BEHIND THE SCENES
Volume 4, Issue 16
October 22, 2014
FROM THE DESK OF PASTOR GREG SYKES
The Building & A New/Old Face At FBC:
I am going to continue to use this
Pastor’s Newsletter for a steady
stream of information regarding
the new sanctuary project, so
please keep an eye out for these
emails.
One thing I wanted to share with
you early in this process is the
key role Kent McCoy is currently
playing.
Over the last year or so, as it
became apparent that this project was absolutely essential to
the future of FBC, I began to do
some research regarding outside
fundraising groups and our
church’s history with such
groups.
It did not take me long to see that
such groups do not connect well
with our congregation. FBC Russellville has a small-town feel,
and a degree of intimacy and
trust among leadership and the
congregation that makes outside
consultants less than appealing.
But, there is one thing I couldn’t
escape: this project will be a bigger financial commitment than
anything we’ve ever done before.
And, truth be told, we’ve actually
scaled back our staff over the
last five years — so our existing
team does not have the time,
resources, or knowledge to help
us launch into a building campaign.
But that is where Kent McCoy
enters the picture.
As most of you know, Kent has
an accounting background and
worked extensively for KPMG in
Houston, Texas, before joining
the office at Terra Renewal
(since sold and broken into differ-
ent pieces) in Russellville.
As Terra Renewal began to undergo the changes of its acquisition, Kent eventually wound up
serving FBC for six months
alongside Caleb Davis in Kenya.
Many of you have known Kent
for years. You know he is intelligent, savvy, teachable, and he is
passionate about both God’s
kingdom and FBC.
Both his peers and the parents’
of his peers have tremendous
respect for him — and I would
add that our entire staff team
does, as well.
Your respect for Kent was obvious when he returned to FBC
from Houston — he was quickly
nominated as one of our youngest active deacons.
The work that he and Caleb did
in Kenya was exemplary, and we
will be reaping the fruit of it for
years to come.
Of course, you are probably wondering how all of this connects
with our current building project.
Let me explain.
Once our 21st Century Group
decided that an outside fundraising group wasn’t the best decision for FBC, we were still left
with a monumental task: how do
we even begin considering how
to raise the necessary funds for a
new sanctuary?
Enter Kent McCoy.
After his return from Kenya, Kent
has prayed about his next career
steps . . . And he hasn’t heard a
long-term answer.
But his accounting and financial
experience, his experience growing up in Russellville and within
FBC, his inherent integrity, people skills, and passion to see
FBC reach our community and
the nations for Christ . . .well, all
of that makes him a great fit to
help us develop a campaign for
our new sanctuary.
Kent has helped us cover some
financial duties in-house while
Larry Walker has enrolled parttime in a few legal classes, but
Kent’s primary role has been
researching church capital campaigns. Even now, he’s researching our next steps — so
plan to hear more from Kent
soon. He has been a blessing
and a life-saver in this process.
This Sunday:
“The Nations & Mission — To
the Ends of the Earth”
Acts 1:8 Sermon Series
To Know Him and To Make Him Known . . . Acts 1:8
FROM THE DESK OF PASTOR GREG SYKES
FBC Russellville
200 South Denver
P.O. Box 36
Russellville, AR 72801
Phone: 479-968-1316
E-mail: [email protected]
Twitter: @sykes_light
Church website: www.fbcruss.org
Facebook: First Baptist Church
Russellville
Sunday, October 26:
Week Four: “To Know Him & Make Him Known”
“The Nations and Mission — To the Ends of the Earth”
Acts 1:8, Matthew 9:35-38 — Jay Ham
Sunday, November 2:
Week Five: “Discipleship and Mission: Make Disciples”
Acts 1:8, Matthew 28:18-20 — Keith Shipley
Sunday, November 9:
Week Six: “Integrity and Mission: Character Counts”
Acts 1:8; Psalm 101:1-8 — Greg Sykes
Sunday, November 16:
“Wise Words on Wealth,” James 5:1-6 — Greg Sykes
Genesis @ FBC; the Sanctuary Project
Find our sermons online at
www.fbcruss.org! You can
even subscribe via iTunes!
Time to Welcome in our New Deacons:
viewed and possibly recommended.
Follow us on Twitter at
@FBCRussellville or @sykes_light
(for your pastor’s account).
Several weeks ago, FBC nominated a slate of ten new deacons
to join our active deacon group.
It always takes a little time to let
the nominated men pray about
their potential service and — on
occasion — for us to set up an
ordination council for any new
deacon candidates to be inter-
But, I’m glad to say that we have
completed this process and we
will be installing and ordaining
ten new deacons on Sunday
night, November 16th, at 5 PM in
the sanctuary.
Here are the ten newly nominated men:
Stacy Barton, Kenny Bell, Bruce
Brown, James Carter, Joe Cloud,
Marvin Collier, Gabe Freyaldenhoven, Lance Garner, Greg
Hines and Kevin Rogers.
The first nine men listed above
have served as deacons previously, meaning we will simply
install (or reinstall) them to active
service here at FBC.
Kevin Rogers, however, will be
ordained to the deacon ministry,
which makes it a special night for
him, his family and our church.
Once again, I am so encouraged
by the character of the men you
have nominated to be a part of
this crucial servant-leader group.
Each of these men serve FBC in
various ministry areas and have
demonstrated a heart for missions, evangelism, prayer, etc.
over the years.
Also, this group is very diverse
— it represents the crossgenerational nature of our growing congregation.
If you see them around, welcome
them to the deacon ministry at
FBC and join us on Nov. 16th.