Hello, BRN Family. It’s great to be with you today! We recognize Christmas as a season of giving, and I wanted to take time to appreciate our many partners who have given of their time and talent to help the Baptist Resource Network and its churches this year.
In particular, I want to genuinely thank all of our partners, including several larger SBC state conventions, who sponsored our network’s 2023 Accelerate Conference, held Oct. 3 here in Harrisburg. Your sponsorship helped us get one step closer to reaching the 14 million lost people in Pennsylvania/South Jersey, who do not yet know Jesus Christ. Thank you!
I also want to publicly thank N.C. Baptists on Mission, who have generously provided backpacks filled with all kinds of goodies for churches to distribute this special season. They have also sent many church mission teams to work with our BRN churches, doing outreaches and construction projects all over our landscape this past year. I heartily thank you for your beautiful partnership. You should know, some of that construction and renovation included our Volunteer Missions House and Guest House in Harrisburg. Both houses are absolutely beautiful! In 2024, we will have a team coming from South Carolina to renovate the Warren Missions House in Pittsburgh. We are so grateful. We hope you will take advantage of these houses when bringing in mission teams or leading your church retreats.
We also want to recognize the North American Mission Board, for generously undergirding our evangelism grants, and for Send Relief, who rallied the nation to minister to Philadelphia residents during the Serve Tour Philadelphia in September. Send Relief seeks to also help us launch our own Serve Erie next September. As a smaller network in the challenging Northeast, we can’t tell you how much we appreciate their prayers and support.
But we also appreciate yours. We are better together! The Apostle Paul, in Philippians 1:3-5, said it well: “I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”
We’re ecstatic about your partnership with the BRN and about all the possibilities ahead of us in 2024. Please know we love you and are praying for you. We wish you a very Merry Christmas! Thanks for listening in today. May God bless you!
