First Baptist Church Bryan

Church Mission/ Church Identity Review Final Report September 1, 2013

PRIOR TO READING THIS REPORT

PLEASE TAKE NOTE

The Transition Team is appreciative of the work of the temporary committees and their associated working groups. All reports and suggestions are being made available to the church body and have been forwarded to appropriate committees and staff members for review. Encouraged by the Transition Team some recommendations within the routine church-authorized service of our staff and lay leadership are being enacted. Any major recommendations rising to the level of church approval will not be performed without first being presented to the church in an announced business meeting. Please accept the content of this report as counsel from members of our church asked to provide thorough consideration to the assigned matter. They have each offered their considered suggestion for the betterment of our church. We are grateful to their dedicated and heartfelt labor on our behalf.

Mission Subgroup Report

The mission of First Baptist Church Bryan is to live with a passion for Jesus and His purposes in the world by leading people to a personal, growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Our vision is to be a family of authentic communities of faith, reflecting Jesus and taking bold steps to expand the Kingdom of God. Our core values are: to be passionate, be transformed, be servants, be compassionate, be real, be family-focused, and be mission-driven. Our ministry model is to 1) Believe, 2) Connect, 3) Grow, and 4) Share. The Transition Team conducted a survey with members of the church to evaluate if the congregations opinions regarding the churchs mission matched the published mission statement, vision statement, and ministry model. Church members were asked three open-ended questions, then a series of multiple choice questions. When asked, If you were only able to ask God for one thing for FBC Bryan, what would it be? the overwhelming majority of responders across all age groups gave answers that fit into three categories: unity for the church body, reconciliation among the church body, and revival. The second question asked, What do we want people outside our church to say about us? The majority of responses were: that our church is genuine, that our church love s fellowship and community with each other, and that our church shares Christ. The final free response question asked, What does our church do well? The three most occurring responses were: fellowship, meeting needs, and missions. The multiple choice portion indicates that most members perceive our Missions ministry (37%) as best exemplifying the mission of our church. Each of the seven age groups indicated this as their top choice. The ABF and Small Group ministry was selected second at 17%, followed by our Childrens and Young Adult ministry at 13%, then our Worship ministry at 11%, and finally our Youth and University ministry at 9%. It was interesting that 8 of the 9 votes for the Youth and University ministry were by our youth. When given three choices to select our vision at FBC Bryan: 51% selected C:FBC Bryan ministering to the people of our community, nation, and world in a way that reveals the love of Christ and points people to Jesus.; 33% selected A: Focusing on the spiritual development of families, youth, and University students, leading them to impact our community, nation, and world for Christ.; and 12% selected B: Building a stronger community of faith through sound Bible teaching, authentic worship, and evangelism training. Those percentages were consistent across all age groups.

FBC Bryan has a Ministry Model that was created by our staff as a daily journey of our members to live out our mission statement. 1) Believe, 2) Connect, 3) Grow, and 4) Share is a guide that should be reflected by every ministry in our church. We asked those surveyed to put these in order according to where we should start and proceed with our ministry. Over two thirds (68%) recognized that to Believe was the first step. Again each age group was consistent here. 44% also selected Connect as the second step with all but the youth giving it the highest vote. The disparity between the published model and how those surveyed understand this model came in the last two choices. More people selected Share third and Grow fourth than did vice versa. The last part of the survey provided 22 core values and asked members to select the top five that most described FBC Bryan. The top ten responses (in order of frequency) were: 1. Bible-centered preaching/teaching (54) 2. A well-kept facility (32) 3. A desire to bring the lost to Christ (31) 4. World Missions (30) 5. Genuinely living out Christian beliefs (28) 6. Godly servant leadership (27) 7. Warm fellowship (24) 8. Strong Families (23) 9. Helping those in need (23) 10. Authentic Worship (21) An evaluation of the churchs budget for the year 2013 revealed the following percentages: Salaries and Benefits: Debt Retirement: Administering the House of God: Cooperative Program: Missions: o Local: o National & International: All Other Internal Ministries: 45.922% 17.036% 15.060% 7.466% 4.302% 1.553% of the total years budget 2.749% of the total years budget 10.214%

In evaluating the amount budgeted for ministries outside of our church (anything designed to reach people that are not members of FBC Bryan), 13.86% of the total budget is spent on outside ministries. This total included such items as the television production, transportation for the youth and college groups for mission trips, Mission Dignity, the Cooperative Program,
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everything under the Missions category, and many other line items. It did not include the salary for the Minister of Missions and Assimilation. In addition to the budgeted amounts given each year, the congregation of First Baptist Bryan has a history of giving generously to ministries outside of the church. In the year 2012, the church gave $430,464.82 to fifteen different ministry areas. That total includes the offerings given to such ministries as the Lottie Moon Mission, Annie Armstrong Mission, Miracle Farm Ministries, Discovery, the Gideons, Mission Dignity, etc. There are no records that account for the numerous hours of volunteer work or independent monetary giving that church members also invest in ministries apart from the church.