunday service.

      “All of them are eager to obey the Lord, so we invite them to continue their process by joining a discipleship group, which will take place on Sundays at 9 a.m. in the temple. Let us pray that each of them continues their process of growth in Christ so they can prepare themselves for every good work, especially those to which God has called them.”

      “Last Sunday was my last Sunday in chaplaincy with the Arkansas Travelers since the chaplaincy season is over. I hope to be present for the 2024 season — that’s 11 seasons ministering to the Hispanic players. This year, I shared the Word of God with eight players. Since last Sunday was the last game of the Travelers, my wife, daughter, some friends from the church and I went to watch the team play. The interesting thing is that, during the game, I took the opportunity to deepen the friendship with those we invited. The funny thing is that someone approached me at the stadium and said ‘I know you,’ it was someone I had met in a restaurant, and his name is Julio Escobar. He is a student at Central Baptist College and a player on the baseball team. He introduced me to his group of friends, and I was able to get to know him better. My prayer is that I can contribute a grain of sand to the growth of his spiritual life.

      “Brothers, please pray a lot for us. I am in a time when I am ministering to different groups — baseball players, the Theological Institute, Venezuelan groups, new families, in home groups, in Novo.org — and each week preparing the material in Spanish for our people.

      “Thank you for your support, and your prayers. To God be the glory!”

      “At our evening service, Randy and Rita Jones came all the way from Jonesboro to visit us — what a great surprise! They are wonderful friends! Before the service, we stopped by and showed them the progress on the new building, and they seemed to like it very much. We sure are looking forward to getting in there. We are still working on ductwork. It is a slow job, but it is coming along. We had some distractions a few days last week, but we keep chipping away as we can.

      “We thank you for your prayers and support! Please continue as God is blessing us richly through you.”

      “We got out and met lots of new faces at Third Thursday in downtown Benton this week. We gave out over 100 gospel tracts, as well as our Faith Journey handouts about the mission and where we are located. We feel it is important to keep our name out in the community and let people know we are here to help meet their needs and invite them to come worship with us.”

      “This week, we begin a new phase of discipleship in the three cities where, by His grace, God allows us to disciple in Pea Ridge, Rogers and Springdale. Our goal is for them to reproduce in other disciples, and to seek those God has brought to be part of our church leadership team. We seek faithfulness, availability and those who are teachable.

      “We had a very special time of collective adoration in our service, and then we continued with the expository preaching on the book of John and had a beautiful fellowship. As it was the last Sunday of September, we held a birthday celebration for the ones with September birthdays.”

        Our two families that host sat down and told me how they were ‘all in’ and why they were all in! Wow! Not only did they say it, but families helped each other with Connection Groups this week. That was the highlight of a busy and fruitful week that saw new guests at each connection group once again. The prayer collective also met this week. This is still something that is open to join!”

         There are so many things we feel like we need to do to get started. So again, pray that we will be sensitive to the Spirit and allow Him to guide us!”