PIKEVILLE, Ky. – When a Pikeville pastor wanted an evaluation of how well his church was reaching people with the gospel, he turned to Kentucky Baptist Convention Missions Strategist Doug Williams.
“Doug was a blessing to our church,” said Brian Horton, senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church. “He helped us discover our current practices and beliefs about missions and showed us how to develop and promote a more passionate view of missions in our church.”
Since meeting with Williams, Horton said the church’s vision team has filled five poster boards with potential outreach ideas, such as single-mother ministries and scholarships for seminary students.
Later this week, Horton said more than 100 members wearing “Love Pikeville” shirts plan to attend the town’s Hillbilly Days festival asking their neighbors how they can pray for them.
“I’m excited to see where it goes next,” Horton said.
Williams said churches that want to experience the same kind of renewed enthusiasm for missions find it when missions becomes a priority.
“Churches desiring the presence and power of God will be intentional about obeying the Great Commission,” Williams explained.
He said helps churches become “witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria and even to the ends to the earth” by offering free, face-to-face consultations.
Williams meets with church leaders and walks them through honest, comprehensive evaluations of their ministry reach using a tool called MAP, or Missions Assessment Profile.
The in-depth survey tool focuses on four key areas – leading, equipping, supporting and sending – and points churches toward the next steps in achieving their missions goals.
Mount Vernon pastor Neal Thornton said he was pleased with the healthy discussion that was generated among leaders at First Baptist Church after their consultation with Williams.
“It exposed strengths and weaknesses that otherwise may have gone unknown, and in doing so, it paved a path from where we are to where we wanted to be,” Thornton said.
For some, those next steps could mean a one-day community service outreach, Williams said. For others, it’s planting a church or developing long-term partnerships, like those established through the North American Mission Board’s Send Cities emphasis.
Williams has a long list of local, national and international opportunities in need of missions partners. In addition to Kentucky Baptist missionaries who need churches to help support their ministries, there are domestic partnership needs in Boston, Cincinnati and Salt Lake City. International missions partners are needed in Europe, Brazil and Sub-Saharan Africa.
“The Great Commission is not an option; It is our obligation as a body of believers,” Williams said. “The challenge for churches is fulfilling the Great Commission faithfully and effectively.”
To schedule a missions evaluation consultation, contact Williams at (502) 489-3420 or (866) 489-3420 (toll free in Kentucky). He can also be reached by email at doug.williams@kybaptist.org