Our Goal and Results
Our goal for Greater Investment...Greatest Return was $1,427,121.
So far (March 22, 2010) we have received commitments of $1,588,442. That's $161,221 greater than our goal - which when received would allow us to finish at least two additional projects (repainting the exterior of the church and repaving our parking lot).
We have received (March 22, 2010) $309,783.75 in our First Fruit offering plus about $46,000 in gifts of assets (that, once sold, can be added to that First Fruit total).
We started this emphasis with a goal of eliminating our church debt which was around $725,000 before this emphasis. Once the First Fruit offering has been sent in, our mortgage will be around $409,639.
Praise God and thank the faithfulness of our congregation!
Our Challenge For 83 years, Northside Baptist Church has been making disciples of Jesus Christ in the Saint Petersburg area and around the world. Lives have been transformed; marriages have been formed, helped and preserved; children have been born, raised and nurtured in the Lord; and above all, the Father has been glorified, the Son has been shared, and the Spirit has been followed.
For 83 years, Northside has met the challenges of the times and ministered to the community. For our church to continue to make disciples, we must meet the challenge of our time and minister to our community. We are at a critical point in our history. For the first time in a long time, we are close to being out of debt and operating within the stewardship of God's blessings to us. But, we are also in need of some major renovations to our church to effectively minister to all who join us so they might grow as disciples.
Greater Investment...Greatest Return is about making disciples. It is a call to each person at Northside to take a greater part in making disciples through a greater sacrifice of the blessings God has given to each of us to see the greatest return - transformed lives given in discipleship to Christ. Greater Investment...Greatest Return is ultimately not about debt or buildings or finances. It is about seeing our church exist as it should, so that others can exist as they should. It will require a level of sacrifice as a church body that only God can orchestrate - a Greater Investment for the Greatest Return.
Our Mission Greater Investment...Greatest Return is our stewardship emphasis to help our church better be disciples and better make disciples of Jesus Christ.
We believe that a disciple of Jesus is a person who has committed himself to increasingly become like Jesus through the intentional and sequential process of growth that Jesus used with His original disciples.
A disciple is committed to increasingly become like Jesus by submitting to Him, knowing His Work, service in His ministry, and imitating His Life -- that's the challenge of Greater Investment. Having people see Jesus, follow Him, be with Him and remain in Him -- that's the reward of Greatest Return.
Our Plans As God provides the funds during this 3-year period, we will proceed with the following:
Eliminate our debt ($725,000)
Roofing Repairs
Playground Renovation
ABF Classroom Renovation
South Entryway Renovation
East Entryway Renovation
Future Priorities (Paint exterior; resurface parking lot; Replace flooring; Renovate bathrooms; Replace pews; Update Sanctuary lighting and audio/video; landscaping; HVAC system)
Events
Kickoff Weekend: January 30-31, 2010
Prayer and Praise: January 31, 2010
Group Fellowships: February 2-19, 2010
Personal Prayer Commitment: February 7-21, 2010
Family Conference: February 15-19, 2010
Commitment Weekend: February 20-21, 2010
Celebration and First Fruits Weekend: March 20-21, 2010
Media
The messages in our weekend services have been around the theme of our Stewardship Emphasis. You can listen to a message you missed through one of the MP3s below (or checkout Our Services page for all of our sermons and notes):
Here is the video we put together to tell the story of Northside Baptist Church - making disciples and transforming lives, in Saint Petersburg and around the world! Please watch it and dream with us what the Lord has for us in the days ahead.
Here is the video of our cardboard testimonies from our Commitment weekend - what excitement there is in a transformed life! These are the greatest rewards!
Here is the "trailer" we showed as an encouragement to our congregation to get them ready for the Stewardship Emphasis. Please watch it and join our excitement.
Below is a copy of our brochure. Feel free to browse it online by simply clicking on the picture below. You may also download the PDF file by clicking the link beneath it.
