by Wayne Guinn
During my travels and preaching this spring, my wife Linda and I had the joy of celebrating the anniversary services of two of or church plants out of our ministry at Bethany Baptist Church in Melbourne, Florida.
Pastor Ron Todd of Harbor Baptist Church in Ormond Beach, FL, invited us to share in their 10th anniversary celebration March 6. What a thrill to see what the Lord has accomplished there. From the humble beginning in a small office complex which they quickly outgrew, they moved into a public school facility, and finally to their own building. They have outgrown their present auditorium space and have started a second service to accommodate the crowd. What a privilege to see the resulting return on our investment 10 years ago.
We were invited to share in the 25th anniversary services of Community Baptist Church of Sebastian, FL, on March 13. Pastor Ron Barber is the founding and present pastor. The church was started in a local school where God blessed with wonderful growth, and the church was able to purchase a five-acre plat. God led Bethany Baptist of Melbourne to co-sign a bank loan for the first building project. With God’s continued blessing and growth, additional property and a beautiful new auditorium has been added. Our souls were uplifted with the marvelous music program, following which I was able to preach to a full house. The services were followed by dinner on the grounds and an afternoon concert.
Birthing a new church has such a huge personal reward attached, and that is in addition to the spiritual benefits. Could I challenge you preachers to reproduce your ministry by birthing a new church? There is no way to calculate your return on that investment!