BFNE Talk

Intro:

Who I am:

Good morning. My name is George Lim and I’m the pastor of The River Church in Glastonbury (the next town over). My family and I moved from San Diego four years ago to plant the church. And next month, the church will officially be three years old.

For those who haven’t heard my story before, there’s probably one HUGE question you have: Did he just say they moved from… SAN DIEGO?!? Okay… maybe two questions: Why in the world would you do that?

Describe how I learned the importance of gospel partnership from my experience in non-partnership environments.

Don’t worry. I’m prepared to answer both of those… because I’m asked them ALL THE TIME!

Church planting story:

But the answer is YES. We willingly chose to move from San Diego. Why did we move? Well, that’s a longer answer...

Really, it all started back in the early 90s. I was in middle school and it was Christmas morning. I’d just opened NCAA basketball for Super Nintendo and for some reason, I really liked the UCONN Huskies.

And for some reason, my affection for Connecticut (a place I’d never been, and had no family or friends in) grew. Fast-forward 12 years to when I met my wife, Janelle, and strangely, I discovered she also had the same love and desire for Connecticut (she’d never been here either).

In 2011, while I was at Bible College, a professor asked me if I’d ever consider church planting. At the time, I hadn’t. But both Janelle and I thought it was something God wanted us to look into.

So, the question became:

Where should we plant a church?

The next question was: What about Connecticut?

The next question was: What about Connecticut?

Honestly, we knew nothing about the spiritual condition of New England. But after some brief research, we quickly discovered this was a place that needed more bible-teaching churches. Maybe God was REALLY behind this!

So, I booked my first flight to Connecticut, flew to Hartford, rented a car, and started driving around.

Long story short, I ended up getting lost and found myself in Glastonbury. As I was driving, I believe the Lord asked me to pull over and pray. When I did, I looked across the street and saw the Town Center Fountain. Then came to mind...

John 7:37–38 ESV

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”

I knew… God was calling us to plant a church in Glastonbury. A couple months later, I flew back with Janelle and He confirmed the same thing to her.

We spent the next few years waiting, praying, and training. Finally, in Summer of 2015, God gave us the green light. We sold literally everything and moved our family of 5, in a Mazda 5, carrying 4 duffle bags in the Thule and an iMac in the truck, from San Diego to Glastonbury.

We intentionally lived in the town for a year before we launching The River Church in October 2016. During that year, we developed relationships, went through NAMB’s assessment, and prayed. We started with only 11 people (including kids) and no official church partnerships. However, with God’s supernatural provision and the support of the Baptist Convention of New England, we became a healthy and growing new church.

Conversation:

The need:

To tell you a little about our town… Glastonbury is an affluent and historic New England town. I’m sure you can guess all the spiritual challenges that come along with those characteristics, but let me point out two: (1) Expectations and (2) expenses.

When we moved to Glastonbury, I was hired as a General Manager for Boston Market. Additionally, being a funded NAMB church planter, really helped. However, those familiar with a food-service manager’s salary and NAMB funding can probably figure out that it doesn’t equate to much in the context of affluent New England. It’s really expensive to live and do ministry in Glastonbury.

Also, while Glastonbury isn’t what I’d called “churched,” there is still an expectation of quality based on the town’s culture. They’re not expecting a million-dollar production, but they do expect quality. One person put it this way, “I don’t expect all the bells and whistles, but I do expect whatever is being used to be done well.”

Expectation (nice; quality - one person say that if something is going to be used, then they expect it be used well) and Expense (it’s expensive to live and do ministry in Glastonbury).

Grateful for Boston Market and the support of NAMB, but those who are familiar with the dollar amounts can probably figure out it doesn’t really equate to much in an affluent New England town.

The specific gift of the BFNE:

With an extremely small core team and no outside financial partners, our church’s financial resources were limited, especially in the beginning. And that’s where the BFNE stepped in.

Because of the generosity of the Foundation (and those who give to it), we were given a grant to purchase sound equipment that helps us present QUALITY worship experiences. We still use the same equipment three years later because it’s QUALITY stuff!

The potential gift of the BFNE:

Additionally, we are currently on the hunt for our own building in Glastonbury. While we’re still waiting for our offer to be accepted, I was able to apply for a loan from the foundation that makes purchasing a building in an affluent town possible!

We are a financially healthy 3-year old church plant, but we simply don’t have the resources to purchase property in Glastonbury without help. But, with the BFNE’s partnership, we can dream big when it comes to furthering the Kingdom of God in our town.

Challenge to Give (4 ways):

In closing, I wanted to first thank you for letting me share my story. I also wanted to thank the Foundation for supporting our church. But I also want to leave you with four biblical principles about giving found in Philippians chapter 4. Now, I know I have limited time so, I’ll summarize them instead of reading them:

When you give to the Foundation, what you’re really doing is PARTNERING with the Kingdom of God. Your partnership makes a HUGE IMPACT in reaching one of most unreached places in the America with the gospel.

You giving to the Foundation is an act of worship. I think that’s pretty self-explanatory.

When you give, God’s going to bless you. You’re not just giving to charity; you’re strategically and intentionally investing in the Kingdom of God. And God promises to bless those who invest in His Kingdom!

Finally, God is glorified. Your sacrificial generosity glorifies God. Think how awesome that is!

There’s a lot more I can say, but I think those four things are enough. In fact, if I finish my life knowing that my giving did those four things, I’d feel like I met the standard Jesus gave when He said...

Luke 12:48 NKJV

But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.

Thank you and God bless.

You set the example for others (; ).

You follow the example of Jesus (2 Cor. 8:9).

It’s an act of worship (v. 18):

God will bless you as you bless others (v. 19):

,

God is glorified (v. 20)

Your giving is strategic (reaching New England) and intentional investment into the Kingdom of God.