by Randy Harp
The BBFI fall meeting was held in the northeast for the second time in the past five years, this time on beautiful Cape Cod. Ben Feldott and Cape Cod Church went above and beyond expectations as a host church and did everything short of rolling out a red carpet. The church facility, which is less than two years old, was an ideal venue. The large auditorium comfortably sat the approximately 600-650 registered guests and church members. Church staff and volunteers (sometimes you could not tell them apart) were always gracious and helpful. Even the city itself provided an accommodating environment with plenty of local restaurants, amazing history, beaches, and Martha’s Vineyard nearby. I heard one attendee say this was the first meeting he could remember in 25 years of attending BBFI meetings that had a host hotel on the beach.
GUEST SPEAKERS
There was a good balance of BBFI pastors along with special guests. Steve Van Winkle opened the conference Monday night reflecting on the past decade in light of Psalm 37:4. Gordon MacDonald, Editor-at-Large for Leadership Journal, followed with principles from the life of John the Baptist. Tuesday morning’s speaker line-up included Jon Slayden on having a big faith (1 Thessalonians 1), Kevin Whitacre on the challenges of moving to where God leads (Deuteronomy 1), and Paul Blue answering, “When will it be my turn for God to do something through me?” (John 5). Tuesday night Jen Merryman shared her testimony and what God is doing through the organization Children in Christ, and Mark Batterson, author and pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C., preached from Acts 10 and the power of a single prayer. Wednesday night included two speakers: Dick Yue, a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and originator of MIT OpenCourseWare, and Archie Emerson, pastor of Ocean State Baptist Church, Smithfield, RI. Yue challenged the church to utilize modern technology to spread the Gospel in a greater way. Emerson’s message was one of vision from the book of Nehemiah. Breakout sessions were held Tuesday and Wednesday morning covering an array of topics. Each evening message is available in both audio and video formats on the BBFI mobile app, iTunes, and www.bbfi.org.
MISSIONS
Mission Director Jon Konnerup shared many victories from this past year, highlighting that missions is the strong right arm of the Fellowship.
- In 2015, 117,000 salvations as a direct result of BBFI missionaries were reported.
- BBFI missionaries started 96 churches outside the United States in 2015.
- To date, 12,733 leaders have been trained by BBFI missionaries.
- Currently, there are about 740 missionaries serving in 84 countries.
Four career missionary families and one single missionary were approved: Greg and Mary Albert (Wales), Kaitlynne Ames-Dixon (Guatemala), Nathan and Tiffany Folz (Tanzania), Blake and Megan Hunter (South Africa), and Daniel and Luz Palavicini (Nicaragua). Three TEAM (short-term) missionary families were approved: Justin and Jessica Anderson (Philippines), Jeremy and Andrea Eulberg (Bolivia), and Eric and Ashley Woodworth (Honduras). Keith and Marietta Mills received their 30-year pin for faithfully serving in Scotland. A BBFI creative access nation missionary serving with displaced people also gave a special presentation. Details cannot be given, but prayers for those serving in this capacity are needed.
BUSINESS
The BBFI Annual Business Meeting is held during the September meeting each year. This year’s business meeting on Wednesday afternoon included reports by the Mission Office, colleges, APEX, and Tribune. Tim Adrian assumed the seat of first vice president while all other offices remained the same. (Eddie Lyons, President; Doug Cox, Second Vice President; Dan Greer, Third Vice President; Ron Hoffman, Treasurer; Paul Foster, Secretary). The bulk of the business meeting focused on proposed changes to the BBFI Constitution and By-Laws. A sub-committee was formed during the May 2016 national meeting to examine the current document and present a revised document to the national directors (also known as state representatives) during the September 2016 meeting. A summary of changes was read during the business meeting. A special business meeting was called and announced for the upcoming national meeting in February 2017 at Central Baptist Church, Tyler, TX, with a key agenda item being the vote and approval of the updated BBFI Constitution and By-Laws. A summary of the changes can be seen on page 26. To view the legal documents, visit www.bbfi.org/legal. Upcoming Meetings
- February 20-22, 2017, Central Baptist Church, Tyler, TX (Pastor Kim Beckham)
- May 8-11, 2017, Baptist Bible College, Springfield, MO (Mark Milioni)
- September 18-20, 2017, Friendship Baptist Church, Owasso, OK (Pastor Linzy Slayden)
A NOTE FROM HOST PASTOR BEN FELDOTT
After a few days of recovery from the September Cape Cod BBFI meeting I would like to say thank you to a few groups of people.
First, thank you to all who came and participated. Five hundred and nineteen pastors and church leaders registered for this event. There is something special about a Fellowship meeting. Beyond the event itself, there is always an element of a family gathering. One of my favorite times during the week was the worship. I told our worship team, “Preachers will sing you to death,” and you did not disappoint!
Thank you to our speakers who came to share what God put on their hearts. I loved watching how God wove together, without any orchestration on our part, a theme all of His own. Monday night’s combination of messages by Steve Van Winkle and Gordon MacDonald were a good example of this. I am also grateful to some of our non-fellowship/ministry speakers like Dick Yue (MIT) and Tom Manchester (Dunkin’ Donuts), who brought their stories and expertise to inspire and inform.
Also, thank you to our staff and volunteers. Events like these are a good opportunity to be reminded of the good people surrounding us. A BBFI meeting was a bit foreign to our people, but they eagerly embraced the opportunity to serve the pastors and churches of the BBFI. One of my favorite details was our church families hosting over 20 missionaries and/or church planting families in their homes. Truth be told, I think they wish we were doing another one (the volunteers, that is … the staff is still recovering).
I am looking forward to our winter meeting in Tyler, TX, with Pastor Kim Beckham and then next fall with Pastor Linzy Slayden in Owasso, OK … See you there!
Ben
Click here to view the Fellowship Meeting report as it appeared in the Baptist Bible Tribune.