Louisiana Baptist women were urged to “discover the joy
of missions” during the recent state Womans Missionary Union annual
meeting.
“The desire to obey (God) has got to be stronger than
anything else in our lives, …” Southern Baptist missionary Patty Higginbotham
challenged during the two-day gathering at Jefferson Baptist Church in Baton
Rouge.
Louisiana Baptist women were urged to “discover the joy
of missions” during the recent state Womans Missionary Union annual
meeting.
“The desire to obey (God) has got to be stronger than
anything else in our lives, …” Southern Baptist missionary Patty Higginbotham
challenged during the two-day gathering at Jefferson Baptist Church in Baton
Rouge.
“God is preparing all of us for something. We may not
know what it is. But we have to ask him to keep preparing us. … We all need
to be prepared.”
Indeed, there are needs to be met and opportunities to serve
everywhere, another speaker reminded women.
“We have to keep our eyes open,” women were reminded
during the closing session of the meeting. “We have to keep our hearts
open. We have to listen to God. …
“Dont say there isnt anything to do. There
is so much out there to do. … I cant do it by myself. You cant
do it by yourself. But together, we can make an impact.”
When women listen to God, seek out what he wants them to do
and then do it, they experience joy, the meetings concluding speaker emphasized.
“Do people see the joy in your face? Do they see that you have discovered
the joy of missions? Do you have a group of people following you because they
want to see where youre going?”
Such joy only comes through a focus on prayer, preparation
and participation in missions, yet another speaker told the 120 women gathered
for the annual session.
Womans Missionary Union must be in the business of helping
women develop themselves for service, said Sheryl Churchill, ministry consultant
for the Southern Baptist Womans Missionary Union.
“We are always on a journey of opportunity,” she
noted.
Churchill urged women to allow God to work in and through them
and prepare them for service. She reminded them that he uses all sorts of things
for such preparation, including other people, prayers and Scripture.
Churchill compared the preparation process to what Meriwether
Lewis and William Clark experienced prior to their expedition to explore the
West in the early 1800s.
She noted that preparation for the expedition did not occur
overnight, that the leaders waited on instructions from the president before
launching their effort and that they trusted each other and their supplies to
be adequate.
Likewise, women must begin the process of preparation by focusing
on prayer, reading the Scripture and seeking guidance from God, Churchill said.
“Someone other than Uncle Sam wants you and I think
you know who that is,” she reminded women.
Churchill urged them to join God in missions as one Mississippi
woman did. The woman felt led to minister to area high school basketball students.
To that end, she attends their games, sends them birthday cards and such and
stays in touch with parents.
“It is his mission and her participation that makes the
difference, …” Churchill explained.
“You know what happens. You participate (in missions)
once. You participate again. You participate again. And then, before you know
it, youre hooked.”
Churchill challenged women to consider what they miss when
they decline to participate in Gods call, urging them to follow the example
of the disciples and prophets and follow where God leads.
“What if Jesus had said, No, I wont drink
the cup. Its too hard. No, I wont go to the cross, because I cant
stand the pain, … ” Churchill noted.
“Discover the joy of missions.”
Higginbotham and her husband, Tom, relayed a similar message
as they described their journey to full-time missionary service in St. Maarten.
Tom Higginbotham explained he was a “poster child for
how not to prepare for ministry.”
For years, a reluctance about returning to school kept the
Louisiana native from answering Gods missions call, he said. Indeed, Higginbotham
said he tried every other way to answer the call but the way God wished
to go back to school and enter full-time service.
Finally, however, Higginbotham said he relented and agreed
to do things Gods way and that made all the difference. “So,
whats keeping you from preparing for ministry?” he asked Womans
Missionary Union members. “It may be that you have to go back to school.
It may be that you have to quit your job. … But whenever you do it Gods
way, hell prepare you his way for ministry.”
Patty Higginbotham grew up involved in church and missions.
Nevertheless, when the time came to commit to full-time missions, there still
was preparation to be done, issues to be resolved about leaving family and home
and details to be worked out, she said.
“Sometimes, God gives us very specific things to prepare
for, …” she explained. “But in the meantime, … the best thing
you can do to prepare is to pray God will prepare you for whats next.
Not necessarily tell you whats next but prepare you for whats next.
“And in the meantime, serve him where you are.”
During other presentations during the annual meeting, women
were reminded they do not need so-called “marketable” skills to serve
in missions. Indeed, whatever skills one has can be put to use on the mission
field, speakers noted.
In addition, a pair of Louisiana Baptists told women about
ministry that is occurring in state prisons.
“We now have the light of Christ illuminating … a very
dark place, …” said John Robson, director of the seminary extension program
at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola. New Orleans Baptist Theological
Seminary has on ongoing program at the prison that already has produced graduates.
“Can you imagine with me now what God is fixing to do?”
Robson asked, reflecting on the impact the gospel is having in the prison. “Can
you imagine what is about to happen? … Not even one will be left out if God
has his way.”
Meanwhile, Gary Sumrall urged women to pray for and
be involved in outreach and ministry to prisoners. Sumrall is chaplain
St. Gabriel Prison for Women in Gonzales.
The need is evident, Sumrall noted, pointing out that Louisiana
incarcerates more people per capita “than any other free government of
the world.”
However, Christ can change that, Sumrall said, noting that
restorative justice and faith-based approaches help reduce prison violence and
reduce the recidivism rate greatly.
Sumrall called on women to be involved in the efforts, including
outreach and ministry to the families of inmates.
“My goal is that you and people like you would help put
me out of a job,” he said. “Nothing would please me more than to walk
in that place (St. Gabriel) and see it full of cobwebs. …
“Get involved. … It has to start in homes. If we go to these homes that
are hurting, these homes that are broken, these homes where children are suffering
because parents are in jail, and we meet their needs, you can help put me out
of a job.”