Well Jane, it just goes to show you

I cannot help but to show my age anymore, so here goes another reveal. The year was 1977 and the bright shining star was Gilda Radner. Her unforgettable character was Roseanne Roseannadanna. Her famous line was: “Well Jane, it just goes to show you, it’s always something. If it is not one thing, it is another!” No truer words have ever been spoken.

On buildings as old as the JIBC buildings, “it’s always something. If it is not one thing, it is another.” We have more than a few building projects going on. I thought it might be helpful to give an update on a few of them. In no particular order.

• There was a major issue with one of the restrooms in the front of the Worship Center. One of the restrooms is connected straight to the city sewage and one is still on a septic tank. Want to guess which one is the problem? So, that restroom will be out of order for a little while. Thank you, Jesus, we still have the other one!

• The installation of the long awaited awnings over the side entrances has begun. Of course, when you tear into, add to, take from an old building, you always will be blessed with unforeseen surprises. They found a few, but progress is being made!

• The Kitchen Renovation is getting closer. If I were guessing, I would say maybe April. There will be a time when we will not be able to use the kitchen for anything until renovations are complete. That will be a sweet day!

• The two restrooms in the hallway leading to the Fellowship Hall are also on the docket. They will most likely be addressed after the Kitchen project.

• The Ministry Center where the Hispanics meet for worship is still on our agenda but it is way down the list. The Hispanic Church is able to meet but with a much more limited space. They will be looking for a new home in the near future.

• The stage in our Worship Center has some safety issues and some aesthetic concerns. The safety issues will be addressed first and probably sooner rather than later.

“Well Jane, it just goes to show you. It’s always something. If it is not one thing, it is another.” Praise God from whom all blessings flow. He has provided all we have needed; the finances, the right team, the right leaders, the right time. Maybe we could paraphrase Roseanne’s words: “If it is not one blessing from God, is it another!”

As we often say, God is good all the time and all the time, God is good!

Pastor Tom

KINGDOM PARTNERS

Thank the goodness of God we are not in this alone! Any part of the mission and ministry of the church would be immeasurably more difficult if we had to do it all by ourselves. We are blessed to have what I call Kingdom Partners. That can be churches, institutions or ministries whose mission intersects with ours. For instance, Charleston Baptist Association is a collection of over 70 churches in the greater Charleston County area. We partner with them to do things like strengthen churches, strengthen leaders and start new churches. Another ministry would be the Lowcountry Pregnancy Center. We love their mission and find ways to partner with them. There are several others but the one I am highlighting today is the James Island Outreach.

The James Island Outreach is committed to helping our under served neighbors. In 2025 JIO distributed over 370,000 pounds of food to 903 households. They provided financial assistance to 117 clients. They offered Financial Resource Workshops on developing a Personal Financial Plan. They do a whole lot more but I think you get the idea. This is a Kingdom Mission Partner we really love.

James Island Baptist Church, by God’s good grace and blessings, gave $11,4425 to James Island Outreach. In addition, we gave 3,749 pounds of food donations…mostly jelly and pancake syrup! Occasionally we throw in some green beans and other vegetables! You also gave 657 volunteer hours, mostly with face- to- face interactions with our neighbors. That is a little more than 4 months of 40 hour a week volunteering.

Now, what can we do? Would you be willing to volunteer some time? Better yet, could you get your Connection Group, family or friends, to make a “Pantry Team”? Only thing better than doing mission work is doing it together. Why? Because we are…c’mon, you can hear Logan say it…WE ARE BETTER TOGETHER! Of course, keep on, all year long, picking up a jar of jelly or a bottle of pancake syrup…and anything else you might see on sale or BOGO. Do you like construction work: painting, basic carpentry work, sweat equity kind of work? Then Jeff Gordon, the other Jeff Gordon, is your man. Check them out at www.jioutreach.org.

Thanks for being Kingdom minded followers of Jesus. See you Sunday, good Lord willing!

Pastor Tom

“Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice!”

Our thanks to the Holy Spirit and the Apostle Paul for such a heartfelt reminder to rejoice in our precious Lord. And in case we missed it, he says it again…”again I say rejoice”. I know you join me in rejoicing in the blessings of God upon our JIBC family. As we like to say, God is good all the time and all the time God is good.

I want to invite you to and encourage you to attend, our upcoming Ministry Management Team/Quarterly Ministry Conference. It will be held on Wednesday, February 25 at 6:30 in the Fellowship Hall. The meal is on us, so come on a little early if you can and enjoy the meal.

We have several mission and ministry items on our agenda. They will include, but not be limited to: the financial statement (spoiler alert, 2025 was the best year ever!); a construction plan update on the awnings, the bathrooms and the kitchen; and an update on the Associate Pastor position. The primary Mission/Ministry is to present the “Pray Charleston 2026” plan. We had a successful Pray Charleston 24/7 where JIBC and friends joined together to pry on the 10th of every month. That ended on December 10, 2025. Our prayers for Charleston have not ended. It is my desire to lead our church family and friends to pray on a regular basis for our beloved city. To that end, we will be providing our church family with the needed tools to become intercessors on behalf of the greater Charleston area. As a Shepherd/Pastor, I am pretty excited about this.

For those who cannot attend, we will try to have an on- line video that will bring you up to speed. Believe it or not, the launch date I have chosen is Easter Sunday! Why not present this when we have the most people present?

Let’s do it again: “Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice!”

Love you all,

Pastor Tom

I LOVE IT WHEN A PLAN COMES TOGETHER

Last year you may remember that JIBC took on another Giant, removing the stigma of mental health and raising awareness of mental health issues and addictions. It was big, really big. We had dozens of community “mental health vendors” . The attendance was a little below what we had hoped for, but the event could not have gone better. People came and met needed resources; health professionals made significant networks connections; conversations were had about mental health issues; and on and on.

Now, what could be better? NAMI, the National Alliance of Mental Illness attended the Festival of Hope. They liked it so much, they decided to “sponsor” the entire event this year. It is tentatively scheduled for July 2026! They have a grant to help pay for the event. They are currently seeking a place that would allow the event to be held indoors and avoid the potential weather cancellations. Did you see that? What could be better than hosting the Festival of Hope? Having someone else host and allowing JIBC to have input on creativity and connection. I absolutely love how this worked out! JIBC can still have a booth for our church and a booth for Celebrate Recovery. As we get closer to the event, we will certainly let you know the details. To God be the glory! We know that God works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His good purpose.

Mental health is nothing to be ashamed of, but stigma and bias shame us all. Mental Health needs more sunlight, more candor and more unashamed conversation. Thank you JIBC family for helping to get that conversation started! Just reason number 789 why I love our church family so much!

See you Sunday, good Lord willing.

Pastor Tom

I CONSIDER IT A PRIVILEGE

Each year for around the last 20 years, I have been invited to participate in “The Four Chaplains Service”. The American Legion, Post 147, on Folly Road, invites me along with a few other Pastors, Priests and Rabbis to participate in the reading of the story. This Sunday, February1st at 2:00 will be the time of the meeting. If you have never seen the service, I invite you to join us. It is an inspirational story of faith and bravery.

On February 3rd, 1943, a German submarine sank the USS Dorchester, a transport ship with 902 souls on board. With total chaos and panic of the explosion, smoke and fire many were killed and many were terrible wounded. In the midst of such pandemonium, the four Chaplains on board joined together to bring hope and comfort. They offered prayers and help to those disoriented. They also offered their own life jackets giving hope to soldiers but sealing their own fate. They never asked are you Protestant, Catholic or Jew. They were an inspiring example of their faith, courage and selflessness. Only 230 of the men on board survived. All four of the Chaplains perished. Almost 82 years later, their story is still told and their names are read with gratitude: Lt. Rev. George L. Fox; Lt. Rabbi Alexander Goode; Lt. Priest John Washington; Lt. Rev Clark Poling. They were posthumously awarded The Distinguished Service Cross and the Purple Heart.

Our thanks to the many men and women who serve and have served our beloved country. We pray God’s protection on all who serve. May you all come home safe to your homes and your families. May we remember those who did not.

God bless America,

Pastor Tom Brown

 

DON’T YOU HATE IT WHEN THAT HAPPENS?

This past Sunday I read to the church family, the resignation letter of our Associate Pastor, Kyle Hooss. As I said Sunday, no one could have been more surprised than me. It has been a joy to work with Kyle. I have been blessed by his friendship and greatly helped by his giftedness. We were in one of those times when the staff seemed to be working together on all cylinders as the old saying goes.

Kyle and his sweet family felt called to a small church in Hartsville, South Carolina. He will be the “Campus Pastor” for up to three years while he learns the spiritual DNA of the sending church, Cornerstone Baptist Church located in the Florence/Darlington area. After 3 years, with the Lord’s blessing, they would be launched as an autonomous church and Kyle would be the Pastor. There is no doubt that he will do a great job. He is as talented and dedicated as anyone I have worked with in that position. Like you, I wish him and Melissa the very best. We say to Kyle what we say every Sunday about prayer: “If you write it down, we will lift it up”. We will pray with him for favor with God and man.

Kyle’s last Sunday with us is February 8 and his last day is Wednesday, February 11. Until then, you will find him working as hard as he always has. Make sure you speak to him and bless him.

Now, our journey begins. We will pray, seeking God’s guidance, do some reviewing to see where we are and what we need to do next. Pray for us as we begin the “Mystery of the Hunt!” As you can figure out, the way this process often works is we will likely be talking with someone, who like Kyle, is serving another church but is open to a move. And there will be another church like JIBC who will miss the departing staff member. It is not the best system, but it is one of the main ways this process is worked out!

We love the Hooss family and will miss them. See you this Sunday, good Lord willing.

Pastor Tom

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO PRAY CHARLESTON 24/7?

I have been thrilled that for the last year few had 168 of our JIBC family and friends praying for our beloved city, Charleston. We were a part of a multi-denominational, city-wide effort to cover Charleston in prayer every hour of every day for one entire year. Well done thou good and faithful servants, well done.

So, do we just quit praying now that the year is over? As the Apostle Paul says “May it never be!” Now we pray differently, with a little different schedule. You are, of course, welcome to continue to pray at your selected time slot on the 10th of every month. That would be fantastic. Or…you might “expand” your selected time to include a moment or two of every day you have your own personal time with God.

Pastor Kyle will continue to send out a monthly reminder to pray for the greater Charleston area. The exact details will be fleshed out as we go along. Until then, how does this sound? What if every Sunday we offered prayers for local Pastor’s and Spiritual Leaders in Charleston. Praying that the Gospel would be preached and lives would be changed. Perhaps on Mondays we would pray for local Law Enforcement Offices (LEO’s), National Guard and ICE-AGENTS. Tuesdays we could lift up the mayors of our surrounding cities, our police chiefs and fire chiefs and their teams. Wednesdays, let’s make it a point to pray for the churches we pass on our way to work, shop or play. See if you can find out the name of their pastor and pray for that pastor by name. Thursdays, be in prayer for our educational institutions: schools, colleges, teachers, professors. Pray for students. Fridays could be praying for political issues: racial reconciliation, President Trump, politicians at any level. And Saturday could be your day to pray for Christian ministries like James Island Outreach, Lowcountry Pregnancy, Charleston Baptist Association, etc.

All I wanted to do here is give you an idea, an example, of how we can continue, grow and expand the wonderful idea of Pray Charleston. We are not stopping our prayer for Charleston, we are expanding it…every day, 7 days a week to intercede for our beloved city! I love you all so much.

See you Sunday, good Lord willing.

Pastor Tom