Football and Missions

As I write this, our Associational Missionary, Bro. David Mitchell, his wife, Fran, and three football coaches from Ouachita Baptist University are in Hungary for a football camp. Now in Hungary, and in most of the rest of the world, when you say football, what they mean is the sport Americans call soccer. However there is a growing interest in Europe in the sport of "American Football".  

A few years ago, on a mission trip to Hungary, we discovered that there were a few groups of Hungarian men who were forming football teams. They didn't know much about the sport, but they were eager to learn. We happened to have with us a young man who was a football player for the Ouachita Tigers. He took the opportunity to meet some of the men and give them a few pointers. They were thrilled! The next year, we took a high school football coach and his son, a kicker, with us to teach English Camp. In the afternoons and evenings, they would go and work with the local football team. Once again, this was welcomed. Not only did all three of these men teach football, but they also got to talk about their faith in God. 

These two positive experiences led to the trip that is taking place this week. There will be three coaches from Ouachita teaching three football teams, two from Hungary and one from Romania. These coaches are excited about the opportunity before them, not only to teach their favorite sport - football , but also to use this opportunity to share with these 70 men about their faith in Jesus Christ!

We pray that God will use them mightily to share His love.

 

On Mission in Hungary

The "On Mission in Hungary" page has been updated with photos and information about this year's  mission trip to Nagykanizsa, Hungary!

Summer Mission Trips are Getting Underway!

Well, June is finally here! Bro. David and Fran are on their anniversary vacation to California and other parts out west. They will also be attending the Southern Baptist Convention, in Phoenix, AZ, while they are out that way. So far, they seem to be having a wonderful time.

The first of our mission teams to Kansas will be leaving on Saturday. Please be praying for the teams as they minister to the Native American people. We will try to post updates after teams return!

Also, please pray for our mission team that will be going to Hungary on July 7, as they prepare to "cross the big pond"!

Report from the May Board Meeting

Just in case you missed the May Executive Board Meeting, here are the highlights!

• The WMU ladies are planning a pool party and a block party for the children at the Children's Home in Monticello. Also, they have information packets available for new church members.
• Brother Tracy Reed is leaving the BCM to take a ministry position in Crossett. There will be a farewell party for him at First Baptist Church, Monticello on May 26.
• It is time for the Baby Bottle ministry to support HopePlace. If you need baby bottles, call Robin. The campaign runs from Mother's Day to Father's Day. New HopePlace billboards are going up soon and new volunteers are being trained. Decisions are being made to CHOOSE LIFE!!!
• The Baptist Home is finally fully staffed. They have had two young men surrender to the ministry and they are taking 15-20 students on mission to Kansas this summer!
• Bro. David Mitchell is excited that we have been asked to come back to lawrence, Kansas. We will be doing block parties, hanging doorhangers, and doing work projects, amoung other things. He is also hoping we will have a backpack ministry in August. He also reported that his work with Calvary Baptist, in Monticello is coming to an end.
• Church Camp information is available at the BBA office. The Association voted to give a $75 scholarship to each camper, to help with costs. (as funds allow).
• Bro. David asked that we think and pray about the establishment of a HopePlace in Warren, possibly in the unused office space at the Association office.
• We voted to double our support for missionary John Gaskin, serving in Lawrence, Kansas, due to his health issues and his de-funding by the IMB.
• Bro. David is in the process of putting together items for a Block Party unit for use by our associational churches for local ministry or mission trips!
• We will have a summer missionary working at HopePlace with Robin this summer. We will pay her a salary of $1,000 for the summer and HopePlace will give her a bonus at the end of the summer.
• Two ministries have been referred to committees for further study. One is a counselor who would like to use BBA office space in order to be able to counsel people outside of the hospital setting. (here current location) The other is Grace Cowboy Church. Studies will be made as to how we can best support this work.
• Our Association offers a $200 scholarship to Williams Baptist and to Ouachita Baptist Universities. Applications are available at the BBA office and are due by May 27.

April and May in the BBA!

Our March board meeting had a pretty good attendance but, oh, how we would LOVE to have ALL of our churches represented! If you are a pastor and cannot attend the board meeting, would you ask a church member or other staff member to attend in your place? That would help to keep everyone informed and up-to-date. Our next board meeting will be Monday, May 2 at Greenhill Community Baptist Church. The meal will be at 6:00pm and the meeting will begin around 6:45. Won't you please join us?

By now, many of our churches have begun prayer walking/driving and some have already hung their invitation bags on doors. We hope this has been a good experience for your church members. Do you have any stories to share? Any feedback on what worked well or what didn't work? Please share your experiences with us.

You should have received your bi-monthly newletter by now. If not, please call the office and we'll send you another one. It was a little late, due to getting the new copier, but we are pleased with the final results! Let us know what you think of the new newsletter. Do you like the format? Is it easy to read? If you recieved yours via email, could you read it easily? What would you like to change or add to it? This newsletter is for YOU, so please give us your feedback.

We have secured location for two billboards to advertise HopePlace. One will be on Hwy 425 North and one on Hwy 425 South. We will have a work day soon and will need some helping hands in getting these put up, so be on the lookout for dates and times.

Bro. David and Fran have just returned from Lawrence, Kansas, where they met with our missionaries and some key people from Haskell Indian Nations University to discuss our mission work for the summer. By the time we have our May board meeting, he will have work all lined out for the participating churches. There will also be a Kansas Missions meeting;  date and time to be announced at the board meeting.

Speaking of Kansas...there is a need that we would like to try to meet. We are looking for a small (5-6 ft.), retractable video screen that would hang from a ceiling. If your church or someone you know has one and would be willing to donate it, let us know. ALSO, to go along with that screen, we need a small video projector. Perhaps your church is upgrading to a bigger one and could donate the old, small one to be used in the Student Ministry at Haskell. If you can help with these needs, please contact the BBA office.

One last thing...We have received news from our missionaries in Hungary that one of the students who attended our English camp last summer has accepted Christ as his Savior and Lord! We rejoice with him and ask that you pray that his family and friends will not only accept his decision, but that they, too, will want to know Jesus in a personal way!

Upcoming Events

Things are beginning to get exciting around here!
First, we will be having a meeting about mission work
being done in Haiti on Monday night, Feb. 28,7 pm., at
First Baptist Church of Wilmar. Bob Fielding will
show us a video and tell us about what has been done
to help the Haitians and what our plans are for the
future. We hope you will attend this meeting with
thoughts of how your church might be able to get involved!

Next, we have our BBA Executive Board Meeting on
Monday night, March 7, at Second Baptist Church in
Monticello. We will have a delicious meal at 6 pm. and
begin our meeting around 6:45. We will be discussing
the "Across Arkansas - Find It Here" campaign, making
plans for mission trips to Kansas and Hungary, and
possibly Haiti, and discussing the Spring Break Jerusalem
Project for youth. You may also pick up your "Find It Here"
banners at the meeting.

If your church isn't involved in missions, PLEASE JOIN US!!!