SWBA Annual Meeting

6:00 PM - Meal

6:45 PM - Head to the meeting

7:00 PM - Welcome & Prayer - Phil Peters

7:05 PM - Worship Songs - John Larsen

7:15 PM - Business Meeting - Ben Trigsted

SWBA Purpose Statement Devotional

Turn in your Bible’s to 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11.

Read...

Is associational ministry still a worthwhile venture today?

For much of my ministry I’ve wondered about this question. In the past I’ve supported associational ministry because I always supported associational ministry. Because I’ve been involved in churches which have, to varying degrees, supported associational ministry.

But, a number of years ago, right around the time that the Director of Missions position was defunded, I wrestled with this question. The association I was a part of was, at the time, dysfunctional, and I found that it added more stress to my life than I needed, so I decided that it wasn’t a worthwhile venture. So, I effectively pulled out, only attending meetings occasionally, redirecting our church funds elsewhere, and investing my energies into areas I felt were of more impactful to the church I was serving.

That was my experience.

But that’s a subjective opinion based on one man’s experience and frustrations.

I often hear arguments from others pertaining to associational ministry:

Some will point out that it has historically been an important part of church life and ministry...”As an association, we used to...”

For others, the association has continued to been worthwhile for their ministry, despite the de-emphasizing of associational ministry...

Many point out that associations give us an opportunity to do more together than we can do as individual churches....

On the other hand, some will argue that associations do not keep the church going…associations (as we know them) didn’t necessarily exist in the Bible…associations are prone to create tension, between people and even churches...

I could go on for both sides, but you get the point. There are compelling arguments on both sides.

With all that being said, I’ve personally come to the conclusion that I was wrong about associational ministry. That’ in fact, associations are a worthwhile venture today. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 are one of many text that have convinced me of this. (This will be a brief devotional, not a full sermon, so I’ll briefly touch on each point.)

VV. 1-3 - The day of the Lord’s return is nearing.

For the people of Thessalonica, they believed that Jesus had already come back and they missed it...

For many today, the day of the Lord’s return is of no consequence at all. Many, even many within our churches, give no thought to the Lord’s return.

For many today, life is what you make of it and they live blissfully unaware that the end draws nigh.

Of course, we are not so foolish to set dates or name names, but all we need to do is spend time reading God’s Word and then observe the ever growing sinfulness of this world and we know that we daily get nearer to the end.

VV. 4-7 - We are not surprised by the days we live in.

Sin increases all around us, because just like the time of the Judges, “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes...”

We possess God’s Word and are indwelled with the third person of the Trinity, God the Spirit, therefore we are not blind to the days we live in or the unseen battle that is constantly waging all around us.

VV. 8 - We know spiritual warfare is being waged.

Right now people believe the most important right they possess is to kill an unborn child; that a boy can be a girl if he feels like it, and can have irreversible surgery; that the world is best observed through the screen of a cell phone; that the celebrity class are good mouth-pieces for what should be considered right and wrong; that calling another person a bigot or a Nazi is a strong rhetorical argument instead of reason and intellect; that the public school system is more qualified to raise your kids than you are; and on and on it goes.

But, we must not be so foolish to believe that these are the core issues. They are not. They are a result of the core issue. Spiritual warfare is the core issue.

Paul uses familiar language here as he talks about arming ourselves for the battle we are locked in.

And yet, this world is not where our hope is found!

VV. 9-10 - We have a great hope, knowing that Jesus died so that we will not face God’s wrath upon sin.

That’s the hope we have as believers. And that’s the hope we’ve been charged with sharing with the world around us.

It’s frankly why our churches are still here! To bring that message of hope to everyone we possibly can.

V. 11 - Therefore:

Because of the times we live in, as we draw near and near to the end, we are well aware we are locked in spiritual warfare with the evil one, and yet we have the greatest message in the history of the world to bring to people who desperately need to hear it.

In order to do that, we must encourage one another and build one another up.

This desperately needed within the local church today...

But, this is also desperately needed between pastors today as well...

Then how can associations contribute to encouraging pastors and churches and building one another up?

To answer this question, I considered my purpose as a pastor:

To faithfully preach and teach God’s Word;

To take care of God’s sheep (through prayer, pastoral care and leadership, and equipping the saints for ministry);

To do my part in spreading the Gospel throughout our community and beyond.

Then I considered what hindered my pastoral ministry over the years:

Isolation, which leads to discouragement, frustration, weak leadership, and sinful habits;

Disappointment and anger with God that my ministry seems so insignificant in the grand scheme of things;

Fear of man overwhelming my fear of God, leading to an unwillingness to confront, to discipline, or to share the Gospel with the lost;

My propensity for getting distracted by the shiny things of this world.

The fact that, more often than I’d like to admit, I don’t even know the right questions, much less the right answers when it comes to ministry!

An active, purposeful association can and should help pastors, and by extension, churches overcome these hindrances. How?

Through encouraging pastors and church leaders and creating opportunities to partner together in our mission to reach people with the Gospel.

Let’s be more specific:

A strong association should foster relationships to help overcome isolation and all the negative results of isolation;

A strong association should foster accountability with other Christian leaders, which we all desperately need;

A strong association should foster opportunities to support the work that God is doing throughout our region and beyond;

A strong association should foster a desire to see the Gospel penetrate our communities in new and unique ways;

A strong association should foster mentoring relationships which help pastors and church leaders grow;

A strong association should foster opportunities to expand our prayer commitments beyond our own spheres of influence.

With these items in mind, we’ve examined closely our association’s constitution and by-laws and taken the existing mission statement and simplified it into the purpose statement I sent to you all a few weeks ago and is printed in the agenda you received when you got here:

The Southwest Washington Baptist Association aims to encourage pastors and church leaders in their local church ministry and to discover ways those churches can partner together in the work of reaching others with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The key questions we constantly want to ask are:

What are we doing to encourage pastors and church leaders in their ministry?

How can we partner together to more effectively spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout our region and beyond?

What’s it going to take to do this? (i.e. what are we asking from you?)

Commitment and involvement...

Activities & meetings...

The idea is to add value to your life, not overburden your already overburdened schedule.

Reestablishing our administrative committee so we share the responsibilities...

We all have families and churches that need to be the priority of our attention.

Many of our pastors also have jobs outside of the church that require time and energy.

We will be meeting quarterly with the Administrative Committee to do the work.

Support through prayer, giving and participating...

This is not a choose your favorite option scenario… we need all three!

2022-2023 Initiatives

Monthly Roundtable Meetings

October through December

Rotating locations

First Thursday of the month at 10 AM

NWBC Shepherd-to-Shepherd Meetings

We talked with Lance Caddel about having a SWBA Shepherd-to-Shepherd group for 2023.

What is it?

An intentional gathering of pastors with the goal of developing healthy pastors.

There is a curriculum that goes with it.

This year’s topic is Developing a Discipleship Pathway

How do we take a new believer (or an old believer) and intentionally move them along a discipleship pathway with the end result of them discipling someone else.

Along with that, we focus a lot of attention on personal pastoral development.

This is the iron sharpens iron part, in which we are praying with and for one another; sharing struggles and victories; seeking counsel; and doing life together as fellow laborers.

But, I don’t have time for another thing on my calendar! (I get this, believe me! But, from personal experience I can promise that it is worth the time investment.)

Your involvement will benefit another Christian leader;

You will gain numerous insights and ideas that will benefit your church;

You and I need personal accountability from other Christian brothers;

January through June

Rotating locations

Pastor, Staff and Spouse’s Christmas Party

We are setting out for this to be a wonderful time of celebration, fellowship, and renewal.

Keith Evans is going to be our special speaker for the evening.

December 1

FBC, Longview

6 PM

Children’s Camp

More information to come in the future.

2022-2023 Calendar

2022-2023 Budget Proposal - Ben Trigsted

A word about giving to the SWBA...

Budget proposal...

2022-2023 Officer Nominations - Phil Peters

Reports

Northwest Baptist Foundation - Ashley Seuell

Church Planting - Phil Peters

8:15 PM - Closing & Prayer - Mike Freeman