The Greatest Year Ever!
by Steve Scudder, Director of Missions

Last year was a hard year. Skyrocketing unemployment. Foreclosures and a disasterous housing market. Failed banks and broken dreams. There are signs that this year will be much better, but we won’t know for sure until December.

Last year was tough financially for the Association, just as it was for our churches. But last year was a good year for God’s work in Beaufort and Jasper Counties:

·         We experienced the highest number of professions of faith since the year 2000!

·         Two years ago, 13 of our 31 churches were without pastors. At the end of 2009, only one congregation was without a pastor.

·         Representatives from 6 of our congregations completed a process called Intentional Missionary Training, where they learned to pray, think and act like missionaries on the 6 mission fields they travel daily (home, work /school, local community, the wider world, leisure, and church).

·         Missionally:

o   917 people from 10 churches were active throughout Beaufort and Jasper Counties;

o   67 people from 3 churches served missionally in 3 areas of SC;

o   79 people from 7 churches were missionally active in 9 states (other than SC) and in Nova Scotia;

o   27 people from 4 churches traveled to 5 different countries in 3 continents to demonstrate and tell about God’s love through Christ.

·         13 Church staff leaders from 2 existing SRBA churches, 2 church plants, and 2 potential plants embarked on a 10-month leadership development and coaching process called The LeadersEdge.

·         The Link launched in Beaufort and Crosspoint relaunched in Bluffton. Both are growing well.

·         Last summer, we hosted one of the best teams of summer missionaries and had a boost in the number of church mission teams coming to our area to serve.

·         We experienced a tremendous two weeks of Vacation Bible School with Spanish-speaking migrant farm workers. Two-hundred twelve migrant workers placed their faith in Christ last summer.

God is not dependent upon our economy, our politics, or our power to move among His people and to impact His world. Fortunately, God invites us to join Him in a revolution started by Jesus Christ that demonstrates God’s love and power through people wholly in love with Him, radically sold out to serve Him, and abundantly filled with His hope for a world bent on self destruction. Therefore, I predict:

We will have the best year ever in 2010!

To experience the next banner year, let’s…

…unite our efforts. Early in American history, churches started Baptist associations because they understood that they could do more together than any single congregation alone. This does not mean we have to agree on everything or look and act like clones of one another. But we do need to unite to fulfill the mission of Christ, encourage one another, and strengthen each other. Iron sharpens iron (Prov. 27:17)!

…elevate our prayer life. God did not send Jesus to die on Calvary’s cross so we could embrace a religious dogma or discover a code of ethics to guide our lives. Christ died so we could have a living, eternal relationship with God through Christ. That relationship is meaningless if we never take time to talk to God, listen to what God has to say, and grow in God’s presence (Eph. 6:18).

Individually, be intentional about personal time talking to God about everything, good times and bad times. Simply enjoy God’s company and presence--that is what relationships are for. Explore His Word daily for new insights on whom God is, who you are, and how you can become the person God wants you to be.

Corporately, spend less time talking about prayer and more time doing it. Walk or drive your community, talking to God about the things you see. Ask people you meet how you can ask God to bless them that day!

…think and act like a missionary. You live on the fourth largest (some claim third largest) mission field in the world. Learn your community’s language and customs. Befriend people you don’t know and live your faith before them, always ready to share the reason for your faith and a word of hope (Mt. 28:19-20).

God blessed us greatly in 2009. God is working among us and is preparing to sweep through this area and around this world so all may know and have a fulfilling relationship with Him. Are you ready to experience and join in the greatest year yet?