A Challenge from Pastor Ancel

Dear Church Family,

 

We are in a season of unprecedented growth at STBC! God is growing us spiritually, numerically, and adding people to His Kingdom through conversions. To put it simply, we are out of room at Strong Tower. We have no other classrooms available to do any new classes, discipleship training, etc. on Sunday’s. For a long time, it sounded good to say: “It’s a good problem to have.” Unfortunately, it is no longer a good problem to have, we need space to grow!

 

I shared a vision in January for our church to believe God for something huge. We are believing for our church mortgage to be paid off this year! That vision and prayer is for the Lord to use His people to give strategically and sacrificially to see this vision become reality! This is something the Lord birthed in my heart, and we are to do this before breaking ground on our new worship center. How are we going to do this in such a short time? This is where “The Jesus 1stOffering” comes into play!

 

What is “The Jesus 1st Offering?” The Jesus First Offering is 5 specific Sundays in the calendar year where we challenge everyone to give in a unique way. This challenge is for all three groups of people who make up any church.

 

  • Group 1—Faithful Tithers and Givers.
  • Group 2—Occasional Tithers and Givers.
  • Group 3—Rarely to Never Give.

 

I challenge all the faithful tithers to go above and beyond on our “Jesus First Offering” Sunday. Prayerfully consider how you can give sacrificially to this special offering. Let us give like we are expecting God to do something BIG!

 

I challenge those who occasionally give to the Lord’s church to plan and prioritize. Make extra effort to prayerfully consider how you can give in a special way on our “Jesus First Offering” Sunday. My prayer for you is that the Lord will move in your heart in a special way concerning faithful giving.

 

I challenge those who rarely to never give to the Lord’s work or church. Whatever your reason may be. Whether it is economic hardship, fear, or, you just have never given much thought to it. I challenge you to prayerfully seek the Lord in giving. Let it begin on our next “Jesus First Offering” Sunday.

May 7th is our next “Jesus First Offering” date. How do we give to this special offering? You can simply give in the regular offering which is made easy in three ways.

 

(1) You may give in our Tithe and Offering boxes at each exit of the sanctuary and one by the water fountain in the hallway.

 

(2) You also have the option to give online under the giving tab of our website.

 

(3) You can give via “Text Giving” by texting 423-799-2959.  Example: $50 and follow the instructions you receive in a reply text.

 

“Jesus First Offering”

May 7th, 2023

 

May we, the Church of the Living God, worship Him with our giving and invest in the Kingdom Work that God is doing through the ministry of our local church, Strong Tower Baptist Church!

 

“6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. 7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”

(2 Corinthians 9:6, 7)

“We Get to Do This”