Halloween can be a polarizing time of year for Christians. Some Christians believe that Halloween is inherently evil while others believe that it is harmless. Some churches prohibit their members from celebrating Halloween, some churches offer fun Halloween night alternatives (Reformation Nights, Fall Festivals, etc.), some churches encourage their members to “redeem” Halloween.
on the untimely passing of Don Hinkle
As many of you know Don Hinkle, founding editor of the Missouri Baptist Conventions “Pathway”, stepped into the presence of Jesus yesterday. Recently, he had planned to transition away from the Pathway at the end of the year, yet his transition came early and to a much better position. The day his transition was announced I had the opportunity to say “Thank you” for his years of service and express my excitement of his next venture. If you knew Don you knew that he cared deeply about serving churches and consistently helped Baptist across the nation to to articulate a biblical worldview in all aspects of life.
Whenever we would visit would talk about everything from Jesus, politics, sports, bowties and the state of journalism amongst other things. Under his leadership Missouri Baptist experienced many years of Kingdom service. While I am sad to see him pass, I know he is in heaven reunited with his sweet Bernadette and walking the Streets of Gold! Nevertheless, I have hope that I will see them both again in glory as we worship at the Throne of the Lamb, but for now we grieve, knowing that the Lord gives and the Lord takes away.
Thank you, Don Hinkle, for your friendship, leadership, love for the Kingdom of God
, and commitment to Southern Baptists.
VBS Covid Outbreak
Dear Church Family,
After our recent Vacation Bible School (VBS) we received news that multiple volunteers and participants may have been exposed to Covid-19 (possibly BA.5/ Ninja variant). We have been informed of multiple people, as of Wednesday afternoon, have tested positive. This composes 25% of those in attendance which includes volunteers and participants.
VBS families are being notified and we are contacting people with whom those who are positive were in close contact. It could not be known exactly how many people were exposed before coming to church; therefore, we are asking the congregation to assume they are a close contact and test immediately.
Soma is consulting directly with a medical expert on COVID who is treating acute COVID patients and patients with COVID long-haul symptoms daily. We have learned that even the medical community has been surprised by how quickly this current surge has come upon us. Many organizations are experiencing breakthrough infections even in vaccinated people. Although rare, breakthrough infections can be severe. Thankfully, those who have tested positive in this church have communicated they are experiencing only mild symptoms and it looks like there will be no further positive cases.
The Elders have made the following adjustments through careful deliberation after listening to expert medical advice:
- We are asking all persons who were at our Sunday Service (July 17th) to test immediately and report any positive results to a healthcare provider and the church office (573-635-4832).
- We are cancelling Gospel Community for Thursday night (July 21st)
- The church offices will be closed July 22nd – 24th (Friday – Sunday) for disinfecting.
- This week’s Sunday gathering is cancelled, and we will be hosting an online service both on Facebook (facebook.com/somajeffersoncity) and YouTube (youtube.com/somajcmo).
- Sunday Gatherings that meet in person will be socially distanced where possible. If you are feeling sick, please where are mask or choose to join us online.
- Positivity rates will be monitored continually and adjustments to these policies will be made as is appropriate.
We understand how fatigued we all are with Covid, this virus: however, knows no fatigue. Therefore, it is important that we stay prepared to make necessary adjustments to keep one another safe. The good news is situations that occur like this one no longer have to shut our church down indefinitely. The science is clear that when people gather masked, vaccinated and/or boosted it protects us and others, it makes the risk of transmission extremely low. Much more is known about this virus now; such measures ensure that we can continue to worship safely and in person.
We love you each more than you will ever know,
The Elders of Soma
“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD. The LORD is God, and He has made His light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar! You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you.”
– Psalm 118:26–28 (ESV)
Statement on SBC Guidepost Solutions’ Independent Investigation
Dear Missouri Baptists,
During the March 7- 8 Excutive Board meeting the Board created the Sexual Abuse Response Team “to review and recommend MBC responses and action steps to take after receipt of the report of the SBC Sex Abuse Task Force (SATF)…”. We wanted to take a moment to respond to this report as well as offer you some encouragement, wisdom, and counsel.
Doubtlessly, many of you have seen in various news outlets that the SATF has released the report from the independent investigation by Guidepost Solutions. Last June, the messengers to the 2021 Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention who gathered in Nashville, TN authorized a third-party investigation into the Executive Committee’s handling of sexual abuse allegations since 2000.
The findings of that investigation were released Sunday and have been in headline news since. Our team has individually reviewed, and will continue to review, the report. In light of its findings, we feel compelled to say the following:
- We were sickened by the details we read in the report.
- The third-party investigation was judiciously carried out and we have every reason to believe its findings are accurate.
- We grieve the abuse perpetrated by men, churches, and convention entities who should have been trusted and lament the shame they brought on the cause of Christ in the world.
We want to be clear. This report reveals an ongoing pattern of sin, idolatrous use of power, and callousness toward the abused. The report made several recommendations for institutional change and cultural repentance. We are grateful for those leaders and staff members whom the report revealed were serving faithfully throughout different levels of our denomination.
In this time of shock and grief, we offer you two counsels that are prayerfully given and biblically sourced. First, this is a time for prayer, for the abused, for justice, for lamentation and repentance of the perpetrators and our denomination. Second, we urge you to consider careful and wise responses in this season and that we approach this with a spirit of humility and lamentation.
We want to engage our denomination as bringers of change. We pray that in Anaheim our advocacy and action as cooperating churches will foster a new spirit of justice, righteousness, and compassion for our fellow Southern Baptists as we continue our gospel mission.
One of the best ways for your church to make clear your desire for change is to join us at the annual convention in Anaheim, CA (June 12-15). We are encouraged by those concerned with our integrity on these issues and we hope that we can be a part of that change in church culture. We can do that by loving one another well, and walking with integrity and grace in our own circumstances. We are hopeful that the future of the SBC can and will be different.
Respectfully,
Missouri Baptist Convention Sexaul Abuse Response Team
- Pastor Jon C. Nelson — Soma Community Church, Missouri Baptist Convention President
- Heather Kuenzle — First Baptist Church New London
- Pastor Mike Leake — Calvary of Neosho
- Pastor George H. Fulgham Jr. — Spiritual Life Director, MBCH Children & Family Ministries
- V. Lynn Bristol — First Baptist Church Warsaw
Recent weather in the Mid-South
Dear Missouri Baptists Pastors and Churches,
We hope you are enjoying the Christmas holiday and spending time with your family and friends. As many of you may have seen in recent news, violent weather spread throughout the Mid-South this past weekend. Because of your continued giving to the Cooperative Program, our Disaster Relief (DR) teams are already on the ground working, helping those in need. We are currently working in Defiance, Mo. in partnership with Charette Baptist Church. We are also working in Princeton, Ky. and Dawson Springs, Ky. providing hot meals, cleanup, chaplaincy, childcare, and showers. We plan on beginning to aid in personal property recovery soon. While this is great, I know many of you are wondering what you can do to help, and we wanted to give you a few action steps.
- Give: You can give to our Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief by going to modr.org/give. Which directly helps to fund our mission in these areas and provides assistance especially during the Christmas season
- Go: If the Lord is leading you to go, please be obedient to that. Speak with your pastor or your association’s DOM to find out more information on how you can get involved with our DR efforts.
- Pray: We serve a powerful God who hears our prayers and responds in kindness. We also know that a Christian is tallest when they are on their knees. So, join us and many others as we fall to our knees and remember those who have been directly affected by this devastation.
- Follow: Follow our Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief pages on Facebook and/or Twitter to stay up to date on our latest disaster relief efforts. (Facebook – facebook.com/MOBaptistsDR/ and Twitter – twitter.com/MOBaptistsDR)
Exciting Building Update
We have received many questions and inquiries people that are curious of the outcome of the vote for the Concord Baptist Church Association building, affectionately known as Soma. We first and foremost want to thank you so much for your prayers over the last few years. As you well know we have asked for ownership of this building for the better half of a decade. Unfortunately our efforts to gain ownership have been rebuffed multiple times.
Recently the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC), unbeknownst to us, approached our association with the idea of a swap. MBC Offered a wing of their building in downtown Jefferson City for ownership of the associational offices. A very similar swap was made 20 years ago when MBC gave this property to our association to do ministry at Lincoln University. Through financial analysis our association has estimated that it will save the association approximately $200,000 in the swap and it was presented to the large association to be voted on at the meeting on Sunday.
This last Sunday our Elder Kevin and Mrs. Terry attended the bi-annual associational meeting which was held at Freshwater church. The vote on the building was one of many things that needed to be dealt with this last Sunday, as the vote came up there was a light discussion and then the near unanimous vote to deed the building back to MBC! To be honest I received this text a few minutes before I had to step into a pulpit and preach for the third time on Sunday. And I can barely contain myself and excitement and was over come to tears. This is a momentous occasion for Soma and also for our association. In the next few weeks you will receive updates giving you specifics on what we’re going to be doing to move forward.
I can already hear many of you asking the question “what’s our next steps?“ Over the next few weeks we will be assessing the building to specifically know what needs to be done in the upcoming months. We will be communicating with you any and all moves that the association will be making and that we will be making and when construction will begin on the building. Please make sure that you follow these newsletters and our blog to keep up to date. Thank you so much for your prayers over the last few years. This is a step in the right direction but it’s not the end goal and please know we have so much work to do. I’m excited for what’s next for our convention, our association and our church.
Statement by MBC officers regarding the vote of the SBCEC
Yesterday in a four plus hour Zoom call the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee (SBCEC) approved – in a vote of 44-31-3 – the contract that allows a third-party investigator to access privileged materials for an inquiry into the Executive Committee’s (EC) handling of sexual abuse claims as voted on by messengers in the Nashville 2021 SBC Annual Meeting (SBCAM) (c.f. Guidepost Letter of Engagement (10/1/21)).
We believe that yesterday’s vote is not the end but the beginning of this process that will culminate in the report given at the 2022 SBCAM in Anaheim. We want to thank each of our four members of the EC who took time to participate in today’s meeting and the countless hours behind the scenes working to come to a resolution that will move this process forward.
Many pastors and laypeople have expressed disappointment and/or appreciation at the votes of our EC members. While you may not fully agree with the votes of each member, we want to express thanks and respect for the time and prayerfulness that they have taken towards this and many other votes. There are many mitigating factors that have led each of our members to vote the way they have chosen to – including, but not limited to, information that we are not privy to.
As officers we are choosing to take our EC Chairperson’s shepherding council to heart and we would ask you to do the same,
“It’s time to stop attacking the motives of one another and move forward on this path together.” – Pastor Rolland Slade
Whether you consider today’s actions from our EC a “victory” or “defeat”, please continue to stand with us as we now navigate uncharted and unprecedented waters that may prove to be incredibly difficult. We know that if we fail in this task the only one who wins is our enemy and his minions. May we pause to remember the words of Christ, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Finally, we praise God that Christ honoring decisions have been made so that we can move forward as ONE for the Kingdom of God. Let’s continue to focus on our collective work through the Cooperative Program. Our prayer is that this refining moment finds each of us ministers and churches faithful and ignites a renewed passion for gospel unity within our family.
We are excited to celebrate what the Father has done in our state at our Annual meeting this Oct. 25-26 at the Branson Convention Center. Please mark your calendars and plan to join us in Branson at this important gathering of Missouri Baptists and if you have not registered please do so here (mobaptist.org/annual-meeting/). May God richly bless you!
Signed by,
The Officers of the Missouri Baptist Convention
Pastor Jon C. Nelson – President
Pastor Chris Williams – Lead Pastor of Fellowship Church – First Vice – President
Rev. Dr. Lane Harrison – Lead Pastor of LifePoint Church – Second Vice – President
Pastor Jason Marlin – Senior Pastor at First Baptist Kirksville – Secretary
Statement by MBC officers regarding the SBC Executive Committee and the Sexual Abuse Task Force
Dear Missouri Baptist Pastors and Churches,
First and foremost, thank you so much for your Kingdom work in our state and around the world. You are on the frontlines of ministry, the local church, the headquarters of the Convention. Without our cooperative efforts we would not be seeing the advances for the Kingdom of God.
This summer at the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting an overwhelming majority of the 15,000 messengers passed a motion commissioning an investigation the handling of sexual abuse within our family—namely the Executive Committee. Rev. Dr. Ed Litton, our current SBC President, quickly appointed the Task Force (SATF) and the subsequently rehired Guidepost Solutions, formerly contracted by the Executive Committee (EC) for similar purposes.
The messengers intended the Task Force and third party agency to have unfettered access to and all information they would need to best conduct the investigation and bring any sins or correction needed to light through a report to the Convention at the 2022 Annual Meeting in Anaheim, CA next June.
Though there are very real legal implications and complications from this decision, what is not complicated is what the messengers at the annual meeting said that they wanted done. While we are thankful for each member of the EC and SATF, we are asking that you quickly sign the contract and begin the hard, difficult work of investigation.
To accomplish this we ask:
- The EC agrees to waive its Attorney-Client privilege related to matters only within the scope of the Motion (items pertaining to Sexual Abuse). This is stated by the SATF’s latest “messenger model”(SATF Summary Bullet Points).
- Agree to and sign the SATF negotiated contract with the commissioned third-party investigative agency and/or “umbrella” attorney chosen by the SATF.
- Agree to comply fully with all of “the accepted best standards and practices recommended by the commissioned third party.” [Guidepost Solutions]
Let us be crystal clear, we abhor and renounce any form of sexual abuse and any attempt to conceal this sin. We grieve with and pray for survivors of sexual abuse and we seek to honor them as image bearers of God.
We also pray that both EC and the SATF will act justly, wisely, lovingly, and expeditiously in making Godly decisions to fulfill the will of the SBC messengers, restore the eroding cooperative trust so that we can continue to work together for the sake of God’s Kingdom.
We believe the Cooperative Program remains the most powerful tool for mobilizing resources for fulfilling the Great Commission to the world. Our joint efforts through the Cooperative Program make the SBC who we are. We stand with you in faith, that when we walk in the light as He is in the light, that our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ can handle whatever fallout may occur.
Our prayer is that God honoring decisions are made soon so that we can move forward as one for the Kingdom of God. We pray that this refining moment finds each of us ministers and churches faithful and ignites a renewed passion for gospel unity.
Signed by,
The Officers of the Missouri Baptist Convention
Pastor Jon C. Nelson – Lead Pastor of Soma Community Church – President
Pastor Chris Williams – Lead Pastor of Fellowship Church – First Vice – President
Rev. Dr. Lane Harrison – Lead Pastor of LifePoint Church – Second Vice – President
Pastor Jason Marlin – Senior Pastor at First Baptist Kirksville – Secretary
The Pastors and Messengers of the Missouri Baptist Convention
Pastor Nicholas Drake, Richland Baptist Church, Kingdom City
Pastor Scott Gordon, Claycomo Baptist Church, Kansas City
Pastor Taylor Whitmore, Southridge Baptist Church, Jefferson City
Pastor Rob Hurtgen, First Baptist Church, Chillicothe
Pastor Jamie Cartledge, Worship Pastor Claycomo Baptist Church, Kansas City
Pastor Joshua Meranda, Associate Pastor, Open Door Church, Columbia
Pastor Ryan Palmer, Senior Pastor, South Haven Baptist Church, Springfield
Pastor Chad Hodges, Director of Missions, Jefferson Baptist Association
Pastor Dale Thompson, Senior Pastor, Grant Avenue Baptist Church, Springfield
Pastor Michael Beene, Senior Pastor, Riverview Baptist Church, Osage Beach
Pastor Ryan West, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church, Steele
Pastor Mike Bergman, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church, Adrian
Pastor Tim Sperduto, Senior Pastor, Memorial Baptist Church, New Haven
Pastor Joshua Christy, Senior Pastor, Holden Baptist Church, Holden
Pastor Raymond Cabello, Senior Pastor, Redemption Christian Church, Maryland Heights
Pastor Steve Hodges, Senior Pastor, Prospect Baptist Church, Lonedell
Pastor Mike Self, Pastor of Discipleship & Administration, Canaan Baptist Church, St. Louis
Rev. Dr. Wesley Vance, Senior Pastor, Fellowship Kansas City, Kansas City
Pastor Russell Duncan, Associate Pastor of Mission’s and Education, Calvary of Neosho, Neosho
Rev. Dr. Mike Hubbard, Lead Pastor, Genesis Church, Eureka
Pastor Gary Walton, Senior Pastor, Heritage Baptist Church, Bolivar
Pastor Charles Yates, Senior Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church, Odessa
Pastor Robert Hudson, Senior Pastor, Littleby Baptist Church, Rush Hill
Pastor Dan Updegrave, Senior Pastor, The Road Church, Clever
Pastor LP Cook, Lead Pastor, Union Hill Baptist Church, Holt’s Summit
Pastor Jayson Workman, Lead Pastor, South Gate Baptist Church, Springfield
Pastor Paul Wellinghoff, Lead Pastor, FBC Eminence, Eminence
Pastor Anthony Stephens, Lead Pastor, FBC Fulton, Fulton
Pastor Scotty Watson, Senior Pastor, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Centralia
Pastor Richard Nations, Director of Missions, Thousand Hills Baptist Association, Kirksville
Pastor Dave Becker, Missions & College Pastor, FBC Bolivar, Bolivar
Pastor Gregg Fina, Revitalization Pastor, New Hope Baptist Church, Pevely
Pastor Dan Born, Pastor, Believers Church, Hannibal
Pastor Scott Hawkins, Lead Pastor, Calvary Baptist Of Joplin
Pastor Tyler Shipley, Senior Pastor, Huntsville First Baptist Church, Huntsville
If you are a Missouri Baptist Pastor or Layperson and would like to sign to this statement, please comment below with your name and title/church (if applicable) and we will add your name.
Soma’s July Newsletter!
VBS Recap |
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This past weekend we were able to have VBS in person this year and we are so glad we did! This year we dug into the Bible and discovered truth with the theme Destination Dig. Kids were able to hear Bible stories, make crafts, dance and sing, and play fun games. We were able to have about 20 kids (most due to Covid concerns). We would like to thank all our volunteers that helped make VBS happen! VolunteersIf you are twelve and older we need you to Volunteer to help on Sunday mornings and at special events! If there is a volunteer position you would like to try out please let us know! We will have training opportunities for every position and if you try it out 4 times and that position isn’t the one for you we can help you find a new one! Sign up at: https://somajc.churchcenter.com/people/forms/241926 We are in need of the following and below the list you can find the description for that area. Current Volunteer Needs: Coffee (arrive at 8:40) Hospitality( greeting at the Door)(arrive at 9) Set up (arrive @7) Tear down (after service) Worship team (singers and instrumentalists) sound board (running sound during service Media team Sunday Gatherings
Youth
Rooted (College)
LU Move in VolunteersSaturday August 7th the Incoming students will move into Lincoln and we need your help! We would like to be present on campus while students are moving in. If you are interested please fill out the form! More details will be coming! If you are not able to come help please be praying over these new students as they move in and start school. Sign up here to help! https://people.planningcenteronline.com/forms/275936/fields Youth! |
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If you have kids Grades 6th to 12th we want to invite them to our youth program! We are starting lessons on how to study your bible and how to prepare your heart and mind for School. We meet almost every Sunday night from 6 to 7:30. |
Covid infoPlease know that we are aware and concerned about the increase in COVID cases across the US and Cole County and we continue to monitor the situation. We highly encourage you to get vaccinated as soon as possible so we can continue to move forward in fully overcoming this pandemic, and we continue to ask those who are not vaccinated to wear a mask in order to limit the spread and protect the vulnerable, especially our children who are not yet eligible for vaccination. Our downstairs option also remains open for those who would like to social distance during our Sunday Gatherings. We will provide any future updates as necessary! |
Guidelines for Limited June Reopening
Dear Soma,
To begin with, I am so proud of you. I am constantly bragging on you and sharing story after story of God’s grace! I wanted to share with you some minor changes we are making to our gatherings starting June 21st at Soma. We have been praying and thinking for a while now about the order of our gatherings. We’ve decided upon a few changes we are going to make for the next season of life at our church. There are 2 things we need address in this post. [Read more…]
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