by Eddie Lyons
Communication among the early churches was a high priority. When Paul wrote the book of Romans he wrote “to all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints,” apparently intending to communicate to the churches in Rome. When he wrote Galatians he wrote “to the churches of Galatia.”
When our Fellowship began there was emphasis placed on communication. The Baptist Bible Tribune has been our primary communication tool since our beginning. And now the Tribune is providing the funding of our new website, www.bbfi.org, to expand and to enhance our communication as a Fellowship.
We need to strengthen our grassroots, and that is one of my priorities. With this new website we have a new platform to visualize and coordinate these grassroots efforts. Our Fellowship is not a top-down but a bottom-up effort. We have always understood the importance of the local church as the centerpiece of all we do. The local churches form the State Fellowships, and the State Fellowships come together to establish the Baptist Bible Fellowship at a national level. And then our goal as national officers is to serve and help coordinate these local efforts.
We need the participation of our State Fellowship leaders to keep the website current. I ask Fellowship officers in the states to be sure we have this information:
Officers: names and pictures
Next election cycle
State Fellowship bylaws
State Fellowship policies
Scheduled meetings
Churches planted in the last five years
Missionaries sent
As you look through the website, you will also notice some states do not currently have an organized Fellowship. This immediately identifies an opportunity. A pastor from one of those states contacted and asked if he could help get something started. That is what we want to see happen. If you know pastors in states without an active Fellowship, encourage them to work toward starting something and let us help where we can.
The Fellowship is a network of church planters, pastors, and missionaries working together to advance the Gospel around the world. We believe that we can accomplish more together than we can alone. Together we can plant more churches, send more missionaries, and strengthen each other in ministry. We exist for the sake of the Gospel.
Another goal for the new website is to be able to “celebrate the wins” together. I am inspired when you share stories of what God is doing in your ministry, so please take the time to celebrate your wins with us by emailing pictures and stories.
Communication within our Fellowship is key to our success. Soon, Tribune Editor Keith Bassham will be making his calls asking for your support. He needs our help now more than ever. After taking on the task of funding the development and maintenance of our new website, he needs to raise more money than before. It is a worthwhile investment. Good communication is a key to healthy and effective cooperation with the Fellowship. This will “strengthen the grassroots.”