ORLANDO–Four Florida Baptist leaders will be nominated to serve as 2025-26 officers of the Florida Baptist State Convention when the annual meeting convenes in Orlando, Nov. 10-11.

President

As previously reported, Brian Stowe, who has served as senior pastor of First Baptist Church Plant City since 2013, will be nominated to serve as 2025-26 president by Ted Traylor, pastor of Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola.

“I have watched Brian serve and lead during the past 10-plus years. He is committed to the Florida Baptist family.

“His joyful spirit comes from his commitment to Jesus and his full faith in the Word of God,” said Traylor, adding, “First Plant City is a strong evangelistic, disciple-making church with a deep commitment to Cooperative Program missions.”

Stowe served on the Florida Baptist Convention State Board of Missions for several years: 2016-17, 2017-20, 2021-23. He was president of the board and chaired the Administrative Committee 2019-21.

First vice president

Scott Wilson, lead pastor of First Baptist Church Melbourne, will be nominated by John Marsh to serve as first vice president.

Marsh, pastor, Bella Vista Baptist Church in Edgewater, said, “Scott Wilson is a man of high integrity, piercing intelligence and great humility. He has served with distinction at First Melbourne and on the State Board of Missions. Scott has a great sense of humor. I served with Scott on the search team that brought Stephen Rummage to serve Florida Baptists as executive director-treasurer, and in our many meetings his comments and observations were invariably wise and pertinent. Besides all that, he’s just a great guy and a lot of fun!”

Wilson served on the State Board of Missions 2019-22 and then served a second term 2022-25, serving as chair of the Denominational Committee 2023-25.

Second vice president

Milvian Lema will be nominated by David Leiva to serve Florida Baptists as second vice president.

Leiva, pastor of Iglesia Bautista Estrella de Belen Broward, said, “I am nominating Milly because as a pastor’s wife she understands the challenges and opportunities that involve ministering to the first generation of Hispanics established in our state and the second generation of Hispanics born here. Her perspective and experience can make a great contribution to the decision-making process that impacts the Florida Baptist ministry in our state and beyond.”

Lema, a member of First Baptist Church of Pompano Beach, served on the State Board of Missions 2022-25 and has been reelected to serve a second term 2025-28. She has served on the Loans Committee.

Recording secretary

Janey Frost, who serves at The Point Church (Jackson Campus) in Pensacola, will be nominated by her pastor Mitch Johnson to serve a fourth term as FBSC recording secretary.

Johnson said, “I am nominating Janey Frost for recording secretary because of her strong attention to detail, organizational skills, and commitment to keeping accurate records that serve our convention well.”

Drawing 1,484 attendees, including 955 messengers from 491 churches and 529 guests, the November 2023 gathering was a vibrant mosaic of multiple cultures and ethnic backgrounds, featuring Haitian, Asian, Hispanic and Black communities, among others.

Dinner on Monday, Nov. 13, provided a unique space for various ethnic fellowships to connect. Attendees enjoyed dining together, hearing biblical messages, and exploring the myriad opportunities and resources offered by the Florida Baptist Convention and the broader Southern Baptist Convention family.

At the Asian fellowship dinner, around 20 pastors, their spouses and church leaders gathered to strengthen bonds and build new connections. “This is an excellent occasion to form relationships and unite with other Asian believers,” remarked Lito Lucas, pastor of Philippine International Christian Fellowship in Lakeland, and recently elected second vice president of the 2024 Florida Baptist Pastors’ Conference. “With each year, our numbers grow,” he added.

The Haitian dinner, with an attendance of approximately 200, welcomed Tommy Green, Florida Baptists’ executive director-treasurer, expressing heartfelt camaraderie. “I’m so glad you’re here to fellowship, and I’m grateful for our partnership in the kingdom,” he said, encouraging Haitian Baptists to actively seek support for their missions.

At the Hispanic dinner, Green praised the group’s robust engagement, asserting, “Your Hispanic Fellowship is leading the nation and setting the pace. We are fully committed to supporting you.”

Myles Dowdy, Florida Baptists’ lead catalyst for missions and ministries, unveiled a new mission partnership with the Ohio Baptist Convention. He commended the Hispanic community for its dedication to missions both locally and internationally, saying, “Thank you for your efforts, whether they take you across the street or across the globe.”

The event’s culmination was marked by a message from Edgar Aponte, senior pastor of Idlewild Baptist Church. Addressing the Hispanic gathering, he underscored the importance of faithfulness amid a culture that often strays from such virtues. He called for trust in God’s sovereignty, adherence to God’s word, a life set apart from worldly influences, and a missionary mindset in all aspects of life.

“We serve a God who is good, sovereign and powerful,” he concluded.

While acknowledging the need for church planting, Purvis, who was wrapping up his second and final term as Florida Baptist State Convention president, said, “Church planting is not always going to be the answer. We need also to focus on church revitalization.”

The three panelists­–Kevin Smith, pastor, Family Church Village, Ft. Lauderdale; Cliff Lea, pastor, First Baptist Church, Leesburg; and Louis Egipciaco, pastor, Elevate Church, Miami Lakes–spoke during Florida Baptists’ 2023 annual meeting at Idlewild Baptist Church in Lutz.

Kevin Smith

Smith, who gained experience in church revitalization in Kentucky and Maryland/Delaware prior to his pastorate in Ft. Lauderdale, encouraged congregations who are helping revitalize churches to do so “in partnership” with others and also to “send your best. If we will commit to revitalization with our best … God has plenty and will restock the shelves. Don’t be stingy.”

The pastor, who serves a community in South Florida that is home to 30 nationalities, also advised those who are involved in church revitalization to “leave the results and the fruit to God.”

Pastor Smith advised that church revitalization is also a “stewardship issue. Southern Baptists have good real estate. Missiologically, if we lose these properties, we will not get them back.”

As revitalization began to take hold in the once-struggling church, Smith said that he saw numerous individuals repenting of their sins. Also, some of the people who remained with the church during the revitalization process were encouraged as they began to “see the fruit of gospel ministry.”

When the challenges and ups and downs of church revitalization seem overwhelming, Smith reminded attendees, “It’s worth it to be obedient to the call of God.”

Cliff Lea

Lea acknowledged that it’s a “hard admission” for a church to recognize that it needs to be revitalized. The decision, he said, “takes a lot of humility.”

When Lea’s church was helping revitalize another local church that had experienced numerous splits, he said that one measurement that the revitalization was making progress was unity–“real Christian unity.” The church being revitalized became one of three campuses at First Baptist Leesburg, and when unity among all three campuses was evident, Lea said, “God is growing this place.”

One surprise along the way for Lea was the fact that the church revitalization was located in a community of primarily senior adults. Many people told him that the church would never be multigenerational. The church now has a growing children’s and youth group and a next gen pastor, with senior adults welcoming the young people enthusiastically.

As a pastor begins the journey of revitalization, Lea cautioned, “Don’t assume things will fall into place.”

Even as church revitalization comes with its share of challenges, Lea said, “Challenges are so fruitful for your soul.”

Louis Egipciaco

When Egipciaco accepted the bivocational pastor role at Elevate Church, he recalled that the building was in such disrepair that the sky was visible through the sanctuary’s roof; birds had begun to make nests on the second floor of the church.

“Still,” he said, “God put in me a heart for my community and also for that church. I felt called.”

Committed to “give everything to build God’s kingdom,” Egipciaco began to see God’s hand on the revitalization, particularly as the church, after breaking ground on a new building in 2019 and then enduring a pandemic year, entered their new facility debt-free, without one fundraising initiative.

“Look at the things that only God can do,” he said, when determining if a church revitalization is making positive steps forward.

“God wants to reach our communities more than we do. He showed up, and He had His own agenda, and it was better than ours.”

Church revitalization comes with its share of risks, but Egipciaco said, “Believe more. Believe in the God who is backing you up and has called you to do the work. The only One who can revitalize a church is God.”

Mouton’s sermon intricately deconstructed John 3:16 to reveal the depth of God’s sacrificial love. He eloquently argued, “The proof of God’s sacrificial love is that God gave us Jesus the Christ. … He who knew no sin became sin for the sake of righteousness.” This act demonstrates God’s immense love, bestowed not due to merits, but purely from His grace.

He further taught that the essence of this love is in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, an act that opens the door to God’s glorious salvation for humanity.

Delving into the purpose of this divine love, Mouton stated, “The purpose of God’s sacrificial love is that anyone who believes in Him should not perish.” He emphasized that God’s love is inclusive, extending to all who believe, and it calls on believers to love others with the same intensity and selflessness.

He contrasted God’s agape love with worldly love, highlighting unique qualities of God’s love as being “unconditional, unbiased, genuine, sincere, authentic,” and residing “in the heart of the lover. … God loves us in spite of us.”

Mouton, addressing pastors directly, emphasized the enduring nature of God’s love, regardless of the challenges faced in the Christian journey. “No matter where we find ourselves on this Christian journey, whatever the juncture may be, never lose sight of this: love endures all things.”

He warned, “If we don’t walk in this love, we perish,” underscoring the critical need to embody this divine love.

God’s sacrificial love expressed through Jesus also carries a promise, the gift of eternal life. In a world riddled with confusion and chaos, this promise stands as a beacon of hope and clarity.

Referencing D.L. Moody, Mouton said that man has a false idea about God: he would not believe He is a God of love. But the promise of eternal life is for all who believe. Echoing A.B. Simpson, Mouton affirmed that even the most rebellious can find reconciliation in God’s love.

Concluding his message, Mouton offered words of encouragement to Florida Baptists: “No matter where you are on this journey, it gets tough; it gets overwhelming; it gets wearisome sometimes, and the truth of the matter is if we can be transparent, it is exhausting. … But come hell or high water, little water, drip, drop, sprinkle, splash, or absolutely no water, God’s love will preserve us, sustain us.”

Photos by Michael Duncan

Highlights of the luncheon with the theme Don’t Lose Heart, included praise and worship, the presentation of the Clyde M. Maguire Award for Ministers’ Wives, and a message from Katrina Sellers. Sellers is a high school English teacher, president of the Florida Baptist Women’s Missions and Ministry/Mission Education (WMM/ME), and pastor’s wife serving alongside her husband at First Baptist Church Floral City.

Cindy Bradley, catalyst for the Florida Baptist Convention’s WMM/ME, introduced Karen Green, wife of Tommy Green, Florida Baptists’ executive director-treasurer, who presented the Maguire Award and noted her appreciation for the annual luncheon.

“This is an event that I look forward to every year,” said Green. “Gathering together, making a new friend, exchanging a phone number. … we all need someone we can depend on.”

This award, named in honor of the late Clyde Maguire whose husband John served as executive director-treasurer of the Florida Baptist Convention from 1945-67, is given annually to a Florida Baptist minister’s wife who has faithfully served the local church and served alongside her husband’s ministry in exemplary ways.

Green presented the 2023 Clyde M. Maguire Award to Kelly Carr, whose husband, Calvin, is lead pastor at North Central Baptist Church in Gainesville. After Green recognized Carr as “so deserving of this award” and read letters from those who nominated Carr, she was recognized for her “faithful service, spiritual investment in others, authenticity, gentle and quiet spirit, and living a life exemplary to Jesus to all those around her.” Honoring Carr as she received the award were her mother and husband, who presented Carr with flowers.

During the luncheon, Bradley also announced a new initiative designed specifically for ministers’ wives. This new Regional Pastors’ Wives Support Network was designed “in an effort to continue being ‘right beside’ local churches and pastors’ families.” The Southwest region will be the first region to launch this fall, and it is expected that other regions will launch across the Sunshine State in 2024.

Using humor and rhetorical questions, Sellers called the women to not lose heart in their service alongside their husbands and the local church. Recognizing that “service is not glamorous most days,” she called on women to view their service and ministry to the Lord as “priceless.”

Walking through 2 Corinthians 4:1-12, Sellers asked those in attendance to ponder the question—”Do you believe that God is up to something good, priceless and eternal in your life?” Continuing to walk through the passage, Sellers urged women to rely on God’s mercy (v. 1), let their light shine to others they serve (v.  6), let God’s power live through them (v. 7) and die to self (v. 12).

“You must put to death everything in you that is keeping you from serving well and pointing people to look more like Jesus,” she said. “Because we serve in this ministry and have mercy, don’t lose heart and don’t give up.”

Sellers added that ministers’ wives need to be spent out for those they’re called to serve. “Our job is to spend our lives for people we’re called to serve as pastor’s wives. … Effective ministry is a priceless ministry spent for others,” she said.

After being served lunch and pampered by members of Idlewild Baptist Church, wives were encouraged to continue with endurance.

“Our task is too great to quit and give up on,” Sellers said. “The calling isn’t worth quitting on, continue to shine bright and be a reflection of His glory.”

The 2024 ministers’ wives luncheon is slated to take place Tuesday, Nov. 12, at First Baptist Church Orlando.

Photos by Michael Duncan.

Green shared that through the course of his 46-year-ministry, he has served in a variety of contexts, including “a rural church, a First Baptist red brick church, a white column church on the city square and a suburban church in a growing area.”

Focused on Hebrews 13:8, Green said, “The journey of faith and ministry has many challenges and changes. While the contexts of ministry are different, the constant of faith and ministry never moves.

“In every season of life and ministry, Jesus Christ is the same. The same Christ who meets you on the top of the mountain is the Christ who meets you in the depth of the valley. The same Christ who sustains you in the good times is the Christ who sustains you in the hard times. He is the same.”

Green taught, “The victory of Christ is declared in the Old Testament.”

God’s response to Moses in Exodus 3:14, “I am that I am,” reflects God’s truth, “I will continually be what I repeatedly have been! I will always be what I have always been! I am the same yesterday, today and forever!” he said.

Green continued, “The great ‘I am’ is revealed throughout the Old Testament and is fulfilled in Jesus Christ!”

The same Christ who died, was buried and resurrected in the New Testament is the same Christ who promises to return and claim His Bride, the Church.

On Easter Sunday 1977 Green recalled preaching his first sermon. “I was not trained in homiletics or hermeneutics, did not know Greek or Hebrew, did not understand the proper way to exegete a text.”

But, because Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, the husband of a relative heard the gospel that day and accepted Christ as his Savior.

Green shared that the truth of Hebrews 13:8 became even more personalized in his life in 2023. “This year has been a year that everything I thought I could stand on was just knocked out from under me, both professionally and personally.”

First, on May, 5, Green learned that the Florida Baptist Convention was the victim of cyberfraud and had “sent money to what we thought was a partner in ministry but it turned out to be thieves who stole the money. That’s a challenging moment.” Green contacted the State Board of Missions who provided leadership through the experience of investigating the cyberfraud attack. Considering his role with Florida Baptists not as a job but as a “sacred stewardship of trusted resources,” Green said, “Everything in my life was shaken,” even to the point that he offered his resignation to the State Board of Missions, who would not accept it.

“I want Florida Baptists to thrive because there is too much at stake in this state,” he said. The investigative report, presented to the State Board of Missions on Aug. 24-25, revealed no criminal engagement “from anybody that was a part of our team.”

“I’m sorry for what happened,” he said, stating that the Convention is now “better and stronger” because protocols and training have been established to prevent such an occurrence from happening again.

Then, on Aug. 28, as he and his wife, Karen, were watching updates on Hurricane Idalia making landfall in Florida, Green said that he did not know about “the hurricane that was about to come into my life and Karen’s life.”

That afternoon, he received a phone call which led him to head to South Florida to check on the welfare of his middle son, who was unreachable by phone. When Green arrived at his son’s home, “Our worst thoughts were reality.” Their 41-year-old son, Philip, had died unexpectedly on his kitchen floor from heart failure.

“You never anticipate a day that you will stand and watch your son being rolled out on a gurney from his house. It was the worst day of my life,” he said.

“The Bible says that ‘Weeping endures for a night, but joy comes in the morning.’ We’re still in the night.”

Green thanked the Florida Baptist family for its love, support and prayers through the loss of their son, “for being the heart and the hands and the voice of Christ in our lives.”

Earlier in the year, Green said that he had begun working on his sermon, focusing on this particular passage of Scripture. “God knows all things, doesn’t He?

“I can stand before you today with a heart that is broken and still crushed, but I can testify–and Karen can testify–in our lives of the goodness and the faithfulness of the Lord and that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.”

In his final sermon as Florida Baptist State Convention president, Paul Purvis presented a “one-point challenge” to his fellow Florida Baptists: “Determine to live your life surrendered to the rule of the King right where you are every day.”

Purvis, pastor of Mission Hill Church in Temple Terrace, focused on Acts 28:17-31, explaining that even as Paul manifested God’s kingdom, tracing how the entire Bible points to Jesus as the Messiah, believers today are God’s messengers. “God uses us to get His message out. He always has.

The meeting drew 1,484 in attendance, including 955 messengers, representing 491 churches, along with 529 guests.

Budget adoption/name change for he Baptist College of Florida

Messengers approved a 2024 Cooperative Program goal of $29.5 million to be distributed 51% to Southern Baptist Convention causes and 49% to Florida Baptist Convention causes. The 51/49 split is the same distribution Florida Baptists have approved since 2016, the first budget recommendation after Tommy Green became executive director-treasurer in 2015. The 2024 budget goal is unchanged from the 2023 budget goal.

A recommendation to change the name of The Baptist College of Florida to Baptist University of Florida was approved by messengers. Approval of this recommendation required two votes in subsequent years, and this year’s vote was the second of the two votes.

Officers elected

Four Florida Baptist leaders were elected to serve as 2023-24 officers of the Florida Baptist State Convention. Mike Orr, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Chipley, was elected to serve his first term as FBSC president. David Perez, pastor of Iglesia Casa de Bendicion in St. Cloud, was elected to his first term as FBSC first vice president. Layperson Jeffery Crick, a family physician at Mayo Clinic and member of Fruit Cove Baptist Church in St. Johns, was elected to serve in his first term as FBSC second vice president. Janey Frost, who serves at The Point Church in Pensacola, was elected to a second term as FBSC recording secretary.

Other business

Messengers also gave final approval to a recommendation to codify the process used with the cancellation of the 2020 annual meeting during the COVID pandemic if a catastrophic event or other widespread emergency prevents the annual meeting of the FBSC from occurring in person in the future. Approval of this recommendation required two votes in subsequent years, and this year’s vote was the second of the two votes.

A recommendation to change the name of Florida Baptist Children’s Homes, Inc. to One More Child was approved by messengers. This name change requires two votes in subsequent years, and this year’s vote was the first of the two votes.

Messengers approved a revised annual meeting schedule for 2024–2026. For those three years, the annual meeting will be held at First Baptist Church, Orlando.

Messengers also approved resolutions of appreciation for Craig Culbreth, who retired March 31, 2023, after serving the Florida Baptist Convention in various roles since 1998; and Gary Townsend, who retired June 30, 2023, after serving the Convention in numerous roles since 2004.

In other business messengers approved a report on new Florida Baptist churches and affiliations as well as recommendations to amend the FBSC Constitution to remove references to the Florida Baptist Retirement Center, Inc., and various FBSC Bylaw revisions.

The 2024 FBSC annual meeting is set for Nov. 11-12 at First Baptist Church Orlando.

LUTZ– Four Florida Baptist leaders were elected to serve as 2023-24 officers of the Florida Baptist State Convention during its annual meeting Nov. 13-14 at Idlewild Baptist Church in Lutz.

Mike Orr, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Chipley, was elected to serve his first term as FBSC president. He was nominated to his first term as president by Ted Traylor, pastor of Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola.

Orr has pastored First Baptist Church in Chipley for 23 years, and he has led his church to be among the state convention’s top 100 churches in number of baptisms. Over the past 10 years, First Baptist Chipley has baptized 218 people. He has also led his church to be one of the convention’s top ten givers to the Cooperative Program, giving 15% of its undesignated receipts to Southern Baptists’ unified plan of giving.

Orr served on the Florida Baptists’ State Board of Missions for two terms, 2016-19 and 2019-22, serving twice as its president, 2017-18 and 2018-19.

In his nomination, Traylor said that Orr is a “proven servant leader.” In his church, Orr is an “expository preacher Sunday by Sunday and a faithful shepherd of his people day by day.” Orr is “heart deep” in Florida Baptist life, said Traylor.

Orr will serve alongside David Perez, pastor of Iglesia Casa de Bendicion in St. Cloud, who was elected to his first term as FBSC first vice president.

Perez also serves as director of prayer for the National Hispanic Baptist Network. Manuel Barahona, pastor at Westside Baptist Church in Boynton Beach, nominated Perez for the 2023-24 role.

As COVID was raging during 2020, Perez traveled throughout the state and encouraged Florida Baptist Hispanic pastors to launch concerts of prayer, resulting in what has been described as a “Great Commission movement.”

Perez currently leads a daily morning devotional and prayer time on Facebook.

Today the state emphasis on prayer among Hispanic pastors has grown into a national concert of prayer.

Perez is a leader among leaders, said Barahona. “Prayer is his focus; David, along with his wife and his children, lead a growing church. Pastor David Perez has been an example to us Spanish pastors as a true leader of Hispanic Florida Baptist churches. David has allowed us to see Florida Baptist work advance, not just among Hispanics, but to unite us multiculturally,” he said.

Layperson Jeffery Crick, a family physician at Mayo Clinic and member of Fruit Cove Baptist Church in St. Johns, was elected to serve in his first term as FBSC second vice president.  He was nominated to the post by Tim Maynard, recently retired lead pastor of Fruit Cove.

Crick has been a member of Fruit Cove since 2017 and has held various leadership roles in the church.

Crick is “a dear friend, my personal doctor,” said Maynard. “I have known Jeff for a number of years. He had led us well as a layman. He is a kingdom-minded man,” said Maynard.

Janey Frost, who serves at The Point Church in Pensacola, was elected to a second term as FBSC recording secretary. She was nominated to the post by John Vickers.

Vickers, next gen pastor at The Point Church, said, “Janey is one of my ministry heroes in our community. She is a prayer warrior; she is a disciple-maker, and she is a servant of Christ,

Through the good days and the bad days, she has been serving the Lord faithfully.”

Photos by Michael Duncan

Coming down from the podium and opting to preach mostly from the floor, Cymbala, lead pastor at Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York, engaged in a straightforward and practical conversation-style message. “I want to encourage you. Don’t quit and don’t get sidetracked… You are doing the most important thing on the face of the earth,” he said.

“We are the salt of the world. We are it. God has chosen to do His work through His body, the church.”

At 81 years old and 50 years in ministry, Cymbala has a wealth of experience to share. His goal on Monday night was to speak directly and sincerely to pastors and help them avoid the mistakes he made.

He focused on Matthew 3:11 as he urged pastors to allow their ministries to be infused with the Holy Spirit and offered practical ways to welcome the Holy Spirit while warning against reverse evangelism. “The culture has evangelized the church instead of the other way around.” Culture is not what pastors need to be concerned with; preaching the gospel is, he said.

“It’s Jesus’ church,” he reminded pastors. While telling pastors to not make their ministries about themselves and their own vision and purpose for the church, he also encouraged them to be natural. “Be who you are; don’t copy anyone else, and be the same person at the pulpit and out of it because the moment you act, the Holy Spirit says, ‘Bye.’” The main thing should be to preach the gospel.

“If he’s breathing share Jesus; if he’s not leave him alone.”

A Holy Spirit baptism of ministry is not “skinny jeans and fog machines.” A Holy Spirit “fire baptism” brings light to ministry, and it brings revelation.

“May God open our eyes that we see people the way He sees them,” he said.

It’s not soulful organ music or shouting at people from the pulpit that leads them to Christ. It’s deep Bible preaching that will draw them near to their Savior. Fire penetrates. It leaves nothing behind. … That’s what we need in our churches–biblical messages that penetrate, he said.

Cymbala closed the night with an altar call to everyone who wanted that “fire baptism” and included himself in the lot. Nearly every pastor in the auditorium approached the altar prayerfully.

Preaching at the 2023 FBSC annual meeting at Idlewild Baptist Church in Lutz, Purvis acknowledged, “Sometimes life is hard. Often the world around me is filled with chaos and confusion. But in those moments, I’m still called to manifest the Kingdom of God.”

Purvis focused on Acts 28:17-31 as he interpreted the 2023 annual meeting theme Manifest: Kingdom Clarity Amidst Cultural Chaos.

“The last chapter of Acts is both an end and a beginning. It is the end of the account of the early church’s response to the life, death, burial and resurrection of Christ, but it marks the beginning of the response of the church throughout history, including our response today,” said Purvis, pastor of Mission Hill Church in Temple Terrace.

The Apostle Paul endured hardships of being arrested, shipwrecked and snakebit and being placed under house arrest chained to a Roman guard, Purvis pointed out.

“I’m sure Paul doesn’t feel good about his circumstances,” said Purvis, but from that setting, Paul wrote letters to Timothy, Titus and the Philippians, and he proclaimed the gospel boldly.

“God doesn’t allow our temporary discomfort to get in the way of the advancement of the gospel,” Purvis said, adding that God may be performing miracles in our most grueling moments.

The word “manifest,” Purvis explained, means to “display or show by one’s acts or appearance.”

Even as Paul manifested God’s kingdom, tracing how the entire Bible points to Jesus as the Messiah, believers today are God’s messengers. “God uses us to get His message out. He always has.

“So, what do we do? We keep talking about the kingdom wherever we are every day.”

Some believers today are hindered in speaking boldly about the kingdom of God, Purvis said. Believers are hindered because they want to “shine,” drawing attention to self. Other believers are hindered because they want to “recline,” with little accountability. Still others are hindered because they want to “whine,” getting “sidetracked on agendas.”

Purvis said, “Anything in our life or ministry that hinders us from manifesting God’s kingdom is not from Him, but it is from the world, the flesh or the devil.”

He reminded attendees, “You have a unique calling. Your church has a unique calling.”

The unique calling of each believer begins “right where you are every day. Right where you are is holy ground.”

Pastor Purvis concluded his message by asking three questions: “Does God want to use you to impact and proclaim His kingdom? Does God want to use your church to impact and proclaim His kingdom in greater ways than we can imagine? Does God want to use Florida Baptists to proclaim and advance His kingdom?”

The answer to each question, he said, is “Yes.”

“But it all begins when people like you and I stop looking for a change of location or a change in circumstance and start realizing that where we are is holy ground and commit to making a difference right where we are every day for the glory of God.”