Ric Camp said pastors and associational leaders have this in common — their ministry can be lonely.
So at the Alabama Baptist Conference of Associational Leaders meeting at First Baptist Church Fairhope on Nov. 11, they addressed some solutions to that issue.
“Most of these guys are serving in situations where they — and maybe a part-time admin — are all they have,” said Camp, ABCAL president and lead mission strategist for Shelby Baptist Association.
During the ABCAL meeting, Rick Curtis, the North American Mission Board’s assistant to the president for convention and associational relations, shared ways they could leverage their leadership and better connect with pastors in their associations.
Upcoming opportunities, new officers
The group also discussed future plans for associational leader cohorts that would help them gather together, build connections and learn from each other.
“We’re looking at trying to build relationships between these guys,” Camp said. “We did a roundtable discussion on what they need, and that was one of the things they talked about, camaraderie and connections.”
During the meeting, Jae McKee, director of missions and church planting for the Alaska Baptist Resource Network, also shared about the need for associational leaders to “adopt” associational leaders in Alaska to similarly encourage them and walk alongside them. Alabama Baptists are currently in a missions partnership with Alaska Baptists.
ABCAL also elected new officers for 2025 — Camp, president; Tyler Eiland, director of Chilton Baptist Association, president-elect; and Steve Dunn, associational missionary for Bethlehem and Pine Barren Baptist associations, secretary-treasurer.
Camp shared that next year’s meeting would also take place Nov. 10, 2025, at Whitesburg Baptist Church in Huntsville in conjunction with the Alabama Baptist Pastors Conference. Author and speaker Richard Blackaby will be speaking at both the ABPC and the ABCAL meeting that day.
Spouses of associational leaders meeting
At the same time associational leaders met, their wives — called GEMS, which stands for Gather, Encourage, Minister, Serve — also met at FBC Fairhope. Their guest speaker was Lindsay Allen, whose husband, Derek, serves as pastor of First Baptist Church Tillman’s Corner.
During the meeting, they also elected officers for 2025 — Donna Waldrop of Coffee Baptist Association, president; Larinda Lolley of Bethel Baptist Association, vice president; Jane-Ellen Wood of Friendship Baptist Association, treasurer.
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