Our Mission Projects and Activities
Jesus said “...but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8, NASB)
When Jesus gave the Great Commission to the Apostles in Matthew 28 and later reinforced it to the church in Acts 1, missions became the everyday purpose of the church. Hot Springs Baptist Church (HSBC) seeks to carry out this purpose by involving every member in mission activities.
Following this command by Jesus and applying it to our personal modern day geography, HSBC mission activities fall naturally into local (Garland County), state (Arkansas), United States & Canada (North America), and foreign locations. Of course, the needs within these areas are limitless since they essentially cover the whole world. We cannot meet every need, therefore, our strategy is to focus rather than to just throw a dart at a map and say, “let’s go.” Nor do we allow “need” to determine a ministry opportunity. There are many fine opportunities but as a church it is our duty to identify where the Lord is leading us to work.
In developing our focus, we rely on the following principles and leadership:
1. Prayer and leadership of the Holy Spirit.
2. Go where we already have established relationships, e.g., close relationships with missionaries and work in the field or our members are already volunteers.
3. Commitment to the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Acts 1:8 Challenge. This places us in partnership with the Central Baptist Association, the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, North American Mission Board (NAMB) and the International Mission Board (IMB). Many already organized opportunities can come from these partnerships.
While these factors do not specifically identify mission activities, they provide a basis for the MDC to consider approval of mission activity requests. At the same time they allow for introducing activities in new areas or eliminating some activities which we have historically supported. In other words, rather than a rigid policy, they allow the Holy Spirit to work.
