Soaring Baptist Associations: Does Yours Fall Into This Category?
A perspective for local denominational organizations/judicatories on how they best empower their churches to serve from the base of their local context.
Synopsis: The is the second in a series of seven columns about various types of Baptist associations (with implications for local denominational organizations or judicatories in many denominations). A series of FREE video conferences are offered to support and dialogue about this typology.
They begin on August 7th. To sign up, send a message to George Bullard sharing your desire to participate and your email.
Read the overview column on this associational typology HERE.
Rundown: Articles on Baptist associations are often applicable to the local denominational organizations/judicatories of various denominations. They may be called associations, districts, classis, synods, and by other names. They are typically organisms more than organizations. Relational more than functional. Regional and national expressions of denominations are more organizational and functional.
(This column appears this week in the digital and print edition of The Baptist Paper. Access the column in the digital edition HERE. The Baptist Paper is a publication of TAB Media. Request a free trial HERE. See all TAB Media columns written by George Bullard HERE.) (Subscribe to this Substack Blog using the “Subscribe now” button below.)
Soaring Baptist Associations: Does Yours Fall Into This Category?
Soaring Baptist associations are exceptional in their understanding of their mission as a family of congregations. They understand that congregations are the association rather than the association organization being their primary identity.
They have vision clarity about how congregations achieve their full Kingdom potential. They engage in missions both locally and globally. Their focus is on how congregations in association add value to the missional engagement of one another.
Clearly present are associational leaders who catalyze vitality, competency and trust. Continual innovation is a hallmark as these associations help congregations soar with faith.
How Many Baptist Associations—in the SBC tradition—Are Soaring?
Not nearly as many associations are soaring as those that claim they are. Soaring associations are probably between 5% and 10% of all associations, which is no more than 55 to 110 of the more than 1100 in North America.
Soaring involves not only statistical, programmatic and missional success. It is about doing things that are significant in an exceptional manner. It is about creating and sustaining a movement that shows full surrender to God’s leadership.
It is also fleeting. An association can be soaring for five to seven years and then lose momentum or be disrupted by something internal or external to their context.
(Continue reading HERE.)
Reflections from George:
Soaring associations focus more on Kingdom growth than church growth. They focus on increasing the number of people in their context who are on an intentional Christ-like spiritual journey and connected with local congregations. They seek to carry out a strategy that is assertive enough that the percentage of people devoted to Christ in their fellowship area increase even as the population of their context increases. Only a small percentage of all associations achieve and sustain their type of movement.
These seven columns and the FREE video conference talking about them will cover associations which are Soaring, Strong, Stumbling, Struggling, and Spiritless. This parallels a typology for congregations that includes the same five types. I have been working on this typology periodically over the past four decades
I invite you to learn alongside me. I am still learning! I look forward to learning from you.
Sign up for the video conferences that begin August 7th.