Rural associations hold semiannual meetings but consider changes

Joey Rodgers says in his association there are no big churches.

“The biggest one may run 100 to 120,” he said.

But the beauty of Conecuh Baptist Association is that fellowship is sweet when everyone gathers together at one of those rural churches twice a year for meetings. For years now the association has met semiannually — once in the spring and once in the fall.

A handful of other rural associations including Cherokee, Dale, Sand Mountain and Tennessee River have done the same thing for years. The reason that got started was so that associational leaders could be elected in the spring, just in time for the statewide associational leaders conference held at Shocco Springs each year.

But this year that conference went away in favor of different kinds of leadership conferences, and with it went the necessity of the spring meeting, Rodgers said.

So now he and others are considering whether or not to move to just a fall meeting.

Dwight Everett, director of missions for Tennessee River Baptist Association, says that’s on the table for his association to consider — but he doesn’t know that anyone will actually want to change it.

“When I first came here as director of missions, I said, ‘Boy, we’re going to stop that spring meeting,’ but it was so well attended that we didn’t,” he said. “The fellowship is what makes that happen — they just love getting together. They don’t get to see each other too often.”

Rodgers said he sees the same thing in Conecuh Association — small churches at the end of a long dirt road that love the excuse to get together and encourage each other.

“For instance, right now we’ve got three churches without pianists and they sing and do the best they can without it, but it’s such an encouragement for them to join together and get to worship with musicians from other churches,” he said. “It also lets them know they aren’t alone.”

Like Everett, he has a feeling most of his association won’t want to make the switch.

Community is vital

In larger cities and counties there’s a transient feel, but not in Rodgers’ area. Community among the churches that span the rural county’s population is vital, he said. “But we do want to stay effective and relevant, so we’ll be considering new ways to pull churches together and build up fellowship.”

Rick Barnhart, director of the office of associational missions and church planting for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, said he’s seen the way semiannual meetings can build up community in the state’s rural associations.

They can bring opportunities for larger revivals, different music and different messages than they usually hear, and they “are able to build camaraderie that way” too, he said.

Jim Hill, director of missions for Dale Baptist Association, said the extra fellowship time allowed by the spring meeting is definitely a bonus.

“Not only that, it keeps our folks accountable and keeps the association in the ‘news’ and in front of people,” he said.

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Rural associations hold semiannual meetings but consider changes