In 2004, “Embrace Baltimore” and “Strategic Focus Cities” were words that were a little elusive and maybe even mysterious. The thought of a huge partnership with NAMB providing resources and supporting a massive effort to reach the city and surrounding areas sounded impressive, challenging and perhaps daunting. It began with prayer. And then God ignited a Holy Spirit fire that began to catch and burn brightly.

Each church start is unique. Some began with a few couples working together in an area; others were built on foundations laid by older laborers ready to pass the baton on to the next generation. There are single-campus churches, satellite churches, multi-campus churches, house churches -- all with the goal of sharing the gospel and making disciple-making disciples.

Baltimore churches are discovering sports ministries can get their members off the sidelines, into the game and ready to charge into their communities with the ultimate goal of reaching people for the Lord. Many churches, especially small churches, think Upward Unlimited sports leagues and camps are too daunting an undertaking. We’re too small or too old. But they’re wrong! Partnerships can make it work.

Embrace Baltimore, now in its final stage, held a staff appreciation lunch on September 12 at White Marsh Church. The bittersweet occasion brought Baltimore pastors and Embrace staff together to relax, fellowship and to share how God has blessed Baltimore churches through the Strategic Focus Initiative/Partnership.

Once a month, over 25 ladies from New Day Church, White Marsh Church, their friends and others in the community meet to fellowship, pray and sew pillows and quilts for hospitalized children, cancer patients and others.

The Village Church, Hampden, is trying hard to get to know their neighborhood and to be known. And as the church moves out into the community, they’re finding locals moving into the church. "More and more people from the community are joining us to see what The Village is doing. I think it reflects a spiritual dryness that’s been here for a long time," said Pastor Dan Hyun.

Though it may have looked like a typical Vacation Bible School to an outsider, what was going on at Dover Baptist Church in Manakin Sabot this summer was one-of-a-kind. Three other churches, all from Baltimore, assisted in Dover’s VBS by bringing supplies, teachers and even some pupils. A total of 36 people, 12 from each church, came from Baltimore’s Hazelwood Baptist, First Baptist of Lansdowne and Tabernacle Baptist. Their pastors are excited that the churches have moved from receiving mission teams to sending them.

“What we’re creating is a city church model, where suburban affluent and urban inner city people on fixed incomes can worship, fellowship, learn, grow and be discipled under the same church,” explained Tally Wilgis, Captivate’s planter and senior pastor.

There are times in life when you know that you have witnessed something significant. Over the course of ten days, I had the distinct honor to see the body of Christ do something incredible as we worked hard  together to freshen up a neighborhood elementary school. While the amount of work done was amazing, what was most exciting for me were the relationships built over this short time.

New Hope Community Church partnered with Embrace Baltimore to host a sports camp at the Curtis Bay Recreation Center during spring break in March. By the end of the week, over 114 children came to the camp, 23 people made professions of faith and three young adults on the mission team decided to be summer missionaries.

The Light Church recently won a “best costume“ award for their entry “Oregon Trail” at the Kinetic Sculpture Race, a quirky, adventurous event sponsored by the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. Church members and friends dressed in Davy Crockett-style outfits while marching alongside a covered wagon complete with “oxen.”

Baltimore, or Charm City for locals who truly embrace their town, is being charmed again this summer by mission teams who feel called by God to come and serve. Teams of all sizes and ages will be committing part of their summer by partnering with local churches to help bring to the neighborhoods of Baltimore the loving message of hope and joy through Jesus Christ.

Pilgrim’s Way Church, Baltimore, does not believe children are the future of the church. “They’re the church of today,” said Ray Thornton, pastor of Pilgrim’s Way. “We incorporate the kids in everything we do.”

Dr. Johnny Hunt, president of the Southern Baptist Convention President and pastor of First Baptist Church of Woodstock, told Baltimore church planters that if we don’t reach the cities we won’t reach America. Hunt shared his passion for church starting, relating stories from his own life, answering candid questions, and encouraging the young men who are boldly stepping out to begin new churches today.

In July of 2008, Main Street Baptist Church in Williamsburg, Kentucky had the opportunity to partner with Bethlehem Baptist Church for a week of mission activities in Baltimore, Maryland. During this week, the mission team was involved in helping with a VBS Block Party, painting in a local school, planting flowers at the church, and working in VBS during the evening.

Reisterstown Baptist Church members discovered real physical needs and a spiritual void in their community while ministering during sports camps and a block party last summer. Their eyes were opened and they became invigorated afresh to reach out and care for their neighborhood and to reach the lost.

Pastors and church leaders from Baltimore churches came together for the 79th annual Baltimore Baptist Association meeting at White Marsh Baptist Church on Oct. 19. Delegates elected officers and approved a 2009 budget and written reports. The meeting was a celebration of God's blessings throughout Baltimore with song, testimonies and praise.

The summer of 2008 is long gone, but Baltimore churches are still reaping the season's harvest and expect to for years to come. Fifteen North American Mission Board missionaries, college students from across the country, arrived at the end of May to share their youthful energy, their hands-on manpower and their God-given gifts and talents with local churches for the summer.

Note: When given the chance to tell his story in his local newspaper, Arkansas high school senior and football player Austin McCollum included his time serving with Embrace Baltimore this summer as one of his favorite memories.

The coolest thing I did this summer was probably the mission trip I went on with my church (First Baptist Bentonville ). We went to Baltimore, Md., and did some renovating of churches and inner-city cleanups. We also did an Upward Basketball camp teaching kids how to play basketball.

One might think that the closing of a church would be an occasion for mourning. But for the more than 100 people who gathered at Del Capri on German Hill Road on Saturday, the remembrance of Woolford MemorialBaptist Church’s 67 years of history and the prospect of the birth of a new church were cause for celebration.