Perspective Column - E-News September 2007
 | PERSPECTIVE Sid Hopkins, NoBA National Chairman |
NoBA Builds Relationship with IMB
From the very beginning of our thoughts regarding NoBA, the leaders have all agreed that we want to be supportive of our Southern Baptist entities like IMB, Lifeway, NAMB and our state conventions. So, one of our goals for this year has been to meet with the Presidents of these entities to let them know who we are, who we represent and that we want to be partners in ministry. We are well on our way toward meeting this goal as I write this article. I was able to meet with Dr. Jerry Rankin and Terry Sharp at the IMB on Friday, August 17; Eddie Miller and I met with Dr. Bill Henry, Dr. Tom Hellams and Mike Perry at Lifeway on August 28; Larry Fillingim and I met with Dr. Geoffrey Hammond, Dr. Dennis Culbreth, Dr. Richard Harris and Harry Lewis on Sept. 11th.
In this article I wanted to focus on the meeting with Dr. Rankin at IMB. We met for just over an hour and I shared the purpose and vision of NoBA with specific emphasis on our desire to work in partnership with the IMB in reaching the nations of the world whetherit be somewhere else in the world on in our local associations where God is bringing the nations to us.
It was a very positive meeting where I sensed God’s direction in uniting our hearts in this common cause of fulfilling Acts 1:8 and the Great Commission. Dr. Rankin was very open and receptive to working with us in the days ahead to lead our churches to be engaged in missions.
I suggested to Dr. Rankin that we would perhaps like to designate one of our National Leadership Team to serve as a direct liaison to work closely with Terry Sharp in helping to keep Directors of Missions informed about the work of the IMB and how associations can partner with them. He liked the idea and we will be proceeding with this idea in the days ahead. Dr. Rankin realizes the importance of associations in Southern Baptist life and pledged to do all that he could to promote a positive relationship with IMB.
Read the NoBA press release (click here) with follow-up quotes from Dr. Rankin that will help you see and understand his heart for our world and for our partnership in the days ahead as we work together in the vineyard of our Lord.