One of my goals for 2012 is to spend more time celebrating the good things and to spend less time worrying about the trivial things.
Our church family has a lot to celebrate in 2012. Last Friday, we made the final payment on the Paul Royal Recreation and Outreach Center. This means that we paid off this $3.4 million renovation and expansion project in less than five years in a pretty challenging market. Thank you for your generous and faithful giving. Now, let’s utilize the ROC as a prime gathering place for all ages. And let’s make it a place where we are continually “sharing the story.”
And speaking of giving, we ended the first quarter of our fiscal year in December above our budget goal. You may recall that our church adopted a rather aggressive budget goal for 2011-2012 so that we could continue to grow our mission giving. With all of our folks “giving the firstfruits of our labor” as we bring our tithes and offerings into the storehouse, we can surpass our goals for giving to missions and ministry during 2012.
Our First Baptist Family continues to be blessed with dozens of guests and prospective new members. Even through the holidays, we have continued to meet new residents in our community and new faces in our congregation. As followers of Christ and members of FBCP, we are called to be greeters and recruiters for the kingdom and for our church family. Join me in providing a friendly welcome to those who visit worship services, Bible studies, and other activities on our campus. Many of our guests are looking for a word of good news, and we’ve got a story to tell.
I continue to hear good things about our series on The Life and Times of Jesus. This Sunday we are looking at Luke 9:18-27 and “The Great Invitation.”
For many this is a holiday weekend, so I urge you to make it a priority to be in worship and Bible study.
And this year, let’s focus on sharing the story and celebrating the good things.
