Missions Messenger

OSAGE RIVER BAPTIST ASSOCIATION

Volume XXI March/April 2020 Issue 2

ORBA’s Twenty-First Semi-Annual Spring Meeting

Monday, March 9, 2020

Sulphur Springs Baptist Church 28728 E. Highway 54

El Dorado Springs, MO 64744

Meal 5:30 p.m. Business Meeting 6:30 p.m.

Speaker: Patrick Belshe, pastor of Amsterdam Baptist

LOOKING AHEAD to PROJECT LIFE

Have you started thinking about what your church can do for Project Life? This ministry collects small gifts to be distributed to the residents

of the Baptist Homes in Chillicothe and Ozark during May which is Senior Citi-zen Month. To make sure we get enough items to help every resident, we are

asking that you bring just the following items:

Kleenex/Puffs tissues regular size box Men or Women’s spray Deodorant/body spray

Mouthwash in 16 oz. Bottles Body, face, & hand lotions

Tooth paste/Denture Cleaners and adhesives Body Wash

Since these are to be gifts, please bring only new items. Any used item that we receive will be diverted to another ministry. In order to get the bags filled and delivered by early May we need your dona-tion in the office no later than April 30, 2020. Help us show our elders that we really appreciate the examples they are to us.

Ruth is looking for volunteers to take the gifts to the nursing homes in Chillicothe and Ozark for Project Life. There is no

specific day in May that they have to be there, but we would like them to be delivered by May 15. If you are interested call Ruth at 660-679-5621

Union Hall Baptist Church is planning a “Farewell

Dinner” for Jesse, Erica, Aubrey, Chilton, and Eliana

McCallister before they return to their mission field in

Germany in mid April. Join Union Hall in praying for

them as they return to the mission field, for health, safety, and continued

facility in the languages in which they minister.

The Union Hall Baptist Church saw 7 new mem-

bers become part of the church family in less than a

month. They were recognized at our annual “New

Members’ Dinner” February 23rd. We feel very

blessed.

Make your Easter Meal Special by making a Show

-Stopper dessert. Need some ideas?

Dawnita Phillips is holding a baking class at Kamp

Keirsey on March 26 @ 6:30 p.m.

Get some terrific cupcake decorating ideas and learn how to make a scrumptious Italian cream cake and the best carrot cake ever.

She is limiting the class to 12 people so don't wait to sign up. The class costs $15

per person. Call Ruth at 660-679-5621 to register.

Let's start baking!!!

Milo Baptist Church is hosting a

Chili Supper Fundraiser

When: Saturday, March 7

Time: 6:00 p.m.

Help us reach our goal of $50,000 so that we can

finish our building

Kamp Keirsey Korner

Kamp Keirsey T-Shirt Contest

Thank you to all who participated in this year’s contest. It has been a very exciting year with 27 entries! And the winner is…a combined effort from

the Schell City Baptist Church Youth Group. Thanks again for all your hard work and creativity.

Coming Soon To a Church Near You.

This year I am making it a priority to visit at least one of our associational churches per month. So far Sharon and I have been to South Fork Baptist

Church in the north and I have been to Hume Baptist Church on the western edge of ORBA. Please call and schedule a time that we can visit your

church. Sunday morning, Sunday night or even on Wednesday is fine. We would love to talk about Kamp with you and your church. I hope to hear

from you soon! Bill 660-679-1004

Encampment Committee Meeting

The Spring Encampment meeting is scheduled for Friday March 6th at 7pm at Kamp Keirsey.

Kamp Work Days

Scheduled Kamp Keirsey work days are: March 7th from 9am-3pm and April 11th from 9am-3pm.

Bring a sack lunch. Drinks and snacks will be provided. Thank you to all who come out and help make our Kamp great!

Ministry Opportunity/Campers on Mission Campers on Mission is a volunteer based missions work force. They will be coming to Kamp Keirsey on May 4th – 9th. COM does not charge for

their labor or time. It has been our privilege to be served by such a great ministry for many years. ORBA and Kamp Keirsey will be asking our

churches to provide a dinner meal every day during that week. Please plan now to help serve them as they serve us. Let’s bless Campers on Mis-

sion for what they do for our Kamp and our association every year. (Continued on page 3)

Notes from the Treasurer

“God designed us not to be hoarders, but conduits through which his

generosity flows.” – Art Rainer

If our lives are defined by Jesus, the one who came not to be served but to serve (Matthew 20:28), and since we are made in God’s image, and he is generous enough to give us all things through Jesus (Romans 8:23), then by both nature and salvation we are meant to be generous. When it comes to generosity, I love what Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 6:17-19:

Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God who richly provides us with all things to en-joy. Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share, storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the com-ing age, so that they may take hold of what is truly life. (Christian Standard Bible) When God provides for us, he does so for two reasons: That we might find enjoyment

and that we might be generous. These two reasons ultimately work together, because when you find someone who is generous you tend to find someone who is also joyful.

Generosity is freely giving what we have so that others might benefit. We live in a world surrounded by need. Often, when we think about need, the question we ask is, “What do I need?” And while we should not neglect our true needs, what if we started asking our-selves, first, “What needs do those around me have, and how can I help?”

If you want to grow in generosity, I would encourage you to not only start asking that question, but also begin to pray. Pray for God to give you a greater desire to be generous. Pray that God would show you the needs of others that you can help meet. Pray that God would expose things in your life that stifle your generosity, so you can then begin to deal with those and grow to serve others more.

(Opening quote is taken from The Money Challenge by Art Rainer, pg. 82.)

Mike Bergman ORBA/Kamp Treasurer

March 8, 2020

Pressing On, Taking Hold

“Pitchers and catchers report to camp…” That headline alone gets my juices flowing. It means Spring is almost here, and Spring brings baseball! As many of you know, I am a huge baseball fan. And yes, I root for the Cardinals. I have been a

Cards fan since I was a very young boy. One of my first memories is of the 1964 World Series. My dad grew up just south of St. Louis and my mom became a huge fan along the way. She was a grade school teacher and in the summer she would make her wardrobe for the new school year. She had a sewing room full of multi-colored bolts of fabric, boxes of spools of thread, and all the accessories you can imagine. She would spend her evenings sewing … and listening to the radio broadcasts of the St. Louis Cardinals. I would often sit at her feet and listen to Harry Caray and Jack Buck call the games.

Unfortunately, this baseball offseason has been rocked with the cheating scandal of the Houston Astros. They used electronic de-vises to spy out the signals being given between catcher and pitcher and then would bang on a trash can to tell the batter what pitch was on the way. I am a purest when it comes to baseball (I do not like instant replay at all). When I was a kid, my friends and I would tape up a broken wooden bat, wind tape around a frayed baseball, and find any open lot and play ball. The batter called balls and strikes. We were just honest kids who loved baseball and respected the integrity of the game. More than once I called myself out on strikes when I could not pull the trigger (swing the bat) on a good pitch down and away on the edge of the plate.

Integrity! Now there’s a novel concept. Without it our society suffers. Whatever arena you can think of – economics, politics, relig-ion, business, etc. – without integrity everything falls apart. Someone has described integrity as what governs your life when no one is watching. In Psalm 101 integrity is a synonym with blamelessness. Verse 2 says, I will give heed to the blameless way (to the way of integrity)… I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart (in the blamelessness of my heart). King David uses the same word again in verse 6, He who walks in a blameless way (way of integrity) is the one who will minister to me. The king was saying that only those given to integrity of life would be invited to serve in his royal court.

The Oxford dictionary defines integrity as 1) “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles, moral uprightness; and 2) the state of being whole and undivided.” In this sense the opposite of integrity is hypocrisy, which Oxford defines as “the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one’s own behavior does not conform.”

Integrity is under attack in our day. The local church must be a bastion of integrity. We serve a King who has Himself done all that is necessary to make us whole. He took our sins upon Himself. He took the penalty for our sins. He has satisfied God’s wrath against sin so that we are now accepted by Him in Christ. This Good News that He died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, and was raised from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures is what gives us life—a whole life, a life of integrity. We are made blameless by the shed blood of Jesus and we have life by His resurrection.

Let us strive to be people of integrity in all our dealings. Our churches should be where people go to find wholeness. Broken people are all around us and they want to find wholeness. Our lives can bear witness to a saving God who forgives and transforms a broken life into a life of integrity. I believe God will use our pursuit of integrity as a beacon of hope for those who are lost and broken. We

were once exactly like them but Jesus has made us whole. Share your story and invite people to Jesus.

Living Life on Mission with Jesus,

Bro. Woody

Kamp Keirsey Korner continued

Summer Missionary Deadline March 9th

In December we went to SBU in Bolivar MO and Calvary University in Kansas City to speak to college students about the 2020 season Summer

Missionary Program at Kamp Keirsey. Summer Missions is a ten week internship (May 26-August 1, 2020) made possible through the Missouri

Missions Offering . Students will be serving as camp leaders at Super Summer and at Kamp Keirsey, and working with a local church during a

VBS. If you know of a college student who is missions minded and would like to earn $1,600 for the summer working at Kamp Keirsey please

contact : Bill Perkins 660 679 1004. The DEADLINE to apply IS MARCH 9TH

Kamp Keirsey Baking Class

What show stopper dessert are you planning for Easter? Need some Ideas? Simply terrific cupcake decorating ideas, scrumptious Italian cream cake and the best ever carrot cake are on the menu for the upcoming Cake Decorating Class at Kamp Keirsey. Mark your calendars for March 26th at 6:30 pm in the Kamp Keirsey dining hall. This class is limited to 12 people so don't wait to sign up. Only one class will be offered for this session. The cost is $15 per person in advance. To register call Ruth at 660-679-5621. Please send your registration fee to: ORBA 201

N Willow, P.O. Box 140 Butler, MO. 64730 or drop by the Association office. Let’s get baking!!!

For His Glory Alone,

Bill Perkins

Kamp Manager

FOCUS ON WMU

“It's all about the gospel” is the theme for the Week of Prayer for North American Missions (March 1-8) and the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. What an appropriate theme as we consider the 273 million people in North America who have no relationship with Jesus. And

what an opportunity to support our Southern Baptist Missionaries serving across the United States and Canada. Your church should have received samples of a poster, offering envelope and Prayer Guide, a Promotional DVD, and information about ordering free materials from Missouri Woman's Missionary Union. The Prayer Guide will introduce you to North American Mission Board missionaries like Mary Eliff, certain God would use her skills in television to enlarge His kingdom, yet when God called her and husband Dave to plant a church in Seattle, they answered the call. You will meet J.D. Fasolino who left Venezuela with his wife and family to minister in Canada assuming he would minister through a local church, yet was moved to plant a Hispanic church among a largely unchurched population; and Kirk Kirkland, an African American pastor leading a diverse congregation in Cincinnati, changing the city from one neighborhood to the next. These few represent our NAMB missionaries who go because they believe 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, CSB: “For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures . . .” Through our prayers and support, we en-able missionaries and church planters to do the most crucial thing: share the gospel. It should be our “thing” too!

“Unshakable Pursuit” is the theme of the Missouri Woman's Missionary Union Missions Celebration and Annual Meeting to be held April 3-4 at First Baptist Church, St. Charles, Missouri. The two-day agenda will be packed with breakout sessions, ministry projects, WMU age level training, bookstore shopping, dynamic speakers, and testimonies from IMB and NAMB missionaries. The keynote speaker will be Sandy Wisdom-Martin, National WMU Executive Director, who will be sharing knowledge she has gained during her years of experience as a WMU leader, as well as her passion for serving God. Early bird registration is $35 for the Celebration, available online now through March 20. After March 20, the fee will be $45. Registration for students grades 7 though college is $10. Visit www.mobaptist.org/wmu to register and get details regarding cost, tentative schedule, hotels, childcare and meals.

A Children's Missions Day Camp is scheduled for Saturday, April 25, at Kamp Keirsey. This event is for children in kindergarten through sixth grade. Be sure to put this on your personal and church calendar. Your church will receive details later.

Cooperative Program Sunday is April 26. Often church members have no understanding of what the Cooperative Program (CP) is or how it works to fund Christian higher education, leadership development, church planting, SBC programs, and missionaries in our country and around the world. Resources to teach about the CP and support the emphasis are available at sbc.net/cp. Keep the CP before your congregation all year long with the “52 Sundays” resource which provides the story of a missionary supported by the CP for each Sunday of the year. Visit sbc.net/cp/52sundays to download a PDF of the story and a computer slide with a photo of the featured missionary. Check with the Missouri Baptist Con-vention for resources they have to promote the CP. Southern Baptists have joined hands to support God's work through the Cooperative Program since 1925. Let's keep it going!

Gratefully in Christ,

Delores Kube ORBA WMU Director (h) 816-297-8892; (c) 816-806-1341

dollyrobey@yahoo.com

GO THEREFORE

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR

Don Rice recently wrote an article exhorting us to Love God and Love God’s children. He also reminded us of Jesus’ command to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Don focused on what it means to love God’s children (those who have accepted Christ.) In this article, let’s exam-ine loving our neighbor.

We know neighbors include all people. However, have you considered that your neighbors include unborn children? As Baptists, we believe that life begins at conception. We’re all familiar with Psalm 139 in which David reveals that God wove him together in his mother’s womb. We also know that God hates the shedding of innocent blood (Proverbs 6:17). Israel was punished for sacrificing its children. I am sure you can think of many more verses which apply. Therefore, we rightly believe that abortion is wrong.

In fact, abortion is murder. We can call abortion murder because we have a God who will forgive! If we call it anything less, people may not recognize their need for repentance and salvation.

Today, more and more Christians are advocating for the abolishment of abortion in the United States and of course, in Missouri. The abolition movement seeks to stop abortion by changing our laws. Murder is illegal; therefore, abortion is illegal.

Many of us have been pro-life for years. We believe abortion is an abomination. We have tried to limit abortion by making laws with various restrictions, such as no abortions after 19 weeks of pregnancy. What is the difference between a 19-week old baby and a 20-week old baby? Not much. Sometimes, we have tried to stop abortion by saying a minor must have parental consent. There are many other restrictive laws, but abor-tions continue at a record pace. We have a full-scale holocaust in the United States today. The pro-life movement has failed to eliminate abortion.

For these reasons, the abolition of abortion movement is gaining strength. In Oklahoma, Southern Baptists have approved a resolution to end abortion in their state. A bill in their legislature currently under consideration will accomplish this; Christians are rallying in support of it.

Good news for Missouri. A bill which will abolish abortion in Missouri has been introduced by representative Mike Moon from Ash Grove. The bill is HB 2285. He has requested prayer to have the bill assigned to the Home and Family Committee. Please support this bill by contacting legis-lators to ask them to be a co-sponsors.

To join the abolition movement, or to learn more about it, contact Missions Committee Chair Don Rice at 660-643-7137.

Wilson's Wonderings

Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice: he will not afflict. Job 37:23 KJV

What did Job mean by Touching the Almighty? Did he mean to reach out with your finger and touch the Almighty as if he was

in arms reach? How about to occasionally think about the Almighty? Or, maybe deeply examine all the aspects of the Almighty?

Let's do the latter. The word Almighty, as written, means one with all might to do everything ever created or imagined and those

things not yet imagined. This is the very definition of God. He is the one who is all knowing, all revealing, all powerful, all loving,

all just, all present, all merciful, all gracious, all compassionate, all everything. He is the creator of heaven and earth and everything

in between, beneath and beyond. What makes me think these things? I don't think them; I believe them.

As Job was trying to figure out why he was having his torturous problems he comes to the conclusion that he couldn't figure God

out. We cannot know the mind of God; it is far beyond our level of intelligence. We are constantly asking questions like: Why did

God do this to me? What did I do to deserve this? Why do I have all this pain and suffering? When will this end? and What will hap-

pen after I am gone? Looking for the answers to these questions comes to no avail. We don't know the mind of God. What we do

know is, God knows what he is doing, why he is doing it, and what the outcome will be. We just have to trust God and believe what

he is doing is good for us. When tragedy comes we can be sure God will take care of us.

It is appointed for all men to die. When, where, how, under what the circumstances, at what age, for what purpose, and to what

reason are all God’s responsibility. Our responsibility is to accept God’s will, keep our faith, and trust that God knows what he is

doing, grieve, get over it, and go on living demonstrating to the world around us that God is God and being a witness to those around

us. When they ask how we can still be true to that kind of God we can answer in a way to comfort them and to help strengthen their

faith in God.

God is excellent in power. Excellent means you can't get any better when it comes to power than the power of God. There is no

power greater than what God has. What is power? It is the ability to make things happen through strength, force, fear, influence, fi-

nancial and material gain, disaster, destruction, creation, love, or hate, and knowing when and how to use these abilities. Which of

these abilities do you have and how do you use them? How much power do you have? We exert our power over our family, friends,

and acquaintances, Sometimes it is good and sometimes not. Our power has flaws. God's power is flawless.

God is excellent in judgment. His judgment is far above the judgment of man. Judgment is the ability to consider and make deci-

sions sensibly. It also is an event or circumstance viewed as punishment for a previous action. There are many kinds of judgment as

many as 19 depending on your philosophy. They can be broke down to 3 major groups, Divine Judgment, Theoretical Judgment, and

Practical Judgment. Divine Judgment is Godly judgment, the decisions and consequences God creates. Theoretical Judgment is in

our thoughts. It is the decisions we make as we think on all that is before us. Practical Judgment is the decisions we make concerning

the things we do. Thinking and doing what is right in the eyes of man and God, at all times, puts us on the highest plane of judgment

we can attain.

God is excellent in plenty of justice. Justice includes a concern and respect for doing what is right. There are 4 types of justice:

commutative, distributive, legal, and social. Commutative justice covers the exchange of goods and services. Distributive justice

covers the distribution of benefits and burdens in society and the principles of moral guidance in the distribution of benefits and bur-

dens. Legal justice is the concept of moral righteousness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, fairness, religion, and equity.

Social justice is the concept in which human rights are manifested in the everyday lives of people at every level of society. Doing

what is right in the eyes of God and man in every aspect of your life.

God will not afflict. Afflict means to cause pain and suffering, unhappiness, something a disease does. God does not afflict peo-

ple, but God allows people to be afflicted. Job questioned God for all he allowed Satan to do to afflict him. God called Job perfect

and upright, one who fears God and has nothing to do with evil. God allowed Satan to do what he wanted to Job but not to take his

life. God allows cancer and other diseases and conditions to affect our lives but he doesn't afflict us with them. God allows drunk

drivers to kill our loved ones, tornadoes, hurricanes, tidal waves, etc. to affect our lives and bring death, pain, and destruction but he

doesn't afflict us with these things.

God is God we are his creation to do with as he sees fit no matter what. We need to remember this and understand who God is

and all he does is for our benefit and the furtherance of his kingdom. We are to live rightly, do justly, make good judgments, love

God and one another and enjoy this world and the life we have in it looking forward to the life to come in Heaven.

Submitted by Jim Wilson

On a past IC project to Brazil I was able to witness to and lead these Brazilian police officers in prayer. Pray about going with me when IC sponsors another outreach on November 5-15, 2020. We will be

working with 26 churches to share the Gospel and to be a part of a DIVINE assignment in Maceio, Brazil. This will be International Commission’s first time in this area of Brazil and the churches are excited about us coming to partner with them. If you would like

more information, please feel free to contact me.

Scott Mayse IC Mobilization Coordinator

Scott.Mayse@IC-World.org or 913-731-0539

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION

U.S. POSTAGE PAID

BUTLER, MO –PERMIT NO. 101

Osage River Baptist Association P.O. Box 140 - 201 N. Willow

Butler, MO 64730

Telephone: (660)679-5621 Email: osage.river@hotmail.com

Web site: www.osageriverba.com

Address Service Requested

BIRTHDAYS

MARCH 3—Denna Agee (w); Bronaugh

13 - Donetta Garman (w), Round Prairie 18 - Gina Harvey (w), Calvary—Butler 21—John Daugherty (s), Nevada 1st 23—Adam Bailey (s), Pine Street 23—Mark Mitchell (p). Deerfield

APRIL 4—Will Dunivan (s), Harwood

4—Steven Donnelly (p), Drexel 1st 17—Tony Jones (p); Rich Hill 19—Sharon Perkins (w); Kamp Keirsey 25—Debbie Marsh (w); El Dorado Springs 1st 26—Jackie Dunivan (w), Harwood

* (p) indicates pastor, (w) indicates wife of pastor, (d) indicates daughter of pastor; (s) indicates son of pastor

ANNIVERSARIES

MARCH 17—Chad & Ruth Bailey; Pine Street

22—Mark & Laura Mitchell; Deerfield

APRIL 4 - Joe & Joy Crook; Austin

8 - Mark & Gina Harvey; Calvary—Butler 11 — Steven & Linda Donnelly; Drexel 1st

29—Scott & Kira Mowery; Immanuel

CHURCH/PASTOR ANNIVERSARIES

MARCH 1 - Douglas Reynolds; Schell City (2007)

12—Ronnie Smith; Sulphur Springs (2017) 31—Tony Jones; Rich Hill (2013)

APRIL 7—Terry Davis; Butler 1st (1996)

13—Terry Mosher; Calvary, Nevada (2003) 22—Mark Richman; Altona (2001)

MARCH—Begin Collecting for Project Life

1—8 — Week of Prayer for NAMB and Annie Armstrong Easter offering

3—Pastors’ Breakfast; North/Central 6 – 7—Disaster Relief Training, Raytown, MO 9- ORBA Spring Meeting, Sulphur Springs

BC, El Dorado Springs, MO Meal –5:30 PM; Meeting—6:30 PM

17—St. Patrick’s Day 17—18 Spring DOM Conference 24—Pastors’ Breakfast; South/East

APRIL 3—4—Disaster Relief Training; FBC Chil-

licothe 5—Palm Sunday 7—Pastors’ Breakfast; North/Central 10—Good Friday, ORBA office closed 12— Resurrection Sunday 20—Pastors’ Roundtable; Theology 23—Deadline for Missions Messenger arti-

cles 25—Children’s Missions Day Camp @ KK 26—Cooperative Program Sunday 28—Pastors’ Breakfast; South/East 30—Deadline for Project Life Items