APPALACHEE BAPTIST ASSOCIATION
188th Annual Meeting
BE Conference 2023
“Be ready to be the church that Jesus can use to touch our communities and the world.”
WHEN: Tuesday, September 19th | 6:30 p.m.
HOSTED BY: First Baptist Church Monroe
202 McDaniel Street
Monroe, GA 30655
SCHEDULE
6:30 p.m.
Worship/Music
Rhon Carter & Appalachee Baptist All Star Praise Team/Band
Call to Order/Welcome
Reverend Rando Acres, Moderator
Pastor, Center Hill Loganville
Host Greeting/Prayer
Reverend Todd Ware
Pastor, First Baptist Church Monroe
ABA Business
Reverend Rando Acres
Music/Worship
Rhon Carter & Appalachee Baptist All Star Praise Team/Band
Introductions and Directions
Chris Conner, AMS
6:55 p.m.
First breakout sessions
7:35 p.m.
Break
7:45 p.m.
Second breakout sessions
Dismissal
Breakout Sessions
Be Ready for the Power of Artificial Intelligence in Ministry: Streamlining Tasks and Enhancing
Bible Study. Be ready to handle the future that is NOW. This training will guide pastors and church leaders through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in their ministry work. Participants will learn how to interact with AI tools such as chatbots, craft effective prompts, and get relevant and accurate answers to deepen their understanding of Scripture, and quickly create engaging and informative teaching content. They will also learn how to streamline time-consuming tasks so they can free up more time for higher level ministry activities. The ethical considerations involved in using AI will also be discussed. By the end of the talk, attendees will have exposure to AI tools and a practical understanding of how to incorporate them into their daily church leadership activities.
Led by Scott Smith, graduate of Southeastern Seminary, who is an evangelist that is now employed full time by the Ga. Baptist Mission board as the Sociatl Media Outreach Strategist. Scott has a passion for reaching people for Christ and also Helping churches get the message of the gospel to more people and using digital outreach. Scott has a desire to help your church be out front in using New digital tools such as AI (aritficail intelligence) to help you move forward as and individual and as a church.
Be ready to take 3 Steps to develop Ministry Leaders. Join us to discuss the key to building ministry momentum by creating a culture of leadership development. We will also outline a simple method that you can use right now to develop any ministry leader in your fellowship.
Led by Levi Skipper who is the Evangelism lead Catalyst for the Ga. Baptist Mission Board. Levi is a graduate of Shorter, NOBTS and has doctorate from Luther Rice Seminary. He has served as a Youth Pastor. His first Pastorate. the church grew from 60-225 in S.S. He later pastored Concord Church that increased S.S. attendance by 115% and baptisms by 122% and added four additional campuses. Levi is the author of the discipleship tools “Resolved” and “Spiritual Avalanche” as well as “Marriage in the Red.”
Be ready to thrive as a church even in the absence of a Worship Leader. Navigate the Challenge of Music when musicians are unavailable. Explore modern resources that can elevate your church’s musical experience regardless of its size. Join us for an engaging session with Rhon Carter, including a Q&A and discussion on current music-related challenges within the church.
Led by Rhon Carter who grew up in southeast Georgia in a small town called Hoboken. He attended Hoboken Baptist Church, a very small church, and was active in the church’s music ministry. His grandmother was the church organist, and she began to teach him to play piano. At the age of three, he could play the melody of Amazing Grace. At 12 years old, Rhon realized that he was a sinner in need of a Savior and gave his life to Jesus Christ. It wasn’t until he had almost finished a degree in hospital administration that the Lord called him into full time music ministry. With multiple talents in music, he laid down his personal agenda and took up the Lord’s agenda or his life. Rhon went back to Brewton- Parker College and acquired a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance and minor in piano. God has allowed Rhon to serve several great Baptist churches with tremendous pastors from 50 – 3000. Rhon is currently the Worship & Music Catalyst for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board. His desire is to help all Georgia Baptist churches take next steps to fulfill the great commission Ron has led music in churches that ran from 60-1500 people.
Be ready to be the Church by improving Discipleship methods. Is your current discipleship plan working? Are your small groups producing results? Are disciples being reproduced? Are leaders trained and equipped to multiply more disciples? Do You want to see your church actively growing – let’s get started implementing a plan to make that happen together! Structure your church to make and multiply disciples with the Disciple-Making Church strategy. We come to you and give you a free training and overview of a proven strategy to multiply disciples through your ministry.
Led by Ken Adams and Stan Patterson. Ken Adams graduated from Southwestern Theological Seminary in May 1989 with a Master of Divinity. Ken was called as the first pastor of Crossroads Church, Newnan, in 1989. Ken has a passion for being a disciple of Christ and pouring his life into others who desire to walk as Jesus walked. Ken began writing his own curriculum. His curriculum was so successful in achieving Crossroad’s goals Ken decided to make his resources available to other churches. Impact Discipleship Ministries, Inc. was founded in 2002. Since then, churches across the U.S. and across the globe are actively using Impact’s resources. Ken continues to develop new training and resources to help people and churches become fully trained disciples of Jesus Christ. Stan Patterson came on staff with Crossroads Church and Impact Discipleship Ministries in 2022. He is the Whitewater Campus Pastor in Brooks, GA, and works with the Crossroads Network of Church Planters. In his 40 years of ministry, Stan has pastored four churches, planting/pastoring two of those churches. He graduated from Campbellsville University with his bachelor’s degree and from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, with his Master of Divinity.
HELP! We’re Not a Megachurch: Be ready to thrive in Youth Ministry within the smaller church. Are you passionate about guiding the next generation, but find yourself in a smaller church environment? This session is tailor-made for you! Discover the art of impactful youth ministry through strategic programming that packs a punch. We’ll delve into creative approaches that make the most of limited resources, ensuring every event leaves a lasting mark. But that’s not all – we’ll unlock the secret to developing leaders within your youth group. Learn how to identify potential, nurture skills, and cultivate a team that is dedicated to nurturing young hearts.
Led by Tim Fleming and Jeremy Pearson. Tim Fleming serves as Youth/Worship Pastor at Rock Branch Baptist Church in Elberton, GA and has a passion to lead this generation to become fully devoted followers of Jesus. Tim has served for a total of 17 years in ministry. Jeremy Pearson has been a Youth Pastor for 12 years, for the past 7 years at McConnell Baptist in Hiawassee, Ga. He has dedicated his life to introducing teens and young adults to Jesus and equipping them to make disciples. He also has a small construction company on the side to fund my ministry addiction.
Be ready to take your Kids to Bible literacy. Join us as we discuss Biblical literacy for the next generation and share creative ideas and resources you can incorporate in your kids and student ministry.
Led by Maria Brannen, Executive Director for Georgia Baptist Bible Drill and Speakers, Inc., a 501(c) 3 nonprofit ministry committed to investing in and nurturing the next generation of kids and students in Biblical literacy and scripture memorization. A graduate of Southwestern Seminary, she is also a conference leader, Kids Ministry mentor, writer, and blogger and Minister to Children at FBC Monroe.
Be ready to be the church by being effective in using your sound and video equipment to enhance your services. We’ve known for some time now, that the front door to the church service is online in your livestream. Like it or not, guests are going to “try out” our churches by watching online. We have the incredible opportunity to not only share our worship services, but to truly engage with them. Join in for this practical conversation on how to get started on a small budget with your first livestream and learn some engaging ways to make a big impact on your online guests. Also, we will discuss practical ideas on helping with sound situations in your church and online.
Led by Josh McFadden, who has served the last 20 years in churches of all sizes – mobile church plant to large multisite and everything in between. Josh currently serves as Video Director of Bethlehem Church, leading volunteers to create engaging video for live, multisite and online campuses.
Be Ready to be the church by identifying and mobilizing the next generation and young adults to serve and Lead in your Church NOW!
Led by Tommy Fountain Jr., who is the Campus Pastor at Baptist Collegiate Ministries at UGA. He has seen the changes and new trends coming since he began working with College Students 8 years ago. He joined the staff of the BCM at UGA in March 2020. Prior to that, Tommy served as Student and Collegiate Minister at Beech Haven Baptist since 2014. Before that Tommy had served bi-vocationally and taught School.
Be ready to be the church by caring for your pastor so he can care for you. 1700+ pastors are leaving every month. 75% of Pastors surveyed report being extremely stressed. Michigan State Professor of Organizational Psychology, Rick DeShon, after studying Pastor’s roles stated: “the breadth of tasks performed by local church pastors, coupled with the rapid switching between task clusters and roles that appear prevalent in this position is unique. I have never encountered such a fast-paced job with such varied and impactful responsibilities.” So, how can you care for your Pastor so He can care for you for the long term?
Join Andy Childs as he will guide you through this process and also have a Q&A concerning resources that are available to you and the church to help the Pastors and families. Andy has pastored for many years and understands the stress and struggles. He is now with the GBMB with Pastor Wellness.
Be ready to be the Church by Helping others in emergencies and making disciples also. Does the Disaster Relief Ministry Make Disciples? There is much more to Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief than cooking food and chainsaws. Let’s take a deeper look into the depths of the interworking of disciple making through DR. You might be surprised.
Led by Dwain Carter, a Missouri native who served 21 years in 3 churches as a pastor. During that time he began serving as Disaster Relief Director in the Missouri Baptist Convention and in 2020 Texas Baptist Men. His motto is “Our Christian faith can’t be lived out in the pews only; we have to get outside the four walls.” Dwain has traveled extensively leading people in disaster relief efforts and missional mobilization engagements all over the world.
Be ready to be the church by mentoring younger people to lead and serve. If not us, who will? It’s not only important to raise up servants and leaders, but it’s biblical. You can be a young adult mentoring young people, or you could be a Sr. Adult, who can leave an impact on the church for years to come by mentoring others.
Led by Tommy and Kim Hudgins. Tommy is a semi-retired insurance agent who served in an executive capacity for many years. He also has served as an elder/deacon, small group/S.S. teacher, along with other leadership responsibilities in church. Kim founded and is owner/operator of First Place Tours. Together and separately, they mentor college students and young adults in Milledgeville, GA.
Be ready to be the church by ministering to families with special needs. What are issues we need to be aware of? How do I handle these children, so that the parents and the workers are comfortable? How do I make church meaningful for every individual? How do I show that God loves and values every person?
Led by Tami Burt, Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer of the Bridge of Georgia, a center for ability development which specializes in people with special needs. Before founding The Bridge, Tami had worked with special needs kids and their families for many years as a specialist in ABA Therapy.
Be ready to be the church by being involved in Local Missions. If your own church ceases to exist would our community even notice? This is a question we have to ask when it comes to local community ministry/Missions. If the local church is God’s plan A, there is no plan B with sharing the Gospel. Where does it start? Join us as we discuss how you can make your church have an eternal impact right in your community.
Led by Joseph Brown and Nick Chambers. Joseph Brown is a graduate of Liberty University with a degree in Biblical Studies. He serves as the Community/Global Missions Pastor for Bethlehem Church and has been on staff there for the last 7 years. He and his wife Teresa have 2 sons but have also been foster parents for several kids over the last 3 years. Nick Chambers is the Association/Missions Pastor for 1025 Church. He has been on staff for 11 years, of which the last 6 years has been full time. He is married to Megan, and they have with 3 children.
Be ready to survive and thrive as a pastor’s wife. This class is strictly for women whose husbands are ministers. The job as a pastor’s wife can be one of the most difficult and most rewarding in ministry. This class is to encourage and help you as you take on this responsibility the Lord has given you.
Led by Terri Butcher, who has been a pastor’s wife for over 30 years first as a church planter, then as Lead pastor’s wife. Terri formerly served as Executive Director of CLC for over 20 years. She has been active in leadership in Women’s ministry for 30 years. She has been married to Butch Butcher 44 years.
