Will You Hold the Rope?

Become a Rope Holder

In his inaugural address before the Baptist Missionary Society in 1792, William Carey famously preached, “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God!” As we embark on a new year, we hope to reemphasize Carey’s challenge as we expect and attempt great things for God over our next decade of Doing Christ’s Work Together.

By this point, I hope you have heard about Vision 2020. Vision 2020 is designed to help us look back, celebrating all that Christ has done over the course of our rich 155 years of ministry together, but it is also designed to help us look forward as we anticipate all that Christ may want to do in and through us over the next decade. As we expect and attempt as a West Virginia Baptist Convention family, we have already seen some exciting new initiatives kick off this year.

Mentoring for Pastoral Excellence: This program was started as a result of several younger pastors indicating a desire to be mentored by someone more seasoned in ministry. Statistics show the average tenure of a pastor is only six years before they face burnout.

Leadership Development: Another statistic reveals the average age of a pastor in the United States has risen from 44 to 54, with only one in seven being under the age of 40. Yet, we are seeing incredible young leaders emerge in our churches, having been discipled and trained through Baptist Campus Ministries and/or our West Virginia Palmer Seminary program. To facilitate further opportunities for development, both the Church Ministry Intern Program and the Missionary Intern Program were established to help young adults discern their long-term calling to ministry as well as to give churches the opportunity to benefit from their leadership.

New Church Development: Together, we have planted 18 churches over the last 20 years, yet there are still thousands of people within our communities who are virtually unreached with the gospel. It has been exciting to watch the impact of some of our recent church plants, especially those that are considered non-traditional or those that have been planted among other ethnicities. With an increasing diversity in our state, the opportunities for new church plants are only going to grow. In response to this, we are once again reemphasizing new church development and have established a fund that can help new churches get started. We are also working with churches interested
in re-planting, aimed at infusing life back into a declining congregation.

Carey knew no that matter what he attempted, he could not do it alone. Prior to the formation of the Baptist Missionary Society, encircled by a group of fellow association pastors, Carey shared his vision of taking the gospel to India, likening it to a rescue mission into a deep, dark well. His invitation to his fellow pastors was, “I will go down if you will hold the rope.” The pastors agreed to become rope holders, forming the Baptist Missionary Society to send and support the missionary enterprise, and William Carey led a small team that traveled to India, where they spent the rest of their lives planting churches, translating the Bible and reaching thousands with the gospel.

As we consider the exciting opportunities that lie before us, we are also in need of churches and individuals to hold the rope. We have mentors, young leaders and prospective church planters ready to attempt great things for God. We also have exciting opportunities through Camp Cowen, the Bobby Wood School of Christian Studies and the other ministries we do together. However, as Mike Sisson shared at our Annual Meeting, over the last decade we have effectively exhausted our reserves – essentially relying upon the rope holders of previous generations. Thus, we are now in need of new rope holders who are willing to support these ministries going forward. So as each of you read this article, I want to ask: “Will you hold the rope?”

At the beginning of January, the Executive Board passed a budget that has the potential to be our first budget in a decade that no longer requires us to draw from reserves. If just 200 individuals agree to become rope holders, we anticipate our budget will be fully supported. Over the last month we have already seen nearly 50 individuals sign up.

Additionally, if we reach our goal of 2,000 rope holders, then we will not only reach our budget, but we will also be able to start rebuilding our reserves to a healthy enough level to carry us through the next decade of ministry together.

I want to invite you to become a rope holder, by supporting the ministry we do together with a gift of at least $20 a month. You can sign up to be a rope holder  by clicking here. We are expecting great things from God this year! As we attempt great things for Him, will you help us by holding the rope?

Your fellow rope holder,
Todd McClure