MP100 Recipient, Fall 2020:

Babcock Ranch, Florida

We give thanks to God for a unique community that is forming just outside of Fort Myers, Florida; a place where sustainability and environmental awareness drive development and daily life. This place is the new Master Planned Solar Community of Babcock Ranch, and God is calling the Florida-Bahamas Synod and the ELCA to this new mission.

The first of its kind in the United States, Babcock Ranch is built on 18,000 acres with 50% of its land dedicated to greenspace, reinforcing the vision of the developers to place an emphasis on the environment. Babcock Ranch is surrounded by 73,000 acres of preserve and draws power from a field of 680,000 solar panels. The community is zoned for 19,500 homes and 6 million square feet of zoning for commercial and institutional spaces.

With its first residents moving into their new home in 2018, there are now nearly 1,500 residents at Babcock Ranch, and that number is steadily increasing as the developers work towards their goal of having 50,000 people call Babcock Ranch home.

Being the first “smart town” in the United States, we have an opportunity to build a worshipping community in Babcock Ranch that nurtures the idea of faith and innovation and comes alongside its residents in giving Creation a voice in worship, service, and learning.

Today, there is not a worshipping community within Babcock Ranch, but that will soon change. We invite you to participate in what God is already doing in this development. By becoming a Ministry Partner with the new mission at Babcock Ranch, you will help us work towards locating a site for worship within the community and, together as co-creators with our amazing God, building a place for faith to grow, gifts to be shared, people and creation to be cared for, and God to be worshipped and praised.

Your gift to Mission Partners 100 will be used for the purchase and development of a site in Babcock Ranch where God’s mission for this new community will be revealed and sustained.

I thank you for your prayerful consideration of giving to this new mission at Babcock Ranch.

Together in Christ,

Pr. Rob Carlson                                                                  Pr. Khader El-Yateem
DEM/A2B, North                                                                   DEM/A2B, South

Mission Partner 100 (MP100) FAQs

What is MP100?
MP100 is a synod campaign that invites donors to support specific projects for congregations designated by the Office of the Bishop.  MP100 recipients are often congregations that have a specific construction or facility need related to their ministry priorities and vision for mission.  The vision of MP100 is that if a large group of donors contribute $100 each, the funding available for specific projects increases.  MP100 is an example of how we can be ‘church together for the sake of the world’ as the Florida-Bahamas Synod.

How do I contribute?
You can send in a donation to the synod office designated for “MP100”.  You can also designate your electronic gift for MP100 through the “Give Now” link on the home page of the web site.

How are recipients chosen?
Each year, MP100 recipients are chosen in consultation between the Directors for Evangelical Mission and the Bishop.  The recipient (congregation) is invited to submit a brief description of the target project that is then shared with the donor list.

How do I get onto the donor list?
You may send a note to Yuliet Garcia, Administrative Assistant to the DEMs (yulietg@fbsynod.org), to request an MP100 letter.  When you make a donation to MP100, you are automatically added to the list for following years.