Hello, BRN family. It’s great to be with you today!

Did you know numbers are important? So much so, a book in the Bible is named after them.

Consider this: Who do you think counted the 3,000 souls who were saved at Pentecost as recorded in the Book of Acts? Who counted all the people at the feeding of the 5,000, as documented in the Gospels? The sheer mention of those numbers instills awe!

I believe numbers are important because they tell about the activity of God through His people. But what happens when you ignore the significance of numbers?

In prior years, church leaders across the Baptist Resource Network served as trustees on many of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) entity boards. Their involvement as trustees allowed Pennsylvania/South Jersey to have a voice in what happens across the SBC.

However, in recent years, the BRN has lost representation on some of these boards because many of our churches did not do the simple act of reporting their Annual Church Profile (ACP) data. (You may remember that the ACP captures numbers of church’ baptisms, church membership, and cooperative giving, among other things, for each given year.)

What does that mean?

If I could be forthright with you, it means that the BRN was no longer represented on five SBC boards: four of the SBC seminaries as well as GuideStone Financial Services. That means, we lost our collective voice. And what grips my heart the most is that we lost the ability to bring more diversity into the SBC.

But guess what? Last year’s ACP reporting from 80% of our churches allowed us to get back three of these entity positions! Thank you! I am here asking you to please continue your diligent reporting. It really matters.

This year’s national deadline is February 28. At a minimum, we are looking to capture your church’s numbers for total members, total baptisms, average in-person weekly worship attendance, and if possible, your church’s undesignated Cooperative Program giving amount.

Let me say this. Even if your number of baptisms is zero, it is important that the larger SBC organizations know you exist and that you are working for the Kingdom in Pennsylvania/South Jersey. God is in charge of the growth!

In fact, I believe God has so much in store for us in this region, and I want to ensure that others across our national landscape are aware of your labors for Christ. Please take time to fill out this report today.

You can go to brnunited.org/acp to access a simple form. Or if you prefer, you can text or call us with your information at 717-652-5856! We’d love to help you because we believe God is moving all around us.

Thank you! Thank you for caring. Thank you for filling out your ACP, and as always, thanks for listening in today. May God bless you!