Dear Birmingham and Bessemer Baptists,
Over 187 years ago, the Birmingham Metro Baptist Association was founded as the Canaan Baptist Association in what is now Bessemer, Alabama. The name “Canaan” was adopted in honor of the Canaan Baptist Church, the Association’s mother church. In 1890, the name of the Association was changed to the Birmingham Baptist Association. The Birmingham Baptist Association is comprised of a diverse group of churches across the metropolitan area. Although the legal name has not changed, the Association was rebranded as the Birmingham Metro Baptist Association (BMBA) in February 2019 to acknowledge that the Association’s mission extends beyond the City of Birmingham.
The Bessemer Baptist Association first came out of the Birmingham Association on October 18, 1899, to meet the growing Bessemer area’s needs. However, in 1906, the Bessemer Association dissolved, and most churches rejoined the Birmingham Baptist Association. In 1949, messengers from thirty churches met at the Canaan Baptist Church to reorganize the Bessemer Baptist Association. This time, the Bessemer Baptist Association flourished. For more than seventy years, the Bessemer and Birmingham Baptist Associations have worked alongside one another as sister associations in close geographic proximity.
In October of 2019, after consultations with the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, the North American Mission Board, and many others, leaders from the Birmingham (BMBA) and Bessemer (BBA) Associations introduced proposals to their respective associations to enter into a one-year partnership. The partnership proposals were adopted unanimously by both associations. The goal was for both associations to serve for one year in cooperative missions and evaluate whether the Birmingham and Bessemer Associations would serve better together permanently.
We hoped that both associations could advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ with greater efficiency and fervency as a unified body of churches. The Bessemer Baptist Association moved into the office of the Birmingham Metro Baptist Association in October 2019. Both associations have enjoyed fruitful ministry together in Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, community missions, church consultation, church revitalization, church planting, Woman’s Missionary Union, and many other endeavors. Unhindered by the COVID-19 pandemic and many other crises, the partnership has flourished.
From October 2019 to July 2020, Dr. Chris Crain, Executive Director of Birmingham Association, and Dr. Barry Cosper, Associational Missions Strategist of Bessemer Association, visited with dozens of churches (in person and via video) and shared the values of entering into a permanent partnership. In several town hall meetings, the entire staff of the Birmingham Metro Baptist and Bessemer Baptist Associations were present to dialogue with pastors, church staff, and the laity of the churches. The outcome of each church visit and town hall meeting, without exception, was affirming to the concept that Birmingham and Bessemer Baptists could do more effective ministry together as one Association.
At Attorney Eric Johnston and others’ advice, a leadership team was assembled with leaders from both Associations to develop governing documents for a “new” association. The new Association will encompass all member churches of the Birmingham and Bessemer Associations and be officially named the “Birmingham Metro Baptist Association.” The recently designed governing documents provide an opportunity to bring the Association up to date for missions and ministry in the twenty-first century.
The new governing documents will be made available to the pastors and leaders from Birmingham and Bessemer. We will also provide a Partnership Preamble to accompany these documents to chronicle the events leading up to the newly formed Association. The Preamble will provide a framework for including Bessemer and Birmingham leaders in the governing structure during the formative years of the new Association. Our prayer is that the rich history of each Association’s Gospel work will be carried forward into the new Birmingham Metro Baptist Association. Email Marisa Taylor at MarisaT@BMBAOnline.org to obtain an electronic copy of the proposed governing documents.
With our historic Baptist principles and strategic focus upon the future, we anticipate that the Holy Spirit will move in mighty power as tens of thousands of Baptists partner together in the 180 churches of our Association. Our mission is to encourage, equip, and engage biblically faithful churches in the Great Commission for God’s glory. Furthermore, we endeavor to serve as a model to associations across the Alabama Baptist State Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention for partnership and cooperation.
If you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns, please contact us by email at ChrisC@BMBAOnline.org or BarryC@BMBAOnline.org. You may call us at (205) 599-3245. We will continue to review these documents and the proposal to form the new Association until our Birmingham and Bessemer leadership meetings in October 2020. In October, each Association’s governing bodies will vote on whether or not to form one new Association. If the vote is favorable, we will begin serving together as a new, unified association officially on January 1, 2021.
With sincere anticipation,
Dr. Chris Crain, Executive Director of BMBA
Dr. Barry Cosper, Associational Missions Strategist of Bessemer Baptist Association