Earlier in February I had the opportunity to attend the Statewide Associational missionary workshop.  It didn’t take long for me to get information overload as I heard seminar leaders present great ideas for associational missions.  The featured speaker for week was Claude King.  You may recognize his name as the co writer (with Henry Blackaby) of Experiencing God and Fresh Encounter.  The lessons he taught form the basis of all missions endeavors.  I’d like to share some of these thoughts with you.

God’s mission is to restore fallen men to a love relationship with Himself.  He works through those who have responded to His call to repent of sin and enter into fellowship with Him to call other men and women to Himself. When His people fall away from Him they cease to be useful as instruments to carry out His mission so He turns His attention to returning them to a love relationship with Himself through patient chastening.  If His people repent then they experience revival.  If they do not repent chastening turns to judgment.  In Revelation 2,3 we see the warning of judgment to backslidden churches and we see the example of God’s chastening and ultimately judgment on individual believers in I Corinthians 11:30-32.  God is persistent in chastening unrepentant sin because He longs to use His holy people to carry out His mission to bring more people to a love relationship with Himself.

Throughout the Old Testament, in the New Testament and even in Church history we see example after example of how revival among God’s people has led to spiritual awakening and the rapid spread of the gospel where it had not previously been preached.  Consequently, we need to understand that missions activity in and of itself will not fulfill God’s mission.  God is looking for people who are in a right relationship with Him to join Him in His mission to seek and save that which is lost. “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.” (I Timothy 2:21)  May it be that as both individuals and churches we would

The Georgia Baptist Association will provide training for those interested in being involved in the Disaster Relief Ministry of the Georgia Baptist Convention and the Hephzibah/Kilpatrick Baptist Associations. Continue reading »

One of the unique opportunities I have enjoyed over the past three months as I have served the Hephzibah and Kilpatrick Baptist Associations is the opportunity to be in different congregations week after week. One thing that I am learning to appreciate is the uniqueness of each congregation. Continue reading »