Moderators Report 3/2/26
To Members of James River Baptist Association Executive Board and Interested Parties:
As your Moderator, I wanted to share some thoughts regarding our “Remissioning” meeting yesterday at
Mulberry Grove Baptist Church. I want to thank each person who attended and was willing to share your
thoughts and concerns about the JRBA and how we should move forward in the future. There were 35 folks
attending, representing 12 of our 17 churches. While I was pleased with the attendance, I was disappointed
that besides Rev. Austin Williams, who led our discussion, there were only 2 other pastors present.
Even though we did not make any decisions yesterday, we did have some good discussion. Much of it
centered around communication, leadership, and types of mission projects we should be doing. I was
surprised that some of the participants said they didn’t know anything about the Association. I’m not sure
why, because each church has donated to both the operations budget and many to the benevolent fund for
many years. Each church has also sent members to the Executive Board Meetings and the Annual and Semi-
Annual Meetings. Each church has also participated in our mission projects. For over 20 years, there has
been a monthly newsletter with copies sent to the churches as well as posted on the web site. There have
been numerous emails and phone calls as well to various individuals, pastors, and leaders within the
churches. Please share information with your fellow church members.
I was also disappointed that at the end of the meeting only 3 individuals besides Austin and myself
volunteered to be on a committee to discuss how to proceed in the future. Perhaps we need to address a
question asked at the end. Before making plans and recommendations, does your church want to continue
to be a part of the Association? Do your members want to participate? I felt from the discussion that most
folks feel that we should continue. If so, who will provide the leadership to coordinate the mission work
and the basic operations of the Association? The committee will probably meet within the next couple
weeks. If you have any thoughts regarding these questions or anyone who would like to volunteer as an
officer or to serve on a committee, please let me know by Monday, March 9, 2026.
For the benefit of those who may not know much about the Association, I want to highlight some
information regarding things we have done that I am familiar with over the last 40 years. The list is not
comprehensive, but will give you a view into the heart of the Association.
1. We have sent mission teams to Argentina, Panama, Mexico, Honduras, Bland County, Virginia, and
Eastern Kentucky.
2. We hosted an Impact Virginia Mission event with teenagers to help local folks needing handicap
ramps, help with yard work, and other home projects.
3. Since 2010, we have raised over $131,000 for Rise Against Hunger and packed 328,425 meals to help
feed hungry people around the world.
4. We sent 2 disaster relief teams to Damascus VA and 1 team to Bland County VA after Hurricane
Helene. Monetary donations have been collected and sent to BGAV Disaster Response at various
other times when natural disasters have occurred.
5. We sent supplies to parts of North Carolina also in response to Hurricane Helene.
6. Folks from some of our churches have helped with a local food bank for several years.
7. Our Benevolence Fund has helped numerous people in need with food, gas, help with electric bills,
house fires, and other things.
8. We have had representatives to the Baptist General Association of Virginia Executive Board, Mission
Council, and various committees.
9. We held a Youth Rally for the youth of the area with games, food, and contemporary worship. A
second event is planned for March 21 – contact Rev. Austin Williams if you have youth who can
attend.
10. Many of our churches participated in collecting items for the Bland Ministry Center over the years.
Many have also contributed monetarily to the BMC efforts to assist needy folks in SW Virginia
11. We have financially supported summer youth mission teams from our churches.
(Impact VA Mission Camps, Team Efforts, & Missions Connection 2)
12. We have sponsored training for Disaster Relief, church treasurers, and Sunday school leaders. We
have held Prayer Retreats.
13. Through the JRBA budget, we support the Southside Pregnancy Center, Grace Inside Prison Ministry,
Baptist Collegiate Ministry of Longwood & Hampden Sydney Colleges, Gideons, BGAV Disaster
Response, and Piedmont Habitat for Humanity. We have also supported the Fellowship of Chrisitan
Athletes in past budgets.
14. Members of JRBA churches have enjoyed the fellowship of working together and worshiping
together, getting to know one another through service to God and our fellow man.
Our current Bylaws state, “The Association shall partner with the work of the Baptist General Association of
Virginia and the Woman’s Missionary Union of Virginia. Member churches may, or may not, be affiliated
with the Baptist General Association of Virginia, the Southern Baptist Convention, the SBC of Virginia, or the
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. The Association shall be composed of Baptist churches within the
geographical area served by the Association.” (No monies from the JRBA Budget support any of these
organizations – rather, individual churches may, or may not, support the listed groups according to their
own wishes.)
Each pastor or JRBA messenger should have a copy of the Bylaws (in the annual Book of Reports) along with
a list of officers and committee members.
Please keep the James River Baptist Association, your Officers, and the Remissioning Committee in prayer as
we seek God’s will and plan for our future.
In Christ,
Gwynn Tyler
Gwynn Tyler, Moderator
434-315-4443
hgwynntyler@yahoo.com