Mission Development Newsletter

Dear Friends, 

Summer is right around the corner, and that usually means we are preparing for a great deal of travel and activity. Well, this is a summer like no other, which means those plans are certainly changing, including your mission activity.

Allow us to help you remain active as you grow in your understanding of mission and engagement. Over the next few months, we are preparing a host of virtual activities that will challenge and engage your faith. Please join us in one or more of these opportunities and let this be the spark for you to venture out and change your community for Christ.

Keep reading below. Click the links. Find your place of service. And then send us a message and tell us your story. We’d love to hear from you.


Grace and Peace,


Dean Miller
Mission Development Staff Coordinator
Partnership Missions Conversations
In May, Credo Mangayi and Riaan Niemand from South Africa, as well as Michael Shim-Hue and Karen Kirlew from Jamaica, reflected on the priority of God’s mission and its implications for the way churches function. We discovered we have much in common, such as the need for established churches to re-focus on engaging with their communities. Too often we think of “the mission” as something we do far away from home. They also encouraged us with examples of churches that were willing to change the structure in order to address the local mission.

Watch Here for Thursday Reflection on Our Mission with Credo Mangayi and Riaan Niemand from South Africa.

Watch Here for Thursday Reflection on Our Mission with Michael Shim-Hue and Karen Kirlew from Jamaica.

In June, we will reflect on God’s call with partners from Armenia and Norway. Join us for more international perspectives on how we are involved individually and corporately in God’s mission! Let’s listen together and learn from some voices we don’t get to hear every day!

Register Here for Thursday Reflection on Our Call, June 4 with Asatur Nahapetyan, General Secretary of the Union of Evangelical Christian Baptist Churches of Armenia.

Register Here for Thursday Reflection on Our Call, June 18 with Gabriel Stephen,Youth Pastor and doctoral student for the Baptist Union of Norway.

Coming Soon:
July 2, 2020

July 16, 2020

Contact Craig Waddell at craig.waddell@bgav.org with questions.
Impact!  Virtual  Mission Camps  

Impact Mission Camps will be supporting churches in local mission efforts through Impact Virtual Camp this summer. Groups will be able to find resources for local mission experiences, Bible studies, and devotions for groups and individuals. We have mission projects that groups can register for and resources for creating your own!

Our theme this year is “Better Together – Even When Apart.” Even though we can’t all be together, we can connect to one another through worship services, which we will livestream three times a week. We’ll have partners from around the world joining and leading during worship. We also have t-shirts available to order to help you remember the experience and feel connected to one another wherever you serve! You can order shirts for $10, including shipping.
For more information on our virtual camp visit our website.  
Disaster Response Opportunities

Disaster Response is working to ensure we’re all prepared if a storm comes – even if we are still under social distancing restrictions. Make sure you and your local team are prepared by joining us for training in mid-July! There will be four live trainings, each with specific guidelines for COVID-19:

  • Introduction to Disaster Response
  • Introduction to Crisis Care
  • Introduction to Feeding
  • Disaster Response and Leadership in Your Local Church

This training will be available on my.bgavdr.org for those who are not able to join live.

We also need your help to prepare for how we can best respond during a disaster. We have created a short survey to determine who will be able to mobilize if a disaster happens. Please share your responses to this survey .
Attention ALL Volunteers Keep us Informed... 
 
Volunteers may receive a phone call from Marilyn Hundley or Paula Washburn in the next few weeks to make sure we have your volunteer information correct in our database. We want to make sure you can receive vital information as quickly as possible. Thank you for helping us keep you informed! 
Baptist General Association of Virginia
800.255.2428 | bgav@bgav.org | BGAV .org