Alabama is filled with a lot of great people just coping with life and trying to serve their church, love their families and serve well in their vocations.
And meeting lots of them has been one of the most special parts of serving as Alabama Baptist State Convention president for the past year, said Travis Coleman, pastor of First Baptist Church, Prattville.
“One of the best parts of my position is being able to meet a wide range of Alabama Baptists,” he said. “We are all serving the larger Kingdom.”
‘Passion for teamwork’
It’s one thing, he says, to hear the reports of the convention’s entities; it’s another thing entirely to have the opportunity to sit on their boards and “hear their heart, the joys, the struggles.”
“They really have a passion for where they are serving … a passion for teamwork and a passion to see the Kingdom built,” Coleman said.
For him, attending board meetings this year was a poignant reminder that each entity wants to “see the Kingdom advanced in what they do.”
Coleman, for one, is excited about seeing them tell the stories of what God is doing during the Alabama Baptist State Convention annual meeting Nov. 17–18 at Eastern Shore Baptist Church, Daphne.
“During recent years we’ve moved to telling our story better, and we’ve seen the faces of where the dollars are going and where the transformation is taking place,” he said.
Coleman said he hopes Alabama Baptists will catch a vision for renewed Cooperative Program (CP) giving so these ministries can continue to pick up steam and so entities like the International Mission Board (IMB) can avoid cutbacks like the recent announcement to reduce personnel by 600–800 missionaries and staff.
“It’s important that we all strengthen our CP giving going forward,” he said. “This is no reflection on any person or churches or IMB.”
It’s just that churches may have gone through a patch of time where CP took a cut because of economic recession and then as the economy recovered, churches never adjusted their giving back to previous levels, Coleman said.
“Let’s get back to what we have done well in the past,” he said.
There is a true movement happening right now to get back to the heart of CP and its value, and one of the leaders of that movement is Southern Baptist Convention President Ronnie Floyd, Coleman said.
Theme of ‘PRAY’
He’s excited Floyd will be addressing Alabama Baptists during the Tuesday night session of the annual meeting. He’ll be speaking on the theme “PRAY,” a topic four other speakers will focus on over the course of the meeting.
“The reason I personally appreciate it is that that’s been our focus at my church, and I’m so glad to be a part of that emphasis this coming year as a convention,” Coleman said.
Rick Lance, executive director of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, said Coleman’s service this year has been “exemplary” as he has led Alabama Baptists.
‘Leader among leaders’
“He has demonstrated a sense of wisdom and discernment as a leader among leaders,” Lance said. “Travis personifies the ‘one mission’ we have as Alabama Baptists, which of course is the Great Commission. Our Baptist family in Alabama can be proud of the service he has rendered sacrificially this past year as president.”
The term “denominational statesman” isn’t used as much as it used to be, but Coleman definitely fits the term, Lance said. “The gavel of being president of our convention is in skillful hands.”
Coleman said it’s been nothing but joy for him.
“It’s been a great year to serve,” he said.
Share with others: