Everything at First Baptist Church seems to be getting back to normal, and normal feels so good.

Here are some “normal” things that are happening:

This weekend is Disciple Now Weekend, an intense time of growth, fun, worship, and fellowship for our Student Ministry. Dr. Jamie Dew, President of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College, is the special speaker. We are prayerful and excited about the possibilities of this weekend.

Our Children’s Ministries are truly exciting to watch. Most of you have heard me say that my goal is for kids to walk into our church building and feel that they “own the place.”  I want children to experience the joy, hope, and yes, fun of knowing Christ.  I want them to always remember church to be a place where they were loved and cared for.  I want them to experience Christ and know and serve Him for a lifetime.

All of our children’s activities have been at record numbers over the past few weeks.  That means more kids studying the Bible and learning how to use it and more families hearing the Good News of Jesus.

We also have our Anchored Capital Campaign to raise funds for (1) purchasing additional land, (2) renovating Central Hall, (3) upgrading the ROC, (4) purchasing equipment for Special Friends, (5) blessing our other campus congregations, and (6) reducing our indebtedness.  We have a church wide meeting planned for Sunday, April 3, at 4:00 PM in Central Hall to present the plan for the days to come.  As we all work together, we can position the church for the future.

We are continuing in our “Anchored” sermon series as we follow the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of Jesus and culminate with Easter weekend and the weeks after as we rejoice in His resurrection and His appearances to His followers.  We hope you will join us each weekend and that you will be a part of our Maundy Thursday service when we remember our Lord’s death as we take of the Lord’s Supper.  That special service will be Thursday, April 14, at 7:00 PM in the Worship Center.

I pray especially that Easter will be normal as we all come together to worship God and rejoice in the resurrection of Jesus and our new life in Him.  It’s going to be a wonderfully normal celebration!

-Dr. Waylon Bailey