The last two weeks in July saw several Arkansas Baptist churches serve throughout the state. These churches served both church plants and established churches in various stages of revitalization.
Approximately 50 participants from the Arkansas River Valley Association served in the south Arkansas communities of Magnolia, Waldo, and Carthage.
“This is the largest group we have ever taken and was made up of folks from eleven Association churches. Even more of our churches supported the mission trip with carnival prizes, financial giving and powerful prayer cover,” Associational Missions Strategist Danny Green said.
The group served at Faith Outreach in Waldo during each day, with one team holding a VBS while the other worked on the church facilities. Each evening consisted of carnivals, or block parties, with two held in Magnolia and one in Waldo. For their final day, the group moved to Carthage, where shelves were built to assist the food pantry at Helm Church, then the day ended with another carnival.
Looking back over the trip, Green commended the work of his team and the host churches.
“Each carnival was very well attended, the church folks were awesome at making contacts and engaging the guests, and folks were being saved at almost every location,” he said. At least nine professions of faith were recorded.
The same week saw 21 participants from Oppelo First Baptist Church serving in the Horseshoe Lake community with Horseshoe Lake Baptist Church. The group conducted a block party on Tuesday evening followed by three days of VBS in the morning, door to door evangelism in the afternoon, and revival services in the evening.
“This trip was great for our church as it created opportunities for our people to serve the Lord and to grow in faith together. We enjoyed great fellowship among ourselves and the host church, Horseshoe Lake Baptist,” Oppelo Pastor Brad Underwood said. “We had several community kids attend the VBS that had not attended the church before and some new adults at the revival services. The Sunday after we left, the host church reported they had several people attend that had not attended previously. One of those was a gentleman who they had been trying to get to come to church for seven years. Overall, I think the host church and our church were greatly encouraged and blessed by the Lord and that He was glorified through this effort.”
First Baptist Church in Monticello sent a team of 13 to host a sports camp in a local city park in Forrest City. The group was led by Luke Dawson, who recently transitioned to be the campus minister at UA-Fort Smith. According to Dawson, the sports camp allowed the opportunity to teach kids the fundamentals of baseball and softball and the students were able to share the Gospel with each person in attendance. The team was also able to help a local foster care support service, Together We Foster, by sorting through donated clothes, toys, and baby items, and donating school supplies for an upcoming event.
“Across four days, the Gospel was shared more than 40 times with people in Forrest City — we can only begin to imagine the eternal impact of these conversations. Our hearts are full; our faith has grown. A trip like this is an incredible opportunity for our students to serve another community and, most importantly, practice evangelism. A trip like this will motivate us to share the Gospel right where we are and will impact the spread of the Gospel at home just as much as in Forrest City,” Dawson said.
In addition to the teams from Arkansas, a group of students from Plattsburg, Missouri, spent a week in Forrest City and Cherry Valley, doing community service projects and door-to-door evangelism in both communities.
Justin Murphy, pastor of Beck Spur Baptist, noted the work ethic of the students.
“The members of the team were positive and pleasant to be around, they just loved to help others. Several of them loved to just talk about Jesus and His work. They rarely wanted breaks, and when they took breaks, they were very brief. They left every area they touched far better than they found it,” Murphy said. “There were many contacts and gospel conversations with the people they served along with random people they encountered. The team was always looking for more ways to serve. They truly wanted to connect with the community while they were with us.”
Plans are being made for similar ministry to occur in the summer of 2025, as well as during Spring Break. Churches desiring to serve in Arkansas can request more information at https://www.absc.org/missions-team-form—participate-in-a-mission-trip, and churches who would like to host a group can communicate that request at https://www.absc.org/missions-team-form—to-request-a-mission-team-to-assist-your-church.