BLYTHEVILLE, Ark. – A new associational missionary is at the helm of the Mississippi County Baptist Association.
William Vassar began his role on May 13, 2024, after serving 12 years at First Baptist Church in Hoxie.
Though he has spent the last several years in Hoxie, Vassar was born and raised in Mississippi County in Manila. He worked at Nucor Yamato Steel for 15 years. God saved him at the age of 33 in 2008 at Manila First Baptist Church.
In 2009, Vassar left his steel job and followed the Lord’s lead as he entered seminary. In 2012, he graduated from Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary.
After seminary, Vassar sought the Arkansas Baptist State Convention (ABSC) for possible opportunities to serve. The ABSC representatives told him of opportunities across the state.
Vassar sent out about 65 resumes with no response. There was one church he had not sent a resume; Hoxie First Baptist Church had been struggling through a difficult season.
“I was about to give up, and the Lord called into remembrance that little church in Hoxie, Arkansas,” Vassar said.
Vassar sent a resume and the church responded almost immediately. The rest was history.
“God did the impossible in Hoxie. He took a preacher and a people and united them,” Vassar said. “Believing God, we served him, restarting three different times but sticking together to restore the witness of God to a very broken community. God restored the people individually, relationally, but most of all, missionally. Mission is more than a trip. It is my life.”
Vassar said First Baptist Church in Hoxie has been growing and increasing in every category. He noted they recorded seven baptisms in March and April.
As God righted the ship that is Hoxie First Baptist Church, He revealed to Vassar that his job had come to an end at Hoxie. Heartbroken and uncertain about leaving, Vassar said he began to search for possible places that needed a revitalizing mission-oriented gospel preacher.
“I found that my former home was in disarray and unsettled and needed a leader who would faithfully lead through hard times of revitalization,” Vassar said. “I had a Nehemiah moment. My heart broke for the people of Mississippi County and the communities within it.”
Vassar believes what happened in Hoxie can happen in the Mississippi County Baptist Association and its churches. He said the association is changing. The transition from times of old to today has not been seamless.
“The struggle for identity that matters is our greatest struggle,” he said.
Vassar said the association calls for a specialized strategic plan touching on six different yet related areas with the gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ at the center. Those areas are engagement, proclamation, revitalization, deployment, development, and synergy.
Vassar said the Mississippi County Baptist Association is here to assist churches to advance the Gospel and build the Kingdom. Additionally, he wants the churches to know that the association is for every member of the church from the prayer warrior who cannot walk to the benevolent heart that wants to give.
“Association is everyone,” he said.
The association is presently rebuilding its Disaster Relief team and trailer. Also, on the horizon, they see opportunities for developing a church planting pipeline, church revitalization renewal network, mission partnerships with other associations, and Acts 1:8 Days to engage their community with the love of Jesus.
“Much of Arkansas has become a forgotten place and because of this we think God is not at work. Do not believe it. We may forget, but God has not forgotten us. I believe He is about to start a movement if our churches will join for the common cause of Christ,” Vassar said.