In July of 1977 our extended family gathered at the Alacca Bible Camp near Harpster, Idaho on the Clearwater River. My great-grandmother, Arvella Adams, was 85 years old, and her nine surviving children (she birthed ten), gathered with their families for the only Adams family reunion of my childhood. There were 85 of us; cousins and uncles and aunts, grandparents too. Some of us were close and saw each other frequently. Others met at the reunion. But we were all part of Grandma Arvella’s family and that was enough reason to gather. I remember it as a fun weekend, with food, games and stories. The following month some of us gathered again, only this time it was for the funeral of my 14-year-old brother, Mitch. None of us knew in July what August would bring.
Next week several hundred Northwest Baptists will gather at the Great Wolf Lodge in Ground Mound, WA. On Monday we’ll enjoy a Great Commission Celebration, followed by our Annual Meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday. We’ll conduct a little business on Wednesday morning, but much of what we will do is worship together, learn some of what God is doing through us, gather information that will strengthen our ministries, catch up with old friends and make a few new ones.
The churches from which we will gather are located in Idaho, Oregon and Washington. We have 508 affiliated churches and church plants, with about 140 averaging 30 or fewer in worship, 250 averaging 50 or less, and about 90 churches averaging over 100 in weekly attendance. Remarkably, as we cooperate together, our churches, large, medium and small give about $2.85 million to missions through the Cooperative Program, and another $950,000 through cooperative mission offerings internationally, in North America, and in the Northwest.
Over the past year, our cooperative mission efforts enabled us to start 20 new churches in four languages. Additionally, upwards of a thousand from hundreds of churches received training in small group ministry, Bible teaching, VBS, preaching, pastoring, evangelism, worship, disaster relief, chaplaincy, church planting, and missions. Many of our churches engaged in direct mission efforts in Asia and in other parts of the world. In July, 113 Northwest Baptists, from 23 churches, served as volunteers in a Southeast Asia megacity where over 1,100 IMB missionaries and their children gathered for an extended time of retreat and training.
And here’s something you probably haven’t heard about. Ivan Montenegro, who leads our Spanish language church planting, worked with farmers in Northwest Washington to conduct evangelistic meetings among migrant peoples. Ivan describes them as “mini Billy Graham” types of meetings. The farmers were extremely helpful in getting the migrant farm workers to the meetings. And in one glorious Sunday in September, 25 Spanish-speaking pastors baptized 1,500 people! We know of nothing like it ever happening in the Northwest. Many of these migrant workers live in California, Texas and other places, and our Hispanic pastors are working to get them connected to Baptist churches where they live.
When we gather Nov. 11-13, we will celebrate what God has done through us. We’ll spend time reading God’s Word and praying. Children and teenagers will lead us in our public Bible readings. Moms, dads and pastors will lead us in prayer. Several gifted Bible teachers and preachers will bring messages all three days that we gather. Those who gather will bring expectations and hopes and concerns. These will be met with smiles and tears, praises and prayers. One addition to this year’s gathering is the provision of “soul care,” where pastors, or pastors and wives, can schedule to meet with a fellow pastoral pilgrim whom God has equipped to listen and care for other pastors. This pastoral pilgrim has traversed some difficult trails and I’m so glad he’ll be with us. If you want to schedule a time to meet with Pastor Joe Chambers, click on the following link https://calendly.com/nwbc/soulcare?month=2019-11.
It’s going to be a sweet time, Northwest Baptists. We don’t know what the next month or the coming year will bring for any of us. There will be births and deaths, joys and sorrows, victories and setbacks, but I believe this year’s Northwest Baptist Family Reunion will help prepare us for the year to come.