Tim Noel, Director of Church Partnership & Missions Advancement, Arkansas Baptist Children & Family Ministries
With the anticipation of a new year, it takes a couple of weeks to get our footing. Coming off the holiday season, facing winter weather conditions and all that goes with it, we seem to find ourselves halfway through January before we get back into the swing of things. This leaves us feeling as though we are already behind rather than filled with the fresh start we had hoped to experience. Becoming overwhelmed just a few weeks into a new year is defeating. I want to encourage you to rest easy because we are all in this together. As Paul writes in Romans 12:4-6 we are reminded that individually we are not expected to do it all.
“Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts…
Arkansas Baptist Children and Family Ministries (ABCFM) is a part of the body of Christ. The local church is part of the body of Christ. The local association is part of the body of Christ. Just as our eyes depend on our hands, ABCFM and the church must depend upon each other. We may serve different roles within the body of Christ, yet we still serve Christ together. All throughout Scripture we read of partnerships with the end goal of extending the Kingdom of God. In a world full of hurting children and hurting families, together we can help them find peace and healing. Whether it be through Foster Care, Family Care, or Professional Christian Counseling; together we can impact the local communities of Arkansas with the hope of Christ.
We hold fast that the local church is God’s answer for the local community. The local church is the vehicle by which God reveals Himself to the hurting and lost among us. At ABCFM, our desire is to come alongside the local church and join you in bringing hope and healing to the people of Arkansas. My prayer is that 2024 will be a year of new partnerships with churches as well as strengthening existing church partnerships. Together, we can reach all of Arkansas. We are all one body. May we work as one to complete the task of impacting the vulnerable around us with the hope we have been given.