CRBA Update August 12, 2026

From the Desk of your AMS Let’s Celebrate     Men’s Rally        Mission Trip to Ducktown TN     Upcoming Opportunities: August     LoveBurke Schools      Mission Fair on the Square         Praise and Prayer on the Square        Christmas in August Toy Drive     Women’s Breakfast  Pray for our CRBA Pastors of the Week ​More CRBA Calendar Events Resource of the Week​   VBS at CRBA Churches Save the Date: September Church & Ministry Partner News

Visiting Missionary Ridge 08.09.2026 We had the opportunity to worship with the church family at Missionary Ridge on Sunday. The service kicked off with 2 baptisms – praise the Lord!! Pastor Darren preached from Proverbs 2.  We attended Sunday School in their beautiful “Life Enrichment Center.”  Pleasant Hill Baptist Homecoming We were invited to join the church family at Pleasant Hill for their fellowship meal/Homecoming. Rob Kaylor preached their Homecoming Service.  Enon Baptist Church 08.09.2026 While Randall Frantz had an opportunity to encourage the Student Ministry of Enon, he invited me to speak to the adults in their evening service. I preached/taught through Titus 1. Michael H. Thank you South Mountain Baptist Camp Staff & Participating ChurchesIn their next to last week of camp (07.30.2026), Amanda and I had the opportunity to see firsthand the incredible ministry of the staff and churches there at South Mountain Baptist Camp. The photo above is from our tour of the camp – with Caleb and Mary Siniard. We enjoyed the evening meal with the Siniards and Kaylors – and then attended an energetic and meaningful worship service.  The summer camp season has wrapped up but their ministry continues with fall and winter retreats. Contact South Mountain for your next special event!		From the Desk of your AMS  (Associational Mission Strategist) August 12 – The Rattle in the Door There are few things more irritating than a rattle somewhere in your car. You’re driving down the road when you hear it. Rattle. Rattle. Rattle. Is it in the door? The glove box? Something under the seat? Suddenly, you’re not listening to the radio anymore. You’re listening for the rattle. You push on the door. You move your coffee cup. You ask the person riding with you, “Can you figure out where that is coming from?” Because once you hear it, you can’t not hear it. That imagery is what came to mind this week as I thought about the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives – regardless of whether we have a church title to our name or not. This is true for all believers. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would “teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26). He also described the Spirit’s work of conviction (John 16:8). Sometimes that conviction is persistent. A conversation we need to have. An attitude that needs to change. A sin we need to confess. Someone we need to forgive. Something God has clearly told us to do—but we keep putting it off. And it keeps rattling. Our temptation is to turn up the volume—to get busier, distract ourselves, justify ourselves, or simply ignore what God is pressing upon our hearts. But maybe we shouldn’t drown out the rattle. When the Holy Spirit brings something to our attention through the truth of God’s Word, the answer isn’t to silence His voice. The answer is to respond. Maybe there is something the Lord keeps bringing back to your attention today. Don’t just turn up the radio. Find the rattle. Pastors and Church Leaders – I am praying for you as the summer season winds down and Back to School begins. It’s been an incredible blessing to walk through Summer 2026 with you. I’m excited about all that’s ahead as we seek to serve Christ together! Michael R. Hodge Associational Mission Strategist/Director of Missions What are we working on at the CRBA? At a recent Pastors Luncheon, the Lifeway Church Solutions Partner for our region provided an introduction to Disciples Path – a free Lifeway resource for developing the discipleship strategy of your church.  In the coming weeks, I will be working with our Church Strengthening Team to outline a clear, action-oriented process for our CRBA churches. At the luncheon, we heard the WHY. Now, we need the HOW. We left the intro meeting excited – but now we need the practical steps to take to put a discipleship strategy in place.  Watch for more details in upcoming newsletters.
		PASTORS — Tomorrow is Thursday and we get to gather for our weekly lunch.  Bring your lunch. Time: 12noon-1pm.  Kelly Johnson (wife of Bradley Johnson – Pastor at Pleasant Ridge) will be highlighting a local SERVE opportunity with BIG HOUSE FAMILY MINISTRY. This is a foster support program with tangible projects/service opportunities for your church.
Let’s Celebrate
Men’s Rally On Monday evening, August 10, nearly 180 men gathered at Burkemont Baptist Church for the CRBA Men’s Rally. As your new AMS, this was my first opportunity to experience one of these gatherings—and what an incredible evening it was! Thank you Greg Klapp, Burkemont staff, and the many Burkemont volunteers who worked so diligently to serve our CRBA Men – what a blessing! There was something powerful about worshiping alongside men from churches across Burke County and beyond. We were encouraged by the fellowship, strengthened through worship, and challenged by God’s Word. This is your event—a gathering designed to encourage and equip men to STAND STRONG. LEAD WELL. Our next Men’s Rally will be held at Hopewell Baptist Church on Monday, November 9. Now is the time to begin praying for the men God has placed in your circle. Who needs to hear the Gospel? Who needs encouragement? Who would benefit from standing shoulder to shoulder with other Christian men? Begin praying for them now—and when November arrives, bring them with you. The Gospel will be clearly shared, the transforming power of Christ will be on display, and men will once again be challenged to stand strong and lead well. Praise God for the work He is doing in the lives of men throughout our churches and communities!
The CRBA Women’s Mission Trip to Ducktown, TN, was a wonderful opportunity to serve and make a difference! Twenty-three ladies and girls from five churches came together to serve at the Copper Basin Crisis Center. On Saturday, they served 40 people, cleaned and organized the clothing closet, and stocked it for the rest of the year with socks and underwear generously donated through our Socks & Undies Drive. We are so thankful for these women who joined together to serve others and demonstrate Christ’s love in such a tangible way!
Upcoming Opportunities: August
LoveBurke Schools
LoveBurke School deliveries start as soon as tomorrow! We are so thankful that all of the schools have been sponsored!  Please send us any pictures so we can feature them here next week. We are excited to see how God works through LoveBurke!
We hope you’ll consider moving your Sunday evening service to the Morganton Square and joining churches from across our community for a special evening of worship, fellowship, and missions! The Mission Fair begins at 6:00 PM, with mission opportunities to explore, FREE giveaways, and exciting drawings you won’t want to miss! Then, at 7:00 PM, we’ll come together for a powerful time of worship with our community choir as we celebrate what God is doing through our churches and community and pray over this next school year.  Bring your lawn chair, invite your church family and friends, and come ready for a great evening together! Let’s fill the square and worship as one body!
Attention Pastor’s Wives
CRBA Ministry Wives Mark your Calendars for this event in September.  This will be an interactive art event led by Amanda Hodge.  This is for all our CRBA ministry wives.  Bring finger food to share.  No Cost.  Casual Attire Bible Study, Art Opportunity, & Encouragement!

Praying for our CRBA Pastors

Churches Without Senior Pastors Bethlehem  FBC ConnellySprings FBC Morganton Catawba Valley Silver Creek First Hmong

Each week, we feature several of our Pastors who faithfully serve in our CRBA churches.  We are providing a contact email for encouragement purposes. Please pray for these pastors – and send a much deserved word of encouragement as well!  Featured Pastors for this WeekGlen Alpine First Baptist Church (Pastor John Terry- PastorJohn_FBCGA@yahoo.com)   Grace Baptist Church (Pastor Marty Bess- preacherbess@yahoo.com)   High Peak Baptist Church (Pastor Shane Ramsey- luv4jesus4ever@gmail.com)   Hopewell Baptist Church (Pastor Braden Martin- Bradenmartin5@yahoo.com)   Icard’s Grove Baptist Church (Pastor Lee Joyner- lejennomad@hotmail.com)   Lake James Community Church (Pastor Billy Bollinger- billybollinger@aol.com)   Lakeview Baptist Church (Pastor Kenny Baker) CRBA Churches Seeking Staff If you would like to see a list of the staff openings in our CRBA churches, please visit our website here.   Please be in prayer for our churches seeking to fill staff positions.

More CRBA Calendar Events

August Christmas in August Toy Drive all month 16- Praise and Prayer on the Square   September Baptist Mission Offering Emphasis 10- 6:30pm Created for This- Pastor’s Wives Event at CRBA 13- Timothy Project 17- Pastor’s Breakfast at CRBA @ 8:00am.  15- Senior Adult Lunch @ 11am @ Bridge 42 19- Golf Tournament 19- Women’s Breakfast 22- From Our Seats to the Streets  23- SYATP Youth Rally 26- Youth and Children’s Volunteer Training 30- Oct. 8- Armenia Mission Trip October Coats for the City Collection 5&6- Toy Store Registration  8- Timothy Project 18- Fall Meeting @ Mt. Home 18- Coats for the City Donations due at Fall Meeting 18- Momentum Youth Rally @ Burkemont 27- Gospel Legacy Training for Sr. Adults @ 10am November 8- Timothy Project 9- Men’s Rally @ Grace 21- NC Baptist Marriage Conference with Gary Chapman @ Burkemont December 3-6- Coats for City Trip to NYC 7-10- Toy Store

CRBA Resource of the Week
	Your CRBA has Corn Hole available for you to check out.  Checking out any resource is free of charge to all our CRBA churches.  If you would like to reserve any CRBA resource just call (828) 437-0137.​

Vacation Bible School
VBS at CRBA Churches
Lakeview- August 10-13	Icard’s Grove- August 15 from 9am-3pm

Save The Date: September

A local church is looking for a mini-bus or a 15 passenger van to purchase.  They would love a wheel chair lift attached, but they are definetly considering vehicles without a lift as well.  If you have one for sale please let Ken Davis know 828-569-4974
Region 8 Mission Rally- August 18 In August 2026, Baptists on Mission will host a series of Regional Mission Rallies across the state. These rallies (10 of them) will highlight the variety of opportunities NC Baptists have to be involved in missions across our state, nation and world. Featured will be worship, testimonies, mission videos, and a prayer time for missions. These rallies are for anyone in your church who is interested in missions. A main focus of these rallies will be state, national, international partnerships and projects (including Disaster Relief) and the NC Missions Offering.Region 8 Rally will be held in Lincolnton: 618 S Grove St, Lincolnton, NC 28092 Please register for the rally by August 11th so they can prepare the correct amount of food for the evening meal.			Chainsaw Crews needed for Baptist on Mission Projects in our area.  Call Danny Moore 828-310-2962
			Missionary Care Training Calvary West, 136 Medical Dr, Advance, NC 27006 Thursday, August 27, 2026      Cost: $10/person

	The entire Baptist On Mission budget comes from the North Carolina Mission Offering.