Pines Baptist Association is a big place. From north to south, it is more than 120 miles long. From east to west, the width is about 75 miles. The 8,400 square miles take in 11 Michigan counties on the upper northeast side of the state.
In that vast area, Southern Baptists have 13 churches, only two of which are served by full-time pastors. All together, the 13 churches average less than 600 people in attendance.
But all of that is about to change, at least if Director of Missions Donn Broeker can help it.
Broeker, a native of Michigan, assumed his current position about 18 months ago after serving with the International Mission Board in China. Now he is focusing that missionary zeal on reaching the 225,000 people who live in the association’s wide expanse.
“The Lord has given me a vision of starting three new churches in the next two years and raising our average attendance to 1,000,” Broeker said.
Places for the new churches have already been picked out. “We need new churches in Alpena, East Tawas and Houghton Lake,” he said. Those communities’ populations range in size from 5,000 to 10,000, and none has a Southern Baptist witness.
But new churches are only one part of Broeker’s strategy. “We have lots of tiny towns that are too small to support a conventional church,” he observed. “I believe we will have to use the house church approach in many of these places.”
Broeker has already set a goal of starting 10 house churches within two years. “I’ve challenged our churches to adopt a community and begin praying for opportunity to plant a witness there,” he continued.
Already that strategy is seeing results. New Hope Baptist Church, Rose City, with an average attendance of 35, began praying for the South Branch community. Not long after, a declining church in the area contacted Pines Association about becoming a member. When the church became Southern Baptist, New Hope Baptist’s bivocational pastor, Steve Harmon, began preaching in both churches.
Another key element in Broeker’s strategy involves Alabama Baptists. He wants teams to come and do construction, Vacation Bible School, block parties, survey work and other ministries. In fact, a team of more than 40 volunteers from Alabama’s Clarke Baptist Association will be working in Pines Association in July.
But Broeker’s vision calls for more long-term involvement.
“We need Alabama Baptist partners who have a heart for new work,” he said. These partners could help local Baptists strategize about ways to plant a witness in a community or start a new church. Teams from partner churches could help start the new work. Partners might even be able to help recruit a church planter and support that person while the new work gets under way.
Pines Association also needs volunteers to come and help strengthen existing churches. Broeker said there are even opportunities available this summer. He’s looking for people who could lead worship, direct Sunday School or teach Bible studies.
More importantly, Broeker is looking for those who will teach local people how to do these ministries so the work can continue after the volunteers leave.
“We could even use some preachers,” he added. “We have four churches without pastors, and it is hard to fill these spots.”
Broeker said recreational ministries are in need of help as well.
“In a church or in an association, you can spend all your time maintaining what you have,” he said. “That will not allow you to grow. We plan to take care of our churches, but we want to reach the people of Pines Association for the Lord, and we are looking for partners who will buy into that vision.”
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