Bara,
I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for all the love and support you have shown the Bara Family. We are so grateful for your partnership in our call to join God in His redemptive work on earth. Your generosity and belief in our mission have been a constant source of inspiration to Kim and me, and we praise God for it!
We know this is, first and foremost, a result of understanding the principles of the tithe, offerings, and first fruits. While money is not the most important thing to our church by any means, there is an undeniable connection between giving and our ability to accomplish the good work God has prepared us to do. Without your ongoing commitment to advance in generosity with your tithes and offerings, I believe fewer people hear about Jesus, fewer ministries are funded, and fewer people in the community are served. Our vision is that everyone will have abundant and eternal life, and your support helped that vision become a reality.
Bara saw an increase in participation in both our large gatherings (Up 30% over 2022) and our small groups (Up 70% over 2022) and we praise God for the growth! But what is most exciting, is that God allowed us to be a part of the beginnings of more people’s faith journey than ever before! We had the joy of baptizing 13 people in 2023! That is a 44% increase over the year before!
God was so good, and a significant part of our growth can be directly connected to your generosity!
I know that transparency and accountability are also important for those that give. I, our staff, and our ministry volunteers are all accountable to Bara’s Leadership Advisory Team, the Stewardship Team and an outside accounting organization, Empower Consulting. Your giving and our overall budget are accounted for weekly, measured monthly, and discussed in-depth quarterly. I have the joy and honor to stand before you and let you know that your donations and being stewarded, spent, and accounted for with great humility and intentionality to the absolute best of our ability.
As we look back on 2023, we don’t look long. If we do, we will miss all the great gifts God has for us in 2024! Bara’s word for 2024 is “Time.” After a great Missions Sunday, we had Vision Sunday where I shared the called to live kairos lives in a chronos world. I also laid out the vision for Bara to be a Rescue Team (Evangelism) and Image Bearers (Discipleship) and a Family (Community) as we make the most of every opportunity. If you missed any of those messages, go check them out now here!
Bara, we are still on a journey, and as we move forward, our love for God will increase, and our passion for our mission and vision will grow. The focus on our core commitments to bow in humility, abide in community, redeem in ministry, and advance in generosity is a timeless endeavor and one that impacts eternity itself!
I want you to know the high honor it is for Kim and me to be called by God to plant, lead, and serve this church. We praise God for it daily, and we know we could never do all that God has required on our own. We thank God for our staff, volunteers, and people like you who lead out in love, service, and sacrifice. I'm more confident of God's provision and protection of Bara Church than ever before. Thank you for your role in the body of Christ through Bara Church. May God bless you and your loved ones, and may He continue to guide us all as we make the most of all the time we have together.
That all may know Christ and make Him known,
Pastor Joel G. Quilé
