Our Heart for Missions
Decatur Baptist has a global vision of taking Christ to the world by loving God, loving people and serving both.
Missions Journey Opportunities
Each year we have a number of missions journeys to choose from. Each one provides a unique experience and the opportunity to be a part of what the Lord is doing in other parts of the globe.
Community Impact Celebration
DBC hosts a Community Impact Celebration (CIC) in the spring of each year. It’s a time of celebration for what God has done in the city of Decatur over the past year and a celebration in expectation of what God is going to do in the coming year.
Global Impact Celebration
DBC hosts a Global Impact Celebration (GIC) in the fall of each year. It’s a time of celebration for what God has done over the past year and a celebration in expectation of what God is going to do in the coming year.
Our plan and strategy involves several key things:
- Strong missionary partnerships and relationships around the world
- Missions journey opportunities for our members to see and experience the field
- Faith promise giving
- Our annual Global Impact Celebration
Jerusalem
Our Jerusalem team endeavors to enhance the outreach opportunities of our church by creating new opportunities to share Christ. Through partnerships with various organizations in our city and area, we seek to take the love of Christ out into our city and community. A few examples are:
- Committee on Church Cooperation
- The Tennessee Valley Outreach
- The Alabama Jubilee
- Save-A-Life Pregnancy Center
- First Priority of Decatur
- Clothe Our Kids of North Alabama
- Neighborhood Christian Center
Judea
Our Judea team helps us with the organizational needs as we seek to partner with new churches being planted and established throughout the United States. Planning trips to these locations to do outreach work, VBS, prayer walks and sports camps are just a few of the ways the Judea team is helping us reach our 20/20 vision. These types of events are a huge blessing to those newly planted churches just trying to get started.
Samaria
Our Samaria team oversees the many missionaries that we support and partner with in the Americas. By keeping in touch with the missionary by way of email, prayer letters, missions journeys and constant prayer, we are able to partner with and be a part of taking the gospel to many needy areas.
The Ends of the Earth
Our Ends of the Earth team extends our outreach worldwide. Through partnerships with many missionaries, projects and short-term journeys, our church is able to experience firsthand what it’s like to be a missionary. Nothing can take the place of personally seeing, touching, smelling and hearing what takes place on the mission field halfway around the world. That firsthand experience is life changing.
Our Five Year Plan | 2025 Vision
Isaiah 37:30-32 – Take Root, Bear Fruit, Go Forth
Take Root
- Develop a training institute to better equip members of Decatur Baptist Church for ministry or to serve as pastors and missionaries
- Enlist DBC members to serve as Missionary Champions for every missionary and missionary project
- Begin a Decatur Impact Celebration; to emphasize local needs and mobilize Decatur Baptist Church to meet those needs
- Provide opportunities for spiritual growth through the Living Faith Fellowship Conferences
- Train 500 Church Planters in the Dominican Republic through our partnership with the Carters
- Train 7500 Church Planters in India and Nepal through our partnership with the Maithili Alliance
- Conduct at least one Refresh Conference to provide training and encouragement to our missionaries in Zambia, Africa
Bear Fruit
- Enhance existing and develop new Outreach Ministries and Events in Decatur/Morgan County
- Mobilize DBC members to serve in local ministries
- Plant 12,000 churches through our members and partnerships with other ministries
- Plant a church in every Maithili Village
- Engage an unengaged unreached people group through the Maithili church planters
Go Forth
- Send a team of DBC members to plant a church in our region
- Send 15 short-term (a month or less) missions teams
- Send 9 long-term (a month or more) missions teams
- Send 3 DBC singles or families to the mission field
Upcoming Missions Journeys
One of the greatest life-changing experiences for a believer is to go on a missions journey. Whether it’s helping a new church in another state or visiting a missionary working in another country — you’ll never fully understand the importance of missions until you go. Every person needs to see it, feel it and experience it first hand. We encourage you to look through the following opportunities and pray about going. We promise — you will be glad you did!
If you would like to sign up for any of these journeys, please fill out the Mission Journey Application and turn it in to the office or email it to Bro. Larry or Makayla Holladay.
2024 Mission Journeys
Harvest Deaf Ministry
December 1st- 8th
Team Full
Please pray for this team that will be in Georgia serving with the Reggi and Kim Rempel.
2025 Mission Journeys
Centershot Eastern Nationals in Louisville, KY
May 8th- 10th
Team of 15-20
Serving both Centershot and NASP competitions.
Aaron Scheer
Portland, Oregon
August 13th-20th
Team Leader: Seth Keenum/ Joe McKaig
Team size: 6-8
Street Evangelism
Thomas and Amber Harding
Dominican Republic
June – dates TBD
October – dates TBD
Team size 10
Lee and Heather Carter
Kenya
April – dates TBD
Team of 8
Work teaching church leaders how to start and run a children’s ministry and teach NT Church structure.
August – dates TBD
Team size 8
Shaun and Jeri Vance
Zambia
October 6th-17th
Team Leader: Cody Hyde
Team size 5-8
Street evangelism for new church plants in Chipata and Mfuwe.
Justin and Mandy Bedwell
Zambia
June 30th- July 11th
Team size 12
Evangelism for Church Plant; Leadership training in Phil and Goals of Discipleship, 7 stage of Spiritual Growth and COD.
Joseph and Sheri Haden
London
June 3rd- 10th
Team size 7-10
Evangelism efforts to help with the new church plant.
Brian and Mindy Clark