Springfield | Local Baptist associations must respond to the changing dynamics in today’s world to be relevant, said the keynote speaker for IBSA’s annual Associational Roundtable Meeting Aug. 7-8 in Springfield.
Ray Gentry, director of ministries for Southside Baptist Network near metro Atlanta and executive director of the Southern Baptist Conference of Association Leaders (SBCAL), said the key to associational relevance is healthy relationships with churches. “We need to build dynamic relationships with pastors and churches. We need to know them and let them know us.”
Speaking to associational leaders from across Illinois, Gentry also addressed a new national survey that found relationships between local Baptist associations and churches may be not be as close as they once were, but there is hope on the horizon. The study, organized by a Kentucky director of missions and released July 31, found most church leaders believe their financial contributions to local Baptist associations are “a good kingdom investment,” while others are struggling to see their relevancy.
According to the survey, 65.5% of church leaders think their local association is a strategic partner in helping their church fulfill the Great Commission, meaning that nearly one out of three church leaders do not think so.
The survey, led by Pike Association Director of Missions Jason Lowe, also found 58.5% of church leaders think their church would be negatively affected if their association failed to exist.
Lowe said the report shows some church leaders are questioning whether local associations are still vital or even relevant. But, “The research showed that most church leaders do believe that associations can have a future,” Lowe said. “That is if significant changes are made.” Church leaders said they’d be motivated to increase their financial support for local Baptist associations if they could demonstrate their relevance with a clear vision and strategy.
At the meeting in Springfield, Gentry said associations and churches should develop relationships with one another in order to have relevance. “Our associations are all unique—the rural, the urban, the suburban.” Many associations grapple with an identity problem. “Who are we? Why do we do what we do? Half of all associations can’t answer these questions,” he said.
He also shared the concern that the title “director of missions” confuses people. “Most pastors and church members don’t know what a director of missions (DOM) is or does, and why the position is needed. We need a new, better name that is more accurate and descriptive of what our mission is.” Gentry said the SBCAL will meet during the June 2018 Southern Baptist Convention in Dallas and discuss a title change.
The associations study showed the connection between strong relationships and relevancy. Ninety percent of church leaders that are extremely involved in the work of the local association said they would be negatively affected if their local Baptist association ceased to exist.
Lowe said the churches that are most involved in the work of associations and are most familiar with their mission and work are the most excited about their work. More than 90% of church leaders who are extremely involved in the work of the associations believed they were strategic partners in fulfilling the Great Commission.
For more information on the survey, go to jasonalowe.com.
– Reporting by Baptist Press and the Illinois Baptist