Reaching Further
October 2011 Update
Dear Friends at Jacksonville Chapel,
I am writing this letter to you for two reasons-first to say, "Thank you," and second to leave you with a challenge.
First of all, thank you so much for your support, encouragement and trust over the last nine years of ministry. By God's grace I was fortunate enough to join the staff team in October of 2002. I am amazed that three years later this church was willing to take a chance on a guy in his early 20' s with no seminary training and entrust leadership of a multi-site church called Emergence. Because of the trust and support of the Chapel over the last five years, that site has grown from a core team of 40 to over a thousand people. We have seen tons of lives changed, marriages restored, addictions broken, and most importantly, many people rescued through the gospel into eternal life. Due to the generosity of Jacksonville Chapel and Emergence, we will be able to launch a church debt free, in an incredible facility blocks away from Routes 23, 46 and 80 ...sitting on one of the busiest corridors in Northern New Jersey. By God's grace, He has raised up two church-planting residents who in the next two years will plant two new churches in Northern New Jersey out of Emergence. When I look back at what God has done over the last nine years at the Chapel-three and one-half years as Student Ministries Pastor and five years at Emergence--I am overwhelmed by the generosity, love, and grace of the church.
Now I want to make one final request of you all. One thing throughout church history is that at the center of every revival movement there were students aged 16-23. In fact, the Chapel itself was built primarily through its impact on students, and this church has a beautiful legacy of being a "safe place" for teenagers to hear the gospel. I want to ask this church specifically to continue that legacy by finishing the Reaching Further Campaign strongly this year. As you know, we have raised the funds for the Emergence move and the campaign is nearly 80% complete ... that is incredible considering current economic conditions. What remains to be raised in the campaign is primarily money for the student ministries to develop and take its next step at the Lincoln Park Campus. Over the next few weeks, would you pray about and then respond to the campaign in a generous way? I know I am asking a big thing, but I love this church. I am blown away by the grace of this church to me and my family (it is where we all became Christians), and I believe God has great things in store for the future of Jacksonville Chapel through its student ministries.
Thank you for considering this letter and for your support over the last nine years.
Ryan Baitzel
Emergence Lead Pastor
August 2011 Update.
Launched in August 2009, the Reaching Further campaign has made tremendous progress in its first 24 months. This ministry expansion campaign is helping Jacksonville Chapel make significant strides in four major areas: the new Emergence building in Totowa, renovating the Student Ministries facilities at Lincoln Park, a new vehicle and renovated children's classrooms for Crossroads, and continued partnership with Hope for a Thousand Hills in Rwanda. Each of these endeavors will enable us to better fulfill our mission of loving God, loving people and serving the world.
As of now, through the generosity of the Chapel family at all three campuses, we have raised over 1.1 million dollars! This represents over two-thirds of the funds needed, and we are absolutely convinced that by pulling together, we can raise the remaining funds--and more importantly, complete the projects--before the end of this year.
To all who have already given sacrificially to bring us to this point, Thank You. You are part of this great work that God is doing in North Jersey! He has placed Jacksonville Chapel here, at this time in history, to bring the love and reconciliation of Jesus Christ to a community that desperately needs Him. As the Father sent Jesus into the world, He has sent us (John 20:21)...may we be faithful to represent Him well.
Click Here to Download full Reaching Further Brochure!
A History of Impact:
God has truly blessed Jacksonville Chapel.
From its humble beginning in 1931, Jacksonville Chapel has been a growing church. Tom Allen and George Egli, the Chapel's founding pastors, had a passion for reaching young people with Gospel of Jesus Christ. The vision grew to include all ages, and soon the church began its struggle to keep up with the growth that God was bringing.
After completing three major building projects to add additional worship space, it became apparent that, if the Chapel wanted to continue to open its doors to more people, it would take a change of strategy. There was simply no more room to effectively expand.
In 2003, Jacksonville Chapel officially launched this new strategy to reach not only more people, but also new culture groups which were largely untouched by the reach of the church. The strategy was called "multi-site." Essentially, what it means is that Jacksonville Chapel meets in multiple locations every week. Though there are different styles of service in different locations and venues, every venue operates with the same elder board, the same staff, the same budget, and the same mission.
Through this strategy, Jacksonville Chapel has seen the reach of the Gospel through the ministries of the Chapel grow exponentially. Today, over 40% of Jacksonville Chapel worships at a place other than the Lincoln Park Campus auditorium. The strategy has furthered the mission, and has now led to another point of decision.
With the Lincoln Park Campus supporting two different venues of Jacksonville Chapel, the current rate of growth, and the opportunity to see the Gospel reach even more people, it is now time to take a step of faith as a church and move boldly toward a solution which, when realized, will have the potential of bringing unprecedented opportunity for ministry.
A Church of Movement:
Today, Jacksonville Chapel has three multi-site venues: the Auditorium at the Lincoln Park Campus, the Spanish Ministry in Wayne, and Emergence, which currently meets on the Lincoln Park Campus.
The Spanish Ministry began as a small service at the Lincoln Park Campus. After a short time, it became apparent that to effectively minister to the culture they were seeing respond, it would be optimal to place the Spanish Ministry in a new place. In 2005, the Spanish Ministry began holding services at the Crossroads Campus in Wayne. Since that time, the congregation has doubled in size and has expanded to two Sunday morning services.
Emergence also began as a small service at the Lincoln Park Campus. It was officially launched in 2005 as a missional multi-site of the Chapel, called to reach a growing unchurched, unreached population. Since 2005, the congregation has sextupled in size, and is now seeing nearly 700 people every week in attendance through its four Sunday services. The Ministry Center South, which has served as the home for Emergence, is now filled far beyond capacity. We now have the opportunity to do something about it!
Now is the time for us to come together on mission. God has brought the people to us. He has been faithful. Now we must be faithful in providing for those people--as well as the people God has yet to bring to us.
The past two years, it has been no secret that we have been looking for a new place to hold Emergence to allow for continued growth and community impact. After a long search, we believe that we have found the right spot. All that is left is to come together to make it a reality.
A Step of Faith:
Some have said that the best way to see God move in power is to watch where He is working, and join Him. Through this campaign, we are hoping to do just that by investing in our Emergence site as well as other strategic places in order to prepare our current facilities for future growth.
We realize that God has richly blessed us with resources. As people who have much, we are called to bless those who are working for Christ--even outside of the confines of the Chapel. Because of this heart to enhance the kingdom, Reaching Further includes plans for a portion of the funds raised to go toward our friends at Hope for a Thousand Hills, to allow them to take their next step in the rehabilitation of a coffee plantation in Rwanda which will bring the light of Christ and the hope of a future to the people in that country recently ravaged by genocide.
The leadership of Jacksonville Chapel has identified these four key areas of investment and impact for the Reaching Further campaign:
EMERGENCE
Relocate the site, renovate the space for use, and acquire all necessary materials for function
LINCOLN PARK CAMPUS
Invest in Student Ministries--with a renovation of the Ministry Center South and outdoor recreation areas
CROSSROADS CAMPUS
Renovate education wing of Crossroads and purchase a high-capacity vehicle for ministry use
RWANDA
Provide necessary funding for sanitation and health projects
A Place of Promise:
The relocation of Emergence into the community has long been a focus of prayer at the Chapel. Finding a place to move a service of 650+ people is no easy task--especially in North Jersey.
Over the past 3 years, we have investigated many sites as possible homes for Emergence. The criteria for finding a new site were fourfold:
- A place that could hold at least 500 people and 250 cars at one time
- A building that could also provide adequate space for Children's Ministry
- A site near the Lincoln Park Campus
- A site that was reasonably priced
As a Chapel facility, the new building would not only be a new home for Emergence, but would also be available to all Chapel ministries as an additional space for classes, events, seminars, dinners, or any other ministry application.
It is the opinion of Chapel leadership that there is no better investment of our resources currently than to join together and pursue this option for relocation. God has provided the people and has blessed the mission. Now we need to do our part.
A Campaign of Purpose:
Since 2006, the Board of Elders and Chapel leadership have been considering options for our next step and praying to lead Jacksonville Chapel to the place of "Reaching Further".
As God builds our heart for His mission more and more, we believe the people of the Chapel will be motivated to support that mission in many ways, including stepping up to the task of giving.
Reaching Further is an eighteen month, $1.5M ministry expansion campaign where we will emphasize the need to grow our hearts for mission through evangelism and discipleship. This two year venture will begin with a five week series, culminating in a "first fruits" week which will allow individuals and families the opportunity to give "over and above" regular tithes and offerings to support the campaign.
Most gifts will be given in eighteen month pledges, but we anticipate some individuals giving large gifts in the form of stocks, property, wills, trusts, assets, gifts-in-kind, or cash. We have a team ready to facilitate the needs of each individual and family who commits to Reaching Further. An eighteen month follow up plan is in place ready to account for all funds received and present quarterly statements to those who give and make faith commitments.
A People of Generosity:
We need men, women and families committed to the mission of the church. We need our leaders to lead us into the future, where the sky is the limit in regards to the impact of Christ in our community.
God has called you to be a part of the larger Jacksonville Chapel family. We hope that during your time at the Chapel you have seen that this place is a community of Christ-followers committed to loving God, loving people, and serving the world. We hope that you have seen this is a place where God is at work and that you are called to join us in the work He is doing.
We appreciate your relationship and commitment to this place. Everything that has happened in the Chapel's history is because of God, and His plan for this church. We believe that God, through the changed hearts and lives of many individuals through this campaign will supply the needed funding.
We believe that God has given us a vision for the future of Jacksonville Chapel that we can all agree on and that will keep us "on mission." The key indicators of our success will be:
SPIRITUAL MATURITY - Spiritual growth in all of our members that will leave a legacy long after the campaign.
STEWARDSHIP - A deeper understanding of stewardship principles and how they pertain to our lives.
UNITY - That everyone would have a more passionate connection to the vision and mission of Jacksonville Chapel.
WE NEED YOUR HEART. WE CARE ABOUT YOU. WE CARE ABOUT YOUR HEART MORE THAN WE CARE ABOUT YOUR MONEY. JESUS SAID THAT WHERE OUR TREASURE IS--THAT IS WHERE OUR HEART IS. YOUR PARTICIPATION IN REACHING FURTHER IS A DECISION WE ASK THAT YOU MAKE BETWEEN YOURSELF AND GOD. IT IS A DECISION THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE IF YOU ALLOW GOD TO WORK IN AND THROUGH YOU.
Please prayerfully consider leading the way and becoming one of the primary investors in Reaching Further. As God challenges and changes your life, so will He change the lives of others as they seek Him. Will you join us?
Feel free to download the F.A.Q. here.
