Every time I go on a road trip, I find myself making the same stop.  It does not matter the direction I’m driving, I will usually pull over to walk into a Buc-ee’s convenience store.  Of course, I’m not the only one making that stop.  Many of you are making that stop with me because the stores are always packed.  Thousands of people flood through their doors every day for their wide variety of goods, clean restrooms, and fresh coffee.  While all those things are signature marks of the Buc-ee’s experience, I would contend one other thing stands out: their customer service.  They have hands and feet everywhere, and I usually find myself loudly welcomed as I walk through the doors.  There may be hundreds of people around me, but their staff is trained to acknowledge a guest and welcome them in.

Many churches could take cues from a convenience store.  Church buildings can likewise feel crowded with lots of people quickly rushing in, and without trained intentionality people will undoubtedly be overlooked.  It’s easy for people to get lost in the shuffle and never be greeted in a church.  This happens in many places, but I’m thankful that our church family has always worked hard to exercise genuine hospitality.  I watch it every weekend as I see strangers being greeted at the front doors.  I watch families being walked down the hallways and introduced to the children’s areas.  I watch staff and BFG leaders lovingly follow up during the week with guests who fill out visitor cards.  I believe this this open-armed spirit honors the Lord as Paul instructs us, “Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Romans 15:7).

We are seeing more and more guests walk through our doors every Sunday.  I’m so thankful that God is bringing new people into our church family, and if you are new, let me be the first to say, “welcome home.”  But as our church grows, our need for hospitality will only increase as well.  I encourage you to not walk into our building with blinders on this Sunday.  Yes, we all naturally want to connect with our friends, family, and BFG class members.  However, we must remind ourselves that there are people around us who likewise need a connection.

The truth is church can be a terrifying place for someone who is new.  We forget this when we become established in a church body because it feels like home to us.  We thankfully become comfortable, but we also sometimes forget that there are others who are uncomfortable around us.  We can miss the people who are unfamiliar with the building and feel like they do not know anyone.  Oftentimes these same people are also wondering, “will I fit in here?”  Sometimes, they feel overwhelmed and don’t even know where to start on making a connection.  This is why it has to start with us as the church.  We must have our heads on a swivel every Sunday, mindful of those that God has placed around us. 

Ask yourself how many new people did you meet last Sunday?  If the answer is zero, I would contend that is a problem.  Even if it was just a couple people, I would still say that you are missing out on an opportunity that God has given you.  God places new people around us every weekend, and we must be on mission to welcome them for the glory of God.  Look for someone you do not know and take the time to introduce yourself.  Encourage someone to join you in your BFG. Invite someone to sit with you in worship.  Ask someone how their week was and demonstrate genuine care for their life.  God has blessed us with new people, so we must be faithful to steward that blessing well. 

May we continue to “be kind to one another and tenderhearted” just as Christ has been kind and tenderhearted to us (cf. Ephesians 4:32).  I look forward to welcoming you, and others, in worship this weekend.  Invite someone to come with you, and invest into what God is doing at this city on a hill.

Onward and upward,

Jonathan Spencer

What an amazing Vision Sunday!  Thank you for helping make it a special day in the life of our church.  It was exciting to look back at all God has done here at ABC, but also to look forward at the many ways He could shine through this church family for years to come.  I especially want to thank all the amazing volunteers who made our first ever BFGBFG a huge success.  The food was delicious, but the fellowship was even better.  I loved seeing all our classes together in one room enjoying each other’s company, and it was exciting to see new folks explore our class options and finding groups to plug into.  This week, I encourage each of us to take the application from last Sunday’s message to heart: invite and invest. 

If you believe in the vision of our church, invite people to be your personal guests this weekend.  We believe God is building something special here at ABC, and there is room for more at this city on a hill.  Churches have become very creative in their outreach strategies, but it is amazing to me that the #1 catalyst for church growth remains the same: the personal invitation.  Preaching matters, music matters, Bible study classes and big events matter, but none of those things are strong enough to grow a church by themselves.  People grow churches.  People who catch the vision and then want to share that vision with others.  I encourage you to prayerfully consider who you can invite this week to be a part of what God is doing at ABC.

Secondly, I encourage you to invest in our church.  If you believe in the vision of Austin Baptist Church, do not just attend our church.  Belong to this church.  Plant roots in this church and invest in this community.  If you have been visiting our church, then join the church.  If you’ve joined the church, join a Bible Fellowship Group.  If you’ve already joined a BFG, have you committed to serve anywhere in the church?  If you’re already serving, have you committed to worship through giving?  If you are already giving your tithe, have you committed to going?  We have some amazing mission trips on the horizon and perhaps that is your next step.  I don’t know what your next step is, but I do know God wants you to take that leap of faith in your journey.  The church was never meant to be a product to be consumed.  The church was designed to be a family that we belong to.  We are the body of Christ, and He is the head.  And as unique parts of His body, we each have unique roles to play.

This weekend we will begin a new study in the book of Nehemiah titled, “Difference Maker.”  We’re going to see that God called Nehemiah to rise up and a be a difference maker for his generation, but we are also going to see that God has called each of us to do the same.  Our roles may be different than Nehemiah’s, but God wants each of us to be difference makers in our own spheres of influence as well.  Paul reminds us, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).   God has set us apart to walk in good works for Him.  My good works are not your good works, and your good works are not my good works.  God has carefully crafted out plans for each of our lives, and no one else can carry out those plans that He has for you.  Only you can make that difference, and by God’s grace you will.

I look forward to worshipping with you this weekend, and may there be more light in my life and your life this week.

Onward and upward,

Jonathan Spencer

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

One year ago, I stood before you to lead us in our first ever “Vision Sunday.”  We celebrated what God has done through our church family as He led us in that first campaign to go “up the mountain” and build this amazing church home.  In fact, last week marked the 10-year anniversary of God opening our church doors at this beautiful facility.  The establishment of our church truly is a testimony of God’s grace.  But we also know that God did not send us up this mountain to get complacent, but rather to get to work.  I believe God has uniquely blessed us to be a blessing to others in Austin and all around the world.  We’ve gone up this mountain, but what are we to do now?  Jesus answered that question for us in Matthew 5.  He told us that we are called to shine as a “city on a hill” (Matthew 5:14).

This Sunday, we’re going to refocus our attention on that same Vision Sunday message in Matthew 5:14-16.  I will preach the text once again, exactly one year later.  Why would I do that?  Solomon tells us, “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18 KJV).  Vision is not a one-time message.  Vision is the high calling of where we are going and what we must become.  Vision must stay in front of us, and we must always keep our eyes focused on who Jesus is calling us to be.  This is in part why we display that message, “let there be light,” on our website, signage, and various print pieces.  Our prayer is that there would indeed be more light shining in Austin and around the world.  The truth is the world is a dark place, but our prayer is that Jesus will use ABC to shine brightly for Him.

Last year we focused on four ways Jesus is calling us to shine: Light up your life, your home, your neighborhood, and the world.  This Sunday we’re going to celebrate some ways that God has shined through us in those four strategic areas this past year.  But we’re also going to look forward to some exciting ways that He could shine through our church family for the years to come.  I encourage you to make it a priority to join us this Sunday.  I believe you will leave church encouraged and filled with excitement, but also filled up with delicious food!

In conjunction with Vision Sunday, we’re offering our first ever BFGFBG during our regularly scheduled Bible Fellowship Group hour.  Church is a family, so we’re going to have a big family breakfast together this weekend.  All adult BFG groups will come together in Heritage Hall and Great Hall for a special time of fellowship and food.  Each BFG class will sponsor a table filled with delicious breakfast foods made by their very own volunteers.  It will be a big church-wide breakfast buffet, and I encourage you to drop by the tables to sample some food but also to meet some people you do not know.  All 20 of our adult BFGs will be on display, and you will have an opportunity to vote for your favorite breakfast table.  The winner of our friendly competition will be announced Sept 25^th.

The BFGBFG will also be the perfect opportunity for people who are not plugged into a class.  A good number in our congregation have not found a class home, and this will be the perfect opportunity for them to meet leaders and see all the wonderful groups our church has to offer.  I also want to note that our ABC Kids and ABC Student ministries will still have their regularly scheduled BFG classes in their designated spaces.  However, they will also have some special breakfast foods for the kiddos, so make sure your entire family comes hungry this Sunday.

It’s going to be a great weekend at ABC.  I hope you plan to be there, and I encourage you to bring a friend to hear the vision of our church.  Never forget the power of the personal invitation as it is still the #1 reason why people walk through a church’s doors.  Keep shining this week and I look forward to seeing you Sunday.

Onward and upward,

Jonathan Spencer

Psalm 78:4 says, “We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.” 

Here at ABC, we are committed to communicating the truth of God’s Word with the coming generation.  Jesus tells us that a lamp in a house is not meant to be hidden (Matt 5:15), so we lift up the lamp of God every week so our children may see it (Psalm 119:105).  We teach kids the Word of God in age-appropriate ways through our BFG’s, worship services, and midweek classes each week.  We do so prayerfully with the goal in mind that our children may begin to understand it, apply it, and by the grace of God, live it out the rest of their days.

This Sunday is a special weekend as we are theming it, “ABC Kids Sunday.”  If you cannot already tell, you will learn quickly that ABC loves kids!  Our children are going to have an opportunity this weekend to gain valuable leadership experience by leading our church through greeting, ushering, video announcements, and prayers on stage.  Additionally, this weekend will feature a special time of Parent Child Dedication, and I’m looking forward to celebrating these families who are publicly committing to raise their children in Christ-centered homes. 

This Sunday we will also be concluding our Homebuilders sermon series with a special message from Dr. Jimmy Myers.  I’m excited to sit under Jimmy’s teaching alongside you as he delivers a special message from Ephesians chapter 6.  If you are unfamiliar with Dr. Myers, he was a founding member of ABC and instrumental in the early days of our church’s development.  He is also the founder, owner, and CEO of The Timothy Center.  The Timothy Center is one of the leading Christian counseling centers in the city of Austin, as they offer a unique blend of solid Biblical insights coupled with the finest current psychotherapeutic methods.

Jimmy and Beth recently rejoined the ABC family, and we are blessed to have them back in our congregation.  Jimmy is an expert in the arenas of marriage and parenting, and we are also looking forward to him blessing our church with a four-week parenting class on Wednesday nights in the month of October (registration coming soon).  This free class will be based off his published book, co-written with George Barna titled, “Fearless Parenting: How to Raise Faithful Kids in a Secular Culture.”  Parents, I hope you are saving the dates and making plans to join us next month. Find the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Fearless-Parenting-Faithful-Secular-Culture/dp/0801000645/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=fearless+parenting&qid=1662564439&sr=8-2

I know you will be blessed this weekend by Dr. Myers special message and our ABC Kids celebration.  I encourage you to come early and invite a family to join you.  We want to be a city on a hill that continues to serve as a place of refuge for families who are seeking to build homes together for Jesus Christ.  Have a great week, and I look forward to seeing you at 9am or 11:11am.

Onward and upward,

Jonathan Spencer

Psalm 127:1 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.”  For the past several weeks, our church family has been laboring to build a home for the Quintana family in Penitas, Texas.  We are partnering with Buckner Missions for our first ever “Project Homebuild” at ABC.  It has been an exciting missions project, and 100+ volunteers have gotten in the game to help with the construction process.  I’m proud to say that the building phase is now complete and beginning next week our volunteers will transition to disassemble the structure into strategic sections that we can ship.  Later this fall, ABC will send a mission team to Penitas to help assemble the home for the Quintana family.  But before we begin that load-out process, I would like to invite you to partner with us for a special time of dedication this weekend.

Solomon reminds us in Psalm 127 that our building efforts are in vain without the Lord’s blessing, so this Sunday, I’d like you to join me in asking for God’s special blessing over this home.  Before and after our worship services and BFG’s, you will have an opportunity to write a favorite scripture and/or prayer on the home.  We will write scripture on the floors, and we will pray that God’s Word will serve as the foundation for this family for years to come.  We will write verses and prayers on the walls, and we will pray that God will protect this family and always be their source of strength and place of refuge.  Our staff will have lots of sharpies available for you in the Great Hall, so please come ready to help us dedicate this home to the Lord.  I do believe this house will serve as a great blessing to the Quintana family, but I also believe God’s presence and love is the greatest blessing they could have inside their home. 

While we have been diligently working on the Quintanas’ home, we have also been working on our own homes these past few weeks.  Last Sunday in our “Homebuilders” series, we studied God’s instructions for wives in Ephesians chapter five.  This week, we will transition to God’s instructions for husbands, and I pray that each of us will receive these instructions and then get to work.  The reality is each of our homes has work that needs to be done. This is why Paul tells us that we need to constantly take off the old and put on the new (Ephesians 4:22-24).  I encourage you to remember Solomon’s words for your own house today: “unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.”  We cannot build Christ-centered homes without the enabling grace of Jesus Christ Himself every day.  So I encourage you to also dedicate your own home to Him today.  Commit to let God’s Word serve as your foundation and guide.  When you do, you will discover that you are building a house on solid ground.

I look forward to seeing you this weekend in worship.  Invite a friend to join you because you never know how one simple invitation could change someone’s life.  Have a great week, I’ll see you Sunday.

Onward and upward,

Jonathan Spencer

School is officially back in session!  Kids have now found their way back to the classrooms, including right here at ABC with our Little Lights Preschool.  New school years always bring new beginnings, and I’m excited to see how God will begin a fresh new work in our ABC kids this year.  I hope you are still wearing your prayer bracelet from last weekend, and I encourage you to take some time to pray for that child by name today.

I firmly believe it is impossible to raise children to know, love, and serve Jesus Christ without belonging to a healthy local church.  Here at ABC, we strive to shine as that “city on a hill” that Jesus describes in Matthew 5:14: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.”  Healthy local churches cannot be hidden because their light always offers hope for the lost and refuge for the saved.  I truly believe the local church is the hope for the world because we have been entrusted with the solution for the world, which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

My question for you to consider today is, “have you gone all in at ABC?” Many Christians attend church, but not all truly belong to a church.  They may consume the product of a worship service regularly, but they may also never be fully immersed into a community of faith.  I encourage you to war against that western consumer mindset and remind yourself that church is supposed to be a people, not a product.  Church is not something we “do,” it is who we are.  I would encourage you to go “all in” at ABC by committing to do three things: Grow, Give and Go.

Grow.  We teach the word of God in our worship services, Sunday morning BFG classes, and Midweek discipleship classes.  We do this purposefully because we believe the word of God is inerrant (2 Tim 3:16), it is our authority (Ps 119:105), and it has the power to transform our lives (Heb 4:12, Rom 12:2).  Commit to worship each week, and come expectant to hear from the Lord through His word.  Commit to belong to a BFG class, so you can deepen your understanding of Scripture, ask questions, and begin to build Gospel-centered relationships with peers.

Give.  All things were made by Christ, through Christ, and for Christ (Colossians 1:16).  We are called to live generous lives because He has already been generous with us.  Yes, this does mean worshipping the Lord through our tithes and offerings (Malachi 3:10, Prov 3:9-10). But it also means worshipping Him through our time and talent.  I’m so proud of the hundreds of volunteers who serve our church faithfully each week. I’m proud of the dozens of adults who have been working hard these past few weeks in the Great Hall to bless a family in need with a new home.  I have found that the best way to find friendships and community in a church is by serving together.

Go.  Jesus did not call the church to stay, He called it to “go” (Matthew 28:19).  The church is meant to press on far beyond our physical walls.  This means we must learn to live intentional lives, on mission in our homes, workplaces, and neighborhoods.  Additionally, we must learn to do life with one another Monday through Saturday.  I love hearing how many of our BFG classes go out together, vacation together, and invest in each other’s lives.  I love hearing how our people minister to each other through prayer, checking in, visiting the hospital, or coming alongside one another in time of need. 

My question for you to consider is, “have you experienced church like that?”  If not, what is your next step?  For some, maybe you need to focus on growing by committing to worship and BFG’s each week.  Others may need to focus on giving.  Maybe you need to establish the discipline of tithing, or sign up to serve on one of our wonderful volunteer teams.  Others maybe need to start going.  You can get on mission this week by beginning to invest in the lives of others around you. I don’t what your next step is, but I do know that God will bless your obedience if you take that step of faith.  God wants to use each of our homes to help build His house.  And I’ve found that when you go “all in,” your home will also be blessed in the process.

I look forward to seeing you Sunday as we focus on “God’s Home Design” in Ephesians chapter 5.  We will also be honoring our 1^st graders in both services for our annual “First Grade Bible Presentation.”  I hope you plan to join me to celebrate that special milestone moment this weekend.  Invite a friend and I’ll see you at 9am or 11:11am.

Onward and upward,

Jonathan Spencer

This Sunday we’re kicking off a new sermon series titled, “Homebuilders.”  I’m excited to walk us through Ephesians chapters 4 to 6, as we seek God’s instruction on how to build homes that will last.  I believe this series will be challenging and practical for every person in every season of life, regardless of what your home life may presently look like.  The truth is we all want to live in healthy homes, and the good news is God wants that same thing for you too.  So as we study these chapters in the coming weeks, I believe God will help us do demo in the areas of our homes that have become spiritually unhealthy.  My prayer is that we will let the Holy Spirit spiritually renovate our homes and bring a renewed sense of peace and joy into our lives.

As we journey through this series together, I’m excited to announce that we will also have a missions component coincide with the sermon series.  While we are spiritually building up our homes here in Austin, Texas, our church will also be physically building up a home for a family in Penitas, Texas.  ABC is partnering with Buckner Missions for “Project Homebuild.”  Over the next several weeks, we will be working on a home for the Quintana family.  This family of 12 is in dire need of a permanent home, and we’re excited to partner with Buckner Missions to bless them with this gift.  The best part of Project Homebuild is we will get to do lots of the construction right here in Austin!  During this series, our team will begin the construction work in our Great Hall.  After the work is complete, these assembled materials will be shipped to south Texas, and we will send an ABC missions team this Fall to help build the home on site.

I believe this project provides a unique opportunity for our church to partner together on mission.  I encourage you to join us in the effort in several ways.  First of all, please pray for the Quintana family.  Pray that God will bless their family with this home and use this gift to shine His light into each of their hearts.  We pray that this physical gift will be received as a gift of God’s perfect grace.  Second, consider helping us build this home.  We will have time slots available, and we need volunteers!  This will be a great opportunity for our church family to serve together as a family on mission.  Training will be provided on site, and the good news is you will be working in the air conditioning! Third, I encourage you to continue to worship through giving.  This project is only possible because of the generosity of our people.  Thank you for your faithfulness in your tithes and offerings because your stewardship blesses many homes, including this specific home for the Quintana family.

I’m looking forward to joining you all this Sunday in worship.  I want to thank Nathan Wood for doing an outstanding job last weekend and helping us wrap up our summer sermon series.  I can’t wait to see you this weekend, and I’m praying that God will build us up, as we strive to build up the kingdom of God together.

Onward and upward,

Jonathan Spencer