Last Saturday, we had an incredible day at Light Up Austin!  I’m so proud of our church for taking Christmas on the road to the Texas Baptist Children’s Home.  Over 100 volunteers spent their Saturday serving on mission as they blessed mothers and children in need with a first-class Christmas event.  There were games, inflatables, a hot chocolate bar, a Chickfila dinner, and an outstanding program featuring music, entertainment, and a hope-filled message. 

I want to thank all the volunteers who served that day, as well as our BFG’s who donated nearly $10,000 worth of household goods for these families.  I also want to thank Greg and Lindsey Kalb and John and Michelle Spears for their outstanding leadership with this event.  They provided clear direction and worked tirelessly behind the scenes this past year to organize this new outreach.  Job well done to the entire ABC family, and I thank you for shining your light into our community this Christmas season.

This Sunday is our annual Sights and Sounds of Christmas.  It will be an amazing concert featuring the ABC choir, our children’s choir, and special musical guests, Evidence.  We will offer two identical concerts at 3pm and 6pm with a Christmas festival in between at 4:30pm.  The festival will have inflatables, food trucks, a snow slide, ice sculpting and more.  Because of your generosity, this event is FREE of charge to the entire community so be sure to invite your neighbors and friends!

The excitement will all begin this Sunday at 8:45am and 11:15am.  Our musical guests will be with us in worship, and I will continue in our new series, “The Heart of Christmas.”  Commit to worship with us all four Sundays this month, and let’s celebrate together that the Light has come.

Onward and Upward,

Jonathan Spencer

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10).  The Christmas season has officially arrived!  I’m looking forward to all the festivities that will come in the days ahead.  From serving families in need at Light Up Austin, to our annual Sights and Sounds of Christmas concert and festival, to our meaningful candlelight services on Christmas Eve, I believe these coming weeks truly are the most wonderful time of the year.

As we walk through this season together, we will set our eyes on Bethlehem in our sermon series, “The Heart of Christmas.”  This new series will examine Luke 2:10, and we will discover the heart of the Christmas message:  we have good news, of great joy, for all people.  I hope you plan to join us every Sunday during the month of December for this special time of worship.  I also encourage you to not come alone!  The Christmas season is the perfect time to invite someone to church, so prayerfully invite your neighbors, co-workers, and friends to come celebrate that the Light has come.

Have a wonderful week, and I look forward to seeing you this Sunday in worship at 8:45am or 11:15am.

Onward and upward,

Jonathan Spencer

I hope you enjoyed last Sunday’s Veterans Day celebration.   I want to thank Nick Radoe for sharing his testimony in both worship services.  It was a blessing to hear the stories of God’s faithfulness throughout Nick’s military career.  I encourage you to take some time this week to thank Nick and Jo Ellen for sharing their hearts with us from stage.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and I know many of us have travel plans on the horizon.  If you are staying in town, I encourage you to join us for a two-week mini-series titled: “Thanks and Giving: How to Prepare Your Heart for the Holidays.”  On these two Sundays that bookend Thanksgiving, we will examine how we can get ourselves ready for the holiday season.  God’s Word will remind us that we should all walk through these coming days with hearts filled with gratitude and hearts filled with generosity. 

I also want to remind you that this Sunday is our annual Christmas decoration day.  Volunteers will flood our hallways after our services to get ABC “Christmas-ready.”  I’m looking forward to seeing the church come alive with our beautiful Christmas decorations.  Volunteers are always welcomed, so feel free to roll up your sleeves and stick around after church to help.

I hope to see many of you this Wednesday for our Thanksgiving dinner, and I look forward to walking through this holiday season with you and the entire ABC family.  May we all give thanks to God for the great things He has done.

Onward and upward,

Jonathan Spencer

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3).  When I consider those who count others as more significant than themselves, I cannot help but think of our military.  Every day, brave men and women set aside their own interests, to take on the interests of others.  Our soldiers serve people they do not even know as they fight to protect and preserve our nation’s freedom.  It is important for us to not overlook that selfless act, but instead, it right for us as Christians to give honor where honor is due (Romans 12:10).

This Sunday, I encourage you to wear red, white, and blue and join us for a special Veteran’s Day weekend celebration.  As you walk into the Great Hall, you will find a thirty-foot “Wall of Honor.”  This wall was built to display the names and faces of ABC’s local heroes.  Take some time to recognize the men and women from our church who have served or are currently serving our great nation.  We will also have a special time of recognition for our veterans during our worship services.  We will pray over our country, and you will have an opportunity to hear a testimony from one of our own veterans at ABC.

Especially amidst a time of war and rumors of wars, I believe it is essential for our church to pray for our military and our country.  I don’t know about you, but I am thankful for my freedom.  However, weekends like this soberly remind us that our freedom is constantly being defended.  Invite a friend to join you this Sunday, and I look forward to experiencing a special weekend of worship with you.

Onward and upward,

Jonathan Spencer

This Sunday we will spend our final week examining the Great Commission through our sermon series, “On Mission.”  While the sermon series will be coming to a close, the mission itself will continue to advance forward.  In fact, you have an opportunity to live on mission this month through our new Christmas outreach, “Light Up Austin.” 

This holiday season, we will build on the foundation of generosity that has been established at ABC for many years through “White Christmas.”  Instead of offering our traditional White Christmas experience, we are launching a new event which will be focused on giving generously and serving selflessly in our community.  On Saturday December 2^nd, we will send over 120 volunteers to take Christmas on the road to the Texas Baptist Children’s Home and bless families in need.

Our volunteers will be serving dinner to these families and hosting a Christmas carnival for the kids.  We will provide a special program with entertainment, music, and a Christmas message filled with hope.  Additionally, every home will be blessed with much needed household items to meet their growing needs.

My hope is that this will be the first of many “Light Up Austin” events in the years to come.  I pray that ABC will be able to take Christmas on the road to many more communities in need in the greater Austin area.  I encourage you to partner with us this year on mission by helping in one of two ways.

First, you can help us purchase household goods to bless these families.  The Texas Baptist Children’s Home has provided us with a very specific list of items that these families need.  These lists will be distributed through our BFG classes.  If you would like to help purchase a gift for one of these families, please work with your class to make that order.

Second, you can help us by serving on December 2^nd.  We will need lots of volunteers to love on these families and help us create a warm and hospitable event.  If you or your family would like to serve with us, I encourage you to sign up through your BFG class.

It’s hard to believe, but the holidays are almost here.  I pray that you will be intentional with this upcoming season.  May we all shine our light and strive to be a blessing to those who are in need.  I look forward to seeing you in worship this weekend at 8:45 or 11:15am.

Onward and upward,

Jonathan Spencer

Last Sunday was a historic day in the life of our church.  I Love My Church Sunday was a record-setting morning, as we saw 1,141 people join us for worship.  That was the biggest crowd we have ever welcomed on a non-Easter Sunday.  Most importantly, we also baptized the most people we have ever baptized in a single day.  Thirteen believers took their faith public by obeying Jesus’ commandment to be baptized.  I’m so thankful for Dr. Stearns and his leadership in the service.  The worship was dynamic, and it was powerful to have our entire church together as one body.  Thank you to Derek Tackett and the many volunteers who made the lunch and carnival such a success.

Most importantly, I want to thank those who invited their friends to church.  I was so encouraged to have church members introduce me to their guests all day long.  In fact, I had a few church members pull me to the side and say how thrilled (and surprised) they were that their friends said “yes” to their invitation to go to church.  Last Sunday should remind us that you can never underestimate the power of a personal invitation.  Jesus told us that the harvest is ready, but it is the laborers that are few (Matt 9:37).  God will always bless our efforts when we labor for Him.  You still have the opportunity to live on mission this week.  I Love My Church Sunday has concluded, but our mission presses on.  I don’t know about you, but I still love my church, and I believe there are others out there who would too.

I look forward to worshipping with you at 8:45am and 11:15am this week.

Onward and upward,

Jonathan Spencer

“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord’!” (Psalm 122:1).  David reminds us that there is joy in the house of the Lord.  Going to church isn’t something we just have to do; it is something we get to do!  Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian, but being a Christian should make you want to go to church.  This is because there is joy in worshipping Jesus Christ together, there is joy in hearing God’s Word, and there is joy in building community with others.  I truly love gathering with our church, and I hope you do too.

“I Love My Church Sunday” is all about celebrating what God is doing here at ABC.  It is a special day to come together as one church family, and it will be the opportunity to invite others to come and see.  This Sunday, we will offer a unique schedule for this special day: 9am BFGs, 10:30am worship, and 11:45am church-wide lunch.  Immediately following worship, we will have free hamburgers for all, a BFG dessert competition, and fun games for all the kids.

As a part of our celebration, our children’s choir will sing a special song in worship, and we currently have eight individuals scheduled to be baptized!  I am praying that even more will make that decision to be baptized in the coming days.  I encourage you to follow up with the folks from your “go card” and invite them to join you this Sunday.  Get here early to save your seat, and I look forward to worshipping with you at 10:30am.

Onward and upward,

Jonathan Spencer

Psalm 126:3 says, “The Lord has done great things for us; We are joyful.”  The Lord has indeed done great things for ABC.  Our church has always been a testimony of God’s grace.  The Lord continues to bless our church family with growth, unity, and testimonies of life change.  It is important for us to not look past these blessings, but instead to pause and give thanks for all that God has done.

Sunday October 22^nd will be a special day of celebration.  We are altering the schedule for one weekend to bring the entire church together as one family of faith.  That day will be themed as “I Love My Church Sunday.”  We will offer 9am BFGs, a 10:30am worship service, and an 11:45am FREE cookout and carnival for all.  Our BFG’s will be hosting a friendly dessert competition during the luncheon, and all our classes will be on display for those who are searching for a group.

I Love My Church Sunday will also provide you a couple unique opportunities.  First, we will have a special baptism emphasis that day.  Baptism is meant to be a celebration for the church, so we are planning to make that an integral part of our celebration Sunday.  If God has put believer’s baptism on your heart, I encourage you to take your next step of faith on October 22^nd.  Contact our staff, and we would love to discuss it further with you.

Secondly, October 22^nd will provide the perfect opportunity for you to invite a friend to church.  I hope you are praying over the names you listed on your “Go Card” last Sunday.  Immediately following our October 15^th services, we will leave church on mission to invite those individuals to join us the following week.  The invitation is simple: “I love my church, and I think you would too.”

I encourage you to continue to look outward because the mission field is all around us.  God has given our church a great opportunity to make an impact in our city and our world.  May each of us be available to the Lord this week to love, to serve, and to share the hope that is in us.  I look forward to seeing you this Sunday in worship.

Onward and upward,

Jonathan Spencer

October is missions month at ABC.  We engage in missions all year long, but we bring missions to the forefront during this particular month.  Each Sunday in October, you will learn about one of our ministry partners at ABC.  You will also have an opportunity to give above and beyond your tithes and offerings to support ministry partners through drives with Samaritan’s Purse (Operation Christmas Child), Hands of Luke, and the Texas Baptist Children’s Home.  We are also providing an opportunity for you to serve on October 21^st by helping us pack 20,000 meals for families in Haiti.

I’m praying that you will not only participate in missions month, but I’m also praying that you will learn to live on mission this month.  You do not have to get on an airplane to find a mission field.  In fact, every Sunday we leave church, we are entering the mission field.  God has called you to be an ambassador for Him wherever you go (2 Cor 5:20), and He has planned good works for you to walk in (Eph 2:10).  For the next six weeks, I’ll be unpacking the Great Commission that Jesus left His church (Matt 28:19-20).  I pray that each of us will not just be hearers of these words, but doers of them.  If we do, I believe this church will begin to shine in ways that it never has before.

Have a great week, and I look forward to seeing you in worship.  Bring a friend, and I’ll see you at 8:45am or 11:15am.

Onward and upward,

Jonathan Spencer