Cooperation – the process of working together to the same end.

By Brian Everett
Pastor, Allen Heights Baptist Church

Brian Everett Pastor, Allen Heights Baptist Church

I fear that we are losing “cooperation” as Baptists as time marches on.  I have been that pastor that has gone to all the meetings of the state convention, national convention, associational meetings and gatherings only to leave with a feeling that there is a lack of unity and lack of cooperation with Baptist churches that desire to work together for the kingdom of God, even the churches that are just a few blocks away.

We would rather compete, than cooperate.  Because in the end, there must be a feeling that God is keeping count of the numbers instead of “Well done, good and faithful servant.”  (Matthew 25:23)  How well did you serve is the question, not how many you gathered.  In Matthew 25, Jesus teaches a strong lesson in His story, “the Parable of the Talents.”  Jesus was talking more about the slave’s attitude towards what he had been given, not all about what he accomplished with it.

Founded in 1707, the Philadelphia Baptist Association, now affiliated with the American Baptist Churches (USA), has assisted countless churches in starting, developing, growing, and extending the Gospel through a unified message and effort.  (http://www.sbclife.net/article/1533/baptist-associations-celebrating-300-years)  We are the ones who “cooperate together”, since the formation of associations, to do the work of the kingdom.  From the smaller church, who are doing everything they can to keep the few together that gather on Sunday, who need a helping hand with Vacation Bible School this summer because they have two kids in Sunday School from K-6^th Grade, to the larger church who has the resources, capacity and “servant’s heart” to reach across the county to help and serve them.

To the one hundred person church, the average size Southern Baptist Church, that needs help with evangelism training that finds another church right next door to them who are willing to give of their time and resources to disciple them and even take them out in the city to show them how to share the gospel.  This is the association.  This is cooperation.  This is the kingdom work that we can do together that makes a greater impact on the communities and cities we are trying to reach.

I appreciate the efforts that churches in our association are making to help one another.  To disciple one another.  To care for each other.  Here is where we see “assisting” and “developing” take place that was the spirit of the Baptist Association over 300 years ago.  To extend the gospel to every home in our cities.  To labor side by side to see Jesus made famous.  Obeying the Great Commission that Jesus has given us.

I desperately need the fellowship and prayers of other pastors.  Pastors that are facing the same battles and struggles that I am.  I need to know that they care that I am serving right down the street from them.  I need sincerity in conversations and actions.  I need help with certain things in the church I serve.  I am not an island.  I must also be willing to invest in others.  I am willing.  I would give the needed time.  My spiritual, physical and mental health depends on it.  But the looming question is, “Are you there?” A mentor once told me, “Brian, they know you care when you’re there.”  The ministry of presence is huge.

Some of the greatest relationships with other pastors who are good friends are made in the association.  Some of the most meaningful prayer times I have had are with other pastors in the association who had the time to pray with me and I with them.  Some of the greatest mission and ministry moments I have experienced were when I was a part of churches working together for the kingdom of God.

I encourage you to reach out – to connect, collaborate and engage – with other churches in our association.  You will be amazed as to what the Holy Spirit will do, when you take a walk with Him working side by side with brothers and sisters in Christ to reach Collin County.

Who are we? Who are our neighbors? How do we engage them?

These important questions should be asked as churches strive to evaluate their mission field. Once upon a time, churches would spend hundreds of man-hours having church members canvass door-to-door and create people maps of the surrounding neighborhoods. Today, state-of-the-art technology and access to multiple national databases makes our mission field knowable. And, knowing more about who our neighbors are allows the church to customize their engagement strategies based on this knowledge.

But getting the raw data is only the first stage of using modern technology to help our churches engage the lost people who are within our reach. Interpreting that data and developing mission strategies based on those reports is an important part of the strategic mapping process. CBA’s experienced missiologists have extensive local knowledge allowing them to synthesize the data and provide individualized application for the mission strategy of your church.

How does it work?

Step one is collecting data about your congregation from your church. Most likely, you already have the information at your fingertips, it just needs to be formatted and sent to CBA. Next, our data partners generate a battery of reports based on your specific church and neighborhood data. These reports are the building blocks for creating a demographic profile of the community around your church and allow us to compare your congregation with the surrounding neighborhoods. Finally, CBA mission strategists help you use the demographic, psychographic, and religious belief information from the reports to enhance your church strategy for reaching the lost in your specific mission field.

Where does the data come from?

The primary data collection tool used is MissionInsite’s FaithConnect tool.  FaithConnect provides a holistic view of your community and organization, enhanced with premium data from Experian Mosaic USA, Epsilon TotalSource Plus, Simmons Consumer Behavior Surveys and more. Detailed, housetop data (useful for mailing and visiting lists) are available to churches. Creating a personalized Strategic Mission Field Demographic Profile for your church is one of the many benefits to being a contributing member of the CBA Church network.

What do I do now? How do I begin the process?

The CBA Church Network lives for the day when every girl, boy, woman, and man within our reach experiences a living witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Having a comprehensive study of your church as it relates to your community helps each church member know how to pray for, care for, and share the Gospel with their neighbors. And, it assists the church in its Gospel mission of engaging households, the marketplace, and the nations which comprise our mission community.

Contact Vince Smith (vince.smith@cbachurchnetwork.org) or Marc Ira Hooks (marc.hooks@cbachurchnetwork.org) to schedule an introductory consultation.

Local response to Southern Baptist sexual abuse scandal results in workshop, new policies

By Marc Ira Hooks

New guidelines for churches and a seminar designed to prevent incidents of sexual abuse are being initiated by the CBA Church Network as Southern Baptist churches in Texas and around the country experience fallout from an expose about SBC clergy and staff members convicted of sexual abuse.

Just weeks ago, an investigation produced by the Houston Chronicle uncovered more than 700 victims of sexual misconduct perpetrated by Southern Baptists in positions of power. The examination by reporters covered a 20-year span and found more than 200 pastors, youth ministers and deacons who were convicted or took plea deals for sex crimes.

In response, Collin Baptist Association Church Network is taking steps to ensure the safety of Southern Baptist parishioners in Collin County.  “This is mission critical stuff,” said CBA Executive Director Vince Smith. “Yes, this is a black eye on us as a denomination. But our focus must always be to love people in the way that Jesus loved them. That means that we are more concerned with preserving our people than we are with our system.” Because of the denomination’s non-hierarchical structure, churches are not under the authority of Collin Baptist Association, but choose to cooperate together under the umbrella of the Network.

The Network will host Keeping Kids Safe: Educating the Church About Abuse – a half-day workshop designed to both raise awareness about sexual abuse in our churches, and to equip churches to use personnel screening services and other policies that might weed-out sexual predators before they are able to enter the church as staff or volunteers.

The workshop will focus on sexual abuse in the church awareness, prevention and protection. Church leaders will hear testimony from a woman abused by her youth pastor, and presentations from the Collin County Child Advocacy Center and The SANE Initiative. A counselor with the Baptist General Convention of Texas will also share information about MinistrySafe, a service which provides training, screening, background checks, and monitoring and oversight for churches.

“The only acceptable number of victims is zero,” said Smith, who believes the Network can be a catalyst for change at the church level. “We must engage the issue of sexual abuse with compassion and care.” In addition to the workshop, Network leaders adopted a “Statement of Principles” concerning sexual abuse recently crafted and approved by the Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Leaders.  The preamble of the SBCAL document states, “Our desire is for the churches in our respective associations to be safe havens for survivors and safe from abuse. We also call on our associational leaders and ministries to be models of compassionate care.”

Keeping Kids Safe: Educating the Church About Abuse will be held April, 25 at First Baptist Church of McKinney, 1615 W Louisiana Street, from 9 a.m. until noon. For more information, call the CBA Office at 972-529-5222 or send an email to info@cbachurchnetwork.org.

2019 Hungary Mission Trip Dates Announced

CBA Church Network Churches will once again come alongside churches across Hungary for a missions/evangelism experience this summer. In partnership with the Hungarian Baptist Union, Hungarian Baptist Aid, and Hungary Missions, CBA hopes to build on the partnership started last year.

Information about the 2019 trip can be found by clicking the graphic below, or by sending an email to TellMeMore@cbachurchnetwork.org.

Hungary Photo Contest Winners Announced

More than two dozen photos were submitted by those who participated in October’s CBA Church Network mission trip to Hungary. The groundbreaking trip saw more than 50 churches representing more than a dozen CBA churches partnering together with churches across the Hungarian Countryside.

A Photo Gallery Opening & Awards Night was held last week to celebrate the winners of the amateur photo contest. The gallery, presented at the CBA Church Network Offices in Fairview, features the contest winners alongside photographs taken by members of the CBA media team who accompanied the group on the trip.

Grand Prize honors went to Becky Lawrence of First Baptist Church of Allen for her photograph of school children praying during a special rally at one of the schools operated by Hungarian Baptist Aid, a division of the Hungarian Baptist Union. Lawrence also took home an honorable mention for another photo of Hungarian school children.

First prize went to CBA Executive Director Vince Smith for his photograph of an ordination service.

Second prize was awarded to Cynthia Williamson of Community North Baptist Church for a photo of her pastor’s wife talking with a woman following a Hungarian church service. Williamson also garnered an Honorable Mention for this photo taken during a lesson about cowboys in Texas.

Third prize went to Jennifer Duke of FBC Wylie for this group selfie taken on the streets of Budapest.

The gallery will remain on display at the CBA headquarters in Fairview until the end of March. In October of 2019, CBA Church Network churches will return to Hungary to continue the partnership started last year.

For more information about how you can be part of the 2019 trip to Hungary October 2-14, send an email to: tellmemore@cbachurchnetwork.org.