Acts 1:8 states, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

The SC Baptist Convention Missions Mobilization Group encourages every SCBC church to live out an intentional Acts 1:8 strategy.  Acts 1:8 is the foundation for missions at Southside Church in Spartanburg. 

David Blanton, minister of missions at Southside, explained that in keeping with the Acts 1:8 strategy, the church has four different kinds of intentional partnerships to reach their “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.”

The first is a local partnership with an inner city public school in Spartanburg.  Church members involved with the school provide snacks, eat lunch with at-risk students, lead an after school Bible club on Thursdays, and provide literacy classes for parents.  This past Valentine’s Day, Southside Church members provided snacks for the students, and also assisted with a school carnival earlier this year.

“The objective of this partnership is to minister to the faculty as well as the families of children,” Blanton said.

Southside Church and the inner city school signed a covenant document that outlines the objectives of the partnership, which termed for three years.

Southside Church signed a second partnership agreement with Charleston Outreach, a ministry of the Charleston Baptist Association.  Church members volunteer by hosting backyard Bible clubs, coordinating Vacation Bible Schools, and assisting the Seafarer’s ministry in Charleston. 

“This is our ‘Judea’ partnership, since it is in our state of South Carolina,” said Blanton.

For the “Samaria” partnership, Southside Church developed a covenant with an Appalachian Regional Ministry in Southeast Kentucky called Meridzo Center Ministries, where Lonny and Belinda Riley are directors.  “Meridzo” is Greek for “care.”  The Riley’s signed a four-year agreement with Southside Church, and the work in Kentucky currently centers on transforming an old hospital into a volunteer housing center.

“We really have a personal relationship with Lonny and Belinda.  We’ve been there, of course, and they come to speak at our church, too,” said Blanton, who also mentioned that Southside Church is seeking another national partnership.

The final part of the Acts 1:8 model says to reach the “ends of the earth.”  For this part, Southside Church has two different covenants—one with Gary and Lily Stone, missionaries in Guatemala; and, the other with Mike and Sue, International Mission Board missionaries in Southeast Asia.

In Guatemala, Southside Church members and the Stones work with the Tajumulco people, an unreached people group and a sub group of the Mams.  Southside Church’s partnership in Guatemala is for five years.

A church was planted by a Southside Church team in Guatemala, and the “Jesus” video being translated into the native language of the Tajumulco Mam people with a goal of distribution in 2004.    

Next July, Southside Church will send a prayerwalking team to build a foundation of prayer in Southeast Asia.

Blanton explained that intentional partnerships are important because they create consistency, allow the opportunity to build lasting relationships, and allow team members to see the results of their labor.  “Churches are the channel God has chosen to reach the world,” he said.  “It has nothing to do with the size of the church.  Start where you are and then go to the ends of the earth.”