I enjoyed lunch with a couple of good friends today. Ricky Powell, Pastor of Fort Caroline Baptist Church and I met with Clint Clifton, church planter and Founding Pastor of Pillar Church in Virginia.
I have known Clint for years. He served as Worship Leader for Church at the Island years ago and then, when on a short-term mission project in Virginia, we reacquainted. It has been good to see how God has used Clint and the ministries of Pillar Church to not only fulfill the Great Commission through individual connections, but through church planting.
Most recently, God has led Clint and Pillar Church to seek to establish new churches at every United States Marine Corps base in the world. The strategy to place new Pillar Churches near these bases will allow for greater ministry and connectivity.
God is calling men from Pillar near Quantico to go out and plant churches near every USMC base. This is the Great Commission at work.
The Marine Corps motto is Semper Fidelis. Latin for "always faithful," Semper Fidelis became the Marine Corps motto in 1883. It guides Marines to remain faithful to the mission at hand, to each other, to the Corps and to country, no matter what.
Becoming a Marine is a transformation that cannot be undone, andSemper Fi reminds Marines of that. Once made, a Marine will forever live by the ethics and values of the Corps. There is no such thing as an ex-Marine.
As children of God, we too are called to be always faithful. We are to be faithful to God and the calling which He has given us. The Great Commission instructs us to make disciples, baptize and teach as we go throughout our daily lives. There is no such thing as an ex-Christian.
Pillar Church has been strategically placed to impact Marines and their families in ways that go beyond the temporary.
The Marine Corps was founded by Congress in 1775. In honor of this date, we are being challenged to join the effort to place a church (yes, it's a Southern Baptist Church) at each Marine Corps base in the world. Our challenge is to donate, just one time, a total amount of $1775.00 toward the effort. We will not make this donation from our church budget, but are challenging the membership of First Baptist Church to join this church planting and Great Commission effort to reach Marines and their families. We hope to have at least $1775.00 to donate toward the Praetorian Project by Memorial Day this year (May 28, 2012.) You can donate through First Baptist Church online or by designating a gift toward "Praetorian Project" or "Marine Churches" with your regular tithes and offerings.
Semper Fi!
Watch below to learn more:
The Praetorian Project from Pillar Church on Vimeo.
(Oh, and what does this mean for Navy, Army, Air Force and Coast Guard bases and stations? Perhaps, that's the next chapter of the Praetorian Project that we are called to spearhead?)
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