The Great Commission
By Scott Carter, Mission Pastor
So at 23 years old, I found myself making a career change, and I landed in the City-State of Singapore, where I served as the youth pastor at International Baptist Church of Singapore for two years. Singapore is a fascinating country, very multi-cultural; a crossroads of Asia and the world. These couple of years afforded me the opportunity to travel all over Asia and experience different countries and cultures. Absolutely the best thing I could have done with these two years of my life.
One time in particular, I was sitting on a bench one morning at the Baptist camp in Port Dickson, Malaysia overlooking the Straits of Melaka, the body of water separating Peninsular Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. A fellow missionary came up, sat by me, put his arm around me and asked, ”You see the horizon? That is Indonesia. There are 225 million people in that country who have never heard of Jesus Christ. Will you give your life to serving the nations and seeing that the unreached of the world have the opportunity to hear the gospel?” In that moment I knew my life and ministry would be given to that task. Over the last 25 years, though the pathway and how that ministry is carried out has changed, the mission has remained the same.
The call on all of our lives as followers of Jesus is to make disciples of the peoples of the world. It may look differently for each of us, both in vocation and location, but the mission remains the same. How is God calling you to be a part of the Great Commission?
The Great Commission
April 19, 2021 • Scott Carter
Pastor David's Giving Challenge
May 1, 2021 • David Emmert
Pastor David’s Challenge A few years ago, Pam & I decided to change our lifestyle so that our budget would be oriented toward giving rather than spending. We downsized our home, eliminated some hobbies and made other changes that freed up our income. The end result was a greater level of giving than we ever thought possible. As always, Jesus is right when he said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35) As you contemplate your own growth in giving during Live Boldly, consider the following steps. If you’ve never given to your church before, making a first time gift is an obvious place to start. Say you give occasionally- set a goal to give consistently. Ready for another step? The Bible talks frequently about giving of your first fruits. That’s farmer-speak for giving the first dollars from each paycheck. Think of the impact you could have if you started giving electronically each payday! How about setting a goal to give 10% of your income by the end of Live Boldly. Imagine the influence on your own children as they watch you rearrange your priorities to make tithing a reality in your home. Maybe you’ve experienced a financial windfall. It could be a modest amount like a favorable tax refund or a large amount like an inheritance. Think of the influence those resources might have both here in Tallahassee and around the world.
Trusting the Supplier
April 30, 2021 • Natalie Thomas
Trusting the Supplier by Natalie Thomas, Business Administer In order for my husband and I to go beyond our tithes, we had to reexamine our budget or what we call our spending plan. Since we felt that God had already given us an amount to increase our tithe by, I had the task of making it work in our spending plan. Since our monthly income for the most part didn’t really change, I took a look at all of our expenses to see what we might reduce. By reducing expenses we actually saved more than the amount of our planned increase in our giving. Now our spending plan lists our tithe first, then our beyond amount, and so on. Our giving process all started with us being obedient to the Word and I challenge you to take a step of faith and test God with your tithes and even beyond. What a blessing it has been for me and my family to bless our church that in return blesses so many other people. Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. – 2 Corinthians 9:10