We cannot do without you. You are absolutely essential for the Body of Christ and for the Kingdom of God. As you and I obey our Lord, we serve Him and the kingdom is blessed.

Thank you for serving, witnessing, giving, and praying for the work of God through First Baptist Church.

I want to give you a brief overview of 2012. In 2012, FBC had its best year ever from a statistical perspective. We had record attendance in worship, Bible Study, giving, and baptisms. I hope to write about each of these in the coming weeks.

Today, please look at the giving for FBC. Our church, like almost all others, had three difficult years after 2008. Unlike most, we were able to control spending and continue to do the work of ministry through the church.

I am thankful to report that 2012 was an amazing year for giving through our church. We amended our budget at midyear to partially fund Metairie Church (our new multi-campus location on the southshore at West Esplanade and Severn) and still exceeded our budget.

Exceeding the budget allowed us to begin our multi-campus ministry. Thank you for making this possible.

Each year we seek to give more than 10% of our total receipts to mission endeavors around the world. For 2013 we plan to follow 2012 and give more than 12% for mission work.

Because of your faithfulness in 2012, we gave at least 10% of the budget overage as well. This money went to several local ministries as well as to world missions.

Late in the 1990s we were completely out of space at our former location (2.5 acres of land and buildings). We prayed fervently and followed God to our this location (43 acres). We gave and borrowed to build this location (a $22 million investment).

Because of your giving last year we are completely out of debt and looking forward to building a new educational wing for preschool, children, and adults.

Last week one of our members reminded me of Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A. Mr. Cathy and his family are dedicated believers. Mr. Cathy gives large sums of money for the kingdom. He puts God’s faithfulness in this way: I try to give it away but God continues to provide more.

May it be so with us as we give faithfully to Him.

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