Published Aug 29, 2023
FRESNO, CA — If one were to consider a scripture passage as a theme from the reports given by the CSBC Initiative Leaders for the August Staff Meeting, one might consider Colossians 1:17 to be a perfect fit. God is in the details of the work. CSBC staff gathered last week to share their reports.
CSBC Chief Financial Officer and Business Services Team Leader welcomed Pastor and Church Planter Sean Beaudoin of New Hope Church. Beaudoin shared blessings he and his congregation have experienced as they will be celebrating their sixth month church anniversary this past Sunday and 65 salvations in total.
“Our first six months were focused on building a foundation, and we have been blessed. As we move into our next six months, my plan is to strengthen that foundation that we and God have built,” stated Beaudoin. “Church planters aren’t always sure what to expect when they first get started. The first two services we held had about 60 people, and now we average about 130 in attendance! That is just incredible for us!”
Tempesta reported that although the Cooperative Program giving isn’t where he would like it to be for this time of year, he remains confident that with the final months left in 2023, “everything should be just fine.” Sharing that he, Executive Director Pete Ramirez, and Controller Sally Cook have been drafting up a purposed budget for 2024 to present at the Executive Board Meeting, to be held next month.
Reflecting again on the efforts made by former Executive Director Bill Agee, Tempesta stated, “Dr. Agee put us in a good position to be proactive, rather than reactive when it comes to finances.”
Jimmie Davidson, Lead Church Planting Catalyst with Send Network, presented the Send California progress for the month. There are currently 24 new church plants with one awaiting their SBC ID. Send LA held a Marriage Getaway in Anaheim at the end of July. 30 church planting couples from all over the Los Angeles area attended. Some of the upcoming events Send California is anticipating will be the Replant Summit at Gateway Seminary August 30th as well as the SoCal Assessment Retreat hosted in Riverside September 11-12.
Jason Blankenship, Evangelism Initiatives Team Leader, shared evangelism statistics showcasing efforts through August.
- A goal of 10 Evangelism workshops held; 19 have been achieved.
- A goal of 600 salvations resulting from evangelism grant funded events; 652 salvations have been documented.
- A goal of 200 church grants to be awarded; 225 have been awarded so far.
Surpassing many of these goals, Blankenship commented, “I really want to celebrate the work happening in our Northern California churches. Our northern churches make up 3% of California and through the combined efforts of the Evangelism workshops and what Jason Robertson is doing, a lot of effort is being made for our northern California church family.”
Robertson, Church Matters Team Leader continued, sharing that he and his team have been in contact with 500 churches over the past month. “We are on pace to be meeting most of our 2023 goals. We are building on what Ralph built,” referring to the former Church Matters Initiatives Team Leader, Ralph Neighbour. “The Pastors Conference theme this year is ‘Not Alone’, and that very sentiment is what I plan to carry into my leadership here at CSBC with Church Matters. I want our pastors out there to know they are not alone and that can’t be conveyed over the phone; it’s an in-person conversation to have. That’s why I plan to be on the road a lot,” said Robertson, who then invited Roger Byrd to share some of the recent developments for the Count the Cost Initiative.
“God has opened the doors for us to share Count the Cost with churches, associations, and state conventions from across the country. We have helped churched in Georgia, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Michigan, and Kentucky! God is working through Count the Cost to increase the ministry and reach of His churches,” shared Byrd.
Francis Chung, Missions Initiatives Team Leader opened his report by saying, “Living out our motto ‘Better Together’ has really been important to our team!” Chung and CSBC Executive Director, Pete Ramirez recently returned home from attending the Malaysian Baptist Convention which celebrated its 70th Anniversary.
Chung continued with an update on Feeding Those Who Feed Us ministry Leader, Oscar Sanchez, who has maintained good health and is thankful for all the prayers he has received. Through Sanchez’s ministry, there have been 305 decisions for Christ for the year and 376 bags of groceries have been distributed to families through their outreach efforts.
Chung concluded with a report on behalf of Women’s Ministry Leader, Cathie Smith, who has attended several events in the past month with some of CSBC’s ethic churches, and other ministry partners such as WMU, including speaking at a Ladies Event at Cornelia Avenue Church in Fresno.
CFO Tempesta informed the staff that there would not be a report from Disaster Relief, as Director Kendrick Neal had been deployed to Guam. Tempesta adjourned the meeting.
