An Opportunity to CONNECT

Beginning this Sunday, November 8, we in the Mid-Atlantic region will have a unique opportunity to celebrate the Great Commission cooperation we share within our “tribe.” This year’s Annual Meeting of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware will meet at the Sheraton Towson (Maryland) and has been reformatted to be more worshipful, interactive and participatory. There will be less business, more learning and more chances to serve in the midst of our conference together. How will we do this? Several ways come to mind. We will share in meal times together before sessions. We will have small group break outs for learning and application. And we have streamlined the business portions of our meeting into very small segments, the minimum necessary to keep us focused on God’s vision and presence among us.

We at BCM/D are billing this as a time to CONNECT, and anticipating the chances we will have to share in worship, live life and minister together.

CONNECT with God (Sunday evening). Our evening starts at 5:00pm with a banquet planned for those of you who are church planters and young missional pastors. As I mentioned last week, founding pastor Ron Sylvia of The Springs in Ocala, Florida, will be our banquet speaker. He will share about some of the lessons he’s learned in church planting and now pastoring a large church, with an emphasis on maximizing your walk with God and strengthening your marriage during the process of planting a church. He will answer questions from you, the planters and pastors, who are present, about concerns and issues that are pressing to you at this time. Later in the evening session he will speak again, along with North American Mission Board “Ambassador” Charles Roesel, from Leesburg, Florida.  Their goal is to assist us in getting a fresh vision of God and to be Kingdom risk-takers for Him. Spouses are welcome at the banquet (no extra charge) and babysitting is provided for children up to age 5 (at all sessions and mealtimes, as well).

CONNECT with each other (Monday morning). We will start off with some fun and humor as “Christian Illusionist and Extreme Balloon Man” Steve Gambrill entertains and “teaches” us. We will worship together as Gary Hollingsworth, pastor of Immanuel in Little Rock, Arkansas, preaches and Keith & Kristyn Getty from Northern Ireland, authors of “The Power of The Cross” and “In Christ Alone“, lead us in worship. Then we’ll have brunches for everyone present: ministers, their wives and lay people (register in advance: NO COST).

CONNECT with the community (Monday Afternoon). During the afternoon, we’ll worship together with Fred Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue in New Orleans preaching. Then, we’ll have break out sessions on “helping hurting people,” “ministries that impact,” “building an evangelism strategy,” “money management” and “impacting our changing culture.” All will be led by local and national leaders who are specialists and practitioners in these fields. We’ll also have a three-hour “plunge into the city” for those who want to be involved in a first-hand missions experience. There will be opportunities to assist some of our church planters in their fields of ministry or learn from them as they share in the break out sessions.

CONNECT with the world (Monday evening-Tuesday Morning). In the evening session on Monday, we’ll hear vision messages to challenge us with our Great Commission mandate from our Executive-Director David Lee and our Convention President Byron Day. On Tuesday morning, in the final session, we’ll hear from Scott Preissler of Southwestern Seminary and Larry Steen of Westminster, Maryland, to wrap things up.

Our church planters will want to be present for the networking and “surprise” events that will take place too. I will have gifts for you and opportunities for future experiences available to those of you at the banquet and other items for those of you who come during the Monday-Tuesday sessions. Wives present will be blessed with these “extra privileges,” too. And of course, our “booth” will have information and individuals who gather to share with each other and collect information for ministry.

Finally, this is a great opportunity to celebrate our cooperation as Southern Baptists, one of the cornerstones of our identity. If we ever lose this value, we will cease to have the impact on the world and each other we’ve shared for the past century and a half.

So come celebrate with us! and CONNECT…the Great Commission still calls us forward, together.