Metropolitan Baptist Church


An Appeal from Your Pastor

 

August 1, 2008

 

Hello Metropolitan!

Last Sunday I preached a sermon titled “On Faith and Famine.” The whole thrust of the message was that it is important to rely upon our faith during difficult times. We are a people of faith and remain confident that Our God is able and willing to see us through.


That message continues to grow in importance as I reflect upon the critical financial times our nation is experiencing. The fluctuations of the economy, the instability of markets, as well as escalating costs for everything from gas to grits is of concern to us all.

 

The same is true for our church. The sagging economy has affected not only the marketplace; it has affected the church … our church. Our church giving is down by over 20% for the last few months. Other churches all over the country are experiencing a similar decline. The decline in revenue couldn’t come at a more difficult time for us. Our commitments for the building project and our continuing ministry expenses are severely challenged because of this decline. This is a time that calls for swift action and faithful resolve to depend on God first and then to do our best to meet this challenge head on.

 

Over the next few weeks you will see several changes in our ministry. For example, we will reduce office hours, make strategic personnel changes and eliminate non-essential services as we seek to be as economical as we possibly can without doing harm to the ministry itself.

 

You can help too! You can help us be faithful stewards by

 

 

You can expect, in the next few days, an additional letter in your mail. I want to be sure that every member of Metropolitan gets this message and has a full appreciation for the critical need to respond to this appeal.

 

As always I am grateful to you for your commitment, your loyalty and your love. Make no mistake about it – these are difficult and serious times. Nevertheless, I trust God to be with us through it all. God is faithful and I know you will be as well.

With Deep Affection,

Pastor Hicks