First Baptist Church of South Orange Donates over $30,000 to local causes

The First Baptist Church of South Orange celebrated and honored Rev. Dr. Terry Richardson, and First Lady NaDeen Richardson, for their 20 years of pastoral service and positive contributions to South Orange, Essex County, New Jersey, as well as to communities abroad. To commemorate the anniversary, over $30,000 has been donated to local community based organizations. Since 2002, more than $270,000 has been distributed to support local and international organizations that focus on improving the human condition.

The enormous level of participation from the church’s congregation is largely due to its ministries commitment to the “Four Pillars “that impact communities and address social causes; which are Education, Community Outreach, Social Justice and Health. This is a testament to Rev. Richardson’s ability to rally support around community engagement under the church’s “Impact the World” initiative. These Four Pillars, are part of the church’s strategy behind its grant-making programs. Specifically, each ministry in the church must identify a social issue facing the community, develop a ministry around it, and/or identify an organization addressing that issue and determine how FBCSO as a church can partner with them. Most of the organizations who received monetary gifts are considered partners in addressing or eradicating a socio-economical threat in their community.

Organizations such as the Isaiah House, South Orange Library, Good Worx Foundation, St. Jude’s Children Hospital and Habitat for Humanity, have received funding and support on a local level, while $10,000 was donated to help build a school in Swaziland, Africa.

One such donation was especially exciting to Rev. Richardson and First Baptist Church of South Orange, upon learning that its donation to The American Baptist Churches of New Jersey was used to rebuild a brand-new computer lab destroyed by the last major Tsunami to hit the Philippines.

“I attribute our focus on outreach and collaborations as a way to solve social issues, to my mentor Rev. Leon Sullivan who once served as Pastor of FBCSO and exposed me to global issues and projects and the role faith-based organizations have in enhancing the quality of life for communities. Especially communities in need,” state Rev. Richardson as he reflects on his 20 years at FBCSO.

On February 19th, the much-anticipated 20th Pastoral Anniversary celebration took place at the Mary B. Burch Theater at Essex County Community College in Newark, NJ and featured Grammy award nominee, William McDowell.

The event commemorated Rev. Dr. Terry Richardson and his service as Senior Pastor at First Baptist Church of South Orange. During his tenure, more than 1,400 new members have joined the vision and mission to “Impact the World”. As a visionary and community leader, Dr. Richardson seeks innovative and collaborative efforts to create a new normal, a new reality; a world of what “should be” instead of settling for a “world that is”. Among his many accolades, Dr. Richardson is a recipient of the Phi Delta Kappa, Inc., the Pursuit of Excellence Community Service Award, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Award, the Service Above Self Award, and the Community Service award. Dr. Richardson’s passion for justice and equality have allowed the First Baptist Church of South Orange to make their vision of “Impacting the World” a reality.

The evening would not be made possible without the generous support of community leaders, congregation members and their families. All came together to celebrate worship and the successes of the First Baptist Church of South Orange under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Terry Richardson, the community honors a man with great passion, extraordinary leadership and a true visionary of social justice and equality. The First Baptist Church of South Orange will continue its community outreach and support of organizations that focus on directly improving people’s lives.

For more details about the First Baptist Church of South Orange, please visit www.fbsco.org.