North Carolina Baptist churches have spent their summer reaching the nations, building on connections that lead to gospel opportunities. Across North and South America, churches leverage their partnerships and resources to mobilize for missions.

This summer, teams from North Carolina Baptist churches boarded planes to reach the lost in Costa Rica, Colombia and Canada, among other countries. 

In May, a team of six from Mint Hill Baptist Church kicked off the summer joining a Go Experience trip with the International Mission Board (IMB). They spent one week in Costa Rica serving alongside IMB missionaries and a local church. 

The team partnered with Iglesia Bautista Arraigados to visit pastors, conduct evangelism training using the 3 Circles tool, and connect with the community. They worshiped together that Sunday.

“I feel like I am in my home church – such a warm, loving fellowship and energetic worship,” one of the team members said. 

The Mint Hill group spent a few days on the campus of the University of Costa Rica in San Jose, where they worked with an IMB journeyman serving there to share the gospel with students. 

They were also poured into by missionaries Jeff and Lori Herrington, their local hosts in Costa Rica.

“To top it all off, Jeff and Lori led the team in two training events that our team can apply in Mint Hill,” said Keith Summey, missions pastor at Mint Hill. 

In Bogota, Colombia, a duo from Walnut Grove Baptist Church creatively shared the gospel through magic shows in public schools. In one week, they reached several hundred children and teachers.

It was the second trip of the summer for Walnut Grove Pastor Dean Crane. Prior to serving in Colombia, he joined two others for a week in St. John’s, Newfoundland, partnering with Mile One Mission to work alongside missionaries. 

Walnut Grove is now finding ways to sustain their support of the St. John’s church, which was planted in a community that has largely been indifferent to the gospel. 

“Financial help is a big need,” Crane said. “Beyond that, a lot of people there haven’t been interested in church or the Lord. Many communities haven’t had a church service in years and years, so they don’t have much of a relationship with God. We want to go back and go door-to-door, ministering, praying with people and really connecting.”

“We only have a small church, but you can still get plugged in and do something for the Lord,” he said. “They just need Christians connecting with them in good ways through the gospel.”

For mission efforts facing slow progress, Crane emphasized the power of consistent encouragement. 

“It’s easy for leaders to get down and out when progress is hard to see, so offering that encouragement is a big part of what we try to do.”

Crane has been able to lead Walnut Grove to expand their missions work and outreach with support from Caleb Waller, their regional N.C. Baptist Great Commission Catalyst, and Ken Wood, associational mission strategist for the Stone Mountain Baptist Association.

“It is my driving conviction that Christ assigned the Great Commission to every believer and every church. That calling is both wondrous and weighty,” said Waller. “As a member of the Mission Catalyst group, I want to motivate, strategize, resource and mobilize so that every N.C. Baptist church – regardless of size, budget, location, history, experience level or demographics – finds its place in God’s mission.”

Preparing to send

In Old Fort, Greenlee Baptist Church is getting ready to send a team to Boothbay, Maine, this August. Team members have completed a 3 Circles evangelism course and a spiritual gifts assessment to prepare. 

They will serve with Multiply Maine through evangelism, prayer walking, community outreach and service projects. Greenlee first connected with Multiply Maine through Baptists on Mission after learning about different ways to serve online.

Gale Wilson, sending pastor at Greenlee Baptist, said they are praying for the people of Boothbay. 

“Pray that we will reflect the light of Jesus Christ in that area, and that we would have multiple opportunities to share the gospel.”

These three teams are among a number of groups sent this summer by local N.C. Baptist churches to reach their neighbors stateside and beyond. 

North Carolina Baptists are committed to helping every local church find its place in missions, from taking their first short-term trip to strengthening existing partnerships. 

Discover where your church is on the missions engagement pathway. Connect with your regional catalyst,  and explore opportunities at ncbaptist.org/missiontrips.

By Liz Tablazon, N.C. Baptist Contributing Writer