Bowen Baptist Association

  Thank you for visiting our website!

Here you will find information concerning our Association and its ministries. We hope you find your time spent here a blessing. Our Association is a warm and loving one, and we want you to feel comfortable and at liberty to call on us for anything you need. Feel free to browse through the various areas of our website and learn about our Association.

If you are considering relocating to our area, we would love to direct you to a place of worship.

When you visit one of our churches, you will find:

• A caring congregation that will gladly welcome you
• Preaching/teaching that is centered on the Word of God
• Ministries to meet the spiritual needs of every age
• A corporate outlet for truth-filled and moving praise and worship

 Your Servant in the Lord,
Dr. Kenneth Cloud, Director of Missions

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 OUR PURPOSE STATEMENT

Our churches choosing to unite together and support one another to be
Healthy Kingdom Churches through Ministry, Evangelism, Discipleship,
Mission giving and going to the uttermost parts of the world.

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"When the pain of dying exceeds the pain of change, the church will do something different"

--Anonymous

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DIRECTOR OF MISSIONS:

Dear Co-laborers in Christ:

As I visit and speak in churches, I am always hearing folks speak of their church as a “little” church.  The connotation given here is that this is the reason we are not doing much is that we are so small.  It is of great concern to me when I hear this that the devil is able to defeat us mentally by using this negative connotation.

In the scriptures, the church, or the body of Christ, is identified 109 times in a particular locality with a group of people meeting in the name of their Lord. There is the church at Jerusalem, the church at Antioch, Ephesus, Corinth, Galatia, & Thessalonica. There are several others also mentioned. Most of the time, everyone refers to the church at Jerusalem as the model church. While this was the first church with a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit, it is not the only church mentioned in the scriptures.  Neither is it the only one that is important! There was the church in the home of Aquilla and Pricilla in Romans 16:3-5; I Corinthians 16:19, and the church in the home of Nymphas in Colossians 4:15, and also the church in the home of Philemon, Philippians 1:2. Now these are definitely not large congregations meeting in these homes, but they are important enough to be mentioned in the Word of God!! We are all members of the same body and also members in particular. Therefore, each church is to be recognized as an important part of the Body of Christ and not considered to be inferior or unimportant.

Sometimes this impression comes from larger congregations who feel that they are the only GOOD churches in the association because they have more to offer. This is an offensive attitude and causes many smaller churches to feel unwanted in the association.

We must get away from the feelings of inferiority and superiority in our churches. According to Paul’s writings in I Corinthians more honor is to be given to the lesser members, not to the greater members.

I pray that if you are in a smaller size congregation that you will realize that the blessings of God are not by the size of your congregation but by the willingness to serve our Lord wherever you are.  If you are in a larger congregation, I pray that you will realize the importance of all of our churches regardless of the size, so that we might be able to encourage each other and lift each other up in the spirit of unity and praise unto our Lord.

Your importance is not by your size or your programs, but rather in how you lift up our Lord. If a church meeting in someone’s house is important enough to be mentioned in the Word of God, then I don’t think we should belittle a church because of its size. A great church is not determined by size but by its love for the Lord. The true determining factors of what a church is, is by whether it is built on Christ, believing in Christ, and upholding the Words of Christ to a lost and dying world.

It is a joy for Brenda and I to continue to be able to serve in Bowen Association. We thank God daily for the churches we serve and for the Lord allowing us the privilege of being here to help you.  Please pray that the Lord would continue to give us wisdom as we serve Him and you.

We are continuing Project 42 and ask that you get your offering in as soon as possible. Some churches delayed the offering so it would not interfere with the Annie Armstrong Offering. Thank you to everyone who has contributed.

Your servants in the Lord,

Ken and Brenda Cloud