These days it seems that it's more common to hear about churches that are fussing, fighting, and dividing rather than churches that are united and focused on their mission. This saddens me! Now I know that no church is perfect, but isn’t it refreshing to be a part of one that’s seriously making an eternal difference in the life of the world?
One such church for me (and my family) has been First Baptist Church Saltillo, MS ( www.fbcsaltillo.org ). Just a year after Rachel and I were married, we became part of the pastoral staff here at FBCS in January of 2006. Over the last five years, we have experienced a pretty comprehensive list of ups and downs and God has blessed us to be a part of an incredible family of Christians.
Through the last five years, the FBCS family of believers has welcomed us, loved us, been patient with us, taught us, corrected us, loved us some more, provided for us, appreciated us, honored us, believed in us, and supported us. This opportunity of service has provided an incredible place of spiritual growth and personal development for me as a leader. Without a doubt, my most profound and deepest times of growth have happened here. In what they’ve done, they’ve not only affected our lives but also the eternal lives of those who have been and will be affected by our ministry.
Just this past Sunday night, FBCS collectively made a decision to partner with us and our new church plant in Montrose, Colorado (CHURCH180 . . . www.church180.net website to go live in the next 1-2 weeks we hope). They’ve agreed to help financially support us and even before that, they’ve made it known that they support us in their prayers and encouragement. What a blessing!
What’s the point??? The point is this . . . When it comes to making an eternal impact and eternal investment into people’s lives, the Church (big “C” for “Church” universal) is the only organization that can do this. Notice I used the word “eternal.” Sure, there are clubs and organizations that make a difference in the here and now, but the Church is the only group of people that has the power to affect the eternal destinies of people.
So what about your church? Is your church making a difference or just marinating the status quo? What about you personally? Whose lives are you impacting on an eternal level? Can you name just 2 people? If you can name only 2, then ask yourself why it isn’t 3 (and so on and so forth).
Thanks to FBCS for investing in us so that we can eternally invest into others! You guys are our family and we’ll love you guys forever!!
