by Eddie Lyons
It has been my privilege to serve as president of our Fellowship the past two years. I am still convinced we have great potential and a great future. When I began, there were three things we focused on. These remain critical to our future success.
1. Strengthen the grassroots. Our Fellowship is strong when the local state fellowships are strong. State fellowships are strong when pastors strengthen each other in the work of ministry. Leadership at the state level is vital to our success. We have worked to strengthen the grassroots by providing communication and organization tools on www.BBFI.org.
2. Protect the unity. We are united in the Gospel and sound doctrine. Our articles of faith clearly define what we believe. We come together with this commonality to train leaders, send missionaries, and plant churches. These endeavors are best done with many churches participating. We have seen in our history that this plan works. At the same time, we cannot allow our personal preferences, programs, and styles to interfere with the unity. When we protect the unity and honor the autonomy of the local church we set the stage for dynamic success in our Fellowship. There is no one right way. There is right doctrine and many different expressions of church. The goal is to reach as many people as we can with the Gospel.
3. Create a culture of inspiration and encouragement. People coming to Christ, successful efforts to reach the community, young people who feel a call to ministry, missionaries surrendering, or a new church being planted are topics of discussion in our Fellowship. These inspire and encourage us. They have eternal consequences and glorify God. We come together to encourage and inspire each other.