August 7, 2023

                   

Dear members and friends of First Baptist Church of Malden and Maplewood Baptist Church,

An elementary school student might be able to tell you that the five main points of a science experiment are observation…question…hypothesis…method, and results. As most of you already know for the past 9 months or so, First Baptist Church and Maplewood Baptist Church have been conducting their own experiment of sorts. The leaders of both churches are excited to share some preliminary “results” and need your support to help us collect more “data.”

This experiment, as most do, began with an observation. Leaders from each congregation recognized God may be using both our mutual situations, First Baptist in need of a Pastor and Maplewood Baptist in need of a place to worship and our combined desire to be His salt and light in the city of Malden and beyond, for His Glory! This observation, after much prayer, meeting, and seeking God’s discernment, leads us to question whether two similar yet unique congregations, one born out of the other well over a century ago, could come together for a season of praise and worship, with Pastor Gary sharing God’s Word each Sunday and leading the Worship Service. It didn’t take long for leaders, members, and participants of both congregations to recognize that God’s hand was at work in our experiment and that He was opening doors for discipleship, fellowship, and ministry.  The “results” of our experiment thus far are more than we could ever have imagined.

In a little under a year, our joint congregations have transitioned from simply meeting together on a Sunday morning for an hour or so for praise and worship, to serving alongside each other as brothers and sisters in Christ in shared ministries that blessed our community. Together, we’ve sought His will during a prayer walk around the city, blessed our neighbors in a Free Yard Sale and Easter breakfast, fed folks through the feeding ministry, provided backpacks to people with housing insecurities and addictions, reminded kids and young moms that they’re loved through our Easter and Christmas ministries, and so much more! We’ve “done life” together at a birthday party, bridal shower, and wedding. Together, we’ve opened God’s Word in a newly formed small group Bible study. Our creative folks are blessing one another in a creative arts group.  Our young men are growing in their faith in Pastor Gary’s discipleship group. We’ve rejoiced with each other during the joys of life and prayed with each other through times of sickness and sorrow. Most recently some of us took a field trip on a Sunday morning to a church campground in New Hampshire and worshipped with an entirely different body of believers, blessing them with our unique diversity.

In an effort to help us discern and better understand what the natural next step could be in our experiment, some leaders from both congregations have committed to reading through a book together called Better Together…Making Church Mergers Work. Every Monday night in July, we met together via Zoom to pray over and discuss the book, which is nothing more than a tool to help us discern where God may be directing us in the next step of our journey together.  We recognize the word “merger” may invoke a slew of thoughts and feelings, maybe even excitement or fear. As leaders of both congregations, we want to be completely transparent that our discussions to date have been based on the steps that many churches across the country have made to answer the fundamental question posed in the book, “Could we do more for God’s glory united with another church than we are doing alone?” We do not have any agenda one way or another.  We do have, however, a determination to not be complacent in our experiment, acknowledging that complacency does not honor God!

As leaders we invite your prayers for wisdom and discernment, in a sense, to help us collect more “data” in our experiment. In the fall, after we take a break from our reading during August for a time of prayer, rest, and renewal, we will regroup to continue reading the book and begin sharing some of what we’ve learned in a Town Hall type meeting where everyone will be invited to attend. Additionally, we plan to invite denominational leaders and others to come and meet with us and share their experiences and expertise in navigating what the next step in our journey could look like.

We know and trust that God has a plan and a purpose for us and that He, even as you’re reading this, is working for our good and His Glory, on all the important details. There are so many ways you can help us continue to seek His Will. One of which is to continue to be faithful in attending church while Pastor Gary is enjoying his well-deserved vacation beginning Monday, August 7th through Labor Day.

The following guest preachers will be blessing us.

August 13 – Rev. Isaac Seelam, Refugee Immigration Ministries (RIM), helping asylum seekers.

August 20 – Rev. Dr. Ronald Bouthillette, TABCOM’s Associate Executive Minister in Church Relations

August 27 – Matt Houk, Maplewood Baptist Director of Student and Family Ministries

September 3 – Rev. Miranda Kwon, Missions Minister at TABCOM

We’re excited to see what God has in store for us next! Should you have any questions or comments, please feel free to reach out to any member of the leadership teams of either congregation, excluding Pastor Gary while he enjoys his vacation.

With prayerful and hopeful hearts,

 

Linda Febles

(On behalf of the leaders of Maplewood Baptist Church and First Baptist Church)

 

“Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain.

Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.”

Psalm 127:1