May 13, 2002
Texans to lead Bivocational Ministers' Association
___By Dan Martin
___Texas Baptist Communications
___ARLINGTON--Three Texans were elected to top offices in the National Bivocational Ministers' Association during the group's annual conference, held at First Baptist Church of Arlington.
___David Keith, who has been bivocational pastor of First Baptist Church of Carlton for 18 years, was elected president, succeeding Dan Mullins, a pastor from Kettering, Ohio.
___Tom Echols, pastor of Eagles' Wing Baptist Church in Crowley, is first vice president; and Richard Ray, pastor of Living Faith Baptist Church of Buffalo, is second vice president.
NEW OFFICERS of the National Bivocational Ministers' Association are: (front row) Richard Ray, pastor of Living Faith Baptist Church in Buffalo, second vice president; Tom Echols, pastor of Eagles' Wing Baptist Church in Crowley, first vice president; David Keith, pastor of Carlton Baptist Church, near Hamilton, president; (back row) Chris Brewster, youth pastor at Southpark Baptist Church of Oklahoma City, youth representative; Sharol Cottingham, preschool coordinator at Southpark Baptist in Oklahoma City, treasurer; and Larry Lehr, pastor of Council Valley Baptist Church in Cushing, Okla., communications coordinator.
___Three Oklahomans were elected to the other offices--Chris Brewster, youth pastor of Southpark Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, youth representative; Sharol Cottingham, preschool coordinator at Southpark, treasurer; and Larry Lehr, pastor of Council Valley Baptist Church in Cushing, communications coordinator.
___The 2002 conference drew 152 participants from 17 states and Australia. Represented were ministers and spouses from Missouri, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Texas, Minnesota, California, New Mexico, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Ohio, Louisiana, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky and South Carolina.
___The group voted to hold its meetings in conjunction with regional gatherings, beginning with the 2003 meeting in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
___In Texas, 2,700 of the 6,000 congregations affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas are served by bivocational ministers, said Bob Ray, director of the BGCT bivocational/smaller church department. He added that 79 percent of the churches in the state convention have a membership of less than 100.
___In addition, he said, many churches are served by bivocational music, education or youth ministers.
___Three couples were recognized as exemplary laypeople. The awards were presented by Leon Wilson of Oklahoma City, national bivocational missionary for the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, one of the co-sponsors of the conference.
___The awards were given to Don and Peggy Bullard of Fairy Baptist Church in Fairy; Joe and Linda Young of Mount Tabor Baptist Church in Yauhannah, S.C.; and Bobby and Billie Cornelius of Deer Trail, Colo.
___In the keynote address, Texas pastor Dwayne Wheat of Big Spring encouraged participants to share leadership with people in the congregations they serve.
___"In every church, there are people who have the talents to do those things that need to be done," he said. "A pastor has a few--only a few--of the gifts needed for the effective operation of a church.
___"Our job is to empower people and to encourage them and to support them. We must be willing to take the risk to let people try. Are you willing to take the risk of shared leadership? If you are, it will change everything you do.
___"There are those in your congregation who have not figured out what God wants them to do," he added. "You can help them plant a dream, and if you are willing to share leadership, you can see people blossom and develop into the leaders we need to lead our congregations."
___Wheat and his wife, Bonnie, are public school educators in Big Spring. Several years ago, they gave their testimony at a Texas bivocational ministers' meeting about the murder of their daughter, Charla.
___Mrs. Wheat has written a book about the experience, which was available at the conference. The title is "God Gives a Song: Walking with God through a Crisis."
___In his president's address, Mullins, who operates a tow-truck business in suburban Dayton, Ohio, encouraged the ministers to a sense of urgency in sowing the seeds of the gospel in the fields where they labor.
___
___
Get printer-friendly version of this story
Send this story to a friend
News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.
Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!/ Signup for FirstLook
