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The Piedmont Baptist Association based in Greensboro and the Central Triad Baptist Association in High Point will merge under the PBA banner. PBA member approved the merger Monday night in a meeting at Life Community Church in Jamestown.

The vote was 92-14 in favor of the merger. However, only 33 of the association’s member churches were represented. Both associations are located in Guilford County but have some member churches from adjoining counties.

The two associations have been discussing the possibility of a merger since last October. The Central Triad group of 37 churches approved the merger on March 2. The CTBA has been faced with financial problems in recent years.

In adding 37 churches from the High Point area, the PBA will have 120 churches when the merger officially takes place March 31. This will make the PBA one of the largest association in the state.

Three members of the former High Point association will be added to the PBA board of directors, enlarging the group to 15 members.

The merger means the PBA will get:

• $5,265 in additional monthly i ncome from former CTBA churches.
• A monthly debt of approximately $1,600, most of which goes toward payments on an $80,000 mortgage on the CTBA’s $315,000 office building.
• Four lots and small church b uilding in High Point on Randolph Street.. That building is being rented for $700 per month.

“After considering various options, listening to legal counsel and spending much time in prayer, the leadership team of the PBA voted to recommend to the churches of our association, the merger of the CTBA and PBA," Larry Doyle, PBA associational missionary, said.

Doyle described the move as “answering a ‘Macedonian Call’ to assist a sister association to address the challenges they face in the mission field – assisting congregations in reaching and impacting their community with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Individual churches in a Baptist association can’t be compelled to become a member of another association because each church is self-governing in polity, said J. C. Bradley, retiring CTBA association missionary. However, Bradley said that he doesn’t know of any of the High Point area churches that don’t want to become part of the Piedmont association. The CTBA was organized from churches in the Piedmont association 50 years ago.

The PBA’s objectives are to help churches in three ways:

• Leadership development.
• Connecting with their communities.
• Facilitating networking and partnerships between congregations.

The Rev. Deryl Holliday, pastor of Sedgefield Baptist Church, said that most of the churches in the association have 100 or less in average attendance. “What can we do to help down trending churches” will be a one of the objectives of a committee formed by the association,” he said.