What an incredible Easter weekend!  Thank you to everyone who invited their friends, and thank you to the hundreds of members who served in a multitude of ways to make the weekend a big success.  We had a total attendance of 2,013 for our three worship services on Easter morning, and 588 attended our beautiful Good Friday service.  Praise God for the eight baptisms and an incredible weekend celebrating our risen Savior!  May we not forget this week that Christ is still risen, and I pray that each of us will choose to live on mission for Him.

One way our church lives on mission is through our ongoing ministry partnership in Egypt.  Because of your giving, we are able to financially support a ministry center in the city of Fayoum through a dynamic evangelical ministry called TC Egypt.  This ministry center offers discipleship, outreach ministries, support groups, and children’s/youth ministry each week in an area with little Christian influence.  

Save the date for May 5^th as TC’s leaders, Tony and Vanda George, will be joining us in worship to share an update on what God is doing through TC.  We are also looking forward to sending groups back to Egypt later this year.  Matt Gillum is currently coordinating a trip for October of this year, so please email him if you are interested in joining that team for an opportunity to visit our ministry center and serve the people of Egypt.  He will be holding an informational meeting on Sunday April 14^th.

Also save the date for our Discover ABC Dinner on April 14^th.  This dinner is designed for people who are new to the ABC family.  Current visitors and recent new members will have an opportunity to enjoy a free dinner (with childcare) and get to know some of our staff and other new faces at ABC.  Registration is open for the event and people can sign up online at http://www.austinbaptistchurch.com.

I’m looking forward to returning to the book of Revelation with you this Sunday.  Invite a friend and I will see you in worship at 8:45am or 11:15am.

Onward and upward,

Jonathan Spencer

Christ is risen!  Holy Week is here, and I’m looking forward to celebrating the greatest day in history alongside you.  The significance of the resurrection cannot be overstated as Paul explained it best: “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17 ESV).  If Jesus did not receive new life, we cannot receive new life either.  But praise be to God that the tomb is empty, our debt is paid, and together we can boldly proclaim, “He is risen indeed!”

I want to invite you to join us for a meaningful weekend of worship.  Our 6pm Good Friday service will set our focus on the cross.  Dr. Stearns and the worship ministry will do a wonderful job leading us in beautiful music, scripture readings, and we will conclude our service with a brief message and the Lord’s Supper.  Childcare is available for 3 and under, but all other kids are encouraged to attend with their parents.

Sunday morning will be a great celebration of Jesus’ triumphant resurrection.  We will offer three identical services at 8am, 9:30am, and 11am.  Our annual egg hunt will commence immediately following the 11am service.  This egg hunt is for all kids 5^th grade and under.  Keep in mind BFGs will not meet on Easter Sunday, but the nursery and Uplift (preschool worship) will be open during worship services for children ages 5 and under.  All older children are encouraged to attend a worship service with their parents on this special day.

I want to encourage you to do a few things to help us make it a great Easter.  First, I encourage you to invite!  Never underestimate the power of a personal invitation.  Many in your community would go to church this Easter if they were simply invited by someone they knew.  Second, serve others.  Easter is an “all hands-on deck” Sunday.  There are many ways to volunteer, so please reach out to a staff member to find a way to serve.  Another way you can potentially serve is by coming to the 8am service.  Last year our two later services were packed, so we are adding an early service to make room for growth.  If you are an early riser, consider attending the 8am service to free up your seat for others in the community at 9:30 or 11am.

Thirdly, I encourage you to pray.  Thank God for this holy week that changed the world.  Ask for God to use this Easter weekend to impact lives across our city and our world.  Pray for God to give me clarity in the preparation and power in the presentation of God’s Word.  Pray for all our musicians, media team, and worship leaders who will help us point people to our resurrected Savior.

It’s going to be a great Sunday.  Get here early for your service, bring someone with you, and let us all celebrate together that “He is risen indeed!”

Onward and upward,

Jonathan Spencer

Zechariah 9:9, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” 

Palm Sunday is the celebration of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem.  The prophet Zechariah prophesied some 500 years before that first Palm Sunday that God would send His king into Jerusalem riding on a donkey.   Jesus entered Jerusalem just as Zechariah promised, and this led the Jewish onlookers to begin waving palm branches and shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” (John 12:13).  Hosanna communicates the message, “save now!”

Let us all remember this coming week that Jesus came to “save now.”  He entered Jerusalem on a mission to save the world from the penalty of our sin.  Jesus is our great Passover lamb and He died a substitutionary death on Calvary so we can live.  But the Gospel not only saves us from this penalty of sin, but it also saves us from the power of our sin.  Through faith, we have now been reconciled to God and filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.  We now have a great high priest in Jesus Christ who is ready to give us grace and mercy in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16)

So, what do you need saving from this week?  Maybe you need saving from an addiction or sin that has gotten a stronghold on your life.  Jesus can save you from it .  Maybe your marriage is crumbling and needs help.  Jesus can save it.  Maybe your finances or career are in turmoil.  Jesus can save it.   Maybe you need saving from your greed, anger, anxiety, or shame.  I want to encourage you to pray those same words they shouted on that first Palm Sunday: “save now!”

Spend some extra time in the latter parts of the Gospels for these two weeks.  Focus on Jesus’ last days to prepare you for Good Friday and for Easter Sunday.  Invite someone to join you for this special Palm Sunday featuring our children’s choir in both services.  As a reminder, we are also taking questions this week for our upcoming “Ask Me Anything” episode on our Citizen ATX podcast.  As we take a break from our Revelation study for Holy Week, I invite you to submit any questions you may have from Revelation chapters 1-18.  We will do our best to answer as many of them as we can in next week’s bonus episode.  You can email questions to info@austinbaptistchurch.com or send a direct message to our @austinbaptistchurch pages on Facebook and Instagram.

I look forward to seeing you this weekend for a special Palm Sunday message and hour of worship.

Onward and upward,

Jonathan Spencer

March is here, and spring break is already upon us.  Starting this weekend, students will be out of school for a week, and some families will hit the road to enjoy this time off together.  If you are staying in town this weekend, be sure to “spring forward” for daylight savings.  Move your clocks forward an hour on Saturday night, drink some extra coffee on Sunday morning, and come ready to join us for a wonderful morning of worship and community.

I want to give you a heads up on what to expect in the upcoming weeks at ABC.  This Sunday, March 10^th, we will press on to chapters 17-18 in our study of Revelation.  However, I will then take a brief hiatus from our study for three consecutive weekends.  On Sunday March 17^th, I have invited Dr. Jeff Iorg, President of Gateway Seminary of the Southern Baptist Convention, to preach in both our services.  I’m excited to introduce you to Dr. Iorg, and I know you will be blessed by his message that day.  Dr. Iorg has served the SBC for many decades as a church planting pastor, a state convention executive, and as the president at Gateway Seminary for the past 20 years.

Some of you may have heard in the news that Dr. Iorg was also recently nominated to serve as the next President and CEO of the SBC Executive Committee.  The Executive Committee will conduct a vote on March 21^st to officially make him the highest-ranking executive in the SBC.  I am thrilled by this news because I believe Dr. Iorg is the kind of leader our convention needs in that particular office.  I have been privileged to be mentored by him these past two years in my doctoral program, and I have found Dr. Iorg to be an extraordinary leader who walks in humility, demonstrates integrity, and has a proven track record of excellence in ministry.  Please join me in prayer for Dr. Iorg as he prepares for this next important ministry assignment.

Sunday March 24^th will then be Palm Sunday, then of course March 31^st will be Easter.  After we have walked through Holy Week together, I will return to the book of Revelation on Sunday April 7^th.  We will set our eyes on the return of our risen Lord and Savior and the establishment of His kingdom on this earth.  I hope you have enjoyed our time in this book, and I’m confident that God will bless each of us as we set our eyes on the return of our King.

As a word of reminder, the Annie Armstrong missions offering is now open, and we have set a goal to raise $20,000 as a church.  If God is leading you to give above your regular tithes to help us achieve this goal, you can designate your gift and our finance office will direct it to this special cause.  I look forward to opening the book with you this Sunday.  Invite a friend and I’ll see you at 8:45am or 11:15am.

Onward and upward,

Jonathan Spencer

Psalm 78:5-7, “He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.”

Our vision at ABC is to see God light up your life, your home, your neighborhood, and the world.  This is why we invest so much into reaching the next generation for Jesus Christ.  Every week, incredible staff, volunteers, and resources are devoted to the ABC Kids and ABC Student Ministries.  Jesus Christ invested into the lives of children (Matthew 19:14), and so should we as His church.  I’m thankful for our student ministry’s recent Connection Weekend, and I’m grateful for the ongoing next generation ministries that happen every single week.

You will never make a better investment as a church than investing into the next generation.  Thank you for being a generous kingdom-minded church.  Your faithfulness in giving to the general fund budget continues to make ministry possible.  I’m thankful for the students who grew closer to God at Connection Weekend, and I’m especially grateful for the three students who gave their lives to Jesus Christ for the first time. 

How can you help our church continue to impact the next generation?  Of course, you can help through your continued stewardship in giving.  But you can also help by inviting other families to join us.  The reality is 70%+ of families in Austin are not in church on any given Sunday.  You and I can invite others to come and experience the hope of Jesus Christ through the ministries of ABC.  What family could you invite to church this Sunday?  Your simple invitation could lead to life change for an entire family. 

But lastly, I encourage you to consider joining us on mission here at ABC.  Serving in the ABC Kids and ABC Student Ministries is truly where the fun is found!  As our church continues to grow, so does our need for more qualified workers in the children and youth areas.  If you are interested in learning more, reach out to our staff and they would be happy to give you more details.

On a side note, be sure to follow along our sermon series on the Citizen ATX podcast channel.  Each week, Dr. Matt Gillum and I provide additional commentary on the previous Sunday’s sermon text.  Need help finding it?  Click this link and you can stream the episodes on your browser or find them on your preferred podcast application: https://citizenatx.buzzsprout.com/

Invite a friend to join you, and I look forward to seeing you this Sunday as we continue in our journey through the book of Revelation.

Onward and upward,

Jonathan Spencer

It is hard to believe, but we are only a few short weeks away from Easter Sunday!  Easter sneaks up on us this year as the big day falls early on Sunday March 31^st.  The weekend of worship will begin at 6pm on Friday March 29^th at our annual Good Friday service.  Dr. Stearns and our music ministry will lead us in a meaningful time of worship as we reflect on the message of Calvary.  We will set our attention on the cross through music and message, and we will observe the Lord’s Supper together.

Easter Sunday will feature three identical worship services at 8am, 9:30am, and 11:00am (no BFG’s that day).  These services will feature dynamic worship and a hope-filled message as we celebrate our Savior’s triumphant resurrection.  We will also offer an Easter egg hunt for the kids immediately following the 11am service.

As we prepare for Easter, I encourage you to do three things.  First, help us make room for others in our community.  We experienced record crowds on Easter last year.  Our two services were both packed full, so we are going to add a third service this year to make room for growth.  I encourage some of our early risers to join us for the 8am service.  You will be blessed by this identical service, but you will also be a blessing to others in our community.  Coming early will open up your seat for a guest at the 9:30am and 11am services.

Secondly, consider serving an hour on Easter Sunday.  We will need help in the nursery and preschool areas, parking lots, greeters, egg hunt logistics, and we need more singers in the choir.  Where can you serve on Easter Sunday?  Take the challenge to worship for an hour, but also serve for an hour.

Third, invite others to join us.  There is no better day to invite someone to church than on Easter Sunday.  Even if people do not normally go to church, many of them would gladly consider coming on Easter.  You have an opportunity to make a Gospel impact on a neighbor or friend simply by inviting them to come and celebrate with us that day.

Please also let us know if you or a family member are interested in being baptized on Easter.  Easter Sunday is the perfect opportunity to celebrate believer’s baptism.  Families are already usually together for this special day, and your baptism will serve as a living testimony to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  I look forward to pressing on in the book of Revelation with you this Sunday.  I will see you at 8:45am or 11:15am.

Onward and upward,

Jonathan Spencer

Psalm 122:1 says, “I was glad when they said to me, ’Let us go to the house of the Lord’!”  There is supposed to be joy in the house of the Lord.  Going to church is not something we have to do, it is something we get to do.  There is joy in worshiping God with other believers.  There is joy in hearing the truth of God’s Word.  And there is joy in building meaningful relationships with other believers.  I truly hope ABC is place that you are glad to go to each Sunday.

When it comes to children’s and youth ministries, we want to create a culture where God’s Word is taught, all while having fun together.  Some may find it hard to believe, but there is nothing wrong with having fun at church!  That is why we are offering our 2nd annual Family Fun Fest this Friday evening.  Families will come together to share a meal and then have an evening filled with games and friendly competition.  If you haven’t already done so, you can still register online at http://www.austinbaptistchurch.com.

I encourage you this week to share your gladness with others.  Look for new people this Sunday at church.  We have had dozens of visitors come through our doors every Sunday in January.  Let’s share our joy by receiving those who are new with gladness.  I also encourage you to shift your eyes outward from ABC this week.  I believe others would be glad to come to the house of the Lord if they were simply invited by someone inside it.  I challenge you to invite a friend to worship with you this weekend.  The invitation is simple: “I love my church, and I think you would too.”

I look forward to seeing you in worship and pressing forward in our study of the book of Revelation.  Read ahead to chapters 6 and 7 this week to get ready for Sunday’s message.  Additionally, make sure you subscribe to the Citizen ATX podcast to get bonus content for the sermon series (https://citizenatx.buzzsprout.com/).  New episodes are released by each Wednesday.  Each episode is focused on unpacking the previous Sunday’s sermon, and it will offer additional commentary and insight on the text.  I look forward to seeing you this Sunday at 8:45 or 11:15am.

Onward and upward,

Jonathan Spencer

Our vision at ABC is to see God light up your life, your home, your neighborhood, and the world.  In pursuit of that vision, ABC works hard to equip every member to shine for Jesus Christ in their home life.  We do this through community, counseling, prayer and support, and Biblical teaching.  Whether you are single or married, we believe Jesus wants to be the foundation of your home. 

Some of the most challenging years in a home can be found in those child-rearing years.  Simply put, raising children is not for the faint of heart!  Raising children brings joy and excitement, but it can also bring exhaustion, heartache, and frustration.  Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for those parenting challenges to negatively impact a marriage.  That is why we are going to offer our first ever “Valentine’s Couple’s Retreat” on February 16^th to 18^th in Schulenberg, Texas.

The theme for this retreat will be, “protecting your marriage through the parenting years.”  All married couples with kids in the home are invited to join us for a weekend of refreshment and encouragement.  Our own Dr. Jimmy Myers, founder of The Timothy Center, will be leading the sessions for this retreat.  He will offer practical, Biblical wisdom that will equip you to thrive in your marriage during those parenting years. 

If you have kids in the home, Bethany and I would like to invite you to join us at the retreat.  Spots are limited, so I encourage you to sign up ASAP.  I can’t think of a better way to spend Valentine’s weekend than to invest in your marriage at the beautiful Jordan Ranch (https://www.jordanranch.org/).  For more info and to register, please click the link here: https://austinbaptistchurch.com/event/valentines-couples-retreat?d=2024-02-16

I look forward to pressing on in our study of Revelation this Sunday.  I encourage you to read ahead in chapters four and five, and take some time to invite a neighbor or friend this week.  Have a wonderful week, and I will see you at 8:45am or 11:15am on this Lord’s Supper Sunday.

Onward and upward,

Jonathan Spencer