By her own admission, watching children ages 3 and younger for more than 8 1/2 hours a day for eight days was both “grueling and exhausting,” but Stacy Holman knew there was a noble purpose for it. “I truly believe that the ladies who worked on my team had a sense of calling to minister to the missionaries,” said Stacy, First Orlando’s Preschool Ministry Director and in charge of the preschool team in Thailand. “As long as we kept that focus and that goal in mind, it made the day much more enjoyable.”

Posted July 10, 2008

For Jon Marks, Pastor of Worship & Events, First Orlando’s mission trip to Thailand was a major success. “I could tell right away when I got there that there was tremendous anticipation on the part of the missionaries because they had been waiting for this all year,” he said. “This is the only week of the year when the missionaries of South Asia can come together and worship in their native tongue and worship out loud. Where many of them serve, they can only worship in a whisper for fear that they will be discovered.”

Posted July 9, 2008

Here is a letter of thanks written by  a South Asia missionary director to Pastor David Uth following First Orlando’s June 20-July 5 outreach to Thailand in which our 96-member team ministered to many full-time missionaries and their families.

Dear David,
It is Friday and I am still basking in the afterglow of one of the greatest weeks in our 23 years with the International Mission Board. I cannot thank you and First Baptist Church Orlando enough for what you have done for our missionaries, our youth, our children and babies.

For Keith Harmon, there was no way of telling what was going to happen next during his trip to Thailand. “Every night, the Lord did something a little different and something special,” he said regarding his six days of running youth camp for the 65 teenagers he was in charge of. “It was an incredible time for us.” Keith was part of First Orlando’s 96-member team that served in Thailand from June 20-July 5. The purpose of the Thailand mission trip was to minister to a large number of full-time missionaries and their families who had been working for a year without a break.

Posted July 9, 2008

Growing up in a military family, First Orlando’s Children’s Director Naida Hardy was not exactly thrilled about going to Thailand. “I lived in Asia and didn’t miss it at all,” she said. “If I could have picked any place in the world to go, it would not have been Thailand.” But Naida, who was part of First Orlando’s 96-member team that ministered there from June 20-July 5, quickly changed her prospective.

Posted July 8, 2008

Jeff Lawrence, First Orlando’s Pastor of Music and Worship the past 11 years, is heading for Tennessee. “God has said that, ‘Faith without works is dead,’” he told a July 2 gathering of the choir, orchestra and members of the Creative Arts Ministry. “I cannot stand before you and be your worship pastor and leader if I am not prepared to follow my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.” The announcement was a trying one for Jeff, as, with tears in his eyes, he said, “I love you guys and will miss you. This is my home and I will never forget you.” His final day leading worship at First Orlando will be this Sunday, July 13.

Posted July 7, 2008

Everyone has at least one bad habit. Most of us have several. They may not be “big” sins, necessarily, but they are sins nonetheless. It may be our propensity to embellish the truth when recounting a good yarn with our friends. That fish we caught over the weekend may have been big, but it wasn’t that big. That car that almost hit us yesterday may have swerved suddenly, but it didn’t cross three lanes in the process. Or perhaps we have a tendency to dig ourselves into debt then promise creditors that “the check is in the mail” when, in fact, our checking account is running on empty.

Posted July 7, 2008

It’s something many people at First Orlando don’t know about, but it plays a big role in helping guests to First Orlando find their place here. The Connect System was created several years ago as a database to help the leadership and LIFE Group leaders know which guests to First Orlando fit into their field of ministry. The problem was that the Connect System was not operating as effectively as it could have.

Posted June 25, 2008

Pastor Joe Williams funds Hooked on Life with his own resources. He started the ministry to give children with life-threatening diseases a memorable four-hour outing on a boat, something they wouldn't be able to get anywhere else. Read this story in the NEW issue of Real LIFE magazine. If you do not already receive RL magazine, click here to subscribe.

Randall James knows that his appointment as the Chairman of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee is something that will require the best of his abilities. “This is a major responsibility,” said Randall, a pastor at First Orlando and President of the First Orlando Foundation. “I’d like to serve quietly and as best I can.” The SBC can be assured of that. Morris Chapman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Executive Committee, is thrilled to have Randall on board.

Posted June 19, 2008