Bradley Baptist Beacon

Transcription

1 Bradley Baptist Beacon Bradley County Baptist Association December, 2005 / January, Bradley Baptist Association Men s First Baptist Church, Cleveland January 27th & 28th, 2006 Friday 7:00pm 10:00pm Saturday 7:00am 10:30am Speaker: Dr. Johnny Hunt Pastor of First Baptist Church Woodstock, GA Johnny M. Hunt Inspiring & Incredible Sessions! Great Music! Awesome Praise & Worship! $35.00 Registration cost per attendant includes breakfast, snacks, conference workbook & CDs of lessons. For more information call

2 Risking to Renew P ro j e c t H e l p i n g H a n d s c o n n e c t s n e e dy fa m i l i e s to c h u rc h e s & o rg a n i z at i o n s f o r H o l i day A s s i s ta n c e Project Helping Hands is a special care ministry network that has connected 250 needy families living in Bradley County to Churches, Organizations, Businesses and individuals who will provide them with PHH volunteers Rev. Huel and Faye Hooker (Cloverleaf) some basic assistance during Thanksgiving and Christmas. The help that is provided is usually such things as food, clothes and toys for children. A special thanks goes out to all of our volunteers and to our daily team leaders: Sue Harris (Cloverleaf), Shirley Freeman (Georgetown), Cheryl Sandlin (Clingan Ridge), Diane Hamby (Michigan Ave.), Karen Hicks (Philippi), and Vicki Still (Thompson Springs). PHH volunteers Lawrence Cotton (Bellefounte) & Vicki Still (Thompson Springs) PHH 2005 HIGHLIGHTS 250 Families helped for the Holiday Season 20 Individuals gave their lives to Christ through the witness of our PHH Volunteers 70 PHH Volunteers from 14 BBA Churches served in PHH Missions A record number of 32 BBA Churches have adopted needy families to provide them with food boxes and gifts for children Page 2 Youth Ministry News! YOUTH EVANGLISM CONFERENCE March 3 & 4, 2006 Municipal Auditorium, Nashville The Association is sponsoring a trip to the Youth Evangelism Conference for BBA Churches to travel together via Coach Bus and stay at the same Hotel in Nashville. Cost per person is $46 (lodging, registration, transportation), space FBC Cleveland teens boxing food and delivering them to needy families M i n i s t ry To I n t e r n at i o n a l s g row s w / 3 r d E S L M i n i s t ry C e n t e r at W e s t wo o d Elaine Baker (Westwood) is helping to lead the Westwood ESL site Donna Hawkins (Union) is helping to lead the Big Sping ESL site Another ESL ministry center recently starting up at Westwood Baptist on Monday evenings under the direction of Elaine Baker. There are now 3 ESL ministry centers that have been started since 2004 at 3 BBA Churches. On Wednesday nights, Donna Hawkins and Jan Dunn are helping to lead the Big Spring Baptist ESL site while August Harvey and Lynda Davis are helping to lead the Clingan Ridge Baptist ESL Site. Volunteers from several BBA churches help at all three locations and more volunteers are welcome. ESL Training & Certification will be offered on Jan. 27 from 5pm-8pm, Jan. 28 and Feb. 4, ESL volunteers Dawana 2005 from 9am-3pm. For more McClanahan (Hopewell) & Lynda info or to register call the BBA Davis (Clingan Ridge) help an international at the Clingan Ridge site office at The ultimate Youth Ministry training and Worship event in the Southeast for your entire Youth Ministry Leadership Team! Cost is only $79 per person if you register through the Association. There are a few scholarships available to part-time or volunteer Youth Ministers. Call

3 Risking to Renew Page 3 Church Rebuild Volunteer Labor Financial Assistance Congregation Home Rebuild Materials and Supplies Long-term Commitment Bradley Baptist Association Partnering with Gulf Coast Baptist Association 4 ways we are considering Community Home Rebuild Materials and Supplies Community Evangelism Adopt A Family Support & Encouragement Personal Evangelism Living Proof Live With Beth Moore Designed exclusively for ministers wives 2005 Fall Harvest Celebration March 31-April 1, 2006 Chattanooga Convention Center Let the planning begin! A unique opportunity is available to women who are married to church staff members or seminary students. ATTN: Bradley Baptist Association will provide a ticket for each pastor s wife. For more information call the Association at Special thanks to all the people who attended and gave their time to make this a special time of celebration and worship.

4 Risking to Renew Page 4 Joseph White, Pastor, Thompson Springs Joe White is the new pastor of Thompson Springs Baptist Church located on Bates Pike. He and his wife, Andrea, married in 1998 and have two daughters Whitney and Makenzie, who are five years old and two years old rrespectively. Joe is originally from Princeton, WV, but has lived in Cleveland for over 20 years now. Joe says he owes a lot to his parents for raising him in a Godly home and in good churches. In his years of Christian service prior to pastoring Thompson Springs, he worked as an usher, Sunday School teacher, Sunday school superintendent, and assistant pastor. He was gloriously saved at the age of seven, and felt the definite call of the Lord to preach His Word in June of 2001; these two events define and shape his life. Joe holds an Associate Degree in Business Administration from Cleveland State and a Bachelor of Theology Degree from Andersonville Baptist Seminary in Camilla, GA. Joe says the things that bring great joy to his heart include; leading and seeing others come to Christ, seeing others use their talents for the Lord, and watching people become sincere worshippers of God. What drives him in the ministry is the opportunity to help others while pleasing His Lord. Joe borrows his pastoring philosophy from Dr. Clarence Sexton, who believes Christians should always Take the High Road. Taking the high road is not choosing between the good and the bad. Taking the high road is choosing between the good and the best, and always choosing the best! Bobby Vaughn, Pastor, Blythe Avenue Bobby Vaughn has been the full time Pastor of Blythe Avenue Baptist Church since June 1, Their goal is to reach their neighborhood for Christ. Bobby was ordained to the ministry at First Baptist Church of Dover, FL in He attended Florida Beacon College, Lee College and Seminary Extension. He has ministered in Florida, Tennessee and Pennsylvania. He was employed with the Home Mission Board in Pennsylvania. He has also ministered in Haiti and Venezuela. He has served as a chaplain at the Bradley Justice Center for the past twelve years. He has been a Bivocational Pastor while working as a building contractor. Bob and Annette have been married for fifty years. They have six daughters, thirteen grandchildren and two great grandchildren. They like to read and travel. Annette is pianist/organist at church and teaches children in Sunday School. Thailand Relief/Rebuild Trip May 21 June 4, 2006 Cost: $ First time Tsunami Relief Volunteers $ Registration Deadline: January 15, 2006 Training: January 28, 2006 Call the BBA for a packet CHILDREN OF CHERNOBYL MINISTRIES It has been 20 years since the Chernobyl nuclear accident. 800,000 children live daily with the ongoing effects of the disaster. CCM exists to meet the physical and spiritual needs of the those whose lives have been affected by the Chernobyl accident. We need families who feel led by the Lord to host a child for 3 weeks in their home this coming summer. This is a ministry bringing the mission field to your doorstep. Please call Frank Walker at or at info@frankwalker.ws.

5 Risking to Renew Page 5 Just days after the Christmas celebration ends and family and friends have returned to the duties of everyday life, a brand new year begins. We have barely finished the activities of last year, and it is already time to begin thinking about how we will spend the next one. As we look ahead at 2006, we can see unlimited possibilities before us. Many people regard this as an opportunity to chart goals for the year. Some will reevaluate their finances or their schedules. Others will vow to renew commitments or put old habits to rest. But too many will look in the other direction, at the years that have passed, with thoughts of loss and regret. Many times we look back over our shoulder and think, If only I had done things differently. People in prisons say to themselves, If I could just get a new start. People with wrecked relationships wonder, How did I get here? If only I could begin again. People who made poor career choices and now are dissatisfied with their work think, If only I could go back and do it all over again. If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently? As you consider that question and how you might go forward in a new direction, I want you to know that whenever you make changes in your life that lead you toward God, you have all the help of heaven on your side. Some people know they need to pursue the Lord, but are afraid of what He might ask them to do. They fear that their lives are too wrought with sin to ever turn around. But God gives you a genuinely new beginning when you become born again. God created you to have a relationship with Him an intimate relationship, where He can express His love, goodness, mercy, and kindness toward you. But until you trust the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you will not experience that blessing. All people are initially separated from God by sin. The Bible tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) none of us can meet God s holy standard. We also know from Scripture that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). But Jesus came to earth to reconcile sinners to His Father in heaven by dying for their sins. His death on the cross paid your sin-debt completely and provided an open door for you to walk into the presence of God. You enter that door by having faith in Christ, recognizing your sinfulness, and receiving His forgiveness. When you receive Christ, you receive the gift of eternal life He gives you a new beginning! At some point, every believer must decide that this new beginning isn t just for a day, but for a lifetime. After your initial commitment to follow Christ, you must decide to obey Him daily. In response to your obedience, He will pour into your lap a good measure pressed down, shaken together, and running over! (Luke 6:38) The ultimate surrender of your life to God is the wisest decision you can make. And the time to make that decision is today, not after you have spent your life looking over your shoulder, obsessed over the past. When you plan for this New Year, resolve to put away your regrets and all that goes along with them. Pray to be the person God wants you to be, and purpose to follow His plan wherever it leads. In doing so, you will chart a course you can navigate victoriously! Your partnership this past year has made a tremendous difference helping people begin again and helping people be introduced to the eternal love of God. Through your partnership we have touched a world with the good news of Christ. We have seen people in India, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Louisiana, Mississippi, Manhattan and Nashville respond with such a responsive heart. We now turn to a new year waiting for what God will show us, but planning to move on in our work together. Great Commission Prayer Conference First Baptist Church Powell, TN North Knoxville Schedule Friday, February 17, 1:00pm 7;00pm Saturday, February 18, 7:30am 4:00pm Featured Speaker: Dr. Henry Blackaby Registration: Cost: $30.00 per person before Feb. 10, 2006 $35.00 pr person after Feb. 10, 2006 Make checks payable to Tennessee Baptist Convention or register on line at

6 Bradley Baptist Association 2707 N. Ocoee Street Cleveland, TN Phone: Fax: Website: Non-Profit U.S. Postage Paid Permit #288 Cleveland, TN Phil Taylor Director of Missions Randy Bonner Ministry Evangelism Dir. Chris Stewart Ocoee Resort Ministries Denise Roebuck Collegiate Ministries Dimple Cox Ministry Assistant First Baptist Church, Cleveland has called Rob LaLiberte as their Associate Pastor/Music and Worship. First Baptist Church, Cleveland has called Rusty Asble as their Recreation Minister. Philippi Baptist Church held a note-burning service on Homecoming Sunday, October 2, 1005 after paying off a fifteen year loan on the new sanctuary in little over three years. First Baptist Church, Charleston has called Joe and Juliah Collins as Music Director and pianist. Joe and Juliah are lifelong residents of this area and have served area churches for many years. Valley View Church is accepting resumes fro a part-time secretary. Please mail resumes to Personnel Team % Valley View Baptist Church, 4657 Spring Place Road, SE, Cleveland, TN or call for more info. Bradley Baptist Association Ministry Assistant/ Media Coordinator 32 hours/ week. Highly motivated, people skills, experience in desktop publishing, proficient in Microsoft OfficePro. Send resumes to: CBN# 3523-P c/o Cleveland Daily Banner P.O. Box Disaster Relief Trips to Mississippi, Louisiana & Florida to Respond to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita & Wilma 2 International Disaster Relief Trips to South Asia to Respond to the Tsunami 145 Volunteers From 19 BBA Churches Serving in Chainsaw & Recovery, Mass Feeding, Chaplaincy, Well Restoration, Surveys Over 250 Relief Projects Completed 20 Salvation Decisions BBA DISASTER RELIEF FAST FACTS 2005 Approx. $12,000 in Equipment and Travel Expense has been incurred for Katrina/Rita DR Volunteers have now come from 26 BBA Churches Approx. 150 Volunteers from BBA Churches attended the DR training and organizational luncheon in October (A Special Thank You goes out to Sharon Ramsey and all the folks from Clingan Ridge who served as the host church for the day - Great Job!) Our new structure is taking shape with Jim Polier becoming our Lead Coordinator for BBA Disaster Relief Additional units will be added including a Laundry Unit, a 2nd Chainsaw/Recovery Trailer and a Bobcat.