CBA Weekly: Stronger Together Is Almost Here
Friends,
Backpacks are coming off the shelf and alarm clocks are getting set again. Didn’t we just start summer?!
Something Larry Hyche said in our office on Monday at our Lunch and Learn event really struck me, especially since it’s the time where school is starting again. He laid the research out in front of us, and the picture of this generation is hard to look at. They are the most connected young people in human history and also the most anxious and the loneliest. Then he turned a corner. That same generation is reaching for something solid, and of every institution in American life, the people they trust most are not celebrities or politicians. They are older believers.
Not a better program. A person. Someone who has walked with the Lord long enough to have something worth saying, and who is willing to say it over a cup of coffee or a meal.
If you have quietly assumed that the young people in your church have no interest in what you know, keep reading. The research says otherwise, and it is one of the most hopeful things I have read in a long time.
United in Prayer
Pray 4 Chilton continues, and there is still room for you. Sign up for a 15-minute daily prayer time and join believers across the county who are covering our churches, our schools, and our neighbors in prayer.
Saturday, August 15: Stronger Together
Saturday, August 15, 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM at West End Baptist Church in Clanton.
Marriage takes work, and it is worth it. We will laugh together with comedian Clay Cox (featured on Dry Bar Comedy) and grow together with Cliff and Toma Knight of Lakeview Baptist Church in Auburn, plus breakout sessions led by couples from across the association. Jennifer and I will be leading one of those breakouts, and we would love to see you there.
Cost is $50 per couple and includes lunch. Registration is open now.
Register for Stronger Together
Pastors, if you have not already, would you share this with your congregation this Sunday? I texted you a link on Monday with everything you need: a flyer, a slide for your announcement loop, and a version of the promo video with no music if your church runs video announcements. If it did not reach you, call the office and we will get it to you. A one-day investment in a marriage pays dividends for years.
A Word of Thanks: Who’s Your One?
On July 28, 43 people from 8 CBA churches filled the fellowship hall at First Baptist Clanton for our Who’s Your One? evangelism training, part of Celebration 250. Gary Miller opened the Word from Luke 15, and Rob Jackson walked us through the Great Commission with honest testimonies of God working through ordinary, imperfect attempts to share the gospel.
Everyone left with a bookmark to write down the name of their one and a 30-day guide for praying over that name. If you took one home, keep praying. If you filled in a name, do not stop at day 30. I’ve already heard of someone leading their “One” to the Lord since that training last week. God is faithful to draw people to himself as we share the good news abundantly!
They Are Not Running From You. They Are Looking For You.
On Monday, Larry Hyche of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions walked us through what the research actually says about Gen Z, and the first half was hard to hear. They are the most connected generation in history and also the most anxious and the loneliest. Anxiety is now the leading diagnosis among young adults. It has even become the number one reason people come home early from the mission field, or never go at all.
That is not where he left us.
The same generation starving for truth is turning toward the church. Barna calls them “the open generation.” Gen Z adults are now the most likely to talk about their faith outside a church building, the most likely to attend worship, and the most likely to open a Bible looking for direction.
Then Larry showed us his own research with Alabama Baptist college students, and one number is worth sitting with. Of the students who did not yet have a spiritual mentor, 91 percent said they would welcome one. Nearly two thirds of those who had a mentor met that person at church. And across 130 students, only five were being mentored by someone from the Boomer generation.
Read that again if you are 60 or older, because it is about you. Many of our churches are full of believers who quietly assume young people have no interest in them. The research says the opposite. Of every institution in American life, Gen Z trusts older generations the most.
You do not need a curriculum or a title. Pray for one name. Ask that person to coffee. Larry’s research says there is a very good chance they say yes.
Thank you to Larry for making the trip, and to everyone who came out Monday.
Prayer Focus
- Students, teachers, and school staff as the year begins. Pray for safety and friendships, and pray especially for the anxious ones walking back through those doors carrying more than anyone can see.
- Couples coming to Stronger Together on August 15, and for the marriages that most need what happens in that room.
- Older believers across our churches, that they would see how badly they are needed, and that God would put one young person on the heart of each of them.
- The names our churches wrote down at the Who’s Your One training on July 28. Thirty days is not a finish line but just the beginning.
- Pastors and their families as fall ministry calendars fill up fast.
This Week & Upcoming
- Minister’s Wives Get Together: Monday, August 10, 6:00 to 8:00 PM at the CBA office (1108 4th Avenue North, Clanton). Details
- Stronger Together: Saturday, August 15, 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM at West End Baptist Church, Clanton. $50 per couple, lunch included. Register
The full calendar lives at chiltonbaptist.online/events, and you can subscribe to it so CBA dates land right on your own calendar. Has your church got something the association should know about? Send it to the office and we will get it posted.
Church of the Week
This week we lift up Chestnut Creek Baptist Church, pastored by Jimmy Simpler. Please pray for Bro. Jimmy and the Chestnut Creek family as they carry the gospel to their neighbors.
Grow With CBA (Open to Everyone)
These are for every believer who wants to grow, not just pastors and church staff.
- Ministry Training Institute, Fall Term A: Gospel-Centered Communication. Starts Tuesday, August 18, Tuesdays 6:00 to 9:00 PM. Registration is open now, so this is the week to sign up. Register through Samford
- Ministry Training Institute, Fall Term B: The Gospels. Starts October 20, Tuesdays 6:00 to 9:00 PM. Same registration link.
- Church Health Check-Up, a free online course you can work through at your own pace. Browse our courses
From Our Partners at the State Board (ALSBOM)
These events are hosted by the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, not by CBA, and they are open to our churches.
- Children’s Music Summit: Saturday, August 8, 8:00 AM to 3:30 PM. Hands-on training for children’s choir and music workers, and a good fit for daycare workers too. Details
- Calling Out The Called Sunday: Sunday, August 9. A statewide pulpit emphasis on how God calls and sets apart men to preach the gospel, and how a congregation can help shape the next generation of ministers. Details
- Reaching and Teaching the Next Generation: Sunday, August 9, 2:30 to 5:30 PM at Westwood Baptist Church in Alabaster. Dr. Shelly Melia of Dallas Baptist University keynotes, with more than ten breakouts for anyone who leads children from birth through age 18. Details
Ministry Openings
Churches in our association are prayerfully seeking staff. You may know exactly the person to pass these along to.
- Bi-Vocational Worship Minister: Mt. Carmel #1 Baptist Church, Thorsby. Part-time, 8 to 12 hours per week.
- Minister of Youth: Jemison First Baptist Church. Full-time, grades 7 through 12.
Full listings and how to apply: chiltonbaptist.online/ministry-openings
If your church has an opening you would like listed, contact the office and we will help you get the word out.
Announcements
- Stronger Together. Saturday, August 15. Do not wait on this one. Register
- Ministry Training Institute Fall Term A begins Tuesday, August 18. Register through Samford this week.
Grateful to serve alongside you,
Tyler Eiland Associational Mission Strategist Chilton Baptist Association
This newsletter is send-only. Reach us at chiltonbaptist.online/contact or [email protected].
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