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Mission Challenge and Strategic Priorities

First Baptist Nashville: 2007 - 2010

Jesus framed the mission statement of the Church when He commissioned His disciples to go into all the world, teaching, preaching, baptizing, and making disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20). When He said the greatest commandment was to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and body, He provided the ethical demand of ministry: love God and love people (Mark 12:30-31).

With commission and commandment in mind, First Baptist Nashville is intentional about staying downtown to serve the spiritual and physical needs of our community. Over the years that decision has made our steeple rise a bit taller against the city skyline. The new MaGavock Entrance tangibly expresses our desire to be a welcoming, hospitable presence for Christ to our city.

Recent announcements concerning the emerging residential communities, the Sounds Stadium, the proposed Music City Center, and other downtown development seem to be signs of affirmation that the decision to stay here is being honored by God. We have as vibrant a mission field before us as anyone could have ever imagined.

Our new Mission Challenge takes into account the spiritual strengths of First Baptist Nashville, identifies several new opportunities discovered in the surround-ing community, and expresses some of the strategies our church will embrace as we seek to be faithful to Christ’s commission and commandment in the immediate years ahead of us.

The Mission Challenge and Strategic Priorities listed on the following pages are intended to paint a new and exciting picture of things we need to do as a church. They highlight priorities that will be ours for the coming four years. Even so, they do not lessen our involvement in or our obligation to the ongoing functions of the church (worship, evangelism, discipleship, fellowship, ministry) which have served our greater Nashville and Middle Tennessee community for years. As a downtown church we know our mission field is diverse and we remain committed to providing a faithful witness for our Lord to all who come to our doors.

Downtown Nashville is on the threshold of something very exciting and we are right in the middle of it! Together, with a chance to strengthen our existing ministry commitments and stretch forward to embrace new opportunities never before imagined, the future is ours!

Five Strategic Priorities

Challenge 1: Building a Caring Community of Faith

We reach people for Christ and equip them for a life of spiritual formation.

Strategic actions:
• Reach and baptize 200 people through our witness and ministry.
• Increase weekly participation in Sunday Morning Bible Study and Morning Worship to 1,200.
    a. Increase the enrollment of student, single adult, and young married adult departments by 100%.
    b. Increase the enrollment of median and senior adult departments by 50%.
    c. Increase the enrollment of preschool and children’s departments by 50%.
• Increase participation in Sunday night and Wednesday night programs, discipleship groups, missions groups, and men’s and women’s groups.

Challenge 2: Mediating the Transforming Love of Christ

We help our community discover a meaningful relationship with God.

Strategic actions:
• Enable our church body and senior pastor to become more visible and available to the downtown residential, business and civic communities.
• Strengthen our communication ministry through staffing and by utilizing all available media appropriate to First Baptist Nashville.
• Develop ten professional affinity groups that First Baptist Nashville members can use as a tool for evangelism.
• Train 25% of our adult members to share their faith effectively and with grace in their daily connections.
• Elevate servant-ministry to the community by planning and implementing one servant-ministry project a quarter to help people experience Christ’s love through the ministry of First Baptist Nashville (Habitat for Humanity, Downtown Jazz Luncheon, Trash Pick-up, etc.).

Challenge 3: Beginning in Downtown Nashville

We embrace the residential, business, and civic communities as our first mission priority.

Strategic actions:
• Plant or establish fifteen Outreach Bible Study Groups in the downtown community.
• Identify and host six to eight community events that will meaningfully engage various members of the residential, business, and civic communities (First Night at the Frist, Frist Night at First, Christmas Parade Event, an outdoor concert in conjunction with Dancing in the District, etc.).
• Appoint a task force to explore other unmet needs in the downtown community that could result in the birth of a new ministry similar to the Downtown Ministry Center.

Challenge 4: Extending around the World

We carry the message of Christ around the world.

Strategic actions:
• Raise our total missions budget to 15% of the annual, undesignated receipts of the church.
• Send 10% of our resident membership on mission trips annually.
• Partner with international Christian leaders to provide theological training opportunities to people who will carry the gospel to places we cannot go.

Challenge 5: Investing Resources for Strategic Priorities

We provide the resources for achieving these strategic priorities.

Strategic actions:
• Prayer: prayerfully seek the leadership and power of God in all we attempt to do.
• Leadership: develop and implement a leadership training program for staff and lay members toward effectiveness and excellence in service.
• Financial: provide growing financial support through strategic budgeting, estate planning, stewardship education, and community partnerships.
• Property: secure the property necessary for FBC to continue its ministry effectively in our growing city.
• Buildings: bring all existing buildings (classrooms, hallways, restrooms, Fellowship Hall, office space, etc.) up to a standard of excellence in comfort and functional capacity.
• Campus: embark on an Architectural Design Study for a 20-Year Plan of our entire campus.

The Future Is Ours

To faithfully execute a plan this big, we need every member of First Baptist Nashville to be involved. There will be something for everyone to do as we enter into a campaign designed to help us accomplish the goals of this mission challenge.

We have already completed the Ideation Phase. Your Planning Council has worked for fourteen months on the Mission Challenge. Your input to and acceptance of the Mission Challenge was completed on April 2.

Our Organization Phase took place between April and August of 2006. During this time we will do the following:

1. Clearly define each challenge item and determine the actions that will enable our congregation to accomplish them.
2. Designate leadership for the assigned task/program/project:
     - FBC staff member assigned and/or lay leader
     - Church standing committee, council, or elected leadership
     - Special leadership task force
3. Establish performance goals that are specific, dated, challenging, and realistic.
4. Project the calendar of events/actions for the strategic period 2007-2010.

The Awareness Phase will took place in early fall 2006. We will communicate through sermon, print media, and any other form necessary to ensure the congregation’s enthusiastic support.

A Commitment and Celebration Day was held in October 2006.

We begun the Execution Phase in January 2007 and are monitoring its progress and making regular reports to the congregation as we celebrate God’s blessings.

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