Brenham's First Baptist Church Newsletter April 2014 | Page 5

FROM PASTOR ROSS

I am excited that we finally know our direction in
terms of relocation. On Wednesday, March 19, we voted and
approved our relocating to the beautiful 33 acres on South
Market at Highway 290. We also voted to authorize the
Facilities Committee to bring to the church for our approval
their recommendation about which marketing/real-estate
firm we want to use to market and sell our current 51 acres. I
want to encourage you to pray for God’s leading in the selling
of the 51 acres. When I drive by the 51 acres on Market
Street, I try to take an opportunity to pray for God to bring us the right buyer. Thank you
to Brandon Musser, David Baker, Will O’Brien, Terry Roberts, and Jesse Ladd for all of their
hard work on the committee. Thank you, as well, to Bill Betts for his consulting with the
committee as they thought out the legal issues associated with the purchase of property.

As we move forward, our first priority is the sale of the 51 acres. Our next priority
is not to discuss buildings and design but to move by faith. I realize that there will be lots
of questions associated with buildings and design: size of buildings, aesthetics of the
buildings and property, which building will be built first, etc. Before all this, I want to propose
to our church that this relocation and building process be done debt-free. That is, as God
provides financially, we build. If we chose to follow this path, it will mean we will walk by
faith as a church. There will be no Plan B. I have spoken with the deacons and the staff
about this and am ready to begin discussing this with the church.

The heart of choosing to build debt-free is the opportunity to watch God provide
for our church and experiencing Him as He provides. That is, my focus in proposing this
is not that this is a wiser financial strategy (although I think it is), nor I am proposing this
because it will resonate with the culture of thriftiness that is a part of Washington County.
The reason I am proposing this is because it will cause us to walk by faith. Can you imagine
our first Sunday in a new building with no debt hanging over our heads and being able to
give a testimony after testimony how we saw God work throughout this process? For right
now, I simply want to put building debt-free before the church for prayer and discussion.

Somewhere down the road, we will need to vote on this concept. If we do this, I
want us to join together and do it joyfully, not thinking of it as the “pastor’s idea.” I know
there are questions that will surround building debt-free, and I am anticipating these. If you
want an example of how God can do this, I want to encourage you to look at the example
of Sagemont Baptist Church in Houston. They have been committed to building debt-free
since the 1970s, and they have seen God provide in miraculous ways. I have spoken with
their pastor, Dr. John Morgan, about the nuts and bolts of building debt-free. He also agreed
to come and speak with us if we chose this path. For the time being, again, I simply want to
bring this before the congregation for discussion and prayer. Thank you for allowing me to
be your pastor. I am excited to see what God is going to do.
-Ross
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