September 16, 2002
Texas directors of missions
form professional organization
___By Marv Knox
___Editor
___CEDAR HILL--Directors of associational missions from across Texas have formed a professional organization to strengthen their ministry to churches.
___Missions directors from associations affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas created the Texas Associational Directors of Missions Network during a meeting in Cedar Hill Aug. 29-30.
___Associations are groups of churches, usually from a distinct geographical area such as a county or region, that join together to achieve common purposes, such as advancing ministry and missions, providing ongoing education and offering fellowship opportunities. Directors of missions are the staff leaders of the associations.
___The new organization is open to all Baptist directors of missions in the state, said Gary Hearon, the network's founding president and director of missions for Dallas Baptist Association.
___"We want to invite all Baptist directors of missions, regardless of the convention with which they are affiliated," Hearon said.
___While the vast majority of Texas associations relate to the BGCT, some affiliate with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, which split from the older convention in 1998.
___"We don't know if they all will be involved, but all have been invited," Hearon stressed.
___The network organized an informal relationship that has existed for some time, he added. "Directors of missions have been getting together on an ad hoc basis a couple of times a year," he said, noting they put together programs for continuing education and encouragement.
___About three years ago, they began thinking about creating a formal organization, he said. That desire intensified after a "convocation on the association," which they sponsored a year ago.
___The network's mission is to "enhance the value and work of the directors of missions as they assist churches in their associations in fulfilling the Great Commission and the Great Commandment" given to the church by Jesus, reported Gary Loudermilk, director of missions for Denton Baptist Association and a network vice president.
___Network members adopted five values, Loudermilk said. They are:
___"The importance of the association in Baptist life."
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___"We see the network doing things for directors of missions and associational staffs that are not being done elsewhere," Hearon said. "We have particular needs, and we want to be able to discuss and address them so we can do the work more effectively."
___One of the key needs the network will address is leadership development, he added. "We kind of feel everything is in flux. We're in a time when we're going to have to create our own future. The director of missions must be a missions strategist, lay mobilizer, team builder, vision caster, network agent and harnesser of diversity. ... He must be an encourager and consultant to and for pastors, an administrator, a change agent and trust builder, and, hopefully, a model of spiritual maturity.
___"We want to be sure, in the climate of today, that we too are truth-tellers and effectively counter rumors and half-information, even when that may work against us. ... We're concerned about Baptist heritage. We want to do the job right."
___Noting some church historians have called the 19th century the century of the state convention and the 20th century the century of the national convention, Hearon observed: "It may be the 21st century is the century of the association. We were on the scene 180 years before Baptists even thought about conventions. We have been and can continue to be effective."
___In addition to Hearon and Loudermilk, other officers of the network are vice presidents Larry Johnson of Ellis Baptist Association and Gene Pepitone of Wichita/Archer/Clay Baptist Association and secretary/treasurer Jim Leak of Hill Country Baptist Association.
___The network's website is www.baptistassociations.org.
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