Give Back Sunday Vision

This blog post is a special Give Back Sunday Vision Message by Pastor Jeffrey Dean Smith of Donelson First in Nashville, TN. 

Message Date: September 1, 2024

Click here to listen to this message

The Inspiring, Amazing, Fantastic, Wonderful, Impactful, Life Changing, and Fun Ministries of Donelson First. Why Donelson First? A few weeks ago we were on the campus at Belmont University for one of three College Fairs we are attending this fall. Belmont, Vanderbilt, and Lipscomb University. While at Belmont, I was approached by a freshman at our Donelson First tent who asked me this very question, “Why Donelson First?” If someone were to ask you the question, “Why Donelson First?”, how would you respond?

There are very many reasons as to why so very many people have chosen to make this their home over the past 112 years. I want to answer this question by sharing with you how I respond to, “Why Donelson First?” God has His hand in the “inspiring, amazing, fantastic, wonderful, impactful, life changing, and fun ministries at Donelson First!” 

I begin with two letters I have recently received:

Letter #1:

Dear Pastor Jeffrey,

In 2021, my father passed away from cancer. Having just lost my father, I was in need of hope. I did a search and found your series entitled “Hope Begins Here.” On December 13^th of that year, you preached a message entitled “Trusting God No Matter The Fallout.” I must say that at the time, I was extremely low. I decided to watch your message and several minutes into your message, began to cry. And that moment, I knew I had found the hope for which I had been searching. Your message was so encouraging; so uplifting; so very inspiring. That has been almost 4 years, and I am pretty sure I have seen mostly every message since. Your series on the snake and orthodoxy were both extremely eye-opening for me as a new, young Christian. I am very thankful for the ministry of Donelson First. I am very thankful that you broadcast your messages. Where I live, Christ is not celebrated. Though I am not a member of Donelson First, I feel like I am a member of Donelson First. Thank you for all you do to share about God’s love. Your friend from Krakow, Poland.

Letter #2: 

My name is Michelle. I live in Kenya. I found your church last year and I watch your service almost every week. I am going to be in the States next month and I would like to request that I may attend your church and worship with you. Sincerely, Michelle, Kenya

The Mission of Donelson First: Inspiring people to know, grow and go in Jesus.

As you read today, I pray your heart is full of gratitude and praise and thanksgiving as we celebrate the many ways we, as a Church, are actively fulfilling this mission.

Dollars For Donelson
Established: 2.21
Proceeds since inception: $28,494

Thank you to all of you who have generously given to this unique ministry. We say all the time around here: “What a difference a $1 can make!” With this ministry, you are helping change lives $1 at a time. Here are a few ways your $1 has changed the life of another here in Donelson:

One homeless man wanted a pair of Nike tennis shoes. He had never had a pair before. I told him if he would give me a few days to find him a pair in his size of 12, to come back and I would give them to him. I went and bought him a size 12 Nike high top. And sure enough, a few days later, he showed back up. We let him shower, gave him some food, a glass bottled Coca-Cola, and gave him the tennis shoes. He cried when he put them on. It was so empowering for him. We never saw him again, but I know he was so proud when he walked off of our parking lot that day wearing a brand new pair of Nike high tops.

Through DFD, we have provided: Bags for NICU families. Countless clothing items for the homeless. Support for a family who lost all they had in a fire. Numerous car repairs. Countless tanks of gas. Medical bills. Utility bills. School supplies for local children. Meals. We repaired a lawn mower for a local sole proprietor who needed repairs to continue his work. Last year, we heard of a family through a contact at one of our local schools who were needing help making their house payment. They had fallen on hard times. We were able to help make the deposit for them to get an apartment and were even able to buy them some essential needs they had as it family as a related to clothing, food, and car repairs.

Additionally, with DFD monies: We have helped pay school tuitions. Court costs. We paid for a cancer patient to fly to another state to receive much needed care. We bought clothes for a family of five young children so they could dress nicely to attend their mother’s funeral. 400 free cups of coffee in our partnership with Donelson’s Caliber Coffee. One lady had recently gone through a divorce and had several bills that had backed up. We were able to help pay for her debt and get her on her feet. She recently sent me an email saying, “Pastor Jeffrey, you really helped me turn my life around at a time when I needed it most. Thank you for not judging me. Thank you for praying for me. And thank you so very much for helping me and my two children get reestablished during a very difficult time in all of our lives. I will never forget what you and Donelson First did for me in my family!”

The stories just keep going!

Divorce Care
Almost 60% of marriages end in divorce today - Divorce Care is one of the most important ministries we offer. Ken and Deanne Davis are a jewel of people. This couple has launched a much needed Group on our campus and has loved on people, truly loved on people, in ways many never do. From this class, 3 additional groups have been launched (2 in their home, and one on-campus on Sundays.) One lady, who had been coming to Divorce Care for a while, attended one day and was so beat up, she just about could not speak. She had been abused by her, now former, husband. This ministry changed her life. She has stayed and has received so very much love and support in this class. This ministry is truly a family. Everyone with whom I speak about Divorce Care truly shares with me how life changing Divorce Care can be reaching people in one of the most difficult and darkest seasons of life! People literally come from all over to be a part of this ministry. So very many people attending this Group, and many others on our campus, are dealing with depression. Church, I want to ask you to begin praying today that the Lord will lead us as we begin pursuing His will for the launch of a ministry where we can offer people dealing with anxiety and depression help and hope.

Lantern Lane
I will also mention that we have a wonderful partnership with a counseling firm in Wilson County, Lantern Lane. If you or someone you know is in need of support, contact the church office and we will connect you with Lantern Lane.

Financial Management
From Divorce Care, another, more subtle ministry too has been launched. It is our Financial Management ministry. This ministry was truly birthed out of need. Several visitors and members who attend a variety of our groups, specifically Divorce Care, were thrilled to learn that as a part of Divorce Care, our attendees receive a wealth of information and support as it relates to financial management.

One of our members, a CPA and Financial Planner, has offered free financial support to those in need of direction. I love this ministry because it meets people exactly where they are and helps them think “big picture” about their finances and, too, help people get on the right track towards financial success.

DF Choir
When I arrived as Senior Pastor 4 years ago in the middle of the COVID pandemic, choir had mostly fizzled. It has always been my hope to bring choir back. Last year we launched a choir LG that didn’t catch fire, but I have continued to pray the Lord would lead us in His timing for what it could look like for His church. Last year, our dear friends, Geneva and Robert Myers, felt they were called to invest in a church closer to home, but the Lord tugged on their hearts to come back. They began visiting a few months ago, and three weeks ago, Geneva told me that her and Robert know the Lord was directing them back to DF. When Geneva returned, I asked her to begin praying about her involvement in launching the Donelson First Choir. More to come, but for all singers out there, start doing your vocal exercises.

Bus Ministry for Assisted Living
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27

Notice this Greek word “pure”: Pure /Greek/ katharos = to properly handle one’s responsibility

This is exactly what is expected of us each, and specifically, of God’s Holy Church. - the responsibility of caring for widows!

If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 1 John 3:17

For each of us who has “material possessions,” ...

We are to see to the needs of others who are in a season of need in life.

Several months ago, I shared with the Ministry Team that the Lord began laying verses on my heart as to our responsibility to take care of the poor, elderly, shut-ins, and the widows. I began praying how we could think outside the “church box” in reaching those people in our community. It hit me that we have two assisted living homes nearby. We have discussed with these two facilities and requested we begin a bus route each Sunday to pick up people who would like to go to church. On Sunday, October 6, we will begin doing exactly this! We will be offering a bus pick up at both Kempton and McKendree Village Assisted Living locations. We’ll need volunteers every Sunday to drive, get people on and off, and love on these people to get to and from church each Sunday. 

3 Churches in 1 – English, Spanish + Nepalese Speaking Worship
Please continue to pray for Pastor Rigo and Pastor Kaju. We are three churches in one. Both of these campuses continue to grow and how wonderful it is to know at 10:30a, we are offering services in Spanish, English, and Nepalese. This summer, we presented a need to you to raise monies to put a roof on a church in Guatemala. And you were incredibly generous! Our Hispanic speaking church, Primera Iglesia, actually supports two churches in Guatemala. One in San Jerónimo and another in Baja Verapaz. It is my hope that we soon begin supporting these churches in Guatemala. Pastor Rigo, the Pastor of Primera Iglesia, sent this to me:

Thank you Donelson First for your generosity. Our partner church in San Jerónimo is so very thankful to you for helping them continue ministry with a new roof. They will be excited to no longer get rained on when praying and singing. It is a joy to serve alongside you at Donelson First.

Y’all this truly is a picture of what heaven will one day be. Multiple languages worshipping together in the same place! This will be spectacular.

Shortly after I arrived as Pastor 4 years ago, I posed this question: “If Donelson First was gone tomorrow, would the community miss us?” The answer is an emphatic, “Yes!” I tell y’all, when I first arrived, I began praying that God would give us favor in the community. I NEVER had any idea the extent to which we would be given such favor! It truly is absolutely incredible. Let me share some of this with you. I have said this over and again and I believe this to be true:
 America’s middle and high school campuses [public + private] are the greatest mission field in America today. Do you know that it is now a law in America that a child, or student, can go be requested to identify as a different gender on-campus than he/she is at home, and the school is not required to notify the parent or parents of such a request? There is an indoctrination that is happening to so very many children while on their school campus. Church, if you think this is not happening, you are living in a bubble that is becoming increasingly smaller every day.

MSNBC host Mellisa Harris-Perry said this while on-air:

We have to break through our private idea that kids belong to their parents or kids belong to their families and recognize that kids belong to whole communities. And in order for children to belong to whole communities it's necessary that they be indoctrinated with certain core about the world in general and sexuality in particular.
Mellisa Harris-Perry, MSNBC Host. February 4, 2019

Look at what Adolph Hitler said in 1935 about influencing the next generation:

Any ideological or revolutionary state must always alienate the young from their parents if it hopes to survive into future generations. He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future. Adolf Hitler, Reichsparteitag, 1935

In the New Testament book of the Bible, Matthew, Jesus warned of this:

If anyone causes one of these little ones - those who believe in me - to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Matthew 18:5-6

Y'all, even though there is this growing tide of hostility among us today, we continue to pray for God to give us favor in the community. And this is exactly what he has done:

McGavock High School Freshman Football Team Dinner
Several months ago, MHS reached out about providing meals for the football team. What a great time is was meeting coaches and beginning relationships with players. This is where we have to remember, as a church, we are working to reach our community so we can be the hands and feet of Jesus. Whether they come to church or not is less important than the connection we make with them. We cannot control how people respond to outreach. What is our responsibility is to steward well our outreach opportunities in the Donelson community. The same can be said with DCA.

Donelson Christian Academy
My family is a product of the Academy. My wife, Amy, and our two daughters attended DCA. They all received a wonderful Christian education. But just because the school is founded on Christian principles does not mean all families attend church. A majority of DCA families are not involved in any church, so when the opportunity became available for Pastor Stephen to be chaplain of the football team, we knew this was an open door opportunity to love on these kids and coaches. 

Hickman Elementary
We are just about to launch our third year of being on campus at Hickman Elementary. This opportunity is beyond words priceless. Each week, a team of volunteers is on campus for the after school program Good News Club. Kids hear about what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus, and many have prayed and invited Jesus into their hearts as a result of this ministry. What is also amazing is that our point of contact, Carole Scates, continually contacts us as needs arise among their student body and families. Carole contacted us last week about a family with 6 children; a father out of work for a while,; electricity cut off during one of hottest summers on record in Music City. We knew we needed to help. Because of your generous giving to DFD, we were able to pay the $810 to get their electricity back on.

Tennessee Department of Mental Health
Dr. Alston, with the TN Department of Mental Health contacted me recently asking if I would come to the Mental Health Hospital here in Donelson each week to love on the patients receiving mental health treatment. What a unique opportunity to be in a TN State run organization. Next week, I will be on their campus giving a message and offering spiritual help to those who are patients at the facility. 

TN State Woman’s Correctional Facility
Each year, we provide bottled Coca Cola products for the women in our local prison. 

Dear Pastor Smith,

I am an inmate at the women's prison in Nashville. I don't have much money, but I can consider this church to be my home. Thank you for supporting us here. We often feel so very much alone. Every Christmas I look forward to the free Coke made possible by your church. Please accept this donation. Amanda, Women’s Correctional Facility, Nashville, TN

Tennessee School for the Blind
Through DFD, we have catered and served meals at the TN School for the Blind for their students, families, and staff. We have provided meals for the last two proms they have had. We have served at their Night Out event. We too have provided our bus for them to transport the players to their hockey games. Every time they reach out with, we have been able to say, “Yes.” We love our relationship with the TN School for the Blind.

Police Officers
Each month, we provide officers in our community with snacks to keep in their patrol vehicles during their shifts.  

Dementia Caregiver Support Group
Nearly 7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s. These patients are not the only ones affected by the disease; the family members caring for them need support too. Lisa Waynick and Ruth Whittinghill are leading this group. They have completed certification in becoming Alzheimer’s Association facilitators. This group meets the first Sunday of each month from 3-5p.

Turkey to Table
This will be year 4 of providing Thanksgiving meals to families. We empower families by providing them meal supplies the Sunday before Thanksgiving so they can then cook together and eat together on whatever day works well for them. We hear from families who say, “Thank you for giving us a meal that we can prepare as a family and enjoy on Thanksgiving!”

The best part about this very popular outreach: Every person that comes through receives prayer. There is no other event we do that leads to more generosity and tears. This year, we have set an ambitious goal: 150 turkeys and fixins’! Get ready!

Deacons
Since arriving as your pastor, I have worked with two Deacon Chairs: Clyde Hicks and Joe Ponder. Both of these men are fantastic leaders and have served well our entire church. Thank you Clyde and Joe for your leadership and friendship! Deacons serve in so very many ways here at DF and they are here to server you. Thank you to all our deacons. 

Women on Mission 
The Women On Mission ladies do so very, very much for the Kingdom of God. This year already they have provided for the Room In The Inn ministry. They have collected $1570 for the Annie Armstrong offerings for missions in North America. They have given monies to hospitals and baby items to families in need. They have supported our Haven House ministry, which is a fantastic ministry in one of the homes we own behind us providing housing for patients who are in town receiving treatment at Vanderbilt University. The Women On Mission has also supported the Women of Worth ministry. 

Women of Worth is a ministry for women who are reentering society form incarceration and drug and alcohol addiction. They are using our facility for their annual fundraiser because they toured our campus and love it. They said, “We have been using the same location for many years, but once we toured DF, we knew we needed to move our event here!”

Another reminder to us y’all of why renovations have been so very important to our outreach!

Bottled Coca Cola + TV’s 
When I arrived as Senior Pastor four years ago, I began challenging all of us to think outside of the “church box” when it comes to reaching people for Christ. We're doing this in so very many creative ways now. One such way... Glass bottled Coca Cola has been a great ministry tool for us; a conversation starter; an unexpected gift that people typically don't get on a church campus. I don't know that anyone has ever turned me down when I've made the offer to them, “Hey, do you want a Coca-Cola in a glass bottle?” I know I can speak for the entire Ministry Team when I say we have had so very many great, great conversations with guests, vendors, members, workers, and many more over a glass bottle Coca-Cola!

The TV’s on campus serve the same purpose! Right now across campus there are eight different TVs broadcasting our Worship Service. So if you're not comfortable sitting in this room, or if you need to step out for a few moments, or if you need to change a baby’s diaper, or have a crying baby and need to go to our Family Room which is beneath us; or just need to take a break for a moment… just about everywhere you go on campus, you can still participate in Worship!

Secondly, during the week these TVs serve multiple purposes… we have so very many people every week on our campus making deliveries, dropping off supplies, caring for or repairing our facilities, here for meetings, leasing space… and here's how we utilize these TV’s… 

1. First, we rotate announcements on the screens of all the exciting things happening on our campus. So as guests walk our halls, it is quite frequent that our guests stop, look at the monitors, and see all the exciting things that are happening on our campus.

2. Secondly, from time to time we broadcast ESPN SportsCenter, or sporting events, or news… you would be amazed at how such broadcasts are conversation starters for us. I had a conversation with a delivery guy a few weeks ago. We stood in the lobby behind me, and we had a conversation about Deion Sanders being the coach at Colorado University. We had a great connection. Now, will he ever attend our church on a Sunday? I don't know. But, while he was here, we had a connection moment - an opportunity to connect and have a conversation. I absolutely know that he left, not only with a bottle of Coca Cola in his hand, but also with a feeling of knowing, “Pastor Smith took a moment out of his day to have a conversation with me!”

3. Thirdly, as we continue to lease our space, most of our rentals are for business usage. Those who are in need of space are also in need of TV’s to broadcast their presentations and monitor.

Y’all, that might not be how church was done 20 years ago. This way of thinking outside of the “church box” I know has not been the way this church has operated in the past. And there's nothing wrong with that. But in this new way of reaching a new generation of potential churchgoers, I am willing to do whatever it takes for us to be creative and to think differently, and to even use a beverage and a TV to connect with people! Whatever it takes y’all! Whatever it takes! The last exciting thing I will add about our ministries:

We preach the fullness of Scripture at DF!
A few topics we have tackled in my time here: Abortion. Same-sex marriage. Divorce. Drinking. LGBTQ+ lifestyle. Eternity. Euthanasia. Cremation. Hell. Satan. We’ve done a deep dive study on the book of Psalm. Proverbs. Genesis. Mark. Exodus. Matthew.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

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Jeffrey Dean Smith is a husband, father to Bailey & Brynnan, author, and the Senior Pastor at Donelson First in Nashville, TN. If you are in Music City, meet Jeffrey and enjoy iced tea on the front lawn each Sunday at 10:30a.