I am grateful that, with prayer and determination, we, as an association, have survived the pandemic. I don’t mean to say we have not suffered its effects. With outreach being the greatest tool of a missionary and that being limited to a certain degree, it was, and is still, difficult to be completely effective. Because of people, churches and associations, we have not only hung on but have increased in several levels.
We were blessed last fall to have two mission points organize. Cain Baptist Church (Jim Tollison, pastor) and Connection Point Baptist Church (Chad White, pastor) became co-laborers beside the rest of our churches.
Throughyour generosity and systematic giving, the office has been able to search out men and expand the footprint of your State Missions’ work, seemingly in the worst of times. Because this association has a love for lost souls and a desire to fulfill the Great Commission, the banner of Christ in Arkansas is being held high. This spring and summer, we added three new missionaries — Bryan Clay, Roberto Marcelletti and Jake McCandless — to fill the need across the state of godly men sharing a godly message to a lost and ungodly world.
Sadly, after years of effort, the work in Fort Smith closed. They, like so many, were the victims of a mix of COVID and a heavy anti-God spirit that seems to preside in that town. But it’s like God to turn defeat into a victory! God honored your faith and blessed us by allowing the property to sell for as much as we had invested in that work, thanks to Darrin Smith and his wife’s ability to remodel and decorate. Those funds, in their entirety, went back into your State Missions. Praise the Lord!
As in any war, even with all the effort we can muster, sometimes battles are lost. While all our investment was recuperated and while the result may not have been what we had hoped for, over 100 souls were saved and countless others ministered to through its presence. Friends, Satan himself can never change that!
With all the ups and downs over the past couple of years, we are in the process of developing another up in the department. We want to email a newsletter from the office to better inform those who pray and support this ministry. With the newsletter, it is our plan to highlight the happenings at our mission projects in pictures and words. If you would like to be added to our newsletter list, please contact Donna at bmaofarkfrontdesk@gmail.com or (501) 565-4601.
Our weekly reports will continue to be published in the Baptist Trumpet as those are our lifeline to the people of the BMA, and for that we are grateful.
Lastly, God has given me a heart for this work and a love for these men. Thank you for allowing me to serve our people as executive director of State Missions, and may God bless His work with His presence and His power.
