THE PROCLAIMER. November 1, 2015

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1 THE PROCLAIMER November 1, 2015 Below is an excerpt from a text the Lindseys received from Simon and Christa Hoopes in Peje, Kosovo whom we support through our monthly giving as well as gifts through the Lottie Moon Christmas offering. This series of messages focuses on the invitation of the Father to join him as he redeems the world to himself. His mission is to be our mission. Using Operation Christmas Child as our example, we will focus on People, the Package (Box), the Present, and Prayer. The Mission will challenge each of us to adjust our lives to the purpose and plan which God has set before us. We are so appreciative of all that your congregation has contributed to our ministry and work. You have been such a positive breath of fresh air for us. We have been encouraged greatly with your partnership to reaching the nation of Kosovo. I say these words, but when I read them back they seem so flat. We are oozing appreciation and encouragement. May God richly bless you all for your hearts, prayers, minds, your wills to help. We so much need your help!!!! It is critical that more people partner with us in prayer to reach the lost. We love you. We pray for you as well. We are grateful for the opportunities that you are enabling us to work. We are happy, joyful to work, amidst many foreign and uncomfortable things. We are excited! Pray for that and more excitement and rejuvenation in our spirits and clear ears to hear what He is saying. Thank you eternally. Simon and Christa Hoopes at First Baptist, Big Spring Sunday, November 29 (pm) Hanging of the Green (in the Sanctuary) Sunday, December 6 (pm) A Service of Lessons and Carols (in the Chapel) Sunday, December 13 (pm) Mingle and Jingle featuring the Adult Handbells and the FBC Worship Choir (in the Gym) Sunday, December 20 (pm) Church wide Caroling (Thursday, December 24) Christmas Eve Service (in the Sanctuary) FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, BIG SPRING, TEXAS The mission of First Baptist Church is to evangelize the unsaved, disciple the saved and nurture all church members.

2 PAGE 5 FROM THE PASTOR November is always an exciting month for me! Upward Basketball season 5 is launching; Operation Christmas Child is in full swing; Thanksgiving celebration is near; and Christmas preparations are underway. This is the perfect time to be overwhelmed with the activities on the calendar. Unfortunately, we can become so busy that the intimacy of our walk with the Father suffers. During these demanding days, set aside time each day to allow the Father to speak to you through his Word. Read the scriptures with an open heart, listening for his voice to reveal to you himself, his purposes, and his ways. Once you hear from the Lord, respond to him in obedience. Throughout the day, communicate with the Father through prayer. Jesus assured us the intimacy of our relationship with him is essential. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides (remains) in Me and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me, you can do nothing. (John 15:5) As you serve the Lord this month, please keep in mind the ways you can be involved in all the Father is doing in and through First Baptist Church. Pray for the Lord to raise up workers for Upward Basketball. We need coaches, referees, score keepers, concession attendants, court sweepers, set up and take down crews, and especially friendly faces who will interact and love on those who attend each game day. Perhaps you are the answer to your prayer! As you pack your Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes, remember to apply a label to each box indicating the gender and age of the child for which you are targeting. Also, include in your box $7.00 to cover the cost of shipping your box. Your check should be made out to Operation Christmas Child. Finally, be present for our day of ingathering on Sunday, November 15! I look forward to being able to worship our Lord with you this Sunday! If you are not able to attend in person, then I encourage you to participate by watching the service live through our website Click on the Live Streaming button and worship with us! I love you and thank God for you! ACTS 1:8 ANNOUNCEMENTS For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 2 Corinthians 2:15 IT S NOT TOO LATE! If you have not yet given to the Mary Hill Davis Offering for state missions, there s still time. The International Mission Board offering (Lottie Moon) supports missionaries around the world; the North American Mission Board (Annie Armstrong offering) supports mission efforts across North America. It is our responsibility to reach our state. Texas continues to grow by vast numbers. Hundreds of nations are represented in Texas. We give so others have the opportunity to know Jesus Christ as their Savior! HELP NEEDED IN KOSOVO---We need your involvement! *Sweet Bean Bakery would love to feature some of your recipes! Each week the bakery will spotlight one of your products in hopes to find new desserts that will help promote sales in the store. If you have a recipe to submit, send it to lindseyfamily@yahoo.com. Remember, other countries do not have access to many of the ingredients that we do. Select recipes which would have ingredients that may be found anywhere. *Because of a budget deficit, IMB is cutting 600 personnel around the world. Pray for those who will be returning home. Pray for the people left to carry on the work of the ministry. Personnel on the field will be unable to request more help in their areas as they see the Lord opening doors. Would you be willing to Pray? To Go? To Give? What do you have to offer? OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD. Sunday, November 15, will be the ingathering day for our Operation Christmas Child boxes. Boxes will be collected during the morning worship service. As you prepare your boxes, (1) pray for the child who will receive it; (2) include a personal letter with your personal address, or the church address if you prefer. Last year our church provided about 350 boxes. This year, our prayer is to complete at least 500 boxes. Would you challenge yourself to do at least one more box than last year? Also, monies are needed to contribute to the mailing cost of the 116 boxes which have already been prepared at a packing party. The cost to mail each box is $7. MISSION CENTER. Is it possible that God might be calling you to serve through the clothes ministry at the mission center? Currently we have no one to take the ministry lead in organizing clothes, workers and casting a vision for this ministry. If God is leading you in this direction, please talk to Sherry Lindsey.

3 KID S KORNER NOVEMBER EXTENDED SESSION Bed Babies: (every Sunday) Sylvia Draper Toddlers & Three Year Olds: Upward Evaluations are currently underway. If your child wants to play, the last opportunity for evaluation will be November 2nd in the Family Life Center from 4-7 p.m. If you are interested in coaching or being a referee, please contact the office ASAP for the application. However, don t think that those are your only opportunities to serve. We still needs tons of help with concessions, clock operators, and greeters. It looks like this is going to be another record year, and we are excited to kick it off! It was my first Fall Festival with FBC Big Spring, and I am amazed at how well this church works together to put on such a large event. Thank you to everyone that worked, baked, and donated to make this year s Fall Festival a success! November 2nd: Landon Schuelke November 2nd: Audrey Sincleair November 15th: Carsyn Brown November 18th: Elizabeth Raffini November 20th: Colt Stockton 1th: Mike & Regina Warren 8th: Garrett & Kelli Wigington 15th: Jonathan & Rebekah Raffini 22th: Kaye Barr & Andre Clark 29th: Lori & Kaylee Morgan If you are unable to be in the nursery on your scheduled Sunday, please trade with someone or call the church Thank you!! Welcoming the Greens Plan on joining us to welcome the Greens. We will have a potluck luncheon after church on Nov. 8th. Instead of doing a traditional pounding we will do a gift card/money tree so that the Greens can buy the things they need to fill their pantry. The church will provide the meat, rolls, and drinks. Members please bring a casserole, vegetable, salad or dessert to share. Shoeboxes need to be returned by November 15th.

4 Students are encouraged to continue earning scholarships for Youth camp by attending Sunday morning and Sunday night as well as other special opportunities. The biggest one of those other opportunities is by serving with Upward Basketball as a coach, referee, game day clock operator, or at the concession stand. If you want to serve in any of these areas please let Jonathan or Pastor Mark know, especially if you want to coach. Please note, November 15th will be the last night for Sunday night Youth at Jonathan s house until January. Starting November 22nd, there will be church wide Sunday night special services and activities throughout the holiday season. You will want to be a part of these holiday festivities. Regular Sunday Night Youth will resume at Jonathan s house (Youth Minister) Sunday, January 10th. There will be no Sunday Night Youth on January 3rd. This IS a Sunday-Friday. Youth camp signup deposits are due November 9th. The deposit of $75 serves as your signup. Camp this year is July at Glorieta, NM. Disciple Now weekend is now set. The dates are January 29th-31st. We will be hosting the weekend with FBC Stanton and Forsan Baptist Church joining us. The speaker will be John Harper; an awesome speaker that is a regular camp pastor at Fuge Camps. One big change this year with DNow is that we will not be having host homes since FBC Stanton and Forsan Baptist church are joining us. All students will stay here in the church during the weekend. We are also excited about having what we call a Parents Part of DNow during the weekend. John Harper will lead several small groups. Details coming soon on all this, but look for signup cards to be available before Thanksgiving. Plans are underway for next summer s Mission trip to Denver, Colorado. The trip will be in June. Students interested in participating can ask Youth Minister Jonathan Raffini for more information. Students will be required to be in attendance during the school year at least 50% of the time to be eligible for participation in the mission trip. Cost will not exceed $150 per person. On Wednesday, November 18th, we are going to be hosting a revolutionary parents of youth event in the Youth Room. It will begin at 7:00 p.m. and be over no later than 8:00 p.m. You will not want to miss this night, if you desire for your student to walk with Christ. Don t miss this one night special event.

5 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Schedule 8:00 a.m. VA Ministry 9:15 a.m. Media Center Opens 9:30 a.m. Sunday School 10:45 a.m. Morning Worship 6:00 p.m. Evening Worship 6:00 p.m. Saturate Youth Wednesday Schedule 5:00 p.m. Supper 6:00 p.m. Adult Bible Study Adult Choir 6:00 p.m. WOW 6:15 p.m. Mission Activities 6:15 p.m. Saturate Youth Extended Session Toddlers Nov. 1st: Mike & Regina Warren Nov. 8th: Garrett & Kelli Wigington Nov. 15th: Jonathan & Rebekah Raffini Nov. 22nd: Kaye Barr & Andre Clark Nov. 29th: Lori & Kaylee Morgan Bed Babies Sylvia Draper Daylight Savings Time Potluck Luncheon to Welcome the Greens Upward Basketball Evaluations 4:00-7:00 p.m. Church Visitation 5:30 p.m. Menu Meatloaf Mash Potatoes/Gravy Green Beans/Rolls Cake Finance Committee Meeting 5:00 Menu Mexican Stack-up Dessert Church Visitation 5:30 p.m Thanksgiving Dinner 5:00 p.m. Church Visitation 5:30 p.m Hanging of the Green 6:00 p.m. Church Visitation 5:30 p.m. Closed Menu Vegetable Beef Soup Cornbread Hotdogs Dessert Thanksgiving Holiday No Dinner No Activities First Week of Upward Basketball Practice Church Closed

6 Dear Mark & Sherry, Five years! Yes, our Five Year Anniversary Celebration is here. Five years ago our family moved from Central Massachusetts into Boston with a call to see many in the city come to faith in Jesus. Leaning on His declaration, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, we enlisted your prayer and support to join us in what Jesus was up to in this great city. Many of you have joined us in various capacities and it is our privilege to encourage you with periodic updates: A Heart for Kids One of the reasons the Lord placed us in Parkway Boston was its unique concentration of young families within the city. With a heart for children and families, naturally we are thrilled when others catch this burden. Recently a new believer named Rachel became a co-director of our children s ministry. Her love for Jesus and for children to know Him has helped us develop a stronger ministry to children. Seeing her thrive in her leadership role is a reminder of how people are made for mission and thrive when using their Spirit-empowered gifts. A Family on Mission We are deeply encouraged as new Christians are transitioning from being the focus of the mission to the force behind the mission. From apartment dwellers running a food bank out of their complex, to college students bringing carloads of friends to church, to professionals organizing college prep seminars for at-risk teens, God is raising up laborers for the harvest. At a summer pool party, our diverse congregation united in prayer asking God to move in and through us for His glory and the good of our city.

7 Mentoring Teens The Lord has always given us a steady stream of youth to invest in. We begin by connecting a mentor with a small group of friends. The mentor will then build a relationship with the youth and his/her parent/guardian and begin teaching the Bible while also working through schoolwork and life skills. This guys group recently built birdhouses after talking about building their lives on Christ. Shortly after this photo was taken, one of these young men was assaulted with a baseball bat by a family member. By God s grace, he is doing well and has a caring adult praying over and investing in him. This reflects the difficult reality for many of these youth and the need for restoration through the gospel. Training and Sending Students Each September, the population of Boston increases by 300,000 as college students converge upon the city. They have come to Boston for greatness and are eager to learn. This is the perfect heart posture for us to train and send out students for kingdom work. But first, we must connect with them and share the gospel. One way that we connected with students early this semester was by hosting a College Kickball Kickoff for Boston area students. We also hosted a College Connect Cookout for them on a Sunday in September after church. The semester is off to a great start, and we have already seen several students come to faith! Would you take time to pray for our students? God is at work and we are grateful to be in on what He's up to. One thing is certain, this is happening because our Lord has connected us with people like you who serve as the prayer force and support behind His work in our midst. We wish you could hear each story of life change that we get to interact with. We are celebrating our 5 Year Anniversary on October 25th. We would love for you to join us if you are visiting New England. If you cannot join us, know that we're thinking about you, and we could not do have done this without you! Thanks for taking the time to read through this update. Please let us know how we can be praying for you. In Christ, Josh Wyatt & Family

8 Wednesday Night Meals Deacons of the Month Nov. 4th Hamburger Steak Mash Potatoes/Gravy Green Beans Rolls Cake Nov. 11th Potato Bar Salad Banana or Chocolate Pudding Don Brodie Eddy Spurgin Vaughn Martin Ryan Walker Nov. 18th Hamburgers/Hot Dogs Tator Tots Ice Cream Sundaes Nov. 25th Thanksgiving Holiday NO MEAL! Upward Basketball season is here! If you would like to sponsor a child that needs financial assistance to be able to play, please contact the office. Cost per child is $70. Thank you for supporting the children in our community. SUNDAY SCHEDULE Sunday Bible Study 9:30 a.m. Morning Worship 10:50 a.m. Saturate Youth 6:00 p.m. Evening Worship 6:00 p.m. WEDNESDAY SCHEDULE Wednesday Night Supper 5:00 p.m. Adult Bible Study 6:00 p.m. Adult Choir Practice 6:00 p.m. WOW 6:00 p.m. Mission Classes 6:15 p.m. Saturate Youth 6:15 p.m. First Baptist Church of Big Spring 705 W. FM 700 Big Spring, TX Phone: fbcbigspring.org Postmaster: Return Service Requested Non-Profit Organization U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 123 Big Spring, TX 79720