Although the North American Mission Board (NAMB) discontinued its Families on Mission (FOM) ministry in November, Shelby Baptist Association has decided to keep the ministry alive.
The association will host FOM, a five-day missions project, July 23–27. Initial registration is due by April 30.
This will be the third year for Shelby Association to host FOM. In 2009 and 2010, families from a number of states and other parts of Alabama traveled to Shelby County to evangelize on street corners, pass out Bibles in emergency rooms, repair school buildings and housing facilities and donate their time to local churches, including ministries for Hispanic populations.
After NAMB discontinued the ministry, Debbie Snyder, the association’s ministries development director, contacted those who had registered to work in Shelby Association or one of the other six national FOM sites about continuing their participation.
“We just decided we had a good momentum going with this,” Snyder said.
“We never said, ‘Well, gee, we’re just not going to do it.’”
Families will arrive July 23 and the next day, they’ll attend orientation and a worship service at Meadow Brook Baptist Church, Birmingham. The next three days will be spent participating in morning and afternoon missions projects.
For FOM, the term “family” isn’t so strictly defined and can include grandparents, grandchildren and other relatives as long as all family members are of kindergarten age or older.
“It’s a great way for families to do missions, but it’s also a great way to meet needs in the community,” Snyder said.
Shelby County is what she calls a “study in contrasts” — a county divided by urban and rural sensibilities with a widening gap between the very rich and very poor. The county’s population is growing and increasingly multicultural. Within just 20 years, the number of languages represented in local schools has climbed from three to 60, Snyder said.
But the growth in local churches doesn’t mimic Shelby County’s cultural and industrial boom. A large portion of the population never attends church, she said. With FOM, Snyder hopes that will change.
“It’s such a good way to be the hands and feet and face of Christ to people,” she said.
Hugh Richardson Jr., director of missions for Shelby Association, has noticed the impact the ministry has made on the community.
In the past two years, FOM has donated an estimated $40,000 in renovation, labor and gifts to Shelby County, Richardson said. And he expects this year’s FOM to be just as beneficial.
“We never lack for projects. There’s always something to do,” Richardson pointed out.
For more information, visit www.shelbybaptist.org and click on the FOM logo or contact Snyder at 205-470-7977 or debbie@shelbybaptist.org.
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