Have you ever heard of Year Beard? This is an annual fund raiser that began at The Tide with Mark Story, the Director of Development. He asked himself, “how could I advance the mission of The Tide and the spread of the gospel with my own 12 men? … And it came to me. If I can get them to grow a beard and people would say ‘why are you growing that beard?’ And with each man tasked with raising awareness and money for The Tide, it would be a match.”1
When the men step up to the challenge and stop shaving to grow their beard, they can choose 3 months, 6 months, a full year or No Shave November. All the funds collected are used to buy airtime for the Tide’s radio ministry broadcast in countries like Asia, Africa, and Europe.
This year, Pastor Lawton accepted the challenge of growing out his beard. He was made aware of this fundraiser when it was first done in 2019. This past fall he received an email from Mark to consider being one of the 2021 men.
One of the reasons Pastor Lawton accepted the challenge was because it’s a way for him to go beyond the superficial. Our Sunday morning emphasis is on going deeper with God. To do so we have to stop focusing on superficial things like appearance.
He also liked the idea of using his beard to give him other opportunities to share the Gospel and tell people about The Tide. Did you know that when The Tide sets up broadcasting in a particular country, they use indigenous people to that region to spread the Gospel so others can fully understand? This is something that really spoke to him.
Finally, Pastor Lawton is looking forward to the comradery of being part of a team with the other guys all on the same mission together. They will have opportunities to share with one another throughout the year.
The goal for those growing a beard for a year is to raise $1,000. Lawton is hoping to far exceed this. If you would like to sponsor him, go to his Year Beard page at https://www.yearbeard.org/theguys/lawton-jacobs/. We will also put a link on our website or you can use a marked envelope with a sponsor card on the back table in the church and gym narthex.
We will be providing progress pictures each month. These pictures were taken at the beginning and end of January. His beard is already growing in nicely! Stay tuned!
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