The Relief of Being Debt Free

Very few people ever reach a point of being debt-free. Good financial practices point to that, and many books and resources demonstrate how it can happen, but unfortunately, most people ignore that help. Debt is just too easy to accumulate. The habits are sewn early in life, and they’re hard to break once established.

Easter week is a spiritual journey of realizing that in the economy of sin, Jesus made us “debt-free” when He confronted our sin with the cross and then defeated the eternal consequence with the power of the resurrection. When you are painfully aware of how much spiritual “debt” you have accumulated with your choices, the idea of being relieved of that debt is overwhelming. Yet, that’s exactly what we sing about, what we memorialize in the Lord’s Supper, and what we celebrate on Resurrection Sunday. It’s a delight to our spirits when we grasp the impact of Jesus paying off our eternal debt!

It gives me great pleasure to announce to you that our FBC family is also now debt-free. Our finance team recommended at our last church conference that we utilize some cash reserves and finish our debt service on our campus projects. So, the capital campaigns and five construction projects that we have undertaken since 2004 are all complete. FBC Midlothian is now debt-free!

It takes all of us. . .

I’m so thankful for all of you who have given faithfully over these many years to create “empty seats” for other people who need to know the Lord and experience the fellowship and ministry of this church family. I asked Mindi Ritcheson to profile the giving toward these campaigns, and she told me what I had always assumed. This wasn’t concentrated in a very few donors; this was BROAD across the spectrum of our church family. Faithfulness over time made it possible to pay off every project years ahead of schedule. Our last project was the student center, and when we paid that last note, we were able to finish that only 6 years after we completed construction! It’s miraculous and wonderful! Church family, I am so very proud of you and thankful for your consistent faithfulness.

As I drove onto the campus the first Monday after our notes were complete, I drove around the 43-acre campus and felt the lightness of the completion. In my heart, I know it’s just bricks and sticks, but they have been the tools that have allowed us to host other church plants for events, even for one of their own capital campaigns. These tools have allowed us to support grieving families from across the area for funerals, to host Mentors Care for over a decade, to host baccalaureates, conferences, trainings, retreats, school administrations, and business conferences. But most of all, it has been the place to host people who are searching spiritually. We used three different venues to host 6 different services, plus two video services in the overflow area on Easter Sunday!

So thank you, dear friends, for serving the community so graciously. This won’t be the last time we step up the challenge of providing empty seats, but for this season, it’s time to savor God’s goodness through the faithful generosity of His people!