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.