Reaching the Lost through the Association

This is the Church Field! As a young preacher, as I was being shown the community of my new and first pastorate, this is what I had explained to me was my area of responsibility as the new pastor. The people on the East side of the road back to the church, which was about 3 miles, was my field of visitation. The people on the West side of the road were not my responsibility and I need not worry about them. My reply was the question, “Then the people on the West side of the road could go to Hell”? This certainly did not start my new pastorate on the right foot. However, some of this mentality still prevails today.

We either have imaginary church fields, or have a caste system within the church, or only visit people of a culture that would fit in our churches. In response to this mentality, I believe, according to the Scriptures, our field is the world and God doesn’t see caste systems, or cultural barriers, but a world that needs Christ.

There are some who don’t have the above problems but are busy doing their own thing, so they miss the obvious, that we can do so much more together than we can by ourselves. This is not just in giving to missions, but it's all about going out together and doing missions.

In order to accomplish this, we first must recognize that the most important issue is not our differences in preferences, but reaching the lost. When I speak of differences, I am not speaking of Bible Doctrine. The Bible clearly teaches that unless we are agreed, we cannot walk together. This does not include preferences about worship styles, and church names. The world is not interested in any of these things. The world needs the Truth about Salvation! If we Baptists cannot come together with a burning desire to reach the lost, we have failed in our efforts to establish a testimony of how Christ is the Prince of Peace. Again, I am not talking about bringing and mixing with groups that teach false doctrines.

How can all of this be overcome and do the Scriptures teach that we should work together? I believe it does. In 1 Cor. 16:1, Paul identifies a geographical area as Galatia and places several churches in Galatia in a group. While this scripture was for Biblical instructions on giving, the application can be found of joining the churches together.
They had the same location, the same instructions and admonitions as a group.

Once we can see the need, then we can come together in a joint effort to reach our area for Christ. When so many of our churches are struggling to survive, what a glorious opportunity for sister churches to come in and help them with their visitation efforts. Several years ago, God burdened my heart about the association I was pastoring in at that time. As Evangelism Director, I had led the association in setting up a tent at one of our large South Georgia festivals, Mule Day. As we gave out over 5,000 tracts, God spoke to my heart about the need of not only reaching those passing through South Georgia, but reaching out to the lost already there.

I knew that the church I was pastor of did not have the man power to cover the whole Association. I recruited some other pastors, who had a burden for souls, and we began to pray for God’s leadership and for God to raise up an army of people to cover our Association with the gospel. In a matter of months, God had given us a plan to accomplish this great feat.

In 7 months, we were able to train over 600 people on how to knock on doors and with all 25 churches participating were able to place the gospel in over 7400 homes. Many souls were saved and many brought back to the churches that had drifted away. This has since been duplicated in another association and the association I am now the DOM, we are beginning this effort called “Operation Total Contact.” This testimony is not about me, but about our Lord waiting for us to get together and obey the great commission. Anything this big is bigger than any man or group of men and women. This is a God thing. On two different occasions I saw over 400 Baptists from the Association out on a Saturday morning knocking on doors. Praise the Lord!

If we sit back and listen to the objections, and look at the obstacles, we will never see the opportunity that lies before us of how TOGETHER, as an association, we can join together and do what one church will never do. It is not how small we are in number, but how big our God is in his actions. If we will step forward in faith, he will roll back the waters. Remember, the waters of Jordon did not roll back till the priests had placed their feet in the water up to the ankles. Once they committed themselves to crossing over, God took care of everything else.

Let me challenge you as an association, think not of the problems in the way, but of the promises God has given to us if we will but go. “Lo, I with you always”!

Your servant in the Lord,

Ken Cloud, DOM
Bowen Baptist Association
Bainbridge, Georgia