A Week of Meetings

September 27-29 took us to Honolulu and a Missions Leadership Conference for church planters and missionaries in Hawaii. The conference turned out to be a really good time for our family and for us individually. We had a chance to meet with our good friends, Jason and Emily Hew, and take a trip to a nice beach with our families. Jason and I intended to surf and against our better judgement, made a nearly half mile paddle out to the surf break. We caught one wave each, Jason got stung by a jellyfish, and we paddled back in. It was EPIC!

The conference itself focused primarily on strategy development for ministry. Sitting through seminars with other pastors and missionaries as we shared our strategies with one another was a great encouragement for me. Hearing about the many church plants and missions on the Big Island alone burdened our hearts for the work that still needs to be done, the people who still need to be reached with the Gospel. We left the conference excited about the progress of ministry on the Big Island and encouraged in our own situation at the BCM in Hilo.

We ended last week with the periodic Big Island Baptist Association Executive Board meeting in Waimea (central part of the Big Island). This was our first meeting with the executive board, and by and large the meeting went well. We had a chance to discuss the progress of the BCM and plans for the future. Of particular excitement to us is the startup of a new discipleship group that will be led by two of our students. The intent of the group is to grow in their individual walks with Christ, knowledge of Scripture, and to put that growth into action by serving and sharing the gospel to their campus community.

Finally, we have one more meeting tomorrow night with the BCM Support Team. The support team consists of church members and pastors from Hilo and other parts of the Big Island. This team is critical to the ongoing success of the ministry of the BCM. This will also be our first meeting with the support team. As we discuss in detail the current and future states of the BCM we will be dealing with some challenging issues that will weigh heavily upon the future direction of the BCM. Please pray that our team will exercise wisdom during this important meeting.

Needless to say, we're a bit tired, but there is still much work to be done! 

Until next time, aloha and mahalo,

Stephen, Nikkie and Abigail