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Posted on : Thursday January 9, 2020

“For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return there without saturating the earth and making it germinate and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat, so my word that comes from my mouth will not return to me empty, but it will accomplish what I please and will prosper in what I send it to do.” Isaiah 55:10-11

BCM/D missions team returns from Kenya

A dozen volunteers from six churches returned from a 16-day mission trip to Kenya on Dec. 9, 2019, coordinated in conjunction with the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware’s (BCM/D) partnership with the Gucha Central Baptist Convention.

Team members held four separate VBS programs and hosted pastor training seminars. BCM/D Executive Director Kevin Smith also had an opportunity to preach at one of the Kenyan churches. Participating BCM/D churches included Bethany Church in Columbia, Maryland; Weems Creek Baptist Church in Annapolis, Maryland; Paramount Baptist Church in Hagerstown, Maryland; Ocean City Baptist Church in Maryland; First Baptist Church of Elkton in Maryland; and First Baptist Church of Suitland in Maryland.

Further information about this team’s experience is forthcoming in our winter magazine and in upcoming blog posts. More opportunities will be available for those interested in participating in the BCM/D’s partnership with the Gucha Central Baptist Association.

Upcoming women’s conferences

Oak Grove Baptist Church (OGBC) in Bel Air, Maryland, will welcome Emily Crouch as the keynote speaker for their 2020 Women’s Conference starting at 8:30 a.m. on March 28, 2020.

Emily Crouch will be the keynote speaker for the 2020 Oak Grove Baptist Church Women’s Conference.

Crouch and her husband, Perry, have been happily married for 37 years and have two children and three grandchildren. For the last 30 years, she and Perry have served in a variety of ministries at Thalia Lynn Baptist Church in Virginia Beach.

Emily will share the message, “God’s Legacy, Our Heritage.”

The cost is $25 per person for ladies 26 and older and there a $10 discount for younger women. Tickets include a continental breakfast and lunch.  The cost will increase to $30 after March 16. As an added bonus, OGBC will also host the Priscilla Shirer “Going Beyond” Simulcast on April 25, 2020. Tickets for both events are available for a total of $40.  For more information or to purchase tickets, check out the website.

Riva Trace Baptist Church in Davidsonville, Maryland, will have a women’s conference from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 8. Eliza Huie, a Biblical counselor and the author of “Raising Kids in a Screen-Saturated World” and “Raising Teens in a Hyper-Sexualized World,” will be the guest speaker.

Musician Eileen Estes will lead in worship. The cost is $30 and includes a light breakfast and catered lunch.

Groups of 10 or more may request a reserved table. Purchase tickets online by Feb. 1.

School outreach

New Harvest Baptist Church, which meets at the Delaware Agricultural Center in Dover, Delaware, has a partnership with a local elementary school that was at one time the most underserved school in the Capital School District. The church provides support and hosts many activities for students and staff.
Church members collect school supplies and provide hand sanitizer and tissues for every classroom, Christmas gifts for families in need, as well as gifts for staff and teachers. They host a weekly Good News Club. Each spring and fall, members provide a breakfast and luncheon to express their appreciation for the staff and teachers. During the summer, the church hosts free sports, crafts and Bible study for the students.

Getting to know guests 

Ogletown Baptist Church, in Delaware, invites visitors to a family pizza lunch as a relaxing, no-pressure way to meet church leaders and ask questions. It’s also a great way for the leadership to meet and greet guests.

History Bites 

In 1862, a Provisional Foreign Mission Board formed in Baltimore. The Maryland Baptist Union Association (now the BCM/D)  approved William Crane as the agent to collect and send funds to Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) missionaries who were cut off from Richmond by the Civil War.

In 1895, Maryland Baptists gave 76 cents per member to foreign missions; the “south-wide” average was 8 cents.

In 1907,  Joshua Levering of Maryland proposed that the SBC form a Laymen’s Missionary Movement. J. Harry Tyler of Baltimore was the first president, with headquarters in Baltimore. This became the Baptist Brotherhood in 1926 and Men’s Ministries in 1997.  Joshua Levering united men for missions as Annie Armstrong did for women.