When you think about what Southern Baptists are known for, I hope the first thing to come to mind would be our unwavering commitment to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth until every man, woman and child has had an opportunity to respond. But what would probably be pretty high up on your list as well would be our cooperative partnerships.
From our beginnings, Southern Baptists have been a people committed to working together as a means to accomplishing more and reaching more people for Christ. Every church, association and state convention are independent and autonomous, but we have all chosen to cooperatively join arms and unite under the banner of the gospel so we can see more accomplished in our efforts to serve God as He expands His Kingdom on earth.
At the North American Mission Board (NAMB), we count it an incredible privilege to serve and partner with Colorado Baptists. We love nothing more than helping Colorado pastors as they seek to make their church more effective and impactful in its Great Commission ministries. Mike Proud at the Colorado Baptist General Convention has made partnership a hallmark and great strength of his leadership there.
In Colorado, Mike and his team are helping to strengthen churches and build up pastors as they lead. They regularly traverse the state to keep up with the ever-changing spiritual landscape and identify needs as they prayerfully seek to help meet them.
At the big-picture level, one of the most exciting things about the partnership among Southern Baptists is the opportunity it gives us to impact the “uttermost parts” of the world through our giving. No matter how large or how small a church may be, we each play an important part in fulfilling the Great Commission around the globe.
At that church I learned to appreciate and value every penny our people gave. It was all a treasure, and I vowed that I would invest it in ministry with the utmost care and prayer.
When I attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, I pastored a church in Fort Worth called Hilltop Baptist. I tell people we were not widely known as a church, but we did have a television ministry. More accurately, our church appeared twice on the television crime show Cops. That gives you an idea about the kinds of activities that were taking place in our neighborhood.
But I also met some of the sweetest, God-loving people in the world during my time there. One was Lennie Fenton, a member of our church. She did not have much in the way of worldly resources, but she had a huge heart for the Lord, and when she spoke about the privilege of giving her offering each week, she actually broke out in tears.
Our entire church budget was modest, but we gave a portion of everything we received to the Cooperative Program and because of that, Ms. Lennie and every giving member of that church had an impact on the worldwide mission field. They helped send missionaries and start churches around the globe and in the United States. They were part of funding the seminary education from which I so greatly benefitted. God took what that small congregation in Fort Worth, Texas, gave, combined it with thousands of other churches and multiplied it into an offering that would bless thousands and touch tens of thousands more with the gospel.
As a quick, important side note, at that church I learned to appreciate and value every penny our people gave. It was all a treasure, and I vowed that I would invest it in ministry with the utmost care and prayer. To this day, I still think about Lennie Fenton when I see what Southern Baptists give to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering® and the Cooperative Program, and I frequently remind our staff that we must—and we will—spend every dollar we receive as if it was Lenny Fenton’s dollar.
In Colorado, where you are experiencing such explosive population growth, our Send Network church planting partnership has helped start more than 120 new churches since 2016.
I am grateful for the generous, sacrificial giving that Colorado Baptists are known for. In 2023, your giving to the Annie Offering increased by 39 percent over the previous year. This offering directly supports missionaries serving in North America, and everything given goes to the front lines of missions. Your giving not only supports our cooperative missions efforts in Colorado, but it is also put to work throughout North America where we are starting new churches through Send Network, meeting needs through Send Relief and equipping missionaries and churches with evangelism resources. Of course, what you give to the Cooperative Program goes further still—all around the world through the work of the International Mission Board.
In Colorado, where you are experiencing such explosive population growth, our Send Network church planting partnership has helped start more than 120 new churches since 2016. This is one of the most dynamic aspects of the partnership between NAMB and Colorado Baptists. Each of those congregations is carrying out their biblical role to evangelize, disciple and send believers out to the mission field around them.
Because of the way Colorado Baptists partner in giving with Southern Baptists throughout North America, we are able to provide for church planters in ways that prepare them and sustain them on the mission field. We have comprehensive assessments before they are deployed, and while they are serving, we come alongside them with training, coaching, benefits and care.
Our partnership also allows us to have a compassion ministry presence in Denver and throughout North America with our Send Relief Ministry Centers. Denver’s large refugee population affords the incredible opportunity for local churches to meet needs and share the gospel with people who have come to Denver from all over the world.
These men, women and families need help navigating schools, learning to speak English and developing job skills. Some have even more immediate needs like clothing and groceries. It gives us an opportunity to partner with local churches, helping to meet their immediate needs but also planting Gospel seeds.
It is easy to be overwhelmed with all the talk today about how fractured and divided we are as a nation and as a people, but the partnership between NAMB and Colorado Baptists serves as a powerful reminder of what can be accomplished when we come together.
In addition to the Denver Ministry Center, your church can send volunteers to serve at any one of our Send Relief Ministry Centers throughout North America, including Canada and Puerto Rico.
Send Relief is a collaboration between NAMB and the International Mission Board, a partnership that allows Send Relief to have a global reach.
In just the last few months, our partnership has allowed us to put together events for Colorado pastors and churches that help equip them as they extend their gospel reach. In May, we hosted a Diaspora Collective event where pastors came together to discuss how to reach the vast mission field in Denver.
In February, more than 40 pastors and church planters gathered to hear Bill Elliff speak on the power of unceasing prayer.
The collaboration between NAMB and Colorado Baptists is a model for how unity and partnership can lead to remarkable achievements. By pooling resources, sharing expertise, and working toward common goals, we are making an eternal difference in communities across Colorado.
It is easy to be overwhelmed with all the talk today about how fractured and divided we are as a nation and as a people, but the partnership between NAMB and Colorado Baptists serves as a powerful reminder of what can be accomplished when we come together. We are bringing hope to communities in need and seeing lives transformed by the gospel.
That legacy will last for generations to come.
Dr. Kevin Ezell serves as president of the North American Mission Board.
