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 Dear Church Family, For 151 years, God has allowed the First Family to adjust its location, its strategy, and its methods for proclaiming an unchanging message of hope to the people of Southern Middle Tennessee. Generation after generation of believers has been faithful to the assigned task, and as a result, thousands have become Christ followers. I am thankful for the faithfulness of each generation to step out in faith and attempt God-sized tasks so that we could have a solid foundation upon which to build in 2007. Now, our generation stands at a crossroads. God is again calling us to reach an ever-changing community with a never-changing Gospel. He has put an urgency in my heart and consequently, in the hearts of the staff and leaders of this church, regarding the advancement of His Kingdom both in our local area and around the world. In order to do that, we must see the coming opportunity and position ourselves to take advantage of it. Jesus taught us over and over that the Kingdom of God is not about brick and mortar, nor about a political or economic system, but it is about people. That is what the Kingdom Initiative is all about. We see literally hundreds of young families with children moving to this area, a high percentage of them unchurched or chronically dechurched. Truly, we can lift our eyes to see that the fields are white unto harvest. We have to get ready to reach those families and those children. Jesus also taught us that the Kingdom is about caring for those whom society has given up on. We have an opportunity as a church to join with our current partner ministries, future partner ministries, and with our developing ministries in reaching those people whom Christ spoke of in Matthew 25--the least, the last, and the lost! No church will ever rise to be all God desires it to be until it cares for the most helpless of society and shares the love of Jesus with them. You can see the details of all this elsewhere, but just know this: a church that attempts great things for God and seeks to join Him in the advancement of His Kingdom has to get its house in order. That means everything from curtailing and controlling debt and expenditures, to building adequate facilities, to investing operating budget dollars in the most strategic places. The Kingdom Initiative is about just that--getting our house in order to focus on the advancement of the Kingdom. Today, we are launching a God-sized task. It is perhaps the most ambitious task God will call us to attempt in our lifetimes. The Kingdom Initiative is our response to God's call. I urge you to read carefully the materials we publish in the coming weeks; to review the information on the Kingdom Initiative website; to listen intently to the testimonies and the messages; and to pray passionately about your part. Lori and I have been doing this for some time. I believe that when you do these things, your heart will be stirred with the same urgency mine has been, and together, we will experience the Kingdom of God. Expectantly,  |
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