Stop the Merry-Go-Round!

Stop the merry-go-round and let me get off! Or, at least, slow it down. Do you ever get that way? It seems that summer activities begin earlier and earlier and from the middle of May until the middle of September is a never-ending cycle of activities. I would imagine your life is that way also.

In June, we got home from the Southern Baptist Convention on Monday, to begin Powerplant on Friday, with a couple meetings in between. What a blessing!! After the first night on a cot, before the Powerplant teams came in, I knew I was getting too old for this! As we welcomed teams from Georgia, Nebraska, Minnesota, and yes, even our own association into Sioux Falls I was again struck by the cooperation that we as Southern Baptists share! Here were my brothers and sisters coming to help us start new churches. Even the NAMB staff was almost young enough to be my grandchildren but there was a connection of all being on the same team! And, when I found out that this staff of young people did much of their own work after everyone else was in bed, I found my own little corner so I could get some sleep!

The future is bright! Our two speakers for the event were great. They related well to the teens that had come to serve. The maturity and commitment of the staff that NAMB sent was impressive. Despite last minute changes in assignments, some poor turnouts, and less than ideal conditions for sleeping and showering I did not hear any complaining or murmuring.

Out of this week, we assisted a mission who had recently moved into their own building in a new neighborhood, and two new church starts. In one of those, we saw 15 professions of faith (we had been laying a foundation for two years with activities in the area). We laid groundwork in the other two areas with various servant evangelism activities, VBS, block parties and a grill out.

Thank you, fellow Southern Baptists, for your commitment to helping one another. Thank you for your support of NAMB who does Powerplant but also supports many of us in the “new work” areas (No, this is not a paid advertisement!).

Even though I am still on the merry-go-round I am excited about next summer’s Powerplant (maybe by then I will have caught up on sleep). Bring it on!

Jim Pratt, Area Missionary
Siouxland Association of Southern Baptists
Yankton, SD 57078