The OBC Elders met for their regular monthly meeting at 6:30 a.m. on December 3, 2025. The meeting began with Pastor Pat leading the elders in a time of prayer. He prayed for the Lord to work in our lives as pastors. He prayed for wisdom, patience, and love as we continue to guide and lead through the preaching of God’s Word from the pulpit every Sunday and for the fellowship of the saints to be rich with the aroma of Christ. We are so thankful for the ministries that go on daily from those on Sunday morning and for all the care groups during the week as well as the ministries on Wednesday night as we all minister to one another in the body of Christ.

Andrew Meyer read the London Baptist Confession of 1689, Article 7 – Of God’s Covenant with Man. The Bible is so clear on the condescension of God by Christ to provide by covenant the grace as detailed in this chapter. God is mighty to save. And He does so by way of covenant, for both those who believed in the Old Testament and the New Testament.

As our confession states the covenant of grace is found in the gospel. We see this first with Adam in the promise in Genesis 3:15, in the seed of the woman that then eventually finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the New Covenant. Apart from God’s gracious work, all would be lost for sinners like us. Chapter 7 is one of the great chapters from our Baptist Confession.

Dan Perina discussed the Giving and Attendance Report from November. The monthly general offering totals were good but there is still a significant short fall from our total actuals vs. our budget for this current year. Please pray for the continued sacrificial giving of our body and that the Lord will meet our needs as we to continue to minister the gospel of Christ in this current year.

The Lord has been so faithful through the years regarding our finances, so regardless, we as elders are praising the Lord for our giving as we continue into the winter months knowing that our Lord knows our needs and that He will meet them. Attendance remains strong with several new members being added soon. Please continue to pray for many to hear the great proclamation of the gospel, many even for the first time. May God add many to His church body in these coming days.

Pastor Pat discussed the possibilities of improvements to the front entrance of our building; he presented architectural drawings and some preliminary pricing. These building improvements would include an area outside with much more room for fellowship and possible seating, with several car stalls being relocated. The elders are looking at the cost and value of such a project.

The current building would look quite different especially with new paint. He also led a discussion regarding our missionary in Asia. He has gained some support and we are praying that his support will continue to increase in the upcoming months.   

Finally, Pastor Pat updated us on his attendance to the Evangelical Theological Society in Boston, Massachusetts. ETS is an academic society of scholars, pastors, and students dedicated to the orthodox Christian faith and theological study within the framework of a high view of Scripture.

The society allows its members to present papers, engage in discussion, critique each other’s work, and collaborate on scholarly projects. He said it was a great time of encouragement with many pastor-teachers from around the country. It is a yearly conference that is attended by all the largest Christian book publishers. 

The meeting closed at 7:35 a.m. The next regularly scheduled elder meeting is planned for January 20, 2026.