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Who We Are
For 130 years churches of the Pine Belt Baptist Association have worked in friendly cooperation to share the good news of Jesus with people from the streets of Forrest County to numerous countries around world.
We proudly partner with the Mississippi Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention to support 7,000 missionaries, 6 theological seminaries, 3 Mississippi Baptist Universities, the second largest disaster relief agency in the world, and many other mission and ministry endeavors.
We are a network of 35 churches who believe we are better together!
Our ministers meet for monthly fellowship and training hosted by our partner churches. We offer church planting and revitalization resources and consultation. All of these are provided free of charge because of the generous support of our partners. We also offer a summer apprenticeship to equip the next generation of missionaries and pastors to better know, love, and serve our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our Team
Pastor Randy Sims, Associational Mission Strategist
Randy is a beloved child of God. Actually, he likes to refer to himself as one of God’s favorites (he may have to explain that one to us!). He’s been blessed to be married to his college sweetheart Gina for 42 years. Gina and Randy have three grown children, a daughter-in-law, a son-in-law, and five grandchildren.
After serving Temple Baptist Church in Hattiesburg for 16 years, Randy most recently served two years as a Disciple Maker with United Christian Ministries in Hattiesburg. He has been our AMS for two years. God has given Randy a passion to love God, love people, and make disciples. His life’s verse is 1 Thessalonians 2:8: “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our very lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.”
Mrs. Dawn Pippen, Administrative Assistant
Dawn was proudly born and raised in Perry County, until she married the love of her life, Brian Pippen, 24 years ago. Petal has been home since then and is where they raise their spunky little girl, Olivia "Livy" Caroline. After 14 years of marriage, God blessed them through adoption with this little "Christmas Miracle". Ask Dawn about their story anytime, she LOVES to tell it! Brian taught U.S. History at Petal High School for the first 10 years of their marriage and then he answered the call to the Gospel ministry. Dawn (and then later Livy) has served alongside him in student ministry at Macedonia Baptist Church in Petal.
Dawn started working at the Pine Belt Baptist Association in 2017. She had prayed for years that God would give her a job that was a ministry for her and He did. Dawn loves our PBBA churches and the pastors/staff of them all! It is a great privillege for her to help our churches in their mission of growing the Kingdom of God. She loves that she gets to meet so many people in so many different areas of ministry as she continues the vision to help connect the Pine Belt with "Jerusalem, Judea, and the uttermost parts of the earth." A scripture that she clings to daily is Zephaniah 3:17, "For the Lord your God is living among you. His is a mighty Savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With His love, He will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over with joyful songs."