Dear FBC Family:
Happy New Year, FBC family, and thanks be to God for another year of Grace. I want to name some points of hopefulness and joy, then share a story as a reality check for all of us.
Great Hope for 2023
Here are just some of the reasons why I’m feeling much gratitude and hope as we begin 2023 together:
FBC’s weekly worship invites heart, mind and soul encounters with God in a space shimmering with beauty, peace and prayer.
Newcomers are present in worship, every Sunday, many under the age of 40.
Yesterday, Pastor Eric and I listened as one of our young adults talked clearly and passionately (with PowerPoint!) about FBC’s significant strengths and challenges. Meeting with someone from Gen Z who cares so much about this church thrilled us to the core.
Our mighty Mission Team met the first week in January and is contemplating meaningful connections for 2023 between FBC and our community.
FBC has received $551,902 in pledges and contributions for the new community building through our Give It Forward capital campaign—a phenomenal accomplishment for a church of our size. We have met our campaign goal by 55% so far and have more than 25% of that goal in the bank.
Beyond pledges, individuals inside and outside the church have made contributions to the Give It Forward campaign in honor or in memory of someone. (FBC has received several contributions in memory of Ed Fry and John Rhee.)
Your gifts in support of FBC’s regular spending plan are holding pace with this time last year—in the middle of a capital campaign!
FBC’s lay leadership are some of the most engaged, gifted people I’ve had the pleasure of serving with in all my years of ministry.
FBC’s staff, while leaner than in 2022, remains focused, prayerful, creative, and excited about the road ahead of our church.
Friends, these are significant signs of strength and momentum, for which I am so very grateful.
Reality Check for 2023: The River Has Moved
Along with feelings of encouragement we also must acknowledge the cultural sand shifting beneath our feet and discern how we will respond. This makes me think of the story of a bridge in Honduras.
In 1998, Hurricane Mitch devastated much of Central America, dumping 75 inches of rain in less than four days and killing more than 10,000 people. In Honduras, more than 100 bridges were damaged or destroyed.
But not the Choluteca Bridge.
Built by a Japanese company with such design strength that it could withstand the fiercest of storms, the Choluteca Bridge was left in near perfect condition.
There was just one problem. The bridge now spanned dry ground.
During massive flooding caused by the hurricane, Choluteca River carved itself a new channel and no longer flowed beneath the bridge at all. The Choluteca Bridge became known as “The Bridge to Nowhere.”
FBC family, as we head into this near year with so many reasons for hopefulness, let us keep before us the reality that when it comes to religious institutions and structures in American life, the river has moved.
What this means for First Baptist Church is that simply trying harder at what we’ve always done before is not going to be an option.
The good news is that our congregation is ready as we’ve been in a long while to build a new bridge toward our neighbors of hospitality, generosity, justice and compassion.
An important part of crossing this bridge together will involve taking stock of what we have and what we need. I will be working with staff and FBC lay leaders in the weeks and months ahead to assess the current realities of our congregational life—from buildings and finances to ministry and mission.
Our steps in this journey will need to be intentional and calculated in some areas and bold, creative and innovative in others. I look forward to discerning together how we will take essential steps together at this crucial moment in FBC’s 220-year journey.
In the Great Love,
