First Baptist Church Vicksburg - Reaching ‘Over and above’
Matt Buckles has been a champion for Kingdom stewardship for a long time. As pastor of the First Baptist Church in Vicksburg for the past 14 years, Matt has continued the course of previous leaders as he encourages church members to make an investment in missions and ministry beyond their tithe. With keen foresight and great anticipation of how the Lord will use FBC to touch the world, the congregation has responded by making gifts “over and above” the ministry budget with the goal of sharing the life-changing love of Jesus in their Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts. To this end, several scholarship and ministry endowments have been established with the Mississippi Baptist Foundation. The earnings from these funds provide financial resources for a host of FBC’s local and global ministries.
Highlighting First Baptist’s mission emphasis, Buckles declared “This church has a commitment to fulfill the Great Commission. We have the conviction, the vision; we have the resources.”
Please receive this edition of Foundation News as a small window through which to view a pastor and people who are making a Kingdom impact on current and future generations through the generous stewardship of all that the Lord has entrusted to their care.
Scholarships
Although several scholarship funds were in place prior to Matt’s arrival at First Baptist, the number of these education funds has doubled during his tenure. Encouraged by the generosity and focus of the FBC congregation, Matt offered “We celebrate that, we highlight it, we give God glory for it, and we’ll just keep adding to it.”
Through a planned gift initiated in 1980, Andrew and May Jones Puckett established the “Mr. and Mrs. Hardy Jones Memorial Scholarship” in memory of May’s parents. This scholarship became active in 1997 and is directed to FBC Vicksburg for distribution to either Mississippi College or William Carey University. Preference for awards are given to students who are majoring in music and are preparing for a church-related vocation.
Through a bequest outlined in his Last Will and Testament, Henry Pullen made provisions to bless students preparing for vocational ministry. When Henry was “called into higher service” with the Lord in 1988, the “Henry C. Pullen Scholarship Fund” was established with the Mississippi Baptist Foundation by FBC Vicksburg.
In August 2012, Ernest and Camille Thomas established the “George Randle Thomas Memorial Scholarship” with the Mississippi Baptist Foundation in memory of their son. As longtime members and supporters of FBC Vicksburg, Ernest and Camille desire to bless students whose pattern of life bears witness to Jesus Christ by reflecting Christ-like ideals. This particular scholarship has a primary focus on active members of FBC whose academic pursuits include business administration, accounting, liberal arts, engineering, or education.
The Chaney family has a rich heritage of making Kingdom investments that are “over and above” their ongoing gifts to their church. Following the death of his wife Kathryn in January 2016, Mark established the “Mark J. Chaney Family Scholarship” with the Mississippi Baptist Foundation in December 2016. Preference for awards from this endowment are given to active members of First Baptist Church who are attending a Baptist college or university in Mississippi, or a Southern Baptist seminary. In June 2017, Mark established a second scholarship with the Mississippi Baptist Foundation that has a primary focus on students who are active members of the Bovina Baptist Church in Vicksburg. More recently (December 2017), Chaney established a third endowed scholarship with the Mississippi Baptist Foundation designed to encourage a missional focus among students from FBC and the Warren Baptist Association who are pursuing a degree in an agricultural-related field. In addition to these three recent scholarships, however, Mark also made an investment in the Beulah Baptist Church in Newton County with an “over and above” gift. Mark stated, “The focus is not on me but rather on the Lord who has blessed me.”
Early in his ministry, Buckles understood that “a call to preach is a call to prepare.” Not only from his experience of seeking and receiving training, but also from his observation of the experiences of others who sought to become equipped for ministry, Matt has seen time and time again that scholarships work. “I’ve seen young ministerial students who were struggling to buy books, or put gas in the car to go to class, or meet some family needs, be blessed by Baptists who cared.”
Buckles’s first encounter with the Mississippi Baptist Foundation involved the establishment of a scholarship fund and occurred many years before his ministry at First Baptist Church in Vicksburg. While serving at Sylvarena Baptist Church, Matt received a call from a church member who expressed her desire to establish a scholarship through the MBF. In addition, she wanted him to set up a meeting with a Foundation representative. Years later, Matt reflected on what transpired during that visit by saying, “As I sat in her den and watched the conversation (and) listened to what was going on, I realized up-close and personal that this is how the Mississippi Baptist Foundation works, and this is why it (MBF) is so critical to the life of the Convention and the Kingdom of God.”
Recalling that experience years later, Matt realized that he had been a beneficiary of a scholarship similar to what had been established that day in Wesson between his church member and the Mississippi Baptist Foundation. He asserted, “And so it became a conviction of mine, as I had opportunity, to encourage, inform, teach, challenge, and resource church members so they can continue to do this.”
Buckles shared that First Baptist has many members who not only see great value in Christian education and theological training, but who also understand the privilege and responsibility to invest the resources entrusted to them by God in Kingdombuilding endeavors such as our Baptist educational institutions. He concluded, “We don’t believe we’ve ever done enough. We need to continue to do more.”
Missions and Ministry Endowments
In addition to the various scholarship endowments established with and administered by the Mississippi Baptist Foundation on behalf of First Baptist Church, the Foundation also assists FBC with several mission and ministry endowments. One of these funds is the “FBC Endowment Fund” that was established by the congregation in October 1994. The proceeds from the investment of the endowment’s corpus are distributed annually by FBC for mission and ministry opportunities including World Missions (focusing on International, North American, and State Missions), Christian Higher Education, the Baptist Children’s Village, and other unbudgeted ministry needs.
Since the inception of the “FBC Endowment Fund,” members of the congregation have invested in their church by leaving a perpetual legacy of love and influence through this special endowment in a variety of ways such as outright gifts, charitable trusts, gifts of stocks, or as a bequest through their Last Will and Testament.
The “J.E. Blackburn, Sr. and Thelma Blackburn Memorial Endowment Fund” was established through the Mississippi Baptist Foundation is January 2016 by members of the Blackburn family. Specifically designed to support the missions and ministry efforts of First Baptist Church, the earnings from the investment of the corpus of the fund are distributed by the Foundation to FBC for the benefit of local and global mission efforts.
Debra and Tom Isaac are active members at First Baptist Church of Vicksburg, Mississippi where the couple teach Sunday School and assist with local mission endeavors. Debra grew up at First Baptist Church with her family during the 1960’s and 70’s. After finishing her education at Mississippi State, Debra established her career in human resources. Debra and Tom returned to Vicksburg in 2001 to join the family business.
Through their desire to help others, Debra and Tom established the “Debra and Tom Isaac Acts 1:8 Mission Fund” through the Mississippi Baptist Foundation in 2017. Earnings from this endowment not only will provide financial blessings for First Baptist’s preschool, children, and youth ministries, but resources also will be available for future mission and ministry opportunities.
Believing that God speaks to us through His word, Debra and Tom cite 1 Chronicles 29:14 as a favorite verse: “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.”
Throughout his years of ministry, Dr. Buckles has observed that “there are Baptists in the pew who have dollars and they want to do more beyond their tithe and the local church.” He testified further, “It is very rewarding to our congregation to know that we have these dollars invested with the Mississippi Baptist Foundation…and (we) receive a lot of dollars to put back in God’s Kingdom work (both) local and global.”
New Church Starts
In February 2013, First Baptist Church established the “New Church Start Fund” with the Mississippi Baptist Foundation. The purpose of this endowment is to provide funding for the establishment and support of new churches with whom FBC will be a mission partner. With resources from the New Church Start Fund, FBC Vicksburg has provided financial assistance to churches in Vancouver, BC, Baton Rouge and New Orleans, LA, and in their hometown of Vicksburg.
According to Matt, “Our First Baptist Church Missions Council, up until 2012, would try to find a penny, nickel, a dime, a dollar, here or there to fund our local and global missions efforts.” During that time, a church member posited “wouldn’t it be nice” if the church could invest a sum of money, such as $25,000, with the resultant earnings designated to underwrite the Missions Council’s efforts to provide supplemental financial blessings for new churches. Buckles continued, “Later, a farmer in our church came to see me in the late part of the year after the farming was over. They said, ‘we’ve had a good year financially. We would like to give the church some extra money.’ Over and above. So they handed me the envelope, I opened it up and found a check for $25,000.” This generous couple expressed their desire to be part of creating the New Church Start Fund in order to help fuel First Baptist’s missional efforts.
Today, the FBC Vicksburg New Church Start Fund has grown to over $150,000. Whereas in earlier years, the Missions Council would have to search for $50 to $250 for various projects aimed at strengthening new churches, FBC now receives checks for thousands of dollars to bless young churches from this special endowment managed by the Mississippi Baptist Foundation. Buckles has observed a ripple effect among the congregation as members become aware of what can be done through this type of giving.
Investing for Your Church
Matt Buckles acknowledged that the decision made by FBC Vicksburg to utilize the resources of the Mississippi Baptist to manage funds on behalf of the church “just makes sense,” not only because of the Foundation’s expertise, but also because of their shared motivation and purpose that extends “from the pew to the pulpit to the foreign mission field.” Buckles further affirmed, “they are equipped to do this. ... An individual Mississippi Baptist pastor or staff member or deacon or Sunday School teacher or lay leader or member of the church doesn’t have to dig into all of this. We have an agency that handles this for us. We just have the conviction to give the monies that God wants us to give, and let [the Foundation] help us do all the hard work.”
Many other Mississippi Baptists have invested in their church through the Mississippi Baptist Foundation in a manner similar to members and friends of First Baptist Church, Vicksburg. In addition, many other churches utilize the money-management services of the Mississippi Baptist Foundation. To this end, the Foundation administers mission funds, scholarship funds, building funds, cemetery funds, capital improvement funds, contingency funds, and funds for a host of other special purposes such as church playgrounds, libraries, and age-group ministries.
Since his first introduction to the Foundation, Matt indicated that he has learned that, “There’s a difference in secular investing and spiritual investing. The Mississippi Baptist Foundation’s great work is: from a spiritual standpoint…from a Kingdom standpoint, they ‘get it.’” Therefore, “we don’t have to spend time telling them what a Sunday School is, or what an International Mission Board or North American Mission Board is or the importance of a cemetery fund…(because) they’re spiritual investors…and we don’t hesitate to join them in what they are doing for Mississippi Baptists and…God’s work in the world.”
Located near the banks of the Mississippi River, First Baptist Church of Vicksburg, Mississippi has been a beacon of help and hope for over 175 years. Under Matt’s leadership, this congregation has demonstrated a continuing and growing Kingdom influence by practicing individual and corporate stewardship. Since 1943, the Mississippi Baptist Foundation has ministered alongside of hundreds of churches who, like FBC Vicksburg, are helping to bring Mississippi and the world to Jesus.
The psalmist declared, “…that the generation to come might know…even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children” (Psalm 78:6). As “laborers together with God,” your friends at the Mississippi Baptist Foundation look forward to helping you and your church reach “over and above” in order to make Christ known to all generations.
– Daniel C. Hall