The third step in our strategy to fulfill our mission to see every church healthy and multiplying is Partnership Missions. The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) commands the church to make disciples of all nations (peoples), therefore our multiplication as churches must extend beyond our local area to the ends of the earth. This is precisely what we state we believe in the Baptist Faith and Message Article XI which explains this conviction as follows:
"It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. The new birth of man’s spirit by God’s Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others. Missionary effort on the part of all rests thus upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life, and is expressly and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations."
Article XIV further explains how churches cooperate together in this task:
"Christ’s people should, as occasion requires, organize such associations and conventions as may best secure cooperation for the great objects of the Kingdom of God. Such organizations have no authority over one another or over the churches. They are voluntary and advisory bodies designed to elicit, combine, and direct the energies of our people in the most effective manner. Members of New Testament churches should cooperate with one another in carrying forward the missionary, educational, and benevolent ministries for the extension of Christ’s Kingdom."
For these reasons, the association encourages our churches to partner together in their missionary activity. The WMU was formed to ensure our Southern Baptist churches are informed about our cooperative missions work as a denomination, including various mission offerings that support this work. If your church does not have a WMU, please contact us about how you can begin this important ministry in your church. We also want our associational churches to be aware of what we are individually, and collectively doing in missions to foster greater partnership. This is best done by first "eliciting" from our churches the mission partnerships in which they are actively engaged. To facilitate this, we are asking our churches to make known to us any partnerships they currently have and the contact person for each; specifically, these would be partnerships in which they are open to "combining" with other churches so as to "direct the energies of our people in the most effective manner." You can help us by providing the information on this online form: Church Partnership
The following represent currently known partnerships among our churches. We will add to this list as we receive additional opportunities for partnerships:
1) Alberta, Canada, which has two NAMB SEND Cities. Lynwood Baptist Church of Cape Girardeau is the Lead church for Calgary and Kevin Coffee is the contact. Fruitland Community Church of Jackson is the Lead church for Edmondton and Laura Norman is the contact. The next trip through the association is August 21-26, 2023; call the office for details.
2) Filipino People worldwide is a broader partnership among the nine associations of southeast Missouri with Charleston Baptist Association serving as the Lead association and Roger Graham is the contact person. Currently there are North American opportunities in Phoenix, New York City, Houston, Calgary, and Edmondton; and international opportunities on Camiguin Island in the Philippines. Additionally, there are teams for 16-18 year old high school students and college students to spend several weeks on the island during the summer. Utilizing a church planting catalyst role similar to the Church Planting Center, the work on the island has its first catalyst working to start churches that we are partnering through financial support.
3) Eastern Montana. First Baptist Church of Millersville led out in this partnership. There are a variety of partnership opportunities among the churches in the eastern half of Montana. Contact the Director of Missions to learn how your church can be a part of reaching eastern Montana with the gospel!
4) Baptist Collegiate Ministry of SEMO is our local ministry on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University. Under the leadership of Reese Hammond, BCM Director, we have a growing opportunity and openness to share the gospel with people from around the world as the number of international students at the university continues to expand. You are welcome each Monday at 5:45pm to attend a dinner for the students hosted by one of our area churches. The purpose is to develop relationships with these students that extends beyond Monday evenings. Invite them to join you in other community activities, including your regular church services, and to have a meal in your home with your family. Invest in the people God has brought to our doorstep. Visit their website for updates and more info:
To "combine and direct the energies of our people" the Partnership Missions Team has put together the following document which explains funding opportunities through the association for a Cape Girardeau Baptist Association member church.
IMB has put together a wonderful online course called “Praying for the Nations”. It’s completely free and it outlines the importance of intercessory prayer, with special emphasis on praying for the lost around the world who have not yet heard the gospel.
If you would like to give it a try, you can activate the free online course at the link below and get each session sent straight to your inbox. At the end of the five video lessons, you’ll find helpful resources and practical exercises to help you deepen your prayer life.
Start the new imb “Praying for the Nations” online course by clicking here: Online Course Registration
We also encourage our churches to consider the Perspectives Course for missions training.
Currently we are supporting Sam Norman (Fruitland Community Church) who is in Greeley Colorado for the summer assisting in a collegiate church plant. He has shared the following prayer requests for us to be praying with him and his team:
- Please keep praying for opportunities to build relationships and have gospel conversations!
- Pray for boldness in making new friends, inviting people, and starting gospel conversations.
- Pray for effective ministry, perseverance, team unity, making best use of our time, and for being hard workers and good witnesses at our job (and for me to get a job soon!).
- Be in prayer for those of us (like me) with other things on our plates like summer school to be able to balance everything well.
- Pray that we would love others, be obedient to Christ, grow in our relationships with God, each other, and those we meet, and that we would leave the results up to Him and continuously give Him the glory!
