Our 2009 Budget

Our Budget and Finance Committee worked very hard on our new budget. The members of our Budget and Finance Committee are (Wayne Simmons, Paul Puletti, Trish Arnold, Dick Crockett, Edith Hackmann, Paul Martin and a member of the Building & Maintenance Committee).

Our 2008 Budget was $426,543. Our offerings for 2008 was $389,023. With us starting on our new building, we felt that we needed to cut our budget with the financial conditions we find ourselves in. So the committee presented to the church a budget for 2009 of $398,459, with a weekly requirement of $7,663. Each member is ask to give to support the work of the church. As the body of Christ we need to work together to support his work in his kingdom.

Last year members where ask to pledge to the Building Fund. We are still asking people to give to our Buidling Fund on a regular bases.

Church under the Tent!

This Sunday, January 18, 2009 we will be having our Morning Worship Service under the tent in our ball field. As you know we are having Judgement House and we are unable to have church in the sanctuary. At 10:30am Sunday Morning we will begin playing and singing music and start our regular service at 11:00am. I hope you will make plans to be a part of this special service this Sunday.

Last year when we did this outdoor service, many express that it was one of our best services. Come casual tomorrow and enjoy the beautiful day.

We will conclude Judgement House Sunday afternoon from 4 to 8 pm. Please keep Judgement House in your prayers.

Judgement House

Last night was our first night of Judgement House. We had cold temperatures but a great crowd. Cold for Florida! We had seven profession of faith and two re-dedications.

Tonight we are having great crowds and cold weather according to Florida standards. We have had several decisions tonight.

Please be in prayer for Judgement House. Pray for the workers, staff and the people who are going through it. We have one more night of Judgement House from 4 to 8pm., Sunday afternoon.

My trip to Panama

In February 2009 I will be going to Panama to teach the Bible Training Centre for Pastors and Church Leaders courses. This will be my fourth trip Panama. When I went in January of 2008 this mark the graduation of the 2nd group that completed the 10 course study. Now the third group has started and has over 50 students involve.

One of the great things about this ministry is that this training is helping to instruct new leaders in the church and is working to help the Panama Baptist Convention to start new churches. Several new churches have been started since this ministry has begun.

Each teacher that goes down to teach pays his own way. I have been fortunate the First Baptist Church of Labelle has paid my expenses. This year I could use some help with the expenses of my trip. If you would like to help with this ministry, please send your gift to First Baptist Church Labelle, PO Box 369 Labelle, FL. 33975.
Please mark your gift Panama Ministry.

This year I plan to take Preston along with me so he can learn from this experience. Please pray for us February 9-16th.
Thanks

Church Bond Program

As you know we are issuing through Commonwealth Church Finance, Inc $1.7 million in First Mortgage Bonds. These bonds will be used to finance the building of our new education building. Commonwealth is still selling bonds to church members and friends of First Baptist Church of Labelle. Members and friends who would like to buy bond may contact Mr. Keith Glore at (877) 370-0459 who is a registered Representative of Commonwealth Church Finance, Inc.

Information about the bond program may be picked up at the church office. Bonds are being offered from Six Months to Twenty Five Years at 6.00% to 7.75% interest bonds.
As of last week $784,250 of bonds have been sold. This leaves us with $915,750 of bonds to sell.

If you know of someone who is interested in buying bonds, please give them Keith Glore's name and telephone number and they can discuss buying bonds over the telephone. We need your help in spreading the word about our Bond Program.

Community Thanksgiving Service

I would like to remind you of our LaBelle Community Thanksgiving Service that will held at Caloosa Baptist Church at 7pm, tonight. Rev. Jorge Rodriguez, Pastor of Life Ministries will bring the Thanksgiving Message. Pastors from the community will have a part in the service. Larry Luckey will be bringing special music.

I hope you can come tonight and be part of this special service in our community. I hope you and your family will have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Our Church Bond Program

Keith Glore from Commonwealth Church Finance will be here to present the plans of our bond program this Sunday, November 23rd in our Morning Worship Service. We felt we would have the most people here on a Sunday Morning and that is the reason we are doing this then.

There will a table at the back of the church on Sunday, for those individuals who have IRA's to make appointments to meet with Keith to discuss how those can be rolled over.

On Sunday, November 30th, members of First Baptist Church will have opportunities to sign up for the bonds they would like to purchase. Bonds will be available in various denominations. Everything is handled in strict confidence through Commonwealth Church Finance.

We encourage members to invest in the future of this church. Please tell your friends about our bond program because they might want to invest.

Venezuela

The Lord has truly blessed us in Venezuela. The city of Caracas has a population of 5 million people and only 2% of that population is Christian. We have been working with a group of missionaries in Venezuela that have been a true blessings. They are some of the most committed individuals I have worked with.

Dr. Long presented to them the Bible Training Centre for Pastors Program. They were very interested in this program. They told us that they have been praying for such a program and thought they would have to design it themselves. This program is design for national pastors who need Biblical education but not able to go to college or seminary.

Please pray for Caracas, Venezuela has they will be having elections this Sunday. Let's pray that there will be no violence from this election.

When in Doubt?

Today I was reading a devotion by Henry Blackaby that helped me with the things I been thinking about our world and economic crisis that our country finds itself in. Dr. Blackaby made reference to Daniel 9:23 (NKJV) "At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision:"

Daniel was in exile in Babylon as a result of his nation's utter defeat by the Babylonians. He was trying to understand what was happening to him and his country. So we find that Daniel went to God in prayer and God immediately dispatched an angel to revealed that God has sent this angel at the beginning of his supplication. God didn't wait for Daniel to finish his prayer. God loved Daniel greatly and when Daniel was in need, God was quick to respond in love to him.

God wants to answer the prayers of those whose hearts are completely His.
2 Chronicles 16:9 (NKJV) "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.”
We need to be reminded that God can accurately orient you to the events of your day. Media, public opinion, and political leaders cannot tell you the truth of your circumstances, only God can. God loves us and will speak to us in His time. His answer may come immediately as it did in Daniel's case, or it may be delayed, but it will come. At times it seems as though everything is crumbling around you, and you wonder why you do not see God's activity, take comfort in knowing that you are loved in heaven. If you are genuinely seeking God's answers, you can go to your Father confidently with your questions.

If you would like to read Dr. Henry Blackaby's devotions each day you can go to www.namb.net and click Blackaby devotions.

Ground Breaking

Today we broke ground for our new 8,800 square foot education building. This building has been designed for our preschool, children, and youth departments. This new building will give us the space we need now and for the future. It was so good to see so many of you stay for our ground breaking ceremony. It was nice to see our children dig a shovel full of dirt, breaking ground for the building. Many of them will learn in this new building and might come to a saving knowledge of Christ.

In the coming days I want you to pray for the construction of our new building. Pray for the safety of the workers and for decisions that will need to be made. We will have Bond information meetings soon where members and friends of First Baptist Church can learn about purchasing bonds to finance our building. There will be a designated Sunday that you can meet with a representative from CommonWealth to discuss the bonds you want to purchase and sign up for them.

These are exciting days here at Fist Baptist and every day we need to depend upon the Lord. Let's stay faithful.

A Great Work Day!

This morning we had a work day at the church to clear out our education rooms so we can tear down our old education building that has served us faithful for 50 years. I want to thank everyone who came out to help, your present and excitement towards what God is doing in our church is uplifting. As every one worked together we were able to complete all of our work that was schedule for two Saturdays in one.

We begin a new chapter, here at First Baptist Church. Tomorrow we will break ground on our new education building that will have over 8,800 square feet for us to use in the future. As we break ground tomorrow we also dedicate ourselves to be faithful to God and to pay for this new building as soon as possible. Tomorrow as we break ground we pray for all the workers who will work on this building and for their safety.

Today's activities reminded me of a church family that work's together and how we were able to get some much done in a short period of time. I want to thank all you who helped today, because you were a blessing to me.

Leadership Survey's

On any given Sunday we will have 150 to 250 people in church. The majority of those folks are members of First Baptist Church of LaBelle and other dear friends of our church. For a church to work the way the Lord wants it to work it needs each member using the gifts they have in the work of the church. Each year we ask each member and friends of the church to fill out a leadership survey, which tells us which areas you are willing to serve in. Each year we are lucky if we it 25 surveys back from our members. With our building program under way and other new ministries in our church we need to you to work in our church.

We ask each member and friend to fill out a leadership survey and turn it in by Sunday, August 10th. If you don't have a survey to can get one in foyer of the church sanctuary or go to our church web site at www.fbclabelle.org and fill out the survey on line. I hope you understand that we need each member and friend of First Baptist Church.

Please be in prayer for our Nominating Committee as they fill the leadership positions of the church.

Jamaica Praise Report

We returned from Jamaica last Friday evening. The Lord truly blessed us in our trip. As we reflect on our trip, we are thankful for all the supporters who prayed and gave sacrificially so we could go to Jamaica. Those who gave to this cause was a vital part of this trip.

This year we served at Emanuel Missionary Church in Mandeville, Jamaica. This church has lost its last two pastors to cancer and is presently searching for another Pastor. We had 173 children enrolled in VBS at this church and this is the most they ever had. We average 169 children each day. At the end of the week we had 63 of those children accept Jesus Christ as there Lord and Savior.

Different members of our team preach at the night services that we had for the teenagers of this church. I preached Sunday night, Paul Martin preached Monday night, Preston Long, Jr., preached Tuesday night, Jeremy Peery preached Wednesday night and Patrick Mylmount preached Thursday night. Each night our mission team sang praise and worship songs under the leadership of Larry Luckey.

The Lord worked in each member of our team and the Lord gave us a blessed week.

Brian and Pearl Williams

Last Sunday night we had the privilege of having Brian and Pearl Williams share about their work in Vienna, Austria. We started supporting Brian and Pearl last year at this time. We are currently supporting them at a $100 a month and we praying if we should increase this amount for the coming year.

Brian and Pearl work at a Christian school where International Students come to be taught. For most of these students they are there for two years. In those two years the teachers at this school have a opportunities to share Christ with these students. Many of these students have accepted Christ.

Please be in prayer for Brian and Pearl as they will be flying back soon to start a new school year.

Teen Challenge of Southwest Florida

Sunday, June 29th at 11:00 A.M., the Men's group of Teen Challenge will be here to share music and testimonies of what God is doing in there lives. Kevin Cummings, the director of Teen Challenge for Southwest Florida will be our presenter. This will be an excellent opportunity for you to learn more about their ministry. First Baptist Church supports the men's group of Teen Challenge for Southwest Florida by giving $100 a month to their ministry through our Local Missions Program.

Everyone is invited to come to this special service this Sunday, June 29th at 11 A.M. After the service our College and Career Class will be providing lunch for the Teen Challenge group. I am grateful for the College and Career class and their willingness to prepare this meal.

Hope to see you this Sunday.

JAMAICA - Let's give thanks!

In two weeks we will be going to Jamaica with 21 people from our church. For the last 6 months we have been asking for donations and having yard sales. As a team we would like to thank everyone in our church and our community for their help for us to go to Jamaica. For many of our friends you have gone above and beyond in your giving to our Mission Trip. I know God will bless you for your giving.

I ask of you that you will be praying for us as we leave for Jamaica on July 11th. We will be serving at Emmanuel Missionary Church in Mandeville, Jamaica. This church has recently lost their pastor to cancer and is in need of encouragement. We will be conducting VBS in the morning and having services each night. Please be in prayer for these services.

We are still in need of $4,000 to complete our trip. I believe God has someone who has been waiting and now is the time for them to give. This is all in God's hands. Amen!

Vacation Bible School - Outrigger Island: Living God's Unshakeable Truth!

The Lord has truly blessed us this week at VBS. We enrolled 153 students and 58 workers for the week. On Tuesday we had 153 students present. We had 11 children come to know the Lord for the first time. Please pray for these children as they grow in the Lord.

The children gave $219.55 for missions through their offerings each morning. This money will go to help our missionaries in North America and across the world. I ask that you say a special prayer for our missionaries.

We would like to thank all the people who helped in VBS, who donated items for VBS and prayed for us this week.

Our dates for VBS in 2009 are June 15- 19th! Hope to see you there!

Church votes for New Youth Director

In a Special called Business Meeting the church heard the recommendation from the Search Committee to hire Preston Long, Jr. as our New Full-Time Youth Director. Seventy nine votes were cast and there was 75 votes in favor of the recommendation to hire Preston as our new youth director and 4 votes no.

Preston will officially begin work on Wednesday, June 4, 2008. Preston has already been on the job working to get prepared for youth camp and other things. Please be in prayer for Preston and his family as he begins his work as Youth Director.

I hope each of us would look how we can help and support our youth ministry here at our church.

Thanks for the Prayers

I returned home from China yesterday. My Discovery Trip was very rewarding and successful. Over the next several weeks I would like to tell you about my trip to China and about the people of China.

I do appreciate your prayers for me while I traveled to China. The day that I left for China I was very sick. The 13 hour flight over to China was trying and at times I wonder if I was going to make it. I knew that my church family was praying for me and I felt the Lord's presence as I went to this new frontier.

There was 57 people from the United States that went to China. We represented many of the states on this great country. None of us had met each other before so we had great time meeting new friends. Most of the group was younger than myself but it was good to see some of the energy and excitement that came from this group.

Yesterday, as I got back in Labelle I enjoy seeing some of you about town and I knew I was back home. As I look out at the people of Labelle, I'm grateful God has called me to serve him here in Labelle. I know this is my place of service but opportunities like going to China, help me broaden my vision and challenge me in ways that benefit my ministry. I just want to thank you for allowing me to go to China and your prayers for me and my family while I was away.

Thanks

Recommendation for New Youth Director

Our Search Committee is recommending that Preston Long be our New Full-Time Youth Director. As many of you know Preston is a member of First Baptist Church of Labelle. In the last three years Preston has actively served in our church. He is a Youth Sunday School Teacher, works in our Sound Room Ministry, a Deacon in our church, has worked in our Children's Choir Program, has been part of our Jamaica Mission Team and participates in our Wednesday Night Youth Program.

Preston knows many of our youth and has a relationship with them. On Sunday, June 1st, in our evening service we have called for a special business meeting to vote on Preston as our New Full-Time Youth Director. If the church approves his placement as Youth Director, he will begin Monday, June 2, 2008. Please be in prayer as we take this important step in the life of First Baptist Church.