by Wayne Faison, BGAV Executive Director

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Earlier this year, I had the joy of traveling across the Commonwealth of Virginia to have lunch with many of our Virginia Baptist pastors and partners. What began as an effort to personally thank our congregations for their continued support of the mission and ministries of the Baptist General Association of Virginia (BGAV) has become something much more meaningful.

As I prepare to move from my “junior to senior” (third to fourth) year as BGAV’s executive director, I’ve been encouraged by the heartfelt desire I’ve witnessed among our pastors and partners to reconnect more deeply with one another. One of the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the relational distance it created. Many of us lost touch with each other during that season because of physical separation. But now there’s a renewed longing—a hunger—to come back together, to rekindle the bonds that make our associational life so vital.

I use the word “us” intentionally. I’m not only a leader at BGAV—I’m also a fellow pastor in a BGAV-participating church. I, too, miss the rich fellowship and shared moments with my brothers and sisters in Christ. The ideal of association isn’t just part of our name; it’s part of our DNA.

Our forebears wisely chose to identify us not as a convention, but as an association. That distinction matters. I once heard someone say, “Virginia Baptists are anything but conventional,” and I believe that’s still true. What holds and binds us together is not uniformity, but relationship—a shared commitment to walk together in mission and ministry.

Even our most recent vision statement reflects this emphasis:

“Becoming greater agents of mission together with our networks of churches, partners, and leaders, impacting the kingdom locally, nationally, and globally with the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

This vision is a call not only to action, but to connection—to be the body of Christ, working in harmony for a greater purpose.

My prayer, as we forge further ahead into our post-COVID reality, is that we will join each other in making a clarion call for all Virginia Baptists to embody and emulate one of our strongest core values: being Relationally Rich. I believe if we nurture and strengthen this value, we’ll begin to see the fulfillment of what scripture promises: “Eyes have not seen, and ears have not heard what great things God has in store” for our Virginia Baptist family.

Let us move forward together in beloved association with one another.

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