What's NextNews

Capital Campaign Newsletter of Evangelical Baptist Church

J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 9 • V O L . 1

Back in 2012, the EBC family committed to changing locations from

Veteran’s Square to Lakeport. Much effort, sacrifice, and prayer went

into raising the money needed to move to the facility we are

presently in. After a season of meeting for worship in the gym, the

move was made to the beautiful worship center where we gather

each Sunday for praise to our faithful, generous, good, and awesome

God!  Stories of God’s hand at work throughout that building

campaign are still shared today. What was next for EBC?

Back in 2015, after a time of intentional transition, I was called to

serve as lead pastor. My very first sermon was from John 15 where

Jesus calls his followers to fruitfulness. There is a progression seen in

that we bear fruit, more fruit and much fruit. (Continued on pg. 2)

WRITTEN BY BRIAN GREEN

What's Next at EBC INSIDE:

CHRISTMAS EVE - 2

A CALL TO PRAYER - 3

SAVE THE DATE - 4

HISTORICAL NOTES - 4

5 0 WA S H I N G T O N S T R E E T | L A C O N I A , N H 0 3 2 4 6 | ( 6 0 3 ) 5 2 4 - 2 2 7 7

The first phase was completed and we have

chipped away at completing some projects in

our second phase planning. It is time to step it

up and move towards completing the second

phase.

God is growing His church here in Laconia! Let’s

build on the momentum we are currently

experiencing of more and more people

checking us out each Sunday. What else can

we do to be even more fruitful? What’s next for

EBC to have greater impact and to grow

deeper as a church?

What’s Next?

(continued from page 1) New people are coming

each Sunday. He is bringing people who have

little to no church background, some who are

looking to reestablish trust in a church, and

others who are more seasoned in the faith.  He is

arranging the parts of the body! Our attendance

on Sunday mornings since April has averaged

240 (that is up 40-50 people over the last year).

EBC kids, momentum, community groups have

grown over the last several months. People are

being impacted by what is taking place on

Sunday mornings, in Children’s Church, in

Momentum Youth Ministry, Community Groups,

Monday Night Basketball, and so on.

Now in 2019, we are asking, “What’s next?”

When we arrived at this Lakeport facility, there

were three phases established of the work that

needed to be done to increase our effectiveness

and efficiency as a church.

What's Next at EBC

Close to 250 people worshiped with us at EBC at the Christmas Eve Service. We’re grateful that the Lord has provided this facility to comfortably fit those who call EBC their church home while providing space to make newcomers feel welcome weekly and on special occasions. For some newcomers, Christmas Eve was their first taste of a community worship setting at EBC. Let’s continue to have servant’s hearts when interacting with those looking for a church home.

PHOTO CREDIT : LYD IA KNEUER

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Large financial gifts were provided just when

most needed. Not only that, they were above

what was pledged! We saw God’s provision

through every part of the building program.

Prayer was an integral part of this miracle. For

more information please read the “Miracles of

Provision” handout which was prepared for the

September 2014 dedication of our campus.  It

can be found on the missions table downstairs.

Through this and upcoming articles and other

means of communication, we challenge you to

commit to the following: 

First, read the Bible, God’s Word, each day. We

suggest initially to read the Book of Nehemiah. 

Yes, he led an effort to rebuild the walls of

Jerusalem, but first and foremost, he was a

man of prayer.  Prior to making any decision or

taking any action, Nehemiah prayed. His

example encourages each of us to become a

person of prayer.

Second, pray for our church family’s vision each

and every day for five to ten minutes,

continuing up to the initiation of the Capital

Campaign. The Campaign will begin

immediately after Easter.  We suggest that you

schedule time in your day to pray. Find a

location where you can be alone with God. This

challenge will not only make a difference in

your life, but also in the life of our church

family. This difference? Developing a closer

relationship with God.

(continued on page 4)

This is the first in a series of articles focusing

upon prayer. We invite you to join the Prayer

Team on a journey to explore, experience and

realize the richness and power of prayer.  This

journey will allow all of us to more effectively

approach the throne of God in faith as we pray.

And we’ll do this initially through a focus upon

the upcoming building program. 

Pastor Brian and the Elders have made us aware

of the need to replace our Worship Building’s

aged heating system, to demolish the old

building attached to our gymnasium to make

room for future ministry needs, and to add two

new restrooms to the Worship Center Building. 

These and other improvements to our campus

are needed to allow us to continue to spread the

grace of God to our community and the world.

 

Four years ago, EBC completed the first phase of

a building program. When we began this effort,

our vision was beyond anything we thought

could be accomplished. This was a $1.4 million

effort, half of which included the purchase price

of our campus. We knew that only the Holy Spirit

could accomplish the impossible. So, EBC bathed

this building program in prayer. For example,

prayers were raised at the very beginning and

end of each Building Team meeting. Often,

meetings were paused to pray for discernment at

points when consensus seemed quite distant. 

Every time unity reigned. A myriad of other

unexplainable things happened. For example, we

were led to our current location through

miraculous steps, pledges were honored even

during a difficult period, and the right people,

companies and other resources appeared.

WRITTEN BY DAVID PROVAN

A Call to Prayer

(continued from page 3)

In articles that will follow, we will be addressing: Why

Pray. How to Pray. How to know what to Pray for.

God uses prayer to make the impossible,

possible!  Come! This is an opportunity for you to

join with others in our church family in prayer,

seeking the Holy Spirit to do what only He can

do, through His power, to once again display His

glory through another building program.  Let’s all

be prayer warriors.

A Call to Prayer Save the DateJANUARY PRAYER EVENT

WHAT ’S NEXT BANQUET

Sunday, January 27, 2019, 6:00 - 7:00pm at EBC

Friday, April 5, 2019, 6:00pm at Pheasant Ridge

Country Club

There is one thing you can count on in your walk with Jesus: change. If you're healthy, you're growing. What your life looks like today is not what it will look like this time next year. It will look even different the year after that. The congregation that meets in our current facility has been on a journey that started almost two centuries ago. Back then, a group of people began to meet with one purpose in mind: reach the Lake Region with the Gospel of Jesus. Pictured above is the building the current congregation that calls itself Evangelical Baptist Church traces its roots. Construction on this building on the corner of Church and Main Streets began on June 6, 1836. While everything looks different today, if you study the picture, you'll recognize something familiar. The building on the left is the Laconia Library. As we hear more in the future about the What's Next Campaign at EBC, pray about your participation. While many things have changed in the group of people that gather under the banner of EBC, the task hasn't. We're called to reach the Lakes Region with the Gospel. What's your part? What's Next?

HISTOR ICAL FOOTNOTE WRITTEN BY BRYON MONDOK

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