Kentucky Baptists, we hope to see you in the mountains! The annual meeting of the Kentucky Baptist Convention and the Kentucky Baptist Pastor’s Conference is less than two months away and I want to encourage you to join in us in Pikeville for a celebration of all God is doing through the cooperative mission efforts of Kentucky Baptist churches.
We will be celebrating Kentucky Baptists commitment to reaching the next generation, evidenced by a record number of hurting kids being ministered to through Sunrise and a record number of students hearing the gospel at Crossings camps. We will celebrate a record number Kentucky Baptists being involved in volunteer mission projects even as we welcome in what we anticipate will be the largest number of newly affiliating KBC churches in the past 12 years. We will rejoice over hundreds of KBC churches increasing their Cooperative Program giving, including 5 churches that increased more than $25,000 over the prior year. And we will thank God for His provision for the work, as is evident by KBC churches giving nearly $1 million more through the CP than you gave the previous year to support 52 church plants, 3600+ overseas missionaries, and so much more!
The annual meeting will take place on November 13th and the Pastor’s Conference will be on November 12th. You don’t want to miss either one!
But you should also plan to come to Pikeville a day or two early. Here’s why. More than two years ago, when we began dreaming about holding the annual meeting in Pikeville, we were hoping the effort would be an encouragement to churches in eastern Kentucky. As we met with pastors, DoMs, and state missionaries, that dream became a plan called Hope for the Mountains, a one-night crusade event to be held on Sunday evening, November 11. We are praying that God will use this event as a time of eternal harvest for those already being evangelized by churches throughout the region.
The Hope for the Mountains crusade will take place at the Eastern Kentucky Exposition Center in Pikeville. Evangelist Jon Reed will preach that evening. And Bubba Stewart and the Jason Lovins Band will provide the music.
For the crusade to be a success, we need your help. First, we need you to pray, asking God’s blessing on this initiative. Second, we need you and your church to get involved as counselors, choir members, ushers, and greeters for the service. All of the information is available for you at www.kybaptist.org/hope. Even if you don’t live in the region and can only show up on the day of the crusade, you can still volunteer to serve in a host of ways.
God is richly blessing the work of Kentucky Baptists. If you are one of us, thank you for supporting that work by giving through the Cooperative Program. And thank you for helping share the good news about that work with the members your church and the other churches in your association. Might God continue to use us, together, to reach Kentucky and the world for Christ!