Last October, the Ellis-Hill Baptist Association changed its name to the North Central Texas Baptist Missionary Association. The association, no longer comprised only by churches in Ellis and Hill Counties, recognized that the name had ceased to describe the local association. Over the past several years, churches from outside of the two counties, including churches in Dallas County and Navarro County joined the association.

The local association also recognized the fact that there are some churches in the area who do not have a local association to belong to or are not active in their current associations due to distance or other reasons. So, the choice was made to change the name.

Each third Thursday, the pastors of the association meet for lunch with guest speakers from various ministries at a local restaurant. If you are a pastor or staff member who lives in the north Central Texas area and are not involved in a local association, you are invited attend. This month’s meeting will take place at Cancun’s Ameri-Mex Restaurant, located at 2000 Corporate Parkway in Waxahachie at 11:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 20.

If you plan to attend the lunch, please let Dr. Kerry Moore know you are coming. He may be contacted at fbcdesototx@gmail.com.

By HOLLY MERIWEATHER
BMA Global Missions Center

We live in a broken world full of broken people.
We know that.
We see that.
We say that.
Jesus did, too.
 
Matthew 9:36 says, “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.”

Jesus was moved with compassion for the broken. Missions happens when we are burdened for broken people. It was in our brokenness that Jesus found us, loved us, and saved us.

The story of missions is the story of people—missionaries—who are burdened for people, burdened enough to go, burdened enough to sacrifice their lives for the lives of others.

The harvest is plentiful, and we need laborers. But laborers are birthed out of a burdened and broken heart for the lost and weary and scattered. 

Our vision and impact in reaching the world will never be bigger than our burden for broken people. That’s the catalyst to missions. That’s the heart of missionaries.

We indeed live in a broken world full of broken people, but does that “move us with compassion”?

​May we be burdened for broken people during this World Missions Day season and every day. 

By NICK JACOBSEN
BMA Conference Manager
 
What’s your ministry story?

My story begins in Tacoma, Washington, where I was born and raised to non-church-going parents. Don’t get me wrong, they were great parents, but we didn’t go to church as a family. When my friend, Garrett, and I would ride our bikes all over our neighborhood, we always passed a little light blue church set off the road, Grace Missionary Baptist Church. Since neither of us grew up in church, we decided we wanted to see what it was all about, so we went to church one Sunday.

A few years later at the age of 16, it was in that little church that I was saved. The following year I felt a stirring, a calling on my life, and after talking to my student pastor and pastor, I surrendered my life to ministry. Unsure of what exactly that meant, I said yes to God.

In August of 2000, I boarded a plane for Little Rock, Arkansas, to attend a small Christian college and study ministry that fall semester. I enjoyed Central Baptist College (CBC) so much that I spent five years getting a bachelor’s degree in Bible with an emphasis in student ministry. Once I finally graduated, I was hired by a church—Park Place Baptist Church—to work with students. Park Place Baptist Church allowed me to minister to students as a vocation, and I loved it.

God would eventually lead me down another path just a few years later that I never anticipated. He opened a door for me to work in media production, and after a few years at a television station, God led me to work at Lifeword. For the past 14 years, I have worked at Lifeword/BMA.
In the past few years, I have thought a lot about God’s call to the ministry: I was just 17 years old and had no clue. Some say I still don’t!

Is God still calling young people to ministry?

Are we giving those young people an opportunity to serve?

Are we encouraging students to give their lives to ministry?

At SOAR 2022, we will spend the week looking at God’s calling on our lives and how He wants us to serve His church. I believe God calls us ALL to serve. Some serve in leadership roles as pastor or student pastor, but all are called to serve.
Are you cALLed?
 
SOAR Student Conference: June 29 – July 1, 2022, Hilton Anatole - Dallas, Texas
Lowest price since 2015: $100 per person.