FBC has a rich heritage of support for the Lottie Moon International Missions offering, and December is our key month in collections for this effort. This year, FBC is also supporting an effort to raise resources for new Bibles for new believers in Africa alongside Mentoring Men for the Master — an organization founded by one of our former pastors, Dr. Bill Bennett. Donation cards for supporting one or both of these worthy organizations are available in the pews at FBC.
Our most recent mission trip was to England, in September 2024. Our team went Eynsford and Dartford (areas just outside of London) and helped a pair of Baptist churches with construction projects and reaching their surrounding communities with the Gospel.
The state of religious life in the United Kingdom is very serious and reflects trends visible in many European nations. Here is a helpful article to inform your prayers for our mission teams, and for the people of the United Kingdom.
Missions activities of First Baptist Fort Smith
We’re active in missions across the globe, in North America, and here in Arkansas/Oklahoma. It’s part of our response to Jesus’ Great Commission command in Matthew 28:18-20 to share the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
Serving as a missionary is a serious matter that should be blanketed in prayer and Christian counsel. To learn more about serving on a mission with FBC, please call our church office and ask to be connected with a Missions Team member.
Some things to consider when answering a call to missions and serving on a mission trip:
- Have I prayed about this and consulted Christians that I trust?
- Is this short term or long term service?
- Do I have the resources needed to undertake a mission, or must I raise resources?
- (International) Do I already have a passport and have I started learning more about the area I hope to visit?
The Jesus Film shown in Ghana, where people heard it in their own language.
FBC Fort Smith men assisted a church in El Salvador with constructing this pavilion in 2024.
International
Great Britain – FBC is also directly involved with working alongside a Baptist church in Eynsford, England as it reaches out to a population that has largely fallen away from the faith. A FBC Fort Smith mission team is visiting in September of this year. Earlier this summer, Pastor Greg Addison and several Arkansas Baptist pastors met with church leaders in Eynsford and surrounding areas to help create a network of pastors there, and another trip alongside a FBC team of volunteers will take place soon.
Ghana and other areas of Africa – Our recent sponsorship with Campus Crusade has created a new translation of The Jesus Film using a dialect spoken by people in Ghana and nearby areas. This is a powerful tool for sharing the Gospel with people in their own language rather than through translators.
El Salvador – FBC men went to El Salvador in 2024 for a building mission to assist a church with the construction of a pavilion. This structure is now completed and is used to host church worship services for a group of people who were previously meeting in an unsheltered space, as well as for the area’s community events.
Across the globe – FBC has a strong history of supporting the Lottie Moon Missions Offering, which supports the International Mission Board’s activities all over the world. Read more about Lottie Moon and the Lottie Moon Missions Offering
North America
FBC has a wonderful history of providing strong support to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering, which helps mission activities here in North America, supporting more than 2,900 missionary families serving across the United States and Canada.
Local (Arkansas & Oklahoma)
FBC Fort Smith supports our Dixie Jackson Offering for Arkansas Missions, a collection of support for Baptist programs that spread the Gospel and impact people’s lives with practical solutions right here in Arkansas.
In addition, members of our FBC team are active in helping other churches in our area with Vacation Bible Schools, Student Ministry projects, (and even sending FBC staff members to preach and lead worship services on Sunday morning now and then).
Women On Mission meetings
Our Women On Mission group meets the first Thursday of each month in room 100 at 10:00 a.m., bringing the women of FBC together to pray for missionaries, and to learn more about what they are doing in our state, nation, and world. This group often hosts speakers with experience on the mission field, and they help bolster the missions work of FBC through their actions and prayers.