The Association as a Partner

Written by David Al Myers

A Baptist association is a group of churches voluntarily joined together for the purpose of missions. “Family” is my favorite descriptive term for this grouping. Some members are more intimately involved in the life of the family than others, and some members develop closer relationships than others. We have closer relationships with family members in a local area; the local family of churches is the association. Our name is Hamilton County Baptist Association—a family of nearly one hundred members. Neither size, age, beauty, nor any other factor determines the value of the family members. They are valuable simply because they are part of the family—the association. We take the relationship seriously; and as in all significant, meaningful relationships, responsibilities and privileges are involved.

Local Churches as Family Members
Training.—The association’s organizational staff builds relationships with and among the churches. In an intentional effort to keep in touch with the churches, associations plan training sessions that address local church organization, missions, and outreach. They design these workshops and conferences to respond to the needs of the churches. Training and preparation of local lay leadership within the churches enhance the ministry of those churches and assist them in fulfilling their mission in the community.

Partnering in missions.—At times the association also calls on churches to join with other churches to address particular missions opportunities too monumental for any one church to address adequately. These joint efforts build relationships among the churches and strengthen their visionary mission. Such efforts in our association include responding to the need of immigrants in the community for English language learning; staffing large festivals and citywide celebrations associated with resort ministries; or volunteering to serve on construction teams to build a new church, construct housing, or repair existing structures. Avenues of service and ministry are open to individuals who otherwise might not become involved in local missions.

Our association enlists and trains a large corps of volunteers for various joint missions efforts, including running a ministry center that offers a variety of services such as distributing goods and clothing to those in need, providing health screenings, and offering computer classes. This involvement in missions encourages individual spiritual growth in each person participating. In turn, these people return to their local churches to share their stories, infect others with their enthusiasm for missions, and offer effective missions leadership in their own congregations.

This kind of relationship on the local level strengthens the bonds of the family of churches and makes the missions effort more effective. We are in this kingdom mission together. We are brothers and sisters. We appreciate and love one another. And we grow together.

Assistance.—The staff members of the association offer counsel, encouragement, and suggestions to churches, their staffs, and their teams to assist in fulfilling the ministry of the individual churches. Assistance may be in the areas of personnel, taxes, legal issues, organizational structures, program design, search-team orientation, conflict resolution, and numerous other church concerns.

In turn, associational leadership often enlists trained leaders and staff members from churches to assist in or conduct workshops and training sessions within the association. In this way the association facilitates the churches in assisting one another by sharing leadership resources. Personnel and financial support are significant contributions the churches make to the overall work and ministry of the association. Together the work is strengthened.

The State Convention as a Family Member
A more distantly related family member is the state convention. The state convention is not made up of associations but of messengers from the individual churches; the association receives the state convention’s ready support and encouragement for its local work.

In years past, many thought that a major function of the association was to serve as a conduit for state convention program communication and execution, but this is not an accurate or adequate picture of the relationship. Though each association encourages churches to participate in the larger convention, individual associations have their own mission statements and mission programs. They can call on resources of the state convention and plug them into the local program of work; but the association is an autonomous body, just as the individual churches are. Associations can use the training, financial resources, or leadership from the state convention to enhance the local work. Such partnering strengthens the local work and engenders appreciation for the larger state convention.

The benefits go both ways. Working together, cooperating, and supporting one another in kingdom business can only encourage the work and enhance the kingdom efforts to which we have all committed ourselves as a part of the family of God.

Mutual respect, dependence, support, and appreciation strengthen the relationships among our family members. Being a part of such a family is good.

David Al Myers is director of missions, Hamilton County Baptist Association, Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Share your thoughts with other readers:  Post Comments   Rate this Article