Mission Possible - Values, Part 6

We can't develop a mission partnership. We can't go on a mission trip. We can't be involved in church planting. We don't have enough money ... people ... resources ... Those statements probably reflect the sentiment of a lot of churches. They know the need, but just can't see past last week's offering total and attendance record. The current difficult economy has only accentuated the tendency to pull back, to close ranks, to focus on "our" needs. So, how can the association assist with that? How do we help and encourage each other? The final values statement on the Mission Wall at the HBA Mission Center says:

Missions Training: Assisting our congregations to become missional congregations through opportunities for direct missions involvement, mission partnerships, and planting new congregations.

"Missional" is a kind of a buzzword right now. Some people would tell you that it has a specific definition. Maybe it does, but I like to look at it this way: A mission-minded congregation believes in the importance of missions. A mission-minded congregation collects missions offerings and prays for missionaries. A missional congregation does those things, but also has a strong sense of being on mission for God. A missional congregation has a mission from God to fulfill. A missional congregation is active in seeking to fulfill that mission. A missional congregation is not satisfied with maintaining, but is moving forward intentionally to penetrate the lostness and brokenness of the world. How we can assist one another in the association is by providing opportunities for churches to get involved in Great Commission ministry through looking beyond the local congregation. This may be in partnering with another congregation in a mission/ministry project within our associational area. This may be in taking advantage of the opportunities that our partnership with Bay Lakes Baptist Association in Wisconsin will provide through mission trips and projects and prayer partnerships. This may be in providing prayer support, financial support, or resource support for a new work in our area ... in Wisconsin ... in some other place in the world. We have adopted an associational goal of having every HBA congregation invovled in partnership missions and with a new church plant somewhere in the world by October 2013. We won't tell any congregation what that partnership involvement should look like. The Lord will direct. Our role is to encourage one another to focus on the words of Jesus that inspired the name and formation of Harvest Baptist Association in 2002.

"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest."

(Matthew 9:37-38)

How can we assist you to see the world through His eyes?

Sharpening the Saw - Values, Part 5

Bill and George went into the forest to cut firewood. They felled a tall pine tree and began sawing it into useable fireplace logs. Bill worked non-stop all day, trying to get as many logs as he could before sundown. At several times during the day, he glanced across the clearing and saw George sitting down taking a break. As twilight approached, he finally gathered his tools and walked over to where George was stacking his logs. Much to his surprise, George's stack was considerably larger than his. He couldn't believe it! How had George been able to get so much work done with all those breaks he took? His curiosity had to be satisfied, so he just asked George how he did it. "Simple," George said. "Every time I sat down to take a break, I sharpend my saw." You've probably heard that little parable before. But it is worth repeating. We Baptists tend to have a good work ethic. And because of that, we sometimes think if we just work a little harder or a little longer we will get the results we are looking for. How about working smarter instead of harder ... or working better instead of longer? The 5th value stated on the Mission Wall of the HBA Mission Center reads:

Ministry Training: Facilitating opportunities for Christ-followers to grow in specific knowledge and skills necessary for effective ministry.

Sometimes we have enough basic knowledge and skills to do certain things. Sometimes we just need the opportunity to step back from the work and sharpen our saws. That may mean a one-day workshop. It may mean a conversation with a coach. It may mean spending a part of a day with a mentor. It may mean a multi-day training conference. Many possibilities exist. The association cannot provide every kind of training possible, but we can facilitate opportunities by providing some within our own area ... identifying some that are provided by other associations, conventions, and organizations ... assisting ministry leaders in obtaining training ... the possibilities are many. The bottom line is that we want to assist one another in sharpening our saws for maximum kingdom effectiveness.