What a wonderful blessing this past Sunday to experience your love on Pastor Appreciation day. For the entire month of October, many of you have reached out to our pastors to express your heartfelt thanks, and we want you to know that we deeply appreciate you. 

This Sunday, as we finish Romans 15, we will take look at “Ministry For Gospel Advance.” Our text will be Romans 15:14-33. 

This is a text where we get a peek into the Apostle Paul’s heart. Read and pray over it in advance. What principles of ministry do you see? 

Pay special attention to Paul’s desire to “preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named” (Romans 15:20). 

Because we have so much access to the gospel in the United States, we can unconsciously assume that everyone has had the opportunity to hear about Jesus. That’s just not the case. In fact, there are billions of people who have little or no access to the good news about Jesus. 

The International Mission Board (IMB) is seeking to change that. This force of missionaries, sent out from Southern Baptist Churches like ours, is commissioned to take the gospel to every tribe and tongue. But at root, the task of world evangelization is not the responsibility of the IMB or any other mission board. It is the responsibility of the local church. It is local churches like ours that must raise up future missionaries. Those missionaries may go to the field with IMB or another missions agency, but they spring from the soil of the local church. It is local churches like ours that must give so that missionaries can be sent out and sustained on the field. And above all, it is local churches like ours that must undergird those missionaries with our prayers. 

I think you’ll see how all this comes together in Romans 15. I’ll see you on Sunday! 

By the way, we have another precious birth to celebrate: Miguel and Leslee Yustiz welcomed Josiah to the world this past weekend. Many of you have met Miguel, who preached for me recently. He serves on our FBC staff as Maintenance Supervisor, and is finishing his seminary studies. He is also serving as a pastoral intern with us, and is a great blessing to our pastors. Miguel has a degree in music, so part of his internship will involve working with our worship team during this transitional time. As you get to know this precious family, you will see that to know them is to love them. Pray for Miguel and Leslee as they begin their journey as parents!