Bible Based Fellowship Church

Tampa, Florida

• Average Attendance: 800 to 13,000
• Pre-Campaign budget:$2.5 million
• Goal: $2.5 million for debt reduction

Synergies of Sacrifice

The one-year anniversary of the "God's People Doing God's Work Together" capital campaign gives Dr. Arthur T. Jones, pastor of the Bible Based Fellowship Church, a reason to reflect. "The concept of lifestyle stewardship has been a tremendous and uplifting experience for our entire congregation," he says. "I've witnessed a marvelous transformation in our giving and stewardship mentality like never before in the church¹s 11-year history."

Adds Jones, "We've had teachings on sacrifice before, but never really embraced it wholeheartedly to personally realize how enriching it can be in the life of the believer. Pure sacrifice pleases God and blesses the giver."

Recognizing the impending need to retire church debt in the face of a growing need to expand, Pastor Jones began to pray for God's wisdom. "As I prayed for a resource, catalyst and assistant to help me climb this mountain, Genesis Consultant Dr. Herman Norman was literally exactly what I prayed for," he explains. "He is a fine model of a Christian who brought his anointed spirit, knowledge, experience and sensitivities to Bible Based Fellowship. He has touched our lives in unprecedented ways and been instrumental in bringing a new mindset to our leadership team and church."

During the campaign, the cross-generational church mirrored its demographics in a very classic video featuring three generations. "In Nehemiah 4, the Bible says the people had a mind to work," notes Jones, "so we used a number of tools to help position us for God¹s work. Each sermon, brochure and praise report helped us cast our all-encompassing vision to lay the foundation so that future generations would not be hindered by debt."

At the one-year anniversary point, he believes the church is "right on track to meet or exceed our target goal." "Ironically, the emphasis on sacrificial living and giving has been liberating. Thanks to this capital campaign, sacrifice will be an integral part of our church culture from now on," he adds.