Phillip Rice

I wish I could say that as a pastor I always expect God to do the impossible. But if I am honest I find myself constantly surprised by a God who does so much more than I ever expect him to do. Wyatt Baptist Church is an average-sized church tucked away in South Arkansas, an hour away from the nearest interstate. And yet over the last couple of decades, I’ve seen God privilege our church time and time again with a global reach for his kingdom.

From the time I was five, all I could ever think about was playing baseball in the big leagues. For me, baseball wasn't just a nonchalant game of toss in the yard with Dad. No, it was thousands of swings in the batting cage, hundreds of games and practices every weekend, all year long. It was all or nothing—Big Leagues or Bust.

The highlight of 2023 was the Global Care Conference held in April following the BMAA National Meeting. Most of our global missionaries and North American church planters could join us for this time of rest and restoration. We worshiped together. Missionary families fellowshipped with one another. They were able to offer mutual encouragement as they shared their successes and struggles.

I once heard it explained that there were four major areas of foreign missions. Some of these are planting national language churches in a foreign country, helping locals plant churches in their country by providing pastoral and leadership training, etc. Another area, the one I will focus on, is planting churches among unreached and unengaged people groups.