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Director of Missions 2026 Annual Report
Shared at the Tri-Rivers Baptist Area
Annual Celebration of Churches
"Together Supporting the Ministry, We Share"
I look across Tri-Rivers Baptist Area, I am reminded of just how much God has done and continues to do through His Church. For the past 12 years, I have had the privilege of serving alongside you. When I began serving Tri-Rivers, our area consisted of about 52 churches and three Baptist associations. Today, we serve more than 100 churches across five associations.
But I don't believe the greatest story is simply that Tri-Rivers has grown in numbers.
The greater story is that God has continued to bring churches together to create what I believe we were always intended to be—a Brotherhood of Churches.
Different churches. Different communities. Different sizes. Different styles of worship. Different histories and traditions. Yet we are joined together by one Lord, one Gospel, and one mission. We are not competing churches. We are not five associations trying to protect our own territory.
We are one Church, meeting in many locations, serving the one true God and proclaiming the same Good News of Jesus Christ.
Acts 1:8 reminds us of the mission Jesus gave His Church: to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Then, as the story of Acts continues, we see how the early believers lived out that mission. Acts 2 tells us they were together and shared with one another so that needs could be met. Why was that important?
Because when the needs of the body were being cared for, God's people were freed to concentrate on the mission God had given them. And I believe that principle applies to the local church today. Almost every time a pastor, church leader, or church member contacts Tri-Rivers Baptist Area, it is because there is a need that must be met before they can move forward in ministry.
Sometimes that need is simple. Sometimes it is complicated. Sometimes it involves finding someone to fill a pulpit on Sunday morning. Sometimes it is worship leadership. Sometimes it is a background check, MinistrySafe training, accounting assistance, insurance, counseling resources, church administration, property needs, technology, a pastor search, church recovery, or just someone to sit across the table and help work through a problem.
Every need is different because every church is different. God planted each congregation in a particular place, among particular people, at a particular time, for a particular purpose. And churches continually change.
You can ask my father, Pastor Bob Ray. He has pastored Fairy Baptist Church for more than 60 years. He can tell you that the church he began pastoring six decades ago is not exactly the same church he pastors today. The people have changed. The community has changed. The challenges have changed. The methods have changed. But one thing has never changed: The mission.
The mission is still to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. That is why Tri-Rivers Baptist Area exists.
We are here to help meet those everyday needs and those unexpected, unique ministry needs so that our churches can be released to do what God has called them to do—share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And the impact is real.
Just from January through August of this year, Tri-Rivers recorded 34,316 ministry travel miles, 170 on-site visits involving ministry resources and training, and 180 pulpit or worship-supply opportunities. Through the Tri-Rivers Retreat Center, we hosted 27 retreats serving 1,003 guests. We also provided 166 background checks and 63 MinistrySafe resources or trainings. The ministry expense represented in that eight-month period was $234,308.41, covering staff, benefits, retreat-center operations, ministry resources, and travel.
Those numbers are not simply statistics. Behind every number is a church. Behind every church is a ministry. And behind every ministry are people who need to hear about Jesus. Here is a truth I want us to reflect upon: How we serve and where we serve are not what matters most. What matters most is Who we serve.
Sometimes we measure success by asking, “How many people can we get through the doors of our church?” But perhaps a better question is: How many people will hear Jesus knocking on their hearts door because His Church was willing to go to them?
Our responsibility is not simply to fill church buildings. Our responsibility is to introduce the world to Jesus Christ so that His Kingdom of filled. And I believe we accomplish that mission most effectively when we accomplish it together. That is what Tri-Rivers Baptist Area has been about since area churches came together in 1964—to make ensure churches had the resources, encouragement, support, and cooperation necessary so the Word of God could be freely proclaimed.
And that brings me to something we cannot separate from ministry: Giving. The ministry support chart helps explain how this ministry works. Our associations adopt budgets that help fund the Tri-Rivers Area Office—supporting staff salaries and stipends and ministry supplies.
Then there is the Tri-Rivers Strategic & Retreat Center Fund, which helps provide church ministry resources and services, Retreat Center operations and maintenance, Missions Hub operations and maintenance, utilities, insurance, plus travel.
Beyond that, we participate in providing Designated Ministry Support—ministries such as BSM, CWJC, Pregnancy Crises Centers, Christian Counseling, Domestic-Violence Resources, Hispanic Ministry, Camps & Retreats, Church Recovery Fund, Mission offerings, and other Ministries that allow us to serve beyond any one congregation. That is cooperation.
And when we look at participation in the Strategic Fund and Retreat Center Fund, we currently see those giving are 43 churches, 14 individuals, and 7 ministry partners & associations, while 68 churches are currently not giving to the Strategic and Retreat Center Fund.
I share these numbers with you to reveal an incredible opportunity. Imagine what could happen if every church said: "We want to have a part."
Not every church can give the same amount. And I don't believe God asks every church to give the same amount. But every church can participate.
This is not about equal gifts. It is about shared ownership of the mission. It is about saying:
"When a church needs help, we want to be part of helping them."
"When a pastor needs encouragement, we helped make that possible."
"When a person attends a retreat and encounters Christ, we had a part."
"When a church needs someone in its pulpit, receives training, finds counseling resources, or gets help navigating a crisis, we helped make that ministry possible."
That is what your giving does.
And there is one final truth I want to leave with you. The enemy becomes concerned when the Body of Christ becomes United. Satan does not want churches encouraging one another. He does not want strong churches helping struggling churches. He does not want associations cooperating. He does not want believers sharing resources. And he certainly does not want more churches empowered to proclaim the Gospel.
It is true that a single church can reach its community and can make an eternal difference. But imagine more than 100 churches, united as a Brotherhood of Churches, caring for one another, strengthening one another, that is when the Gospel is proclaimed in the way God intended.
My prayer is very simple:
May we continue to pray together.
May we continue to participate together.
May we continue to partner together.
And may we never forget why we do any of it. Not for Tri-Rivers Baptist Area. Not for an Association. Not for Recognition. It is so that every church can remain focused on the mission God has given us: to introduce this world to Jesus Christ and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.
We are one Church. We serve one Lord. We have one Gospel. And together, we are a Brotherhood of Churches.
Thank you for allowing me to serve as your Director of Missions these past 12 years and may God continue to use every one of us for His Kingdom and His glory.
Rev Richard Ray - Director of Missions
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