Reaching to Build...Building to Reach
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." Matthew 28:19.
These last words of Jesus to the eleven disciples are usually referred to as the Great Commission. We could also call them "Christ’s Vision for His Church", for the Lord was telling us, the church, to continue His work here on earth. He empowered us, and entrusted us with the Holy Spirit, so that we could share our faith in Christ with those who have not experienced new life in Him. This is what he has called His Church to do.
All Baptist churches in all the world are called to do His work, as are all churches called to do His work. Just as you and I are members of Ocean City Baptist Church, all churches are members of His Church. He is not calling us to build up our church, but His Church.
And just as he has given the individual members of the local church gifts, "for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ", Ephesians 4:12, he has uniquely equipped the local churches to do His work. In our community He has raised up churches to meet the needs of His people and to reach out into the community, and the world, to make disciples.
He has given Ocean City Baptist Church the ability to serve Him in so many ways that uniquely use the many gifts He has given us. One way we serve Him is through the summer ministries -- reaching out to campgrounds, life guards, summer employees in Ocean City, and visiting parents needing safe and qualified child care. Another is the Crisis Ministry, reaching out to those in desperate need of the basic necessities of life, and responding to those needs IN THE NAME OF THE LORD. Our children and youth ministries is another way He has chosen Ocean City Baptist Church to uniquely serve Him, through ministering to not only the youth of our church, but the youth in the community and schools they attend.
Surely, He has done great things! He has brought us this far in His work through faith. Many challenges have been met. Many obstacles have been overcome. Many impossibilities have been achieved. And so, many hearts have experienced new life as He has worked through us to reach His children.
Now we have a new challenge, with new obstacles, and new impossibilities. We have an opportunity to build a facility that will reach out to the children and families of our community. A church facility to house a school that will not only educate the mind, but feed the spirit. A school that will not avoid the truth in the name of tolerance, but teach the truth in the name of love.
Our vision is to build a Church facility to expand our reach in the community.
Reaching to Build...Building to Reach– OUR PLAN
Expanding our ministries to reach out to our community cannot be accomplished in the current Ocean City Baptist Church facilities. We need to acquire or build the facilities necessary to meet this challenge. The facility requirements are:
A Worship Center
Adequate class room space for Pre-K to Grade 12.
Day care facilities for local pre-school children.
Space and equipment to support in-school meals.
Indoor recreation facilities.
Enclosed outdoor recreation area.
Parking for church services and extra-curricular events.
Appropriate staffing, supplies, and administrative support are included in our plan.
One of our responsibilities as stewards of His Church, is to maximize the use of the gifts He gives us to reach others in His name. As good stewards, we will strive to use this facility in ways to serve others in the community. Ways in which these facilities will be used are:
Worship and celebration events.
Christ-centered school
Community gathering place.
Meeting place for local youth.
Outreach-oriented recreational activities.
Concerts, plays, and other entertainment.
Other uses by local churches and the Christian community
Reaching to Build…Building to Reach – OUR OPPORTUNITY
The opportunity for His Church is to pray and listen to the voice of our Lord. If we pray and we listen, He can lead each of us into a spiritual commitment to the work He has called us to do in our community. If we hear His voice, He will help each of us to arrive at a level of sacrificial giving.
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Matthew 6:19-21
Our vision is to build a Church facility to expand our reach in the community.
Reaching to Build…Building to Reach – OUR COMMITMENT
Large goals are met by everyone in His Church and community having a part. Every gift given in praise for God’s blessing will bring us one step closer to the goal. In this campaign, the Lord surely wants each of us to show our willingness to respond and sacrifice so that we can provide this community with a church and school that acknowledges the truth of God’s Word. Our sacrifices to provide for the children will also be a blessing for us as we experience the spiritual growth that comes from seeking God’s specific will for our lives.
"Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.
Calling His disciples to Him, Jesus said, ‘I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on.’" Mark 12:41:44
We are not being called for a commitment to a building, nor are we being called to a fund raising effort. We are being called to a commitment to the Lord. He has blessed His Church and this community in many ways. He provides all that we have and we should give according to His will. Pledging support to "Reaching to Build…Building to Reach" requires a financial commitment to respond to this need. Through prayer and personal covenant with Him, we trust that all in His Church that share this vision will find the level of sacrificial giving needed to make our vision a reality.
Reaching to Build…Building to Reach – OUR GOAL
Our true goal is to share this vision to all in His Church in a spiritual commitment to the work that God has for us. We know that as a result of spiritual commitment, our financial needs to meet this challenge will be met. The "Reaching to Build…Building to Reach" effort will last for 156 weeks beginning March 16, 1997. While the effort is three years, our vision is to begin this school in September of 1998 and free it from the cost of paying for the building so that future school budgets will devote a larger portion of funds to costs directly associated with educating the students.
Members of Ocean City Baptist Church will be visited privately in their homes. There will be no special meetings or public gatherings to request funds. Others in His Church and the community who share this vision will, at their request, be visited by the "Building to Reach…Reaching to Build" visitation team.
Our vision is to build a Church facility to expand our reach in the community.