It’s a special week in our nation.  I hope you are gearing up for America’s 250^th birthday this Saturday!  The celebration will begin early at ABC on Friday July 3^rd for our annual Freedom Over Austin event.  We will offer an all-American carnival, food trucks, live music, and a professional fireworks show.  The party will begin at 7pm and fireworks will go off a little after 9pm.  Wear red, white, and blue, and I hope you are making plans to invite a friend.

We host summer events like this for a purpose.  All our summer programming helps us advance our mission which is “to lead people into a life-changing relationship with the Light of the World, Jesus Christ.”  I remember last summer I met a family who came to VBS.  It was their first time inside our church doors, and their kids had a wonderful experience.  They then came to Freedom Over Austin and loved our community.  This made them start attending our church, where they were later baptized and are now active members.  This is why we do what we do.

Events like Freedom Over Austin are simple bridges to our community.  Hundreds of people will come to our campus from the surrounding apartments and homes.  Hundreds of visitors will come with our church members who invite them.  Outward facing events and ministries are so important for the local church to engage our neighbors.  Our young adults started offering sports ministry on Monday nights this Summer.  Their attendance has doubled by simply offering pickleball and basketball here on site.  Just last week, one young adult prayed to receive Christ at that sports outreach event.

Thank you for partnering with us in the Gospel.  Events like this are only possible through your generosity and commitment to The Great Commission Fund which is the general fund of our church.  We are indeed advancing the Great Commission forward together, and I pray many more lives will be transformed this summer ABC lets our light shine before others.

Onward and Upward,

Dr. Jonathan Spencer

God is doing a great work at VBS!  It has been an amazing week of ministry with nearly 800 children and adults filling our building each day.  Our ABC Kids are learning that Jesus is the light of the world, and they are having a blast through engaging games, crafts, and lots of cheers.  Thank you for your continued generosity.  Your faithfulness to The Great Commission Fund, which is the general fund of our church, makes the ministry of VBS possible.  I am so proud that our church goes “all in” for VBS and can offer this incredible ministry free of charge because of you.

Join me in prayer for these children and their families.  Pray that God will sow seeds of faith this week that will reap kingdom harvests for generations to come.  Please also pray for this Sunday’s special baptism celebration.  We already have 12 people committed to be baptized on Sunday with more likely signing up in the coming days.  I will also offer an invitation during our worship services for others to come forward and join them if God is leading them to take that next step of faithful obedience.

Invite a friend for this special weekend.  We will honor our veterans and pray for our nation.  In fact, every family will have a special gift to take home to commemorate the 250^th birthday of our nation.  But most importantly, we will celebrate true freedom through Jesus Christ.  I look forward to seeing you this Sunday at 8:45am or 11:15am.

Onward and Upward,

Dr. Jonathan Spencer

VBS is here!  Our ABC Kids team is hard at work to prepare for hundreds of children next week at Vacation Bible School.  When you show up this Sunday you will see our church has been transformed into an “Illumination Station” for our children to learn that Jesus is the Light of the World (John 8:12).

I am so thankful for Rachel Tovar, our staff, and the dozens of volunteers who are working hard this week.  It is a joy to see adult classrooms, youth spaces, and common areas being transformed to help children learn about Jesus.  Moments like this make me thankful for how God continues to bring young families to ABC.  May we never forget the sound of noisy children is a great blessing for the church, and the silence that comes from no children is a great tragedy for the church.  I pray ABC will always be a church that pours into the next generation for Jesus Christ.

Join me in prayer for our ABC students who are in Colorado.  We are praying expectantly for God to do a great work and look forward to hearing the report.  Pray also for our baptism celebration on June 28^th.  I am praying many may take that step of faith to raise their flags for Christ on that special day.  If you or a loved one is considering believer’s baptism, please reach out to our team.

I look forward to continuing our sermon series this week as we turn our attention to Paul’s first missionary journey.  I’ll see you at 8:45am or 11:15am.

Onward and Upward,

Dr. Jonathan Spencer

This Sunday we will be blessed to host Pastor Derek Berry from Gospel of Christ Church in Pasadena, California.  Dr. Berry is our church-supported planter in Los Angeles.  Through your generosity to Light the Way, we have been able to fund the Send LA church residency program, in partnership with the North American Mission Board. 

Together we have helped fund seminary education and residency training for several church planters, including Derek.  Dr. Berry recently graduated with his Doctor of Ministry from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kentucky.  He has planted a vibrant church in Pasadena, whom we continue to support through prayer, giving, and sending.  Our Young Adult Ministry will be going on a mission trip next month to support Derek and the church planting movement that is happening in Southern California.

This weekend Derek will be at church with his wife, Krystal, and their three beautiful daughters.  I look forward to introducing him to you on Sunday and sitting under his preaching alongside you.  We will be blessed to hear more about his calling, his church, and how God is using us at ABC to impact lives on the other side of our nation.  Be sure to join me this weekend and encourage Derek and his family as they continue to make disciples and reach the unreached in California. 

Thank you for your continued generosity.  As you give to the church, you are also giving through the church and making a real difference around the world.  I look forward to seeing you at 8:45am or 11:15am.

Onward and Upward,

Dr. Jonathan Spencer

Our mission at ABC is to lead people into a life-changing relationship with the Light of the World, Jesus Christ.  We have a goal behind what we do at church.  We do not offer worship services, camps, events, and activities simply to fill our time.  We do these things to lead people to experience the life-changing power of Jesus Christ.

One of the greatest symbols of life change is baptism.  Jesus was baptized (Matthew 3:16) and he commanded us to be baptized as his disciples (Matt 28:19).  We are called to be baptized in imitation of Jesus, but also in obedience to Jesus.  On June 28^th, we will have a special baptism celebration during our two worship services.  We will celebrate freedom in our nation and celebrate the true freedom we have received through Jesus Christ.

Join me in praying as we have our Pre-Teen Camp, Peak Week, and Vacation Bible School in the coming weeks.  Pray that lives will be changed because of the ministry of ABC.  Pray that some will have their hearts stirred to give testimony to what God has done through believer’s baptism on June 28^th.

I also ask you: do you need to give testimony to what Christ has done in your life?  Have you ever made the personal decision to be baptized?  Have you publicly identified with Jesus death, burial, and resurrection?  Baptism is an ordinance from Jesus and it is a blessing for the church.  We get to celebrate that Jesus continues to set people free from sin and death.

If you or a loved one would like to talk more about baptism, reach out to Nathan Wood today (nathanw@austinbaptistchurch.com).  We would be happy to give you more information and help you take the next step in your faith journey.  I’ll see you this Sunday at 8:45am or 11:15am.

Onward and Upward,

Dr. Jonathan Spencer

Summer is officially upon us at ABC!  We will be send our first group of campers next week for ABC Kids’ Pre-Teen Camp.  Soon after they return, we will send out two buses of teenagers and leaders to Colorado for Peak Week, and then we shift our focus to Vacation Bible School.  We already have over 400 kids registered and believe this will end up being the largest VBS in church history.  We still need about ten more volunteers, so please consider serving if you are available the week of June 22^nd to 25^th. While all of this is going on, our young adult ministry is beginning sports outreach events on Monday nights, and we are all preparing for our community wide outreach, Freedom Over Austin, on Friday July 3^rd.

This summer we also have lots of Light the Way projects going on.  Our ministry partners, Love For Myanmar have broken ground for our Healing Trauma Center in Yangon.  Paragon 360 will be coming later this summer to finish their media upgrade installations in our worship center.  They will install new LED screens and update our lighting systems.  It is exciting to see these projects coming to a near end, and I am looking forward to seeing how God will reach people for him through these financial investments.  We have one big LTW project remaining with security upgrades, so thank you for your continued faithfulness through Light the Way.

I thank God for your continued faithfulness to the ministry of Austin Baptist Church.  You continued gifts to the Great Commission Fund, which is the general fund of ABC, are helping us finance all the amazing ministry events that are about to take place.  Thank you for being a partner in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and please join me in praying for God to move mightily through our church this season.  I look forward to kicking off our summer sermon series this Sunday, “To the Ends of the Earth.”  As people are traveling all summer, we will also be traveling with the apostle Paul through the book of Acts.  We will study his missionary journeys and see how the Holy Spirit took the Gospel from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.

Don’t forget we have Mission Trip interest meetings for Egypt and Thailand after church this weekend.  Invite a friend and I’ll see you for worship at 8:45 or 11:15am.

Onward and Upward,

Dr. Jonathan Spencer

Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).  Memorial Day weekend is upon us, and I hope you take some time to reflect upon the meaning of this holiday.  Unlike our upcoming 250^th Independence Day, Memorial Day is designed to be more reflective than celebratory in its nature.  It is a special weekend where we remind ourselves that freedom is not free, and blood has been spilled on our behalf.

Jesus understood the topic of sacrifice better than anyone else.  After uttering those words, he would soon offer himself as a once and for all sacrifice to atone for the sins of the world.  His blood was spilled to purchase our freedom from sin and death.   Our savior understood sacrifice is the ultimate expression of love.  May we each remember the loving sacrifice that was paid for by Jesus.  But may we also remember the loving sacrifice that was paid for by our military heroes.   

Fifteen service men and women have laid down their lives this year alone in our armed services.  Let’s pause and pray for these surviving families and continue to pray for the men and women who are deployed all around the world to protect liberty.  I hope you enjoy the three-day weekend and the unofficial start to summer, but I hope you also give thanks to God for the freedom we enjoy every day as believers in the United States of America.

If you are traveling this weekend, I wish you safe travels.  But if you are here this Sunday, I’ll look forward to wrapping up our Pathways series with you at 8:45am or 11:15am this weekend.

Onward and Upward,

Dr. Jonathan Spencer

We are already halfway through May and just weeks away from the summer season   It’s hard to believe but the school year is wrapping up, and all eyes are shifting towards the summer calendar.  In a few weeks we will be sending students to Pre-Teen Camp and Peak Week in Colorado.  We will then host hundreds of children at our annual VBS.  We will also send young adults on a mission trip to Los Angeles and young families on a mission trip to Boston.  We will host our annual fireworks event on July 3^rd, and we will teach worship to the next generation at our annual Creative Arts Camp.

It will be a very active season here at ABC, so I ask for your partnership in three ways.  First, please commit to pray with us.  We don’t do these events to fill up a program calendar.  We do these events “to lead people into a life-changing relationship with the Light of the world, Jesus Christ.”  Pray that we might fulfill our mission this summer and for lives to be forever changed.

Second, find ways to serve this summer.  ABC is not short on opportunities to get involved.  Summer provides a fresh chance to use your gifts to build up the church.  There are numerous Sunday morning service opportunities (click HERE), and each of these events and programs will require faithful volunteers to make them happen.  How can you use your spiritual gifts to build up the kingdom this summer?

Third, remain steadfast in your worship through giving.  Summer is the busiest season of our church calendar, and it is also the most expensive season of our church calendar.  Because you give, we can offer these incredible Gospel opportunities to engage with our community and impact our world.  Thank you for your faithfulness to our Great Commission Fund, which is the general fund of our church.  Through your generosity, we are able to advance the Great Commission forward together as a church family.

I’m excited about what God is going to do in these coming weeks.  May God continue to use ABC to light up your life, your home, your neighborhood, and the world.  I look forward to continuing the Pathways series with you this Sunday at 8:45am or 11:15am.

Onward and Upward,

Dr. Jonathan Spencer

Greetings from Egypt!  Our group is having an incredible time touring this amazing country and seeing Scripture come alive.  We visited the same pyramids that stood when Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Jeremiah, and Jesus came to this ancient land.  We walked through Luxor (Thebes), where Moses would have grown up and where 1/6 of the world’s monuments stand. 

We visited churches that go back to the 4^th century when Helena visited Egypt to preserve sacred sites.  We toured the Church of Abu Serga in old Cairo, built where tradition says Joseph, Mary, and Jesus lived.  We visited St. Catherine’s monastery, built where Moses met with God through a burning bush.  We saw Jabal Musa (Mount of Moses), the traditional site of Mount Sinai, and we took in the incredible beauty of the Nile River and Red Sea.  We had an amazing time fellowshipping and connecting the dots of scripture together.  We even got to spend some time with our friends and ministry partners at TC Egypt while we are here.

I look forward to leading more discipleship tours in the future and hope to take you with me sometime.  Our group is looking forward to returning home late this week and seeing you this Sunday at ABC.  I’m thrilled to be back in time for Student Weekend, which is one of my favorite Sundays of the year!  Do not miss this Sunday and come prepared to be encouraged and challenged by our student ministry as they lead the way.  Students will be serving across our campus, and you will hear a couple testimonies during our worship services.

Our students will also be hosting their annual camp fundraiser lunch this Sunday.  They will be serving meals at 11am (for those attending our first worship service) and 12:15pm (for those attending our second worship service).  Both meals will take place in the Heritage Hall.  The meal requires no RSVP, but we do request you make a donation at the lunch.  100% of your gift will go towards their camp experience this June in Colorado.  I look forward to seeing you this Sunday at ABC.

Onward and Upward,

Dr. Jonathan Spencer

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).  David contends there is a fullness of joy to be found in the presence of God.  The scriptures teach us that were made for relationship with our Creator.  He desires this relationship so much that He not only created us, but He also redeemed us from our sin through the blood of His Son.  God wants you to know Him, and David says there is a path that will lead you to experience this new life.

In our current sermon series, we are exploring the spiritual pathways that lead us closer to God.  This series is not about religious obligation; it is about spiritual transformation.  God wants you to know Him, and He wants to make you more like Him.  This can happen through intentional commitment to these pathways.  Last week we focused on the pathway of scripture, and this week we will focus on the pathway of worship.  I encourage you to walk this pathway by gathering for worship with us at 8:45am or 11:15am this Sunday.

I had lunch this week with a newer member in our church.  He was discussing strategies on how he could invite more of his young adult peers around our city to ABC.  His ambition was partly infused by recent success from his own outreach.  He invited a friend to church months ago who has since been baptized and immersed into the life of our church.  He understood how the ministry of the church has changed his own life, and now he has watched it change his friend’s life.  He hungered to see more life change in the people around him.

I hope you know that you have the same ability to make a difference.  Who can you invite to worship with you this Sunday?  I hope to meet them this weekend at ABC.

Onward and Upward,

Dr. Jonathan Spencer