AMS Report: What Have We Done with the Church Year?

Can you believe it’s Fall Meeting time again? You may be wondering what has happened in HBA over the last year. Here are a few highlights:

The HBA Ministry Pipeline Cohort

In late October 2025, we launched the inaugural HBA Ministry Pipeline Cohort. Over the past year, we have averaged 8 men who are pursuing God’s call to serve in pastoral ministry. We covered a variety of topics including call to ministry, spiritual disciplines, Bible interpretation, preaching, church dynamics, and more. We are taking applications now for our next Ministry Pipeline Cohort, which will begin on January 26.

Senior Adult Revival

HBA partnered with Cherry Grove Baptist Church to host Rev. Mike Dawson for four days to focus on re-enlisting senior adults for service in God’s army. We were blessed to see our senior saints worship and fellowship together!

HBA Summer Interns

For eight weeks this summer, we had interns from Grace Point Fellowship, Harmony, Mt. Zion, New Salem, and Trinity. These young men and women in the 18-25 age group spent these weeks serving and further discerning God’s calling on their lives. Ministry opportunities included local church VBS, Johnson City Baptist Center, Fun in the Son Kid’s Camp, and a mission trip to Leadville, Colorado. We will begin taking applications for Summer 2027 interns November 2 – January 4, and introduce them at the Spring Meeting.

In the Beginning Was the Word: Learning to Study Your Bible Through John’s Gospel

We were excited to once again partner with Cherry Grove Baptist Church to host Dr. Jim Hamilton, professor of Old Testament and Biblical Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. We were greatly blessed by the teaching and Q & A regarding the theological richness of the Gospel of John. We will be posting the sessions to www.holstonba.org soon! If you would like to partner with HBA to bring a training event to your church, please let us know.

In addition to these highlighted events, we continued to do all our seasonal events like the Angel Tree ministry in November/December, the Appalachian Trail service in May, and the Appalachian Fair ministry in August.

When someone asks what we do, my single-word response is “connection.” The Holston Baptist Association exists to connect churches to …

• Partner Churches

• Ministry Opportunities

• Theological Education

• Ministry Training

• Mission Partnerships

• Professional Services

• Material Resources

• Church Health Assessment

• Human Resources

• And More!

Thank you for being part of the missional family called Holston Baptist Association! As we prepare to celebrate 240 years of God’s faithfulness, we look forward to the future ways we can partner with you to fulfill our Savior’s Great Commission!

With hands to the plow,

Dr. Troy Rust