NW Witness: Letter from the Director

Church Leaders and Members of the Northwest Baptist Convention,

One of my favorite things about our Annual Meeting is simply looking around the room.

There are pastors and leaders from churches of every size, serving in rural communities, small

towns, suburbs, and cities across the Northwest. There are seasoned church planters who have

been faithfully planting seeds for years and planters who are just getting started. They’re sitting alongside pastors, ministry leaders, and their wives, some who have been faithfully serving for decades and others who are just beginning the journey.

There are different generations, languages, cultures, styles of worship, and approaches to

ministry. Some churches have been around for more than a hundred years, while others are just beginning to write their story.

We are different in a lot of ways, and I think that’s part of what makes gathering together so special.

For a few days each year, we come together and are reminded that while God has called each of our churches to faithfully serve the community where He has placed us, He has also given us

something bigger to be part of.

That’s why I love the theme of this year’s Annual Meeting:

Many Churches. One Mission. 

I can’t think of a better description of the Northwest Baptist Convention.

Sometimes it’s easy to think of the Convention as an organization somewhere outside the local church, with staff, programs, and resources that exist to serve churches. But that’s not really who we are.

The Northwest Baptist Convention is not an organization serving churches. It is the churches choosing to serve Christ together.

It’s your church. It’s my church. It’s hundreds of autonomous churches throughout Washington,

Oregon, and Northern Idaho choosing to cooperate because we believe God has given us a

mission that is bigger than any one of us.

Our Annual Meeting is one of those special times when we get to see that family gathered in one place.

Yes, we’ll conduct business together and make decisions. But there is so much more. We’ll worship together, hear God’s Word, celebrate what God is doing throughout the Northwest, welcome new churches into our family, learn together, reconnect with old friends, and hopefully make some new ones.

And this year, we’ll continue talking about where we believe God is leading us:

A disciple-making church in every community in the Pacific Northwest.

That’s a big goal. In fact, it’s far too big for any one church, pastor, association, or convention

staff to accomplish. But that’s the beauty of cooperation.

Every church has a community God has called it to reach and gifts, experiences, relationships,

and resources God can use. When we voluntarily bring those things together around the mission Christ has given us, we can accomplish things together that none of us could accomplish alone.

That’s what I hope you experience at this year’s Annual Meeting.

If you’ve attended for years, I hope it feels a little like coming home for a family reunion. If

you’ve never attended before, I hope you’ll come and discover that there’s a place for you in this family. Bring your spouse, some leaders from your church, or your entire family. Come ready to worship, learn, laugh, reconnect, and meet others who understand both the joys and challenges of serving Christ in the Northwest.

Ministry can be lonely. Sometimes we need to look up from what’s happening in our own church and be reminded:

We are not doing this alone.

I hope you’ll join us November 9–11 at Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, Washington. It will encourage me to see your face, shake your hand, hear what God is doing in your church, and celebrate together what He is doing through this family of churches.

Until then, enjoy this edition of The Witness. The stories in these pages are really our stories, stories of God working through ordinary churches and faithful people throughout the Northwest.

And in November, let’s gather together and hear a few more of them in person.

Many Churches. One Mission.

by Faith,

Lance Caddel

Executive Director-Treasurer

Northwest Baptist Convention

P.S. I asked a few of our pastors what they value most about our Annual Meeting. Their answers probably say it better than I can.

I love seeing old friends and being encouraged by those relationships. When I first started attending, I hardly knew anyone. Now, it feels like a family reunion… The Annual Meeting is the best time to reconnect with people, see what God is doing through those relationships, and celebrate Him for the work He is doing.

Chad Harms

Pathway Church, Gresham, Oregon

The breakouts are excellent, the worship and preaching are always on point, and one of my favorite parts is celebrating the new churches joining our convention and seeing how God

continues to expand His Kingdom throughout the Northwest. There is something special about being reminded that none of us are doing this work alone.

Roy Swihart

Mission Valley Church, Bow, Washington

I attend the Annual Meeting because I want to stay informed about what’s happening in our convention, but also because I’m encouraged every year to see how God is working through churches across the Northwest, both small and large. It’s a great reminder that we’re part of something bigger than what God is doing in our own local church.

Kasey Sheaffer

New Hope Church, Creswell, Oregon