Welcome to MVA's HOME PAGE!

The Muskingum Valley Baptist Association is a family of Southern Baptist churches working together to build God's Kingdom spiritually, numerically, locally, and globally.

The Associaton includes 14 counties in East Cental Ohio, from about Zanesville in the west to St. Clairsville in the east, and from Dover/New Phildelphia in the north to Gallipolis in the south. The Ohio River marks, generally, our area's eastern and southern edges. I-77 runs north and south and I-70 east and west, intersecting at Cambridge, the geographical center of the Association, forming the crossroads of eastern Ohio.

More than 1/2 million people live within these 14 counties. It is estimated that about 72% of the people in our area have no personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and no affiliation with an existing church. Currently there are 33 churches and missions in Muskingum Valley Baptist Association wih a combined membership of about 5,000. That means there are 12,900 people per SBC church, and 85 per SBC member, who have yet to become connected to Christ and His Church.

Across the state of Ohio, Southern Baptists have been challenged wth a 20/20 vision of reaching 1 million people for Christ and gathering them together in 2,020 congregations by the year 2020. Currently, of the 11 million population, there are about 150,000 members in 625 congregations.

We are committed to moving at "light speed", to love God and others, and to take the good news of God's forgiveness to all peoples. For a Christian, "light" is the revealed will of God, and "speed" is immediate obedience to God's will. Thus, "light speed" is immediate obedience to the voice of God. We invite you to join us in this movement of God, by praying with us for God's miracles, participating with us in God's mission, and partnering with us monetarily to support pastors serving God sacrificially.

MOMENTUM = MV2

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INSPIRATION STATION

A Place for Refueling and Refocusing

4 X 4 Church Planting
Part I

The goal of Muskingum Valley Baptist Association is best pictured by the formula for momentum, P=MV2. (P= momentum, M= mass, V= velocity- squared). For our purposes P= our plan, M= our churches and members, V= speed of our obedience to the light of the revealed will of God. That kind of momentum is what Muskingum Valley needs in obeying the Great Commission. Perhaps the best way to see P=MV2 is Muskingum Valley multiplying itself at light speed. That is our commission. That should be our commitment.

If we are to gain momentum we first need some traction. 4 X 4 church planting is designed to provide traction on the way to our goal. If you want to leave the traffic jam of stalled churches, then get off the road to status quo and follow Jesus on the path to kingdom growth. We believe there are 4 necessary ingredients in starting new churches: (1) God (2) Energy (3) Knowledge (4) Money. The 4 X 4 concept adds all 4 ingredients to the church planting mix.

4 X 4 Church Planting

4 Churches partnering 4 ways to plant 4 churches · Primary Sponsor – provides administrative know-how, spiritual oversight, possible money and people. · Prayer Partner—provides the spiritual (God) ingredient. · Personnel Partner – provides energy through short-term mission teams and/ or personnel assistance. · Paying Partner – provides money. (2-3 year commitment if possible.)

Each church would partner with 4 new church plants (and 3 other primary sponsors) in 4 different ways. In addition, the MVA New Works Team will serve as a resource for each of the 4 ingredients by providing training, networking, recruiting, coaching (for both sponsor and mission), assessments, demographics, prayer, and money when available.

4 X 4---GET OUT THERE! GET IN ON THE ADVENTURE! GET IN STEP WITH JESUS!

Church Name
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______YES! OUR CHURCH WILL BE A 4 X 4 CHURCH
______YES! OUR CHURCH WILL PRAY ABOUT BEING A 4 X 4 CHURCH
______YES! OUR CHURCH WILL BE A (circle all that apply)
prayer partner, personnel partner, paying partner



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Prayer Focus
















Please pray for these:





TOP TEN PLACES FOR CHURCH PLANTS

(determined by MVA New Works Team)




1. Belpre….Washington Co.

2. Zanesville-airport….Muskingum Co.

3. Martins Ferry/Bridgeport….Belmont Co.

4. Marietta….Washington Co.

5. Frazeysburg/Dresden….Muskingum Co.

6. Wintersville….Jefferson Co.

7. Strasburg….Tuscarawas Co.

8. New Lexington….Perry Co.

9. Byesville….Guernsey Co.

10. Summerfield area....Noble Co.



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MVA MINISTRY TEAM LEADERSHIP



· Moderator – Rodney West, FBC, Barnesville

· Vice Moderator – Mark Stinson, Trinity BC,Cambridge

. Clerk – Betty Hoffmann, Trinity BC, Cambridge

· Treasurer & Asst. Clerk – Sharon McConnell, Faith BC, Belle Valley

· Asst.Treasurer – Eula Castor, Trinity BC, Cambridge

· Church Health Team Ldr. – Paul Schwab, Coshocton BC, Coshocton

· Church Starting Team Ldr. – Jeff Moore, Gathering @ The Lodge, Norwich,

· Training Leaders Team Ldr. – Chris Rhodes, Dover Baptist Temple, Dover

· On Mission Team Co-Ldrs. – Larry & Sue Emery, FBC, Woodsfield





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MUSKINGUM VALLEY BAPTIST ASSOCIATION



OUR VALUES




OUR VISION






A dvancing God's kingdom



C hurch Health



T raining servant leaders



S tarting new churches



1:8 On Mission



BE PART OF


OUR ADVENTURE





“You shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and even to the remotest part of the earth."

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“PRIORITY OF PRAYER”





The year 1857 in America was a pivotal one. The nation was reeling from a collapsing economy and being swept rapidly toward a bloody civil war. Yet, in the providence of God a tidal wave of spiritual renewal was beginning to form.


In New York City, Jeremiah Lanphier, a layman charged with door-to-door outreach, decided the best approach to the monumental task of reaching the city for Christ was a noon-day prayer meeting. On September 23, 1857 at the Dutch Reformed Church on Fulton Street, the initial “Business Men’s Prayer Meeting” was held. Attendance at that first meeting was 6, the next week the number grew to 20, swelling to 40 by the next. The decision was made to meet daily and God took it from there. The city became a spiritual riptide within six months. Soon, a conservative estimate of 10,000, were gathering daily for prayer. The results were remarkable.


The revival grabbed headlines of newspapers and the heartstrings of believers and non-believers alike. The Spirit of God not only saturated the city but it seemed to “move upon the face of the waters.” A multitude of seamen reported seeing “a great light” as if a “vast cloud of blessing hovered over land and sea.” Ships entering the harbor seemed to enter a “zone of heavenly influence” and again and again whole ship’ crews reported being convicted and converted before reaching land.




In New York City alone it was reported that the flood of God’s grace swept 50,000 individuals into His kingdom. However, the flood of spiritual renewal was not confined to New York, but that is another story.




It all began with one person’s conviction to pray and a handful who were willing.





PRAY FOR REVIVAL

Perhaps it’s the sea that invites you to partake of its pleasure this summer. While you are serenaded by the sounds of the sea and entranced by watery fingers caressing the sand at your feet, don’t forget Jesus. It is He who controls its every movement. By divine decree He has set its boundaries; “He set for the sea its boundary, so that the water should not transgress His command” (Proverbs 8:29). Neither should you forget that Jesus alone calms stormy waters. “Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm” (Matthew 8:26).

Wherever you vacation this summer, allow the words of the Psalmist to accompany you, “Where can I go from Thy Spirit? Or where can I flee from Thy presence?…If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Thy hand will lead me, and Thy right hand will lay hold of me” (Psalm 139:7,9-10)

Don’t forget Jesus. Find Him, fall in love with Him, be faithful to Him, but whatever you do, don’t forget Him.

Bob Beike