FALL FESTIVAL HERE WE COME

The largest JIBC event of the year is just around the corner: Fall Festival, Thursday, October 31! We have been doing this Fall Festival for 34 years. It has grown in every way. Let me take a few moments and go over some of the basics about this community outreach event.

First, from year one, we designed Fall Festival to go head to head with the traditional Halloween. We intended to offer a family friendly, safer, fun event for families with children. It is a free event so absolutely everyone can afford to attend. Underserved and economically challenged families can come and have a great time, lots of fun, get plenty of candy and it is FREE!

Second, I understand that those who love Halloween don’t like us offering this alternative. Sorry about that but we like a good clean and fun party! I also understand those who feel the history of Halloween is sketchy and therefore want to stay as far away from anything related to Halloween. Here is my response: Psalm 118 “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it”. The fact that some use this day for evil is all the more reason for us to stake our claim…this is the day the Lord has made. We serve a mighty God. He doesn’t run away; He does not negotiate with evil; He does not give up a day He made because someone does something wrong on that day. I spent my ministry leading and equipping our church family to do more than curse the darkness, wring our hands and lament how bad things are. Jesus is the Light of the world. He said you and I, as His followers, are the light! So, let your light so shine! Let them see our good works and give glory to God. No telling who you are helping to rescue by offering a family friendly option. By the way, for our volunteers…you do notice that we absolutely do not have vampires, walking dead, bloody costumes or decorations. I am aware of the dark side of Halloween and want us to stay clear of promoting it but go head to head in offering alternatives.

Third, this is a volunteer intensive event. We still need about 50 more volunteers. We have sitting jobs, game jobs, registration, candy delivering, clean up, booths for preschool games, childrens games, active, passive, set up, take down…we need you. Sunday, the green information sheets should have a list of areas where we still need volunteers.

See you Sunday as we continue our way through Ephesians!

Pastor Tom

WHAT A FULL AND WONDERFUL DAY!

I want to say thank you to our staff for making the Elevator Dedication and Celebration such a success. If the dedication part of the service seemed a little too funny rather than all seriousness, please forgive me. My thinking was that the whole process took so long that we need some humor, laughter and joy to help remember the beautiful thing that was accomplished. We thought and gathered and planned for over a year on how we would celebrate with joy, thankfulness and laughter. Our beloved Donnie Almond is the best sport in the world. My son, Bryon, came up with the name for the elevator: “The Donnie Almond Tower of Terror”. It was perfect. It was the winner in my heart for two reasons. First, Donnie represents a lot of what is great about James Island Baptist. He and Kitty have served faithfully for many years. Donnie has also been the recipient of many of my jokes…and I many of his. I have loved every minute of it. The second reason I loved the name is because it included something from my happy place…Disney World. If you have never been, The Tower of Terror is a popular ride at one of Disney’s parks. It involves an Elevator with quite the surprise! We will, by God’s good grace have none of those surprises in this elevator! We will try to send out a letter with all eleven elevator names that were suggested and submitted. You will love many of them, laugh at most of them and be touched by several of them.

Perhaps the most beautiful part of the Elevator Dedication and Celebration for me was as follows. Most of the people who contributed so generously to have an elevator will possibly never need it. They did not give to something that they themselves needed. They gave to those who are in wheel chairs, who have heart issues, have hip, knee or foot issues, balance problems, or any of the many problems that make stairs difficult. Again, that is what I love about JIBC.

I try not to make asking for funds a major part of our Sunday worship. The reality is you cannot put an elevator in just because it is a nice thing to do. At the end of the day and at the end of all the construction, it cost $170,000. Because you give generously we can, by God’s good grace and blessings, even attempt something of this nature. The elevator cost about 1/3 of the entire Daring Faith Renovations. Was it worth it? Just watch the next senior adult take the ride; watch when our first wheel chair guest or member freely goes up and down. Yes, it is worth it. Even though most of us may never have to use it…it is there for those who need it! Hallelujah and Amen! We are, if my calculations are correct, still right at $100,000 away from totally completing all parts of the Daring Faith Renovations. Let’s see if 2019-2020 can be the year we complete all the renovations and pay off all our debt.

See you Sunday, good Lord willing!

Pastor Tom

Elevator Celebration and Dedication This Sunday, October 6!

I so hope you can join us for this Sunday’s Celebration and Dedication of the Elevator. There will be four parts to the Celebration and Dedication. First, we will share all the names that were submitted for the name of the elevator. Some are hilarious and some are real groaners. The winning name will be loved by all! Second, we will have prayers of thanksgiving and dedication. Here is a wonderful truth you may not have realized. Most of us who gave sacrificially so we could have an elevator, will probably never have to use it out of necessity. You gave not because you needed it or will one day need it. You gave financially so others could benefit. You were a part of Daring Faith for the last two years because you believed in mission and ministry. Your giving made it possible for members and non-members to be able to go upstairs for Bible Study. You made it easier for those who have had surgeries or injuries to be able to go upstairs and serve in Awana. Your willingness to give generously made it possible for Senior adults who have never seen the upstairs to take a tour and see part of the church campus they could not see. Thank you. All gifts that have been given are appreciated. The reality is we could not install an elevator with a dollar here and a dollar there. Rather, many members gave generously to provide something that they themselves may never have to use. I love that about JIBC. Third, we will receive a thanksgiving offering and encourage our church family and friends to continue giving that we might end this third year of Daring Faith as strong and successfully as God grace allowed us to finish these past two years. Fourth, last but not least, we will reveal what was in the “time capsule” discovered behind the 1949 dedication marker that was opened. The 1949 dedication marker had to be removed in order to install the elevator. We discovered, so to speak, a copper box with items place in it years ago. Oh boy, were we surprised! I mean really, really surprised. We will have the items on display. We will also be taking suggestions for what should go back in the box for future generations to discover.

What a day of rejoicing that will be. Speaking of suggestions, if you missed last Sunday’s worship service, you missed, in my opinion, one of the best worship services ever at JIBC. David and our praise team did a great job and our congregation was ready to worship with joy! Then on Sunday night we had over 90 attend the Narcan Opioid Overdose training. It was, according to our presenter, the largest crowd they have ever had at one training event.

It was a great day to be a part of JIBC. To God be the glory!

Pastor Tom

Two Sundays, Twice the Fun

This Sunday, September 29 is Rosh Hoshanah. It is the Feast of the Trumpets you read about in Leviticus 23. In some ways it is like the Jewish New Year. We will be building our entire worship service around this call to a solemn assembly. It will be a time of prayer and celebration, a time of reflection and confession. This year, our Worship Pastor, David Martin will be blowing the Shofar. He plays the trumpet and has his own shofar…so it will be quite different from the time I blew the shofar! We will also be observing the Lord’s Supper this Sunday. Plan to join us and plan to invite someone. It will be a great worship service.

ELEVATOR DEDICATION AND CELEBRATION. On Sunday, October 6, we will have our Elevator Dedication and Celebration. You will want to be present as we share the names that have been suggested for naming the elevator! Some of them are so cute…others are…well, others are interesting. We will also be displaying the contents of the time capsule that was discovered in the wall when we were having the elevator installed!

Now, a couple of things about the elevator you might need to know. It is a limited use elevator. It is not the same kind of elevator you take to the top of the Empire State Building or at the local hospital. So, if you need to travel at super-sonic speed, this is not the elevator for you. It takes 30 seconds for this elevator to go from one floor to the next. In our world of instant everything, 30 seconds seems like forever. It is not…it is 30 seconds. Second, there is a switch that signals that the elevator is going up or going down. It makes a very low, sound about 10 seconds into the ride. It is supposed to sound like that. Then there is the sound of the motor. It is a very light humming sound. Again, normal and understandable. This is not a commercial elevator. It is much smaller and so you can hear the motor noise and the switch. All that being said, go ahead and hop on board! It should be a blessing to anyone needing help going up and down stairs.

See you Sunday, good Lord willing!

Pastor Tom

Elevator Dedication

There are two events coming up that I am very excited about. The first one…any guesses? If you guessed the opening and dedication of the elevator you would be correct. The elevator is in and, as far as we know and have experienced, it is in fine working order. I rode up Sunday night with Phyllis Croft, Wanda Browder, Betsy Helander and Mary Braxton. Hallelujah. So, it will be open this Sunday. Now, if all goes well, we are planning to have the Elevator Dedication Service on Sunday, October 6. That gives us a few weeks to take care of the finishing touches.

At that service, we will do three other exciting things. First, we will reveal all the Elevator names that have been submitted and will share the grand prize winner! Second, we will reveal the contents of the “time capsule” that had to be relocated in order to install the elevator. No one, as of this writing, has seen inside the time capsule. I do plan on having a meeting with some of our leaders for a sneak preview! Third, we will be taking suggestions on what to put into the new time capsule that will go into the new niche being made. Put those thinking caps on! What would you leave for future JIBC families to see and know about 2019 JIBC?

By the way, as the good Lord has blessed, would you consider making a special thanksgiving offering to Daring Faith: Renovation Believers and Buildings? The elevator took longer than anticipated, but it was one of the main features of Daring Faith. It is a great example of daring faith in this way: Some, not all, of the people who need the elevator the most might be unable to make significant offerings to help pay for such a ministry. Some of the sweet old saints that asked for an elevator so many years ago, had no idea that it would cost $125.00 a month for the security and safety features of the elevator. It really is an act of daring faith to give to a mission and ministry that hopefully, we will never have to use, but one that so many absolutely need. We have many people who have never been upstairs simply because they cannot handle stairs. Others have been temporarily kept from upstairs classes and ministries because of surgeries or injuries. Now, they have options!

That being said, as our Father has blessed and you are able to make a “thanksgiving offering” this would be a good time to do so. So far, we have been able to pay for all parts of the Daring Faith Renovations without borrowing money or paying any interest. That is always a good thing. Janie and I will have our offering ready on October 6. Thank you, Jesus.

See you this Sunday as we continue going through the Book of Ephesians!

Pastor Tom

IS IT JUST A RUMOR?

The Elevator, the long awaited Elevator is in! Somebody say “Hallelujah!”. Now, it is not quite ready and fully operational, but it is installed. We are working as hard as we can to coordinate a time for a dedication and celebration. There are still a few little items to be adjusted and addressed. But the wonderful reality is that the Elevator is installed! We will have a ribbon cutting and dedication as soon as we get the all clear signal and all the little details have been arranged. Thank you to all who made this possible. To God be the glory.

Let me share a little back story about the Elevator. It seems like such a long time ago we all participated in “Daring Faith: Renovating Believers and Renovating Buildings”. For 8 weeks we talked about, studied about and read what God’s Word said about faith. Our goal was to build believers who would walk by faith, act in faith and live by faith. The last four weeks of Daring Faith we talked about “Renovating Buildings” and how our Great God would pay for it. In that period of time our JIBC family and friends committed to giving over $600,000 toward the renovation mission. It is as if the Good Lord knew we would have cost overruns and unplanned additions to the renovation plans. With the elevator being completed, we are down to the home stretch. We only have the renovation of the two main hall restrooms and paying off the remaining debt. What a wonderful testimony to the goodness of God and the generosity of His people.

Now, could I make a bold request. Would you and your family talk about joining our Staff and Leadership Team in making a thanksgiving offering to celebrate the completion of the Elevator? Such a gift could be a onetime Thanksgiving Offering or a weekly or monthly gift. It may be that you were going to give a gift at some later time to Daring Faith. It would really help if you were able to give a gift sooner rather than later. Whenever possible, we are trying to pay as we go and not borrow any money from the bank. So far, so good! The Elevator and the new entrance will cost over $100,000 when all said and done. It will cost around $110 per month for monitoring the Elevator. So any gift would be very helpful and greatly appreciated.

I was really hoping we could make the Elevator Celebration/Dedication on Sunday, September 15. That will be the exact date of my 34th Anniversary with JIBC. I could not think of a better way to celebrate God’s goodness than to give a thanksgiving offering for the Elevator. A gift with a lift for years to come. I like the ring of that!

Pastor Tom

GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME AND ALL THE TIME GOD IS GOOD

NEED A LIFT? As I type this article, can you guess the sound I am hearing? Here is a hint: it has been over a year in coming. That is right, the elevator. I hear the elevator work crew as they are testing to make sure all systems are go! Whoohoo. This thing is happening and it is happening now. I mean really, this past Sunday, they had the elevator doors on. We are planning for the dedication and celebration. We will let you know as soon as we have a solid date. Oh, what a glorious day!

GOD DOMINATED THE MONTH OF AUGUST! My grandson said “If my dad was here, he would dominate this treadmill!” Our Father in Heaven dominated a month that many church leaders see as a throw away month. I do understand that for some, August is a month to rest, slow down and prepare for the momentum of Fall. Thank you JIBC for responding with such great generosity. You will, by far, have given the largest one time food offering in JIBC history. I cannot wait to hear the final weight count of the massive amounts of food you donated. Hunger does not take a break in August. You dominated that challenge!

SCHOOL SUPPLIES ANYONE? I had originally thought JIBC could give maybe 30 backpacks stuffed with school supplies to help families in need. I was thinking maybe one whole class rooms of kids could be our goal. You dominated the school supplies! When it is all said and done, I think we will have over 100 school bags full of blessings for kids in need. Church wide, preschool, children, youth, adults, Senior adults, homebound…you all gave and dominated the school supplies!

Attendance, giving, worship all were up during what is traditionally one of the lowest attended months of the year. D.O.M.I.N.A.T.E.D.

HERE IS THE CHERRY ON TOP. In addition to the awesome response to helping those in need, our Father in Heaven has supplies us with our Temporary Part-Time Worship Leader. Pastor David Martin began last Sunday night at Celebrate Recovery and led in an incredible worship experience. He met with us for his first staff meeting this past Monday and September 1 will be his first Sunday morning with our JIBC family. I am thrilled beyond words. You will love David and I know he already loves the reception and experience he has received.

My deepest heartfelt thanks to Frankie Gilmore, our Student Pastor, for leading worship during the month of August. He did a great job and is helping David get situated to JIBC. Frankie, thanks again for your servant heart and capable leadership. By the way, listen to this. While we were enjoying the ministry of David, our new worship leader at JIBC Celebrate Recovery, Marty Clark was performing at a Sunday afternoon Live Oak Concert with Audra and Emily Rheaume. How great to see God at work. Win, win, win…our Father dominated again.

See you Sunday, good Lord willing!

Pastor Tom