Dear Church Family,
While I am saddened about what has happened to our facilities, I want to encourage you to take heart. Even before He created the world, God in His foreknowledge knew this day would come. He has a plan to bring good out of this difficult situation. While this is a painful time for many of us, I want to encourage you to be steadfast and unshakeable in your faith. God allowed this for a reason, and while we are human and may not understand, His ways and His thoughts are higher than ours, and I can assure You that God has a plan to give us a hope and a future. He will see us through as we fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and the Finisher of our faith.
First of all, let me say that I think there has never been a more appropriate name for our church than “The Fellowship at First Baptist Church.” Yes, there are countless precious memories attached to the building we lost this weekend. But the church is not a building. The church is the body of Believers who meet together to worship God and fellowship together. The lack of a building cannot stop us from worshiping God, sharing in fellowship together and shining His light in the world around us.
As you know, there is a lot to be done over the next few weeks, months, and maybe even years as we begin picking up the pieces and moving on from this tragedy. This is not something I think we should take lightly. I don't want us to just jump into the next steps without first seeking God and His will for our church. I ask you to pray daily with me as we begin to seek God's will for our next steps as The Fellowship at First Baptist Church Logansport.
As we go through this time of transition, thinking simply will be the key. President/CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources (formerly the Baptist Sunday School Board) wrote in his book Simple Church that statistics show “Churches with a simple process for reaching and maturing people are expanding the kingdom. Church leaders who have designed a simple biblical process to make disciples are effectively advancing the movement of the gospel. Simple churches are making a big impact.”
I believe God wants The Fellowship at First Baptist Church Logansport to make a big impact in Logansport, the surrounding community, our state, our nation and our world. I pray that as we begin to think and pray about the future, we will consider simplicity. While we will not compromise when it comes to doctrine or convictions, perhaps God is asking us to move beyond our comfort zones and to think about doing life and ministry differently, simply--to identify what we are about and to do that well. I've often said we are about loving God, loving people, and serving the world. I don't think that has changed. But what does that look like now? I am not sure yet. I believe perhaps through this tragedy God is giving us a new beginning, a clean slate. As we begin to dream and plan together, I hope you will begin praying with me as we go through this process together.
Steadfast,
Lance Cypert
