Rick Lance said when he read the story of the demolition of the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, he was captivated.
“There was an explosion, there was a lot of smoke, but when the smoke cleared, the stadium was still there,” said Lance, executive director of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.
The steel was so strong that it was not easily destroyed, he told viewers of the Online State Missions Celebration Nov. 17.
“I think our churches need to be like that — so strong, built on the foundation of Jesus Christ, that come pandemic or whatever, when the smoke clears we’re still there.”
During the hourlong celebration, Lance encouraged Alabama Baptists to keep moving forward in ministry even in these tough times and thanked them for their continued cooperation in the Great Commission.
The celebration was held instead of an in-person Alabama Baptist State Convention annual meeting this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The annual meeting was also originally slated to include an International Mission Board sending celebration, which also moved to a virtual experience Nov. 18.
During the online gathering, Lance highlighted five missional initiatives of Alabama Baptists’ ministry through the SBOM:
- Spiritual preparation
Mike Jackson, now SBOM associate executive director, explained that this initiative “helps us understand that we are to be spiritually prepared to experience renewal.” He encouraged Alabama Baptists to invest in their walk with Christ and in prayer and to reach out to SBOM staff for resources.
- Reaching/baptizing/discipling with a focus on students
Baptist Campus Ministries across the state are working to reach the 300,000 college students that call Alabama home as they study. Zach Beasley, campus minister at Alabama State University, said though they’ve had to get creative in how to do ministry, God is moving in the lives of students.
“We’ve seen students go from really dark places in their life to walking in Jesus’ marvelous light,” Beasley said.
Mike Nuss, director of the SBOM office of college and student ministries, said lives are being changed all over the state in that way among middle school, high school and college students.
- Revitalizing/planting/replanting churches
Lance said this initiative promotes “healthier Great Commission churches all over Alabama.”
Jarman Leatherwood, an SBOM church planter and pastor of the House of Hope and Restoration in Huntsville, said Alabama is home to 5 million people, 3 million of whom don’t have a church.
“It’s because of your prayers and cooperative spirit that we get to join in with God in the work that He’s doing,” he said.
- Calling out the called
To illustrate this initiative, Scotty Goldman, director of the SBOM office of global missions, interviewed three Alabama natives now serving as church planters in Montana — Chris Baker, Darryl Brunson, and Morris Hill. They all moved their families to Montana when God placed a “special calling” on their lives, Goldman said.
- Biblical stewardship
Candace McIntosh, executive director of Alabama Woman’s Missionary Union, shared that her heart is “full of gratitude” because Alabama Baptists have already contributed $830,000 toward this year’s $1.2 million goal for the Myers-Mallory State Missions Offering, which will be collected until Dec. 31.
Lance also honored this year’s top Cooperative Program givers:
*Largest gift — $883,981.53, Shades Mountain Baptist Church, Birmingham
*Second-largest gift — $831,906.80, First Baptist Church, Trussville
*Highest gift per resident member — $427.24, Fairfield Highlands Baptist Church, Midfield
*Highest percentage given to CP — 20.05 percent, Delta Baptist Church in Carey Baptist Association
You can view the Online State Missions Celebration at the Facebook page of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions or at alsbom.org.
Share with others: