No one expects you as a busy and committed leader of your congregation to think every day about the fact that you are the owner of an association of almost 100 congregations committed to starting and strengthening churches to serve as vital and vibrant missional communities from the base of the Midlands of South Carolina. But it is true!
Churches are the association. Churches have an interdependent relationship because of their primary connection with one another through their association. You affiliate with a state denominational organization and a national denominational organization, but you are the association. It is the only primary membership relationship you have as a Baptist congregation with your denomination.
As such, you are entitled to have two or three people to serve on the governing group of the Columbia Metro Baptist Association. Perhaps you did not know this. But it is also true. CMBA is not something you fund as part of the missional effort of your congregation for someone else to take that money and do whatever they want to do with it. It is your money, your association, and God’s mission from the base of your association.
Let me explain your role in providing spiritual and strategic guidance and empowerment to our joint, synergistic efforts as churches-in-association with one another.
The governance of CMBA is ultimately in the hands of the messengers from your congregation who attend the annual meeting of CMBA. We now call this an Annual Family Reunion. The next one is Thursday evening, October 4th at Spring Valley Baptist Church. It would be great if you could place this on your calendar now.
Day-to-day, week-to-week, and month-to-month governance and empowerment is assigned to what previously was called the Executive Board that meets twice each year, and the Administrative Team which meets almost monthly to provide detailed guidance and empowerment. Transformation is taking place. We are currently calling the Executive Committee the Missional Leadership Community and the Administrative Team the Visionary Leadership Community. Why? Because we are creating a missional movement unlike what you may have experienced in an association before. Take notice. Be amazed.
Every member congregation is entitled to two members on the Missional Leadership Community. (If you church has more than 600 members you are entitled to have three members.) Not many churches realize this. Do you?
Now is the time for churches to indicate who their Missional Leadership Community members will be for 2018. By the way, let’s not call them “members” any more. Let’s call them Missional Leaders. One of these Missional Leaders is the pastor or a staff person. The other one or two are laypersons.
The gatherings of the Missional Leadership Community for 2018 are March 20th and September 18th. Then, of course, we would hope they would be present for the Annual Family Reunion on October 4th.
We invite you to designate the Missional Leaders from your church, then share with us who they are and how we can contact them. Please complete the online form using this link: https://goo.gl/forms/DqWM9fdnYc9pjMP92
Thank you for your passion for fulfilling the Great Commission in the spirit of the Great Commandment from the base of the Columbia Metro Baptist Churches-in-Association. It would be great to have your response by February 15th.
I love questions! I have many answers—not all! Contact me if I can clarify anything for you.
Contact: George Bullard. 803.622.0923. GeorgeBullard@ColumbiaMetro.org.