Thursday, April 3, 2014 - Alaska Missions: Hatcher Pass Baptist Association
Author: Gary Bearce
Description: Next Monday evening is the Hatcher Pass Baptist Association’s Quarterly Board meeting. Again this meeting is for all pastors, elected staff members and an elected board member from each church but every church member who is interested in local missions and/or church planting is welcome to attend. Dinner is at 6:15 PM with the business session […]
Date: 2014-04-03T19:01:43+00:00

# Thursday, April 3, 2014

on Apr 3, 2014

Next Monday evening is the Hatcher Pass Baptist Association’s Quarterly Board meeting. Again this meeting is for all pastors, elected staff members and an elected board member from each church but every church member who is interested in local missions and/or church planting is welcome to attend. Dinner is at 6:15 PM with the business session at 7 PM. CrossCountry Church (currently meeting at the old Mat-Su Cinema building on the Parks Highway) is our host.

This is a very important meeting and I urge you to attend. First, we will have some special guests from Orange County Baptist Association in California who are exploring mission partnerships in Alaska. Second, our Associational Leadership Team has been discussing funding for summer ministries, which includes efforts to bring a larger number of mission teams to the association to work alongside our expanding number of church planters. As an association we do want to focus on the summer as a great way for all of our churches to help our church plants to thrive. It is a time when we discover prospects in the outdoors, at either our public parks or various sporting fields (baseball and soccer for example). It is a great time for our existing churches to support and encourage our planters. We need final approval from the board as we move forward with these steps to strengthen church planting.

Please reminder that across our denomination Church Planting has become synonymous with missions. Our church planting efforts are focused on doubling the number of cooperating churches in the valley and beyond. At the same time we are involved in a number of church plants that focus on target groups including military families, incarcerated persons and their families, and specific neighborhoods that may result in house churches. I am so grateful that many of our pastors have embraced this church multiplication effort. Alongside this effort we are also urging churches to plant new Bible study and Sunday School groups. We believe these two efforts, in combination, will result in many more Alaskans reached for Christ’s Kingdom.

See you Monday evening at 6:15PM at CrossCountry Church. Yes, the old movie theatre has sold and CrossCountry Church will be moving to a yet to be determined new location. Please pray for them as they look for a new place to meet. This location on the Parks Highway has served them very well. Since I mentioned moving and seeking space, let me also mention In His Steps Fellowship, a mission of Pioneer Baptist Church. This mission, pastored by Larry Macknicki, first met in Palmer, then at the MatSu Campus on Trunk Road. Now they are again seeking space for their Saturday morning meeting time. The ideal location would be near Trunk Road and have adequate room for 50 worshippers and their children’s church type activities. Hopefully, this space would be available for free! Any suggestions?