What Can God Do in a Day?
Does One Day Really Matter to the Lord? 

Here's what God's Word says: The sun stood still one day (Joshua 10:13). One day in the courts of the Lord is better than a thousand elsewhere (Psalm 84:10). With the Lord, one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day (2 Peter 3:8). In one day, God created the heavens and the earth, and for the next five days, He continued to create, and on the last day, He created human beings, male and female, who are created in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:1-2:3).

Sunday, October 24, 2021 will be our ONE DAY CELEBRATION SERVICE. This is a time of celebrating our church's 190 years of ministry and eliminating the church's entire debt. I appeal for you to save the date and gather with your church family on this special day at 10:30am in the Grace Sanctuary. It's going to be a special morning of worship as all of our campuses join together in grace, faith, and hope.

I look forward to worshipping with you each Sunday leading up to our 190th Celebration. We'll remember our past, celebrate our present, and pursue our future.

God's best for First Baptist Clarksville is yet to come! Let's not limit what our God can do in One Day!

Grace, Faith, and Hope,  
Dr. Ronny D. Raines 
John 3:30

What is the ONE DAY Campaign?

ONE DAY is an intentional time to focus on God’s grace, exercise renewed faith as God’s people, and place all our hope in Jesus as we celebrate 190 years of existence as we pay off our debt of $1,400,000 on the Hope Annex. We want to trust our future ministry to the Lord as we Worship God, Love People, Share Jesus, and Make Disciples. 

We desire and pray that during our ONE DAY emphasis…

• God would be glorified.  All the praise, honor, and blessing of FBCT belongs to Jesus!

• That Jesus would allow us to witness to our community and share God’s story of grace, faith and hope here at FBCT.

• Cultivate new levels of generosity.  As God’s people we want to be the most generous and hospitable people on the face of the earth, knowing we can never out give God.

• Improve our other church facilities.  We are trusting the Lord to allow us to address deferred maintenance and upkeep on our facilities.  With grateful hearts we want to take care of what God has given us to use. 

• Free up the next generation to serve Jesus being free of church debt.   
  

Meet Our One Day Leadership Team

• Pastor Ronny

• Rissa Larson

• Rhonda Kennedy

• Glen Rainey
  

Equal Generosity & Giving Chart

God’s economy is the best!  We can never out give God and He reminds us throughout His Word that His economy is built on equal sacrifice, not equal gifts.  The Lord has built His economy in a way that best demonstrates His generosity to us in offering Jesus as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He blesses us spiritual, relationally, physically, and financially in ways that we can all model the generosity of Jesus.  Below is a giving chart that demonstrates how God could use each of us to sacrificially give to the ONE DAY DEBT RETIREMENT OFFERING.

Connect Groups Dessert Fellowships Schedule

Pastor Ronny and members of our ONE DAY Leadership Team have set time aside to meet with each of our Connect Groups.  These important meetings will be a great time of fellowship, vision casting, Q & A and prayer. They will occur on the dates below starting at 6:00pm each evening.  Please make every effort to join your Connect Group class and leaders.  See you there!

How Can I Participate in ONE DAY?

1. Pray – Would you pray each day leading to October 24th the following two prayers with us? 

• God, please increase my faith in You.  Give me the desire to be fully pleasing to You in every area of my life. We commit October 24th to You. Help me to believe that You will use my sacrifice to make much of Jesus. (Heb. 11:6)

• Father, I pray for my FBCT faith family. Give us a heart to worship You, love one another, share the gospel of Your Son, our Savior, Jesus, and to make disciples of all people.  We cannot do this according to our ability or strength.  We ask that you fill us with Your Word and Spirit and help us to glorify Your name as we live missionally with the days You give us. Show us how we can honor You as we prepare to give sacrificially on October 24th. 

2. Attend – SAVE THE DATE! OCTOBER 24TH 10:30 Grace sanctuary, join us as our Kirkwood, Hispanic, Korean, and Downtown campuses all gather to worship Jesus. It’s going to be a great day!

3. Give – Be praying and preparing now about the generosity God is leading you and your family to share.

4. Serve – October 24th we will need additional volunteers as we celebrate 190 years of ministry! Please be open and willing to serve as those needs are specifically shared in the days ahead.

These are exciting days at First Baptist Church Clarksville! Baptisms are happening. Attendance is increasing. Giving is strong. Ministries are expanding. I love seeing our church experiencing health and revitalization.

In October, we're celebrating 190 years of ministry. You read that correctly. Our church's history is inspiring. First Baptist has been led by many godly pastors. Church members have served and been sent on gospel missions around the world. Many church plants have been birthed from our church. Our city and county have benefited from our church's generosity and vision.

On Sunday, October 24, we're planning a 190th celebration service. Kirkwood, Hispanic, and Korean ministries will join us in worship at 10:30 am in the Grace Sanctuary. We desire to see JESUS fill the house with 1800 people! We'll treat you to lunch after the service in the Fellowship Hall. History displays will be placed strategically throughout the facility.

We'll have a special service with a birthday cake at 2:00 pm in the Faith Building.

Also on that Sunday, we're planning a "One Day Love Offering" to eliminate the church's indebtedness. We owe approximately $1.4 million. We'll come forward that Sunday morning and place our sacrificial love offerings in a chest. Counters will count the offering. We'll reveal the offering amount that afternoon in the Faith Sanctuary. I know these two truths: God has been faithful to His church, and you've been generous in eliminating debt throughout the years.

Here's a common question. Why pay off the debt? Let me offer you five credible reasons:

• Allow God to be glorified
• Witness to the larger community
• Cultivate new levels of generosity
• Improve our other church facilities
• Free up the next generation

Can we eliminate our entire debt in one day? Can we see God’s house full of people? I believe we can. Nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37). I believe in you. We're better together. Thank you for allowing me to serve as your pastor! I believe His best is yet to come!

May He Increase,
Dr. Ronny D. Raines
John 3:30

Welcome First Baptist Family to your ONE DAY Vision Guide. This guide is intended to help communicate the vision God is giving Pastor Ronny, our Leadership Team, and Staff. In this information you will find the story of grace, faith, and hope, the story of God’s incredible favor upon our church family since its beginning. You will also find more specific details concerning the ministry, facility vision, how God can use you and your family to generously be a part of this endeavor, and a section that answers the most frequently asked questions concerning the ONE DAY Campaign, along with two specific prayers we are asking everyone to join us in praying. Let’s delight in our risen Savior JESUS, as we thank Him for His grace, as we walk in faith, and as we place all our hope in Him with our future!

For 190 years the overwhelming story of First Baptist Clarksville has been God’s amazing grace. For the thousands of people who have called First Baptist their church home, God’s unmerited favor and love has been consistent since 1831.

God’s grace was evident when He called the people of Spring Creek Baptist Church, here in Montgomery County, to plant a church in the courthouse in Clarksville that would be led by Elder Reuben Ross. Ross also served as Pastor of Spring Creek and made visits to Clarksville on a monthly rotation. The church plant that became First Baptist Clarksville began with 17 members and grew to 51 members over the next ten years of Pastor Ross’ ministry. During these ten years, the church purchased property in downtown Clarksville and began to raise funds to construct a permanent house of worship which was completed in 1843.

From this humble beginning until now, the love and grace of God has been evident. Thousands of people have had their sins forgiven and restored to a right relationship with God because of His grace. Dads and moms, sons and daughters, the young and the old, the poor and the wealthy, the educated and the uneducated, the singles and the married, people from different races and nationalities, have all been redeemed by no effort of their own, but by the loving kindness of God that led each person to repentance and belief in Christ Jesus as Lord. Unmerited favor, unmerited love, only eternity will reveal the depths of God’s grace to our First Baptist family. Until then, may we be found with saints from all ages proclaiming, “Come, Thou Fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing Thy grace; Streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet, sung by flaming tongues above. Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it, Mount of Thy redeeming love.” 

A well-known acrostic for the word faith is, “forsaking all I trust Him”. Take a moment and think of that definition. “Forsaking all.” The story of God’s grace, and the faith He has given His believers here at First Baptist is a story of abandoning our confidence in ourselves and all else for the sake of faithfully following Christ.

It has been said, “that God always has a people”, a faithful remnant of believers in every church, community, and continent. People who after forsaking all, trust Jesus with their entire life even unto death. God has blessed First Baptist with faithful believers like these in every generation that have come before us. Pastor Ronny likes to say it this way, “we are sitting under the shade of trees that those before us have planted.”

Our church family has lived faithfully and stood courageously through multiple wars, times of depression, national uncertainty, personal loss of family, sickness, trials, and distress. Through it all, Jesus has called preachers, missionaries, church planters, gospel singers, and people to serve our Tennessee, and Southern Baptist conventions. He has raised up faithful believers who serve Him, by sharing the gospel, in our community, and places all around the world. In the weeks leading up to October 24th, you will hear stories of God’s faithfulness to our church family. The question before us is how will we respond to the Lord in our own faith? What kind of trees will we plant for future generations to serve under and enjoy?

Our future is bright at First Baptist. It’s as promising, hopeful, and missional as Jesus is Lord!

Our mission is concise & biblical. We are to “love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.” We are to “love our neighbors as ourselves.” We are to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that Jesus has commanded us.”

Our vision is clear & bold. We see First Baptist being a healthy, gospel-centered church, full of the Holy Spirit, walking in obedience to God’s Word as we Worship God – Love People – Share Jesus - Make Disciples.We see a church in which the sun never sets on its ministry, where people and families are worshiping Jesus individually and corporately.

We see a church that loves people by serving them, demonstrating the kindness and mercy of the Lord to others. We see a church that so regularly shares the gospel of Jesus with others that hundreds of people follow the Lord in baptism and discipleship every year. We see a church where people are growing in God’s Word and growing together in relationships, where believers are making disciples of converts, and all of God’s people are bringing Him glory through missional, gospel living. In Christ alone our hope is found!

Pay-off debt on Hope Annex on October 24th, 2021

• The debt will be approximately $1,325,000

• This saves the church approximately $121,000 in interest payments over the next five years

• Continue to build a culture of generosity

Address deferred maintenance issue in Grace, Hope & Hope Annex

• Paint interior of buildings

• Replace HVAC units as needed

• Replace flooring

• Technology/Worship Upgrades in Grace Sanctuary and educational areas

• Missions Education Center – A one stop center for all things to equip families in being and making disciples of their family, neighbors, and friends. An interactive, mission’s education space for families to visit before and after church and duringthe week.

Renovate Faith Building to include...

• Furloughing Missionary Apartments

• Room In the Inn – Short-term homeless shelter rooms

• Ministry Intern Apartments

• Administrative Office Space

• Chapel Makeover for worship, funerals, weddings etc.

• Smart Storage

• Deferred Maintenance on outside exterior New signage 

God’s economy is the best! We can never out give God, and He reminds us throughout His Word that His economy is built on equal sacrifice, not equal gifts. The Lord hasbuilt His economy in a way that best demonstrates His generosity to us in offering Jesus as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He blesses us spiritually, relationally, physically, and financially in ways that we can all model the generosity of Jesus. This giving chart demonstrates how God could use each of us to sacrificially give to the ONE DAY DEBT RETIREMENT OFFERING.

1. In addition to paying off the debt and celebrating 190 years of ministry is there a “spiritual” aspect to the campaign?

   Yes, there are several spiritual aspects to this campaign. Ministry to missionaries who are on furlough, interns who are being called into church ministry, giving the homeless a quality place to stay, and doing ministry in excellence as we are commanded in Colossians 3: 17 & 23 to name a few. However, we do not want to lose sight that generosity, stewardship, and inviting Christians to live and give sacrificially is very significant spiritual work. Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
   

2. Who and how will decisions be made about the extent of deferred maintenance and renovation in Phases 2 & 3?

   Our Property and Maintenance Team is working on that right now in consultation with our operations department. They will consult with Pastor and our Leadership Team who will ultimately present it to our Deacons and church family for approval.
   

3. Would it be easier to rent or lease intern and missionary housing space rather than building apartments?

   It may or may not be easier. Having the missionary and intern housing together in the same building will provide for fellowship and relationships to be built between families and our church family. Also, transportation becomes less of an issue for them to participate in the total life of our First Baptist family. 
   

4. Is there a timetable when Phases 2 & 3 would start?

   While no formal timetable has been set, it is feasible to become proactive in repairing previously deferred maintenance issues as soon as January 2022.
   

5. Why do we need office space in Faith building? What’s the advantage of relocating our current office space?

   There remains a tremendous need in the future for all staff working space to be together for the sake of collaboration, accountability, and productivity. It will provide our Pastor and Executive Pastor easy access to lead, equip, encourage, evaluate, and plan with our church staff. 
   

6. Will we turn around and go in debt again for Phases 2 & 3?

   We sure hope not! If we do, it would be for a short-term, low interest loan. However, we are trusting God to raise our level of generosity and sacrificial giving so that we can raise the funds without going into debt.

God, please increase my faith in You. Give me the desire to be fully pleasing to You in every area of my life. We commit October 24th to You. Help me to believe that You will use my sacrifice to make much of Jesus. I believe Your Word in Hebrews 11:6, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.”

Father, I pray for my FBCT faith family. Give us a heart to worship You, love one another, share the gospel of Your Son, our Savior Jesus, and make disciples of all people. We cannot do this according to our ability or strength. We ask that You fill us with Your Word and Spirit. Help us to glorify Your name as we live missionally with the days You give us. Show us how we can honor You as we prepare to give sacrificially on October 24th and as we invite family, neighbors, and friends to join us as we worship You.