The Open Door

Janice and I just returned from the annual state executive director’s fellowship meeting that was held in one of the most beautiful locations on the North American continent, Banff, Alberta, Canada. Banff is surrounded by the magnificent, towering, granite peaks of the Canadian Rockies.

As I sat in my meetings, I was literally able to look out huge picture windows at snow-covered peaks that simply shouted the glory of God. The majesty of God’s creation was all around us in such a way that the only appropriate response was worship. On more than one occasion, I found myself sitting quietly, looking at the mountains and singing in my heart “Great is Thy Faithfulness.”

Dr. Richard Blackaby, who is president of our Southern Baptist seminary in Canada, led our corporate worship times. It was so good to experience fellowship again with Richard and his wife Lisa. Richard, as you may know, is the son of Henry Blackaby, whose ministry has been such an inspiration to all of us. In April, Richard will lead our convention staff in several times of spiritual enrichment as he speaks at our annual staff retreat.

On Friday night, at the concluding dinner with the state executive directors, Gerry Taillon, executive director of the Canadian Baptist Convention, took the podium for a challenging message. He shared with us how God had given him a vision for planting one thousand churches across Canada by the year 2020. He told of his ministry across the vast expanses of Canada where thirty-five million people live, so many of them have no evangelical witness.

Southern Baptist Churches in Canada are doing a great work, but as Gerry said, these are still the “early years” of Baptist work in Canada. He called upon all of us to pray for their ministry and to do what we can to help them plant these one thousand churches. At the end of the banquet, I thanked Gerry for his challenging message and said, “Last year in Georgia we planted 104 new churches in one year. I would love to see us help Southern Baptists in Canada plant 100 of those 1,000 churches you are envisioning in Canada by 2020.”

Could it be that Gerry’s words that night were meant for Georgia Baptists? Could it be that God would have us make a significant contribution to the proclamation of the Gospel in Canada over the next decade and a half? I don’t know the answer to that, but I am praying about it and ask you to pray with me.

I am inspired every time I get together with my peer group. There are forty-two Baptist state conventions and through each one of them God is doing a great work. New churches are being planted. Young people are surrendering to full time Christian service. Multiplied thousands are coming to faith in Jesus Christ.

A large part of our meeting was given to discussions about the Cooperative Program and what can be done to strengthen it. A report was given by the Ad Hoc Cooperative Program Task Force that has been at work for two years. I had the joy of serving on that Task Force as did Frank Cox, pastor of North Metro First Baptist in Lawrenceville. The Southern Baptist Executive Committee received the report and recommendations of the Task Force at its February meeting. I believe that we are going to see unprecedented growth in the Cooperative Program in the years just ahead as Southern Baptists become educated once again on this powerful vehicle for taking the Gospel into all the world.

Remember, you do not give to the Cooperative Program; you give through the Cooperative Program. It is not an end unto itself. It is not a program that we give to. It is a channel through which we fulfill our Acts 1:8 responsibility to communicate the Gospel in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

I left the beautiful mountains of Western Canada inspired about our future ministry as Georgia Baptists and Southern Baptists. Only God knows what can happen if we will become supremely dedicated to Him. It was mentioned that Baptists give through their church about 2.6% of their income. If that number was increased by just one percent, we would still be a long way from obediently giving the tithe, but we would receive about one billion dollars more per year through our churches to advance the cause of Christ in the world.

I know this for sure; God did not create us for stagnant living. He created us for growth and inspiring missionary service.