HPBA Method Statement

Associations of churches exist to encourage and assist each other in fulfilling their common mission.  The focus of its work is the local church.  The association exists to support and edify the local church.  The association has no identity apart from its member churches.  Rather than planning, promoting, and conducting its own programs, the association works to assist the churches with their programs.  The association should not plan and promote events unless the churches need and want them.  All activities should derive from the needs of the churches.

In this method, the director of missions' role is that of a mission strategist and consultant to the churches, not an administrator or promoter of associational programs.  He should spend more time out of the office than in it as he makes regular visits with pastors, staff, and church leaders on their fields to help them define their needs and secure the resources to meet them from the appropriate convention, agency, or organization.

The association is successful if the churches are successful.  Success is not to be measured by the number of people attending meetings or the number of meetings held, but by the number of needs met and by the health of the individual churches.