I want to give God thanks and glory for the many evidences of His grace and peace in the James Island Baptist family. Here are a few I can share. There are many more I do not know about…which I love. There is so much is going on I cannot keep up with it all.
First, rejoice that our Transition House is full with four women and three children. Two of the residents have been there for a little over 6 months. In a related ministry, Celebrate Recovery has been running 50 adults and 10 children. Darryl Young is leading his third leadership training and already has the fourth on the calendar. We met with a sister church to help train their leaders just recently. Your generous giving and support bless both of these missions.
I am so glad to have our three new staff members on board. I know you are, or soon will be, enjoying their ministry and leadership. We welcome Sean Rheaume (the new Youth Pastor/ Pastor of Family Ministries), Susan Warren (Connection Group Leader/Administrator of Church Ministries) and Fred Hudson (Interim Worship Leader). I believe we have as strong a team as ever.
We rejoice that since January we have baptized 14 people into the family of God known as James Island Baptist and have welcomed 9 into church membership. God is so good and blesses us with new additions. This year’s Easter service was, I believe, the largest attended service in my 27 years here at JIBC. We have definitely reached the time for a second Easter Service! I sure like growing problems better than dying problems…amen?
We finished the 2012 church year with a strong financial finish. That allowed us to do some much needed repairs around the campus as well as give to some mission projects that we had not planned on. We were glad to do both. The first quarter of 2013 has also finished strong. For this January –March, we planned and believed we would receive $135,985 in tithes and offerings. We have actually received $138,789 which is a little over our projected mission and ministry needs. I am so grateful for the faithful giving or our church family and friends. That has allowed us to help Brent and Jess Gordon prepare for Baltimore and, at the same time, bring Sean on full time. That is directly giving to North American Missions!
Among the many things I love about our church family, one of them is your willingness to take Jesus to the dark places of the world. Thank you for taking His love outside the walls. I pray you, your family, your small group or your Bible Study Class will continue to make a difference!
See you Sunday,
Pastor Tom
