Florida News

Have camper will travel for the Lord

JACKSONVILLE (FBC)—‘Have camper will travel for the Lord’ could be the motto for the Florida Baptist Campers on Mission. Offering a friendly face at a campground or a helping hand after a devastating storm, these volunteers take to the road to share the Gospel by conducting outreach events, volunteering and befriending fellow travelers.

New Works Report

JACKSONVILLE (FBC)—According to a report released by the Florida Baptist Convention’s Church Planting Department, Florida Baptists started 14 new churches in May, 2009. The following is a listing of new churches by association:

Humbled by Hunger

WINTER HAVEN (FBC)—Danielle Petit knows what it’s like to be humbled by hunger. When she and her four children were abandoned by her husband, “We lost everything. If it was not for God, I would have been on the street,” she recalled.

Dear fellow Florida Baptists,

We are living in difficult economic times. New census data shows that 37.3 million Americans—one out of eight—lived in poverty in 2007. Hunger is a condition of poverty. Living below poverty puts tremendous strains on a household, giving families barely enough money to purchase healthy and nutritious foods as well as other essentials of life. Nutrition research shows that as income goes down, the nutritional adequacy of the household’s diet goes down as well.

Jacksonville Children’s Home needs sewer

JACKSONVILLE (FBCH)—It’s raining again and Randy Harrison administrator for the Jacksonville campus of the Florida Baptist Children’s Homes is locking the restroom doors in the office and chapel buildings due to the deterioration of the septic tank drain field that serves those buildings. Harrison is looking forward to the day when the Jacksonville campus can connect to the city sewer line in order to avoid these inconveniences.

New Plant City pastor focuses on making, marking, maturing disciplies

PLANT CITY (FBW)—In outlining his dreams for First Baptist Church in Plant City, new Pastor Michael S. Lewis preached about evangelism, citing the Great Commission. He told the congregation June 14 his and their focus will be making disciples by telling about Jesus, marking disciples in baptism, and maturing disciples by teaching.