September is stewardship month for us here at First Baptist Edwardsville. Over the last few years we have focused on several different ways we can be good stewards; of our time and energy and gifts and passions. 


This year we want to focus a little more on being good stewards of our money.


Let’s be honest. We as a church have lost some people, mostly to death. Many of those people we lost were faithful, strong givers and our church is starting to not meet our budgeted needs. 


It’s that time of year when we think about our budget for the next year, so as we contemplate what we need and want to spend money on next year let’s think strategically about how we can save money and also do the most work we can do.


Being good stewards means we must continue to do the work set before us. Sometimes that means we have to tighten our belts and give a little more. Sometimes it means we have to step up and do the work rather than just paying someone to do it for us. 

So what does this mean for us?


Well, I think it means a couple of things. We need people to give more sacrificially, but we also need to remember that God provides for the work He has called us to.


I think we are in a time of testing our faith and trust in God. Will he provide? Yes, I believe He will. How will He provide? That we just have to watch for.


In the middle of our storms and uncertainty, we must remember that God provides for the work God wants done. Let’s keep our eyes on the goal of Kingdom growth and showing love to everyone, and let’s watch and see how God provides.


With much love,
Pastor Drew

I come to you after a long summer that isn’t even over yet tired but full of joy.


I participated in some great events this summer, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Yes, traveling and participating in non-stop events can be draining, but the things I participated in left me feeling renewed.


This summer I:
Went to the CBF Annual Gathering in St. Louis. 
Went to the ABC-USA Biennial Convention in Omaha.
Went to youth camp at Green Lake.
Participated in VBS with First Baptist, Immanuel UMC, and First Christian.


All of these things were multi-day events and several of them required travel, but they all offered renewing and reinvigorating opportunities for worship and service.


I came back from all of this with a sense that First Baptist Edwardsville really needs to take a look at our vision for the future. A vision is a statement of what an organization would like to achieve in the future. What do we want our church to be in 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, 25 years, 100 years? We have a church with an almost 200 year heritage, what will our legacy be in that story?


When the story of First Baptist Edwardsville is told to future generations, will we be some of those stories of self-focused choices simply trying to maintain, or will we be some of those stories of exemplary faith that worked to take the gospel and hope to our neighbors and the world? I know what I would like to be a part of.


As we begin discussing a vision for First Baptist Edwardsville, dream big! What can we ask God for? And remember, “he is able to do far more than we can ask or imagine!”


With much love,
Pastor Drew

I am really excited about a ministry opportunity the Evangelism Team has come up with and I want to tell you about it!


In the Winter, when it gets below 20 degrees we open up our gym area and host the Overnight Warming Location. Many of our guests are people who find themselves without housing and they need our facility to stay warm and stay alive. But that initiative only operates from November to March.


Enter our Evangelism Team headed by Liz Watters and Monika Lablance. They have decided that those people who need help during the winter also need help during the rest of the year. So what they have proposed to do is open up the gym area a couple of times a month so that our friends in housing crisis can come in, get a meal, take a shower, do their laundry, and possibly pick up some much needed gear and supplies.


The details of this initiative are still being worked out, but I am truly excited that this is something brought to our attention by our own church people! 


This is truly trying to do ministry to those who need it most, and that is what we are to be about as a church.


Keep an eye out for ways that you can get involved and help us serve people in our community.


With much love,
Pastor Drew

​From the Pastor’s Desk
May 2025


Well, we certainly got the April showers, I wonder if we’ll have May flowers now.


This year is flying by, is it not? I hope you are cherishing these days with family and loved ones. 


I want to encourage you that while time certainly is passing us by, there is always enough time to do what you want to do. You see, I’m a firm believer that most people take the time to do the things they want to do, I mean really want to do. If we truly value our time watching football, we’ll make time to watch football. If we value our time playing golf, we will find ways to play golf. If we truly value family and friends, we make time to see and spend time with family and friends. And if we truly value church and church events, we make time to participate in church and church events.


I also want to acknowledge that this truism does not hold true for those who have to work 60-80 hours a week just to get by.


Instead of turning this into a preachy newsletter article, I’d much rather ask the question, “What do your time commitments say you value?”


If I’m being honest, my time commitments say I value church work, my family, and school work, and also sleep.


As we move into our summer months, what will take up your time? What will you commit to? Also, what could the church do that might make you want to participate more?


We have a lot going on this summer, and we will have a lot going on this fall. Keep your eyes on the “coming up” schedule to see what things you might want to attend and/or how you might serve!


With much love,
Pastor Drew

From the Pastor’s Desk
April 2025


As we enter the month of April I want to ask that you would join with me in prayer for our community and those around us. People everywhere are hurting in one way or another and many people are scared, especially those around us who are most vulnerable. Pray with me that we would have eyes to see them and an overwhelming desire to help. Because it is precisely at this time of year that we remember that we received the greatest gift and help of all, Jesus’ death and resurrection.


We are coming up quickly on Easter and with it we have several opportunities for you to join with us in worship and also in outreach. If you’ll remember, last year at our Easter egg hunt we had over 150 people come in to our facilities and participate with us. We would love for you to find someone on the education team, Melissa, or Allison and ask them how you can get involved in helping with this ministry to our community. The egg hunt will take place on Saturday, April 19 at 2pm. Before that, we will have a youth event with activities and lunch for them as well as utilizing them to hide the eggs throughout the church. This youth event will start at 10am on Saturday, April 19 as well.


On Thursday, April 17 at 5:30pm we will have our annual Maundy Thursday service. Make plans to attend and join us for a reflective time on the sacrifice Jesus made for us.


I want to encourage you that our church is doing some really good work. We have had some visitors who are turning into regular attenders, and we are reaching out to our community in many different ways. Please keep an eye out for the many ways you can get involved and serve your community with the love of God.


I love you,


Pastor Drew

As we enter the season of Lent let us reflect on both the ways we have been blessed and the ways we have not quite lived up to our calling. The season of Lent is a time of reflection and repentance. 


Now, many of us do not like to think that we need to repent of anything, in some ways it means that we have failed or not been as good as we should have been. But repentance carries with it more connotations than simple individual failure. In the Old Testament, especially in the prophets (which we are studying on Wednesday nights) God calls the people to repent for communal sins—those sins which the community has committed as a whole. 


You may be wondering, how do I repent for something I have no control over? And I think that is a valid question. I think we must repent for the ways in which we participate in ongoing societal sins, and I think we must repent for the ways in which we don’t hold society to a higher standard. 


The prophets called the people of Israel to repent for both worshiping other gods and for not taking care of the poor and needy among them. Basically, the prophets called out God’s people for not living into the two greatest commandments: love God and love others. 


So what about us? What ways have we participated in the sins of our society? How have we put comfort, pleasure, and wealth above sacrifice, worship, and love of God and others?


This year, as we reflect on some things we might sacrifice for Lent, let’s also reflect on the ways we participate in societal sins and repent of those things. Together, we can be stronger advocates and warriors for those who are in need.


I also want to tell you about our Lent series: Everything in Between. We will be discussing living in between the tension of things that pull at us. I am excited about this season and look forward to being with you as we seek God together.


With much love,
Pastor Drew

The month of February is often called the month of love. During this month we celebrate Valentine’s Day and think fondly of those we love and cherish.


For this month I want to remind us of what love really means.


The Bible tells us quite a bit about love, doesn't it?


1 Corinthians 16:14 says, “Let all that you do be done in love.”


John 3:16 states, “For God so loved the world, that he gave  his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”


1 Peter 4:8 says, “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of  sins.”


And John 14:15 states, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”


This is not all the Bible says about love. In fact I didn’t quote anything from 1 Corinthians 13, an entire chapter devoted to discussing love.


What we learn from the Bible is that God is love (1 John 4:8), and if we are going to be imitators of God and Jesus, then we will also be characterized by love.


With that in mind, let us continue to pursue showing love to each other and our neighbors. And if we learn anything from the parable of the Good Samaritan it is this, we are the good neighbor to everyone. Neighbor is a term that describes us, not the people around us. We should strive to be good neighbors to all, especially those who find themselves powerless to provide or fight for themselves.


I know this message has been preached endlessly since I’ve been here, but it is the message of the Gospel. It is our message, and it is the message that will drive everything we do.


So this month and every other month, let everything that we do be done with love!


With much love,
Pastor Drew

​From the Pastor’s Desk
January 2025


We are a quarter of the way through the new century. How crazy is that!


With the advent of a new year, we get the opportunity to look back to see what we accomplished and then to look forward to see what we hope will happen. You will read my reflections on 2024 in my annual report coming out soon; however, I want to talk today about our hopes for the year 2025.


We have spent the previous few years laying foundations and establishing ourselves in our practice of our faith. We have been working to build a reputation for ourselves in our community and I think we are doing a good job. For example, I was on Facebook the other day and a random person recommended our church as a place that is open and welcoming and doing the good work of the Gospel! How cool is that?


This year, I want us to embrace those steps we have taken and begin to do more outreach, continuing to build our relationships and reputation, but capitalizing on that to reach people with the Good News.


We can become a shining light for what it truly looks like to embrace those who are overlooked by society. We can become a beacon bringing in people who are committed to work we have committed ourselves to.


We are a church, a people, that offer hope to everyone, especially those who are in desperate need of it.


Let’s work hard in 2025 to be the hands and feet of Jesus!


With much love,
Pastor Drew


p.s. Be thinking about ideas for our 200th anniversary, it’s coming up fast!