A word from your missions office
By HEITH MITCHELL
The first (but hopefully not the last) Revive Us Again Bible Conference was a true blessing. It was sponsored by the BMA of Texas, hosted by Jacksonville College last month, attended by 100 Texas pastors and church members, and most importantly God worked in hearts and lives. The theme was health. For the pastor, the church, and each association three things were focused on:
- Jesus is Lord
- He has a mission for us
- We are to accomplish it together
I enjoyed the fellowship, testimonies, prayer requests and the time we spent praying together. I also enjoyed all the time in the Word brought to us by each faithful messenger through the day. Men, thank you for preparing and sharing and adding us to your busy schedule.
Brothers and sisters, this is association at its best. We all need association with other believers and our mission demands it. This passage really speaks of the danger of isolation.
A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; He rages against all wise judgment. – Proverbs 18:1 NKJV
This passage reflects a dangerous progression that I have seen lived out many times in pastors and missionaries.
- We isolate. After all, we’re independent Americans. We convince ourselves that we will thrive accountable to no one. The Word of God and the examples all around us provide warning. It’s a bad thing when we isolate. Why?
- We begin to seek our own desires. This isn’t usually malicious. We believe we know right. The problem is we will eventually lead outside of God’s will and we will lead an organization out of balance toward our preferences, passions, and desires.
- We begin to see Godly counsel as a threat. Loving christian rebuke, correction or instruction is no longer welcomed or recieved. Our organization is now doomed to fail at the points of our own blind spots and weaknesses. We now find ourselves in opposition to God and His mission thanks to our pride.
You see this danger? It breaks my heart to see the isolation among Baptists today. Our mission success requires that we associate well and often. Our future demands that we build better and stronger association and reject this culture of isolation.
Will you join us in prayer and commitment to:
PROJECT 2029
100 New Churches/10 years
- That we see an aggressive multiplication movement of churches who make disciples, equip and release leaders, and start churches for the glory of God and the advancement of his Kingdom Mission
- That each new mission begin with a plan to begin three new churches in their first 10 years
- That pastors and churches of the association be encouraged and equipped to start new churches
- That we connect, evaluate, identify and train new prospective church planters
I would love to come and share Texas Missions with your church or association. I have open dates and look forward to hearing from you.
A word from your missionaries
Jaime Garcia – Iglesia Bautista Nueva Vida Mission, Gilmer/Mesquite
Let us continue united in this great work and have hands to work. God has fulfilled His promises and continues to do it. Our part is to believe them and remain firm in his Word.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for the time of waiting. It is a time where God is working in silence in the hearts of people and I need more than faith and patience. I need to believe God and hope He will.
Cristian Martinez – Grace Harvest Baptist Mission, Lubbock
“…And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). We rejoice in the baptism of Artemio and Esperanza. God has graciously brought them from death to life through Jesus. They have obediently given public testimony of that reality in their baptism. Please pray for them to persevere in the faith and bear much fruit. We continue to disciple them to follow Jesus and equip them to multiply disciples with their relationships. On July 12 and 13 we will intentionally sought to reach their neighbors through door to door evangelism and a block party. Eight Street, Grand Prairie, and Lakeridge, Lubbock, are helping us to gather the harvest in this place. Please pray for a clear preaching of the gospel and people to respond in repentance and faith in Jesus. We thank God for all your support.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for my wife’s pregnancy. Pray for us as we recruit disciple makers. Pray for new disciples to persevere and bear much fruit. Pray that I will have opportunities to preach the gospel. Pray for many conversions.
Weskey Burke – Intern preparing for Nacogdoches
It is my desire this month to reach out to the existing BMA churches in the area in a very intentional way and to that end I have been very encouraged so far!
Prayer Needs:
Pray for guidance and provision as we begin.
Mike Watt – Cross-Work Mission, Tahoka
Please pray that we have a great month of outreach as July is block party month at Cross-Work. July 14, 21 and 28 we had/will have block parties in different locations each week. Pray that we engage our neighborhoods, build relationships, share the Gospel and connect them to Sundays.
Isaias Rojas Osechas-Church Plant in Spring
Thank you for your prayers, support in the process of cooperation, evangelization and discipleship of Hispanic Americans, who are very grateful for everything they do for us.
Prayer Needs:
Pray that we will obtain a vehicle to cover the requirements of evangelization and discipleship.
Chris Driver – West Texas Multiplication Network/Texas Missionary Care
June was cotton planting season here in west Texas. The seed is in the ground and already there are shoots of cotton breaking through! But it’s a long way from harvest. There is a lot to do between now and then. I feel the same way about our vision to reach 100 towns here in west Texas. The guys here are so busy in the Father’s fields. We are seeing so much progress and it is really exciting, but there is still so much to do. West Texas has the Missions trailer, that was donated by our amazing Texas WMA, for all of July and all of our planters have an event scheduled to use it! Please pray for each of these events that they would be more than entertainment. Pray for a harvest of souls on the way to a harvest of towns!
Ronnie Mills – Kingdom Chapel Mission, Saginaw/North Fort Worth
Hey, BMA family! We’re getting closer to our launch date of August 25 and we would love for you to pray for us. Things have been going really well for us, and we praise God for that. I want to thank you all for your prayers and your support! We love you guys!
Prayer Needs:
Pray for our launch on August 25.
Neptaly Molina – Iglesia Bautista Mission, Nacogdoches
The challenge I have is to win 15 families for this year in Nacogdoches.
Prayer Needs:
1) Spiritual life of the Molina Perdomo Family.
2) Immigration decision.
3) Spiritual growth and quantity in the New Mission Renaco de Nacogdoches.
4) The Youth Camp organized by my son Neptaly Josue and our Church, and counseling of Pastor Arnulfo Maldonado.
5) Our summer Bible School to be held on July 22-26. 5) The evangelistic work during the month of July according to my plan of action.
Gamalier Luna – New Mission in El Paso
Baptists should wake up, be more committed, more evangelistic, and encourage when we can.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for me, for strength, for faith, for encouragement, for wisdom to have a house for my family.
Spencer Simpson – Redeemer’s Love Mission, Houston
Thank you for your prayers and support! We are excited to see the Lord bless us with new members this past month, as well as to see Him work in our efforts to reach the diverse people groups in our area of southwest Houston.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for our new members as they are learning how to commit to the church and one another. Pray that those in our discipleship classes would be given boldness as they are sharing the gospel with people in the local community, as well as for fruit in our efforts of going door to door to reach the surrounding community.
Cliff Robertson – Carpenter’s House Mission – Lake Jackson/Clute
God is good! We are launching a new plant in West Columbia. We have two families, three volunteers and more coming. It is exciting! Cesar Cantu, our church planting resident, is off to the races and things are going well!
Prayer Needs:
Pray for our worship team.
Matthew Prather – The Bridge Mission, Midlothian/Waxahachie
Summer is going by fast and June was a great month at The Bridge. We have seen five salvations in the past two months. We also just had our first baptism since we moved into our new building. God is good! We continue to see new faces each week. It is exciting to see what God is up to. Please continue to pray for us as we strive to reach Ellis County for Christ. Thank you for your continued support. We could not do what we do without it!
Cesar Cantu – Intern preparing for Richmond/Katy
God cares for us. In my own life as I have called on him, he has answered. I believe our calling is His answer to his people. Scripture tells us that “God remembers.” He remembers our plight and struggles as the enemy overwhelms us. As Moses was sent to an answered prayer, so we must continue in our calling. It should inspire us to move in God’s will as he reaches out to his people in distress. How many are the cries we need to hear before we take action? If we take the time, God will show us what He is doing in and around us.
Prayer Needs:
My prayer is that we join God in His work, wherever that may be, whether Richmond or Katy.
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