God gave us a beautiful week. Through the hard work of folks from FBC Zachary, LA and FBC Ponchatoula, LA, we made great progress on the church building foundation. The great weather gave the team an opportunity to frame and pour the next stage of the concrete pilings, form up for the slab, set all the rebar, and dress up the site. We did the big pour late yesterday afternoon. Under the lights last night a crew finished the slab. We still need to set and pour the last stage of the concrete pilings, cut in the wood pilings and set the floor beams, but this work literally lays the groundwork for the framing crews schedule to be with us in June.

The Lord has a big summer planned for Lakeshore. With nearly two dozen mission trips destined for the gulf coast for May-July we expect great things from God and look forward to seeing his glory on display.

Right now we have two teams here; First Baptist Church of Telahoma Tennessee and Christ Fellowship Baptist Church of Mobile Alabama. Part of their mission this week involves making preparations for the rest of the folks working with us this summer. The Tennessee folks have worked on the foundation for the new church building, as well as on a community home. They have erected a large shade awning over the deck of the bunk house for additional seating during the dog days of summer. The Mobile bunch has been working in the Mercy House and helping organize the back of our metal building to maximize its usefulness as a work area for the construction.

MAY 2013

The month of May will see continued work on the church foundation. Our partners from First Baptist Church of Zachary Louisiana, who set the big 12X12 pilings, will persevere in this stage of the project. Folks from First Baptist Church of Ponchatoula Louisiana will join them that first week of May. First Baptist Church of Jonesboro Louisiana will close out the month.

On Sunday May 5th, I will preach at a Mission Conference hosted by Grace Covenant Baptist Church in Birmingham Alabama.

The two weeks of May 12-25 don’t have anyone on the calendar, but we could really use some help making sure the foundation is complete and ready for the framing crews scheduled for June. If you could make a trip down, during these two weeks, let us know.

JUNE 2013

The “big show” will happen in June as we frame the new church building. “Carpenters for Christ” of Birmingham Alabama plan to hang the floor joists and lay the decking sub-floor the first week. The large group of “Baptist Builders of Macon Georgia set their goals high and aim to raise the walls, set the trusses, deck the roof, install the windows and doors, and even hang the siding. A large group from south Georgia will also work with us that week, followed by “Builders for Christ” of Texas.

In the middle of all that, Lakeshore Baptist Church will do a community wide fund raiser on Father’s Day, June 16th. The afternoon will include selling dinners prepared by Lakeshore Baptist Church members and a free concert by the First Baptist Church of Joelton Tennessee Youth Choir.

Our camp site will continue to bulge to capacity the last week in June as we host teams from Fellowship Baptist Church, Athens Texas, Acton Baptist Church of Texas, University Place Presbyterian Church of Tacoma Washington, and the Mid-Maryland Baptist Association. We pray that by July 4th, we will have the main part of the building framed and dried in. Fireworks anyone?

Lord willing, this summer we will also begin the construction of “The Pastor’s Home.” Living full time right next door to the church will maximize my ministry time and open many more opportunities for Courtney and I to show hospitality. (1 Timothy 3:2)

JULY 2013

July 8-12 Lakeshore Baptist Church, with the help of Lifehouse Church of San Antonio Texas , will host a “Sports Camp” at the new Lakeshore Sports Complex.

The next week, July 15-19 Lakeshore Baptist church will put on our Vacation Bible School. Get ready for the ride in “Colossal Coaster World”

Dumas Baptist Church, Dumas, MS, FBC Blythville, AR, Hilton Head Island, SC, and FBC Grandview, TX will take us to the end of July.

While hundreds of folks make plans for their mission trip “to” Lakeshore, we are also planning a mission trip “from” Lakeshore. July 20-26 we head to Santa Teresa New Mexico and across the border into Juarez Mexico as we seek to make Christ known and “make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

Pray for us this summer, keep up with our blog, follow us on Facebook, and give the Lord glory for all he is and does to the praise of his name.

Today men from First Baptist Church of Zachary Louisiana set the final posts in the ground for the new church building. We have 48 big 12X12 timbers standing tall. We can not thank these guys enough for their ongoing partnership.

As work on the foundation continues, we look forward to the group from First Baptist Church, of Tullahoma Tennessee who plan to be with us next week. They aim to build the insets on the forms that will provide notches in the concrete pilings holding up the floor beams. Eight of these ten concrete columns will extend all the way to the roof line.

The ground has finally dried out after the record rains of February 2013. This week we finally began placing the big 12X12s in the ground for the new church building. It looks like we should have about half of them in before the end of the day and our hard working Pennsylvanian volunteers have to head home. They did an outstanding amount of work this week.

I can’t get Lee Dorsey’s rendition of “Rain Rain Go away come back some other day” out of my head. God, in his providence, sent heavy rain again last night. We began work on the new church building’s foundation in January. Heavy rains and knee deep mud has hampered our progress, but we push forward with hope. In order to lock in construction this summer, we have penciled in a three month window to complete all the ground work.

While we pray for the site to dry, we have constructed the forms for the poured in place concrete pillers. These 16″X16″ columns will sit in ten strategic locations. Eight of them will span all the way to the roof line. The two foot thick 5′X5′ footings have been poured atop the 30′ timber pilings that were driven into the ground. We also constructed and set some 36″ wire cages into some of the 8′ deep holes to reduce the possibility of collapse until we can set the 48 12″X12″ posts. Yep, count ‘em 48. That is a lot of big pilings.

Once the site dries enough, Lord willing in the next couple of weeks, we can rent a crane to hoist the 24′ long 12″X12″s into place and concrete them in. We will then need to create a network of concrete grade beams (or footers) to tie everything together, and then pour the slab. We will also need to form up and pour the front portico and the side porte cochere. We have a few teams schedule to be here in the next few months, but this foundation will require a few more. So, if you have any concrete experience, can read a level, operate a crane, cut wood for forms, work a shovel, bend rebar, cook for construction workers, or would like to just play in the mud, come on down. Bring your umbrella and I’ll make some gumbo.

We have begun laying the foundation of the new church building in earnest. Despite the rain and mud, last week, we successfully poured the 10 spread footings that sit atop the driven pilings and which will serve as a base for the concrete columns. Most of the holes were also drilled as they wait the placement of the 12″X12″ wood pilings. I praise the Lord for the tireless work from volunteers who labored around the clock to make the week the most productive possible.

We plan to let the mud dry a bit to provide a more suitable work environment and proceed with construction. We will need to build the forms and pour the concrete columns, set the wood pilings and concrete them in, build forms for the footers that will tie everything together, and pour the slab. In other words, the foundation will require several more weeks of work. Keep up with us as the construction continues, and feel free to come and lend a hand.

The Lord has graciously granted us a great start to what will no doubt prove to be a God glorifying productive week. A 100+ person crew representing mostly Reformed Baptist churches has made its annual pilgrimage to the Mississippi gulf coast. Among many other projects, the foundation of the new church building heads the list. Please join us in praying for favorable weather as we strive to pour concrete before the end of the week.

The groups leadership has enlisted a team of bloggers to document the week, You can follow the activity at their web site “The Lakeshore Project – 2013.”

The New Year came in with a BANG, about 6,000 bangs to be more precise, as we hammered forty 30 foot long timber pilings into the ground for the new church . Twenty Thousand dollars worth of fireworks could not have been more exciting (yes, 20K is the price we paid for the pilings). The work has begun. Stay tuned for regular updates.

What a great Christmas gift! I have the Hancock County Building permit sitting here on my desk. Lord willing, 2013 will see the construction of the long awaited new Lakeshore Baptist Church building. We have the pile driving company schedule to hammer the timber pilings into the ground on January 2-4. On January 5th a large contingent of volunteers will begin rolling in to lay the rest of the foundation. Join us in our praise to God for the plans developing and coming together. Merry Christmas and let Christ be praised.