3 Things to Consider

In preparation for our all-church meeting this Sunday at 10:00am, I want to take this edition of TAB and focus on the details for this meeting.  My goal is to give you the opportunity to think about, ask questions about and pray about your role as we Replant FBC.

At this meeting, we will be asking our congregation three things.....

1.  Vote to approve a loan with the Northwest Baptist Foundation in order to pay-off our loan with Umpqua bank.  

The original balloon payment of approximately $1.4 million was due on June 5th.  Umpqua has provided us with a 6 month extension that gives us until December 5th to close the sale of our properties and secure new financing with the Northwest Baptist Foundation. 

We have been approved for a loan with the Northwest Baptist Foundation, but we do need congregational approval to move forward with the loan.  Here are the details of the new loan.  The Northwest Baptist Foundation has agreed to loan our church $600,000 at an interest rate of 5.7% with a term of 25 years.  If we combine this $600,000 with the $850,000 we will receive from the sale of the two homes, we are able to easily satisfy our debt with Umpqua.

2.  Give your recommendation for a new church name based on the list below.  We will be asking you to choose a "first name" and a "last name".  For example, our current first name is First Baptist and our last name is Church.  Another example would be, Beaverton Christian (first name) and Church (last name).

Here are the name choices:

First Name

• Discovery:  Helping people discover who Jesus is and how he can change their lives
• Generations:  We desire to reach all generations with the gospel of Jesus Christ
• Parkside:  This name can help us explain our location, which is next to Schiffler Park

Last Name

• Church
• Fellowship
• Christian
• Community
• Gathering

Based on the above list, here are some examples of potential combinations.

Discovery Church, Discovery Christian Church, Generations Community Church, Generations Fellowship, Parkside Community Church, Parkside Church, Parkside Fellowship 

3.  Choose the service that you plan to attend, as this will help us in the planning process 

To help you in making the right service choice, below are the times and a brief explanation about each service.

Our "classic" service at 9:15am, will have a more traditional church feel.  The music will be a mix of hymns and classic praise songs, accompanied by the piano and organ.  The message will be the same Biblically-based message as our modern service, but with a focus on the mature believer.  If I were trying to describe this service to someone, it would go something like this....."Our classic service is a time for the family of God to gather together, reflect on and thank God for the salvation that we have through His Son Jesus Christ.  This is done through joyful celebration as we sing the timeless hymns of the faith, followed by an inspirational message from God's Word."  The "modern" service at 10:30am is designed for the new or young believer, who is discovering what it means to have a relationship with God and how this relationship fits into his or her everyday life.  This is done through a combination of passionate worship led by a band, videos, live testimonies and an unapologetic, Biblically-based message.

I hope this information is helpful as we gather together on Sunday.  Please don't hesitate to email or call me if you have any questions or concerns.  I would be happy to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk.

Before I close, I need to share one more piece of important information with you.  As much as I value the ability to provide the opportunity for individuals to give online, unfortunately the company that provides this service for us does so at a price that does not make it cost-effective.  Therefore, FBC will no longer be accepting gifts online.  I will continue to look for an option that is reasonably priced and let you know when that system is in place.  Thanks for your continued prayers and support during this season of change.

See you Sunday.

Doug