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Join Our Association The HDBA offers a broad selection of resources to baptist churches. If you desire to affiliate with the High Desert Baptist Association, a statement of benefits, expectations and an application is available here. Looking For A Church If you are considering relocating to our area, we would love to direct you to a place of worship. You can find a church by Clicking Here or using the Find A Church link on the top menu. Contribute Now The HDBA in a non-profit ministry which strengthens and supports baptist pastors and churches. You can contribute to the efforts of the HDBA without being a member of an affiliate church. Gifts are tax deductible. Find out how by clicking here. |
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Vision Statement A paradigm shift is taking place in our nation. Younger leaders are emerging. A new generation that is bringing with them little or no interest in supporting overweight organizations. This maintenance has kept many associations from their task. It is my intention to detail to you what I believe this association needs to become, and what that will look like in the future years. The association of the past must give way to the association Father wants us to be. It is not my intent to bore anybody with a long, drawn out explanation of the vision I have for our association. The size of this page should not discourage you. I will explain everything briefly. Hear me. It is my desire that this association; streamline expenses, maximize effectiveness and implement change so as to never grow stagnate. I like what the North American Mission Board has stated as their premise for driving the association of the future. 1. The association is not a church. Only the church is a church and thus as ordained by God has the responsibility to fulfill and carry out the functions of the church. All other organizations are Para-church and therefore by their very nature exist for some other role and function. 2. The role and function of the association is to assist, support and resource the unique, God-given vision of the churches to carry out the Great Commission. Thus, the role of the association is to “assist,” not “do.” Churches do, associations assist and resource. We are on this journey together, and to make it work we need each other. I am not a one-man show, nor am I dependant on everyone else to make things happen. However, I realize that most effective ministry happens somewhere in between those two extremes. Welcome to my vision for change… Vision in a Nutshell Better to illuminate than merely to shine, to deliver to others contemplated truths than merely to contemplate. In this matter-of-fact statement, I will serially share each of the items which will be implemented, or undergo change. I will take a shotgun approach, however, as I have explained, each of these bullet points are covered in greater detail below. The reason for this approach is that you may have quick access to the basics and if you so desire, the details. I hope this approach shows you that I have no desire to waste you time or my own. Just the facts, not endless babble. Here is my faith statement. It comes in the form of a list… • This association will be excellent. Excellence We are called to be excellent for we are ambassadors of the King. I propose – no, I insist – that everything in this association be completed with excellence. I don’t work for you, and you don’t work for me. We work for Father and do so together. We are therefore obligated to represent Him appropriately. This commitment to excellence will be seen in everything that we do: Correspondence, Literature, Events, Meetings, Speech, Budget, Relations, and most importantly our collective effort toward the unchurched. Streamlined No waste. From budget and resources to time management issues we will make the most of what has been entrusted to us. This means action. Each source we fund must report and be subject to review. Every process will be scrutinized to see how we can maximize its effectiveness and cost to value ratio. One thing each church leader and pastor has seen is waste of Father’s resources and we promise to do everything in our power to minimize waste. We will be unafraid to make difficult choices for the greater effectiveness of the associational vision. Committed Commitment is a two-way street. As the association becomes more relevant and effective, our churches will be challenged to participate on a greater scale. In fact, commitment of church personnel to associational teams and leadership roles are an integral part of the future vision. Churches choosing to associate but failing to participate in associational activities or cooperative giving will be reevaluated and potentially dropped from our roles. This, I feel is a mandate for me, and is intimately tied to the idea of excellence and having a streamlined association. Every team has a roster because the coach needs to know whom he can count on. The association is no different. Effective Unlike the typical association, we will not relish in how many sermons the DOM has preached, or how many miles he has driven. We will be result oriented. With a vision of kingdom expansion and church health, how is "miles driven" relevant? It is not. This association will report tangible, measurable results. We will work to increase our number of churches and praise Father for each new work. We will work to establish healthy churches and praise Father for each new conversion and baptism. We will work to restore and educate pastors and praise Father for each new milestone reached in their lives. We will work for a greater budget, not to increase the association, but to increase the percentage given back, and we will praise Father for every dollar. Resource Call us. This association will be the single source location for all services Southern Baptist. This is not to say that we will have the staff to accommodate every need, but with one phone call we will direct you or facilitate that need being met. Many pastors share their frustration with me about the responsiveness of the State office. They are busy people up there! Call the association, we will mobilize toward your need. If that means calling state personnel, we will petition the state on your behalf. If we have another pastor or leader in our association who is excellent in your area of need we will mobilize that individual or team. Relevant Associational involvement across America has weakened because the association has become irrelevant. Many people are not sure what the DOM does or the greater purpose for the association. This must change. Whether by resourcing as stated above, or providing training and information, we determine to become relevant to you. This relevance will not only apply to you, but we determine to be relevant to your church and your people as well. We want every event we organize or participate in to be “value-added.” I realize that you are very busy, so am I. This association will not be shy to place expectation on each member to attend associational events, however, we promise to make those events worth placement on your over-filled calendar. I want you to leave an associational event saying: “That was worthwhile!” Flexible The needs of an association and the churches within it are constantly in a state of flux. Today’s answers are tomorrow’s problems. We determine to be flexible to the extent that we welcome new opportunities and methods for achieving our vision and goals. Budget items and calendars, though important, can “lock” an organization down thus reducing the ability of the association to be flexible enough to respond to new and emerging opportunities. Responsive If you have a need in your church, you probably have to wait for the financial committee to address, approve and facilitate the need. While the procedure may be proper, at times the time the process takes is detrimental to the need. We desire to act quickly to the needs of our churches whether those needs be financial, educational, instructional or intrapersonal. I am not, by nature, a procrastinator and understand the importance of immediate action on behalf of our member churches. Expanding Integral to the kingdom purpose of the association is the planting of new churches in our geographical area. We have been entrusted with the lost of our area and have a responsibility to reach them with Father’s life giving truths. This association will lead out in financing, educating, resourcing, mentoring and placing church planters where needed. Furthermore, we will provide for a healthy future of each church plant we endeavor upon. Changing It has been said that change for the sake of change is wrong, I agree. However, I believe that regular evaluation with anticipated change keeps a fresh focus and serves to reignite passion. For this reason this association will reevaluate – not our vision, but our methodology – on a yearly basis. Changes are to be realized through open communication with our churches and an eye placed upon the determinations made above. |
