Central Baptist College
By Terry Kimbrow, President
I am praying for a miracle! That pretty much sums up my prayers, goals and dreams for 2023. It will soon be one year since we experienced the ransomware attack on our network that shut us down for five weeks. God protected us from the hands of evil players and has proven the truth of Scripture that what man meant for evil, God has used to bring about good. The cyberattack we experienced was designed to leave us with “no hope.” We, however, know the Author of all hope, and we are leaning on and trusting in Him as we move into the new year.
What the cyberattack did leave us is a tremendous, and somewhat overwhelming, financial burden. Our best estimate is that the five-week shutdown, during prime student recruiting season, cost us $1 million in lost revenue. I have shared the need in church services, associational meetings, local civic groups and with numerous individuals. I also wrote about it, devoting four pages of our 70th Anniversary newsletter to a summary of the event. You can read it at cbc.edu/newsletter.
The theme of our chapel this year, in celebration of our 70th year of operation, is Eph. 3:20, “He is Able.” We will not operate from a position of fear because we know, without a doubt, that God is able to do “far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us” (Eph. 3:20).
We need your help to meet our 2023 goals. Here are some of my prayers and goals:
• Financial Position — I have been very open and transparent in sharing that this is a burden we cannot carry alone! The response from businesses, individuals and churches has been very encouraging. However, my goal is to get us to the point where we do not have to rely on special offerings and urgent appeals for our everyday operations. We have two main sources of revenue — tuition and contributions. Will you join me in making it a priority in your church to send us your students and continue to support your college?
• Scholarship Gala — It is imperative that we have a successful Scholarship Gala and meet our goal for the event of $800,000. We have budgeted for this income to help us continue to be competitive in our scholarship programs. The 4th annual event is scheduled for Tuesday, March 28, at 6 p.m. at the Conway Expo Center. The black-tie optional event will be a celebration of “Fearless Faith.” The proceeds from the event will benefit the Central Baptist College Scholarship Fund which supports all institutionally funded scholarships. For more information and updates, go to cbc.edu/events.
• Increased Alumni Involvement — Homecoming is scheduled for Feb. 17-18. If you are a CBC alumnus, please consider contacting your friends and plan to attend. We have alumni all over the world who have benefited from the “CBC Experience.” We want to challenge them to reconnect with their alma mater. I hear people all the time tell me, “My time at CBC changed my life.” It certainly changed my life. We will be looking for new ways to engage those former students.
• New Baseball Field — We recruit 80-plus student-athletes to play baseball at CBC — and without a home field, all our baseball games are played at Burns Park in North Little Rock. We simply can’t continue to recruit effectively without a home field. In terms of facilities, this is my top priority! This, I truly believe, will only become a reality when God places it on the hearts of specific men and women — that just might be you. He has already led one individual to commit $500,000 to this project. Will you pray with me about this great need?
I also asked the four members of my Executive Leadership Team (ELT) to share their goals:
Central Baptist College (continued)
by Brooks Walthall, Vice President For Enrollment Management
• PACE Program: Increase the number of students served, achieve stability in enrollment and expand our business partnerships and relationships.
• Traditional students: Increase overall student enrollment, achieve stability in enrollment and increase interest in ministry degrees and student enrollment in that area. I would also like for us to expand our relationships with churches, schools and businesses students go to work for after their time at CBC.
• Outreach: Develop and foster a relationship with the state and regional chaplaincy in the military to stimulate military enrollments and build communication.
Central Baptist College (continued)
by Chris Mitchell, Associate Vice President For Student Services
• Athletics — Introduce student-led devotionals in all athletic programs.
• Dining services — Increase the variety of food offerings, including adding an international food bar to accommodate our students from other countries.
• Student Activities Board — Start small group mentoring for on-campus and off-campus students.
Paul Cherry,
Vice President for Finance
• Attain overall stability in finances.
• See an increase in monthly contributions.
• See an increase in tuition revenue.
Central Baptist College (continued)
by Gary McAllister, Vice President For Academic Affairs
• Seek accreditation for all business programs from the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), which is a global business education accrediting body and the first organization to offer accreditation to all levels of collegiate business educational degree programs from associate to doctoral. The ACBSP evaluates aspects of leadership, strategic planning, relationships with stakeholders, quality of academic programs, faculty credentials and educational support, and it assesses whether or not business programs offer a rigorous educational experience and commitment to continuous quality improvement.
• Strengthen our commitment to military students by partnering with the ROTC and expanding our degree offerings in Military Science.
• Recognize Joyce Garrison, who started the Business Department at Central Baptist College, by naming the department in her honor (This is planned for Homecoming, set for Feb. 18 at 10 a.m.).
Thank You
Your support, financially and in promotion of the college, has been integral in getting CBC to this point, and it is so important to the future of Central Baptist College. It is my great honor to have led this institution for the past 18 years. Your prayers, letters, notes, e-mails, texts, etc. mean so much! I anticipate another year filled with blessings. I am praying and trusting God for miracles that will allow CBC to do big things for Him, and I invite you to join me!
BMAA Global Missions
By Dr. John David Smith, President
In Exodus 19, Moses and the people of God are camped at the base of Mt. Sinai, a mere three months removed from their miraculous departure from Egyptian captivity. In this ominous setting, God offered one of the greatest missionary mandates in all the Bible. His sequence for informing and inspiring them about their role in His mission is as follows: past blessings, future purpose and present responsibilities. He stated in verse 4 (NKJV), “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.” It was, indeed, a miraculous deliverance. The future purpose of Israel is spelled out in the missionary mandate that includes the language “all people” and “all the earth.” In the electing of Israel, God had a particular people who would be instruments of His universal mission. Election is never to privilege; it is always to purpose, and more precisely, a missionary purpose! In the present, they were to be priestly and holy (v. 6). In order to fulfill our missionary purpose, we have to be priestly in that we connect people to God, and we have to be holy… set apart for our God-given purpose.
The future purpose of Israel as given in Exodus 19 — to make God’s name known to the nations — is now the never-ending mission of every Christ-centered church. With this in mind, we turn our attention to the goals and dreams for BMA Global Missions in 2023. BMA Global Missions has always been about church planting. We are church planters! Through the collective efforts of BMA churches through the years, we have reached a number of just under 2,000 established churches worldwide. Our churches support almost 400 missionaries in 70 countries. Presently, we are actively partnering to help plant over 350 new churches around the world. (That does not include the 2,000 churches mentioned above.)
January and February of each year are filled with all things related to World Missions Day (WMD) on the last Sunday of February. (This year, it is Sunday, Feb. 26.) WMD is an opportunity for our churches to worship a missionary God, be reminded of our role in that mission and commit to intentional action at home and abroad. This year’s theme is CO:MISSIONED. We are CO:MISSIONED in two ways:
• First, we are simply embracing the mission of Jesus to give continuation in the mission He started.
• Second, we lock arms with like-minded churches in order to obey and fulfill the mission.
In the overall BMA Global Missions picture, we are always praying that we will continue to see the maturation of the churches and fields around the world. In many of the mission efforts that were started years ago, we are now seeing exponential growth as they have transitioned from receiving missionaries to sending them, from merely participating in the multiplication process to driving it. This past year we have partnered with dozens of new church plants in countries like India, Colombia, Ecuador, Cape Verde, Jordan, Lebanon, Nicaragua, Chile and many other places.
We have plans to either initiate ministry or shore up partnerships in 2023 in countries such as Southern Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Guinea Bissau and others.
I am thankful for all our BMA Global Missions team members in the office and around the world. Of course, it begins with all our missionaries and church planters. I am thankful for Larry Barker and John Meriweather in Missions leadership. I am thankful for our regional coordinators who help take care of missionaries, cast vision, train and encourage our missionary families in their respective regions of the world. Our office staff is committed and is an essential part of what we do globally. We are blessed with many great and dedicated leaders. Another goal for the coming year is to continue to develop our leadership structure so we may be as fruitful as possible.
Vice President for Church Strategy and Training Larry Barker offered some bullet points for his goals and dreams for 2023:
• To see every BMA church engaged in the process of starting a new church.
• To see every BMA church prayerfully consider the P5 multiplication process to pray, prepare, partner, plant and parent.
• To see a 6% annual increase in new churches!
• To see our churches recommit to why we exist — to seek and to save the lost through the presentation of the gospel.
• To plant new churches wherein 50% of the growth is conversion growth (new believers).
• To see all our churches recommit to evangelism and to seek growing our churches by reaching and discipling the lost.
• To see more of our churches commit to training their membership in evangelism, discipleship and multiplication.
At BMA Global Missions, we are always guided by the principles of God’s Word. Our mission is to fulfill God’s mission by sending and partnering to share God’s story, make disciple makers and start churches that multiply among the nations. Our vision is to see every BMA partner church around the world engaged in the process of starting a church. May God allow us to see many more churches planted in 2023 as the gospel is proclaimed and as believers are discipled and gathered into local churches that will repeat the process until Jesus comes. God bless you and thank you for your partnership with BMA Global Missions!
Arkansas Youth Department
By Dan Carson, Director
I have one dream for 2023 and the BMA of Arkansas Youth Department. It is my prayer that we will see at least 10 more of our churches join in supporting the Youth Department and our efforts to assist those seeking to impact the next generation for Jesus. Currently, we have 10-12 out of the 331 churches of the BMA of Arkansas that support our work. We could do many more things if we had the resources. Our energy is currently focused on providing a podcast (studentministrymatters.podbean.com), coaching when requested and an annual retreat for student ministry workers.
I dream of being able to provide new youth workers with great resources and training throughout the year. As our support increases, that dream and others can become reality. Until then, we will keep serving and making the most of generous churches giving to our work.
If you would like to join us in this effort, please reach out to me at info@StudentMinistryMatters.com or (479) 442-4634.
