pastoral report

History is being made around us every day. We recently passed the 22nd year since September 11, 2001. For those of us who have a memory of life before September 11, 2001, we can tell the story of the change those attacks brought to the whole world. Now, we are experiencing another shift. The coronavirus pandemic catapulted us into a new phase in society, one that is different but not outside the reach of the hope of the gospel! The world is increasingly dark and longing for meaning and purpose, and amid this dark world, the Lord calls his church to let our light shine before men and women, boys and girls, so that they may see our good works and give glory to God. In the midst of this cultural moment, God is doing a new thing in the life of our church.

As you can see from this report, we are in a season of growth, but what is the growth for? As I answer that question, I cannot help but hear God say, to whom much is given, much is required. God is calling First Baptist Starkville to more!

During days needing good news, God calls our church to live sent. Live sent means simply following Jesus and inviting others to come along. Such a movement means we must follow Jesus, and then, inevitably, from that overflow of a life following Jesus, we will invite others to follow us as we follow him.

We have identified one distraction holding us back from reaching the potential God is calling us towards. At the time of this report, we owe $1.65 million in debt to our children's building. There was a time in our church when we did not have a children's building. Since completing the construction of our children's building, we have seen the Lord bless the investment through increasing our ministry to children, which is the reason we spent the money and built the building in the first place. Our loan is up for renegotiation at the end of 2025. Given this economy, we want to avoid the renegotiation of the loan. If we pay the debt off early, we can free ourselves from looking back and lean more into God's call for First Baptist Starkville. Let's leave behind the debt so that we can live sent! Please consider joining us to see the debt retired early.

Our community is growing, and as our community grows, the opportunities to live sent grow. As you can see from this legacy report, we are experiencing a period of growth. Attendance is up. Baptisms are up. God is moving. We are leaning into the wind as God calls us to more. And as we lean, we are listening. Listening means we are hearing God's call, and I pray that as you listen to God, you will hear him tell you to live sent.