Great Expectations

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Great Expectations
Friendship Baptist Church Plan
Rev. Dr. Joseph B. Covington

July 2008
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Table of Contents

• 3. Great Expectation Church Plan
• 4. Assumption
• 5. What we believe (Articles of Faith)
• 6. Mission Statement
• 7. Motto Statement
• 8. Vision Statement
• 9. Our Focus
• 11. Introduction (to successes)
• 12. The Successes
• 13. Ministry Objectives
• 14. Continuous Reform
• 17. Look Where He Brought Us From
• 18. It Is The Dream
• Contract For Excellence
• 29. Summation

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Great Expectations Church Plan
A Road Map for Continuous Kingdom Building
in the Friendship Baptist Church
Corning, New York
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Assumption

• We should understand (should believe) that
  anything is possible. We should believe that the
  Holy Spirit is unpredictable. I believe we will
  be able to execute the plan that is anchored in
  the mission of Friendship Baptist Church, but
  sufficiently visionary to require our dependence
  on God to see it fulfilled.

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Articles of Faith
The Friendship Baptist Church Of Corning, New
York ascribes to these Articles of Faith which
represents what we believe
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Mission Statement
Called by God and united in love for Jesus
Christ, we are committed to evangelize the
unsaved, and equip the saints for ministry
beyond our walls.
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Motto Statement

• Friendship Baptist Church
• Living, Learning,
  Loving,the Word

8
VISION STATEMENT

• Living our Mission Being a Connected
  Church
• God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit

9
Our Focus

• I am Peacock Proud and Holy Ghost
  Happy to present to you the Great Expectations
  Church Plan. This document will continue to
  grow, yet our focus remains the same to lead
  human beings to a saving knowledge of Jesus
  Christ. The Church is committed to church
  reform while living out our mission. The Church
  membership has adopted as its goals the Pastors
  recommendations in the areas of Church Mission,
  Church Growth, and Church Assessment. Throughout
  this document you will see the Friendship Model
  for being a Connected Church centered around our
  most important focus Sinner and Saint and it
  shows each of the elements around them that are
  necessary for their spiritual achievement. Work
  has already begun on each of these focus areas,
  and I am excited to say we have made considerable
  progress. Our Ministry leaders have made great
  strides in many different areas of church
  development. I must acknowledge it is not when
  Pastor and, it is not when People, but it is when
  Pastor and People come together, we can do great
  things for the Kingdom. Once again, I present to
  you the Great Expectations Church Plan, a road
  map for continuous Kingdom building in the
  Friendship Baptist Church.
• Co-labors together,

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Our Focus

• ???The Friendship Model for being a Connected
  Church centers around Sinner and
  Saint.
• ??Elements necessary for spiritual
  achievement.

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Introduction

• The Friendship Baptist Church is moving
  exponentially towards 90 years of Ministry
  telling the story for His glory.
• Great Expectation Church plan will build upon the
  90 years of ministry done in the Southern Tier of
  New York.

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The church takes extreme excitement in these
accomplishments. Much work remains to be
done.Church Accomplishments Highlights

• Friendship Baptist Church organized August 7th,
  1919 under the leadership of Rev. Morgan M. Days
• Victory over the natural disaster The Flood of
  1972
• Rev. Willie Wright spearheaded the drive for a
  new church in 1978.
• Marched from Tuxill Avenue to the new building at
  Denison Parkway and Pearl Street in 1981
• New building dedication, June 21, 1981
• Under the leadership of Rev. Holland, pews were
  purchased for the sanctuary. Bath ministry began
  after 1987
• Increased fellowship with Sister Churches in the
  community, and within the National Baptist
  Convention. - 2005
• Expansion of Wednesday Mid-week Bible class 2005.
• Building expansion under the leadership of Pastor
  Covington in 2006
• Expansion of Youth Ministry in 2006
• Expansion of Music Ministry - 2007
• Ordination of 3 Deacons - June 2008
• Establishment of FBC Bible Institute - 2008

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Ministry Objectives

• The Great Expectations Church Plan again
  includes Ministry objectives plans to address
  every ministry within the church.

FBC Ministry Objective Forms under
construction
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Continuous Reform

• ??Ministry is a marathon. Its not how you
  start that matters, but how you end.
• ??Vision is the ability to see opportunities
  within your current circumstances.
• ??To design the right strategy you must ask the
  right questions.

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Continuous Reform

• ??Most healthy, large churches are led by a
  pastor who has been there a long time.
• ??A churchs health is measured by its sending
  capacity, not its seating capacity.
• ??God always uses imperfect people in imperfect
  situations to accomplish His will.
• ??Where ever God guides, He provides.

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Continuous Reform

• ??The church should be seeker sensitive, but it
  must not be seeker driven.
• ??Plans, programs, and, personalities dont
  last. Gods purposes will last.
• ??Absolutely nothing will revitalize a
  discouraged church faster than rediscovering its
  purpose.

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Look From Wheres Hes Brought Us !
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It Is The Dream

• To be a place where the hurting, the depressed
  the frustrated, and the confused can find love,
  acceptance, help, hope, forgiveness, guidance and
  encouragement.

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It Is The Dream

• To share the good news of Jesus Christ with the
  thousands of residents of Corning, New York and
  the whole Chemung and Schuyler counties.
• To equip every believer for a significant
  ministry by helping them discover the gifts and
  talents God gave them.

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It Is The Dream

• To welcome 500 members into fellowship with our
  church family - loving, learning, laughing and
  living in harmony.
• To continue developing people towards spiritual
  maturity through Bible studies, small groups,
  seminars, retreats, and Bible school for our
  members.

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It Is The Dream
To have at least 5 acres of land, on which we
will build a regional church for this area with
beautiful, yet simple, facilities including a
worship center, a counseling and prayer center,
classrooms for Bible studies and training lay
ministers, and a recreation area. All of this
will be designed to minister to the total
personspiritually, emotionally, physically, and
sociallyand set in a urban landscape
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It Is The Dream
I stand before you today and state in confident
assurance that these dreams will become reality.
Why? Because they are inspired by God.
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Contract for Excellence

• Having received Christ as my Lord and Savior
  and been baptized, and being in agreement with
  Friendship statements, strategy, and structure, I
  now feel led by the Holy Spirit to unite with the
  Friendship church family. In doing so, I commit
  myself to God and to the other members to do the
  following
• I Will Protect The Unity Of My Church By
• Acting in love towards other members
• Refusing to gossip
• Following the leaders

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Contract For Excellence - Scripture Reference
So let us concentrate on the things which make
for harmony, and on the growth of our fellowship
together. (Rom.1419 Phillips)
Have a sincere love for other believers, love
one another earnestly with all your heart. ( 1
Peter 122 TEV)
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of
your mouths, but only what is helpful for
building others up according to their needs.
(Eph. 429)
Obey your leaders and submit to their authority.
They keep watch over you as men who must give
an account. Obey them so their work will be a
joy, not a burden, for that would be no
advantage to you. (Heb. 1317)
To the church - . We always thank God for you
and pray for you constantly (1 Thess.
11 - 2 LB) The Master said to the servant, Go
out to the roads and country lanes, and urge the
people there to come so my house will be full.
(Luke 1423 NVC)
So, warmly welcome each other into the church,
just as Christ has warmly welcomed you then God
will be glorified (Rom. 157 LB)
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Contract For Excellence
I Will Serve the Ministry of my Church

• By discovering my gifts and talents.
• By being equipped to serve by my pastor
• By developing a servant's heart

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Contract for Excellence - Scripture Reference
"Serve one another with the particular gifts God
has given each of you" (1 Peter 4 10
PHILLIPS). "God gave ... some to be pastors
and teachers, to prepare God's people for works
of service, so that the body of Christ may be
built up" (Eph. 411 -12 NIV). "Each of you
should look not only to your own interests, but
also to the interests of others. Your attitude
should be the same as that of Christ Jesus Who
... took on the very nature of a servant
(Phil. 23-4, 7).
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Contract For Excellence
I Will Support The Testimony Of My Church By
Attending faithfully
Living a Godly life
Giving regularly
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Contract for Excellence - Scripture Reference

• "Let us not give up meeting together ... but let
  us encourage one another" (Heb. 1025).
• "Whatever happens, make sure that your everyday
  life is
• worthy of the gospel of Christ" (Phil. 127
  PHILLIPS).
• Each one of you, on the first day of each week,
  should set aside a specific sum of money in
  proportion to what you have earned and use it for
  the offering (1 Cor. 162 LB).
• A tenth of all your produce ... is the Lord's.
  and is holy (Lev. 2730 NVC).

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Summation
We are embarking on an aggressive church reform
initiative to facilitate positive change by
Being a Connected Church. By the aid of the
Holy Spirit, blessings will flow to our senior
citizens, our young adult members, our single
members, our families, our youth members, and to
our community at large. Your availability and
willingness to participate in Gods plan is a
sign of your commitment to God and our church in
todays 21st century.
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When Pastor AND people come together we can do
great things for the Kingdom