Amazing Grace DVD Project

They're here!

2007-07-12T18:59:00.000-07:00

The Amazing Grace DVDs--all 880 pounds of them--arrived just in time for VBS this week at GBC (that explains some of the "different" attire of some of the young people in the pic; they are helping to depict Pilgrim's Progress).

Though we have still not reached our goal of $20,000, we are well on our way (with a sizable portion of the $3000 in matching gifts still available). Today many of our young people spent hours preparing mailing envelopes that will be used to mail the DVDs. I will let you know when they actually start being distributed.

I have been very encouraged by the number of people who have contacted me indicating that they are praying for this project. Let's join together in asking the Lord to use the teaching from His Word and insights from church history to encourage Baptist pastors and churches throughout the state of Florida.

Update and opportunity to double your gift

2007-07-10T07:15:00.000-07:00

The DVDs were delivered yesterday and are awaiting being packaged and mailed over the next two weeks. Volunteers are lining up to help with this significant task. Once we get the most accurate records available to us and have the funds available, we will start putting them in the mail.

As of last week, we have $7,000 of the $20,000 needed. The $5000 matching gift has been met and we anticipate that check in the next week or so, raising the total to $12,000. Since announcing the provision of another $2000 matching gift last week, an additional $1000 matching gift has been offered.

What that means is that if you missed out on the the first "double-your-gift" opportunity, you still can see that happen by giving now and having your gift matched, up to $3000.

You may mail your check to Founders Ministries (POB 150931, Cape Coral, FL 33915) or you may donate online using the link below.

Please continue praying for this project. God willing, the DVDs will start landing by the end of this month.

New matching gift opportunity!

2007-07-02T13:37:00.000-07:00

The $5000 matching gift from Riverbend Church has been matched as of last weekend! That means that $10,000 of the needed $20,000 has been raised for the Florida Baptist Truth Project.

An additional $2000 matching gift has recently been offered by supporters of this project. The DVDs are supposed to arrive sometime next week. Please pray that we will be able to secure all of the mailing information in a timely fashion to get these in the mail as quickly as possible.

Continue also to pray that the needed funds will be given to send this resource out to all the Southern Bapist pastors and denominational workers in the state of Florida.

Amazing Grace for your state

2007-06-30T21:15:00.000-07:00

Nicene Council, the publisher of the Amazing Grace DVD, is willing to make that DVD available at greatly discounted rates for any group of churches that is willing to send it out to the churches in their state convention. If you are interested, let me know and I will put you in touch with the right people.

Welcome to Amazing Grace Over Florida!

2007-06-24T15:25:00.000-07:00

Greetings and welcome to this new blog dedicated to tracking what the Lord is doing through the Florida Baptist Truth Project. Our intention is to send out copies of the Amazing Grace DVD to every Southern Baptist pastor in the state of Florida (if you want to purchase the DVD for yourself, you can do so here). We are doing this to provide a point of balance and contrast to a mailing that those pastors received two weeks ago from the Florida Baptist Convention state offices. The Executive Director of the Florida Baptist Convention mailed out CDs containing a sermon series by Dr. Jerry Vines entitled, "Baptist Battles." Included in that series is a sermon Dr. Vines preached last year called, "Calvinism: A Baptist and His Election." Unfortunately, that message is filled with misrepresentations of what those of us who stand with Charles Spurgeon, James Boyce, P. H. Mell, John Dagg and other great former Baptist leaders actually believe.

Fortunately, because of God's good gifts to us in modern technology, Florida Baptist pastors do not have to be left with only a skewed perspective on the issues in question. Through use of the internet and DVDs, the rest of the story can be made available rather easily. Several pastors and churches in Florida have decided to combine efforts to send a copy of the Amazing Grace DVD to Florida Southern Baptist pastors. This DVD presentation contains over 4 hours of beautifully produced information on the history and theology of Calvinism. The cost of this project is only $20,000. Unlike those who mailed out Dr. Vines' sermons, we do not have access to monies from the Florida Baptist Foundation. Therefore, we are relying on God to stir up the hearts of His people who care about an accurate representation of these issues to fund this project.

Riverbend Church of Ormond Beach, Florida, under the leadership of Dr. Roy Hargrave, has offered to match up to $5000 that is given by July 8. That means that your gift can be doubled if you give in the next two weeks. Let me encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity by making a donation to cover Florida with Amazing Grace as the Lord enables you to do so.

A special fund has been set up to facilitate gifts for this purpose. You may send your donations to:

Founders Ministries
POB 150931
Cape Coral, FL 33915
ATTN: Florida Baptist Truth Project

Or, you may donate online using the link below.You may also contribute online by using the button below.

Most importantly, please join us in praying and fasting about this oppportunity. Can you imagine what would happen if the 2-3000 Florida pastors who receive this DVD watch it carefully, prayerfully and with an open Bible? If the Lord is pleased to use this effort to dispel the common caricatures of the doctrines of grace, what a wonderful blessing that will be. Better still, if many of our brothers become convinced from the Scriptures that these doctrines are nothing less than a proper understanding of God's Word!

The weeks between June 24-July 31 have been designated as a specific time of prayer and fasting for this effort. Would you consider committing yourself to praying daily during this time for the Lord to own these efforts for His glory? Perhaps you could set aside one day each week to fast and pray for this. Encourage others to join you. Lead your church to be in prayer over this opportunity.

This blog has been established to provide an opportunity for us to discuss how the Lord is working in and through all these events. Already, I have heard from one pastor who has been given an open door to hold Bible studies with family members because of this and other related events in the state of Florida. Many others have ordered the DVD for themselves and have been greatly helped by the teaching they received from it.

Feel free to leave comments here about your commitment to this project or what God is doing in your life and church as we partner together in this important effort.