Caring for Our Community
April 28, 2019
The first few lines from Paul’s letter to the Roman church in Romans 12 resonate with broad clarity for our day. Dr. Jordan takes us from the empty tomb on Easter to that energetic and expanding church in Rome to the streets and homes of our own Decatur community. Join us on the journey!
A Moment of Christian Stewardship
During the worship service, Damon Corn shared a short testimony talking about the power of Christian stewardship. You can listen here:
Vision 2020:
Care for Our Community; Enhance Our Sustainability
Engaging Our Community
Our Deacons began interacting with this Vision 2020 draft back at our Deacon’s retreat in January 2019. Every church faces key challenges. We need to hear the gospel clearly; learn and grow in our own faith; translate growth into our everyday lives; and integrate that faith into our faith community in a coordinated, meaningful way.
We hope the Vision 2020 begins to be that good and healthy balance. As Christians, we are called to take seriously Jesus’ concerns about the world that surrounds us; and we are to be discerning about the community in front of us.
We need to balance deepening our own discipleship so that we have the tools and the inspiration to reach out to others without burning out ourselves. We must take seriously our personal stewardship of time, talent and resources. While at the same time, we must be conscientious contributors to this community of faith seeking to impact the broader community. Therefore, these three imperatives offer a vital balance.
We at First Baptist Decatur are called to:
Care for Our Community
Enhance Our Sustainability
Engage Our Community
The next two weeks, David will share more about each imperative and how our Deacons and all of us can live into these callings most effectively. Already, we have been hard at work discerning new initiatives, supporting ongoing needs, addressing energy efficiency and green energy opportunities and seeking to be creative and redemptive in the ways that we as a staff, deacons and congregation hear more clearing God’s calling for our ministry in this time and place.