When Associational Missions Strategist Jamie Rogers began dreaming about creating a way for churches of all sizes to participate in international missions, he had no way of knowing the full scope of CMBA’s five-year partnership with Central Spain. He could not have known the extent to which local churches, of all sizes and health, would explore how to meet the needs of missional partners serving a world away. There would have been no way to imagine the experiences a mission trip could have on team members or the people living in a country known for its cultural diversity.
“This role has allowed me the opportunity to act on a lifelong goal that I have had, which is to get Baptists on mission together,” Rogers explains. “The first Baptist missionaries worked through the context of a local association, and I was excited about the opportunity of doing that again. Creating a missions partnership gives us a tangible way to get all CMBA members involved in a truly global effort.”
CMBA Acts 1:8 Team Leader Robbie McAlister described the associational international missions concept as a “two-way partnership that serves our field partners according to their vision by meeting specific needs, support through project funding, and connecting missions teams through skills the missionaries might request.” He says the process has been “thrilling” and thinks the idea of churches partnering at the associational level should be duplicated.
“We have watched the deployment of different resources including short-term teams, various forms of encouragement, and financial support for specific projects, culminate with adopting one or more church plants to be a viable contributor to their success – all under the leadership and guidance of the Holy Spirit,” McAlister reports.
CMBA leaders recognized the divine pairing of the association with field missionaries living in Central Spain through prayer and discussions with denominational missions partners. The country is considered a melting pot of people groups, with certain cities and regions hosting residents from dozens of different languages and cultures. Rogers refers to Spain as “post-Christian” and cites data showing that it is point five percent evangelical, meaning that only one in every 200 people may know Jesus.
“In a real way, Spain has never had a true gospel presence. By the time Catholicism reached Spain it had already begun to be corrupted. Then, when the Protestant Reformation took place, Spain rejected the gospel influence that tried to spread through the country. During the Spanish Inquisition Roman Catholic authorities brutally murdered and tortured thousands of followers of Jesus,” Rogers says of the nation’s religious history. “Now today we have the opportunity to help our International Mission Board (IMB) personnel introduce the gospel of Jesus throughout the country.”
A long-term associational partnership benefits members of smaller churches who might not otherwise have opportunities to experience international missions. Southern Baptists are known for realizing that believers can accomplish more together than they can separately – as evidenced by the creation of the Cooperative Program, the missional funding stream that will celebrate its centennial anniversary in 2025. It seemed like second nature to create a collaborative partnership that exposes more congregations to international missions through all levels of support and first-hand missions experience.
Chelsea Amberg is a member of Three Rivers Baptist in Irmo and credits exposure to missions in high school with jumpstarting her love of personal and missional travels that have taken her through several countries in Central and South America. She is fluent in Spanish and has been a part of two previous trips to Spain through the IMB. When CMBA’s partnership was announced she and a fellow church member were eager to join a Spring 2024 vision team trip.
“Our church was looking for partnership opportunities, and we were interested in CMBA’s partnership because it would give members opportunities for short-term trips,” Amberg says, adding that international travel can also allow God to reveal the “reality of the nations, people groups, languages and cultures in incredible ways that helps you see beyond your culture, language, and experiences.”
International Missionary Steve Marlin and his wife serve as church planters in Central Spain and work closely with CMBA’s partnership in the region. Marlin says church teams are invited to “customize” their missions ministry based on the team members’ interests and skill sets. He has recently acquired a local store front which has allowed much more flexibility for team engagements with members of the community.
“We are able to tailor a mission trip to meet the specific gifts and talents that a team brings with them. We have discussed crafting, sports, English as a Second Language classes, and evangelistic teams hiking in our national parks,” Marlin says of engagement ideas. “One group held an American baking class teaching how to make brownies, cakes, and cake decorating, and that was very exciting. Anyone can bring their special skill or interest and connect with someone here.”
This is one of the appealing aspects of taking a mission trip to Central Spain for Amberg, who says God has blessed her church with members that could “meet most any of the Marlins’ needs. We are discussing several ways to bring people from the community together while incorporating evangelism into it.”
Marlin and his wife are working to create long-term relationships with churches to engage the lost through broader strategies. He is seeing team members begin to remember names when they return for a follow up trip and build relationships by continuing to engage with individuals through social media or emails. An associational partnership provides a base of stability in many of the same ways.
“CMBA is ‘breaking the ice’ with this partnership concept. I would like for other associations to recognize that if CMBA can do it they can, too,” Marlin says of this creative approach to partnering with missionaries. “We want other churches and associations to learn from CMBA’s model and adopt other regions of our country. Of Spain’s 55 provincial capitals, many have no evangelical presence, 15 do not have a Baptist church, and we have identified specific needs in 13 capitals. We encourage folks to dream with us about what it would look like to send teams over multiple years to these places, see transformed lives, churches planted, and the Kingdom extended.”
Amberg adds that the Marlins “have a vision and strategy to reach Central Spain and its provincial capitals, but they need a lot of help. Along with our fellow believers, Midlands churches can provide the manpower and prayer to actualize their strategies for ministry.”
For his part, McAlister says IMB teams desire partnerships at many levels and CMBA’s partnership positions South Carolina churches to be a part of reaching the nations and unengaged people groups in powerful ways. Central Spain is “a launching pad for reaching across the globe, and we are thrilled to be a part of God’s work there.”
Discover more information about CMBA’s partnership with Central Spain online at www.ColumbiaMetro.org, and contact McAlister for upcoming trips and ministry opportunities by email at robertmcalister57@gmail.com.