Good morning, church!
The journey we are on at EBC is quite remarkable. As we seek a change in both our name and constitution, we are confronting new challenges in 2025. After consulting with legal counsel, we’ve been advised to safeguard our church, we need to make certain adjustments in our Articles of Faith. For guidance, we reached out to our long-time mission partner, the Christian Law Association (CLA). As it stands, our current constitution and by-laws require that if we make any changes to the Articles of Faith, we must disband the church and reopen under a new name. Considering the challenges we are facing with cultural movements related to transgenderism and homosexuality, we must update our Articles of Faith to protect both our church and our pastor from these agendas, particularly concerning marriage and membership. This discussion began five years ago when we amended our constitution, hoping those changes would be sufficient. However, after further guidance from the CLA, we’ve learned that we need to do more. While the name and the constitution may be changing, I want to reassure you that we will remain the same church. The church isn’t defined by a name, a building, or even a constitution. The church is, and always will be, the people.
          We have narrowed down our list of potential church names from 35 to 12 finalists. Over the past two weeks, we’ve received church-wide involvement, moving from 35 to 12 names this week, then 12 to 5 on Sunday, and then a final vote on the top 3 names, Sunday, February 23rd. If you have a name suggestion that’s not on the list, please send it to Pastor Tom by Friday evening. Next, we will begin working on the constitution, using a general template from CLA, and adding the necessary components specific to us. During March, we will go through the proposed changes, providing opportunities for everyone to get involved in the process. We will hold a final church vote on March 30th to approve the new constitution. Finally, we plan to relaunch our church on Easter Sunday, with the new name, Articles of Faith, constitution, covenant, and membership in place. We will continue working closely with CLA and will keep you updated as we move forward. I hope you plan to be a part of this important process with us!
          As you can imagine, these changes will require some financial resources. We’ll need to cover the costs for new signage, building lettering, a new logo, website, business cards, brochures, pens, and various other media. To make this happen, we are seeking a minimum of $5,000. Please prayerfully consider how you can contribute to help cover these expenses. Above all, please pray for God’s wisdom and guidance as we navigate this process together.

                    BridgePoint BC             Cornerstone BC                          Creekside BC                Crosspoint BC             
                    Everbrook BC                Emmaus BC                                 Edgewater BC               Ephraim BC
                    Fellowship BC              Lighthouse BC                             Redemption BC               Stonebridge BC
 
Thank you for your involvement, support, and prayers,
 
Pastor Tom Davis
Effingham Baptist Church
Email: tru2god@comcast.net  
Cell: 912-665-2945