AN ENCOURAGING WORD FROM TERRY
August 2022
We recently completed our associational partnership mission trip to the Mountain State Baptist Association (MSBA) in Southeast West Virginia. While there, one of the projects we agreed to take on was to assist Noah, a church planter in the MSBA, by serving at an elementary school his church had been attempting to gain access to and influence with, in their efforts to minister to some of the poorest people within that community. The project was to cut grass, pull weeds, and dress up the outside of the school, which had not been touched in quite some time. Additionally, we were able to assist with organizing a clothes closet for kids who were without the resources to keep themselves clothed throughout the year. While we thought this was a very simple request, involving a little hard work, our team was able to complete this project in a day's time and helped make a huge difference in the school’s appearance. Our efforts, along with those of the church planter, certainly impressed the leadership of that school and led to a very special opportunity for Noah.
Noah and his wife have been trying for some time to find a way into the school in order to reach out with the gospel. By allowing some missionaries from the WCBA to work a bit, to assist with the physical needs first, Noah will have access to do just that. After our day of service, the faculty and staff invited Noah and his wife to serve on the school's advisory board. In the end we were able to make the gospel available, through Noah, by simply cleaning up a rundown school. Noah's words to me were: “Look what God did, that we could not, through the hard work and faithfulness of volunteers from the WCBA! Thank you so much.”
The reason I mention the above is to illustrate, for those who are uninformed about who and what the WCBA does, what God can do through ordinary people like us. In fact, God is working through the association and among its people when we “serve Him through serving others.” Working together for a greater cause is the value of an association, and being a part of that association can only enhance what God wants done through you! My challenge to you is to get involved in the association and watch Him do amazing work and ministry through His people!
Terry
