What Does 2020 Look Like for BMA Missions?

by Executive Director John David Smith (originally published in the Baptist Trumpet)

Two thousand nineteen has been a good year in BMAA Missions. As with most years, it has also presented its challenges. We lost a faithful and loved member of our global missionary family, and we have seen an increase in political and economic uprisings in many countries where our missionaries serve. God has been faithful! We have seen many of our missionaries blessed to accomplish amazing things in their lives and ministries. We were able to send more missionaries both internationally and as church planters here in the United States.  The following are some thoughts and goals for the coming year:

1. We reaffirm our total dependence on God’s Word as our authority and rule of practice. The debate over the balance between the Word and cultural issues is an age-old tension that will never dissipate this side of the coming of Christ. Pragmatism (results-based approach) is never the foundation of truth . . . God’s Word is that foundation. However, pragmatism should be employed in the measure of our obedience to truth. Are we obeying God’s Word? Are we really missionary? Are we making disciples? Are we planting churches? Are we outwardly focused? 

The Word tells us to reach, press on, bear fruit, and lots of other pragmatic, measurable actions. We do stand firm on God’s Word, but we also strive with diligence and excellence in the obedience of the Word. 

We also do not have to be mean-spirited, obnoxious, and un-Christian in our application of truth. We are called to communicate the message of God to the world by emptying ourselves and living among people, not separating ourselves into self-centered fortresses. 

• We affirm, in the obedience to the clear commands of scripture, that we exist as an association of churches to fulfill the Mission of God. In 2020, we will continue to pray that this purpose of existence will move back to the forefront of our associational reality. Self-preservation, theological exclusivism, and other inferior purposes must move over and allow us to see our true purpose and then do all to fulfill that purpose. 
• We will continue to seek ways that will allow our association to send more missionaries. We have more than doubled our number of missionaries in the past five years. We pray that we will double again in the next eight years. 
• In the United States, we will continue to plant new churches. We are excited about a new church planter residency program that we pray will make a great difference in the lives of church planters, the churches being planted, and the reproducibility of those new churches. New initiatives have been undertaken in the urban areas of Atlanta, Georgia, and Orlando, Florida, for cluster church planting. 

The goal is to have catalytic planters who will be used to plant multiple churches in these areas. Church health remains a primary focus of North American missions for 2020. Dozens of churches are being assisted through the Activate program. For more information contact Larry Barker, Director of North American Church Planting at larry@bmaam.com. 

• We will continue to stress the need of associational principles and missiological foundations on all of our mission fields. In most of the 81 countries where we have started mission work, that work typically started with an entrepreneurial leader. Once a group of churches are formed in that country, we must transition from the authority of that single leader to the will of the churches in that national association. We also must continue to allow those churches to stand more and more on their own two feet. These are two areas that we need our churches in the U.S. to help with: we need to cultivate associational practices, not work against them in those countries, and we also need to make sure that we are not creating and sustaining a dependence on us. For more information contact Director of International Missions Eric Johnson at eric@bmaam.com
• Volunteer Student Missions is excited to send out nine teams in 2020. More than 70 students and leaders are now raising funds and preparing to serve with missionaries in Portugal, Ukraine, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Peru, Romania and others. A couple of these countries have not hosted VSM teams before and we are very excited to work with them this year. Our in-country trip this year is focused on building relationships with our pastors and mission churches in California. 

Our goal through Volunteer Student Missions is to teach students at a young age to be mission minded, to love and serve as Jesus did. We hope that through this mission, each student becomes a lifelong missionary both to their community and to the nations. For more information, contact Angela Rice at angela@bmamissions.org or 501-455-4877 and check out our website bmamissions.org/vsm

• Baptist Medical Missions has a full year planned for 2020. We are returning to the countries of El Salvador, Honduras, Romania, and Peru. We are also serving in Thailand this year, as well as working with new missionaries in Ukraine and Zambia. We have a full schedule and are excited to see how God uses these missions for his glory.  
• We would encourage you to get involved with BMMI. Our goal through BMMI is to open doors for our missionaries to gain contacts with people in their communities. If you are interested in serving with Baptist Medical Missions, contact Angela Rice at angela@bmamissions.org or 501-455-4877 and check out our website bmamissions.org/bmmi
• World Missions Day is February 23! This is our annual celebration of our missionary God and what he is doing around the world through BMA Global Missions. We pray that all of our churches would participate in 2020. This effort allows us to sustain ministries in 81 countries. With great participation, we will be able to send more missionaries and partner with new church planting projects. To register your church please go to www.bmamissions.org/worldmissionsday or call BMA Missions at 501-455-4977. Celebrate! Pray! Give!