We are so excited about our new church directory and the chance for us to stay better connected with each other! This time we are wanting to do something a little different. We would like to include a picture of every one of you to go along with your contact information.

In order to do this, Olan Mills Portrait Studios will be set up at the church on Friday, March 16th, from 2:30-9:30 pm and Saturday, March 17th, from 9:30-2:30 pm to take your portraits. Just for participating Olan Mills will be giving you a free church directory and $25 certificate. You will have the option to purchase your portrait, but this is not necessary to receive a copy of the church directory. So mark your calendars and plan to be there to participate in this project!

A sign up sheet will be set out on Sunday, and if you have any questions, feel free to contact Trent Cornwell at 770-853-8148

Financial Reports for 2011

• $290,509 came in offerings for the year
• $88,417 was given in Faith Promise offerings
• $38,277 was given in Special Mission’s giving and offerings
• A total of $126,694 was given towards missions in 2011
• $615,383 given to missions since the church started less than 6 years ago!
• The Nehemiah Initiative or our building fund has $37,255 currently
• $12,025 given to start a new church in Fulton County
• The equity position of Vision Baptist Church increased from $38,476 at January 1, 2011 to $90,917 at December 31, 2011.
• Vision Baptist Church has no debt.

Sunday School report We averaged 132 in Sunday School in 2010 and increased to 154 in 2011
Mission’s report

• Vision Baptist Mission now has 10 families going to ten different countries
• Vision Baptist Church now has 15 staff missionaries
• Vision supports 34 missionaries to 18 countries
• Vision commissioned five new missionaries

Vision for 2012

Outreach

• Give out 15,000 gospel tracts door to door around the church allowing us to touch over 50,000 people with the gospel
• Put up a sign on MacFarland
• Purchase signs to be used to point to the church
• Challenge each of you to give out 366 tracts above the door to door tracts which would amount to our church giving out over 50,000 total tracts this year
• Have a monthly church wide visitation breakfast and 2 hour door tagging
• New follow up system for visitors starting this spring.

Leadership

• Elect deacons
• Enlist more people in the deacons in training group
• Pray for teachers as they commit to another year
• Pray for those that are going to be involved discipling others
• Get more involved in Foundations

Plant a church some where in Fulton County and begin training future church planters for the USA

• Find where God would have us start the church in Fulton Country
• Rent a room that will be used for the services
• Plan to start on Easter Sunday
• I will personally be going down and preaching until God raises up a man
• Will be arranging a meeting with those that want to be involved in helping with the new church plant

Get a choir that will sing regularly

Seeing Vision grow

• Increase the number of non missionary and trainee members of our church. Ask God for an average attendance in the AM preaching service of 140 which is an increase of about 35 over present average-purchase more chairs
• Put in place a new follow up program that you can get involved with
• Find property and ask God to raise the finances for the purchase. Should have over $70,000 in Nehemiah Initiative at the end of the year as we are going now but asking you to pray with me that God would give us $300,000 to be able to buy-form a prayer team to work on this building and pray for what God might have for us

Develop a pastor’s prayer team

• Men that will meet with me before each service to pray
• Different men before Sunday School, AM, PM, and midweek

God has been very good to us as a church! I am so excited and blessed to be serving Him with you! Pray that God will do great things at Vision in 2012!

Yesterday morning was a great blessing. God worked greatly among us! Whitney Elrod was baptized. Whitney had made a profession of faith as a young girl. She comes from a very godly home.

While going through Foundations, our discipleship ministry, Whitney realized that she was not truly born again. Holly Pearson had the privilege of going through the basic lessons of what it means to be saved. Whitney took the very brave step of admitting her need of a Saviour.

I thank God for Holly and her work in foundations and I praise God for the work of the Holy Spirit in Whitney’s life. Join me in welcoming Whitney to the church and the born again family of God!

I love this video and the call to get the gospel to the world. I hope you enjoy it!

The following is the letter we are sending to the givers at Vision along with their year end giving records. God has been good to us!

Monday, January 23, 2012

Dear People of Vision and Friends,

Another year has come and gone. Vision is nearly 6 years old now. God has done great and wonderful things through His church over these years. We have seen souls saved, baptized, preachers ordained, missionaries commissioned, and all grown in the knowledge and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ!

I want to personally thank you for your giving. I know that these are not the best of times, economically, for many but that you have been faithful to give. I hope as you look over your giving record for this past year that you will see the grace and faithfulness of the Lord in your lives. Praise Him for how He has worked in your life.

Now we begin a new year. I want God to continue to use me and to do even more. As you look over your giving pray and ask God what He would have you to do this year 2012. There is much to do. God has given us great grace and has given us favor with His people. We are really on the launching pad for what God is going to do with us! We haven’t seen anything yet!

The church will soon be six years old. We have been used greatly overseas. I am praying that God will allow us to do more in our community this year than we have ever done before. I want to reach out to our neighbors and friends with the gospel. I want our church to impact our community with the gospel. I am glad that you are on board and ready to see what God will do.

Maybe this is the year that He will give us land. Maybe this is the year that we will see more saved than ever. I am praying that God allows us to reach those farthest from Him with His message this year.

Your faithful giving makes all of this possible. Without you and what you do all the past would not have been possible but even more so the dream and vision for the future would never take place.

This year we will do all in our power to fulfill the King’s Command!

Grateful to God for all that He has done through you,

Austin Gardner