If you have been a Southern Baptist for very long, you probably know that there are certain seasons every year in which Southern Baptist churches collectively recognize, pray for, and give to specific parts of our work together. The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering in December and the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering in March probably come to mind. But you might not know that October has traditionally been recognized as Associational Emphasis month, with October 22 being set aside as a specific day of prayer for associational missions.
The reason you might not know that is because many Southern Baptist churches in recent years have been wondering, either publicly or privately, whether local associations still matter. That was part of the reason for a recent article from The Baptist Paper. The article, titled “Why churches are ‘quiet quitting’ their Baptist associations,” is a clear and stark picture of the reality many local associations are facing:
“Quiet quitting does not mean a church leaves its association. Rather than leaving, it redirects the focus of its congregation. It means it does less to be in association with its sister churches. Some do the very minimum required to be part of the association.They would leave, but leaving itself is not a high priority for them. They may have a few laypeople for whom the associations are an important relationship. They see no need to engage in unnecessary conflict within their congregations.”
The question at the heart of this reality is simple: Do local associations still matter?
I believe the answer is yes, and here are a few reasons why:
1. Local associations are first responders.
Because the association is made up of churches that are local in nature, they are familiar with the makeup of a geographic location. That means when a problem or need arises in a church, it shouldn’t take a lot of explanation or background to help the association understand the need. Further, if the association is in regular and ongoing contact with its pastors, it should be able to help fill that need or point the way to another resource who can.
In our association, we’ve tried very diligently to make sure that our team is immediately available and highly responsive. We want all pastors and church leaders to have direct access to us. We want to be the first call a pastor or church leader makes when they need something so that we can provide immediate help.
2. Local associations are resource hubs.
Southern Baptist cooperate. It’s one of the main reasons we choose to associate together. We know that there is much more that can be accomplished together than can be as individual congregations. Of course, that cooperation happens financially through things like the cooperative program, and it should - but that cooperation happens locally as well. Or at least it should through the local association.
In our association, we have adopted the statement that we exist to “help churches… help churches.” As such, we function as a resource hub. We know in our office we don’t have to be the subject matter expert on everything; nor do we have to have all the resources in our own facility that churches need. What we do have to do, however, is be intimately acquainted with the congregations of our association so that we know what resources are there and then connect congregations together to maximize those resources.
3. Local associations are focused.
One of the advantages of working at the local level is the freedom and focus that comes from being local. An association has the ability to know the specific and unique needs of congregations in its area, and because it does, it can be very focused and selective in the kinds of regular programming and opportunities it provides.
While our national entities do great and meaningful work, that work is, by nature, general in a sense. They have to think about thousands and thousands of churches and their needs. But the local association is different. They have the advantage of being intimately familiar with a smaller group of churches and can therefore be much more focused and strategic in what they do.
Do local associations matter? This is a good and right question for churches to ask because asking that question forces associations to have the answer. And maybe the best answer to that question is that local associations matter because they are us. Please join me in praying for your own local association during this month.
Michael Kelley
NBA Executive Director