Pastor Joel Smelley, Trinity Christian School Dad and Senior Pastor at Heatherwood Baptist Church, will be also be a part of the B4C Leadership team in 2024, serving at the Mission Team Pastor. He is a graduate of Jacksonville State University, Southeast Baptist Theological Seminary, and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Joel and his wife Kim have three daughters, Lilly Kate, Gracie, and Avery. Pastor Smelley has a strong desire to invbest in and train the next generation of pastors and church leaders. He shares, “I consider it an honor to be invited to serve alongside Mike, Brian, coaches, mentors and players to make the name of Christ known in Mexico.”
Pastor Joel shares, “Mike and Cindy Winslett joined our church, Heatherwood Baptist Church, within the last couple of years. It was early on in the membership process that Mike and I had conversation about a ministry that He and Brian Morgan began some time ago. At the time, he informed me that Covid prevented them from getting back on the mission field like they wanted, but that they were actively praying and preparing for a future trip.”
When asked how he hopes to grow and impact others through this experience, he shared, “You know, from early on in my spiritual walk, the Lord has convicted my heart about missions. It is my belief that missions isn’t just what one does “over there,” but what a person does “right here,” wherever he or she is at the time. Another conviction God has laid upon my heart is the relentless, continuous pursuit of discipleship toward men of all ages. Obviously, this can be most evidently seen within the context of the local church God allows me to lead. However, upon hearing the passion that Mike and Brian have toward investing in young men for God’s glory, my interest went from piqued to, “How can I be involved?”
Pastor Smelley goes on to share, “My hope is that the Lord would give me an opportunity to spiritual invest in not only the baseball players who participate in this trip, but also the coaches and mentors. As I understand it, the hope isn’t just that these players and coaches will have a spiritual experience laboring alongside churches and other baseball players and coaches, but that God would grip their hearts and transform their priorities, their goals in life, and their involvement back into the community of Newnan and Coweta County. I pray that God would allow me to build lasting relationships with these men and help challenge them spiritually on the mission field in such a way that they would treasure Christ above all else.”
When asked what he would say to inspire students and parents reading out this opportunity to step outside of their extracurricular activities and seek out mission minded activities, he shared, “There are a couple of things that come to mind. First, I would encourage students and parents to put their “yes” on the table, displaying a willingness to give God control of their “free time.” I tell my church frequently, “Serving God’s Kingdom is time you will not look back on with regret.” It will never be time wasted. Second, my challenge would be to schedule time as family each year to engage in missions; whether local, domestic, or even international. Those will be memories that you will always look back on with fondness. It will also display a heart and willingness to obey God’s call to “make disciples of all nations,” as our Savior commanded. Last, don't wait! I’m certain that in one’s own church, there is likely some degree of missions strategy. If not, begin one for your family - start with ministries within our own county.”
