In 1951 the churches of Arkansas joined together to form the Baptist Missionary Association of Arkansas (BMA). The BMA members’ burden for the lost and desire to share the Word of God led them to pool their resources to create the Missions Department. The Missions Department’s goal is to spread the Gospel by building new churches in areas without a BMA Church.

The department’s leadership structure consists of an executive director and an administrative assistant. Their duties include overseeing the daily operation of the office, fund raising, and with the aid of an advisory committee, selection and placement of missionaries. The results of the yearly financial audit and committee meeting notes are published in the BMA of Arkansas annual minutes handbook.