Greetings friends…
This post may be lengthier than normal but it contains an exciting and important report which I believe will be of interest and possibly inspirational. I hope you will take the time to read it. It involves a major God moment for the Baird’s.
Where to start?
Three years ago, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, the ministry of Legacy Church in Charleston, SC came to a conclusion. I have written on this blog previously concerning that conclusion and you can update yourself by reading the blogs at the end of year 2018. My secret hope for years was that somehow I could work with my oldest son in ministry, perhaps even pass the ministry baton on to him; but that was not the plan of God in Charleston. As is often the case, God’s ways are not necessarily our ways and His ways are almost always paradoxical when it comes to Kingdom purpose.
Tracie and I moved to Florida in order that I might teach at Southeastern University and together travel in ministry. Doors were opening and ministry was happening until the 2020 global pandemic when the nation shut down and by God’s grace I was providentially hired at the Florida Family Policy Council as the Director of Pastoral Ministries, as well as the Director of the Florida Pastors Alliance. In 2020, Tracie was brought on as Deputy Director so our partnership in ministry continued.
Our responsibility is to network and be a friend to the hundreds of Florida pastors in our network, as well as reach the 13,000 evangelical pastors in the state and assist them in engaging our civic government with a biblical worldview. We have enjoyed and flourished in this assignment as we have also enjoyed our kids and grandkids in Florida. We have also found ourselves becoming a spiritual mom and dad to several young pastors while continuing to travel in ministry.
Clayton, my oldest son, has been one of the teaching pastors at a mega-church in the Jacksonville area. It has afforded him many incredible opportunities. Through the years, he has blossomed into an incredible preacher and communicator eclipsing his mom and dad in many ways. For years he was reluctant to step into the role as lead pastor despite having the skills and obvious giftings. I can only guess that the years of watching the challenges of his parents dig out a church and work with people caused no small sense of caution. Tracie and I, wanting to respect God’s call on his life and his ability to discern God’s will for his own future, have been cautious not to push or leverage him. Parental desires are not always the Will of God. If you’re a parent you probably understand this point. You may see things your adult children don’t, but you must respect their journey and use your parental “chips” wisely.
At the beginning of 2022, the church where Clay has been serving began to experience upheaval and with it the departure of the Senior Pastor. This upheaval has continued to this date as the current pastor is bringing leadership to some incredible challenges. A 14,000 member church has been reduced to perhaps 2,000. This reduction of attendance effects finances and staff members are needing to find new places of service. This situation has impacted Clayton as well. What is God doing at this moment of upheaval? Where does he go next? These are questions which have occupied much of our prayer time.
There have been 2 considerations which have caused us all to pray. First, perhaps God was leading Clay to find a similar position on staff as a teaching pastor at another large church -or- secondly, was it time to plant a church?
Like any responsible husband and father, his mind was concerned about his family’s needs. So, it appeared as if Clayton might decide to take another staff pastor’s role. A stable, solid offer was extended to him in this role at a location out of Florida. It appeared to Tracie and myself that this would be the route he would choose. Our grandparent’s hearts were sad to think that this would be the decision. However, we certainly understood and continued to pray that God would speak clearly in these decisions.
In early August, I had the incredible opportunity of celebrating with Pastor Cary Gordon and congregation the 40th Anniversary of the great Cornerstone World Outreach in Sioux City, Iowa. It is a one-of-a-kind church which has been an oasis of blessing to us personally. It was during this conference that all the speakers explored the concept of the Church being a type of Noah’s Ark. It was one of the most consequential conferences in which I have ever participated. It also spoke to both Tracie and myself about the importance of a biblically functioning local church. We walked away asking the Lord if there was a new assignment in helping to build an “Ark” type local church in Jacksonville. Little did we know that He was at work. Upon our arrival home, our son shared with us that he sensed God calling him to remain in Jacksonville and plant a Spirit-filled, truth preaching, culture challenging local church in Northeast Florida. Tracie and I were ecstatic to see that while God was moving on our hearts to build an “Ark”, He was also speaking to our son.
Perhaps the most poignant moment was when Clayton shared that he wanted to name the church…LEGACY.
Yes, you read that right. Tracie and I will be in ministry with our son and family at LEGACY Jacksonville. We will be participating in this new church plant. The Lord is resurrecting our ministry dreams! God is indeed good.
I share this with you all for several reasons:
1. To agree with us in prayer that the vast scope of needs are met and the resources released to accomplish His purposes through LEGACY Jacksonville. For those of you who have planted a church, you know the challenges even in the best of scenarios. While Clay has received the blessing of his current church to plant, there are no resources currently at hand for the church to invest in this endeavor. So in much the same manner as Tracie and I planted years ago, we are starting this church at ground zero believing God for every dollar of resource. That said, we stand on the promise Missionary Hudson Taylor beautifully articulated when he said, “God’s Will done God’s way will never lack God’s resource. Where God guides, He provides”.
2. To continue to pray for the Baird’s as we will continue to provide leadership to the Florida Pastors Alliance and travel all through Florida and the nation strengthening and encouraging pastors and churches. Our current assignment will continue as we partner with our son in digging out a great local church. Many dishes are about to begin spinning.
3. To also be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s prompting if you might partner or participate financially in this church plant. I know numbers of you have invested in Legacy Christian Ministries (Kevin and Tracie), through the years and we are beyond grateful for your generosity and blessings. There is no expectation being placed on you. We are simply presenting the opportunity and trusting God. Our expectations are completely upon the Lord. He will provide all we need.
Thank-you for rejoicing and praying with us. We value that the most.
I will look forward to giving you updates and prayer requests. Currently we are considering venues and beginning the arduous journey of completing paperwork for bank accounts, incorporation, and the like; as well as create websites and apps for connection.
You will be seeing more public information through our social media outlets in the very near future.
We appreciate our friends very much…
Sue Golke
December 16, 2022 at 9:21 pmWe knew Clay at Celebration. Just before COVID happened, he began a Bible study on the book of John. I am wondering if I might purchase this study as a resource for a women’s Bible study class that I will be co-leading. If there is a sylllabus available, please let me know at Suegolke60is@outlook.com. Thank you.
Kevin Baird
December 18, 2022 at 10:53 pmYou can contact Pastor Clay through his website:
https://thelegacyco.co/
I’m sure he’d be glad to hear from you.