This Saturday, April 1 is our 2nd Annual Easter Egg Drop. Prayers Away before Eggs Away. Sean ran through the details at this Monday’s staff meeting. Everything is in place, scores of volunteers are enlisted, and helicopter rotors are ready! Now, let’s have a party for the community and love our neighbors as ourselves!
I asked if I could fly the helicopter and help drop the 20,000 candy filled plastic eggs. They said “No, the last pastor they let fly the helicopter got cold and tried to turn the big fan off!” So, I will see you all on the ground, meeting our guests and helping them have a blast with the children. Our thanks for your prayers and service. This should be another outrageously fun event.
Resurrection Sunday is just around the corner. It hardly seems like it, but Easter is only three Sundays away. We have a beautiful Holy Week focus this year: ALL. We start Holy Week with Palm Sunday celebrating a God and Savior who Gave it ALL. Then a reflective Good Friday service remembering He Paid it ALL. On Resurrection Sunday we celebrate our God and Savior who Conquered it ALL. Just a reminder of our evangelistic opportunity: Easter is one of the main religious cultural events for the under churched and unchurched community. Many of our family and friends will come to our Easter service if we invite them. Most of them will totally accept our invitation if we invite them out to eat after the service. Pray now and ask our Father to lay a name on your heart. Perhaps a coworker, a family member or neighbor? You know they will hear great praise music and the Good News of what God has done for us through His Son, our Lord Jesus.
*A special note to our church family. As we do every year, we expect overflow crowds on Easter Sunday and Christmas Eve. Could we ask you for a favor? Those of us who can, could you be prepared to stand during the Easter service? Particularly, I am asking our men. We will bring down over a 100 extra seats. The praise team will stay on stage so the first row will be wide open. The old hymn says it well…Stand up, stand up for Jesus.
Love you all and look forward to seeing you Saturday at the Eater Egg Drop and Sunday at Worship.
Pastor Tom
To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. 1 Corinthians 9:22-23
Why in the world would a church invest money, time and effort in dropping 20,000 eggs from a helicopter? By the way, let’s go over the basics: the eggs are not dropped on anyone and they are plastic eggs with candy inside not hard boiled eggs. OK, now back to the “Why?”
Last year we estimate that we had over 2,000 people attend the biggest outreach event JIBC has ever hosted. Really, I am not that big a fan of some of the ways culture celebrates some of our most important events. I am, however, a fan of reaching out to the unchurched and under churched community. All the research that is available for our area indicates that parents are really interested in kids events. They are looking for top quality, low cost, family oriented events where they can help their children have an experience. Now put this picture together. We have jump castles, food trucks, and 20,000 Easter Eggs dropped out of a helicopter! You gotta be kidding me. No wonder we had almost 2,000 people. It was great.
I wonder if this could fit into what the Apostle Paul was talking about in 1 Corinthians 9:22-23? How do you become all things to all people for the sake of the Gospel. The old evangelism/mission adage is: find out where they are itching and scratch it. In our case, families are itching to have a great experience with their children. We can do our best to make sure that happens.
Here is the kicker for me. I know there is a part of me that wants to get the community people into the church. I would be thrilled for them to come visit us on Easter and hear the life changing message of the Gospel. What excites me even more than getting the community into the church is getting the church into the community. We have found a way to make a difference in our community, to serve families, to provide healthy entertainment alternatives. These community events allow us to get the salt out of the salt shaker, to get light into a community of darkness. I agree that we are not going to have an abundance of theological support on dropping Easter Eggs, jump castles and food trucks. We do have a lot of reason for loving the community, having tons of fun and showing the love of Christ. Let’s do it. Let’s do it together. Let’s do it with joy and love.
Blessings and love,
Pastor Tom
A little over a year ago, our church family “commissioned” one of our members, Tom McConnell, to a particular work. Tom grew up in a small church filled primarily with senior adults. When he and Lisa moved to Georgetown, South Carolina, they began to visit several small churches in their area. Most of the churches they visited were attended by just a very few senior adults with almost no young adults or children except for the occasional grandchild attending with grandparents. The Lord started working on Tom McConnell’s heart about how to see God reclaim the glory for these dying churches. Tom asked me if I thought there was any place for a ministry like he was thinking about. His desire was to offer his time and love to a church, at no charge, to help them take a realistic look at their future. I knew many churches would love the price…free! I also know there is a need. I just did not know if the dying churches were willing to admit they had a need and/or would they be willing to do what is necessary to change. Our staff, elders and leaders agreed that we would commission Tom, pray for God’s blessings and offer to help however we could.
In a God inspired coincidence, almost a year later, I was nominated to serve the Charleston Baptist Association as the Church Health-Revitalization Team leader. My assignment is to put together a team to assist local churches desiring church health and growth. See where I am going with this? Can you guess who I chose as my first team member? You got it…our church member, Tom McConnell. This past Sunday was Tom McConnell’s first Sunday helping an area church. He starts by teaching a Sunday Bible Study each week as he builds relationships with this small handful of people. In April he will most likely start preaching and teaching. At least that is the plan. Remember Tom McConnell and the Riverbend Baptist Church is your prayers. How great would it be to see God reclaim the glory the resurrecting a dying church! You gotta love it when a plan comes together…even if it takes a while.
Pastor Tom
The Executive Board of the Charleston Baptist Association met Tuesday, February 21 at Northbridge Baptist Church. I don’t think it would be too much of a stretch to say it was a historic meeting for Charleston Baptist. The CBA has lost a lot of momentum and steam over the past 20 years. Everything in life was changing and the Charleston Baptist Association was getting further and further behind the plan and purposes of God. It was similar to when David fought Goliath. King Saul graciously offered for David to wear his armor. It did not fit and slowed him down. The old Charleston Baptist Association, in some ways, did not fit and it was slowing the work down. So over a year ago, a team was put together to study where we were and where we were going and how is the best way to get there. They prayed, met with pastors, leaders, the Executive Committee, studied history in an effort to seek the will of God and to join what He is doing. As the old saying goes…now, the proof is in the pudding. But I must tell you I like the way it looks and tastes so far.
So, here is the change…simple and to the point. The Charleston Baptist Association exists to do 3 things. First, we exist to strengthen churches. A team will be put together that will be available to pray for and assist churches that want to reclaim the glory for God. For those who want to continue the vision that started the churches years ago, this team will be willing to come along side and offer help. The second charge is to strengthen pastors and church leaders. The speed of the leader is the speed of the team. Likewise, a team will be put together to assist the CBA churches in building stronger leaders. Third, but certainly not least, a team will be assigned church planting…starting new churches. This may sound very simple…it is, but I believe it is inspired simplicity. This is a focus I can get behind and support. In fact I have. I will be serving as the team leader for the strengthening churches-church revitalization team. Tom McConnell is the first member on this new team.
Our new Executive Director (formerly called the Director of Missions/DOM) is D. Craig Tuck. The Executive Director Search Team processed through 57 resumes, interviewed 8 that met all the requirements; then selected a final three for final consideration. Craig Tuck met all the requirements and competencies required. Craig has been Senior Pastor at Centerpoint Church here in Charleston and is well known to most of our pastors. I am more than pleased to welcome Craig to this mission and ministry. I look forward to the days ahead. To God be the Glory.
Pastor Tom
