From 1990 to 1999 I pastored a

church in Melissa, Texas that

had been at the same location

for 100 years. It was positioned

on an acre of land that had

served the farming community

well. In the nineties Melissa

was transitioning from a rural

hamlet to a growing suburb of

McKinney.

When I was called to the

church there were 65 regular

attenders. By 1997 attendance

had tripled and we were out of

space. Growth was expected to

continue and church leaders

began to look at future needs.

A team was selected to explore

our options and state

convention officials were

consulted to determine if we

could build or needed to move.

As the team continued to pray

and evaluate they were

convinced we should relocate,

and a suitable piece of property

was identified. The final

decision would be brought

(Continued on page 2)

- Morgan Malone

Funding the Vision

November 2016 Volume 50 Issue 11

Family Gathering a Success

The 3rd Annual Family Gathering was a great success! We were blessed with

beautiful weather and a wonderful location. It is estimated that approximately 550-600

people attended the Family Gathering at Camp Copass, from the very young to the

young at heart. There were 28 ministry-related booths set up in the Worship Center,

providing information on their community-related ministry. At least 400+ volunteers

came to pack bags of rice for the Hunger Challenge. We know, because we ran out of

hairnets after 400, and volunteers were still packing. The only complaint we heard was

from volunteers who wanted to pack more boxes! We exceeded our goal of packing

62 boxes, each with 36 bags of food which will provide 13,392 meals for Kurdish

refugees. With your help we can do even more next year! Thank you to the churches,

small groups, and individuals that gave a combined $4,310 for the Hunger Challenge.

We could not have done it without your financial assistance and faithful volunteers!

Friend to Friend cont.

Page 2 Connect ion Volume 50 Issue 11

currently meets on this property. As

expected, the church has continued to

grow, and today, approximately 1,000

people meet weekly to worship.

As I think back upon that experience, I

am reminded of some key principles

regarding fundraising.

• Prayer

It cannot be understated - prayer

should guide the entire process.

We prayed about what to do in the

future, the church vote to relocate,

the land we were to purchase, and

that God would provide the funds.

In every instance God answered

our prayers.

• Relationship

Cultivate a relationship with

potential donors. All people need

relationships, and the pastor

should be cultivating relationships

with potential donors just as he

would with people who cannot

financially support the vision.

Obviously, one must remember

that the purpose of the relationship

should not be selfishly motivated.

• Vision

God gave us the vision for the

future. John recognized the vision

and realized that the delay of his

company’s imminent sell was part

of a divine plan. People give less

and less out of a sense of duty and

more out of an understanding of

how they can make a difference. A

vision gives that person a picture

of how their gift can make a

difference.

• Personal Stories

Potential donors want to see that

the money they give will make a

difference. Churches need to share

personal stories and give

examples of how people have

been transformed by God through

before the church for a vote. Imagine

the emotions wrapped up in a building

that had been used for so many family

baptisms, weddings, and funerals over

the years. Many of the people were

not sure about the move.

As we moved ever closer to the vote,

John, one of our key leaders, came to

see me. He reminded me of our

previous conversation a year and a

half earlier when he told me that the

company where he worked for twenty-

five years was going to sell, and when

it sold, he was going to give $100,000

to the church. This was an incredible

amount of money for our church. Our

total budget for the year was less than

$200,000. I was very excited about this

generous gift to the church, but time

had passed and I had forgotten about

the conversation. Now here he stood

with news that the company was in the

final stages of selling. The money

would be given on January 2, almost

two years after our conversation. It

was to be used to help purchase the

land for the future site of the church. I

cannot tell you how overwhelmed and

excited I was for our church.

With his permission, I shared with the

church about the generous pledge

made for the purchase of the land. No

names were mentioned, for they

wished to remain anonymous. The

majority of the church was very

excited. When the vote was taken a

few weeks later the church approved

the motion to move to the new

property. On January 2, John, our

treasurer Lorene Kemp, and I walked

to the bank and made the transfer of

over $100,000 to our Land Purchase

Fund. John was instrumental in helping

a 100-year old church understand how

God can use His people to achieve His

purpose for the future. FBC Melissa,

(Continued from page 1) their church.

• Invite People to Participate

John gave generously to the vision,

and we invited others to participate

in giving. As you approach people,

invite them to give. Joel Mikell, the

president of RSI, a fundraising

organization, states, “be specific in

your ask.” Provide the potential

donor with specific items that could

be purchased or various amounts

of money needed to fulfill the

vision. Let them determine which

amount is doable.

• Celebrate God’s Provision

What a joy it is for the whole

congregation and staff to celebrate

when a vision comes to fruition.

They see the evidence of what only

God could do. I cannot tell you how

excited the members of FBC

Melissa were when they heard and

then saw the promise completed. It

encouraged them and affirmed that

the move was part of God’s plan.

In 2009 the US Congressional budget

report stated $524,898,000 was

contributed by Denton County

residents to various philanthropic

groups and organizations across the

world. This would include churches,

universities, local charities, and other

non-profits. These entities speak of

building relationships, sharing vision,

telling personal stories, and inviting

people to participate in their respective

projects. They spend a significant

amount of their time developing

relationships with potential

givers. Under the guidance of the Holy

Spirit, it is time for the church to

consider these principles as key

strategies for talking to followers of

Christ about the future of God’s

kingdom. What better investment can

there be than to participate in the

expansion of God’s kingdom!

Page 3 Connect ion Volume 50 Issue 11

Staff Changes

Brad Elsom has resigned as pastor

at FBC, Argyle.

Christy Butler has been called as

Associate Pastor of Connections at

FBC, Denton.

November

1 Disciple Making Training

DBA Office

9:30 AM

7 Finance Committee

DBA Office

9:00 AM

8 Executive Board

Highland

11:45 AM

9 Pastor’s Lunch

Angelina’s Restaurant

11:45 AM

12 Disaster Relief Training

FBC, Ponder

8:30 AM

21-25 DBA Office Closed

for Thanksgiving

I had the opportunity a few days ago to

spend time with a family that is a product

of Southern Baptist international

missions. As we approach the Week of

Prayer for International Missions, I would

like to share their story.

Colombian pastor Leonel Pulgarín gave

his life to Jesus when he was 23 years

old after taking inventory of his life and

concluding that if God existed he wanted

to serve Him. Three weeks into his initial

discipleship, and armed only with his

new Bible and a simple guide to

preparing a Biblical exposition, he was

given the task of going up the mountain

to a marginal neighborhood in the city of

Medellín, Colombia on Saturdays to help

lead Bible studies in a new church plant.

Fifteen years later, he now helps

coordinate the Colombian Baptist

Convention’s efforts to reach several of

the unreached indigenous people groups

throughout the northwestern part of the

country.

He moved to the banana-growing region

of the state to help the aging pastor of a

small rural church family revitalize its

youth ministry. When the pastor died,

Leonel was asked to step in and guide

the entire church family.

“I did not want to. I could not see myself as a pastor. But a near-by pastor and the members of my church family helped me see that this was the next step in serving God.”

Being isolated from other Baptist work in

the country, the three pastors in the

region looked for ways to train believers

to grow and minister to their

communities. They found IMB

missionaries in larger cities several

hours away who included them in

David Crane, Hispanic Associate

training opportunities every year. These

missionaries cast a vision for the

unreached and taught them how to share

their faith and present Bible stories in

simple, narrative ways in order to train

others to keep doing the same.

“As those we sent for training came back, we put them to work in reaching out to the surrounding communities that had no Baptist witness.”

This has resulted in Baptist churches in

six of the nine main population centers of

the banana-growing region. With only

three more population centers left to

evangelize, God has now led them to

focus on smaller rural areas and the five

large indigenous habitats.

Leonel is teaming with IMB missionary

Brian Massey and others to baptize and

train indigenous community leaders to

the do same. In January of this year, and

for the first time in Colombian history,

seven indigenous Baptist churches

joined the Colombian Baptist

Convention.

Leonel reminded me that two keys in

bringing God’s Kingdom to the banana-

growing region of Colombia have been:

1. Working together as an association

2. Being spiritually united with each other in reaching out to their world

As we approach the 2016 Week of

Prayer for International Missions, let’s

prayerfully commit ourselves to join our

Southern Baptist Convention family to

faithfully support and work together to

reach the remaining unreached peoples

of the world.

Tuesday - November 8

11:45 AM - 1:00 PM

Highland Baptist Church 600 Thomas St., Denton

Lunch - $8

All Executive Board members are

encouraged to attend the Annual Meeting.

Agenda:

• Vote on the DBA Budget

• Vote on Nominating Committee

recommendations

• Receive a new provisional member

church into the Association

• Recognition of Rochelle Schafer’s

15th year anniversary

Denton Baptist Association

Executive Board Meeting

(serves as the DBA Annual Meeting)

The Pulgarín Family (left to right):

Piedad, Leonel, Elizabeth and Surisaddai

www.dentonbaptist.org

Connections (USPS 106550) Published monthly by Denton Baptist Association 1406 N. Corinth St., Ste. 408 Corinth, TX 76208-5448 Periodical Postage Paid at Denton, Texas POSTMASTER:

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PASTOR’S LUNCH

November 9 11:45 AM

Angelina’s Mexican Restaurant

1400 N. Corinth

(same complex as the DBA office)

CHURCH PLANTER’S LUNCH

None due to the

Thanksgiving Holidays

RESERVATIONS

Email Morgan Malone to reserve your place for lunch:

morgan@dentonbaptist.org

SPECIFICS

This will be the basic Yellow Cap

training required for all volunteers.

Pictures, paperwork, and badges will

begin at 8:30 AM. A background check

is required for all volunteers at a cost

of $20 per person.

Disaster Relief Training

Saturday, Nov. 12 | 8:30 AM

First Baptist Church, Ponder 101 South Highway 156

RESERVATIONS

Reservations requested in order to

provide adequate materials for all

attendees.

Contact Judge Camp at:

jcamp460420@hotmail.com to make

your reservation.

DBA Office will be closed

November 21-25