In March 2001, First Baptist Church moved its main worship and ministry location from its 90 plus year address in downtown Covington to our present 43 acre campus.
Churches that relocate face special problems. First, people are attached to the old location. My family certainly was. It was all that we knew for church. Our daughter was married there. I could go on and on, but we were woefully short of space to do the ministry that God was opening for us.
The second problem is the ability to finance such a move. Most churches that relocate walk on the edge financially. Some walk on the edge for years, and others never quite handle the financial difficulty.
Here’s the really good news. FBC Covington, has been blessed to move and continue to do effective ministry while financing a new, larger location. Last month we paid off the $14 million mortgage for our new location. Included in that amount was the building of the original ROC–for a total of about $16 million.
Last year we opened the addition to The ROC and completed a basketball Pavilion, sand volleyball courts, and baseball field. We will soon add lights for the baseball field. When we have completed this latest addition, we will have spent about $22 million on our campus. The total indebtedness is now down to $850,000. We hope to completely pay off all debt by the end of this year. That is really good news.
We thank God for His wonderful blessings. We have seen souls saved and lives transformed. We have seen thousands of children learn through VBS. In these ten years, over 1000 people have been saved and baptized. We serve a good God who blesses His people.
Thanks for making this possible. Please continue to give for the day by day and weekly ministry, and please continue to give to provide space and facilities to do ministry on the Northshore.