Dear Church Family...

Let me tell you about an upcoming prayer and fasting experience simply called "24." God impressed the experience upon my heart when reading in the book of Ezra: 

"Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.” So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty (Ezra 8:21-23) 

Ezra was too reluctant to ask the king for protection because he had told the king that God is good to all who seek him. As a result, he called for fasting and prayer.  

The Lord is calling First Southern to fast and pray corporately. We will be setting aside a 24-hour period starting October 18th at 6:00 p.m., and ending October 19th at 6:00 p.m. in the Worship Center. We are asking members to commit to an hour of prayer during that time period. Prayer stations will be set up in the Worship Center to guide participants in prayer and worship. You can pray with a group, or you can pray individually.  

If you choose to fast, you can design the fast to fit your physical needs. You can fast from food the whole 24-hour period, or choose to fast from a specific meal. However you design your fast, make sure you spend that time in prayer.  

We will focus on four specific areas: First, we will be praying that God will enable us to finish strong this budget year. We are in need for God to provide financially for our church. Second, we will pray for the Lord to sell the North Campus. Third, we will pray for the ministries of our church. Last, we will pray for the churches and the lost in our community. We will be communicating more details in the future.  

Let me make one more appeal. When the Lord was leading the people of Israel to build the Tabernacle, he had Moses speak these words, "Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him; you shall receive the contribution for me" (Exodus 25:2). If God moves you, would you consider helping us finish strong in our budget giving? 

Thank you for allowing me to serve as your pastor the last four years! 

I love you, 

Patrick   

 
 

  

FSBC: A Christmas Greeting

 

Luke 2:11

“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord”

I love this time of the year.  It always boggles my mind to think that out of the 199,987,707,791 babies born in history of the world, one of those babies was the Son of God, the Savior of the world.  

On behalf of the Mead Family, we love you! We are grateful that God has allowed us to serve one of the great churches in Arkansas.   May your Christmas be filled with awe for Christ, and your New Year started with a fresh commitment to Christ. 

In His redeeming love,

Patrick, Christy, Abigail, Maribeth, and Caroline. 

A Vision for Generations to Come!

Vision Sunday

On Sunday April 3, I will be sharing a vision for First Southern that God has put on my heart. This vision has been formulating for over a year. As God formulated his vision, he taught me some very important lessons in leading his people.

First, the Lord taught me to investigate before I initiate. Many great plans have failed because of haste. For the first ten months of my ministry at First Southern the Lord led me to prayerfully investigate the situation of First Southern.

Second, the Lord taught me to wait until he puts the vision in my heart. This process of waiting took ten months of soul searching. I wanted to make sure that what was in my heart was from God. When he finally gave me the peace I needed, I shared with the church what God has put into my heart.

On August 22, 2010, I shared with the church that God had not given me peace about relocating to the north campus, and that he wanted us to stay at the main campus. However, that was all that God had put on my heart at the time. I still didn't know what to do next, but God did.

Soon after I shared my heart with the church, I was contacted by an architect who said his firm would do the master planning for our main campus vision for free. This was a blessing because I didn't have a clue what to do next. I also knew that I needed to investigate further before I presented a long-term vision for the church.

After seven months of investigating and planning, I am ready to share the vision that God has for First Southern Baptist Church for generations to come.

Thoughts About Sunday!

Sunday's worship services were tremendous. Most people who attended the 11:00 would say that the presence of the Lord was tangible. Why was Sunday so powerful? Why did God's Spirit show up in a special way?

The service was Christ-centered. We shared testimonies of people sharing their faith. Believers were baptized. The gospel was read and preached, and the Lord's Supper was observed.

The word of God was read corporately. I believe that God's word is powerful, especially when the congregation reads it aloud.

The People felt freedom in worship. I witnessed an unhindered congregation expressing their worship with their voices and their bodies.

I pray First Southern has many more Sundays soon where God's presence and power are observable and tangible.