by Donald King
Woodland Baptist Association includes ten counties in western Michigan where North American Mission Board missionary, Michael McCoy, serves as the associational missionary.
"More than a half million people in the Woodland Baptist Association are without a church home and Christ in their lives." In fact, two of the ten counties, Oceana and Lake, do not have a Southern Baptist work. And when you enter Grand Rapids into the equation, the second largest city in Michigan, which has grown 4.5% in the last six years with a population of 750,000 people, this North American mission field represents a significant need with real possibilities.
Michael has served the Woodland Association for two and a half years. In that time, he has led the 16 churches in that association to embrace the vision of "Planting and Growing the Kingdom of God."
"We are a group of partners," says McCoy, "and among the ways we have partnered with our churches to reach West Michigan is the Tent Meeting, sponsored by Trinity Baptist Church, a house church in Newaygo County. This is a very rural part of our association which has a great tent meeting out in the country."
Partnerships are important in Michigan. They often build bridges to the lost in the area. An example of this is seen through the City of Wyoming's block party.
"It was the first Tuesday of August, the night of the National Night Out campaign to fight crime through developing community relations. The city partnered with us and asked if we could bring our block party equipment to the city park. We did face painting in addition to providing snow cones and inflatable rides for the kids."
"There were hundreds of people in the park that night and by the end of the evening, seven people gave their hearts to Christ as their Savior," said McCoy.
McCoy, a classic car enthusiast, is leading the association to reach their communities for Christ through the annual Woodland Baptist Association ministry at the 28th Street Metro Cruise. The 28th Street Metro Cruise is a two-day, classic car rally in Grand Rapids which takes place in late August.
"There are about 10,000 classic cars and more than 100,000 people who attend," says McCoy, "and we partner with our churches to do street witnessing and tract distribution during the cruise."
Holland, Michigan may be best known for an annual event which takes place the first week of May. Tulip Time is a week long festival celebrating the Dutch heritage of Holland. Tulip Time is one of the largest flower festivals in the United States and attracts thousands of visitors every year.
The Holland Baptist Church and their new pastor, Dr. Greg Howard, have begun a new evangelistic outreach during the festival. The First Baptist Church of Perrysburg, Ohio partnered with the church this year to do street witnessing and distributed cold water to festival goers annually.
New church starts are critical to the association's overall strategy. Michael is especially excited about two new, healthy church starts in Grand Rapids and Holland.
Pastor Francis Darko is the church planter at Sonrise Baptist Church in Grand Rapids which is targeting African-Americans. He just started a few months ago and is already seeing fruit from his labor. "He already has a great core group and is baptizing new believers who have given their hearts to the Lord," says McCoy.
Pastor Medina has started a new church in Holland, Michigan, targeting Hispanics. Vacation Bible School proved to be a very effective way of reaching this community. But there is much more work to be done to make in-roads to this part of the community.
When asked what the prayer needs are for his association, McCoy is quick to answer with the following:
Pray for:
- Our churches without pastors (First Baptist, Ludington; Northside Baptist, Holland; and, Iglesia Bautista Hispana, Grand Rapids)
- Our new church starts in Grand Rapids and Holland
- Our church planting funds, which will dry up within three years unless partners join us in the harvest
- Partners to join us in our work
Consider the opportunity to share Christ in Michigan. The rural communities and big cities of the Woodland Baptist Association offer Southern Baptists the opportunity to obey the Great Commission near the Great Lakes.
NAMB missionaries, Michael and Cheryl McCoy, need your help in western Michigan. Of course they covet your prayers but they also extend an invitation to come along side them to be involved in the work. In fact, they are praying for partnerships with Southern Baptist churches like yours. So take some time and go yourself or take a group from your church.
Go! Discover the North American mission field in western Michigan.
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