So did you hear the one about the five churches from five different South Carolina Baptist Associations that decided to work together? No, this is not the opening line to a joke, but here is the punch line. More than 1,100 Bibles were collected when they did, and it all started when a youth group went to a mission camp week in Fletcher, N.C., that simulated being in Africa on a mission trip.
AtkinsApalache Baptist Church, Chesnee First Baptist Church, Connection Fellowship, Lake Cooley Baptist Church, and Powdersville First Baptist Church were brought into a partnership when a challenge was issued in June to try and collect before Labor Day 500 Bibles to be sent to English-speaking countries where Bibles are not readily available. At the mission camp, the Powdersville First Baptist youth were told that the average church member has eight Bibles, but really only uses two of those. The challenge began to encourage people to bring in the unused Bibles, and it resulted in more than 1,100 used and new Bibles being donated.
Some people will read this and rejoice, some will read this and scratch their heads, and some will read this and say, “Well, that’s just one example of how partnerships can work.” Let me make something clear to all of us: When it comes to partnerships, “It Really Does Work.” It really does work when a vision is cast and people catch a vision of what God is doing. It really does work when churches and associations don’t care about who gets the credit as long as God gets the glory. It really does work when we begin to see a need known as an opportunity given. It really does work when we are obedient to the Lord’s leading and don’t let a great opportunity get bogged down in committees and board meetings.
The cooperative spirit that has guided the South Carolina Baptist Convention and its 2,100 churches has always been led by the belief that we can do more together than we could ever do on our own. None of these five churches collected 1,100 Bibles on their own. They were collected when they partnered together under a common belief that God was at work in this challenge and that He was inviting them to join Him in what He was doing. God really is at work all around us, and He still invites all of us to join Him in what He is doing – and sometimes He works through partnerships.
As a convention, we will gather in just a few weeks from now and we will once again be able to show the watching world that when it comes to partnerships, “It Really Does Work.” We are all called in different areas of the state to serve the kingdom, but we are all serving the King of the kingdom. We all have different preferences, different styles, different concepts, and different ideas about how best to serve the King of the kingdom, but when we partner with Him in what He is doing, “It Really Does Work.”
– Atkins is pastor of Powdersville First Baptist Church and president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention.