WOW! OH MY! AND WOW AGAIN!

Janie and I were humbled and wonderfully surprised at this past Sunday’s Celebration. The staff and you all did a perfect job keeping everything a secret. Neale even published a “decoy” worship bulletin so I could not see the one everyone else received. What a wonderfully loving, amazingly creative and deeply touching gesture of love. Thank you all so very much.

I know I will not remember everything, but I will try. First, the recognition of my 70th birthday and Janie and my 40th Anniversary. It was all wonderful. Seeing the old pictures was a hoot. Who was that young black-haired man?

The interrupted sermon video, of my first sermon delivered at JIBC, was too clever. I was momentarily a little upset when it looked like the video was messing up…it was a part of the charade! Then, when Frank O came up, the water works started for me. How meaningful to have him participate in this day before he went home to Jesus.

The kind words from our Elders were humbling indeed. Then the gift of the two original pieces of art, right to my heart! The art included the “words that describe Pastor Tom” you all so graciously shared. I am sure there were some words that could not be included and had to be edited out! One piece of the art will hang in our dining room and the other here at JIBC (probably in the outer office area where anyone who cares to see it can and I can see it every day.

The TAB (Thomas Arthur Brown) Mission Fund to help send others on mission was over the top. I will put the first $1,000 in to get that mission ball rolling. As I type this, Neale tells me the fund already has over $10,000 in it. I am too late to be the first to give to it, but I will still gladly make the thanksgiving offering. I have a mission fund named after me. This puts me right up there with Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong! (JK, LOL) I could not be more proud to be associated with a Kingdom Mission effort. Thank you. Now, let’s keep it funded and send a bunch of people out for Jesus.

Janie and I are going to Italy this week. We will celebrate both of our 70th birthdays, our 50 years of marriage (November 29) and our 40 years at JIBC. Thank you all for the financial gift to go toward our trip. I wept again, no surprise there, and could not even speak.

The dessert reception was such a sweet idea! See what I did there? So yummy.

I thank our Lord for the privilege of serving Him at JIBC. I also thank my sweet wife, Janie. If I get any stars in my crown when I go to heaven, I am pretty sure the Angels will pluck them out and given to Janie when she gets there! Any credit I get is credit Janie gets.

Thank you all again and again. This was a most spectacular weekend! Love you all,

Pastor Tom

IT IS A SPECIAL YEAR!

Of course, every day of every year is a special day and a special year. But the are some days, as the little boy from Waylyn said, “are more ‘specialer’ than others”! How so?

This year, 2025 has a lot of milestones for Janie and me. For instance, on Saturday, September 13, I will be 70 years old. How did that happen? One precious day after another and another. In fact, 25,567.5 wonderful days. I was born in 1955. That was a pretty good year: McDonalds opened, Disneyland in California opened, Rosa Parks rightfully refused to give up her seat on the bus. There was a cute little girl born into this world in Spartanburg. She was born in Inman but had an appointment with God’s plan that unfolded in Charleston. It was a pretty good year for little Tommy Brown to come into this world. Like the old saying goes “If I knew I was going to live so long I would have taken better care of myself!”

By the way, by lovely bride was also born in 1955. I get this all the time: “Oh Janie, you have not changed a bit…oh Hi Tom.” I chalk it up to me taking such great care of her while she dropped the ball a little on my side. LOL

This will also be the year Janie and I celebrate our 50th Wedding Anniversary. Married Thanksgiving weekend in 1975 at Dorchester Waylyn Baptist Church by Pastor David Wooten. Janie’s mom and dad and their friends catered the wedding for us! What a gift. Can you guess where we went on our honeymoon? Yep, Disney World. For more years that I can remember, I used to go back to Disney every year to tell Mickey thanks for making our week so special!

Last, but certainly not least, Janie and I have had the privilege of being at James Island for 40 years. Sunday, September 14 will be the 40-year anniversary of serving at JIBC. Our first Sunday was September 15, 1985. We had three preschool children in tow! I know that seems hard to believe. We have been blessed. I asked the Lord to allow us to stay in one place to raise our children. He winked and said “ Tom, I will do you one better, I will let you stay see your grandkids raised too!” Thank you all for the privilege of being at JIBC. To God be the glory. This is a very special year indeed.

Pastor Tom

Gotta Love It!

The names have been left out but the story is still as wonderfully precious. A dad was taking his little girl to Children’s Worship. The only place he ever saw where children’s worship was going on was in the Youth Worship Center during Vacation Bible School.

He noticed his daughter look a little apprehensive, even a little bit afraid. There could be many reasons for that: she might not have recognized anyone or saw any of her friends just yet. But dad did notice she seemed a little scared. All the other children seemed to be having fun and one of the children already there took her by the hand and off they went. Dad returns to mom in “Big Church” and reports the daughter’s hesitation. “It was like she was scared.” Mom digested that report and then decided to go and check it out. Here is what happened. Dad, by an innocent mistake, took his daughter to the Ukrainian Worship Service. There were several children present. It looked absolutely normal. Loving children, happy faces, one little girl taking the hand of his daughter. All is well…almost.

Here is my absolute favorite part of the story. When mom returned to check on her daughter, the Ukrainian little girl was still holding the hand of the confused little girl. She held the little girl’s hand until mom came to get her and take her to the Children’s Worship.

That is it. That is the picture of church, of the family of God, of loving people like Jesus. We hold their hands until everything is made right. We welcome them because we never thought of anything else but welcoming them. They are a temporary part of our family and we are glad they are.

I have seen a lot of really great things lately. This has to be high on the list of one of my absolute favorites. This story is about love on so many levels. You gotta love it!

See you Sunday, good Lord willing. Let’s hold someone’s hand that needs a little reassurance.

Pastor Tom

THE GOSPEL PROJECT

This past Sunday Pastor Kyle told us about the strategy for helping our Children become disciples of Jesus. The Children that were “promoted” from Preschool to the first grade we presented a brand- new NIV Adventure Bible, the #1 Bible for Children. I have looked through this Bible and I really like it a lot! We gave out 8 Sunday but have Children’s Bibles available for any child that wants one. Just see one of the staff and we will make sure you get one for your child.

Pastor Kyle also told us about The Gospel Project children’s Bible Study curriculum. Listen to this. This is a Christ-Centered, chronological Bible Studies for kids. It also is available for youth and adults. Every story points back to Jesus; encourages transformation that comes as a result of the Gospel; they will study the Bible from Genesis to Revelation; hear doctrinally sound lessons; with a continuing emphasis on living a missional life. The Gospel Project will go through the entire Bible in a three-year period. You really want to have your children and grandchildren in one of these classes. By the way these classes are taught by Mark Livengood (Elder), Ronnie Cooper (Elder) Nancy Livengood and Billy Hebert (Deacon). This is as solid of a Children’s Team as you can get! Then the Children always have the option of attending Children’s Worship each week.

When you add the Awana Ministry to this mix, you have a really solid Children’s ministry. Awana is a world-wide ministry that reaches over 9 million Children every week. There are over 96,000 churches that use Awana as part of their disciple making process. It is being taught in over 140 different countries.

The goal of our Children’s Ministry is that Kids will know they belong to Jesus, believe His word and become more like Him. Amen and amen!

Thanks to all who work as a part of our process of making disciples who make disciples that change our community and world.

See you Sunday, good Lord willing,

Pastor Tom

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY!

This past Tuesday, August 5, was the day to pack all the school supplies that will be delivered to the brand new Johns Island Elementary School and to the James Island Elementary School. You were so generous in your giving that we were able to share the love between the two schools. Each school will receive 40 back packs filled with everything on the list the schools provided. They will also receive additional bookbags and school supplies to be given out when school starts. In addition, the teachers will be given bins full of supplies they asked for: paper towels, wipes, liquid soap, Clorox wipes, sharpies, etc. Our prayer is that both schools, the teachers, the parents and all the children will feel the love and support. We pray for each of the students to have a great year. We also put a simple plan of salvation card in each book bag. The worship center stage was wonderfully covered with a small mountain of school supplies. Thank you again for your love for our community!

LORD’S SUPPER, BIBLE PRESENTATION, COMMISSIONING

This Sunday, August 10 will be a great day to be in the House of the Lord. We have Bible presentations to the rising first graders; another missionary commissioning (Cheryl and Anne going to Romania); and the Lord’s Supper. What a day of celebration! By the way, the children will be receiving the NIV /Adventure Bible. I hope you will have an opportunity to take a look at one of these Children’s BibleS. Wow, what a wonderful gift. If you have a child that does not have a Bible, please see me and we will try to get that problem solved!

The Lord’s Supper this week will be the conclusion of our series “Spiritual Conversations: Let’s Talk About…”. I am so looking forward to this Sunday.

A SHORT TRIP AWAY

This past weekend, Janie and I took a brief trip to Havelock, North Carolina to see my brother. It was a good trip blessed with uneventful and safe travel. I was pleased to be able to spend two days with Bubba and Martha, my older brother and older sister. Thank you to our staff for covering the bases in my absence. I am blessed indeed.

See you Sunday,

Pastor Tom

Four International Touch Points

Do you believe God can touch the world through James Island Baptist? Yes, of course we believe. It is the Great Commission that calls us to go into all the world and make disciples.

So, off goes Mark L. to Slovakia working with resettled Ukrainians escaping the war; off goes Robin C. and Brook B. to Colombia South America; off goes Amanda and Lyla H. to Uganda; and there goes Cheryl and Anne to Romania. Remember these in your prayers as they take the love of God and the Good News of Jesus to the utter most part of the world!

But what about “Missions at home”? Let’s talk about that. We host a new start Ukrainian Church who is trying to reach those in our community who were part of the former Soviet Union. Pastor Claudio and Claudia continue to lead Luz y Verdad to reach the Hispanic Church in the greater Charleston area. They are reaching about 100 each week and are constantly going to share the love of God to Migrants in Beaufort, Walterboro, etc.

Show some love locally? Of course! We are collecting school supplies for the underserved students at the new Johns Island Elementary School. We are trying to coordinate catering a meal for the teachers and distributing over 100 book bags filled with school supplies. Thank you all for being so generous .

Just around the corner is our mission partners, James Island Outreach. We are keeping them supplied with Jelly and syrup. It seems like they come by every two weeks to pick up all that you have donated. I love imaging some senior adult enjoying their biscuits or their PB&J with the jelly you donated!

Last of all I want to mention the “Spiritual Conversation” display. It is full to the brim indicating that our church family and friends have had almost 300 spiritual conversations in the last 6 weeks! We had to add two more containers to handle all the ping pong balls that represent spiritual conversations.

I love what our Father is doing. I love how you are following. See you soon, good Lord willing.

Pastor Tom

HE RESTORES MY SOUL

As a part of our “Spiritual Conversations: Let’s Talk About…” I talked about Mental Health. Over the years we have tried to help remove the stigma sometimes associated with mental health illnesses. God even enabled us to put together a community wide Festival of Hope addressing Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders/Addictions.

Elijah is one of the greatest characters in the Old Testament. Even so, it did not keep him from experiencing despair, discouragement and depression. The Bible makes no attempt to hide Mental Health Illness of its heroes

Today, I wanted to put together a list of my favorite Bible verses about peace and calm. Here are 10 Bible verses that you can write down in the cover of your Bible so you can turn to them quickly and often. See if you agree about these verses: Philippians 4:6-7; 2 Timothy 1:7; Psalm 23; Matthew 11:28-30; 1 Peter 5:7; Isaiah 41:10; John 14:27; Psalm 46:1-3; & Deuteronomy 31:6. What verses would you add to these?

Read and meditate on these verses. Keep them in an easy to find place. Let them so bless you that you in turn will be able to use them to bless others.

In addition, here are two prayers that you might find helpful in your journey toward peace that passes all understanding. The first one is the Serenity Prayer:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, And the wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace. Taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, Not as I would have it.

The second one you are more familiar with, The Model Prayer also called The Lord’s Prayer:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

Allow me to speak this blessing over you and your loved ones: The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face to shine upon you; And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace. Deuteronomy 6:24-26

See you Sunday good Lord willing!

Pastor Tom

CELEBRATE AND SHARE THE LOVE

There are two thoughts on my heart this morning: celebrate and share the love. We try to live by the philosophy that we celebrate what we value and we value what we celebrate. So, let’s talk about both.

First, we celebrate the 8 students who made decisions to be followers of Jesus Christ. Pastor Logan and his crew of great volunteers took 29 Students to camp. That is the largest camp group Logan has had in all his years with us. I am sure the camp had great moments of Bible Study and Worship, Fellowship and Discipleship. But what can you say about 8 students making professions of faith. Let’s try “Hallelujah!”. Your giving, your prayers, your saying an encouraging word, your willingness to sacrifice so the volunteers could go…it all is a part of the process our Heavenly Father uses to bring his little lambs home! Thank you for praying, for giving, for going, for supporting. Pastor Logan will begin part two of discipleship right away teaching them the basics of how to follow Jesus.

WE ARE PLANNING A BEACH BAPTISM ON WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13 AT 6:30 P.M. We will gather at the Folly Beach County Park! Anyone who would like to be baptized is welcome to join us. Just let us know! We will also be glad to plan a baptism at the church for those who cannot make it to the beach. We love to celebrate baptisms! Hallelujah!!!

SHARE THE LOVE.
For the past years we have sponsored a back to school “School Supplies” for our community. We were always honored to work with Emmanuel Baptist Church and the James Island Outreach. I think I understand that James Island Christian will be joining in the School Supply Mission! That is great news.

We decided to share the love and welcome the new Johns Island Elementary School to the community. A new school and free school supplies for the under-served. What is there to not love about that? The list of supplies is what the school told us they need. We will set a goal of 100 book bags filled with supplies. We will be collecting the supplies until August 3 and will pack them on Tuesday, August 5 from 10 AM—Noon. Anyone who could or would help will be we greatly appreciated. Let’s share the love! Imagine the relief of 100 parents who don’t have to purchase supplies! Wow, what a load off their hearts.

Thank you JIBC. Celebrate and share the love!

Pastor Tom

THE HEAVY LIFTING IS OFTEN DONE BEHIND THE SCENES

There are a lot of times when an event or production takes place and everything falls into place and all goes smoothly. What is sometimes overlooked or never even seen is what goes on behind the scene. The behind the scene activity is often what we would refer to as the heavy lifting. Without the set up and support the show might go on but it will be a little bit slower.

In church world, particularly JIBC world, those who volunteer to work behind the scenes get a lot of credit for helping the worship service go smoothly. I am referring to those who work in the Sunday preschool nursery. What a great team doing a great service for parents and families. They provide a great service to the families and provide much love to the preschool children. They are the Jesus-like figures who, like Jesus, welcome the little ones to come to them! They love them, teach them, sing with them and play with them. Week in week out they do the heavy lifting.

As you might imagine, it takes a big group of volunteers to successfully run a great nursery. In our case, we have a 9:00 Worship service that provides a nursery: a 10:00 Bible Study hour that requires a nursery; and the 11:00 Worship service that provides a nursery. My understanding is the 10:00 nursery during Bible Study is “covered” by a well- oiled team! We do, however, need a dozen volunteers to help during the worship services, both the 9 and 11. The 9:00 nursery volunteers serve 1 Sunday a month. There are times when there are no preschoolers for that particular service. Perhaps you and a spouse or you and a friend or family member would like to volunteer for the 1X a month team. You could still go to the 11:00 service and not “miss worship” if you chose to.

We also need a larger group of volunteers to serve during the 11:00 hour. We try to schedule the 11:00 volunteers to serve 1 Sunday out of 8. Ideally that would be 6 times a year! Behind the scenes, heavy lifting but with great payoff. You are helping form a preschoolers first impression of “church”. You are assisting parents and families that need the extra help and care. Again, these volunteers are doing the heavy lifting that allows much of what we do in worship to be done. If this is an area you would be willing to serve in a rotation, would you let Pastor Kyle know. We would love to have all these times covered by our people with servant hearts.

See you this Sunday as we look at “Spiritual Conversations: Let’s talk about forgiveness”.

Pastor Tom

DON’T LET THE OLD MAN IN

I was at a routine Doctor’s appointment. I asked my Doctor about some things I could do to get healthier and stay healthy. His reply: “Don’t Let The Old Man In”. I thought that was his original statement. I was pleased to find out it is a song written by Toby Keith. He wrote it after a conversation with Clint Eastwood. Toby Keith asked Clint Eastwood how he stayed so energetic even at age 88. Eastwood said…you guessed it…”Don’t let the old man in”.

Toby Keith is not a theologian but he is a really good song writer. He took that phrase and wrote a great little song entitled “Don’t Let The Old Man In”. Here are a few lyrics I like:

Many moons I have lived,

My body's weathered and worn

Ask yourself how old would you be

If you didn't know the day you were born

Try to love on your wife

And stay close to your friends

Toast each sundown with wine

Don't let the old man in.

We all have an expiration date. I just wanted to make sure I did not unnecessarily hasten my demise. Jesus said He came so we could have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10) The verse just before that one reminds us the devil, the thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy. I don’t want him to steal anything of mine that would keep me from Jesus’ abundant life.

Imagine if someone asked me “What do you want people to say about you 30 years from now?” I want the answer to be “Man he looks good for 100!” Don’t let the old man in.

By the way, that is a really good spiritual point: don’t let your old self in. You have been given a new spirit. Your old man is your flesh, your life before Jesus. Your new man is the born again, filled with His Spirit new man. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. The old has gone and the new has come. Let’s work on not letting the old man back in! Good spiritual health is attainable too just like good physical health. Both require that we don’t let the old man in!

See you Sunday, good Lord willing.

Pastor Tom

 

Spiritual Conversations: Let’s Talk About…

I started a new teaching series I am calling “Spiritual Conversations: Let’s Talk About…” The big idea is to encourage and equip our church family and friends to look for opportunities to have these “Spiritual”, Gospel Conversations. These conversations can take place anywhere at any time and may start off about anything.

There are two ways we can have these conversations. First, you might initiate them. You take the first step. Maybe ask questions like: Do you go to church anywhere? Are you watching the news about Israel and Iran? Would you guys like to go to church with us this Sunday? Those are straight forward, nonthreatening, questions that you could initiate and see if there is a conversation to be had. The second way is to respond. Keep your ears and heart open to listen to what people ask and say. For instance: “My teen has gone off the rails and I don’t know what to do”. “We just called Hospice in for my grandmother. I am not sure what to do to help her”. The person you are with might bring us the topic that really is a spiritual conversation waiting to happen. I try to watch and listen for the things only God can do. Only the Holy Spirit can convict people of sin, lead them to righteousness, and convict them of judgment. Only the Holy Spirit could lead someone to seek after God. So when I hear these things, I can be pretty sure God is working and this might be the place for a Gospel/Spiritual Conversation.

How can we celebrate these conversations and give God the glory? Pastor Kyle made a great looking display box. Every time you have a Spiritual Conversation, you are invited to stop by the box and drop a ping pong ball into it. There are three holes at the top and a cross on the inside. What if we had a hundred Gospel Conversations this summer? Wow, we plant the seed, someone else waters and God makes it grow.

Let’s pray that we will be open and ready to give an answer to anyone that might ask why we have this hope in Jesus.

See you Sunday, good Lord willing!

Pastor Tom

“But in your heart set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope you have.”

1 Peter 3:15

SPIRITUAL CONVERSATIIONS

Starting this Sunday, our teaching series will be called “Spiritual Conversations: Let’s Talk”.

The big idea is to lead our church family and friends to engage in spiritual conversations with those who intersect with our lives. Over the next few weeks, we will be looking at biblical examples of spiritual conversations. We might even have some testimonies from those who have had such conversations. We are currently working on a way to help us measure how many spiritual conversations our church family is having.

Frankly, we don’t want to be “that guy” who with no sensitivity at all, just blurts all over people whatever is on their mind. We are not looking for arguments. We are looking for those Holy spirit led moments when it just seems so right to engage in …well, spiritual conversations. We will be trying to equip our church family and friends to engage in spiritual conversations the way Jesus did. My guess is that our church family is already having such conversations. We just don’t think about them as such. So, for 6 weeks, we will be brining them to the forefront of our thoughts.

The big picture is spiritual conversations. The subtitle is “Let’s Talk About…” Each week we will study a Biblical Story about spiritual conversations. Let’s Talk About… forgiveness when we have been wronged; about how could a loving God could send someone to hell; if there is a God was does He allow suffering; there must be more than one way to heaven; etc. I will try to address the kind of conversations we might have with family members, friends, co-workers and team mates. These can be conversations with people that are near to us but far from God. It could be with people who use to believe but got hurt and dropped out of Church and away from God.

“…and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” 1 Peter 3:15

See you Sunday, good Lord willing,

Pastor Tom

NO PLACE LIKE HOME!

Janie and I have had the opportunity to take some time off the last three weeks. As much fun as we had, the old saying is so true: “There is no place like home”. We started our adventure with a trip to the Ark Encounter in Kentucky. Wow, it is the largest wooden structure in the world. If you have kids or you are a big kid at heart, you may want to consider making the trip to see the Ark Encounter. You could also visit some of the most beautiful horse farms in the country. We left My Old Kentucky Home area for a brief stop in Sellersburg, Indiana. We have wonderful old friends who invited us over for evening meals. When God blesses you with good friends He has blessed you with a great gift.

We left Southern Indiana for our destination of the Smokey Mountains. We stayed in Pigeon Forge but our goal was to hike as much as we could. We love chasing waterfalls. Our biggest hike was 5 miles in and 5 miles out! We packed our salads…yep, our salads, and took off for our hikes. I figured if we met black bears they would not be enticed by salads!

By the way, we saw 8 black bears in Cades Cove! There were two days we did not hike. One was spent shopping at the Big Knife Store. You gotta see this place to appreciate it. The second non-hiking day was spent at Dollywood. We have been asked if we rode the roller coaster rides. Not only did we not ride them, we never even saw them. We jumped around from music venue to music venue enjoying really good music and shows. Once you hear Dolly’s story, you become a fan.

Then the last of the summer travels included going to see the Savannah Bananas. Yes, that is a real name. It is a profession baseball organization that does for baseball what the Harlem Globetrotters did for basketball…only bigger! Our daughter Erin won the tickets for the game played last weekend at the Carolina Panthers football stadium. That stadium seats 75,000 and was packed…two nights in a row setting an attendance record.

So now, we are home sweet home. We have no more travel plans for the summer that I know of so we can get back into our comfy routine.

This Sunday is Father’s Day. We will have a Parent Child Dedication service at the 11:00 service and will be recognizing and honoring one of our Elders, Frank O Hunt at the 9:00 service. This week’s sermon will finish our series on The Apostle’s Creed. I will be teaching on the section that says Jesus descended to hell. I should have assigned that one to Logan!

See you this Sunday, good Lord willing.

Pastor Tom

“Summer time and the living is easy!”

June is such a great month. The old saying is “Spring would be a tough act to follow, so God made June!” The grill gets fired up, the pools are ready, you get extra hours of daylight. You can get ready for bed while it is still light outside!

Let’s make June a month of worship, Bible study, fellowship with friends, inviting those who are close to us but far from God to join us for a fun event…like a ballgame. What a great month.

June at JIBC includes VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL. This is one of the time-honored spiritual traditions here in the South. Throughout the year, parents, grandparents, Sunday School teachers have all been planting the Gospel seeds and VBS is one of the seasons where we just might see a spiritual crop! Our VBS will be June 23-June 27. There is a VBS training event on Thursday, June 12 and the VBS Decorating Event on Saturday, June 21. See Felecia Hebert or Pastor Kyle about the details.

Father’s Day almost slips by without too much fanfare. Not this year! This year we will have a “Parent Child Dedication Service” on June 15 at the 11:00 service. If you feel like double dipping, we will also have a recognition of one of our faithful servants on that day, too!

Here is a June event that happened as a result of the Festival of Hope. On June 29, 6:30 p.m., JIBC will host a free “Narcan Training” event. The Festival of Hope was designed to help remove the stigma of mental health issues and to raise awareness of addictions. There have been 187 drug overdose deaths this past year in Charleston. In South Carolina there were 2,296 drug overdose deaths in 2022. Let’s make June a month we decided to do something to change that number. Everyone attending will receive a free Narcan kit and free training.

June is the gateway to summer. Let’s make June a fun gateway to worship, service, fellowship and friends!

Summer time and the living is easy…and blessed, I hope!

Pastor Tom

WE BIRTHED THAT BABY!

 

It was a long and very busy 9 months but that baby finally arrived! This past Saturday witnessed the wonderful arrival of the Festival of Hope “baby”! She arrived in the blazing sun. She was a little under weight but just as beautiful as she could be. I am, of course, talking about the Festival of Hope…that is the beautiful baby!

The Festival of Hope was everything we dreamed it could be with the exception of attendance being a little lower that anticipated. Pastor Kyle estimates that we had close to 700 guests, over 75 volunteers and maybe 111 people at the 38 Vendors of Hope booths! We gave out over 900 of the entrance wrist bands!

I walked up to one family and asked if they were having a good time. With a big smile on her face she just kept saying “They gave me new clothes for my baby!” I asked another person if they were enjoying the day and the event. She smiled and said “Yep, I just signed up for my first session of counseling therapy!” I am hoping there are hundreds of stories similar to these two.

This was probably the largest mission event JIBC has tackled in quite a while. Pastor Kyle and the amazing platoon of volunteers did an outstanding job. They dealt with the heat, met scores of people, blessed in Jesus’ name, networked with other helping organizations, etc. This day went about as well as I could ever have expected it to! Well done, good and faithful servants, well done!

Now, ready for the topping on top of the pie? One of the larger organizations told me they want to do this event next year. They wanted Kyle to meet with them at a later date to tell them how we put on this Festival of Hope. Oh my, we get to infuse the Spirit of the Lord and His creativity and someone else foots the bill and does the heavy lifting! Amen and Hallelujah!

Thank you again to our church leaders, Finance Team and our members for being willing to take on the spiritual giants.

Blessings in the Name above all names, Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord!

Pastor Tom

TAKING ON THE GIANTS

You know the story of David and Goliath.  Goliath thought he was too big to hit and David thought Goliath was too big to miss!  So…David rocked Goliath’s world.  Check out the story in 1 Samuel 17.  David was told he was too little and Goliath was too big.  David changed the field of battle when he said:  “I come to you in the Name of the LORD”.  The rest, as they say is history. 

Why take on the giants in our community? Because it is our community, it is the LORD’s community. JIBC has a great history of taking on some of the largest challenges in our community. Mental Health illness is a giant. There are 59 million adults with mental illness That is 23% of the population. Over 42 million adults have anxiety disorders and 31% of those have had anxiety disorders for most of their lifetime. Addiction affects 46 million adults in the United States. Major depression affects 4.8 million youth. That is almost 20% of youth. Mental Health America makes these stats known. If interested you can keep learning more and more. This is a BIG GIANT and you are taking it on at the Festival of Hope this Saturday, May 17.

Our goal is to help remove the stigma of mental health disease and raise the awareness of addiction-substance use disorders. The two of them often go together. The substance abuse is often used to self -medicate the pain and problems created by the mental health disease.

We have gathered over 35 Vendors of Hope that offer help to anyone interested in Mental Health and addiction; to anyone needing resources to help; to anyone needing to network with others with like-minded missions. Doing this in a family friendly environment is one way to help remove the stigma. Families can come and enjoy good music, good food, fun inflatables and meet over 35 Vendors of Hope working to make our community better…to fight some of the giants.

By the way, who was the greatest babysitter in the Bible? David of course. He rocked Goliath to sleep! Just remember if God puts a Goliath in front of you, He must believe there is a David inside of you! Thanks for being a church family that takes on the giants. I love you all!

Pastor Tom

The Final Countdown

For all of the Rocky Balboa fans, think “the final countdown”. Rocky is going to the Soviet Union to fight Drago, the man that seems to be more machine than man. Rocky increases his training to almost super human levels. Rocky goes all in, no turning back, no throwing in the towel. What follows is one of the all-time classic fight scenes in Hollywood history. And of course, Rocky wins. He makes a plea for change and unity. His haunting cry in the ring “Everybody can change!” That is a little Gospel nugget right there.

OK, maybe a little over the top. The Festival of Hope is nearing the final countdown. On Saturday, May 17 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM JIBC will host what may be the largest gathering of Hope Vendors in the Charleston area. Our goal is to take on Drago, a giant in our community: Mental Health Issues and Addictions/Substance Use Disorders. I know, it is a giant of a problem. I think we have done everything we know to do in reference to putting this family friendly Festival of Hope together. There will be approximately 35 Vendors of Hope from a wide variety of agencies, organizations, ministries, counselors, trauma specialists, Veterans support groups, children’s services, and on and on.

What is left to do? 1) Pray that the Spirit of God will move the hearts of hundreds if not thousands to attend. Let them be mysteriously interested and moved to be a part of this event. 2) Attend. Bring family and friends. We all have issues and have family and friends with issues. There will be a plethora of resources available to help get us connected. (I don’t get to use the word plethora a lot!) 3) We still need around 50 volunteers to give us the ability to cover all the areas adequately. To volunteer, please text Pastor Kyle at 919-218-4455.

By the way, the energetic song “The Final Countdown” is not the soundtrack for Rocky IV. It sounds like it should have been and it will forever be in my mind as a motivational song. See you this Sunday as we continue with the “I Believe” series. This Sunday will be “I believe in God the Father, Almighty, maker of Heaven and earth”.

Pastor Tom

LESS THAN THREE WEEKS!

It seems like so long ago that we began dreaming and planning for the Festival of Hope. But here it is less that three weeks away. Here are the basics. The Festival of Hope is one way to help remove the stigma of mental health illness and to raise awareness of addiction, substance use disorders. How could we do this on a large scale? That was the question. Then we started with the idea of having a “Festival of Hope”. We would invite Vendors of Hope to join us. These are individuals and organizations that would join us and advertise and promote what they do to help bring hope. We have counselors, the Charleston Center, National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI), Wake Up Carolina, Lowcountry Behavioral, Connie Maxwell, Warrior Surf Foundation, His Radio, James Island Outreach, etc, etc. I could not be more pleased with the “buy in” and enthusiastic desire to be a part of this day of hope.

We are providing a family environment that in itself will go a long way to removing the stigma of mental health. We are not hiding our mental health issues; we are building a festival around them! A person would be able to stop by any of the booths to meet the Vendors of Hope. There will be lots of giveaways, free food and the best music on the Island from our friends Wildflower Station! We will begin at 10:00 am with a patriotic ceremony featuring a color guard and the singing of the National Anthem. The first 1000 people get vouchers to eat free or to have a shaved Kona ice treat or a coffee from “Tom’s Coffee Truck”. Btw, that is a different Tom…not me!

So, who should come to the Festival of Hope? It is not a stretch to say everyone. We all have struggles we live with. Some have minor mental health struggles and some are more serious. We all know someone who has addiction issues. Addiction can be more that drugs and alcohol. Meeting these Vendors of Hope may help us know resources that can help. Seeing all the resources God has put together in one place may be exactly what some need. Let’s hope so. Janie and I plan to be there volunteering where ever Pastor Kyle needs help. Hope to see you there too!

Pastor Tom

Why The Festival of Hope and Why for Me?

Those are fair questions. Why are we producing, promoting and pushing this Festival of Hope, May 17 from 10 AM to 2 PM? It has long been on my heart to find a way to help remove the stigma of mental health issues and to raise awareness of addictions/substance use disorders. It is my belief that a very large percentage of addiction issues are rooted in mental health issues. (By the way, I don’t think all mental health issues end in addictions). I do believe almost all addictions (drugs, alcohol, shopping, gambling, sexual addictions, etc.) are fueled by an undiagnosed or untreated mental health issue. My prayer is that we could help find a way to remove the stigma of mental health issues and make it easier for everyone to seek help and be supported.

Now, how does that relate to you? I suspect most of us know someone struggling with mental health illness and/or addictions. We might not know of resources to help them. The Festival of Hope is assembling what may be the biggest one time gathering of helping ministries in the Charleston area. The list includes what I call all the heavy hitters: The Charleston Center, National Alliance of Mental Illness, Steadfast Recovery Ministries, Charleston Teen and Family EMPOWER, Charleston HOPE, Connie Maxwell Children Ministries, Lowcountry Biblical Counseling Center, Barrier Island Free Clinic, Wake Up Carolina, Warrior Surf Foundation, The Navigation Center, and on and on. Our goal is to have 40 of these Vendors of Hope who are all on board with our mission.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness shares the following: 1 out of 5 adults experience mental illness each year; 706,000 adults in South Carolina have a mental health condition; 1 in 6 youth experience a mental health disorder each year; over 200,000 adults in South Carolia did not receive needed mental health care. The numbers can go on and on. I think we get the point. Perhaps many of us have been there or at least know someone we love who has been there. We are gathering 40 of our city’s best resources to be available at no charge. Talk to a counselor, stop by a find out what that agency does, connect with people who are making a difference.

Now, let’s say your life is free from anything described above. Why is the Festival of Hope for you? We want you to come and volunteer. Be a greeter, help park cars, serve food, rub shoulders, encourage the Vendors of Hope, etc. Invite, invite, and invite. Our goal is 1,000 people. We are ready for 2,000! Pray that we continue to find favor with God and man!

See you Sunday,

Pastor Tom

WHAT TO DO ABOUT EASTER?

 For many churches Easter Sunday/Resurrection Sunday is the largest attended service of the year. And for good reason…it is celebrating and remembering the greatest event in history. It makes sense to do everything you can possibly do to be present in worship on Resurrection Sunday. I look forward to hearing the beautiful echo “He is risen!” and “He is risen indeed!”. It is a once in history event that breaks the power of sin, defeats the grave, and removes the sting of death! He is risen…He is risen indeed.

Try to join us this Resurrection Sunday. Invite your family to come and sit with you. Invite them to worship and to a meal afterwards. The invitation to join you for this years Easter Worship Service will probably be enough. If you add a meal into the invitation, it is almost a sure bet they will join you. I will be sharing a clear and basic message of salvation.

FLOWERING OF THE CROSS

For years now, we have been carrying on a lovely tradition called “Flowering the Cross” . We invite everyone to bring some flowers to put on a specially designed cross. You can bring flowers from your own yard or in my case, from a neighbor’s yard…with their permission of course! We also pick up a small bouquet from Costco or our local grocery store! It creates a lovely picture symbolizing what Jesus did: he died on the old rugged cross and by His death and resurrection, made the cross a part of the Greatest Story Ever Told. Don’t forget it makes a beautiful backdrop for pictures!

By the way, if you get this Messenger before Saturday, Todd Holseberg will be putting out pine straw around the church to spruce the campus up a bit! He would love to have some help! He will start at 8:00 AM.

See you this Resurrection Sunday, good Lord willing!

Pastor Tom

SIX WEEK COUNTDOWN: FESTIVAL OF HOPE ON MAY 17

SIX WEEK COUNTDOWN:

FESTIVAL OF HOPE ON MAY 17

By the time you are reading this article, we will be less than 5 weeks from The Festival of Hope. Almost a year ago, I felt God laying this idea on my heart. There were two things I wanted to see happen. First, I wanted to find a way to help remove the stigma of mental health problems. Second, I wanted to raise awareness of addictions, substance use disorders. My observation over the years is that mental health issues and addictions are closely connected. There are times where we are trying to self-medicate our undiagnosed or untreated mental health issues. So maybe, just maybe, we could have a Festival of Hope that would help accomplish those two goals.

Pastor Kyle has been doing an outstanding job or leading in this mission. We have almost 35 helping agencies that are on board with us planning to participate in the Festival of Hope. We have more joining every week. We secured one of the best locations on James Island. First Baptist Church of Charleston has graciously allowed us to use their athletic complex including parking and the football field. We have our favorite group, Wildflower Station, that will be singing twice. We have the America Legion kicking off the day with their Honor Guard and the National Anthem. We have guest politicians. There will be free food and options for food trucks (hopefully at reduced cost or no cost!). We call the agencies and groups that will be present “VENDORS OF HOPE”. Each of them brings something unique to the world of mental health issues and addictions. We intentionally made it a family friendly event to help move us toward removing the stigma of mental health issues and substance use disorders (addictions). It will be the biggest event of this kind to ever be hosted on James Island. We are having it rain or shine.

What can you do?

ONE, pray. Pray for people to come. My worst nightmare is that we throw a huge party/event like this and the crowds do not come. We are hoping and working toward having over 1000 people present. We have professionals helping us to reach and exceed that goal.

TWO, plan to attend. It will be a fun and very interesting event. Come and say hello to the community resources that help make Charleston a better place to live!

THREE, volunteer. We will need help with parking, safety, food service, greeting, setup and tear down, volunteer at the inflatables, registration and first aid.

FOUR, invite someone to come with you.

FINAL COUNTDOWN TO THE FESTIVAL OF HOPE. “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Amen!

Pastor Tom

For more info, visit hopeforcharleston.com

FESTIVAL OF HOPE

REMOVING THE STIGMA

MAY 17, 2025 FROM 10:00 TO 2:00

FBC ATHLETIC FIELDS

2051 George L Griffith Blvd

An inadequate mental health system affects individuals, families and communities. That is one reason we are hosting and promoting one of the largest health care events ever to be held on James Island. My heart was touched by the goal of removing the stigma of mental health illnesses and at the same time, raising awareness of substance use disorders/addictions. It is my belief that almost all addictions are driven by some type of mental health issue. But not all mental health illnesses lead to addictions…if that makes sense?

Take a look at these statistics supplied by NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness). High school students with depression are 2X more likely to drop out than their peers. 56% of South Carolinians age 12-17 who have depression did not receive any care in the last year. Many homeless people live with a serious mental illness that leads to their homelessness. In the USA 1 person dies of suicide every 11 minutes. There are 2 million jail bookings of people with serious mental illness each year.

I know I cannot accomplish these two goals in just one Festival of Hope…but we can try. You miss all of the shots you don’t take. We are taking this big shot from half-court. It is a big, really big plan. To God be the glory, He has shown us favor is so many areas. We have almost 30 of the leading agencies, services, ministries, organizations in the Lowcountry participating. We have a back up plan if it rains; a football and soccer field at First Baptist Church Recreation facility to use; one of James Island’s favorite bands playing; free food and drinks; vendors that all are working to help bring hope into the lives of all people regardless of race, creed or background. Inflatables for the children!

What can you do? #1) Pray for over 1,000 to attend and for great weather. #2) Plan to attend and bring someone you love. We all know a family that struggles. We are bringing the Vendors of Hope together in one place. You might never see this again! #3) Volunteer to help in one of the dozen ways: greeters, parking, shuttle, runner, servers, set up or take down, etc.

See you Sunday, good Lord willing,

Pastor Tom

Policies and Procedures in the Prevention of Child Abuse

For years, even decades, JIBC has had taken Prevention of Child Abuse seriously. We have made it a part of our Class 101:Discovering Membership at JIBC. Our staff has received additional training from area attorneys. We were doing our best long before it was and “church industry” standard. My how things have changed.

Our insurance carrier asked to see a copy of our Policies and Procedures in the Prevention of Child Abuse. They are requiring that we make important and significant additions to our existing policies and procedures. To the point, they will not provide coverage if we do not make these changes in our training and policies. We think that is a very good thing. It is, however, a much more involved process of training all volunteers. It is even more involved for those of us in leadership positions that recruit and train volunteers.

Under the new guidelines from our insurance company, in addition to background checks for anyone working with preschool, children, youth or vulnerable adults they will also receive a copy of our Child Abuse Prevention Policy and will need to sign a form stating they will abide by the policy.

All volunteers and teachers in the Day School will be required to complete an on-line training video course (approximately 1 hour long) and take a short quiz. All Staff and volunteers who are part of the enlistment process will be required to complete a more detailed on-line training video course (approximately 2 hours long) and take a short quiz.

This will not be new to anyone volunteering in the public school system or to anyone who goes to camp as a counselor. Logan’s volunteers have been doing this for a few years now.

This article is just to give our church a “heads up” that this is indeed coming. It is a good thing and we fully support this requirement. I am grateful for the insurance company giving us the info we needed to do our best!

See you Sunday, good Lord willing,

Pastor Tom

“THINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS AS THEY APPEAR”

Perhaps many of us have seen an event that we were sure was exactly as we saw it. Example: you see a grown man run up and physically tackle another man. It appears as if an assault just took place. The reality of this story is “not so fast”. The man who tackled the other man saved his life. He jumped, at risk to his own life, to save the other man from an oncoming out of control automobile. All the other misunderstandings assigned a bad motive and a bad action to something that was rather heroic.

Jesus was arrested, falsely accused, beaten and crucified. To make their point even more brutal, they buried him and put a group of guards around his grave to make sure no one took his body. Point is “things are not always what they seem”. They only knew half of the story…the death and burial. From their perspective, death was final. No one walks away from a Roman crucifixion. The Jew from Nazareth is dead. Not so fast. That was Friday but they forgot Sunday is coming. They forgot the prophecies; they ignored Jesus’ own testimony. On the Third Day Jesus was raised to life defeating sin, death and the grave. Things were not as they seem.

We see from our perspective. We may need to ask God to help us see from His perspective. What seems to us to be a sure thing, we could not be mistaken, I saw it with my own eyes could in fact be not the whole story. Give God a moment to finish His work. Things are not always as they seem. It would be arrogance to think our way of seeing things is always right. After all, dead men don’t walk again or talk again. Problem is that just is not true. God was up to something. Why not pause and see what it might be. Things are not always as they seem. Just because we do not see it does not mean it is not so. You may be down but you might not be out if God is in the plan.

Blessings to you. See you Sunday, good Lord willing,

Pastor Tom

 

 

Journey To The Cross

LORD’S SUPPER THIS SUNDAY, MARCH 16

This coming Sunday, March 16, we will celebrate with the Lord’s Supper. We are currently going through the Gospel of Mark on Sunday mornings. This week the passage happens to be Mark 14:12-26. The Lord’s Supper. Jesus was on His Journey To The Cross. On the way, He gives to His followers an ordinance the Church has kept for over 2000 years. Whether you call it The Lord’s Supper, Communion or The Eucharist, believers have been obediently observing this ordinance. We do this in “Remembrance of Him”. I hope you will be able to join us this week as we remember the great sacrifice of our Heavenly Father and the obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ.

IT'S NOT TOO LATE

This past Sunday we put the Annie Armstrong, North American Missions prayer guide in the worship bulletin. This little brochure will offer us 8 different missionaries and their families to support in prayer. Each little vignette will give you a short detail about the missionary and several ways to pray for them. We also encourage you to consider a financial gift to help support North American Missions. Just a reminder: North America has 386 million people, speaking 350 languages (We have 3 languages here at JIBC) and has 61 Unreached People Groups. It is estimated that 286 million are spiritually lost. Let’s join together in prayer!

IT STARTED SUNDAY

This past Sunday was the first official Sunday of the new Slavic Church starting at JIBC. Although they have been meeting here for the last 2 months, this past Sunday was their first as the new “Zion Church”. Their commission is to reach out to all Slavic peoples in the greater Charleston area. To God be the glory! They are currently meeting in the Youth Assembly/Worship room. Right now, they are having around 20 people attend. These are primarily the leader’s family. Let’s pray with them as they reach out to win precious souls to Jesus. Amen!

See you Sunday, good Lord willing,

Pastor Tom

LAST WEEK WE DID A THING

On Friday night, February 28, JIBC kind of did a thing. Actually, we did a thing again, and again. Now this is the third time we kind of did that thing.

On Friday night, February 28, we hosted an evening meal for our church leaders, the leaders of the Ukrainian Church, and the Ukrainian leaders from their “sending/sponsoring” church in Charlotte, NC. Almost two months ago, a small group of young adult Ukrainian believers showed up in worship at JIBC. They were welcomed and well loved. They went on to share that they were looking for a place they could meet for worship, discipleship and mission. We began a series of talks with them and started doing our due diligence allowing us to know them better. Everything we considered looked like it was put together by our Heavenly Father. They have actually been meeting at 11:00 every Sunday morning. They meet in the Youth/Student Worship Center after the Students are dismissed and leave to attend JIBC worship. They are easy to spot. They are the ones singing in Ukrainian language! Lol

Our leaders were asked to be in prayer and come prepared to hear the story of the Ukrainian group. You know we don’t really “vote” on many things. Instead, we ask “What do you sense God is doing and do you sense God is in this situation?”. That is the better question. Not “What do I want or what does anyone want?”. We only seek to discern what does God want. We have been blessed with a pretty good track record having hosted a Chinese Church family that grew to over 100 here at JIBC. And it is happening again with the Hispanic Church who is also reaching about 100 people per week. Now, let’s see if we can help provide fertile soil for the Ukrainians so they may reach 100 Slavic people living in the greater Charleston area.

Yep, we did a thing and agreed to welcome the Ukrainian Church to the JIBC campus and the JIBC family. We celebrated with food and observed the Lord’s Supper together. To God be the glory and may we see many come to know Jesus as Lord and our Great God as their Heavenly Father.

Next? Who knows. We did not manufacture this one, we were just trying to be ready when we saw Him working. As our old buddy says “You can’t make the wave, you can only ride it.”

See you Sunday, good Lord willing.

Pastor Tom

SOMETIMES YOU ARE THE WINDSHIELD AND SOMETIMES YOU ARE THE BUG!

That is an old saying that rings true for a lot of us. Sometimes you are on your game. All is well, the wind is at your back and the sun in your face. That is when you are the windshield. Then comes the time you feel more like the bug who meets the windshield with a sudden and abrupt stop! Splat. On occasion, there are events and happenings that are less than stellar. You would not choose them if you had a choice. Splat…the bug hits the windshield.

Janie and I were traveling to Savannah to watch our grandson’s team play. We never know if he will make it to the mound or not. So, we go, make a nice day out of it and enjoy Savannah. This time we were the bug…splat. Somewhere in the middle of beautiful country, a Tom Turkey decided to test out the windshield and bug theory. Splat. We hit the big old gobbler at 55 miles per hour. He was running at full speed perhaps trying to out run whatever was chasing him. He did not look left or right only straight ahead. That proved to be a fatal error: we hit him so hard he did not say gobble gobble, he said wobble wobble!

It sounded just like we hit a frozen solid butterball turkey. Poor guy survives Thanksgiving only to be made into a gobbler cobbler. It begs the question why did the turkey cross the road? Maybe to prove he was not chicken. Bad move, very bad move. We did not call the police even though there was fowl play involved.

“But Thou, LORD are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head.” Psalm 3:3 We were so blessed he ran across and did not fly across into the windshield. No airbags deployed and the only one injured was the poor turkey. The car damage can be repaired and all the feathers can be plucked from the headlight and grill. We are blessed, even when we are on occasion the bug. His blessings are a shield around us all. To God be the glory.

Remember, it is not just the deer you are watching out for. I will chip in $10 if someone will put up a “Turkey Crossing” sign.

Love you all, see you Sunday, good Lord willing!

Pastor Tom

Unpleasant at first and then it got better!

Wouldn’t you agree that at times, somethings start off not so good but they tend to get better with time? My wife, Janie, had a knee replacement a month ago. The doctor told her he did not know when she would be ready for the knee replacement, but assured her she would know. He was spot on with that little nugget of wisdom.

So, the surgery was scheduled, performed, went great with no issues. Now, to the recovery. It was a little unpleasant at first but then it got better. She was a great patient and did what her doctor and physical therapist said to do. She took her meds, did the exercises, iced it regularly and walked as prescribed. It helped that she had an outstanding home health care provider! It was, as I said, a little unpleasant at first and then it got better. She is not back to her normal free range of motion but she can tell it is coming soon. She is doing more and more each day. I have a note that says she is completely cleared for operating ovens and such! I wrote the note, but it is a note none the less.

Sometimes on our spiritual journeys we come across things that may be a little unpleasant at first and then it gets better. Like apologizing to someone. Ugh, it can be a little like swallowing a bitter pill…and then, it got better. Stopping an old habit that has been a part of your routine can be a little unpleasant at first. Then it starts to get better and better. Practicing new spiritual disciplines can be a little uncomfortable at first, like a new pair of shoes that are a little too tight. Just a little unpleasant and then it gets better.

Don’t be afraid to try something just because it starts out being a little unpleasant. Prayer, Bible Study, having Sabbath rest, confession, giving generously, not having to have the last word…they all might take a little practice…and then, it gets better.

So, back to Janie. When ever she wants to do something new for her knee recovery, I just look at her and say “Knees-see does it!”

Love you all, see you Sunday, good Lord willing.

Pastor Tom

FESTIVAL OF HOPE

You may have heard a little about this big event, The Festival of Hope. I had one of those heart burns from our Heavenly Father. It involved finding a way to help remove the stigma of mental health issues and to raise the awareness of substance abuse disorders (addictions). It has been my observation that mental health issues can be one of the main pathways to substance abuse. We know we are hurting or that something is not right, so we are tempted to self-medicate with our drug of choice, food, shopping, gambling, isolation, drinking, etc.

Why be concerned about this? This is too big of a problem for little James Island Baptist to take on by ourselves. It might be too big for us but it is not too big for God. This is a Community Giant that we can take on. Did you know: 1 in5 adults experience mental illness each year; 1 in 20 adults experience serious mental illness each year; 1 in 6 youth experience a mental health disorder each year; more than half of people with mental health condition did not receive any treatment. I think you get the picture. Jesus came that we may have life and have it abundantly. Let’s help those with mental health issues and substance abuse disorders experience God’s abundant life.

What would I like you to do? Number one, put the FESTIVAL OF HOPE event on your prayer list. Let us seek the Lord’s favor. We have over 20 “Vendors of Hope” signed up to be a part of this event. These are groups like The Charleston Center, James Island Outreach, Wake Up Charleston, Still Worthy, Palmetto Hope, Gideons International, Warrior Surf Foundation, and on and on. These Vendors of Hope will be present to talk, counsel, share information, connect with other vendors, ask and answer questions, etc.

THE FESTIVAL OF HOPE will be held Saturday, May 17th at the First Baptist Athletic Complex 2051 George L Griffith Blvd here on James Island. There will be live music, free food, and inflatables for kids. HIS RADIO will be present with Charleston Southern University. At their booth, you can register for a later drawing for a free car!

Let’s help remove the stigma of mental health illness and raise awareness of Substance Abuse Disorders. Big? Oh, yeah, this is really big. It will be the biggest event of its kind on James Island. This is Goliath BIG. But not bigger that God! So, #1 put it on your prayer list; #2 put it on your calendar May 17, 10 AM to 2 PM; #3 plan to attend and bring a friend; #4 consider volunteering for one of the teams (parking, safety, cooking, inflatables, etc.

I love a God sized challenge.

Pastor Tom

ACROSS THE STREET, ACROSS THE STATE, ACROSS THE OCEAN

In Acts 1:8 we read a beautifully inspired and very interesting verse. The basic idea is that when you receive God’s Holy Spirit you will be witnesses for him in Jerusalem (at home), in Judea (still close to home but different) in Samaria (OK, the differences are more obvious) and the uttermost part of the world (now we are talking different). So basically, we are doing outreach and loving on people if they are across the street, across the bridge, across the state line or across the ocean blue!

We get to see that lived out here at James Island Baptist. You love your neighbors well. We give literally a ton of jelly and pancake syrup to our underserved neighbors on James Island. We also give thousands of dollars to help pay utilities, buy medicine, etc. Several of our members volunteer in service and go face to face with neighbors!

We also do across the bridge. We have one Connection Group that prepares “mercy bags” to help those who hold up cardboard signs at intersections. They have put together a strategic list of items homeless people might need. We got the list from some of our formally homeless friends!

This past Sunday we had maybe around 40 Ukrainians worshipping and praying at JIBC. When I walked up to say hello after our service they said “Hi Pastor Tom, we just finished praying for you and your church family!” Most of the Ukrainians come from across the river.

We just sent our fourth truck load of blessings to Western North Carolina. Charles and Judy Dillon and Chip were here for a few days. One of our Connection Groups put together a drive and got us going to give 21 tanks of propane; Dean Kelly gave carpet to outfit at least 10 of the mini homes; JIBC sent tea urns, baking pans, 50 Bibles, bags of children’s materials, on and on. You sent Charles and Judy with us on their first mission trip to New Orleans after Katrina. They loved it so much they have served as volunteers for the last 20 years. Now they are in Western North Carolina. That was a great investment!

Sunday, we had a commissioning service for Amanda and Lyla. They are going to Uganda, Africa. It would take me a minute to find Uganda. But they are going in Jesus’ Name and we wanted to bless them in their Great Commission Trip. Keep them in your prayers. God provided them with enough money to purchase hundreds of Bibles for the children at the orphanage.

So, we continually focus outward: across the street, across the bridges, across the state line and across the ocean blue. Reason Number 7,893 why I love our church family! Well done good and faithful servants, well done.

Pastor Tom

What is next?

What are the next things happening for our JIBC family? There are what I call the basic mission and ministry of the church. We will always be busy making disciples that make disciples that change our community and world. Our goal is to bring those who don’t know Him into FELLOWSHIP in His family; help them grow and SPIRITUALLY MATURE to be more like Jesus; help then FIND A PLACE OF SERVICE to help His Body, the church, grow; to help them be OUTWARD FOCUSED ALWAYS BEING ON MISSION; and TO WORSHIP HIM in our daily life and our weekly gathering! That will always be “What’s next!”

Part of “What is next?” is our seeking God’s will and timing about hosting a Ukrainian Church family. We are in prayerful talks about starting a Slavic Church family that would meet here at JIBC. This would be a church family focused on reaching any of the Russian Speaking groups in the Greater Charleston Area. We are currently doing our due diligence work. At this point, everything we think we need to know is checking out. A small group has already been worshipping with us for a month or so and a small group is already meeting in the Youth Room while we are meeting in the Worship Center. The next big step is a meeting between our leaders and their leaders and families. I would like for our leaders to hear their stories and be able to explore this possible mission. That will most likely happen around a meal and the Lord’s Supper. Some of the leaders from their “sending” church in Charlotte may be able to meet with us for this meeting. I think this is a good thing and looks exactly like what we have seen God do here n the past. More to come as news develops.

The third part of “What is next?” may refer to a couple of building related projects. We started the Kitchen Renovation a while back. All the equipment was bought, new paint and better shelving installed. Now, there is still some work to complete. Pastor Kyle will be assembling the team to make that happen. When that starts (and we have no starting date) it will require shutting the kitchen down for a week or two. We believe the changes will help our Kitchen Krew have a better place to do their culinary magic!

What’s next…that will keep us busy for a while. I just received a phone call from a friend of a different denomination asking if I knew of a contact in Western North Carolina that his church family could work with. Just happens that Charles and Judy Dillon, along with Chip, are in town for a few days. I love the way He works.

Pastor Tom

Necessary Endings

Necessary endings are a normal occurrence in our lives. Some things have to end to make room for the other things we want in our lives to happen. So is the case with our team member, David Martin Jr. From the first time we met David Jr we tried to hire him to be a part of our church staff. His preference then, as it is now, was to be on staff as a consultant. It may surprise you to know David Jr is not technically a member of our staff or a member of JIBC. That never changed the amount of love and respect we have for him or his level of commitment and love to us.

It is with a mix of gratitude and love that we announce David Martin Jr.'s departure from our Worship and Audio Visual Technical Team at James Island Baptist Church. I think David Jr. preferred the title “Creative Strategist.” David Jr’s last Sunday on the Worship Team will be January 26. He may continue on helping make the technical transition for a bit longer. David is stepping away to embark on the next chapter of his life with his wife, following their recent marriage.

David has been a cherished member of our team, both on and off the stage. His powerful voice has been a staple in our worship services, and his contributions to our technical production—whether behind the scenes in live streaming, sound, or technical projects—have been invaluable. Many of his efforts, though unseen by the congregation, were a crucial part of our worship experience. The countless hours he spent in preparation and execution were a true testament to his dedication and passion for serving God through the church.

We are grateful for all that David has given to our ministry, and though we will miss him, we understand that this is a positive step for him and his new life together with his wife. We celebrate what God has done through David’s service here and are excited for the future he’s stepping into. We will anticipate with faith what our Father has instore for JIBC as well. We are also thankful that David’s father, David Martin Sr., remains on staff as our main worship pastor, ensuring that our worship ministry continues to thrive.

Please join us in expressing our deep gratitude to David Jr. for his dedicated service. As he steps into this new season of life, we will be praying for God’s guidance, blessings, and provision in his journey with his wife. David, thank you for everything—your heart, your voice, and your commitment to our church. We pray that God continues to lead you both in all that lies ahead, and we trust He will use you in powerful ways. You will always have a home here, and we look forward to seeing the amazing things God has in store for you.

Pastor Tom

DON’T HOLD IT AGAINST ME, PLEASE!

What was Noah’s greatest fear? A pair of termites. Get the hint where this is going yet? I will try another: What do termites like on their toast? Window Jamb. OK, one more: What did the termite say to the JIBC stained glassed window? It was nice gnawing on you!

Ok, whether you put it together or not here is the scoop. A few weeks back we discovered one of the windows in the church worship center had termites.

We called the termite company and they came to inspect it. Thank you Jesus, it did seem limited to that one window and it did not look like the termites were active. So far, part of that last sentence seems to be true. It does seem limited to one window but they were still active. So, we have the right people on the job. They had to take down the entire window frame and remove the stain glass window completely from the window. Incredible what skilled people can do! We have one crew from Auburn AV installing sound treatment panels and one crew from Axis Construction (Wilson Walpole) taking care of the window. We are grateful for both teams skillfully doing their jobs. I am also thankful for our church being so blessed with generous givers that this can be taken care of without upsetting or straining the church budget. Many of us remember the days when that was not the case. Thank you Father, the Giver of every good and perfect gift. We will keep you in the loop as progress is being made.

I cannot say for sure, but I thought I heard the termites singing “Shall we gather by the window?” When I went closer to see what was going on, I saw a little cowboy termite. He said his name was Clint…Clint Eatswood. It was the last termite I talked to that really made me mad. I asked him what he was doing here. He said he first went to the Sports Bar across the street. He asked the termite next to him “Where is the bar tender?” The other termite said “No where here, you might find something at the Baptist Church across the street!” I do not want to hear them quoting Psalm 122:1.

Please, don’t hold it against me. It helps to laugh a little. And this is about as little as you are going to laugh.

Pastor Tom

 

And just like that!

For me, the worst part of Christmas is when it is over. And just like that it was over. Our Orthodox friends get to stretch it out to January 6. I might end up adopting that tradition!

Remember the Advent season for us is the frame work we use to Focus our Worship on Our Heavenly Father and out Lord Jesus; it is the opportunity we have to give generously to our Mission Partners like Low Country Pregnancy, James Island Outreach, Helene Recovery and Lottie Moon International Missions offering; and third, it is an opportunity to celebrate! We sing great music, hear great stories, enjoy special meals, see friends and family, etc. To me Christmas is a great big birthday party celebrating the birth of our Savior.

This Christmas season you were so generous in your giving. You gave over 220 jars of jelly and over 120 bottles of pancake syrup! James Island Outreach has already come to pick that up and give it out! You gave a small mountain of diapers and baby wipes for the Lowcountry Pregnancy Center. These will make such a significant difference to those who receive them. You went over the top by giving just over $4000 worth of gift cards going to Western Carolina families. The Cowboy Church we worked with will be distributing these cards to families in need. You also gave a wonderfully generous gift to The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions supporting over 3, 500 full time missionaries around the world. As of this writing, the total amount given is $12,400. You supported missions across the street, across the state line and across the oceans! Yay God. And last but not least, the Christmas Eve offering was $4,375 that will also go to missions. We are trying to find out what it will cost to “upfit” the mini homes the Mennonites are building for Hurricane Helene victims in WNC. I think we will use this amount to help purchase a few heaters, a mini-refrigerators and cots! Our friend Charles Dillion is checking on that for us. (Btw, please pray for Judy dealing with a kidney issue. They are traveling to Alabama to meet with her doctors).

Well, just like that, Christmas 2024 is over. Already looking forward to Christmas 2025!

Love you all,

Pastor Tom