THE BRIDGE PAGE 1 VOL. 10 NO. 45 NOVEMBER

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1 PAGE 1 VOL. 10 NO. 45 NOVEMBER 8, 2017 As I write this article on Monday morning, November 6, I am monitoring the updates on the shocking massacre of worshipers at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. By the time this article is read, many additional details will have emerged. At time of writing, we know that the deranged killer was Devin Patrick Kelley and that he had a history of domestic violence. We also have learned that his in-laws, though not present that morning, attended that church. We are all praying for the wounded and for the families and friends of those killed. We are praying for that precious church and their pastor. We are also praying for Mr. Kelley s family, who could not have possibly dreamed him capable of such an appalling act of mass murder. If we learn of any way we can be of assistance to that devastated family of faith, we will communicate that with you immediately. I know this callous crime has left many of you wondering whether ABC could face a similar attack. Although it is humanly impossible to totally prevent a deranged individual or violent group of individuals from perpetrating an act of violence on a church campus, I want you to know that we at ABC do have both a visible and an undercover law enforcement presence each Sunday morning. You can understand why it is not prudent to give details, but please know that people are intentionally watching out for your safety. This week, we are reviewing any additional measures we can take to enhance the safety of those who attend here even further. I can assure you that, as your pastor, your safety and well-being is of the utmost im- (Continued on page 2) WHAT S INSIDE From the Desk of David Procter Welcome New Member... 4 Thanksgiving Fellowship... 4 From the Heart of John Parker... 5 Upcoming Christmas Events... 6 Music Notes by Dodie... 7 Caring for an Aging Loved One... 8 Operation Christmas Child... 9 Lamplighters Membership Hill Toppers Potluck Connect: Literacy Partners Call to Prayer Pancakes with Purpose Student Ministry Events Children s Ministry Message Parents Night Out Kids Worship Calendar & Reports Retrospective... 16

2 PAGE 2 (Continued from page 1) portance to me. The same is true for all our staff and lay leadership. If you have suggestions or observations that you think can be of benefit, we welcome hearing from you. STAFF Dr. Gary Dyer SENIOR PASTOR Cell garyd@austinbaptistchurch.com Dr. David Procter EXECUTIVE PASTOR Cell davidp@austinbaptistchurch.com John Parker ASSOCIATE PASTOR OF MUSIC & WORSHIP Cell johnp@austinbaptistchurch.com Matt Gillum MINISTER TO STUDENTS & THEIR FAMILIES Cell mattg@austinbaptistchurch.com Cathy Smith MINISTER TO CHILDREN & THEIR FAMILIES Cell cathys@austinbaptistchurch.com Kati Dobbs CHILDREN S MINISTRY ASSOCIATE katid@austinbaptistchurch.com Dodie Morris MUSIC & WORSHIP ASSOCIATE dodiem@austinbaptistchurch.com Christina Mendoza MINISTERIAL STAFF EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT / IT SPECIALIST christinam@austinbaptistchurch.com Jennifer Koret FINANCE ADMINISTRATOR jenniferk@austinbaptistchurch.com Rita Jones OFFICE MANAGER ritaj@austinbaptistchurch.com Derek Tackett FACILITIES MANAGER Cell derekt@austinbaptistchurch.com Clifteen Samuelson EVENTS COORDINATOR events@austinbaptistchurch.com Joe Pere DIRECTOR OF MEDIA MINISTRY joep@austinbaptistchurch.com Bill Dickson FINANCE CLERK billd@austinbaptistchurch.com Some have expressed concern that the appalling massacre in Sutherland Springs will cause people to refrain from attending their church. My sincere prayer is that the opposite will prove true. People who love God must take a visible stand by joining together to worship Him, thus making the statement that we will not be cowed by those whose hatred for Christ, for Christians, for Christ s church, and for righteousness or even for certain church members who may even be in their own family drives them to evil actions. If there were ever a time for believers to join together in record numbers, that time is now! I pray that this very Sunday, November 12, Veteran s Day weekend, we will see people in attendance in great numbers as we come together as a testimony that we love the One who has raised Jesus from the dead and gives us the victory through Him. The Baylor Religious Hour Choir will be with us this Sunday morning at 9:00. You are going to want to hear this great choir. (One of their choir members is ABC s own, Madeline Todd.) Let s show Austin and America that no attack on God s people be it violence by terrorist or psychotic killer, or be it intimidation by an antagonistic media or militant group or violent protesters will deter us from assembling together to encourage one another and to worship the One who endured the ultimate act of unjust violence to pay the penalty for our every sin. I am confident I can count on seeing you at ABC this Sunday in numbers greater than we usually see. Let s make a statement the world around us can t miss for the glory of God and the encouragement of one another! I want to encourage you to register online for the Caring for an Aging Loved One conference this coming Sunday afternoon, November 12, aimed at informing us about issues related to aging loved ones. This conference will really be good for both those of us who are already facing some of these issues, and those of us who have loved ones like parents and grandparents whom we want to assist in informed and positive ways. Please check out the Bridge for details. Gary Dyer, Pastor John 3:30 Karen Fawcett ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT karenf@austinbaptistchurch.com

3 PAGE 3 ABC Welcomes Kim Warner On Monday, November 13, Kim Warner will begin serving on our church staff as full-time Food Service Manager for Austin Baptist Church. For the last several years, Kim has served as Director of Hospitality for Community Presbyterian Church in Danville, California. Clifteen and Phil Samuelson will continue to give leadership to our hospitality ministry through the end of the year, for which we are very grateful. Kim grew up in Victoria, Texas, where her mother still lives. She accepted Christ as her Savior at the showing of a Billy Graham film when she was nine years old. She was baptized at First Baptist Church, Victoria. She attended Baylor University on a tennis scholarship and earned a degree in education with a concentration in recreation and leisure studies. She attended First Baptist Church of Waco during her college years. Following graduation, Kim moved to Houston where she served as special events and travel director for The Houstonian Club. Dr. Ed Young was a member of the Club and he invited Kim to worship at Second Baptist Church, where she became a member. Kim has more than 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry. She and her family eventually moved to northern California where they were members of Community Presbyterian Church for ten years. Her two daughters, Carly and Shelby, attended the church s private school. Both young ladies have recently graduated from the University of Mississippi. Carly earned her degree in accounting as well as an MBA; she is assurance finance operations senior for Price Waterhouse. Shelby earned her degree in journalism; she just moved to Dallas where she is digital advertising operations associate for D Magazine. Having grown up in Texas, Kim loves the outdoors, especially trips to the beach, hiking, and playing golf. She also enjoys decorating and entertaining. We will have a reception for Kim during the morning of her first Sunday with us, November 19. Help us welcome Kim back to Texas and to our church family! Devotional Guide Available November 19 In the middle of the hectic rush that has become our Christmas season, we often feel ourselves drifting away from the sacred meaning at the heart of the holiday. The Christmas Code, a 25- day Advent devotional, reminds us that God s greatest gift His precious Son is at the very heart of Advent. O.S. Hawkins, the author, has served twenty years as Chief Executive Officer for Guidestone Financial Resources. The free devotional guides will be available on November 19 and 26. Qualified Charitable Distributions The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 finally made permanent qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) from individual retirement accounts. A QCD permits annual direct transfers to a qualified entity such as Austin Baptist Church totaling up to $100,000 of tax-deferred IRA savings. Importantly, QCDs automatically satisfy required minimum distributions for the year when the QCD is made. Only individuals who ve attained age 70½ may make QCDs. Please call Jennifer Koret in the Church Business Office ( ) if we can be of assistance. (Continued on page 4)

4 PAGE 4 (Continued from page 3) Please remember all gifts must be postmarked or received in the church office by December 31 to be counted as a 2017 contribution. The church office will be open on Sunday, December 31, until 5:00 pm. Thank you for your generosity to the cause of our Savior through the ministries of Austin Baptist Church. Welcome New Members Three new members joined by profession of faith on November 5. Meredith Hudson joined in the traditional service. Meredith s parents are Patrick and Sarah Husdon, faithful members of Home Builders Bible Fellowship. Her younger siblings are Ellie and Luke. Meredith is a 3rd grader at Hill Elementary. The family is very involved in our children s ministries; they live in nearby Jester Estates. David and Anne Mitchell joined in the 11:11 service. They began worshiping with us in October after moving near Lakeway from California. David grew up in Forest, Mississippi, and earned his undergraduate degree in chemistry from Mississippi College in Clinton and his master s degree in bioscience regulatory affairs from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He is vice president of regulatory affairs and quality for Aeglea BioTherapeutics. Anne is from Montgomery, Alabama, and earned her degree in technology from National University in San Diego, California. She plans to practice real estate here in Austin. The Mitchells have two children and one grandchild. (Note: Their photo was not available at publication time.) David Procter

5 PAGE 5 SUNDAY, NOV. 12, 2017 TRADITIONAL WORSHIP 9:00 AM Praise His Holy Name BRH CHOIR I Will Rise BRH CHOIR I d Rather Have Jesus BRH CHOIR Leaning on the Everlasting Arms O Love BRH CHOIR Have You Been to Calvary I Am BRH CHOIR Baylor Choir Fills Loft on November 12 The Baylor Religious Hour Choir is one of the oldest student organizations at Baylor University. Founded by Dick Baker in 1948, the BRH Choir ministers to Baylor University, the state of Texas, and countries around the world. This choir is made up of around 50 amazing individuals who are committed to rehearsing every Tuesday and Thursday in Miller Chapel, and to regular travel on weekends to churches throughout the state of Texas. These past few years, BRH Choir has enjoyed ministering to people in Australia, Belize, Trinidad & Tobago, South Africa, Nicaragua, Ghana, El Salvador, Mexico, and Taiwan. The BRH Choir will be leading in worship Sunday morning, November 12, at ABC, in the 9:00 service. CONTEMPORARY WORSHIP 11:11 AM How Great Thou Art Let You Go I Surrender All The Gift of Music ABC s own Judy Rowland has openings NOW in her piano studio on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday between 1:00-3:00 p.m. Miss Rowland may be reached at Give yourself the gift of learning to play music! Blessings, John Parker

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7 PAGE 7 Does your family participate in the dance that I call The Holiday Two-Step this time of year? When Bill and I got married, a plan was designed to accommodate the expectations of his mama and my mama regarding where we would spend Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was very clear that we would alternate holidays each year between the two families. Although our parents were good friends and lived less than five miles apart, the idea of combining these celebrations was never discussed. Never. The way I kept track of it was that my family had Christmas on the odd years. (Those of you who knew my parents understand this completely!) That great generation is in heaven now, and we are the old folks. And guess what we still do the Holiday Two-Step! Our plan calls for Thanksgiving at our house this year. The good news is that although we are alone at Christmas, we are free! And Thanksgiving afternoon provides help putting up the Christmas tree as well as a chance to pester everyone in person about their Christmas wish list. I am already collecting catalogues and reminding our bunch to think about what they want or need from us. It prompted me to think about my wish list this morning. My list doesn t include Barbie dolls or LEGOs. My wishes cannot be found at Walmart. My list involves YOU! Here are two things for you to think and pray about: KidzMuzik Leaders - We need at least three more volunteers to assist in KidzMuzik classes each Wednesday evening from 6:00 to 6:50 p.m. All that is required is a love for God, children, and music. We have great musicians helping with this program; however, we need enough people so that we always have two adults in each room, even when one child needs individual attention in the hall or restroom. Can you help? Connect Church Mission Our church plant in Calgary is growing and reaching people with the gospel. Their vision is to go on their first mission trip in We want to partner with them in this project. There will be more details coming soon, but the nuts and bolts of this exciting trip will require many skills. Interested? Please consider these two opportunities to reach out to people of all ages. or call me if you can help dodiem@austinbaptistchurch.com church cell Dodie

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11 PAGE 11 LITERACY PARTNERS UPDATE Literacy Partners are trained and ready! We met on Monday, October 30, for an Orientation at Grandview Hills Elementary school. ABC has a long history of service at this school and we had a wonderful greeting this year. Our School Coordinator Alana Coleman (SRP) arranged a reception in the library for Literacy Partners and teachers. GHE Principal Kathy Sparksgoecke gave us a warm welcome and told us how much they appreciate us taking our time to come to help these teachers and children. It was evident from the reception that Literacy Partners are very welcome here and that our realm of influence is much larger than the student population. Anytime we step out in Christian love, God is lifted up. As I write this article, I still have ten children who need a Literacy Partner. If you can help, we can use you. It takes a few days to get approved so act now. Take these steps today First, please sign up at the Leander site to get your background check started it will take 2-3 days to get approved, but go ahead and do the other steps while you wait. ABC serves Grandview Hills Elementary but you may choose any Elementary school in the Leader School District. Click here. Secondly, you must sign up on the Education Connection App-Garden where you will indicate you want to be a Literacy Partner this year. Click here. CONTACT: Evonne Boggs evonneboggs@yahoo.com

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14 PAGE 14 This Friday we will have our annual lock-in at the church with our AWANA Truth & Training group, which is our 2nd-5th graders. We always have so much fun playing games, eating a lot of snacks, and just hanging out, but that is not all that we do! We also spend a couple of hours packing Operation Christmas Child boxes. At VBS this last summer, we collected thousands of items for Operation Christmas Child as well as over a thousand dollars in donations. Because of this, instead of packing our regular 200 boxes, we will be packing 400 boxes at our lock-in. The T&T kids take time to consider what they are doing when they pack all of the boxes, and they consider what they put in each box. After we pack them, we give the kids a chance to pray over all of the boxes. For the last couple of weeks, our AWANA kids, ages four years old to 5th grade, have been learning about Operation Christmas Child. They have been learning about how a lot of kids across the world do not get Christmas gifts, and the box they get from OCC may be the only gift they get that year. It is important that our kids are learning about missions and about serving. The kids have been learning about all the different ways that they can serve just within our church. They have studied scriptures about serving and prayed for different missions. The kids even wrote letters to people affected by the flooding in Houston. They are learning that even though they are young, they can still serve in many ways, and Operation Christmas Child is another one of those ways. By bringing donations, packing the boxes, and praying over them, the kids are able to spread happiness and the Gospel to 400 children all over the world. Kati KIDS WORSHIP NOVEMBER 12 KIDS WORSHIP OCTOBER 22 Topic: Be thankful for teachers and all they do for you. TOPIC: Jesus is preparing a place for us. Objective: Kids will learn the reasons OBJECTIVE: why they should be thankful teachkids will learn that Jesus wants to befor a friend to everyone, and He wants us to show that love ers and school. to others, too, so they won t fee alone. Key Passage:KEY Luke 6: Students PASSAGE: and teachers. John 14:1-7 Memory Verse: MEMORY VERSE: Give thanks allthe circumstances; Jesus said, Iinam light of the world. for this is God s will fornever you in Whoever follows me will walk Christ Jesus. in darkness, but will have the light of life. John 8:12b -1 Thessalonians 5:18

15 PAGE 15 NEXT WEEK AT ABC RECURRING EVENTS Sun, Nov 12 9:00 am Traditional Worship, Worship Center 10:10 am Bible Fellowship Groups Membership 101, Choir Room 11:11 am Contemporary Worship, Worship Center 12:11 pm Student Ministry i-serve: Operation Christmas Child 2:00 Seminar: Caring for an Aging Loved One, Heritage Hall Mon, Nov 13 10:00 am Adults on Mission, Chapel Wed, Nov 15 5:00 pm Churchwide Thanksgiving Fellowship, Heritage Hall 6:00 pm Thanksgiving Bible Study, Heritage Hall Sat, Nov 18 3:00 pm Student Ministry High School Bonfire, Walters Ranch ON THE HORIZON SUNDAY Awana Clubs 2:00 pm Joyful Noise 2:00 pm TUESDAY Tiny Tots & Tunes 10 am Class 1, Rm 134 Class 2, Rm 141 WEDNESDAY Tiny Tots & Tunes 10 am Class 3, Rm 134 WEDNESDAY cont. KIDZMUZIK 6 pm Children s Area Music Rehearsals Handbells, 6 pm Sanctuary Choir, 7:15 pm Choir Suite Orchestra, 7:45 pm Worship Center THURSDAY Mom2Mom 9:45 am Rm 248 American Heritage Girls & Trail Life Nov. 16 & 30 November 19 Finance Committee Meeting 22 No Midweek Fellowship or Activities Church Offices Closed for the Thanksgiving Holidays 27 Deacons Meeting 29 Church Business Meeting December 1 Parents Night Out 3 Lottie Moon Week of Prayer begins 6 Outreach & Evangelism Team Meeting 10 Membership 101 Finance Committee Meeting Christmas Musical: Lessons & Carols 13 Lottie Moon Banquet 17 White Christmas 24 Christmas Eve Candlelight Services 25 Jesus Birthday Church Offices Closed 27 No Midweek Fellowship or Activities 31 One Worship Service & Lord s Supper ABC THANKSGIVING DINNER Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017 Buy Tickets: Wednesday, Nov. 8 & Sunday, Nov. 12 FINAL DAY for RESERVATION, Monday, Nov DEACONS ON CALL Week of November 13, 2017 Max Arrell... (512) Richard Bennett... (713) OUR RESPONSE TO GOD S FAITHFULNESS Annual 2017 General Fund Budget $3,500, Account YTD Building on a Strong Foundation Offering Total-to-Date: $4,904, General Fund Designated $85, $ $2,814, $190, Our Attendance Sunday, November 5, 2017 Bldg/Strong Fill the Rooms Total Giving $5, $.00 $91, $415, $20, $3,441, :00 Service :11 Service Bible Fellowship Groups Amistad FOR PUBLICATION CONSIDERATION Articles and items for The Bridge are due to Rita Jones by the Friday (5:00 p.m.) before the Wednesday publication date. Your cooperation is very appreciated!

16 PAGE 16 First 2 Rows: Scenes from FAN Day 3rd Row: FAN DAY and Parents Night Out 4th Row: Parents Night Out