1/18/26 PM - Vision Discussion

Tonight as we continue to look at the goals and strategy

for the direction for our church this year.

I’m reminded of another story that

Adrian Rogers would tell his congregation

about the victorious life

He would say he heard about a woman

who applied for welfare because

she couldn’t keep body and soul together.

When the investigoator from the wellfarte department

came out to talk to he

He said,”Don’t you have a husband or a some children

who can take care of you?”

She said, “Yes, I have one son.”

Where is he?

He’s out West somewhere working

He said he was going to try and make his fortune.

The investigator said, “Doesn’t he ever write to you?

Don’t you ever tell him about your need?”

Yes, iI tell him in almost every letter.”

Well doesn’t he ever send you anything?

Well, he never sends money,

all he sends is a letter and some little cards.

Do you have one of them?

She says, “Yes I have many of them.”

She went back into the little hovel where she lived

and on the wall she had tacked many of the letters and the cards

These cards were all money orders.

She didn’t know what to do with t hem,

but she had almost decorated one whole wall with

the money orders from her son.

They were hers all the time,

yet she was starving and ready to go to welfare.

She didn’t know how to possess her possessions

she didn’t know how to appropriate what she already had.

Folks we as a church

have so many blessings from God

we have no debt

we have money tucked away in tons of accounts

and we have more importantly

we have access to the power of God in and through us.

But sometimes we are ignorant of what we have and how to use it.

That’s where tonight’s strategy comes in.

How are we going to use

what God has already given to us

Rather than invent the wheel,

I use a strategy from the Apostles

and specifically Paul for our church.

Seeing as he was the master church planter and builder

and how he has the credibility to write most of the New Testament

I didn’t think anyone would object to Paul’s strategy.

Acts 1:8 Strategy

I doubt that Apostles would call their strategy the Acts 1:8 strategy

I’m not even sure they would call it a strategy at all.

These men were tasked to build the church

and they didn’t have an example, a guide, or even a manual

on how to do that.

They built the church

based mainly on the Holy Spirit’s direction

based on the mission set forth by Jesus

reaching those that would ultimately fill the vision of God.

Acts 1:8 CSB

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

So when we look at a strategy for our local body

we can be confident in being witnesses to

Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Last July I gave the last update of our strategy.

Let’s refresh our memory about what each of these places represent.

Jerusalem

This was a gimme, low hanging fruit

The apostles didn’t even have to go anywhere

To be witnesses for Christ

They could stay right where they were

And reach people with the gospel of Christ

This meant in their own community

they could walk around their neighborhood

They could go out and say hello to their neighbors

Walk across the street to the local shop

Buy a drink and start a conversation

They could go to Brown Dog

they could sit in their local barbers chair

They could be shopping at the Pig or Food Lion

They could be at Jade Garden or McDonalds or Paul’s Place

Or across the street at Rocky Point Auto

Because Lord knows, those people need to hear about Jesus

They would be at Trask or Cape Fear Middle

All of these places were right in their own backyard

Judea and Samaria

Then Jesus talks about Judea and Samaria

These are two more regional areas

This means they would have to travel, but not too far

Judea we know today as The West Bank

It includes all of Israel and Palestine

We would look at it as a almost a state or group of states

Judea meant moving a little out of their comfort zone

Moving from their neighborhood

But still staying with in vinegar based barbecue, mostly

These people still have a Southern accent

Albeit a Hebraic southern accent in the biblical case

But you understand

Samaria however was a bit different

now we are taking about more travel

anywhere from Myrtle Beach to Virginia Beach travel

To territories outside of vinegar based barbecue

And into the mustard based, tomato based,

No longer pork but beef.

People that didn’t recognize collards kind of travel.

Samaria wasn’t the most liked by the Jewish nation

these were the red-headed step children of the Jews

They’re related but we don’t talk about those relatives

We don’t want to admit they are even part of the family kind of people

These are the outer states without Carolina in their name

These are the Yankees,

Those that have weird northern accents

They pahk their cahr in the yahd kind of people

Now most people from North Carolina

would consider the Northerners, Westerners, and people from Texas and Florida

people from the land of fruits and nuts like California

The utter most parts of the world

And if you’ve never left Rocky Point

That may be your perspective

Why bother going to anyone else?

don’t we have enough people to reach right here?

Hold that thought.

Ends of the Earth

The ends of the earth may seem extreme

let me put that into perspective

for the gospel to reach Rocky Point, NC

we were the ends of the earth to someone.

Without someone willing to reach the ends of the earth

we would never have heard the gospel.

The ends of the earth from the time of the gospel

from Jerusalem to Rocky Point, NC

It is 6,788 miles from here to Jerusalem

about 25 hours by plane

roughly about 13 and a half million steps.

Somebody thought that Jesus command was serious enough

to make the trek from Jerusalem to Rocky Point.

The ends of the earth represent wherever you are

to the farthest distance away.

However, to be strategic in our planning

I also use Romans 15:20 for all our strategic approach

Romans 15:20 CSB

My aim is to preach the gospel where Christ has not been named, so that I will not build on someone else’s foundation,

So that’s our strategy

our commission to make disciples

is to our Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria,

and to the ends of the earth.

looking for places that aren’t already reached

for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

This is our Acts 1:8 strategy

in Acts 1:8

to accomplish the comission and command of God?

Acts 1:8 Strategy

Let me start with the farthest place to reach

The Ends of the earth.

Ends of the Earth

If our strategy is to go to the ends of the earth

and go to the place where there is most need for the gospel

that’s a no brainer.

South Asia

If I wanted to go to the least reached part of the planet

all I have to do is look at this picture

this is a picture of the world

and the bright spots are actually the lost places of the world

Here’s a closer picture

This is what’s known as the South Asian Affinity

Maybe a clearer picture of this area and a little bit of statistical information would help

1.8 Billion People

The birthplace of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism

and home to nearly 1/3 of the world’s Muslim population

2,354 unreached people groups

South Asia has the largest concentration of lostness in the world

with 1.6 Billion people that are lost

I know I’ve shared this before

Every week 232,000 people die without Christ

To put that into perspective

Pender County has Almost 69,000 people in it

New Hanover has almost 239,000 people in it

so in two weeks time, it would wipe out the population of both counties

Pender would be gone in about two days

If you were to compare South Asia by population

everything in blue represents 1.8 billion people

so does everything in red

It kind of makes it obvious where to go

But that’s a long way away, Art

yup. there’s no denying that

Been there. Took the trip. Got the T-Shirt.

and I’m going back as often as I can.

That’s why it’s called the ends of the earth

or even the utter most

In April of 2023,

Riley’s Creek Baptist voted to adopt

an unreached, unengaged people group called the Jains

we said that we would

go wherever it takes, do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes to plant indigenous healthy churches among the Hindi speaking Jains.

Guess where the main place the Jains live? South Asia

but not just in South Asia

hold that thought.

As I began to hunt for the Jains,

I discovered an entire network of personnel

some of whom I knew

but most of whom I didn’t.

I have been in contact with personnel all over the planet, literally!

All for the sake of the Jains.

The best phrase that I heard someone say was

There is a difference between reaching them and seeing them reached.

That means we can either try to specifically reach the Jains

or we can multiply our efforts

by trying to reach those who

are called specifically to places

in reaching the Jains

like their own countryman.

So our strategy shifted to trying to work with those

who may be able to reach them better than we could.

IF there are people closer to the Jains

both geographically and culturally

than we can support them and help them

to see the Jains reach and still accomplish our goal.

This does not absolve us from going.

This simply multiplies our efforts.

I’m all about running as many roads as we can

to see which one is going to take us to the finish line.

Last year I had the opportunity to learn about

something called Holding the Rope or missionary care

William Carey, father of modern day missions

gave a speech to his fellow pastors of the day.

He told about the need to reach those in India.

They scoffed at him and told him he was crazy.

a friend of his named Andrew Fuller

famously stated to a friend of his named Andrew Fuller

I will go down into the pit, if you will hold the rope

Carey was stating that

he would go to the dangerous places

and do the heavy lifting

reaching those people in far away places

if the believers back home

would support in prayer, resources, and giving.

This past year, I can report that Riley’s Creek did just that.

we promoted care to our field personnel

by way of Christmas gifts, prayer, resources for projects

and even by going to visit some

or supporting people to go visit others.

These folks have committed their lives to the call of God

to go into the dangerous places

and the far reaching places

to do the will of God

sharing the gospel.

All of them have left family and friends behind

celebrate holidays like Christmas and Easter

without the benefit sometimes of even a church

and no family

family members who don’t understand why

they had to move across the globe

to reach people for Jesus.

So we began to support their needs

emotionally, physically, spiritually, financially.

We sent Christmas gifts to Zambezi, Hungary, Texas, Boston area.

We helped personnel to finish their home in Zambia.

We helped support the Tierney’s for a specialist for Sara

We purchased new iPads for the Smiths

to be able to take to Mexico to share small group strategies

The church paid for the personnel in Hungary to go to Berlin

for a specialized training

The church supported Ukrainian missions and missionaries

including sponsoring children to go to camp,

and specific field personnel to repair her vehicle.

The church helped to purchase a well for a Muslim tribe in Uganda

We also helped to purchase a cow for another village in Uganda

We supported Russell Abraham when his car died

We’ve supported Kody and Lyndsay Aten

in their church planting effort in Gloucester, MA

The church began a fund for those going to the outer most parts

so that as we establish more connections

people will not have to pay the full price for entire trip

removing the excuse of finances for going.

If you want to give to something specific

give to the missions fund.

It goes directly to all these things

that have been done and more.

And as much as we were able to do last year

God provided more funding for us to do more this year.

So what about this year?

this year the missionary care continues

as well as the hunt for the Jains

and for reaching our own community.

I will be traveling to South Asia in a few weeks

to establish contact with more field personnel

who will enable us to reach the Jains

and give us the opportunity to minister to more field personnel.

I will hopefully be bringing back some partnership ideas

for the mission team to look over.

But in the search for reaching the Jains

I found more places in the world closer

like in our Samaria

Samaria

Samaria, in our context, is The United States

If the Jains are the people to be reached

are there means to reach the Jains that are in the US?

I’m so glad you asked

New York

Last year we met our dear brother Russell Abraham

He is from Bangladesh, part of the South Asian affinity

He has come to the United States

in a move by God

to reach his people here.

The population of Queens New York is about 2.33 million people

Estimates in Queens show that about 9% of that population

are from South Asia

Roughly about 210,000 people that live in Queens are from South Asia

About half of those are from Bangladesh

almost double the population of Pender County

We don’t even have to leave the country to reach these folks.

This is another way to reach the Jains.

Later in the year the mission team was introduced to Jasmin

Jasmin is another from Bangladesh

working with Russell in the Queens, NY area

She is field personnel, saved through a dream

and is a fulltime personnel with Global Gates.

Oh yeah, and her husband is still Muslim.

I’m working on opportunities to bring Russell back this year

and to go there to help him in his work in Queens

There are more South Asians to reach

But not just Queens

because there are a ton of South Asians in Washington DC.

Washington DC

We have field personnel in the Baltimore/DC area

and they are home grown folk from Burgaw.

Richard and April Rivenbark lived among the muslim community

working for the IMB as field personnel in Pakastan.

They speak semi fluent Urdu

with a Southern twang.

We have an opportunity to work with them in Washington DC.

we support them already

but there is a trip planned to go for what is called a sifting week.

the sifting week is all about training to reach the South Asians in the area

According to the 2020 Census, within the Washington DC area there are…

171,500 Muslims

95,000 Hindus

13,000 Buddhists

Our Opportunity: Washington DC Mission Trip

March 17-21, 2026

The total cost to go is $200.

The real cost is about $485, but because of the missions fund

the trip has been reduced to just $200.

Itinerary: It is 3 days mission work and one day sight-seeing before returning home.

We will leave after lunch on Tuesday March 17

to drive our hotel in Virginia

where we will be spending the next 4 nights.

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday-

We will meet each morning for worship, prayer,

and simple EV training for reaching out to Muslims especially,

and touching on engaging Hindus also.

We will eat lunch and supper in South Asian restaurants.

South Asian food is delicious!

Then in the afternoons we go in groups of 3

engaging South Asians.

In Northern Virginia this will include a lot of

entering restaurants and shops

engaging South Asians working, shopping and living life.

Also, this timing will be near or at the end of Ramadan

which will coincide with celebrations

among the Muslim population where they give gifts.

There will be opportunities for us to knock on doors

and offer bibles and literature.

Saturday-We have tickets for the Museum of the Bible.

After that, each vehicle is free to travel back to Wilmington.

This is an international trip without a passport!

Not just the work of sharing the gospel

but the training that will be provided is invaluable.

We’ve also made the connection to Boston area

Boston

This past year we connected with a church planter in the Boston, Mass area

God led us to a church planter to partner with named Kody Aten

the church he is in is called Freedom Church.

Toward the end of the year

one of our field personnel that we support, the Tierneys

they went on a new England trip

and visited churches all over the area.

One of those we connected them with was Kody.

The purpose of connecting with a church planter is multfaceted.

It gives us the opportunity to care for more personnel on the field.

It multiplies our ministry efforts and kingdom growth

and, it allows us to connect with someone

who can teach us about church planting

who is already doing it.

This is a strategic relationship with the Atens.

We are in the process of partnering with the Tierney’s

to go back to Gloucester

and help Kody and to provide care for him.

and to glean some ideas of how to take what he is doing in Massachusetts

and bring those ideas back to Rocky Point.

Closer to home is our Judea

Judea

Judea are the areas within our state

and there are plenty of ideas.

One that leaves tomorrow morning.

Disaster Relief

Baptist disaster relief volunteers have been

working since Helene hit.

We started with mass feeding, a

and along with our partners with NC Emergency Management,

Red Cross and Salvation army

were able to provide almost 500,000 hot meals.

Next came chainsaw jobs, mud-outs and tear outs of homes that had been flooded.

Volunteers from 48 states assisted in tearing out flooring and drywall,

to stop the spread of mold

and give encouragement with conversations, smiles and prayers.

Over 5000 jobs were completed.

As of January 12,

655 homes were completed

260 homes in progress

and 13 new homes have been started

that of which our team that leaves tomorrow

will be a part of restoring homes and hope

to those in that community.

There are now 5 rebuild centers in the mountain area

which appeared only after the hurricane came through.

There are also tons of opportunities to work on

construction teams, cooking teams,

general housekeeping at the rebuild centers, and more.

What the world calls disaster, we call opportunity.

Our teams have been going about once every two months

to help rebuild

There are also places to visit in this state

that are in need of our help spiritually

One of those places is Morrisville, NC

Morrisville

Right up the road in Morrisville, NC

Just outside of Cary/Raleigh NC

there is a population of 31,000 South Asians that live there

they make up about 36-40% of the total population

The missions team took a trip up there a few months ago

it was an eye opener

The largest Hindu Temple in the United States is in Morrisville

and a large population of Jains live there as well.

I have been praying for a connection church

to be able to partner with in that area

so that we can reach these people.

This past November, I was able to find one.

It’s also a church plant called Parkside Baptist Church

and the pastor’s name is Chase Jenkins.

He is located right outside of Morrisville

and has a true missions heart.

I got to thinking,

if we can do disaster relief every other month

why couldn’t we take a trip to Morrisville

to establish relationships and contacts

every other month as well.

I’m working on a schedule to make trips beginning in February

to go up to the area about every two months

to prayer walk, train with the church up there

and to possible establish relationships

and to share Jesus with the South Asians there.

We’ve covered all around the world

and we also have a need to reach our community.

Let me say this clearly

I believe that the world is no less important

than reaching our community

but we don’t go to the world

without reaching our community as well.

That brings us to our Jerusalem

Jerusalem

We don’t have a lot of South Asians that live in Rocky Point, NC

I think the total census shows about 319 that live in the entire county

There are about 600 that live in Wilmington

there may be three that live in Rocky Point

There is another group right in our own community that need to hear about Jesus

Total population of Rocky Point is about 1500

about 554 are Hispanic

Putting it into perspective

2020 census reports show that there are 660 white people

554 Hispanic people

that’s around 36% of our population

Hispanics

Hispanics in our community typically are raised Catholic

statistically Hispanics are 55% Catholic

and 18% not affiliated

That’s a total of 73% lost statistically

That means for every four Hispanics that we run into in our community

three of them are lost and going to hell

Last year we began the process of trying to bring a ringer in

Patricio Solis from Ecuador.

Here's where we are in the process.

After going to through the process of legally filing

an application for a visa

with Patricio and his family’s intent

to immigrate to the US

we received word just before the holidays about the progress.

The application for the visa number will take about 6 months to a year.

and then assigning a visa number to Patricio and his family

will take a total of 5-7 years more.

That was a blow to our plans

but God was not caught unaware.

Since receiving that information

I have sent letters to all three of our NC congressmen

and are currently working with Senator Thom Tillis’s office

to see if the visa application and number

can be expedited somehow.

God has set us up with a good Christian believer

within Senator Tillis office.

I made my statement clear that

3 out of four Hispanics in our community

are dying and going to hell

and to have to wait five to seven years

imagine the number of people that will die and go to hell.

God, however, has other plans.

our church cannot stop in the effort to reach these folks

nor should we wait to reach these people.

Joe “Currie” Wells is the Associate pastor of Redemption Felllowship

He was also the man who translated for Patricio

when he came to preach here last year.

Currie has been praying about

stepping into the role

of planter for the Hispanics.

He is fluent in Spanish

And I have asked Currie to be the lead person

to train us how to reach the folks in our community.

He is currently praying about that

and when he gets right with God

I’ll talk about it with Currie and his wife next week.

So we have not stopped pursuing what God has set in motion.

The Hispanics are not the only people in our community

There is also a responsibility to reach the youngest

and so last year The Lord set in motion

the Rocky Point Christian Academy

Rocky Point Christian Academy

Here’s where we are with the school

Our fire system was installed toward the end of last year

The septic system was updated

thanks to Jimmie and Josh Rooks

so now we have double the capacity in our septic tank

and twice the amount of drainage.

All of our inspections have ben finished and passed.

We are awaiting the final letters from Pender County

and then we will file for our letter of intent to open.

Once the letter is out

we can begin to advertise the new school

The goal is to have three classrooms K-2

The school board has been working on the policy manual

and now will begin working on staffing needs.

The goal is still to open in September

pending all the things fall into place

as God has already seen fit to have happen.

The school is an outreach for the church.

Not only will we have children meeting in our building

but they will be being taught Biblical principles

and being invited to be part of children’s events.

Online

There is a third area of our community to reach

one that may or may not be seen on any given Sunday

and that is our online community.

There is an entire team of people

that run our audio visual, social media, online audiences.

With today’s technology

we are able to bring our worship services

and many of our programs into

homes of our shut-ins, those that are providentially hindered

and even those across the world

as we’ve had several congregations from around the world watch us.

That being said, we are reaching the world

with a system and look

being held together with duct tape and bubble gum

and a look that is from the 1960’s.

This is a much different time than 210 years ago

when the church began in 1814

It wouldn’t be until almost 1925 that electricity was being installed in homes

111 years after the church began

maybe 1950ish before televisions were placed in homes

maybe 1980’s before computers were in homes

The internet wasn’t a thing until around 1993

The phones we have in most of our pockets have more technology in them

than the 210 year history of this church has ever seen

The book of Haggai says this

Haggai 1:3–4 CSB

3 The word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?”

Apparently the Lord was miffed at the people

because they were updating their homes

after returning from exile

and were just OK with leaving the Lord’s house

to be in shambles.

I’ll be preaching about this in days to come

so I’ll spare the sermon on it now.

However, it is time for us to do better.

We need to look at the Lord’s sanctuary with fresh eyes

the eyes of those that see and hear it every Sunday

whether it be a first time guest

or a person watching online.

I’ll be working with the Audio/visual team, music, decorating, building and grounds, and the Long Range people

to develop a plan to update our audio/visual system

our platform, lighting, streaming, and

the look of the front of our sanctuary

without having to go through a permitting process.

These are things we can do over the course of this year

without having a disruption of our services

or having to do major construction.

Once we have a plan,

we will bring it to the congregation

so you can see the changes.

The adult discipleship process and programs

here are the highlights

If we ever finish the book of Ephesians

we’ll go to the book of Mark.

Other areas are to have

as many missionary speakers to come in and

share about the work they are doing.

We’ll have a Messianic Jew come and lead out Passover meal this year.

I am starting a discipleship small group of 10 people

We’ll begin small

and then expand to other people as we finish.

Next week we have the privilege of

ordaining two new deacons in to the church.

You heard from Luke and Julia this morning

the focus on Faith, Discipleship, and missions.

that is the focus and command from

our Lord and Savior for the church.

That’s enough for the year

and God is so much bigger than sanctuary changes

and trying to reach the handful of people

that He has given us to reach.

The more we are faithful to His commission

the more He will continue to add to our plate

and supply the resources and personnel to

accomplish the jobs He has for us to do.

You cannot outgive, out supply, or think bigger than God.