These are certainly challenging times for all our congregations.
As I write this, our church has just decided to go back to virtual services only as COVID-19 cases spike in our area. Hopefully, in a few weeks we will resume in-person services. Still, we recognize it might be months before some return. In most congregations across our land, church certainly looks different these days, but despite rumors to the contrary, most church staff find themselves as engaged as ever in trying to be the presence of Christ to the community where Christ has called them to serve.
The pandemic has not closed our churches, but rather it has provided us the opportunity to see how the Church ministers beyond its walls. In this interim period, we are seeking deliberately to be engaged in ministry that will bring positive long-term consequences. For example, at Haddock Baptist Church, we are making a major investment to improve our audiovisual equipment for worship, including updating our sound system, cameras, video projectors, and computers with updated software.
These steps will enhance our online presence as more and more people are connecting with our church through this format. We are also planning to redo our church website, which is long overdue. We are also considering making some significant building renovations during this time when our use of space is limited. Some of these actions may be considered by some to be insignificant, but they will certainly improve our opportunities to reach our community more effectively in the future. It is important for church leaders always to be considering what we need to do now to improve ministry outreach and opportunities for tomorrow.
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Georgia has not sat idle during these months of a global pandemic. Behind the scenes a very capable search committee has been at work seeking to call a new associate to work in our state. In this edition of Visions, you have been introduced to the Rev. Megan Turner Doud, who will serve alongside our capable staff in the position of Coordinator of Young Baptist Ministries. This is a new ministry position with new challenges and responsibilities.
All churches are interested in attracting and ministering to young families and providing quality church ministry for their children and youth. And all churches face the challenge of trying to help bridge the gap in the lives of young adults 18-30 and seeking to keep them engaged and involved in church ministry once they graduate from high school. I assure you, Megan nor any other minister will have all the answers to how to achieve these goals. But our calling of her to serve in this capacity speaks volumes that we as CBF of Georgia are serious about continuing the legacy of CBF of Georgia for the next generation.
If you are a minister with primary responsibilities working with preschoolers, children, youth, or college-aged young adults, let me encourage you to reach out to Megan.
She will need your help to succeed in this ministry. I’m sure she would also appreciate knowing where your college students decide to go to school so she might help facilitate this ministry by sharing this vital information with churches located in that region where your student(s) attend. There’s reason to be excited about the future as we add this valuable member to the ministry team of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Georgia — welcome Megan, Brian, and Caroline!
—Ron McClung, CBF/GA Moderator