St. John's United Methodist Church | Baton Rouge

Category: Faith Stories

The Witness committee collects stories about working with St. John’s ministries or other activities where writers have experienced God’s presence.

  • Faith Stories: Who Is The God You Know?

    Faith Stories: Who Is The God You Know?

    Faith Stories: Who Is The God You Know?

    Recently, I have intentionally contemplated this question: Who is the God I know? As I pondered the revelations that came to mind, the ending song lyrics from the 1976 Paul McCartney and Wings song called “Silly Love Songs” repeats in my mind: How can I tell you about my loved one? How can I tell you about my loved one?

    Just the thought of it takes my breath away. Are there enough words?  Do they carry such depth of meaning and greatness of truth to even begin to convey the big and wonderful ways I know our loving God?

    Perhaps you might find the God you know in my reflections. Or maybe these reflections will prompt you to know God in new or forgotten ways.

    The God I know is:

    • my perfect, heavenly Father who will lovingly, eagerly pursue me all the days of my life, longing to be with me, his creation, and me with him
    • my guide; my enlightenment and peace found in persecution, as I travel dark valleys or steep mountains; I know him as my assurance and am so grateful for the presence of Him when the path before me is unclear
    • my power when I am weak; my self-discipline when I am ill-controlled; my focus when I am distracted
    • the One that I see every day in those who love him, those who walk upon this earth in His service as his hands and feet to the broken world
    • in the one with whom I worship and pray in this, His church, and delight in among the church universal
    • the tie that binds me to you and you to me, my brothers and sisters in Christ  
    • the One that feeds my family through the blessing of the Shepherd’s Market
    • the One that sends the wisdom of his Holy Spirit, whether in teaching or in learning
    • the provider, as in the mother by marriage that offers a home and a bed
    • the loving, patient Father when I flee to those things that are outside of Him, as he waits the return of the prodigal, to embrace and forgive
    • the voice of reason when I want to cry out
    • the One that empowers me into servanthood 
    • my courage in vulnerable moments
    • the One who knows me thoroughly – knows my sins, my brokenness, my weaknesses – and loves me fully in spite of it all 
    • the One who will never turn his back on me, never forsake me, even as the world brings rejection and heartbreak
    • the One who says lift your head and know the good and perfect purpose I have planned for you
    • the hope of a future with Him, healed, even as the world brings dis-ease and illness
    • compels me to seek Him in prayer, to be willing to let this cup pass, should my longings of this life not align with His desire for me
    • trustworthy and sure – never failing to hold me to account in my errors, to call me to correction, for my benefit and His glory
    • the One who anticipates my heavenly reunion with him, having prepared a place for me not only in life everlasting, but in this, His kingdom on earth
    • in the seeing, the hearing, the speaking, the living, the serving, the action…so that others will know Him, too

    So, who is the God you know? How can you tell me about your loved one? I pray you have been experiencing and discovering God in new ways during this time apart, but together in spirit.

    Natalie Cooper

  • Faith Stories: A Meditation on the Times

    Faith Stories: A Meditation on the Times

    Faith Stories: A Meditation on the Times

    Praise the Lord.
    Praise the Lord, O my soul.
    I will praise the Lord all my life;
    I will sing praise to my God
    as long as I live.        
    Psalm 146:1-2

    We stand in a moment of history unprecedented.  We live in a time of dramatic uncertainty.  We are denied our customary busy-ness.  We know not when the frenetic normalcy of our daily life will resume.

    For me, waking up to this new reality each day, contemplating the tsunami of illness and death that has overtaken our planet, I find that my awareness of the gifts of this life has been profoundly awakened.  How precious are our family members, our dear friends, our compassionate faith community!  How welcomed are the smiles of neighbors and the calls of friends across the country just checking in.  What gratitude and awe we hold for our medical workers and first responders and all those who stay on the job to make it possible for the rest of us to survive.

    I find that now, more than ever, nature has befriended me in ways that bring me solace and comfort and hope.  I allow myself to lean fully into the little things of God’s creation that surround me and feel myself literally soaked with gratitude and praise for our wonderful maker.  The bright springtime sun helped me spot a tiny hummingbird’s nest in a river birch tree along the driveway.  A miraculous gift!  So many other little gifts:

                -the chattering of the fish crows in the treetops, a conversation in which I sometimes  feel invited to participate

                -the armies of frogs battling with their comical voices for preeminence in the dusk

                -the rattling call of a ‘Big Cranky’ otherwise known as a Great Blue Heron as he awkwardly lands on the pond

                -the twinkling stars, the beautiful moon, the wonderful constellations in the clear night sky

                -the muffled silence of a foggy dawn

                -squirrels and birds, unaware of the challenges of mankind, procuring all manner of sticks, leaves, moss and spider webs to happily build their nests of spring

                -the unexpected refreshing breeze softening the heat of a Louisiana afternoon

                -the sweet stillness of morning when prayers for healing and comfort seem to rise to heaven like feathers on a breeze

    Now is a time to be still.  A time to be still and know.  A time for gratitude.

    Blessings to all.

                                                                                                    Betty Schroeder

  • Faith Stories: A Chance Encounter

    Faith Stories: A Chance Encounter

    Faith Stories: A Chance Encounter

    A few weeks ago, I found myself on the opposite end of town in need of a few groceries, so I stopped in a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market since it was close by. When I walked in, I stood near the front of the store trying to orient myself to the unfamiliar layout, and as I did, I noticed an older man shuffling toward me, pushing a basket.

    “Howyadoin?” I muttered without making eye contact, really not expecting a reply or wishing to engage.

    “I’ve lost my wife,” he responded vacantly.

    I raised myself on tiptoes to see if I could spot an elderly woman wandering through Wal-Mart, looking for her mate.

    “She died last Friday,” the man continued.

    With those words, my heart seared with pain, and the dams behind my eyes broke as I burst into tears under the pressure of my own present grief.

    “I’m so sorry,” I said as I wiped my eyes, a bit embarrassed by my outburst. “I lost my dad this year.”

    “My wife had hair cut like yours,” he went on, and then fished in his pocket for a wallet-sized photo of her.

    “She’s lovely,” I said, and meant it.

    We stood there for a moment, not knowing what else to say, and then I did something I’ve never done before. I leaned forward and asked, “May I give you a hug?”

    The man nodded, and I leaned over and awkwardly, stiffly put my arms around him, held on for a moment, and then let go to shuffle out the store as I resumed my shopping errands.

    I wish I could write about the great revelation I received while giving that hug, but unfortunately, there has not been one. I’ve been in that same Wal-Mart two or three times since, but I haven’t seen the gentleman again. I still don’t know if the meeting was an odd coincidence or a divine appointment; I don’t know if there was a great lesson to be learned that day, for so far, God has been silent. All I know is, for a few moments, my grief and his met one another as we shared a hug, and I walked away feeling what Wesley might have described as “strangely warmed.”

    Heather Johnston Durham

  • Faith Stories: Divinely Connected

    Faith Stories: Divinely Connected

    A few years ago, I wrote a Faith Story called Reflections on a Life where I talked about the cliché “a smile goes a long way” and how a smile can bring joy even when we don’t realize it. I also mentioned the importance of telling someone when there is something you like about them, no matter how small or unimportant it may seem. I can’t say I practice this all the time, but a recent experience when I did this with a complete stranger reminded me to do it more often.

    There I was, sitting in the Social Security Office waiting on my name to be called. Waiting and waiting! When you’ve waited long enough for your cell phone battery to say it’s time to shut off Words with Friends, the only thing to do is people watch. I was near the front door with a good view of everyone walking in. A “young-to-me” woman comes in by herself, rolling herself in on a wheelchair. Right away I noticed her smile! It struck me as so pleasant. Here is this woman, in a wheelchair, coming in to the Social Security Office to wait her turn. What could there be to smile about? But there it was. Striking! Beautiful! Noticeable! She checked in to get her number and then rolled around to my row. Since I was sitting on the end of the row, with ample room for a wheelchair next to me, she asked if she could sit next to me. I said, “Of course!” I told her how beautiful her smile was, and how I noticed it immediately when she came in. She thanked me and we chatted a few minutes about the process of waiting and being served at that office. 

    Fortunately for her, her number was called and I wished her luck getting in and out quickly. After a short while, her business was concluded and she wheeled back over to me before leaving. She came to thank me for the smile compliment and told me I’d made her day. We hugged. It was a beautiful moment that touched me as much or more than her I am sure. I was about two hours into an eventual four hour wait. That moment provided joy that made the wait so much more bearable. And it provided more moments in the days to come as I remembered Bryan and the lesson of his smile, and as I pondered about connections. In fact, the phrase that kept coming to me was “divinely connected.” We are all divinely connected. This woman I encountered and connected with so beautifully looked different from me, lived under totally different circumstances physically, and who knows how many other differences. But a SMILE is all it took to connect us at a basic human level. And divine connection reaches all the way to heaven. I felt a connection to Bryan through the smile encounter that day too. God is good! He gives us chances to remember we are all His in this kingdom here on Earth and in Heaven. Let us remember and care for one another by connecting even in the smallest of ways like a smile.

    Kathy King

  • Faith Stories: Being My Authentic Self

    Faith Stories: Being My Authentic Self

    Danny Stiles shared these words during the August 2019 Church Council meeting.

    It’s important for you to hear how your vision and steps of faith have touched my life. I understand that the God’s Doors Are Open to All Project and Love is Love have perhaps not been an all in venture for the St John’s congregation. Reaching out to welcome those of us who have an un-relatable lifestyle can be uncomfortable. I’m sure as the woman in Luke’s gospel entered the room to anoint Jesus’ feet, those around Jesus may have felt like you. 

    But for me the day I saw those doors on the lawn and the message of Love is Love and all are welcomed, my life was forever changed. 

    I want to share with you briefly my journey. I have struggled with being gay from a very young age. Not really understanding what it was, just knowing it was something that I had to keep from everyone. I made the perfect victim. Already curious, I was easily groomed and was taken in. I have never blamed the abuse in my life for being gay. However, like countless other gays, I have prayed and prayed for the gay to be taken away.

    Knowing that these actions in a small farming town of 1000 people could have adverse effects on my life, they stayed just that hidden. 

    Church has always been in my life, and I’m the youngest of five. My mother played piano, was Women’s Missions Director, taught the Ruth Sunday school class, lead the music (it was a progressive Baptist church), and did her turn with youth as my older siblings grew up. Dad was deacon and served as custodian for 50 years. Dad always taught what he called the last promotable men’s class in the church. After his class was Heaven. Third pew from the front piano side was where we always sat.

    In my own life I have raised my children in church. Done VBS, church camps, music programs, children’s church. All the while trying to pray it away. I dated many wonderful girls, and my senior year working at a restaurant I met and fell in love with a beautiful blue-eyed city girl. I enlisted, served my country, and we raised four amazing children. You see I did what I was supposed to do. I prayed and stuffed away the feeling, I manned up as you might say. 

    Almost eight years ago on February 2, my worst fears came true. I was outed. So the man, husband, father, and grandfather that I had been for so many years was a fraud. Now everyone knew my secret.

    I guess to understand the fear you could relate it to dreams of being in public naked. During all of this I have never doubted God’s love for me. I had to go to work and continue to function with all the whispers. I lost so many friends. Then the news quickly reached my local church. I was asked to leave. I found another church to attend. Then in a small town another church was given the news of my life. And I was told “you can come here but not participate.” 

    During all of this, I never doubted God’s love for me. Just doubted His people’s love. 

    Why is it important for me to be a part of a church? I desire to worship with others. I desire to show the love of God to others who may not have had that third pew on the piano side childhood. I want to share the love of God to those who through the abuse did doubt the love of God. I long so to commune with that God as my authentic self. 

    I have identical twin sons. Twelve years of school wasn’t easy. Nobody could tell them apart. Teachers who had them in different class times epically failed. They attended different universities. Meeting up after one of the many freshman parent/kid orientations, Brandon had a monster meltdown. When he finally was calm and could speak he asked, “Do you have any clue what it’s like to have someone look at you and know it’s you?”

    That’s what I feel in St John’s as I come and worship. I get to be my authentic self. Because this place understands that Love is Love and all are welcome. 

    Danny Stiles

  • Faith Stories: Let God Do the Talking

    Faith Stories: Let God Do the Talking

    Faith Stories: Let God Do the Talking

    “For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; the Jew first, and also the Greek. For therein is revealed a righteousness of God from faith unto faith: as it is written, but the righteous shall live by faith.” Romans 1: 17-18 ASV

    I have never considered myself to be evangelical, as to do so risks confrontation and that is just not in me. 

    Another rule I assigned to simple living is to not engage in conversation with anyone seated next to me on a long flight. Why chance it? Some people don’t know when to stop conversation. You are captive, and what does it matter anyway with a complete stranger you are not likely to encounter again? 

    For some reason, I have never been very good at following this rule and possibly a few others. In the process, I have met some of the most fascinating people, from a Frank Sinatra impersonator to the CFO of a major hotel chain. I was even invited to stay as a VIP Guest in his 4-star hotel on future business travels. The one passenger I recall with total clarity 30 years later is the self-proclaimed atheist traveling alone.

    She boarded the plane late, and the door closed immediately behind her. The center seat was open, and I had the window seat as usual. She politely asked if she may sit next to me as she fastened her seat belt, still breathing heavily from her run to catch a nearly missed flight. 

    She introduced herself as Ruth Rosenstein; I was merely David, no need to disclose more than that. She said, “I’m Jewish. I guess that is why I worry about everything. I was so worried about making my flight and I almost missed it anyway!” 

    Ms. Rosenstein was on her way home from a Mothers Against Drunk Drivers Convention. She had been a keynote speaker as she often was. She told me about the fateful night her son was heading home from college, following his girlfriend, when she got a flat tire. He stopped to change her tire and was struck and killed by a drunk driver. Her pain was raw and real, and she wept as if it had happened yesterday, but it had been years. I wondered how many times she had told this story. How many times she had re-lived this pain in such detail?

    As I do, I searched for words to comfort her, but clearly I had none. I mentioned God and faith, and it sounded like a canned platitude coming from a young man who knew little of either at the time. 

    She bristled and said, “I am an atheist. I don’t believe in God!” 

    Out of nowhere, not of me, I proclaim with certainty, “YES YOU DO!” 

    She angrily said, “No I don’t. Why would you say that when I just told you that I am an atheist and don’t believe in God?” 

    I said, “Well, you sat down next to me and within 30 seconds you were telling me that you are Jewish. I don’t know any Jews who do not believe in God. So which is it?” 

    She sobbed and told me that she did believe in God, but she was just so lost and angry. I told her that was okay, and she spoke of her pain as I listened. Our plane gently touched down. She looked into my eyes and we were both tearful but smiling. She hugged me and thanked me. I was certain she heard what she needed to hear as I said nothing further. 

    It was not of me, but through me. It doesn’t matter if we don’t know what to say. Sometimes it is okay if we just listen and let God do the talking.

    David Henson

  • Faith Stories: Communion with a Cat

    Faith Stories: Communion with a Cat

    In the summer of 2016, it began to rain in south Louisiana. We are a land of swamps and streams, a place all too familiar with tides and floods. 2016 was a disaster of Noahic proportions, but no one had built an ark. An unnamed weather system sucked water from the Gulf of Mexico and spewed it continuously across an unsuspecting flat landscape. Waters accumulated and sought outlets, then backed into neighborhoods and made streams out of roadbeds. There was flooding where even high water had been unseen for a hundred years.

    One of my wife Susie’s friends, fleeing the surging waters, was loading souvenirs and necessities of life into her van, attempting to escape the waters already in view in adjoining fields. A feral cat, resident of the neighboring forest and moocher of local human delicacies, watched the loading process but refused to get aboard our friend’s version of the ark. Flood waters were now on the driveway; the van/ark had to go, reluctantly leaving the cat.

    When the van arrived at its temporarily high ground and its owners were unloading its cargo, a litter of kittens was discovered, apparently brought into the van by a mother that recognized impending danger and sent her young to safety while choosing familiar surroundings for herself.

    We adopted one of those kittens about two weeks later. We named her “Sister,” a companion to our 4-year-old dog, “Gabby.” Sister’s food dish was placed on the laundry room floor, near Gabby’s dish in the kitchen.

    In the summer 2017, a small tan dog followed Gabby and Susie home from a walk one day. Thinking the little dog’s owners would show up soon, we started calling the new resident “Little Boy.” Little Boy apparently liked his new bed, regular meals, dog and cat companions, and Susie’s lap; but his owners never showed up. He is still with us and shows no sign of leaving.

    Little Boy likes cat food, so Sister’s food bowl was relocated to the top of the clothes dryer in the laundry room. To be sure she found her food in its new location, I picked her up and placed her on the dryer the first few times. Thus began our new routine.

    Sister spends most of every day outside, coming inside three or four times for food or a nap. She will sit near the back door or rub against my ankles, meowing softly until I let her into the house. She will then lead me or walk beside me to the dryer and wait for me to pick her up and place her on the dryer near her food.

    I began to think of this as “Communion.” Sister can easily jump to the top of the dryer, but she quietly requests that I help her and that I include a treat. I usually talk to her, calling her my “pretty kitty.” She seems to like that.

    “Do this in remembrance of Me,” said Christ. We come together, asking Christ and our fellow worshipers to join us. We even ask God for a treat-the presence of Holy Spirit. We ask Him to lift us to a higher plane, praying quietly in His Presence. Communion, either with a cat or fellow Christians, is about remembering how He saved us from certain disaster and lifted us to a higher plane, fed us with His manna, delivered us from the floods of this world’s evil and brought us Home to a secure place.

    Ron Newton

  • Faith Stories: Stewardship Sunday 2019

    Faith Stories: Stewardship Sunday 2019

    2 Corinthians 9:7 says “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” Giving softens the heart and frees the soul from dependence on money. Giving comes in many forms including prayers, presence, gifts and service…and I have seen that lived out here at St. John’s in many ways.

    Each of you have your own spiritual journey and what led you here to St. John’s. Mine started almost six years ago and includes three or the four top stressors for most people: Divorce, a Move and a New Job. 

    When I first arrived in Baton Rouge, I was suddenly single for the first time in 27 years and had just re-joined Capital One, after a 6 year absence. My former husband and I had been separated for just a few months when he had the opportunity to move to Baton Rouge. Being a United Methodist minister, we knew that was a possibility, but the timing was not ideal. I needed my support system more than ever during this time and a move was not part of the “healing” process for anyone. After much prayer, I made the decision to move to Baton Rouge to ensure our children had both parents in the same city. 

    I remember feeling so lost that first year, as I tried to acclimate to my new surroundings, without the foundation of my family and friends. At Capital One, I had the blessing of becoming friends with Carol Gordon, who after hearing some of the struggles I was having with finding a new church home, invited me to St. John’s. Russ and I had begun dating and we were actively visiting churches together. Carol also told us about the Genesis Sunday School class and agreed to escort us that first Sunday. Being “new” in a church is tough and wow, was I nervous! I don’t know if she knows what a blessing that was to us to have her by our side during those early visits! And what a blessing this church and our Sunday School class has been to us since. 

    Our pastor at the time was Juan, which many of you may remember, and he was so instrumental to Russ and I, as we began our new lives here in Baton Rouge. He helped us sort through our feelings of the breakup of our long-term marriages, the worries we had about our children and helped us to embrace the joys of newfound happiness. I will never forget meeting with Juan in one of our counseling sessions and telling him that Russ and I were wanting to get married, but didn’t have a minister. We had asked my Mom’s minister, but he had turned us down because we were both divorced. Neither one of us ever thought we would find ourselves in this situation, but here we were in a strange city and brand new members at St. John’s. “Any advice?” I asked. With no hesitation, he looked at us and said “You are loved and children of God, and God wants to prosper you. I’ll marry you guys and I have a really good track record.” That was God’s grace lived out through Juan at a time when we needed to feel it most. 

    Fast forward six years, and a lot has changed. We are a beautifully blended family of six, with our first grandbaby on the way. While those were tough times, I know that the reason I am where I am today is because of God’s Grace, God’s Gratitude and God’s Generosity. 

    I spent a lot of time in prayer and remained disciplined financially, hoping and believing that at some point I would begin to reap God’s blessings. What I now realize is that I had them all along and just couldn’t see at times because I was blinded by my own situation. 

    St. John’s people and ministries were a BIG part of my journey. Russ and I have been immeasurably blessed by having the opportunity to volunteer for The Shepherd’s Market, the annual Great Turkey Giveaway, Mission Fairs and Opening Doors…just to name a few. We continue to be amazed by how St. John’s LIVES out its mission through ACTION and not just words.  

    Please prayerfully consider your own journey here at St. John’s and how you can give back a portion of all that God has given you, as we move into the conclusion of our Stewardship campaign next Sunday. 

    I will leave you with the words from Casting Crown’s song, “Who Am I”…”Not because of who I am, But because of what you’ve done, Not because of what I’ve done, but because of who YOU are, I am yours.” 

    Debbie Nolan

    Watch Debbie’s Faith Story as Presented Sunday October 21

    Faith Stories: Stewardship Sunday from St. John’s UMC Baton Rouge on Vimeo.

  • Faith Stories: Growing Through Grace

    Faith Stories: Growing Through Grace

    Faith Stories: Growing Through Grace

    When asked to speak on Stewardship, little did I know how the theme would make my head swim. I prayed to God and asked for help on how I should talk about Stewardship based on the theme, “Growing Through Grace.”

    First of all, let’s establish what grace is in Christianity. You know there are many different meanings of the word. The Christian meaning of grace is the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in salvation of sins and the bestowal of blessings. After praying and pondering on the theme, “Growing Through Grace,” I heard God say, “Make it personal.”  

    If a person walks through the doors of St. John’s and does not feel welcomed and loved, they just might be in need of a heart transplant! I walked through those doors about five years ago with my sons Kevin and Devin. The first person I remember greeting us with a big hug and warm smile is Kathleen Adams. (Now mind you there were many others who greeted us that day.) She stands out because on the next Sunday, she remembered all of our names. She didn’t get the boys’ names mixed up. That’s impressive in my book!

    As I continued to grow through grace here at St. John’s, I stumbled into the Seekers Sunday School class while Devin was with Mrs. Marilyn and Mrs. Sarah. They invited me to visit with them until I found a class I felt comfortable, as in, I’m not a visitor anymore! I’m family! That’s right FAMILY. Carol, Don, Mr. Guy, Sally, Buffie, Larry, Fran, John, Pam, Ms. Bev, Daphne, Belinda, David, Achilla, Ms. Grace and Jane are who I go to for advice, prayer and someone to pick Devin up from school. FAMILY!  

    I’ve grown through grace with the choir, thanks to a very talented and loving group of people (Carrie, Terry, Karen, Beleice, Diane, Catherine, Gay, Jimmy, Kathy, Susanna, Sally, Phil, John, Pat, Christine, Molly, Chester, Mr.Tom, Deidre, Ray, Bob (the judge), Mark and Troy). I’ve grown through grace in the puppet ministry. These are the most creative and talented people on the face of the earth! (Mr. Guy, Gay, Daphne, Bob and Jane, Devin and the other Jane) But that’s not all, St. John’s! I’ve grown through grace with my time and my money. As sure as I have grown, many of you have grown through grace too. It’s my prayer that we as a church continue to feed people both spiritually and physically by sharing our gifts through witness and service.

    God bless you,
    Darlene Dickson 

  • Faith Stories: Keep Our Vision Growing

    Faith Stories: Keep Our Vision Growing

    Faith Stories: Keep Our Vision Growing

    Last week Kathy King shared some of the key points in the life of St. John’s since it was chartered in 1961. Today we are looking at keeping our vision growing.

    Yes, we remember our past, we look at where we started and where we have come to today. We also do a little dreaming about where it is we want to go into the future.

    Our past is history. We can’t change it. It is where it is. But we shouldn’t dwell upon it. We must remember the good part of it and learn from the bad parts of it. We shouldn’t continue to have things the way they were or are, but to get on with the life of the church in order to serve God’s call upon us.

    So having said that, what does that mean? It means that for some 50+ years, almost 60, we have been doing God’s work here at the corner of Reneé Drive and Highland Road. I think you would agree with me that we have done a really good job of answering the call placed on our hearts in the beginning. By God’s Grace, we have some wonderful foundations from which to build our future.

    And what is God calling us to do today in order to prepare for tomorrow? Our mission statement says that “we are a Christian community called to share our gifts through worship, witness and service so that others will know God and become disciples of Jesus Christ.”

    We now have an expanded worship facility with the recent addition of the Narthex. This is a beautiful space to welcome visitors and new members to St. John’s. We have also remodeled the gymnasium and added air conditioning making a wonderful and useful Family Life Center. This gives more space to have church family functions and community events. It also adds to our mission of feeding the people by giving us more space to serve our clients at The Shepherd’s Market.

    We also need to be good stewards of these new and expanded facilities, as well as the older parts of our campus, in order to represent God’s message of loving all who come into our midst. We must present a clean, well-kept location to all those who pass by our property. Being good stewards of all these facilities and keeping them in good repair must be a priority.

    God calls us to serve and love our neighbors. We need to continue to service all of our missions and grow the opportunities to serve. We do a good job today of serving our various communities, and last Sunday we saw the many missions we are involved in at our Missions Fair. We do a lot to serve God, the surrounding community and the world at large.

    All in all, God wants us to give our best, be our best as we present His word and be His disciples here in South Baton Rouge. To do that at the present time and to look into the future, we must continue to support the financial needs to prepare for tomorrow. God has called us here to South Baton Rouge. This is a fertile area, and there is a bountiful crop to be harvested, to grow His kingdom. We must put forth our best effort to have success.

    We still have a debt to service and support, so this year we are asking for second-mile giving in addition to our regular annual budget appeal. By freeing up our debt, it gives us more opportunities to serve God in more and different ways.

    I must admit that when we first started talking about raising $1.5 million, I was scared to death. In fact, I stood in front of you and admitted just that. I didn’t have much faith that we could come close to this goal. You could say I was a nay sayer. But I embraced the challenge and prayed fervently that God would provide as He has done in the first 50 plus years of our life. Thanks to our friends and members we met about two-thirds of that challenge in the three years of the pledge campaign. We walked by faith and not be sight.

    So I urge us to pray earnestly and sincerely and ask for God’s help as we come into this time of commitment. By the Grace of God let us be the best disciples for Jesus Christ that we can be, next year and the years after, right here in South Baton Rouge. Remember, when we walk by faith and not by sight God will and does provide.

    Mike Allen