Text Box: OUR GOD REIGNS!

Text Box: Dear Church Family,   I am so excited about sending you this newsletter, which formally launches one of the biggest steps our church as ever undertaken to expand our ministries and enlarge our ability to reach people on behalf of the Kingdom of God as our church rises from the destruction left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.   In this newsletter you will find the following:   · Detailed information about our capital stewardship campaign, His Church Rising! · Our schedule of events (events you will want to be a part of!) · Information about the exciting spiritual journey ahead of us   One of these days we will reap the benefits of what we are doing now. Until then, let me encourage you to read this newsletter and all the subsequent pieces of information that will come your way. Pray for God to lead you in these critically important days in our church. Attend our services and be a part of every event of His Church Rising! Be ready to take one of the most exciting steps of faith in your life.   Together we can touch lives here… now… for generations to come.   Bro. LaRue   ***     With this newsletter, you have received a DVD of special testimonies from some of our members. If you do not have a DVD player, please stop by the church office and exchange your DVD for a VHS tape. We want everyone to have an opportunity to experience the impact of these testimonies.

Text Box: PRAY               BELIEVE            COMMIT

Text Box: PRAY… · That we will not hinder or limit what God wants to do. · For God to reveal what role you will play in His Church Rising! · For faithful participation by the entire church family. · For wisdom for our leaders, volunteers, and staff.

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Text Box: Calendar of Events Be sure to mark these important dates on your calendar!          

Text Box: February 12-June 3  A Season of Prayer His Church Rising! cannot succeed without prayer. Individually, and as a congregation, we must prepare our hearts to understand what the Lord wants to do through us as it relates to His will for our church.     April 10-14  Connect Calls A connect team member will get in touch with you by phone to inform you about information you will be receiving in the mail and to ask you and your family to give the His Church Rising! campaign prayerful consideration.    

Text Box: April 22-May 20 A Season of Inspiration Worship and Bible studies will offer teaching and guidance on subjects such as discovering God’s will, sacrificial stewardship and commitment. The purpose is for our whole church body to allow God to work within us and through us as we respond to His will.   May 20       All Church Event/Commitment Sunday Your presence is requested at this extraordinary worship service as we  celebrate the great things God has done!  We will have worship services on our new church property to visually reflect on our church’s mission and to give prayerful commitment to supporting the needs and goals of His Church Rising!

Text Box: I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.  Ephesians 1:18

Text Box: Through prayer and study, it was determined that to effectively raise the required funds for this project, we needed outside help. Resource Services, Inc. (RSI) has been chosen to partner with First Baptist Long Beach for the duration of this campaign.  Our consultant is Dr. James Keith, former pastor of First Baptist Gulfport.  He has been a pastor for over 22 years and has even preached in our church in the past. Our church and Dr. Keith are focusing on Biblical stewardship (not just fund-raising),  and his firm knows the structure and procedure of an effective campaign. They have guided us to involve as many people as possible in our stewardship campaign.

Rounded Rectangle: On May 20, 2007, our church family will gather together for a special worship celebration to joyfully register our personal commitment to the stewardship campaign.  Following the morning services, the All Church Event Team has planned a wonderful event with food, fun, and fellowship for everyone in attendance.  This service will be a landmark fellowship event in the life of our church.  Mark this date on your calendar as you will not want to miss this very special and meaningful time together! Text Box: Our mission is to win people to Jesus Christ; to make disciples of believers; to minister to the spiritual, physical, emotional, and social needs of our church family, community and world; so that God receives all honor and glory.

Text Box: What is our  capital stewardship campaign?   ***   His Church Rising!

Text Box: Our capital stewardship campaign, His Church Rising! will raise our faith and the funds necessary to provide our new ministry campus. The success of this campaign will depend on our willingness, individually and corporately, to seek the will of God and discover what He wants to do through us to expand our ministries in Long Beach and our surrounding communities. Pray that we will understand that a faithful response to His Church Rising! will enable us to more powerfully proclaim His Lordship, praise His name and share His love for years to come!

Text Box: Who is our capital stewardship campaign partner?   ***   RSI

Text Box: What are our needs?   ***   A ministry campus  

Text Box: What are our plans?   ***   To build a 58,000-square-foot ministry campus

Text Box: Our need is to build a ministry campus where we can come together to worship God. Children, youth and adults will have places for learning, growing, and sharing their faith. Our needs are to have appropriate facilities to further our purpose to help people to accept Christ personally, to know God intimately, and to walk in the Spirit faithfully. The plan is ambitious and creative, and will afford each member of First Baptist an exciting opportunity to leave a legacy of faith, hope and love for our community.

Text Box: What is our financial plan?   ***   A three-year stewardship campaign

Text Box: What should a capital stewardship campaign gift be?   ***   Not equal gifts, but equal sacrifice

Text Box: What happens May 20?   *** All Church  Event

Text Box: Our capital stewardship campaign, His Church Rising! will allow First Baptist to supply the needed funds through giving over and above the church operating budget. This approach empowers each member to respond to God’s call without shortchanging the annual program budget. Three-year pledges allow the project to be completed as soon as possible, locking in construction costs and eliminating long-term debt.  

Text Box: “Not equal gifts, but equal sacrifice” describes our understanding of stewardship. This phrase restates the Biblical principles of proportionate giving. Not everyone has the same financial resources, but every person can make a prayerful, sacrificial gift. We encourage an equal sense of commitment and sacrifice throughout our church body, with each member prayerfully determining his or her own gift. Look for God to direct your way. Ask not what you should do, but listen for what God would do through you—through God’s grace and your faith.

Text Box: Our new 17-acre location will provide room for future expansion, which will enable First Baptist to better minister to our community. The building committee worked with the architect, Lawrence L. Corley, to create and develop the plan.  Phase I construction will include a 58,000-square-foot multi-purpose ministry campus that will serve as an interim sanctuary and will also house church offices, preschool and education space for children, youth and adults. God demonstrated His power almost 2,000 years ago by raising His Son from death to life again. We have an opportunity to demonstrate our devotion to the God of Resurrection Power as we raise our new ministry campus from the ground up.  Text Box: What is our goal?   ***   $1.75 million

Text Box: To set any financial goal for our membership, still recovering from Katrina’s impact, was not an easy decision. Our approach was to analyze our church budgets and revenues received over the past 8 years. Average revenue was determined, and we applied the basic suggested multiplier of 2.5. That revealed a goal of $1,750,000. It is important to note that in order to fully finance the building project, we will still have to borrow funds. The finance subcommittee did not want to over burden our membership with a goal of funding the difference between funds available and total funds needed. We feel that the $1,750,000 goal is appropriate.