“But you will receive power when his Holy Spirit comes to you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” --- Acts 1:8 (NIV)

SILVERHILL, Alabama --- The Baldwin Baptist Association will bring the world to Baldwin County this weekend, hosting the On Mission Celebration Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 25 and 26.

Based in Silverhill, the Association is partnering with the Alabama State Board of Missions, the North American Mission Board and the International Mission Board to bring over 60 missionaries, serving throughout the United States, North America and around the globe to Baldwin County, an event which happens once every six years, said Susan Bartholomew, director of the Woman’s Missionary Union for the Baldwin Baptist Association.

“This is a chance for people to come and hear what missionaries are doing to spread God’s message throughout the world,” Bartholomew said, “and it is a chance for people to experience other cultures.”

Unlike in past years, when the Celebration was split in three locations, North, South and Central, this year’s Celebration will bring all 66 missionaries together in the Central part of the county for a Mission Fair, which will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday at the 40,000 square-foot Baldwin County Coliseum in Robertsdale, located on Fairground Road behind Robertsdale High School.

The missionaries will have booths set up, some will be wearing traditional dress of the area they serve, and some will have samplings of food from those areas.

The theme for this year’s Celebration is “Hands Joined Around the World,” which follows the teaching of Acts 1:8 when Jesus called on his disciples to be “witnesses … to the ends of the earth.”

“Overall it brings an opportunity for missionaries to share their perspective of missions from around the world,” said Rick Barnhart, Associational Missionary with the Baldwin Baptist Association. “Here they can help churches do their part to spread the message throughout the state, nation and around the world.”

Then on Sunday, the missionaries will spread out to churches throughout Baldwin County, with 42 of the 61 churches in the Baldwin Baptist Association participating. Many of the churches will host breakfasts for the missionaries and they will speak at both morning and evening worship services on Sunday.

For Dr. Marc Bewley, a missionary from Michigan who is attending this weekend’s event, it is an opportunity to bring all churches together to work toward a common goal.

“I think every pastor is primarily concerned with his own church and there’s nothing wrong with that,” he said. “I believe the goal of missions is to bring all churches together and to help churches relate to each other and that is what the On Mission Celebration is all about.”

Missionaries work to spread God’s word, not only in remote locations throughout the world, but they also work to bring cultures together right in their own back yards.

Paul McKee is driving in from South Carolina where he serves as missionary to 94 churches in the Spartanburg area.

“I work with area pastors to get the message out beyond the church,” he said in a phone interview on Wednesday. Part of his mission is to bring the diverse cultures in Spartanburg together and is helping organize a summit which will bring the area’s diverse ethnic cultures together later this year.

 “For such a small area (Spartanburg has a population of about 280,000), we have a huge diversification of ethnic cultures, including Slavic, Chinese and Hispanic,” he said. “Just in our area alone, there are 80 to 82 languages spoken. It is important for us to be able to bring those cultures together and bring the world to our doorstep.”

For Laurel Thorpe, who is helping with promotion for the event, it is not just about bringing churches together, it is about children experiencing other cultures.

“Most of the missionaries you talk to say they were called to ministry through children’s programs such as Girls In Action or Royal Ambassadors,” she said. “It is a chance for people, especially children to be exposed to what God is doing around the world.”

Thorpe’s own children, ranging in age from 3 to 8 years old, have been helping organize the event and bring their own unique perspective.

“Missionaries aren’t God’s favorites, because everybody is,” said Thorpe’s 8-year-old son James. “It is only by God that we can be saved.”