From the Pastors - Elder Update

Celebrate With Us:

What a great month the Lord gave us in January!  Here are a few of the highlights.  First off, we had one kid and one youth trust in Christ this month!  In addition, we had two more individuals express their desire to get baptized, which we will move forward with in February!  A few of our members launched an additional Middle School Group that meets on Sunday mornings to disciple those who are unable to make it on Wednesdays.  Furthermore, we have had a great response so far in regards to members dedicating themselves to a Bible Reading Plan this year, and know the Lord will bear much fruit from that in the months ahead!  Finally, we want to take a moment and thank you all for allowing Christ’s generosity to shine through you in 2020.  In a year when many churches experienced a 25-40% drop in giving, we saw a 9% increase at First Baptist!  Praise God! 

Partner With Us:

As we start February we continue to encourage you to grow as a disciple in a group this year.  We know you may have grown tired of hearing that from us, but as we read and study God’s Word it is absolutely clear that there is more to following Jesus than attending our Worship gatherings on Sunday.  When Jesus invites us to follow Him, he is inviting us to grow in Him as a disciple who is able to go make other disciples, helping others to know and follow Him.  These things cannot be done in a few hours on Sunday morning.  Which is why we continue to invite and encourage you to follow Jesus by growing in a group this year.    

Secondly, we invite and encourage you to join us in regularly praying for our church.  We know many of you pray for the various health and physical needs in the church, and if so that is greatly appreciated.  In addition, we invite you to pray for our God to grow our church in our love for Jesus, our courage to share Jesus with others, and for people to trust in Jesus and ultimately be sent out to make disciples who live in light of the gospel.  We believe there is a direct correlation between us praying more intently for people to be saved in 2021 and the fact that two people trust in Christ this month as well.  Let’s join together in praying for God to do even greater things throughout the rest of this year!

Pray With Us:    

In light of what I wrote above, we invite you to pray for our church regularly this upcoming month.  Grab a Prayer Guide in the Ministry Resource Center, follow along with request in the bulletin, and then set a reminder on your phone, watch, alarm clock, etc. to pray for 5-10 minutes each day.  God is able to do more in our Church than we could imagine, but He has determined to accomplish His purposes through His Word and through prayer.  Together, let’s be faithful in our devotion to those things!

Have a blessed month, First Baptist! 

Pastor Matt on behalf of the First Baptist Elder Team