150 Years of Missions, Ministry and Kingdom Advance
Our Sesquicentennial Celebration is here! Wow! One Hundred and Fifty Years of celebrating and serving the Lord.
As we celebrate, let’s reflect on some of the highlights down through the years:
In 1873 the Greene County Baptist Association was formed by seven churches (FBC Ash Grove, Mt. Pleasant, FBC Springfield, Brighton Baptist Church, Ebenezer and Friendship).
The first Moderator was James Buckner. He served a total of thirty years and was instrumental in promoting Sunday School growth, pastor education and church planting.
Beginning in 1898, several churches had “Women’s Mission Societies and Aid Societies,” but it wasn’t until 1908 that the Women’s Missionary Union of the Association was formally organized.
The longest continuous regional mission partnership the Association has is with Baptist Hill. In 1918 Greene County Baptist Association, along with several other Associations in Southwest MO, established the beautiful Baptist Hill Campgrounds in Mt. Vernon, MO.
In 1925 the “Baptist Club” at Southwest Missouri State College became the Baptist Student Association. The Association has had a strong and enduring relationship with the Baptist Student ministry at now Missouri State University.
In 1933 Southern Baptists conducted a program to reduce the convention’s debt called the Baptist Hundred Thousand Club. The Association strongly supported this effort.
In the late 1930s, Grant Ave. organized a mission Sunday School on the west side of Springfield. In 1940 Mrs. Lois Carter was employed as a full-time worker at the site. This was the beginning of what would later develop into Grand Oak Mission Center.
In 1943 E.L. Brock began his twenty-year service as a part-time Superintendent of Missions. Throughout his ministry, the Association grew numerically and in missions.
In 1964 Jim Joslin was called as the Association’s Director of Associational Work. He served for thirty-three years and led the Association in greatly expanding, including the purchase of the longtime home of the Association on South Glenstone.
The Association hosted a Baptist Book Store at the South Glenstone office, and in 1997 the Baptist Book Store became a full-service store and moved to a new location.
In 1998 Michael Haynes was called as Director of Missions and served for twenty-four years.
In the early 2000s, the Association entered into international missions partnerships with the Guadalajara, MX, and Chandigarh, India, regions.
During the Annual Meeting in 2006, the Association entered into a mission partnership with the Eastern Nebraska Baptist Association.
In 2007 the South Glenstone building was sold and the current building on West Battlefield was purchased.
During 2009 and following, the Association began an emphasis on church planting that is still bearing fruit.
In 2018 a wonderful addition to Grand Oak Mission Center was completed, greatly expanding Grand Oak’s ministry. That ministry continues to grow and thrive.
As we reflect on the ways God has used our Churches and cooperative efforts through the Association, all we can do is give Him praise and shout, “All Glory to God!”
With Joy and Thanks,
