1 Corinthians 3:6
"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow."
Today's Prayer Focus
- For Dave Abney, former staff with LBC, planting a new church in Jacksonville.
- For Mike Aitcheson, former staff with LBC, planting Christ United Fellowship in south downtown Orlando.
- For our partnership with the Florida Church Planting Network, pooling resources for church plants throughout Florida.
- For 5 future church plants in the cities of Europe, where we partner with International Christian Community.
- For LBC to grow as a sending base, investing in young leaders and giving financial resources for new church plants.
"Rejoicing When a New Church is Planted"
Mike Tilley
Lake Baldwin Church began as a new church plant, back in 2006. The agricultural reference in 1 Corinthians 3:6 is a vivid picture. We’ve worked to plant a lot of seeds in lives, and to water those seeds, but we are dependent on God for growth. That planting and watering will always continue as we sow the seeds of the gospel and nurture people in their faith.
Seeds that grow also reproduce. So we are part of a church planting movement, in the hope that other communities and cities can have gospel-centered churches. As God blesses us with resources, it’s healthy to look beyond ourselves and share those resources. We can rejoice in young leaders who have served at LBC and then have planted new churches.
We also feel called to give of our financial resources. We’ve taken on a commitment to give 3% of our church budget to the Florida Church Planting Network, pooling funds to help people like Mike and Lucy Aitchison. Today, let’s rejoice in what God is doing through the planting of new churches, and the part we can play in that by his grace.
Mike Tilley is the senior pastor of Lake Baldwin Church, and has lived in Orlando since 1994. He and his wife, Molly, worked with a core group from the Baldwin Park community to plant Lake Baldwin Church in 2006. Mike loves teaching the Bible in a way that relates to real life. In his spare time, Mike enjoys good movies, long dinner with friends, snow skiing, hanging out with his kids and two granddaughters, and travel.