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Since 1950, BMA missionaries have been sent to foreign fields, leaving a legacy of faith, perseverance, and obedience to the call to serve. Sometimes those fields are fraught with danger, but the men and women of the BMA are more likely to run into the fire rather than away from it. Why? Because that’s where the lost souls are.

Such is the case with 2024 Legacy Missionary David Dickson, whom God protected when bullets were flying. 

Dickson’s parents were from Arkansas but relocated to California where they raised their family until David was fifteen. Ironically, Shelley’s family lived in California just fifteen miles from the Dicksons without ever meeting. The Dicksons moved back to Arkansas when David was fifteen and David finished high school in Walnut Ridge then began attending CBC (Central Baptist College). Shelley enrolled at CBC two years later David and the two began dating. 

His Story

David was saved at nine years old and called to preach at thirteen. But he didn’t consider mission work until John and Shirley Ladd sent a letter inviting CBC students to spend the summer with them in Nicaragua. David signed up, and that first trip led to a second one as a six-week summer volunteer. After the first trip to Nicaraugua, he knew the mission field was God’s direction for his life but wanted to confirm it. When the second trip ended, he was sure of the Lord’s calling and had been all his life. 

Her Story

Shelley’s father was a pastor, and she was saved in fifth grade as he preached a revival service. During the sermon, her aunt sitting next to her realized she was under conviction, so the two of them went outside where they talked about salvation. After the service, her father joined them and led her to the Lord. Then while attending church camp in Gary, Texas, at fifteen she felt the Lord calling her something but told her she would have to wait. When she met David at CBC she realized that God had not revealed his will to her until she met David, which was the Lord’s plan all along. 

Nicaragua

Once the couple understood God’s call on both of their lives, they were ready to get to their first mission field: Nicaraugua. Shelley attended CBC for just one semester and David wanted to drop out of college and get there faster, but CBC President Wassell Burgess encouraged him to finish his degree. Six months after their marriage in 1971, they left for Nicaragua, where Paul Robinson and John and Shirley Ladd were serving when the Dicksons arrived. 

Three of their children were born during the seven years they served there and quickly learned the Spanish language that all their children can speak fluently. At the time, there was peace in Nicaragua, no open warfare in the country. In 1977 the Dicksons moved back to the States, and he spent eleven years pastoring in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. 

While there, he realized that pastoring in the States wasn’t for him. 

The year after they returned to the U.S. all missionaries had to leave and the communists took over the country. For David and Shelley, it would seem like in just about every country they served, there was tension and unrest.   

El Salvador 1978-1979

The Dicksons dealt with the communist takeover of El Salvador and anti-American sentiment the entire year they served in El Salvador. They witnessed people shot in their doorway, bodies lying in the middle of the road, a peace-corp worker compound burned to the ground, and hostages held for a night because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

The communists were against any charity, because they would rather the people suffer and join the rebellion. One night, David and Shelley went to dinner at the home of a recent convert who worked for a charitable organization. Their children were with a babysitter at the Dicksons’ home. When the man’s house became surrounded by the military, their babysitter took the Dickson children to her home for the night. Intimidation was their motive, so in the morning it was all over. 

During the day nothing happened, but after dark, violence erupted and even the police wouldn’t go out after dark. 

Despite the danger, the Dicksons remained in El Salvador because God was blessing the church and bringing lost souls to Christ. Because of the constant nighttime gunfire, however, the children slept in David and Shelley’s room until the morning when everyone began going to market and living life as normal . . . until one final incident: 

While watching a nighttime news broadcast, the family heard gunshots and saw that in front of their house the president’s brother – who owned a bus line – had parked his buses, which the guerillas often torched. To prevent them from doing so, guards on the buses began shooting.

David’s son was with him in the living room as a guard was shot in their doorway. 

They left El Salvador two days later. 

The year after they returned to the U.S. all missionaries had to leave and the communists took over the country. For David and Shelley, it would seem like in just about every country they served, there was tension and unrest.   

Honduras 1980-1991

The Dicksons were in Honduras for eleven years as the Garifuna story, chronicled by many BMA writers through the years, continues to unfold. It has resulted in effectively winning a people and language group to Christ, and it all began with a trip to the beach in 1980.

David heard two boys speaking in a language he had never heard, and as a curious linguist, he spoke to them in Spanish, asking them questions about where they were from. In the next months and years, and with the help of professional linguist and translator Lillian Howland, David developed a relationship with the Garifuna that continues to this day. After years of learning a language that had never been fully translated or written down, the Garifuna hailed him as a hero when they once ridiculed and spat on him. 

Ricardo Herrera was among those who ridiculed David’s efforts to share the gospel and  vigorously opposed his wife’s conversion. In a rage, he went to the church with harmful intentions, but instead received new life in Christ. Ricardo became a church leader, even naming one of his sons after David. Sadly, the son died. Garifuna traditions for a proper wake include liquor and vulgar dancing to keep the ancestors happy, but Ricardo refused to allow either one. People warned him that no one would attend the wake, and without mourners, the spirits would come and take away more family members. But he told them, “They can come and take each of my children one by one and I still won’t participate.”

Brother David says, “It’s amazing to see what happens with a culture after an entire generation has heard the gospel. The adults now in church are the first generation of Garifunas to be raised in church. Seeing stable marriages and kids raised to serve the Lord  means there is no more influence of spiritism, and animistic beliefs are longer celebrated.” At first, David was ridiculed, now people yell out “God bless you!” when he walks down the street. 

Guatemala 

The Dicksons left Honduras in 1991 and served in Guatemala for a short period. It was not a fruitful time, and they never understood why God led them there. It was a time of discouragement and complete lack of visible fruit. However, while in Guatemala, they were able to work with the Garifunas there. The Dicksons left Guatemala in 1993 and went back to the States with no idea what was next.

Puerto Rico

After leaving Guatemala, David and Shelley thought that was it . . . No more mission fields. But Missions Director Don Collins told them they had not lost confidence in David and to find out what God wanted them to do next. He suggested that because of his linguistic skills, maybe David could learn Russian since the Cold War was over and missionaries were able to share the gospel there.

So they went to Russia to see Bill Gibson, who was in Czech Republic and struggling to learn the language. The two men cried together in frustration without resolving the issue of where to serve, but Bill told David about his son who lived in Puerto Rico and was an assistant manager at a WalMart in Costa Rica. Bill, Jr. told David that he couldn’t find a true Baptist church, so the Dicksons went to Puerto Rico to plant a church and discovered an entirely different church-planting experience.

They had never been part of a church of primarily middle class people. On every other mission field, David was the wealthiest and most educated. But in Puerto Rico, the church was made up of doctors, lawyers and teachers. Soon after they arrived there, WalMart transferred Bill, Jr., but within six to seven years, the church was running 700, and for two years in a row, they baptized over 100 people. Really neat to be involved in what God was doing. To minister to people who challenge you intellectually was interesting. 

The Dicksons served in Puerto Rico for fourteen years until God led him to leave the church in Puerto Rico. Normally, pastors don’t leave a church when all is well, but when David was diagnosed with his first bout of cancer, he didn’t feel like he could give the church all it needed. He was 59 and felt the Lord saying,”It’s time to go.” It had been the most successful time of ministry in his life, so to step away was difficult and didn’t make sense. 

He told the Lord, “I don’t know how you’ll beat this (cancer), but if you want me to leave, I’ll do so, but don’t let me doubt this decision.” For the next ten years, he served as Regional Coordinator of Latin America, a perfect way to serve the countries he was so burdened for.

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Honoring our legacy missionaries is a priority for BMA Global. And whether deceased or alive, learning from their lives and ministries is important to their incredible legacies. Through family testimonies, archived articles, and ministry partner stories, understanding the ongoing work in their former fields impacts future generations.

Bill and Jeanette Gibson are BMA Global’s Legacy Missionaries for 2024. 

William L. Bill Gibson was born January 17th, 1942 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to a family of farmers. He and his wife Jeanette were the same age, and when they were young, their families farmed within five miles of each other, attended church together, and saved at an early age. Later on, Bill began picking Jeanette up for church services every Sunday at Big Creek Valley in Jonesboro where Bro. G.E. Jones pastored.

Bill graduated from high school in 1959 and attended CBC for one year but dropped out to join the National Guard. He trained at Fort Knox, Kentucky, then Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, while Jeanette went to Jonesboro Business College for a secretarial degree. They were married in 1961 and Bill began farming with his father while Jeanette worked in the office of a local attorney.

Not long after that, however, God called Bill to ministry, and he returned to CBC to complete his studies. Like many “preacher boys” at CBC, he pastored a local church while there, Fairview Baptist in Violet Hill, Arkansas. After graduating in 1966 he began pastoring Bethel Baptist in Forrest City, Arkansas, then served as a missionary pastor at Fellowship Mission Church in Wichita, Kansas. It was there that he felt the call to missions work in Costa Rica.

First Mission Field: Costa Rica

Bill then travelled to Costa Rica to visit missionaries Duane and Francis Heflin to see the country and seek their counsel. The visit confirmed his calling, so in 1971 they bought a Volkswagen bus and named him “Herbie.” On September 29th of that year, Bill, Jeanette, nine-year-old old Bill, Jr. and four-year-old Monica loaded the van and began the journey to San Jose.

The journey was a long one, especially for the children. But the trip was made easier when Francis Heflin gave Jeanette the idea to give the children a present to open on each day of travel. It wouldn’t be the last time that the Heflins spoke into their lives as they continued their love and care of the Gibsons for many years. 

Some of the best missionary stories are about a family’s travel to a new mission field, and the Gibsons’ story is no exception. On the way to Costa Rica, Monica became ill in Mexico City and had to to see a doctor. While she recovered for two days at a hotel, Bill junior enjoyed the hotel and pool. Two famous wrestlers were also staying there, and one of them was professional wrestler Jerry Lawler, who taught Bill, Jr. how to swim.

Attending language school was the only training offered to new missionaries in that era, so Bill and Jeanette spent their first year in Costa Rica at language school in San Jose while the children attended school with their Spanish-speaking peers. Over the years, the Gibson children were always part of their ministry. Bill preached, Bill, Jr. led singing, and Monica helped in Sunday school. They also built relationships with Costa Ricans by handing out flyers and inviting everyone they met to church. Even the children participated. During one of those outreaches when Monica was five years old, she handed a lady an invitation, but the lady said, “No thank you. I’m Catholic”, to which Monica replied, “That’s OK.  Anyone can come to our church!”

Bill was known for his genial nature and never-meet-a-stranger attitude. He willingly met people’s needs on the mission field, loading up Herbie the little Volkswagen, and going anywhere he was needed. If someone said, “I need you to go to my family’s hometown up in the mountains”, the family would load up and head to the mountains to meet their needs. If someone said, “I want you to go talk to my family” or “we would like a church”, he was faithful to meet with them. In addition to planting churches during their twenty years in Costa Rica, they also established a Bible Institute

By the time Bill and Jeanette left Costa Rica in 1992, Bill, Jr. and Monica had already graduated, moved back to the states and were married with children of their own. Herbie, the Volkswagen bus, stayed with the Heflins.

Currently in Costa Rica, there are thriving churches in the cities of Tibas, Santa Ana, Villa Colon, La Mora, Naranjo, Villareal en Santa Cruz de Guanacaste due to the missionary vision and diligence of the Gibsons.

Second Mission Field: Eastern Europe: Czech Republic

After the Berlin wall fell and communist countries opened up, Bill was one of many missionaries who seized the opportunity to share the gospel with the unreached. So in 1992, the Gibsons left Costa Rica for Czech Republic (former Czechoslovakia), basically moving from a friendly Latin culture to a cold, unreceptive one. The Gibsons had a hard time with the Czech language and the people weren’t responsive, but Bill met a man named John, and that one contact has kept the work going. 

To the States Then Back: Honduras

In 1994 the Gibsons returned to Jonesboro where Bill began pastoring Cottage Home Baptist Church. Five years later, Bill was asked to serve in the country of Honduras as Bobby Bowman was retiring from his work at the BMA Bible Institute there. Bill and Jeanette moved to Honduras where they served as administrator of the BMA Bible Institute in Sula, as well as church planter from 1999 to 2007. 

Final Mission Field: Chile

In 2007, Bill and Jeanette moved to Santiago, Chile, where they planted Metropolitan Baptist Church. One of the first people Bill met in Santiago was Pablo, their water delivery man and neighbor. He was also a pastor, and when he saw Bill’s Bible, they hit it off immediately. The Gibsons began attending the church Pablo pastored then worked together to plant a church. Pablo’s son and another young man have gone farther south in Chile to plant churches where Pablo, Sr. and his wife Miriam now serve now 

The Gibsons returned home to Jonesboro in 2012 when Bill was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He died on October 29, 2015.

The Work Goes On: Multiplication

When missionaries start a work and plant a church, there are many unknowns. Regardless of the preparation, location, and fervent prayer for success, there is always the question, “Will this plant take root?” Bill was perfectly fitted by God to be an encourager and exhorter and give sound advice to everyone he knew, particularly if there was a question about ministry. When Bill’s son-in-law, Randy Stimach, told Bill, “I’m afraid God is calling me into ministry”, Bill replied, “Well don’t be afraid. Just do it!” Those who served with him said he was always direct and to the point but loving and caring to everyone he met, never missing an opportunity to share the gospel.

Former missionary Phil Knott served with Bill in Costa Rica for many years and tells the story of the two of them handing out flyers to invite people to church for a week-long revival. When Costa Ricans heard they would also be fed, even more people came to help. Bill was footing the entire bill himself, and after the entire week, he had spent a lot of money. One person was saved during the revival. Always the optimist, Bill looked at Phil, stuck his thumb in his belt loop and said, “Whew! That was an expensive soul!”

Monica said, “My dad would have died on the mission field if he could have. At his funeral, letters came in literally from people around the world talking about the impact that both my parents had on them  They truly fulfilled the Great Commission.”

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Missionary Care: Serving Those Who Served the Nations

by Holly Meriweather

When missionaries are on furlough, they enjoy being with their families and visiting churches, but when they say, “We’re going home,” they are referring to their mission fields back in their countries of service.   

During a conversation with a missionary couple on furlough in the States, I apologized for “bugging” them with my questions about what’s going on in their field. Not surprisingly, they said, “No, that’s OK. We love to talk about the people we serve and what’s going on there.” But what they said next was a shock: “Our families never bring up the subject the entire time  we’re on furlough.” Much of that is understandable, given that family members are eager to spend time with the missionaries themselves and with grandchildren they have only seen on video.   

But imagine a missionary coming off the field for the last time and not being able to talk about what happened there, what the challenges were, or what kinds of feelings they have about leaving. For the fifth year in a row, BMA Global has been intentional about honoring our legacy missionaries at the national meeting, one deceased and one living. They are the ones on whose shoulders we stand. It’s a chance to be reminded of their service and sacrifice, but what if we went a step further?

Missionary Care Director Jonathan Montgomery has been planning the “Gleaners” initiative that focuses on our former missionaries, an alumni association of sorts that not only honors them but also helps them stay in touch with each other. Jonathan says, “We want our legacy  missionaries to know we still care about them and their service, plus their continued importance to our association as a whole. There is so much more that they have to give, so much wisdom they can impart to us.”

Soon you will be learning more about Gleaners and what that means as Jonathan and the Missionary Care team formalize this exciting initiative. In the meantime, pray for wisdom and discernment for those who will be part of the planning and implementation.

(If you know a legacy missionary, thank him or her for their service and sacrifice then ask about their former mission field. You will be blessed by their story, and they will be blessed by your care and concern.)

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Blessing Upon Blessing: A Valentine’s Day Story

By Cynthia Atkinson Henderson

Ours has truly been a love story. We were two young adults ready for a mate in the early 1970s and were both praying for one. We lived 150 miles apart and never met, but that wasn’t a problem for God. Once He brought us together, we knew He had answered our prayers. What a Blessing!  All who knew us said we were a perfect match. We never doubted it. Would God do anything less when answering the sincere prayers of two dedicated Christians?  

Recently a young married lady observed us and said, “There’s nothing I like better than to see an older couple walking together hand in hand.” We hear that often and it always Blesses us. Whenever given an opportunity, we mention our 50thanniversary this coming Valentine’s Day (2024).  We don’t mention it to brag, but to let people know that it can be done. 

You see, we are best friends. As two retirees, we stay busy but are either at home together, running errands together, going to appointments together or, of course, attending church together. I am so Blessed to hear my favorite pastor every Sunday, my husband John! We just enjoy each other’s company, and I guess the reason is that we have God to arrange our marriage with a God given love for one another that has only grown over the years.  

Through those five decades, all these years John and I have been Blessed with good health: no heart attacks, tumors, strokes, blockages, lung or kidney disease, etc. But last October of 2023 John was diagnosed with cancer, the first major health issue we had ever experienced. I had never been so afraid or prayed as much in my life.  I could not imagine my life without the Love of my Life. Suddenly my love for John was even deeper than I thought it could be. I tried not to show any fear but rather strength and courage from God and gave John even more hugs to reassure him of my love and support. 

After tests, x-rays and an MRI, the specialist finally met with us in November. It seemed forever waiting to meet and get the results. He told us the cancer was a small area and said it was caught early. He spoke to us in a calm, reassuring, and optimistic manner, which really helped . . . and that was such a Blessing! He said John should not need chemo, just 28 days of radiation treatments. So we drove on weekdays to the treatments from November 15 to December 27, a 100-mile round trip. Many were surprised John had no ill effects from the radiation, but we know that it’s another Blessing from God. 

We have so many family members and friends who were and are praying.  We could feel and witness the results of their prayers. What a Blessing! We thought it would be an exhausting, long-and-drawn-out ordeal, but we made each trip safely. We even had strength and energy and didn’t feel tired when returning home. 

Our two sons came at different times to help with some of the driving and anything else requiring attention. Neighbors checked on us and brought food. Then suddenly, the treatments were almost over and we were amazed! Where did the time go? What a Blessing! With that much traveling, we were so thankful to have our nice and dependable car. 

Of the 28 trips, only once did the car fail to start, and that was the only day we needed to rush home to an appointment I had. At first, I thought about calling to cancel my appointment, but I had made it several months prior and decided to wait awhile. God knew what was going on. John tried and couldn’t get the car started, so he had to call Roadside Assistance. But instead of having to wait an hour or so on him, he was just around the corner! That had never happened with us before. I just sat back and watched the miracles God was performing for us. The man soon arrived and quickly assessed the problem as a dead battery. And among the ones in his truck, he even had what we needed. It didn’t take him long to install it and we were on our way! The traffic flowed smoothly. We had just enough time for John to drop me off at my appointment with three minutes to spare. What a Blessing!

I am writing this in January of 2024, and even though John completed his radiation treatments last month, his  appointment for the treatment results is in April!  We have never stopped praying and will continue to, of course.

God graciously provided all our needs: a caring and praying family, friends and neighbors, safety, safe travels, food, inquiries, compassion, strength, energy, endurance, and many Blessings I am failing to mention. So, throughout all our lives and everything written above, including 50 years of marriage, we sometimes just sit and talk about how thankful we are and, as the hymn goes, we “Count Our Many Blessings”.

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How Then Shall We Serve

By Holly Meriweather

Soon after I began “working” at the BMA Global Ministry Center, I learned that I was actually “serving” instead. First at Lifeword then at BMA Missions (now BMA Global), I have served the people of the BMA for ten years. And I learned how to do it from the people with whom I interact every day. 

The broader picture of what that means has forced me to change my thinking. We are all meant to serve by sharing the gospel to the whole world. But for a long time, I thought that mandate was for the missionaries whose names I memorized at GMA meetings. Boy, was I wrong! The best examples of servants and servanthood come from our missionaries but also from ChangeMakers around the world that you will likely never see. 

How these co-laborers serve all over the world looks very different and is intertwined with their own cultural contexts. My husband John and I have had the honor of visiting many areas of the world to see first hand their ministries, encourage them, and have face-to-face conversations. We come back with pictures and videos and souvenirs but also with a ground-level view of their ministry and a greater understanding of that unique context. 

Although there is sometimes a language barrier, meeting and interacting with those ChangeMakers all over the world has been a special privilege. They are co-laborers building relationships and working to plant churches. They are better able to reach their own communities. Many were once in darkness about who Jesus is until someone shared the gospel. They are servants who bring people to Christ.

What that “serving” actually looks like is far different from what I imagined forty-five years ago when I memorized the names of BMA missionaries. 

In most parts of the world, worship services are much livelier and louder than in the States.  (Whatever you’re imagining, multiply it by one hundred!) Every country I’ve been blessed to visit has more from-the-heart worship than the American church. 

At a baptism service in the Middle East, each new convert gave their testimony, then the celebration begins: The whole congregation stands to their feet and sings the entire salvation song loudly with whoops and hollers. No way you can keep from tearing up, smiling and clapping. Same thing happens with the next new believer. Then the testimonies, singing, and clapping begins again. 

In the Spanish-speaking world, the Philippines, and Africa, many churches are open-air with flat out dancing and loudly miked-up musicians telling the whole area, “It’s Sunday morning! Come worship with us!” (In comparison, we don’t even go across the street to share the gospel and invite our neighbors to church.)

The comfort level of churchgoers all over the world is also very different. In Africa, church is the ground beneath your feet and the tree above you with no concern about time or  temperature. No one has a watch or strictly adheres to any schedule. 

In rural India, church is a small tarp suspended above a crumbling concrete floor, men and women separated and shoes off. The worship leader holding the microphone just a few inches away from the “congregation” turns up the volume just in case the neighbors can’t hear that church has started. Worship also includes dancing by girls young and old. 

Church is a celebration, and churchgoers don’t seem to care about their comfort level, whether it’s too hot, too cold, too loud, or too long. 

In stark contrast, the Myanmar church is a quiet indoor meeting of fewer than five people or whatever new government-restricted number officials decide. Someone is stationed at the door in case officials are looking for small gatherings that might be church meetings. If unlawful activity is suspected, worshipers are ready to hide songbooks and give an explanation for the meeting. Sometimes, they are hauled to jail. Because it’s a closed access country, I have never witnessed their worship, but the stories I read make me shudder.

Across the world, I have seen Christians serve others, share Jesus, and sing a joyful noise in ways that we complacent Americans would never consider. For our ChangeMakers, It’s just how they serve God and serve others.

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Now Then We Are Ambassadors For Christ

By Holly Meriweather

My Story

In 1976, I was invited to join a group of girls at my church called GMA – Girls Missionary Auxiliary. I was excited to join: Hanging out with my friends on a Sunday night sounded like  just another chance to be with friends. My family didn’t attend church, but my parents were happy to take me to church any time I asked. They were all for me going, but it just wasn’t their thing.

Through GMA training, I learned that my life was all about Jesus. He came. He died. He had saved me at the age of seven. Now I would learn what that meant exactly. What a gift God gave me through his perfect will and plan! And it was through GMA counselors that I would be equipped to be an “ambassador for Christ.” It was the first of MANY verses I would put to memory. 

But I am not the only one who was profoundly affected by this auxiliary. 

Her Story

AJ is one of many young ladies called to the mission field because of GMA.

In middle school, she learned about the world through an improv team competition that introduced her to Mexican, Chinese, Korean, and Qatari culture. Her view of the world and people was expanded. In the fifth grade, she began GMA and learned about God’s heart for the nations through study, scripture memory, and learning about missionaries. AJ explains her calling this way: 

“It was in GMA where I really started to think about God’s purpose for me. Throughout my life, God used His Word and His people to place a burden on my heart for the lost. Recently, that burden is specifically for people who have never heard the gospel or don’t have access to the gospel. The salvation of unreached people groups has been weighing on my heart for quite some time.”

God’s Plans

AJ earned a master’s degree in speech/language pathology and worked as a speech therapist while raising support for ministry abroad. Her prayer is that God might even use her degree and experience in some way when she reaches the mission field to which she is called. She is attending a missionary training program that equips students for cross-cultural church planting ministry to unreached people/language groups. For nine months, she will receive very intensive training in all aspects of life on the mission field: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.

She is so grateful for God’s work in her life and his faithfulness. With a team of prayer warriors, her home church, and the endorsement and support of the BMA, AJ is ready to begin this chapter in her life. She says,“God placed a wonder in me for cultures and languages. Little did I know, He was working to pair that with my love for Him and a desire to see people come to Christ.” 
Girls Missionary Auxiliary played a role in AJ’s calling, particularly her awareness of missionaries around the world, their unique challenges, and an understanding of cultural context. She understood what an “ambassador for Christ” meant, and  answered the call to missions. 

AJ will be back to finish out deputation when her training is complete in June 2024. She would love to contact churches to share what God is doing.Her email address is arkslp@protonmail.com.


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Ministry on the Southern Border

By Dr. Scott R. Carson, President and Director of BMAA Chaplaincy Dept.

Operation Border Health Preparedness (OBHP) took place from July 23-29 along the U.S southern border. OBHP is an annual humanitarian mission offering a variety of medical services to the public in six different border towns. The goal is to prepare citizens for hurricane season. As the season ramps up, the risk increases for displacement, which escalates the potential for disease to spread. OBHP functions to prevent that spread.

Ryan Burchett, First Lieutenant and Chaplain of the Texas State Guard, recently served the OBHP mission at Rio Grande City and Hidalgo, both in Texas. Tasks included patrolling the extremely long lines of people waiting for services, providing spiritual and mental/emotional counsel as needed, and offering a presence in uniform to deter any criminal activity. As part of a joint operation, Chaplain Burchett (serving the Texas State Guard) worked alongside the Texas Army National Guard, Border Patrol, local law enforcement, FEMA, and individuals from the Chilean Army.

In a five-day span, all six checkpoints combined saw over 5,000 people; some were citizens, but many were not. Of those 5,000 at checkpoint Hidalgo, Chaplain Burchett’s primary station saw around 3,500. Needless to say, the border and  border towns are busy places.

With everything going on at OBHP, God allowed Chaplain Burchett a very unique opportunity to turn the operation into a mission trip of sorts. During the course of OBHP, he handed out 300 Gideon Bibles to those willing to take one. The Gideon New Testaments were offered in both English and Spanish. 

One praise to be noted was that a Mexican vendor passing through noticed the Bibles and asked Chaplain Burchett if he had any spare Spanish Bibles to donate to a church in Mexico that desperately needed them. Burchett gave her a box of 100 Spanish New Testaments to be taken across the border. God is good!

Along with handing out Bibles, God allowed Chaplain Burchett multiple opportunities for spiritual conversations with fellow troops and local law enforcement. He provided spiritual/biblical guidance as well as marital counsel and sharing the gospel during those conversations.

All service members, including Chaplain Burchett, received commendations for their efforts on OBHP ’23, including the State Guard Association of the United States Meritorious Unit Citation and the Humanitarian Service Medal.

Chaplain Burchett also serves as pastor of Walnut Street Baptist Church in Winnsboro, Texas, and president of BMA Texas.

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What 4th of July Means to Me and My Family

By Holly Meriweather

I have vivid memories of the events surrounding the death of my uncle after he was killed during a training mission while flying the British-made Harrier aircraft off the coast of Cherry Point, North Carolina. I was eight years old and playing in a softball game when men in a dark sedan came to tell my mother that her brother was dead. Something went wrong and the plane had to be aborted, but his ejector seat failed. My brother and I didn’t know what was going on, but we got to ride home in the back of my dad’s truck, which we were never allowed to do. The rest of the night was a blur of people trying to console my aunt and not knowing what to say to my cousins who had lost their father.

My uncle was twenty-eight years old when he died. He understood patriotism and military service from his father – who was my grandfather – and three uncles who served in the Korean War.

On the paternal side of my family, my granddaddy left his wife and three-year-old son – my father – to serve in the Navy on a supply vessel that went into Nagasaki to clean up the devastation of the atomic bomb. Not long after returning home from the war, he began to have occasional rashes. Forty years later, he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and treated in a VA hospital. By that time I was old enough to understand that the cancer was likely due to the nature of his military duties. He died at the age of sixty-four.

At both funerals, there was a 3-gun salute, an honor for fallen soldiers that you can never forget.

Patriotism wasn’t emphasized or discussed at length on either side of my family, but somehow I knew that military service, respecting the American flag, and saluting soldiers was important. I think my adult children would say that a sense of patriotism was passed down to them as well.

Sadly, our culture has walked away from God, country, and sacrifice and replaced it with Atheism, national hatred, and self-absorption. The only answer is redemption through Jesus Christ.

On this fourth of July, Lord, help us remember our Savior who gave the ultimate sacrifice, those in uniform who keep us free, and God’s provision for our wayward country.

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SOAR Conference Still Going Strong

Originally concepted by the forward thinking of two men with a heart for teenagers, a new BMA-sponsored conference called SOAR (Sold Out And Radical) debuted in 1990. Yes, that was 33 years ago, for those of you who now have gray or graying hair and grandchildren! Bobby Tucker and Donny Parrish could hardly have imagined that SOAR conference would continue to be not only a powerful, life-changing event but also a recruitment tool for missionaries, pastors, and ministry leaders.

While many conferences come and go, SOAR has stood the test of time. It even survived Covid! Why is that? Maybe it’s the draw of what used to be the “midnight meeting” for VSM trips, or the simple fact that teenagers are happy to be away from their parents, or even that they get to meet other young people from all over.

Whatever the reason, God has blessed SOAR conference, and it is still a can’t-miss summer event for youth leaders and students who attend BMA (and other) churches.

So please pray for SOAR 2023 that teenagers would listen to the messages, music, and testimonies, surrender their lives to Jesus, accept the call to ministry, and be changed forever through the power of the Holy Spirit.

What is your SOAR story?

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2023 BMA Meeting: Missionary Focused

I don’t know how you would rate it, but from the point of view of those who serve you at the Global Ministry Center in Conway, the 2023 BMA National Meeting was a great success. But even more important, God was honored. 

Since I began attending national meetings ten years ago, they have always seemed like family reunions. I enjoy seeing and catching up with friends. I love getting to know new pastors and their wives. I’m encouraged by the commissioning service. But I will look back on this meeting as my favorite, probably because I’m a little biased. 

You see, the people of Antioch are my church family and have been my entire life, more than five decades. But I didn’t attend with my parents. Early on, it was my church family who were the hands and feet of Jesus to a little girl who walked to church. They taught me, they made sure I was involved in GMA, and they pointed me to Jesus. 

At GMA meetings I began to understand what it meant to be a missionary and that I was also called to be one. I learned that my church was part of an association that was all about God’s mission and sending missionaries. Just like many of you, I memorized their names and locations, and decades later when I began serving the BMA and saw Jerry Kidd walking through the building, I was starstruck. My daughters, also GMA girls, had the same reaction.

So grateful to God for my BMA family.  

We were very encouraged by those of you who took the time to visit us, tour the Global Ministry Center and, in many cases, meet us for the first time. An added bonus was certainly the presence of our American missionaries and a dedicated time to meet them. As James Schoenrock told me, “Our missionaries added great flavor to the conference. It was a blessing to see them in one space.” 

At one point during the missionary meet-and-greet, I stopped for a moment to take a mental picture of the scene and very nearly lost my cool, becoming emotional at the thought of the great sacrifice of our missionaries and their dedication to sharing the gospel. Instead of giving in to tears, I just thanked God for their calling and willingness to go. 

We are a relatively small association of churches, but our seventy-three-year missionary legacy has borne fruit in sixty-five of the world’s countries through our ChangeMakers. In languages we can’t speak, they share the gospel, make disciples, plant churches, and multiply. 

What a blessing to be part of sending missionaries in the U.S and to the world through BMA Global. 

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