When Pastor Mike Orr returned from Cuba and stood before First Baptist Church Chipley to share what he had witnessed, he presented his congregation with a need.
The Baptist seminary in Havana was growing. More students were coming to be trained for ministry, but space was limited. Offices for the Western Baptist Convention of Cuba had been moved to the seminary after an explosion damaged convention facilities at Iglesia Bautista el Calvario, taking up classroom space at a time when the seminary needed more room, not less.
Convention leaders hoped to add a third floor to the seminary with two large spaces for additional classrooms. The estimated cost was $50,000.
“I really believe God wants us to build this building, so I’m just going to put it out there,” Orr recalled telling the congregation.
Need met
Within days, the need was met.
Two gifts of $25,000 provided the full amount needed for the seminary expansion. Then another $25,000 came in, bringing First Baptist Chipley’s total giving to $75,000.
“I just know that was the provision of God,” Orr said. “God stirred the hearts of people to give.”
The church designated the additional $25,000 toward another need: helping Cuban Baptists secure a new property for the Western Baptist Convention offices, which would also free additional space at the seminary.
For Orr and Jennifer Duncan, First Baptist Chipley’s ministry assistant to the pastor and women and missions associate, the generosity is part of something much larger than a construction project.
It is an investment in a growing gospel movement.
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Keila Diaz and originally published by the Florida Baptist Convention.
