N.C. Baptists to celebrate Alaska, approve new partnerships

By Tony W. Cartledge

BR Editor

Convention messengers will mark the official end of one partnership and learn about the inception of four others during the annual meeting in Winston-Salem Nov. 15-17.

An outpouring of more than 6,000 volunteers has made the five-year partnership with Alaska Baptists one of the most successful efforts on record. David Baldwin, executive director-treasurer of the Alaska Baptist Convention, recently wrote "North Carolina Baptists have demonstrated what going the second mile means. You have demonstrated what giving and expecting nothing in return means. You did not come with a political agenda but to demonstrate what Acts 1:8 is all about."

Many Tar Heel churches and individuals have built relationships with Alaska Baptists that will no doubt continue, said BSC executive director-treasurer Jim Royston. Royston addressed the annual meeting of Alaska Baptists on Oct. 5. Baldwin and Alaska missions director Mike Procter are scheduled to attend the BSC annual meeting, which will feature a "Missions Mobilization Celebration" Nov. 16 at 7:45 p.m.

Volunteers who have visited the frozen north will now be invited to assist Baptist partners in the islands of the Hawaii South Pacific Convention, if messengers approve a new partnership to begin in 2005. The Hawaii South Pacific Convention islands such as Samoa, Guam, and Okinawa in addition to Hawaii.

N.C. Baptists will also be invited to join a "Prayer Affinity Ministry" with Wyoming Baptists. Randy Sprinkle, executive director for Wyoming Baptists, has asked N.C. Baptists to come and "prayer walk" various parts of Wyoming, seeking God's leadership for future ministries, according to BSC partnership director Richard Brunson.

The state of Vermont, already a part of a larger multi-state effort called "Impact Northeast," will also get special emphasis next year, Brunson told the Recorder. Vermont is already part of a multi-state partnership missions effort called "Impact Northeast," but N.C. Baptists have been asked to begin a special emphasis on ministry in Vermont. Some teams will work on renovating and an old stone church that has been donated for use as a Baptist church.

N.C. Baptist Men have also quietly begun a partnership with Baptists in Eastern Cuba, Brunson said, having obtained a two-year permit to assist with construction work for a Baptist home for the elderly. A church has already been built on site, but due to government regulations, cannot be used until the adjoining home for the elderly is completed.

A partnership with Baptists in Southeast Asia has been extended for another year, Brunson said, rather than ending in 2004.

Other BSC partnerships still ongoing include work with Baptists in Honduras, scheduled to continue through 2006, and with the Metropolitan New York Baptist Association.

N.C. Baptist Men is also partnering with Baptists in Armenia, and have volunteer teams assisting on a variety of projects in other countries.