CARES Act

To cast your vote online, click here.

Dear Member of First Baptist Church:

In these uncertain times, our congregation needs to act quickly to protect the financial wellbeing of our church and our employees. With 100% approval from our Stewardship and Personnel Committees, Leadership Team, Pastoral Team, and Deacon Officers, we are seeking your vote on the ballot below, permitting the church to seek funds from the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act).

The economic stimulus package includes the Paycheck Protection Program, which is designed to ensure employment in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. These funds are available for small businesses, including churches and other not-for-profits. But we need to act quickly because the first round of stimulus money ran out in a very brief time. We are eligible to apply for a forgivable loan of up to 2.5 times our average monthly payroll costs. You may view a more detailed background and explanation here. This link also addresses concerns about the issue of separation of church and state. Our church leadership believes those questions have been satisfactorily answered.

As I stated earlier, the Stewardship and Personnel Committees, Board of Trustees, Pastoral Staff, Leadership Team, and Deacon Officers have unanimously voted to pursue this funding. But gaining church approval is complicated. The typical church business meeting is prohibited by the stay at home order in effect in Cole County.

Due to these highly unusual, emergency conditions prohibiting a church gathering, this ballot by mail and virtual options are being announced based on Article V, Section 2 of our church constitution, which states that “other meetings of this church…shall be set according to the needs of the congregation.”

To cast your vote online, click here.

All ballots must be received/submitted by 5:00 pm, Friday, May 1 in order to be counted.

Thank you for your participation in our church’s life. If you have any questions, please contact me at doyle@fbcjc.org or 573.680.7321.

Please stay safe and healthy. God bless.

Grace,

Doyle Sager, Lead Pastor