NAMB’s Bass seeks to reconnect with DOMs at annual conference

By Maggie Walsh

The Alabama Baptist

In preparation for the Nov. 14 Alabama Baptist Conference of Directors of Missions (ABCDOM) meeting, Otis Corbitt — the group’s president and director of missions (DOM) for Covington Baptist Association — facilitated an online survey to evaluate the current trends in associational missions in Alabama.

A troubling finding of that survey — which had a 59 percent, 42 of 71, response rate — was the breakdown in associations’ relationships with both the North American Mission Board (NAMB) and the International Mission Board (IMB), leaders noted. According to the survey, 24 percent of DOMs reported receiving no communications from NAMB during the year while more than 50 percent reported the NAMB communications they did receive as inadequate in amount or not the right kind of communications.

DOMs’ communications with IMB are even worse, with a third of DOMs never hearing from IMB while 60 percent are not happy with the amount of communication they have with IMB, the survey showed.

Because of these findings, ABCDOM leadership invited Steve Bass, vice president for convention relations (West) for NAMB, to the group’s annual meeting at McGehee Road Baptist Church, Montgomery.

Bass shared how NAMB is trying to reconnect with associations throughout the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC):

•By serving as a resource for churches to “pick a spot” as a domestic missions field.

•By creating a team to provide training for replanting and revitalizing churches.

•By encouraging churches to “start local” with their missions outreaches.

•By providing mobile dental and medical clinics as a resource.

•By hosting DOM Labs to help DOMs connect with one another and SBC leaders.

•By providing funding for the Associational Missions Emphasis materials produced for churches.

•By helping support the Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Leaders.

•By forming and funding a group of DOM ambassadors as a way to learn from them and enhance NAMB-DOM relations.

Bass also spoke about “what is right with this younger generation of pastors and church planters.”

First “they are theologically and biblically more astute than ever before,” he said. In the areas of evangelism, disciple making and church planting there has been a shift in strategy where young planters focus on forming relationships and making disciples in a new area before launching a church.

“The young church planters are saying, ‘I need to live in the community for awhile,’” Bass said.

Second “they are paying the price to stay on the church plant field.”

“If you don’t connect [the planter’s] wife with support, within two years they will be gone,” Bass said, noting that NAMB provides a coaching team for planters which helps the wives find connections with others.

For more information on the ABCDOM survey, contact Covington Association at 334-222-3009. (Debbie Campbell contributed)