LYNCHBURG — More than 600 people gathered at Eagle Eyrie Baptist Conference Center for Virginia Baptists' MC2 Missions Connection Celebration, July 23-28, and were challenged by the conference's theme, “Take the Next Step,” to consider how they and their churches could move forward into new areas of mission service.
The Virginia Baptist Mission Board, Woman's Missionary Union of Virginia, RASNet, the Latino Network, and People of the Book Ministry worked together to organize the event, formerly called Family Missions Week. The new MC2 was designed to offer a wide variety of opportunities for people of all ages to learn about and experience missions.
Alice Rusher
Teresa McClensky of Victoria Baptist Church in Victoria teaches a children's class a “sticky sticks” routine.
Each morning, while children from preschool to seventh grade were involved in mission learning, many of the youth and adults traveled throughout the Lynchburg area to minister in various mission settings, such as an adult care center, a home for girls, a juvenile detention center, children's sports camps, crisis pregnancy centers, and various backyard Bible clubs and construction mission locations. Others remained at Eagle Eyrie, where they rehearsed drama and music for worship, helped with landscaping projects, created banners, and knitted quilts and afghans for High Hills Baptist Church in Jarratt to use in their ministry to nursing home residents and women at a crisis pregnancy center.
As part of MC2, a group of volunteers participated in a Blitz Build with Greater Lynchburg Habitat for Humanity (see article on page 3). Skill equipping sessions on a variety of topics were also offered, as well as training for Virginia Baptist disaster relief volunteers and for those who minister to children experiencing stress from various traumas in their lives.
The afternoons were free for recreation and fellowship activities, and in the evenings everyone gathered for a worship service together. The keynote storyteller in the Friday evening and Saturday morning worship services was Denton Lotz, recently-retired general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance, who challenged the audience with stories of faithful Christian witness from around the world.
Alice Rusher
Dot Halla member of High Hills Baptist Church in Jarratt, has attended Family Missions Week/MC2 for the past 49 years.
Several Virginia Baptist international mission partners were represented at the conference. Credo Mangayi, director of the Baptist Union of South Africa's Deeds of Love Ministry, led a morning Bible study for adults. And Guiseppe Miglio, pastor of Pordenone (Italy) Baptist Church and president of the Italian Baptist pastors association, brought a group of 20 youth and their leaders to MC2 as part of Virginia Baptists' partnership with the Italian Baptist Union.
Both Mangayi and Miglio also spoke to various children's and adult groups about their ministries and about opportunities for Virginia Baptists to work with them in partnership missions. Participants also heard from Virginia Baptists' Latino Ministries Kingdom Advance Ambassador Greg Smith, who works with LUCHA Ministries Inc., a Christian community-based outreach with and among Hispanics in the greater Fredericksburg area, and from Kent and Ann Brown, members of First Baptist Church in Gretna, who spoke about mission trips that they have taken to India.
By the end of the week, MC2 participants had discovered new possibilities for ministry in their own communities and had developed new relationships with others.
“I always thought of missions as going overseas somewhere,” said Linda Baird, a member of Mulberry Grove Baptist Church in Buckingham, “but this week I've learned that there's a lot you can do right in your local area.” Baird and other members from her church participated in High Hills Baptist's knitting project at MC2 and now hope to organize a similar ministry at Mulberry Grove.
Alice Rusher
A young artist tries his hand at creating a masterpiece.
The Italian youth especially enjoyed the mission service opportunities and the worship experiences, in which they were invited to participate by sharing some songs. But according to Miglio, all of these activities were part of a larger goal. “They know they are here for one reason,” he said, “because we want to build a relationship with young people from the U.S.A., from Virginia Baptist churches.”
And that relationship blossomed, despite the language barrier. “Everyone at MC2 — the children, youth, and adults — all developed a real sense of community during the week,” said Diane Smith, children's ministry strategist for the VBMB.
Rebekah Koch, a youth from Columbia Baptist Church in Falls Church, was also excited about the relationships she developed with other youth. “This week was a great experience for me,” she said. “I felt as though everyone in my youth group, site group, and even some of the Italians grew closer together and became good friends.”
Smith noted that the relationships grow year after year. “The children's teachers were thrilled to see boys and girls they knew from previous years, and they're already looking forward to next year's MC2 to watch how those children continue to grow and develop.” Recalling a new friend from another church who called her name and came over for a hug before leaving, Koch said, “I hope to see them again next year.”
The 2008 MC2 Mission Connection Celebration will be held July 14-19 at Eagle Eyrie.