14 Nov An Update from Pastor Zach
What a time to be alive! In the month of October we baptized 13 and added many more new members to our family of faith. Over the coming months these precious souls will be assimilated into the life and ministry of our church. I encourage you to welcome them warmly and help them to find their place of service in the Kingdom.
We were reminded in the month of October of the amazing spirit of generosity that exists among our people. I counted over 200 distinct giving units in our congregation, one family equaling one unit. This is up considerably from last year.
There are various levels of maturity when it comes to generosity. Some are testing the waters and making their first time gifts to the church, others are faithfully giving over 10% of their income on a regular basis. I’m very thankful for each family and individual and I encourage you to continue growing in the grace of giving.
Many of you are aware of the very large gifts that came in last month. One family provided a gift of $300,000 to pay off the existing mortgage of our property, another family gave large stock transfer, and still another provided our first donation of Bitcoin in excess of $200,000.
Beyond all of that, a family donated ONE MILLION DOLLARS toward a matching gift campaign to encourage others to also give generously toward future building initiatives. There were so many others who gave sacrificially, as they were able, in order to forward the work of the gospel through our church family. May God be praised for your faithfulness!
Your staff team is working hard to leverage this momentum God has provided. We have produced the Maximum Life Radio program that is being heard six days a week (Monday – Saturday) all along the first coast. Initial reports and feedback are very encouraging.
Andy Stanley has said, “what gets celebrated gets repeated”. We want to celebrate this season of generosity in a big way. So make plans to join us on Sunday, November 21st as we celebrate Thanksgiving and BURN THE NOTE on this campus.
As we close out this year and prepare for next, the vision God has given us will require us all to be, “all in” for the Gospel. Remember, there are only two things on Earth that will last forever – first, Word of God and second, the souls of people. At First Baptist we are all about leveraging opportunities to bring the first to bear on the second. We are planting the seed daily, but only God can give the increase. Let’s ask Him to do so.
Honored to Serve Christ and First Baptist,
Pastor Zach Terry
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