For the second year in a row, MTSBC has hosted an information booth at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. This years’ meeting was held at the Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The theme for the meeting was “Pray for Such a Time as This.” Over 5,000 messengers attended the convention.
Those who helped “man” the booth included Ken Bell (Outdoor Life Ministries, Bonner), Lee and Christie Merck (Church of the Rockies, Red Lodge), Michael Liner (Church Starting Missionary, Western Region), Dr. Barrett Duke (Executive Director), and William Johnson (Church Starting Team Leader).
The purpose of the MTSBC booth in the exhibit hall is to raise awareness for ministry opportunities in Montana and invite people to join in the work of churches and church plants throughout the state. As visitors stopped by the booth, they were engaged in conversation about their own ministries and then asked if they were interested in hearing about opportunities that existed in Montana. Visitors were given “Montana Cards” that provided the MTSBC website and a short statement of our desire to reach Montana with the gospel, refrigerator magnets that would be a constant reminder to pray for Montana, and other material about church plants, Vision Tours, etc.
Visitors expressed interests about such possibilities as pastoring, planting, sending mission teams, and partnering with MTSBC churches. We pray that we have results much like 2016, when follow up with these contacts resulted in relationships being built with other churches across the nation.
MTSBC has already secured a booth for the 2018 Annual Meeting in Dallas, Texas. This should be a well-attended convention and we look forward to seeing more relationships and partnerships developed through these recruiting events.