Below is a list of some of the tangible things God did for us in 2010. Obviously, there are many spiritual blessings that can't be measured in the same manner as these I've given. I prepare a list like this every year, as it helps me to get my mind around God's working in our fellowship. Rejoice with me and ask God to do it again in 2011.
2010 Blessings
- The total number of converts to Christ from all of the 2010 outreaches of LMBC is hard to pinpoint with specificity, but following are the numbers we’ve actually recorded: 50 Huntington High School football players (some now in discipleship studies), 38 adults from our church services, 32 children from our children’s ministry, 40 through our Encounter Bible Studies, one child from the AWANA program, an exchange student from Germany, etc., etc. Many others were reached through ministries like the Daily Walk and our numerous outreaches throughout the year.
- Our small group ministry was actively involved in numerous Servant Evangelism projects such as the Pumpkin Festival outreach, Gift baskets (with Gospel literature) in the hospitals, quilts for Veterans and the crisis pregnancy center, several taste and see events (inviting unbelievers to dinner and discussing Christ/Scripture), water distribution on the campus of Marshall University, feeding the homeless, nursing homes, roofing houses and other repairs, etc. (too numerous to list).
- We began the “Water of Life” outreach. A trailer was purchased to distribute free bottled water (along with Gospel and church literature) at local fairs, festivals and local community events.
- One of our members introduced us to and we began working with the “Back Pack” program, which provides food for the weekend for 41 children from one of our local public elementary schools. These backpacks are filled each week by our members and teens so the children will have something to eat on the weekend when public assistance through the school system isn’t available to them (They also receive a copy of our Encounter Bible studies).
- God opened the door for one of our deacons to speak to the HHS football team on a weekly basis at the practice field before the players, coaches and parents.
- We sent out a total of 18,260 Encounter Bible Study lessons with 15,013 being returned. There were 1021 certificates earned by EBS students and we gained 347 new students during the year. (The number converted through this ministry is listed under #1.)
- We had more than 2700 people present for our Trunk or Treat outreach event and 256 children involved in the VBS program.
- There was a total of 84 new members added to LMBC in 2010.
- Our largest Sunday morning attendance for 2010 was 1378 and we had 174 people that registered as visitors over the 52 Sundays of the year. Many other visitors were in attendance, but did not register.
- Our small group ministry nearly doubled in size with more than 54 groups meeting throughout the week in 2010.
- Many of our small group leaders also trained an apprentice so that we can perpetuate new leadership and multiply small groups.
- The church’s first sermon-based small group was formed...a men’s group that met weekly.
- A “grass-roots” discipleship effort was born that will have increasing impact over the coming years.
- Our Heart2Heart ladies mentoring ministry continued to help women grow in their faith and discipleship.
- We implemented a new children’s curriculum in the Kids Connection ministry (first through fifth grades) that will take children through every major story/character of the Bible, teach them systematically the basic doctrines of the Christian faith, and instruct them in creation science.
- We began the Caring Hearts ministry that shares God’s love with more than 60 widows who are members of LMBC. This ministry sends cards and makes weekly phone calls to encourage one another, as well as many of our shut-ins.
- We had 1,200 that attended our Huntington Festival of Christmas Music for the two nights of the performance.
- Over 60 choir members and more than 20 instrumentalists participated in two major productions this year.
- Our music ministry combined their efforts with the King’s Players from Liberty University in presenting a stirring Easter musical entitled, Days of Glory on Easter Sunday Evening. There were more than 600 in attendance that evening to worship our resurrected Savior.
- Our hospital visitation staff visited 209 people in the hospitals in 2010. With a visit from someone every day there were 1537 total visits made by this team. These totals do not include the hundreds of visits made to our shut-ins and those in nursing/personal-care homes.
- This years Missions Transformation Conference was inspiring as many people made new commitments to the cause of church planting around the world.
- We added six new missionary families to our missions outreach and took church members on six short term mission trips to foreign fields.
- In 2010 our people gave $270,000 above their regular giving to LMBC for the cause of missions.
- Our church also hosted doctors, nurses, health professionals, and others on two trips to Haiti following the devastating earthquake in 2010.
- More than $10,000 was raised for missions for our annual “Touch the World” Golf tournament.
- There were three new families added to Daystar Baptist Missions, Inc., who are going to various regions of the world to plant churches.
- We were blessed with the privilege of ordaining another of our church members (Robert Krzesinski) to the Gospel ministry. He and his family are now preparing to go to Poland to plant churches.
- Our young people averaged approximately 90 students in attendance in their Wednesday night worship service.
- In 2010 our teens helped a family in need in TN with home improvements, as well as re-roofed the house of one of our widows.
- For the first time in our new Student Ministry Building our teens hosted the entire Sunday night congregation for songs of praise/worship and a “cardboard testimony” service.
- Our Prime-time Fellowship (senior adults) took 10 trips in 2010 to places like Niagra Falls, Myrtle Beach, Cass Railroad, Pigeon Forge, etc. and 12 new regular attenders were added to the church through this outreach.
- Due to a generous gift and the diligent efforts of a Realtor in our fellowship we were able to purchase two pieces of property at a significant savings, including a house now used for ministry purposes and a lot that became church parking.
- Thanks to the efforts of one of our church members and a generous gift by a donor, we were able to complete phase three of our parking lot across from the Worship Center.
- A generous donation allowed us to purchase a fifteen passenger shuttle bus to be used for transporting people from the parking-lots adjacent to the Worship Center.
- There were many technological upgrades throughout the church facility. For instance, we installed a satellite dish so that we can host live streaming seminars and conferences from anywhere in the world. We are one of only two churches in this region that can provide this ministry.
- Two of our members that are trained professional counselors began accepting referrals from the LMBC pastoral staff in 2010. They meet with these referrals on our campus in order to minister to the spiritual and emotional needs of our members. This has been enormously helpful to our pastoral staff, as well as those who are discipled in this new ministry.
- The Daily Walk ministry continues to grow in viewers; and the faithful servants in that ministry completed more than 700 orders for CDs and DVDs. They also welcomed seven new servants to their ministry.
- Our audio ministry began installing quality improvements for both live music and recordings that will be completed in early 2011.
- Our “Thirty Pieces of Silver” offering raised $23,158 and our “Gifts for Jesus” offering raised $32,181 to be used to broadcast the Gospel through our Daily Walk TV program.
- The West Ridge Bookstore was added to the lobby of our Worship Center with the assistance from Guiding Light Christian Store with whom we partner in this ministry.
