Tag Archives: Go Project

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March 10, 2015

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Family, National Missions, Pastoring

Turning Point

By Steve Gill

We are excited to share with you that God has lead us to birth a new, life-giving church in Bonita Springs, Florida called, Turning Point Church. Our purpose is simple; ‘to help people experience a life changing relationship through Jesus Christ.’ We have a heart to point people to the life change that Jesus brings to all of us. That’s part of the reason our church is called, Turning Point. A turning point is a decision in a person’s life that changes things! It changes us, our circumstances, and even people around us. We believe that what we do with Jesus changes everything in our lives!   He is the ultimate turning point! p 9-10 Gill Family

For the past 23+ years, we have been involved in various roles of ministry, serving within the local church and overseas in Latin America. During that time, God has given us the opportunity to be a part of some great churches and to have some great leaders speak into our lives. Those experiences have honed the vision that we have for our community. We know three things very distinctly.

One, we have a heart for those far from God. Our desire is to see TPC become a church that connects with people who don’t know God. Certainly we want our church to be a place for people already following Jesus, but our mission is to care deeply about reaching those who have walked away from the church and those who don’t know God at all. Wouldn’t it be amazing to be a church where people far from God can serve side by side with those who know Him, and grow in faith together?

Secondly, we have a heart for families. We believe we live in a day and age where parenting is getting harder and harder. Being a kid and teenager is equally as tough. Think of the mixed messages that our culture is communicating. Think of the pressures that our kids are facing. We want to be a church that helps parents and grandparents raise their kids with intentionality. We want to help parents seize the everyday moments to lead their kids closer to knowing Jesus. Wouldn’t it be cool to have a church that is full of families; kids, teens, parents, and grandparents together?

Lastly, we desire to help bridge the gap that often exists between cultures and extends into the church. We’ve been told over and over that division exists in our community. We’ve even seen it! So, our hope and dream is to have a church that is diverse culturally, particularly where Anglo and Latino cultures come together to experience God and serve together. Wouldn’t it be amazing to see a church that is a small picture of what heaven looks like every day?

Recently, we had the opportunity to share that vision at our first public gathering. The amazing part was that God led 24 people to that first meeting! As we started the meeting you could feel a buzz in the room and an anticipation that God was up to something new in Bonita Springs. We walked away with a fresh excitement as several families committed to be a part of our launch team in March. The history of Turning Point Church has begun!

While we love this dream of building a Christ centered church, our biggest heart and priority is for our family. On more of a personal note, Keisa and I met back in college and have recently celebrated 24 years of marriage together. We are grateful for the experiences in our lives that have strengthened our marriage and ministry. God has also blessed the both of us with four amazing kids (Aaron-14, Ellie-11, Christian-11 and Karinna-8). We, like most parents, are actively involved in our kids lives through school and sports. That keeps us pretty engaged and moving most days at the Gill home! For fun, our clan likes to watch movies, play sports, and make some tasty desserts! We honestly just love spending time together.

We are looking forward to our new life in Bonita Springs, pouring into the lives of our kids and helping grow a church that honors God. Thank you in advance for your prayers and your generosity in helping Turning Point Church launch with strength!

Steve and Keisa Gill, along with their four children, are brand new to our General Baptist family. They will be launching Turning Point Church in Bonita Springs, Florida in the fall of this year as the very first Go Project plant. To follow their progress, visit www.tpclive.org or like Turning Point Church on Facebook.

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October 21, 2014

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General Baptists, National Missions

The Go Project

By Carl Nichols

In January, when our team (myself, Brandon Petty, and Vince Daniel) was appointed to help navigate the future of National Missions, it was obvious that we needed a clear direction for the next few years.  Before developing any plan or outlining any goals publicly, we had to look hard at the state of affairs in National Missions.  With this in mind we began to develop, and are still developing, healthy systems that enable us to plant churches better and faster.  We also paid off a loan against some endowments almost two years ahead of schedule.  We are now in a more stable place than we have been in the six years I have been involved in the movement.

At this point, the question became: “What are legitimate goals that stretch us to work hard and trust God?”  It was in answer to this question that the Go Project was birthed.  The Go Project is a five year initiative that officially begins in 2015 to launch 15 healthy churches in the next five years.  We recently hosted our first assessment and will share details of our first Go Project plant in Bonita Springs, FL in the very near future.

I shared some numbers at Summit this year and wanted to take a moment to share once again.  Take a look at the five year impact of the Go Project on our General Baptist Movement.

If we take the average attendance, salvations, baptisms, and Unified Giving numbers of our five most recent church plants, and spread them over 15 more new churches in the next five years:

  • 8,922 more people will be attending worship services in a General Baptist church
  • 6,278 more people will receive Christ
  • 2,688 more people will be baptized
  • $278,400 more a year to Unified Giving

This is so exciting for the Kingdom of God and the future of our movement. We take our call to serve General Baptists seriously, and we believe if we can make this happen, we can help be a catalyst for the greatest days of our movement in the years to come. If you know someone who would be interested in planting a church, our next assessment will be held in the spring of 2015 in the Atlanta area.

On behalf of the National Missions Advisory Team, it has been a great experience working alongside our Executive Director, and I believe the best days of our movement are yet to come.

A special offering will be received October 26th in our General Baptist churches.  If you would like to give on National Mission Sunday, your support will help fund the Go Project.  You can give online at www.generalbaptist.com, by phone at 573-785-7746, or by mail at 100 Stinson Drive Poplar Bluff, MO 63901.  Be sure to designate your gift to the Go Project. 

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September 25, 2014

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Christian Life, General Baptists, International Missions, National Missions

Updates from the Mission Field

Read the articles below to catch up on what is happening in General Baptist missions, both internationally and here at home.

By Carl Nichols

Last month, National Missions hosted our first in-house assessment for future church planters, and boy, did we learn a lot!  I speak for the entire advisory team when I say we are so excited about the future!  We will soon be releasing an update with an introduction to our newest church planter slated to plant in Bonita Springs, FL in late 2015 or early 2016.

October 26th will be National Missions Sunday, and we will be receiving an offering.  All of this offering will help fund the Go Project to launch 15 churches in the next five years, like our newest plant in Bonita Springs.  (To read more about the Go Project, click here)  Thank you so much for your faith in our team. Keep your eyes open in the coming weeks for more information and updates.

 

From Jessey and Brittany Vemula, missionaries in India

This is a personal story of an Indian woman who was brought to Christ through the work of the Lydia Sewing Center in Siddipet.  This year’s Ed Steven’s Day offering is helping make stories like Pushpa’s a reality in India by funding not only the sewing center, but mission work out in the community, and food and clothing distributions also. 

Pushpa is an India woman from Irkod village, which is eleven kilometers from Siddipet.  She was brought up in a Hindu family.  Pushpa, who is 25 years old, has three older siblings.  She joined the Lydia Sewing Center at the beginning of this year.  She had to walk the 11 kilometers from her hometown to train, and was rarely afforded the opportunity to travel by rickshaw.  There are devotions every morning at the Lydia Sewing Center, and after hearing these, she decided to give her life to Christ.  However, when she chose to become a Christian her life here became much harder.

update from India

Pushpa with Alan Motley, short term mission trip participant, this past summer.

Pushpa started attending church, and even told her siblings about Christ. They came to church with her and also became believers.  However, their father was not pleased with this.  He told them that if they didn’t come back to Hinduism, they would not get their share of the Mango orchard he owned.  Pushpa and her siblings stood strong and refused to convert back to Hinduism.  Since they refused, their father signed over the property to his nephew.

Pushpa and her siblings pray for their father’s conversion daily.  As her pastor, Jessey has conducted prayer meetings and talked with the father, but to no avail.  Pushpa and her siblings, however, remain faithful to God in this time of hopelessness.  The situation is helped by the fact that Pushpa received free training at the Lydia Sewing Center and received a sewing machine.  She and her family are using the sewing machine to bring in extra money.  She is very thankful for the help she received from the Lydia Sewing Center.  Currently, she is preparing to follow Christ’s example in baptism.  Please remember our sister Pushpa and her siblings in your prayer.  Most importantly, pray for their parents who have yet to accept Christ into their hearts and lives.