For 86 years, the Home Missions Department has served our denomination by planting churches in North America, endorsing military chaplains, providing disaster response, promoting church growth and evangelism, preaching revivals, teaching seminars, planting cross-cultural churches, encouraging pastors and missionaries, and teaching about our wonderful heritage as Free Will Baptists.
For 28 of those 86 years, I’ve worked on the staff of Home Missions. I came to the department 28 years ago to help then-director Trymon Messer accomplish what God had called him to do through the department. I worked six years as the director of missionary assistance and visited 20 to 25 mission works each year, encouraging, educating, and equipping church planters. When Richard Atwood was hired, he filled my position, and I became the director of church growth. This role gave me the opportunity to visit 45 to 50 established churches each year for revivals, fellowship, encouragement, and public relations.
When Dr. Richard Adams retired six years later, I became the director of development, overseeing the Church Extension Loan Fund (CELF), as well as continuing my responsibilities as director of church growth. I served six years in that role as well. Then, December 1, 2013, I became the chief executive officer of the Home Missions department, which was then renamed Free Will Baptist North American Ministries. I’m now in my 28th year with NAM and my 11th year as CEO.
I reviewed my history with NAM because I want you to see how I came to this place and position. I have spent many hours and days researching our history as Free Will Baptists. After 25 years of studying our heritage, I believe I have a good perspective of where we’ve been as Free Will Baptists. I have criss-crossed our denomination for the last 28 years, crossing all the lines and boundaries in our denomination as I’ve attempted to serve all Free Will Baptists, so I believe I have a pretty good perception of where we are as Free Will Baptists. Knowing where we have been and knowing where we are now helps us to know where we need to go.
So, where do we go from here?
I don’t pretend to know the direction our entire denomination needs to go, but I feel God has placed me at NAM and given me a vision of where our department needs to go.
Church Planting
Dr. Brad Ransom is director of church planting. He has graduate degrees in church planting and church revitalization. During his time at NAM, Brad has revised, updated, and upgraded all our church planting materials, along with the application and evaluation process for church planting candidates. He brought a new level of professionalism and expertise to that position.
Brad also put in place more individualized and regional training for church planters. We plan to get more churches planted and see more church plants become self-supporting sooner. We see our church plants have record numbers of people attend their launch services and record average attendances after they launch. If we can help church plants start stronger, we believe they can grow and thrive as self-sustaining churches with a solid foundation.
Church Revitalization
NAM has partnered with Dr. Eddie Moody and the Executive Office to promote church revitalization. It has bothered me for years that we have so many small, struggling churches that are not mission churches but still are not vital, self-supporting churches. Many of these churches close each year. We wanted to help these churches, so Brad Ransom, Ken Akers, and I have offered individual help, seminars, conferences, and programs to help revitalize these churches.
Chaplain Support
Retired Chaplain Terry Austin is our advisor for chaplain support. As the endorsing agency for Free Will Baptist military chaplains, we give our chaplains and their families the recognition and support they deserve as they minister to men and women in the armed forces. Chaplain Austin brings professionalism and a wealth of experience and knowledge, which provide a more effective plan of support for these “ministers in uniform.”
Hispanic Ministry
Rick Bowling directs Hispanic ministries for NAM. We presently have 54 Hispanic church plants with over 3,500 people meeting each week. Dr. Rufo Gomez will be starting churches for us across North America. Once they are started, we will match these churches with graduates from the Hispanic Institute as pastors. The Hispanic Bible Institute has already graduated over 300 students. This year, we relocated the institute from Oklahoma to Greenville, North Carolina, and named Indiana church planter Jaime Hernandez president. These men will work with Parkers Chapel FWB Church and Pastor Gene Williams to relaunch the institute and plant a new Hispanic church. This is one of the fastest growing ministries of NAM.
Cooperation With Other Departments
We believe we can get far more accomplished together than we ever could alone, so we will partner with other departments to do more for the glory of God.
We are partnering with IM, Inc. to reach international students attending colleges and universities in the United States. We are partnering with D6 and their YET team as they visit and minister in church plants. We are partnering with our colleges to provide students ten-week summer internships with church planters, thereby building a “pool” of future church planters for Free Will Baptists.
We are partnering with WNAC and Master’s Men for men and women’s ministries. We led the way for a merger between Master’s Men and NAM that brought Master’s Men under the umbrella of NAM. Master’s Men remains intact with all its present assets but ministers and operates under the direction of FWBNAM. This has enhanced the mission and ministry of both departments as we continue to expand the opportunities for men’s ministries in our churches and denomination.
Ken Akers has taken Master’s Men to a whole new level as he leads the way for Disaster Response Teams (DRT) in Louisiana, Florida, Texas, South Carolina, Kentucky, North Carolina, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and anywhere else disaster strikes our churches and our people. Ken has also led several work groups to New Durham, New Hampshire, to restore the Ridge Church, the “mother church” of Northern Free Will Baptists. We now own this historic church and provide maintenance and upkeep for the building and the property. We continue to cooperate with and support Richland Ave (the Board of Retirement), the FWB Foundation, and the Executive Office and Dr. Eddie Moody.
I have shared many things with you in this short article, but there is much more we want to accomplish for Free Will Baptists and for the Kingdom of God! God has placed me in a position I never could have imagined. He has placed wonderful Christian servants around me who encourage and support me daily. Our department of seven employees has a total of 110 years of experience at NAM. That blows my mind!
We didn’t start yesterday! This department has been faithful for 86 years under the leadership and direction of some of the finest men I have known. I don’t understand why God allowed me to walk in this place, but I know I follow the footsteps of the giants who walked before me, and it’s easy to see the footprints of giants.
Will you help us as we begin the next 86 years?
Will you help us to have a record Mission North America Offering this November?
Will you partner with us as we partner with other departments, churches, and Free Will Baptist men and women across our denomination?
Will you join us and support us as we are involved in North American Ministries?
I believe with all my heart and soul you will. Thank you for your prayers, your encouragement, your love, your kindness, your financial support, and your trust. Your generous gifts to our Mission North America Offering each year help us continue the many ministries God has entrusted to us.
