JOURNEY WITH JEFF: We Lost Another One

Unfortunately, last week we heard from another church that made the decision to discontinue their church plan. This is troubling for a number of reasons:

• First, even though most will say they will encourage their members to subscribe on their own, most do not. This means so many will be cut off from the information we provide about how God is working through the ministries of the BMA. I firmly believe better informed members make the greatest church members.

• Second, we hate to see any church cancel their church plan when we are willing to help them get through tough times. When a church faces difficult times and finances are tight, we understand that decisions must be made. If you will contact us directly before any final decisions are made, we will do our best to work with you to keep the paper coming to your members for a time while you continue to evaluate your financial situation. If we can carry you for a few months to get you down the road, we feel like that is a great investment and it is worth it to keep the connection to our people.

• Finally, as I mentioned in my Aug. 2 column, the more subscribers we lose, the more expensive it becomes to produce and send out the paper each week. We need you to be an ambassador in your church for the Baptist Trumpet. Will you advocate for us? Will you do your best to add your members to your church plan so we can continue to grow our subscriber base? If you know of someone who is not receiving the Trumpet, will you sponsor a gift subscription so they can try it out. We need you!

Almost Out of Time

We are nearing the final days of when Special Emphasis funds will be counted toward this year’s total. Our fiscal year ends on Aug. 31, and we are still short of our goal for this year. We are so thankful for each individual and church that has given toward this year’s goal, and we know God is in control of everything. We trust Him completely and know that He has a plan and purpose for this ministry.

Financially, thanks to the approved rate increases over the last few years, we are stable and able to stay current on all our bills and obligations. The Special Emphasis funds are for things outside of the normal day-to-day operations. This year, the funds are to fully fund the ongoing (getting near completion) new software project, the development of new website resources and for replacing computer equipment that is near the end of its useful life. We fell short of last year’s Special Emphasis goal, which meant we had to raise those funds with our Special Emphasis this year.

Would you prayerfully consider helping us finish strong over the next few weeks? We are just over $6,000 away from reaching our goal.

2023 Special Emphasis • Goal — $30,000

Previous Balance (August 2) $23,069.16

David Burns $100

Old Hickory Baptist Church, Hattieville $250

Church At Willow Beach, North Little Rock $500

Total $23,919.16