What do you do for fellowship, accountability, encouragement, or personal development when you’re the head of a separatist mission agency? You might get together with others like you. For 43 years, leaders have been meeting for retreats and conferences to provide just those things. In September, they met in Berlin, Ohio, for a weekend retreat sponsored by Baptist Mid-Missions.
Guest speakers at the conference included Patrick Odle, pastor of First Baptist Church, Elyria, Ohio, and Dr. Mark Jackson, retired director of Gospel Literature Services and a pioneer in establishing the International Partnership of Fundamental Baptist Ministries. The devotional speaker, Dr. Robert Alderman, pastor emeritus of Shenandoah Baptist Church, Roanoke, Va., brought messages on the lives of Moses and Paul. But the retreat supplies more than just fellowship and spiritual refreshment and renewal. “FOM provides opportunities for member agency heads and leadership to learn, keep abreast of global mission happenings, interact with each other, and obtain information on current theological and methodological issues,” says Dr. Maynard Belt, president of FOM and former representative of the Michigan Association of Regular Baptist Churches. This year’s conference facilitator, Dr. Steve Whigham, Northland International University, led in several hours of interaction on how churches and agencies can better do missions in the 
21st century.
The FOM comprises nearly 30 separatist mission agencies representing more than 2,000 missionaries serving on all six continents. The 44th CEO Retreat and Conference will be hosted by Bible Ministries Worldwide, Sept. 14–18, 2013, in Lawrenceville, Ga. Dr. Belt welcomes visitors to the FOM website to learn more.