I am going to forego my usual newsletter this month to share with you two extremely important events coming up this next year. I want to give everyone as big a heads-up as I possibly can so that these events can be put on your calendar. If the Lord will just not permit you to participate in these two opportunities you can at least be praying for them. The first one is: SPLASH Gordon 2016.
This will actually be our fourth year of conducting a SPLASH Gordon. Just in case you haven’t heard, it stands for Show People Love and Share Him. It is a local mission ministry. Wesley Hunt describes it well when he calls it “a mission trip without the trip”. It is three days and two nights of fellowship, hard work, worship, evangelism, ministry, and more.
In 2016 our host church will be New Town Baptist Church. We are going to begin a little earlier in the day this next year. Sign-in will begin at 6:45 am and breakfast will start at 7:00 am. We hope to be out to our ministry sites by no later than 8:30 am. The day will be spent working on site with lunch being delivered to your location. At 5:00 pm everyone will return to New Town to have supper together and then attend a worship service following. We plan to have you finished for the day by 7:30 pm.
The date will be July 28th, 29th, and 30th of 2016.
It is a family friendly inter-generational mission experience. The last three years we have been about equally divided in children and youth versus adults.
Registration will be:
March 1st – June 15th 2016. The cost is: $50 per person (early bird sign up before May 15th, 2016) or $65 per person (signing up May 16th – June 15th)
You may be wondering why you should have to pay for a mission trip right here in the county. The truth is that we use the fees to fund mission projects. This last year we spent over $8000 in construction materials alone in ministering to folks. But to be quite truthful with you, for that $50 or $65 you are also receiving a T-shirt (2 if you are on a construction team), eight meals, a wonderful worship experience and a sense of purpose, worth, fulfillment, accomplishment, camaraderie, surrender and service that money can never buy. I challenge you to find a better bargain anywhere.
We have two basic tracks of ministry:
Creative ministries: which might involve working in a nursing home, or the Boys’ and Girls’ Club or the Imagination Station, or Backyard Bible Clubs, or Street Evangelism, or Door-to-door surveying and gospel sharing, or cleaning of elderly or disabled people’s homes, or preparing and sharing baked goods for the teachers as they head back to school or … the list goes on.
Construction ministries: may involve building a deck for a disabled veteran, painting the house of a widow, fixing a rotten floor for a single mom, cleaning a yard for an elderly couple who just cannot do it themselves any more, putting on a new roof for a family who could not otherwise afford it, assisting with repairs at the Calhoun Pregnancy Center, or adding on a needed bathroom at one of our smaller churches. Again the list goes on.
How to get involved: If your pastor or youth minister or leader have not announced this event or encouraged your participation, give me a call! It might be a Sunday school class or a Men’s group, or just a group of friends in your church who would like to participate. I’ll be glad to come share a short video and talk to any group that is interested.
The second Big event in the year ahead is:
Connect 2016
Connect with fellow saints, Connect with Missions, Connect with Revival
2016 on Mission Connection Revival
You may recall we conducted one of these eight years ago. It is a great way for us as an association to:
- Become more kingdom minded. It is not just about me and my church. It’s all about HIM and his kingdom!
- Become more aware of not only what we are about as Southern Baptist and reaching the world for Christ, but of opportunities where we can become personally involved. I’d really like to add another dimension to this revival effort this coming year to include mission participation opportunities around the world that are available through our local congregations. (perhaps even if some of those opportunities are not strictly Southern Baptist)
- Become more revival passionate. The only hope our hope world is for God’s people to once more fall passionately in love with their Savior and to be on fire for Him. God’s own Word declares that healing of the land will come when God’s people…
While we will have missionaries from around the world, missionaries from North America, missionaries from Georgia, and perhaps even some local missionaries, the emphasis will not be just upon missions, but also upon seeking God’s face and seeking revival.
The last time we conducted an OMC Revival we had, I believe, twenty-one churches participating. This time I’d really like to have 100% participation. Please don’t let the lack of money keep your church from taking part. If finances are a problem, simply give me a call and we’ll find a way to make it work.
So when will this CONNECT 2016 – OMC Revival take place?
August 14th – 17th, 2016
We will run on a schedule much like a half-week revival, beginning on Sunday morning and then services Sunday evening running through Wednesday night. Each church will be assigned different missionaries throughout the week. Someone in your church will need to assume responsibility from getting them to and from your church. If we do like the last time, we’ll have some sort of a “pig pickin’/low country boil” celebration the Saturday night before. Different churches may be hosting luncheons throughout the week. We will try to capitalize upon these missionaries’ time spent here while at the same time leaving them some time to refresh, rest and perhaps even sight see some in the area. Each church may be responsible for feeding their missionary the night he/she is/are there. A number of those details are yet to be worked out. But I am already excited about what God can and will do as we begin to seek Him and willingly work together.
With the times getting like they are, Christians must learn to work together more, pray together more, strategize together more, and seek God together more! If you want to know more give me or Lorena McDaris a call. We’ll be glad to share with you in any way we can.
I don’t know about you, but I’m already stoked. The fire is lit, the coals are stirred, and fuel being added daily. I just can’t wait to “join hearts and hands together in mission with YOU and CHRIST!!!
Brother Doug