A Clarification of FBC and Heart & Hands

If you are unaware, this week, WILX reported that First Baptist Church is evicting Heart & Hands Food Pantry from our building. The reporter asked us for comment, and we provided a statement that was partially included in the reporting. That full statement reads:

After hosting Heart & Hands Food Pantry and partnering with them to meet the spiritual and physical needs of our community for more than twenty years, the Board of Heart & Hands have made it clear that our missions are no longer completely in alignment. Therefore, it is with heavy hearts that the Elders at First Baptist Church of Eaton Rapids have made the decision to part ways with the nonprofit. We bear no ill will towards those who continue to serve with Heart & Hands, and wish them continued success in meeting the physical needs of the community.

Why and how is the mission of First Baptist Church of Eaton Rapids no longer completely aligned with Heart and Hands?

The Church exists to bring glory to God through obedience to his word. The last command Jesus Christ gave before his ascension is found in Matthew 28, verses 18 through 20.

 

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Here at First Baptist Church, sharing the gospel - in obedience to Christ’s command - is one of our highest priorities. Sharing the good news of salvation drives everything that we do - including the ministries we choose to partner with and the missionaries that we support.  Yet, Heart and Hands has told First Baptist Church that they will stop us from praying with, inviting to church, handing out Gospel material or sharing the gospel with those in our church parking lot waiting for food.  Thus, our missions no longer completely align.  We are eager to feed the poor, but not when it is done in a manner that restrains us from sharing the Gospel, especially on the property God has provided us.

We encourage you to pray for the leadership of Heart & Hands, for those who serve through the nonprofit, and those who rely on Heart & Hands to meet their physical needs.

Finally, pray that the gospel would not be hindered, but freely flourish. As Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:8-10:

8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

The word of God is not bound! Nor will we allow it to be bound or attempt to bind it ourselves for any reason.  Instead, First Baptist Church will endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

- The Elders of First Baptist Church of Eaton Rapids