With a focus on the Great Commission, New Providence changed its culture

Silas Moore, left, and Christopher Sandusky take on a painting project while on a mission trip with New Providence Baptist Church to Haiti last year. Moore's father, Brian, is pastor of the church where Sandusky serves as missions director. NPBC/Facebook

SMARR — When Brian Moore looked to infuse a spirit of missions at New Providence Baptist Church, he searched no further than Acts 1:8.

Three years into a tenure as senior pastor that began in 2007, Moore wanted to corral the discipleship growth experienced and direct it toward missions. So, he made it a goal to get New Providence onto the mission field through the four areas of the Great Commission. That focus on sharing the Gospel in local, regional, national, and international settings has energized the church, Moore recently told Jeff Gongwer, Georgia Baptist Missions consultant for the East Central Region.

Moore shared his experience with Gongwer in an online interview titled “How to Create a Healthy Mission Culture in the Church.”

When Moore became senior pastor at New Providence, the church hadn’t undertaken a corporate mission trip in its history. He asked a friend, Phillip Johnson, to join the staff and help with changing that. Moore acknowledged to Gongwer that not all churches can afford to add a staff member, but that wasn’t the overarching point.

“Being intentional is important, [as is] being able to measure,” he said. “That’s what Acts 1:8 helps you do.”

Moore said he would be content if at the end of the first year the church had been involved in all four areas of Acts 1:8 – whether that was through going, giving, praying, or sending. By the end of Johnson’s second year, New Providence was active in the four areas monthly.

Since then Johnson has moved on to associate pastor, with Christopher Sandusky taking on the role of missions director. Last year Sandusky led trips to Kentucky and Haiti, with plans to return this year derailed by the coronavirus.

Still, Sandusky said continuity with those groups planning to go was maintained through local missions efforts such as “food drops.” One was held today, he told The Index, and fed some 500 families in their area.

Gongwer's full interview with Moore can be seen in the link above.