Author Archives: General Baptist Ministries

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May 24, 2021

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Calling, Faith Home, Honduras, International Missions

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My Calling

By Christina Massey, Mission Lead at Faith Home in Honduras

I grew up in a Christian home with loving parents and two beautiful sisters. I am so very thankful for my family and the things that they instilled in me throughout my life. They always encouraged me to be myself, while giving me advice and loving me unconditionally. My family is a huge part of my calling.

I was grounded in all the basics of church and being a Christian, and was saved at a young age. It wasn’t, however, until I was an adult that I truly understood and developed a relationship with God. From that relationship, I have embarked on an incredible journey with God. A calling to be a part of fulfilling the Great Commission, taking God’s love to the ends of the earth. A calling that drew me to Honduras.

Reflections from my journals….

September 2002: My first mission trip was to Choluteca, Honduras. I realized quickly, that I was out of my comfort zone, things don’t always go as planned and I had to totally and completely depend on God to do anything there. I thought that I went to ‘help people,’ but the things God taught me that week through the Hondurans and my teammates impacted the path of my future more than even I realized at the time. My prayer at the end of the week was “Lord, help me to not be satisfied with my comfortable life any longer. Use me to reach others for you.”

September 2003: I hadn’t intended to go back to Honduras. Through a chain of events and against many odds, I ended up going. It was during that trip, I prayed for the first time ‘Lord, show me how to best serve you. I surrender all. Here I am, send me.” (I was praying for direction in my life as to where to best serve.)

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May 21, 2021

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General Baptists, Restructure Task Force

Can We Do This Better?

An RTF Update by Josh Carpenter

“Can we do this better?” This is the question that every effective organization will continually be asking. If what we do is important enough to warrant our time and resources, we should seek to do it in the most effective way possible.

Several months ago, General Baptist leaders asked this question and received an honest answer, “Yes we can.” We can organize ourselves more effectively. We can resource ourselves in more prosperous ways. We can connect better. We can strengthen one another as individuals and churches to more effectively fulfill our mission of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We can do better.

I’ve had the privilege to serve on the Restructure Task Force over these several months and be involved in days of conversation, debate, and prayer inspired by the notion that we can do better. There have been days that I have left meetings inspired, days I have left discouraged, and days I have just left with a headache. These are the questions that have roamed my thoughts as we have worked through this process?

IS IT WORTH IT?

Every process of change requires sacrifice. The greatest sacrifice is having to let go of something that you know for something that you don’t. It’s scary stepping into an unknown future hoping that you’ve made the right decisions and not being sure where everything is going to land. So, why take the risk? Why pay the price for an unknown result? The answer goes back to our beginning. If it’s worth doing at all, it’s worth doing our best. In the case of the church and an association of churches, like General Baptists, that means reaching more with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If the changes the RTF have proposed lead to one more church being planted, to one more country being reached, or one more soul being saved, it’s worth it. That’s what better looks like for us!

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May 18, 2021

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Calling, Leadership, Oakland City University

Vocation is for More Than Pastors

By Oakland City University

Why should a student who does not intend to become a pastor pursue a degree at a Christian university? One word . . . vocation!

A vocation is different from a career in that a vocation comes from a sense of larger purpose and in response to a calling. As Christians, all of our activities should be in response to the call of God. A calling to ministry is not exclusive to pastors or missionaries. In scripture, the word ministry has at its root the idea of Christian service. A minister serves others in the name of God. Such a definition of ministry means that it is for all Christians rather than for a specific few. As Martin Luther said, “All Christians are called to the ministry at their baptism.” Being called and being ministers of the gospel is part of the basic equipment of being a follower of Jesus. Scripture reminds us that all of our activity should be done as for the Lord. Whatever our career choices, our work is to be carried out as work for God.

We should take our lives in the workplace as an opportunity to serve God and witness to the good news, making God present in whatever situation and whatever circumstance we encounter. Teachers, counselors, business owners, scientists, lawyers, accountants, data analysts, computer programmers, office administrators, law enforcement officers, and individuals in hundreds of other jobs are ministers of the gospel, even if they are not pastors. While a career in one of these areas is rarely officially connected to the church, Christians are called by God to carry their calling into all areas of life. All of the work of the people of God is about vocation!

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